Wrapping In Downtown Youngstown, Ohio

Forest and Valley bright happy shiny giant art hanging out in downtown Youngstown, 24/7, 40 different pieces, come see! :
Art Youngstown: Wrap the Arts | Rust Wire
Source: rustwire.com
Folks in Youngstown have developed a pretty straightforward strategy for dealing with blight: cover it up with some pretty artwork. Art Youngstown
more pix here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/album.php?aid=2034776&id=1517336347 & http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2029098&id=1583284127

Fred Shepard took this photo

Rick storm forms October 15, 2009

October 15, 2009
Tropical storm Rick forms off Mexico Pacific coast

MEXICO CITY, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Rick formed off Mexico's Pacific coast on Thursday and could become a hurricane within the next day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Rick was located 345 miles (555 km) south-southeast of the resort city of Acapulco with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kph).

"Continued strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours," the Miami-based hurricane center said.

19 October 2009 - 09H03

AFP - Hurricane Rick weakened further early Monday and was downgraded to a Category 3 storm as it moved up Mexico's Pacific coast, US forecasters said.

"Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 125 miles (205 kilometers) per hour with higher gusts," the National Hurricane Center said in an new advisory.

"Rick is a Category Three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale," the center added.

At 0900 GMT Monday, Rick was around 380 miles (615 kilometers) south southwest of the resort town of Cabo San Lucas as it headed northwest at 10 miles (17 kilometers) per hour, parallel to Mexico's southern coast, the NHC said.

The US forecasters warned about "potentially dangerous surf conditions" caused by large ocean swells.

"Interests in western mainland Mexico should monitor the progress of this hurricane," the Miami-based center said.

Rick is on track to turn northward on Tuesday and is expected to gradually weaken over the next 24 to 48 hours, the NHC said.

But the center warned that even despite the weakening, "Rick is still expected to be a dangerous hurricane as it approaches the southern Baja Peninsula."

Ephemeris of the ephemeral

Ephemeris
An ephemeris is a tabulation of computed positions and velocities (and/or various derived quantities such as right ascension and declination) of an orbiting body at specific times.

Generated ephemeris for 22105 Pirko (2000 LS36)
Classification: Main-belt Asteroid SPK-ID: 2022105
Current Settings
Ephemeris Type : OBSERVER
Target Body : Asteroid 22105 Pirko (2000 LS36)
Observer Location : Geocentric [500]
Time Span : Start=2009-10-01, Stop=2009-10-31, Step=1 d
Table Settings : defaults
Display/Output : default (formatted HTML)
Object Data Page

JPL/HORIZONS 22105 Pirko (2000 LS36) 2009-Oct-01 03:19:45
Rec #: 22105 Soln.date: - # obs: 394 (1975-2006)

FK5/J2000.0 helio. ecliptic osc. elements (AU, DAYS, DEG, period=Julian yrs):

EPOCH= 2455000.5 ! 2009-Jun-18.00 (CT) RMSW= n.a.
EC= .208124 QR= 1.8729256 TP= 2454500.0885223
OM= 68.38149 W= 282.69206 IN= 8.0891
A= 2.3651753 MA= 135.59271 ADIST= 2.857425
PER= 3.6375 N= .270962426 ANGMOM= .025876019
DAN= 2.16378 DDN= 2.37115 L= 351.1969075
B= -7.8901677 TP= 2008-Feb-03.5885223

Physical parameters (KM, SEC, rotational period in hours):
GM= n.a. RAD= n.a. ROTPER= n.a.
H= 14.4 G= .150 B-V= n.a.
ALBEDO= n.a. STYP= n.a.

