"keep it simple, take the long view, make goals realistic and sustainable." PK

"How can we make the art community in Youngstown stronger?" asks Mary K. Farragher of  The Karma Lab

Have the "art community" define "stronger".

Have Mahoning Valley define it's "art community".
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Other idea:
Start with a hugely expanded version of Karen Fry's TAA simple paper monthly newsletter. Of course I am personally prejudiced in that I get all my art schedule hints from it -- where to show what when (I can't keep up with all the hanging opportunities in this Valley) - and what's/who's who in the art community - but that aside - I know she doesn't even use water-proof ink, & I believe she assembles them all herself, so imagine what difference a little more manpower/funding would make?

Although I wonder if the artists of the Valley do not read newsletters? And there is a fee ($7 ) to have it mailed. It'd be nice to be able to leave free copies around like some ... mini - ? Voice or something.  It's online (free)#, also, but I like to circle things, & refer to old issues since there's often too much stuff to do in 1 month.   # Correction: http://www.artgally.com/taa/  doesn't seem to be up-to-date

I think almost a *census* of the culture of the area should be taken - gather a sheet of info from *every soul that has even the least interest* in culture in the Valley.  I think that we *don't know* exactly who "we" & "us" are!  This would take some time: Re: above, below... sort of a circle we have, haven't we (sadly). And maybe people need to feel they've either been counted, or that they count.  Then again attempting a herding of the "artist" part of the community is of course, like herding cats...  And the third overheard complaint (out of order) "Who listens? Who's in charge?" Who is going to do the Big Listening? I believe the *community* has to hitch up its trousers and *decide* that it *has* an identity and that it is going to listen *to itself*.

One needs to know what people desire! List as many checkboxes as one can come up with - we need help putting all our wants into words, getting from vague "I want to make a living" & "arts add value to life" to concrete ("I want to have 6 people visit my studio/gallery every day") - have to tally them all up...  Need to gather all the data in one place.

And then maybe drawing from that gathering of data, assemble a directory of ... ? culture persons? I was just viewing http://www.lvartscouncil.org/directory/index.cfm and it gets *very* complicated very quickly ... Although these people pay annual $32 fee for it. Not sure if that cost would go over too well here.

I guess my personal thought keeps coming back to the newsletter because I wish I had a dollar for everytime I've heard a local artist say, "I didn't know about this or that".  Even I would like to see a once a month Art Walk like some other cities have, and even a few times a year An Open Studios tour/thing. It'd probably have to alternate between Trumbull & Mahoning since hard to cover both areas in 1 visit - for either a Walk or Studios Tour.

Having the monthly ArtWalk would (well, hopefully) give the Valley some kinda stamp of Art Value Authenticity in the broader world... maybe.

That is the second thing I would like that dollar for: everytime someone has said, "Why don't we have art aficionados/writers/buyers from all around, even NYC, acknowledging/promoting how great our art/ art community is here?"
--------------------
"What would you like to see The Karma Lab grow into?"  (KL : A Green, Multifunctional Outlet for the Creative Arts which Under an informal business model will be offering an Art Gallery, Yoga Studio, Education, and Entertainment in downtown Youngstown)

It should include as many persons and entities who are interested in the arts & cultural scene in the Mahoning Valley as possible.   (There are so many tools available to every user that it can be whatever the user wants - from sharing new artwork, posting events on bulletin board, or reading artists' blogs to maintaining a personal portfolio, networking, or chatting. Although if it becomes a One-Stop Place for art community it may become unwieldy -- just another bulletin board with streams of posts to wade through. Susie B has been looking for a long time for the most palatable way to circulate the monthly schedule of all the cultural events - nothing seems easiest... everything has its pitfalls. Text, pages, links, clicking, scrolling, - no wonder I cotton to the paper TAA newsletter - what a relief!

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:

facepile partial