ASTEROID comments:
1: soln ref.= MPO97246, OCC=1 M-v 38h
2: source=MPC:mpn

Results

*******************************************************************************
Ephemeris / WWW_USER Thu Oct 1 03:19:45 2009 Pasadena, USA / Horizons
*******************************************************************************
Target body name: 22105 Pirko (2000 LS36) {source: MPO97246}
Center body name: Earth (399) {source: DE405}
Center-site name: GEOCENTRIC
*******************************************************************************
Start time : A.D. 2009-Oct-01 00:00:00.0000 UT
Stop time : A.D. 2009-Oct-31 00:00:00.0000 UT
Step-size : 1440 minutes
*******************************************************************************
Target pole/equ : No model available
Target radii : (unavailable)
Center geodetic : 0.00000000,0.00000000,0.0000000 {E-lon(deg),Lat(deg),Alt(km)}
Center cylindric: 0.00000000,0.00000000,0.0000000 {E-lon(deg),Dxy(km),Dz(km)}
Center pole/equ : High-precision EOP model {East-longitude +}
Center radii : 6378.1 x 6378.1 x 6356.8 km {Equator, meridian, pole}
Target primary : Sun {source: DE405}
Interfering body: MOON (Req= 1737.400) km {source: DE405}
Deflecting body : Sun, EARTH {source: DE405}
Deflecting GMs : 1.3271E+11, 3.9860E+05 km^3/s^2
Small perturbers: Ceres, Pallas, Vesta {source: SB405-CPV-2}
Small body GMs : 6.32E+01, 1.43E+01, 1.78E+01 km^3/s^2
Atmos refraction: NO (AIRLESS)
RA format : HMS
Time format : CAL
EOP file : eop.090930.p091222
EOP coverage : DATA-BASED 1962-JAN-20 TO 2009-SEP-30. PREDICTS-> 2009-DEC-21
Units conversion: 1 AU= 149597870.691 km, c= 299792.458 km/s, 1 day= 86400.0 s
Table cut-offs 1: Elevation (-90.0deg=NO ),Airmass (>38.000=NO), Daylight (NO )
Table cut-offs 2: Solar Elongation ( 0.0,180.0=NO )
*******************************************************************************
Initial FK5/J2000.0 heliocentric ecliptic osculating elements (AU, DAYS, DEG):
EPOCH= 2455000.5 ! 2009-Jun-18.00 (CT) RMSW= n.a.
EC= .208124 QR= 1.8729256 TP= 2454500.0885223
OM= 68.38149 W= 282.69206 IN= 8.0891
Asteroid physical parameters (KM, SEC, rotational period in hours):
GM= n.a. RAD= n.a. ROTPER= n.a.
H= 14.4 G= .150 B-V= n.a.
ALBEDO= n.a. STYP= n.a.
*******************************************************************************************************
Date__(UT)__HR:MN R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC APmag delta deldot S-O-T /r S-T-O
*******************************************************************************************************
$$SOE
2009-Oct-01 00:00 11 23 34.43 +10 34 40.8 20.08 3.75457432156246 -8.0487067 21.2156 /L 7.3161
2009-Oct-02 00:00 11 25 00.59 +10 26 05.5 20.08 3.74985397917579 -8.2974807 21.7919 /L 7.5031
2009-Oct-03 00:00 11 26 26.58 +10 17 30.9 20.09 3.74499012511171 -8.5456940 22.3704 /L 7.6900
2009-Oct-04 00:00 11 27 52.40 +10 08 57.3 20.09 3.73998306095665 -8.7934262 22.9511 /L 7.8768
2009-Oct-05 00:00 11 29 18.06 +10 00 24.6 20.10 3.73483303839518 -9.0407699 23.5339 /L 8.0634
2009-Oct-06 00:00 11 30 43.55 +09 51 52.9 20.10 3.72954025331598 -9.2878243 24.1189 /L 8.2498
2009-Oct-07 00:00 11 32 08.87 +09 43 22.2 20.11 3.72410484441061 -9.5346865 24.7060 /L 8.4360
2009-Oct-08 00:00 11 33 34.02 +09 34 52.6 20.11 3.71852689768606 -9.7814400 25.2951 /L 8.6219
2009-Oct-09 00:00 11 34 59.00 +09 26 24.1 20.12 3.71280645734793 -10.0281444 25.8862 /L 8.8075
2009-Oct-10 00:00 11 36 23.81 +09 17 56.8 20.12 3.70694354246305 -10.2748259 26.4794 /L 8.9927
2009-Oct-11 00:00 11 37 48.44 +09 09 30.7 20.13 3.70093816811767 -10.5214711 27.0745 /L 9.1776
2009-Oct-12 00:00 11 39 12.89 +09 01 05.9 20.13 3.69479036952120 -10.7680234 27.6716 /L 9.3621
2009-Oct-13 00:00 11 40 37.16 +08 52 42.4 20.14 3.68850022748944 -11.0143816 28.2706 /L 9.5461
2009-Oct-14 00:00 11 42 01.25 +08 44 20.4 20.14 3.68206789360801 -11.2604024 28.8716 /L 9.7297
2009-Oct-15 00:00 11 43 25.15 +08 35 59.9 20.14 3.67549361289916 -11.5059071 29.4744 /L 9.9127
2009-Oct-16 00:00 11 44 48.85 +08 27 40.9 20.15 3.66877774117900 -11.7506932 30.0792 /L 10.0952
2009-Oct-17 00:00 11 46 12.36 +08 19 23.5 20.15 3.66192075411549 -11.9945511 30.6858 /L 10.2771
2009-Oct-18 00:00 11 47 35.67 +08 11 07.7 20.15 3.65492324588971 -12.2372832 31.2942 /L 10.4584
2009-Oct-19 00:00 11 48 58.77 +08 02 53.7 20.16 3.64778591745103 -12.4787197 31.9045 /L 10.6390
2009-Oct-20 00:00 11 50 21.66 +07 54 41.5 20.16 3.64050955687477 -12.7187296 32.5166 /L 10.8190
2009-Oct-21 00:00 11 51 44.34 +07 46 31.1 20.16 3.63309501608367 -12.9572226 33.1304 /L 10.9982
2009-Oct-22 00:00 11 53 06.81 +07 38 22.7 20.17 3.62554318838786 -13.1941444 33.7461 /L 11.1766
2009-Oct-23 00:00 11 54 29.05 +07 30 16.2 20.17 3.61785499005026 -13.4294683 34.3635 /L 11.3543
2009-Oct-24 00:00 11 55 51.07 +07 22 11.7 20.17 3.61003134721090 -13.6631853 34.9827 /L 11.5312
2009-Oct-25 00:00 11 57 12.86 +07 14 09.2 20.17 3.60207318784345 -13.8952970 35.6036 /L 11.7072
2009-Oct-26 00:00 11 58 34.42 +07 06 08.9 20.18 3.59398143739486 -14.1258100 36.2263 /L 11.8824
2009-Oct-27 00:00 11 59 55.75 +06 58 10.8 20.18 3.58575701636809 -14.3547346 36.8508 /L 12.0566
2009-Oct-28 00:00 12 01 16.84 +06 50 14.8 20.18 3.57740083814069 -14.5820857 37.4770 /L 12.2300
2009-Oct-29 00:00 12 02 37.69 +06 42 21.1 20.18 3.56891380556741 -14.8078855 38.1050 /L 12.4024
2009-Oct-30 00:00 12 03 58.29 +06 34 29.8 20.18 3.56029680531009 -15.0321685 38.7347 /L 12.5739
2009-Oct-31 00:00 12 05 18.65 +06 26 40.7 20.18 3.55155069940185 -15.2549864 39.3663 /L 12.7443
$$EOE
*******************************************************************************************************
Column meaning:

TIME

Prior to 1962, times are UT1. Dates thereafter are UTC. Any 'b' symbol in
the 1st-column denotes a B.C. date. First-column blank (" ") denotes an A.D.
date. Calendar dates prior to 1582-Oct-15 are in the Julian calendar system.
Later calendar dates are in the Gregorian system.

The uniform Coordinate Time scale is used internally. Conversion between
CT and the selected non-uniform UT output scale has not been determined for
UTC times after the next July or January 1st. The last known leap-second
is used over any future interval.

NOTE: "n.a." in output means quantity "not available" at the print-time.

R.A._(ICRF/J2000.0)_DEC =
J2000.0 astrometric right ascension and declination of target center.
Corrected for light-time. Units: HMS (HH MM SS.ff) and DMS (DD MM SS.f)

APmag =
Asteroid's approximate apparent visual magnitude by following definition:
APmag = H + 5*log10(delta) + 5*log10(r) - 2.5*log10((1-G)*phi1 + G*phi2).
In principle, accurate to ~ +/- 0.1 magnitude. For solar phase angles > 90 deg,
the error could exceed 1 magnitude. No values are output for phase angles
greater than 120 degrees, since the extrapolation error could be large and
unknown. Units: NONE

delta deldot =
Range ("delta") and range-rate ("delta-dot") of target center with respect
to the observer at the instant light seen by the observer at print-time would
have left the target center (print-time minus down-leg light-time); the
distance traveled by a light ray emanating from the center of the target and
recorded by the observer at print-time. "deldot" is a projection of the
velocity vector along this ray, the light-time-corrected line-of-sight from the
coordinate center, and indicates relative motion. A positive "deldot" means the
target center is moving away from the observer (coordinate center). A negative
"deldot" means the target center is moving toward the observer.
Units: AU and KM/S

S-O-T /r =
Sun-Observer-Target angle; target's apparent solar elongation seen from
observer location at print-time. If negative, the target center is behind
the Sun. Angular units: DEGREES.

The '/r' column is a Sun-relative code, output for observing sites
with defined rotation models only.

/T indicates target trails Sun (evening sky)
/L indicates target leads Sun (morning sky)

NOTE: The S-O-T solar elongation angle is the total separation in any
direction. It does not indicate the angle of Sun leading or trailing.

S-T-O =
Sun-Target-Observer (~ PHASE ANGLE) angle: the vertex angle at target center
formed by a vector to the apparent center of the Sun and a vector intersecting
the observer at print-time. This measurable angle is within 20 arcseconds
(0.006 deg) of the reduced PHASE ANGLE at observer's location at print time.
The difference is due to down-leg stellar aberration affecting measured target
position but not apparent solar illumination direction. When computing phase,
Horizons uses the true phase angle, not S-T-O, but the resulting difference
in illuminated fraction is less than 0.001%.
Units: DEGREES


Source JPL NASA
Computations by ...
Solar System Dynamics Group, Horizons On-Line Ephemeris System
4800 Oak Grove Drive, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
Information: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/
Connect : telnet://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov:6775 (via browser)
telnet ssd.jpl.nasa.gov 6775 (via command-line)
Author : Jon.Giorgini@jpl.nasa.gov


Orbit Viewer applet originally written and kindly provided by Osamu Ajiki (AstroArts), and further modified by Ron Baalke (JPL).

Sacrificing the entire province of Alberta is okay?

Beautifully done film:
Second largest oil deposits are in Alberta sands:

"Thanks to Alberta’s Athabasca oil sands, Canada is now the biggest oil supplier to the United States. A controversial billion-dollar industry is heavily invested in extracting crude from the tarry sands through a process so toxic it has become an international cause for concern. Four barrels of glacier-fed spring water are used to process each barrel of oil, then are dumped, laden with carcinogens, into leaky tailings ponds so huge they can be seen from space. Downstream, the people of Fort Chipewyan are already paying the price for what will be one of the largest industrial projects in history. When a local doctor raises the alarm about clusters of rare cancers, evidence mounts for industry and government cover-ups. In a time when wars are fought over oil and a crisis looms over access to clean fresh water, which resource is more precious? And what price are we willing to pay? — Gisèle Gordon."
http://h2oildoc.com/home/

4 page fact sheet
connect via Facebook Page

"The Universe Is Abundant. STARGAZE."

20090711238
Originally uploaded by Waifer X

"The Universe Is Abundant. STARGAZE." Fountain, 11th and Pine St., Paso Robles, CA. Photo taken by Cuesta College Physical Sciences Division instructor Dr. Patrick M. Len posted on Flickr

England, France, I see Switzerland

This caught my eye in Lancaster's newspaper, The Intelligencer Journal:
The Swiss 'menace'
op-ed piece by Paul Krugman, New York Times, Published: August 16, 2009
This opening excerpt:
"...Investor’s Business Daily tried to frighten its readers by declaring that in Britain, where the government runs health care, the handicapped physicist Stephen Hawking 'wouldn’t have a chance,' because the National Health Service would consider his life 'essentially worthless'.
"Professor Hawking, who was born in Britain, has lived there all his life, and has been well cared for by the National Health Service, was not amused."

catches one's eye but Krugman goes on from there with good clear comparisons

Alda Kalda on 25 Jul 09, Iceland?

Day 2
Originally uploaded by Alda Kalda

Alda Kalda took this on a hiking trip in July in ?Iceland I think. She writes the blog: http://icelandweatherreport.com/

feathers in the fields

Trying to identify this, walked back from the haywagon to pick it up in the field while they were repairing the twine-knotter on the baler. There had been turkey vultures swooping low all day, probably scouting for baling-related carnage, & I'd picked up turkey feathers on other walks in the woods but hawks fly over,too, so maybe red-tail?

What work: rolling forward though ground hay dust, crushed Queen-Ann's lace oil full of bitter horse-promises, swallows darting and daring, hot sun, heartbeat. Through diesel fume, engine chug, baler clank, and the afternoon.

real food really homemade

All the things my friend Holly made this weekend - salsa, chicken salad, butter, peanut butter. (all photos & captions by Holly)photo by Holly Winwood
Lunch salad: kale, pimento peppers, cilantro, grapes, pecans, blueberries, celery, yellow squash, romano cheese, raspberry vinegar dressing. Delicious and beautiful!
photo by Holly Winwood
Typical lunch: a magical array of whole foods - sweet potato, edamame, cherries, blueberries, and some salty romano-like cheese. Yum!
photo by Holly Winwood
May her act of wholesome creating inspire us all (gee, I feel lazy!)
See more Good Food at her Facebook album and at Liberating Home Economics ideas

First year hatchling, Bog Turtle

First year hatchling, Bog Turtle
Originally uploaded by rebonnett

My friend Rich Bonnett took this photo of a baby bog turtle in Pennsylvania

Anonyminity, Irrelevance & Immeasurement and Depressingly Easy

It's so simple it's hard! Some thoughts from 2 books on why it's good to be working to live and living to work:

1. Anonyminity -- one's work must be known by a higher authority.
-- otherwise a worker sees themselves as invisible, generic or anonymous

2. Irrelevance -- person must see that their job matters to someone, anyone.
-- must see connection between their work & satisfaction of some person(s)

3. Immeasurement -- need tangible means of accessing success or failure.
-- need to gauge their progress & level of contributions for themselves
-- need to see their own success or level of success by themselves.
-- cannot depend on the whims or opinions of another, even benevolent, person.
-- must know #1, Who their work helps, and #2, How their work helps them.
Big artists and performers can lead erratic, unhappy, unsatisfied lives because of
subtle fear of irrelevance.

(above) from The Three Signs of a Miserable Job: A Fable for Managers (And Their Employees) (J-B Lencioni Series)book written by Patrick Lencioni

PART II

(Below) from Depressingly Easy. Kelly Lambert in Scientific American Mind, Vol 19, No.4, pp.31-35; August-September 2008.

"our brains are programmed to derive a deep sense of satisfaction and pleasure when our physical effort produces something tangible, visible and...meaningful in gaining the resources necessary for survival

Our brains get reward in the brain's pleasure center from anticipating and executing complex tasks with our hands.
because "...[hands] allow us to gain control of our environment. ""[And]...we are predisposed to preferring hand movements that our ancestors needed for survival--those necessary for nuturing, cleaning, cooking, grooming, building shelter and farming."

From the book
Lifting Depression: A Neuroscientist's Hands-On Approach to Activating Your Brain's Healing Powerby Kelly Lambert 2008, Basic Books part of Perseus Books Group

also see http://www.kellylambert.com/note-p2.php

Steel Flight

Flight of Steel. Drawing on our interest in astronomy, the fate of the Valley's steel industry, rides in a friend's plane over the beautiful Trumbull county landscapes, and Leonardo's interest in flight, flying machines, and his theories on astronomy and visual effects, I have painted a scene of a Bessemer converter (steel processor) "burning out" on the darker left-hand side, with the sparks flying up and mingling with the stars in the sky. On the lighter (landscape) side I have painted my friend's plane and some of the views from the air, including the coke plant in Warren, OH. I overlaid quotes of Leonardo's observations on astronomy on the star field, and on those aerial perspective on the landscapes viewed from the plane. The plane emerges from the dark clouds of industry to a possible brighter day.

Magma dribble

Magma dribble
Originally uploaded by Nekoglyph

I missed the glory of steel production in the Mahoning Valley and am rapidly catching up via some great portfolios on FLICKR.com this photo by Nekoglyph's being one of them-- see:

poetry reading in the Great Room

DSCN3718
Originally uploaded by Art Youngstown Gallery

poetry reading in the Great Room, Youngstown, Ohio

Fox River Papermill Buttons

DLudwig-FoxRiverPaperMillBu
Originally uploaded by Art Youngstown Gallery

Art Youngstown posted all the artwork from The Great Room Show. Click to see all

a great big empty space

Bill Hazlett has very nice memoriam for Rick Pirko (who passed away quietly Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008) http://billhazlett.blogspot.com/2008/10/thanks-rick.html Rick will be greatly missed. I have started a place for people to post their stories and memories here:

http://thanksrick.blogspot.com/

Here are just 4 of Rick's incredible photos: photo credit: Rick Pirko
photo credit: Rick Pirko
photo credit: Rick Pirko
photo credit:Rick Pirko

Now I am going to go cut up and prepare to dry the mountain of superhot hot peppers that Rick grew in his huge garden and gave me -- just because he knew I loved firey things.

UPDATE: And here they were in all their hot glowing glory:

summer meadow

the meadow is starting its summer stream of blooms...: penstemone, orange hawkweed and ox-eyed daisy

in the studio

working on art in Franny the Bunny Slayer's lair

violets on a mountaintop

furry violets in Joseph Allen Skinner State Park, on Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts

Kestrel on the line, kestrel lifeless on the hard rock highway, kestrel in the sky, Canada goose in a still pond,
no leaves only reddish buds, crumbly, swollen streams and rivers, skeins of goose bodies dot the leaden greys,
sole redwinged black bird on every tiny tree top, nuthatch hops, tufted mouse tits in the hemlocks, jayblues swoop and jump, chickadees, crows everywhere, new trailing arbutus leaves but no buds
Picking out 2 fields edged with strong pine scarfs, wrapping and clutching -- what is the pine hold? is it because the first visions came then and it was a time of hope ("Lordy mercy if there comes a time...')
The Desire for Wood.

My brave forsythia looks so promising; found 2 bird nests in the neighbors ancient forsythia hedge.
Gravel snow and river, snow on the high hills, Caution water not drinkable signs posted at Slocum springs,
SawMill burger sign spins, at the Harley shop in the forest "Support the Troops, End the War" ("Sally go round the roses, the roses, they can't hurt you") Why doesnt Obama or Hillary talk about class unequalities instead of focusing on the colour of our skins? Mike Moore sure talks about the income gap but does not call it class; I'm not sure about Nader although he does talk about eco inequality,
Listening to the computerized weather voice for part of an hour, coffee-trucks: truck-coffees. Fluff of a dead skunk across from the Catholic church on the hill, parishioner steps into the road for the Good Friday service and steps back out of the way of the incoming car, (squeal of the stove door heralds warmth of wood, the firery furnace), writer strings together spring, resurrection and vampires' undead-ness, and 2 shows deal with techincal descriptions of death by crucifixtion -- what's the fixation? I like my hotsauce closet very much flaming endorphines of the state, on the sidewalk in the rain a wide wide Bandaid wet but never wide enough to cover all the valleys and wooded hills, with snow, ice and discovery.
Another copper thief starts a fire, it's cold, then it's warm who's got the cat?

late talk with the northern man out of his watershed, strung out on sere edges, the barren, the stark, slashing, and burning up with art, whirly-gigging a werld (whirled) (world) dance, poring over words on a page in the long quiet

bring this

On the red spool table bring:
Dylan Thomas book
Ken Rexroth paper poetry stapled two
book Beat Reader, 2 guys on the cover
envelope rejection slip
tan corduroy hanging in closet patches on elbows
2 shoes

snow for to ski

X-country skiing in the McDonald woods mud trails, snow was deep and a red-tailed hawk overhead.

winter's hard slumber

Tree. Rock. Cold. Cat. Wood. Fire.
That sums up the past 3 months of winter. Every night we look at the neatly-made bed as a place to go and drink a cup of sleep -- it is there, we can see it, the unshaped deep dark softness -- but every late early am it isn't there, it all goes sifting through my fingers, sleep

Here is a string from the comics page one day:
"here ya go Bently, ok ok Johnny what is it, when our coffee is all gone, what is it andy what have you found, a bowl of corn flakes and a bottle of beer, but something is mighty fishy with this heist, betrayed by tuna, my whole world is upside-down, sigh weeks of fretting over Ben all for nothing, it's vital I study the geyser of steam at once, I wonder if this dress needs washing, Betty and I are going shopping for clothes! you can join us!"

syncro I used to own

I used to own this 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon Syncro Minivan!
view more photos here

223,426 miles

• I was the original owner (and the legendary "little ol lady", having babied it and rarely took it over 61 mph!) I never had reason to take it "off-roading" -- except for the dirt roads that can be seen in some of the photos. Often went on state forest dirt roads for TrailCares (hiking trail maintenance).
• 4 + L speed Manual transmission, Baulk-synchronized with additional compound Low-speed traction gear
• water-cooled gasoline engine, 2.1 L fuel-injected engine, digifant engine management system
• Syncro 4-wheel-drive, ("all wheel drive"), manually-operated locking rear differential (what is this?)
• 14-inch steel wheels,
• high ground clearance, skidplates underneath
• Folding rear bench seat/bed combination *,
• 2 rear-facing removable seats **,
grey cloth interior, rear compartment heater, 18.5 gallon fuel tank.
spent hundreds of nights outdoors in the van just parked in the driveway!
** Seats and bed are easy to fold up & down and/or take in or out-- see photos...
• Power rack & pinion steering, power front disc/rear drum brakes, independent front suspension, coil springs & telescopic shock absorbers, front & rear, double-jointed drive shafts

.

screen door

Blue ribbony day-o-way was yesterday for up the storm windows on the storm doors of the storm home we did put (for the first time in 2 years!). It was only beacause we were in need of screenage and thus kilt two birds with one cat... Little Miss Kitty (a.k.a. Frances Jr. Laptop) is not allowed to climb anything including stairs for 2 weeks so we blocked the stairs and put up the 2 storm door glasses.

cold cardinals comments

2 cardinals in the back pines in the morning, bright red blobs. So Very cold; made 2 meals of soup on the woodstove today.

I sure wish this blogger had a blog to link to but in lieu of that here are their thought-provoking commentary on society and the arts: read human stain's 2 comments here:
http://youngstownart.blogspot.com/2008/01/graffiti-pics-from-bears-den.html

wood day

Got up, fed frannie the cat, started fire in wood stove, made bowl of granola and toast & bologna sandwich and boiled water on woodstove for 2 cups instant coffee and read Farenheit 451; swept up, tested & strung up 5 strings of christmas lights, put cat out, washed dishes, made noodles and beans and beef veggie soup, watched episode of Sherlock Holmes, brought in wood from garage, found cat, put out cat, worked on dozen webpages of my site, read Funny Times newspaper, listened to some of A Christmas Carol. Wind blowing, boiled water on woodstove, listened to Prairie Home Companion 2 times, cat at the window, let cat in, work more on webpages, cat sleeping in front of fire, fed fire all day

travelling

Noisy freezing snow & sneet, cat on the carpet, red wool plaid, breaking up wood, "wandering thirteen valleys crying out, it coulda been me". Two nites ago warmer than it had been, cottontail bunny hopping around in headlights, 2 dogs run in front of the truck, one dark right before the model railroad church ( Uncommon Carriers), man running across street with coca cola. Kitty ignores her water bowl and drinks out of the giant green plastic watering can

cold hard dark

Peals of thunder and large leaves falling fast.
A lot of raining, little kitty makes itself at home half under a sleeping bag, cooked squash for supper, late for the nursing home in the black cold hard dark, in the black hard rain

No War No More for you and me

No War No More book is now available here: click to view at authorhouse.com

click here to preview only

Description:
These are poems, essays, artwork and photos for the cause of peace. We take a stand for peace, independently and collectively, artistically and politically. In these times it is imperative not to let slip through one's hands the opportunity to say again and again, with whatever means possible, creative and peaceful, that war is wrong, that love is the only path to peace, justice and freedom, and that we will not stray from this path no matter the consequences. This idea fed this project and I hope will feed the minds and hearts of those who share in our efforts by reading this book. A.F.Jenkins is a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism & a peace activist. Her photojournalism can be seen at www.allreelimages.com Greenwood/Blue Lotus Press and No War No More grew out of the ideas and hopes of a few activists in the Mahoning Valley in Ohio. The philosophy of our press is rooted in a Buddhist, environmentalist and social consciousness.

Product Details:
Printed: 92 pages, 6" x 9", perfect binding, black and white interior ink
ISBN: 9781434309839
Publisher: Greenwood Blue Lotus Press
Copyright: © 2007 Standard Copyright License
Language: English
Country: United States

preview only here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/791399

purchase here (authorhouse.com)

purchase through Amazon.com

too warm

Kids screaming in the too warm early dark; too warm the spider ponders the bounty of tiny gnat snacks filling its web; lights are on and the pool balls click: snickery dickery
Too warm, perspiring on the photo-maker, on the photo-taker, sun fries and our skin crawls, earth has a fever and us is viral
All we can envision is cupcakes, sweetcakes, wooden rocking chairs and a harmonica that gives you pnuemonia

"we're bringing in the sheaves" john-barley-corn, squirrels arguing in the oak leaves, and chipmunks under the wood pile, squealing

The heart-shaped pink-coloured catfood is gone but who ate it? Doug says, "meadow brother," coughs and pushes in another Stargate
All the Leaves Are Green and autumn will come with a shattering crash...little do we know.

chaos smells bad

"'The chaos smells very bad,'... p.352
Watch out for art, Crake used to say. As soon as they start doing art we're in trouble. Symbolic thinking in any kind would signal downfall, in Crake's view. Next they'd be inventing idols, and funerals, and graven goods, and the afterlife, and sin, ...and kings, and then slavery and war. "p.361
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake (New York: Doubleday, 2003) , p. 352, p. 361.

Sending an unknown dark seed spirally down the drain, an oppressive sense of doom descends--a vision that heaves outward, "I can see the end and its about thirty miles from here..."

walk of golden things

cicadas begin to sing walking back from Girard-town we see a Baltimore oriole brilliant from the viaduct over the railroad and also goldenroad (or goldenrod...) blooms now

bricks and stones

bricks
Originally uploaded by qichao

just a random check of contacts' latest photos popped this into view while just happened to have WWOZ playing , thanks Samantha ( her music place ) Patti Smith just came on with a stuttering promo for "community" radio as opposed to "Public" radio (yahooie). The deejays are great...JellyRollJustice is coming up next, then it's Problem Child ("Wake up with the Problem Child in the morning and your problems will go away")...Tom Waits (singing not a DJ), other singers:"take me to the electric chair", "dig my grave with a silver spoon" and "please help my brothers in Vietnam"...
http://www.flickr.com/people/qichao/ Bricks photo is by amanda qichao who has terrific work displayed on Flickr

New York City

shooting the city on the run sticking it out the Mercedes, drop it in the digital paintbox, happy as fleas on a dog tipping over garbage cans, coffee on an aluminum table, can they get that cab going?

windstorm

raining and storming llllllllllllll.............llllllllll high wind gusts ripping the limbs off trees, sadly. A baby coon cute as a brown-eyed button scramples tippy-toed over the porch stairs while its slack-limbed owner holds its leash. A large dog watches with great interest. On the return trip a rabbit glows red-eyed at the edge of the road with a mouthful of lawn still hours before dawn.

blue-eyed beauties

Our sweet blue-eyed grass from the backyard lawn now reverted to meadow, they are positively explosive this year, I never saw such tall, thick and heavy clumps, whata lotta precious fiery blue jewels they are, blue-eyed beauties springing all about the yard singing about rain and sunshine and heat. Cardinal sits quietly on the oak branch overhead watching.
One can pick them out from all the other non-blooming (don't want to say dull!...) clumps of grasses because the grass leaves are like little thin tiny iris leaves for they are in the iris family. Here is more info: http://2bnthewild.com/plants/H192.htm They say "There are many species under the rubric Blue-eyed Grass with only slight details of their form to distinguish them. They are not grasses of course but instead related to the Irises."
Index- plants in this FamilyIridaceae / Iris

I assume it is the Eastern Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium atlanticum) but will have to measure.

Eagle's Nest flying over the land

One of the coolest and most exciting projects I ever participated in was helping to build this trail shelter (Eagle's Nest Shelter, on the Blue Mountain straddling Berks and Schyulkill counties, Pennsylvania.) In this photo (see credits below) I've circled the house we were living in at the time in Bernville. The National Guard based at Fort Indiantown Gap, used this task for practice, using their skycrane to ever-so-gently whisk our precious Swedish-styled scribed construction up to the top of the mountain in the blink of an eye. The Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club (based in Reading) led by David Crosby constructed it at Rentschler's Arboretum in Bernville. Cindy Ross and her husband Todd Glatfelter showed us the scribing method, a secure method of sculpting out the logs to hug each other.

This photo was taken by Chris Johns, for National Geographic, page 99 in Mountain Adventure: Exploring the Appalachain Trail

c. 1988 by Ron Fisher, photos by Sam Abell illustrations by Alan Singer
Special Publications Division National Geographic Society, Washington D.C.
ISBN 0-87044-668-1

http://www.amazon.com/Mountain-Adventure-Exploring-Appalachian-Trail/dp/B000I1H13A/ref=sr_1_24/102-2890743-0756913?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179890243&sr=1-24

food people

mail collage-art for my friend Carol, a little gathering of food label people

Centralia smoke

poked around Centralia, Pennsylvania and its mine fire..pretty eerie place

Heard much wisdom from Ven. Tenzin Palmo at her lecture in NYC.