These photos show the difference between Low and High Tide on the same day at Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park in New Brunswick Canada. Amazing tidal range (46ft! because of June Super Moon!)
Low Tide v. High Tide in the Bay of Fundy
These photos show the difference between Low and High Tide on the same day at Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park in New Brunswick Canada. Amazing tidal range (46ft! because of June Super Moon!)
Bradford Graves Sculpture Park - Kerhonkson, NY
Bradford Graves (d. 1998), American sculpture, created a lasting and unique impression on the southern Catskills with his stone works reflecting the archaeology of our shared past and exciting solar/stellar future.
The pieces displayed around the grounds and inside specially constructed pavilions show the weather and wear of an outdoor life bringing home the relationship between a "finished" sculpture and the continual changes acted out through time on works in stone.
The sculpture park is a great stop over if you find yourself in the Southern Catskills south of the Ashokan Reservoir. Just look for Chipmunk Hollow Road in Kerhonkson, NY.
Kerhonkson is an ideal and dreamy spot if you are in need of a place with lighter energy than the heavy witch and warlock vibes of the Catskills north of the reservoir. Go down to Chipmunk hollow and follow the streams to see the gnomes and little goblins. (Fun fact: Kerhonkson, a tiny hamlet of a town, is known as the safe haven for important documents during the Revolutionary War in 1777.)
Emily and Horses by Jacob Cholak
Emily and Horses by Jacob Cholak
as read by Scott Sell and produced by Old Fat God
Acadia National Park, MDI, Maine History
Jamie and I climbed to an advantageous spot to observe the first Jesuit settlement area and you can see across to the Northeast Harbor point that was the old Abenaki Village where Chief Asticou lay on his deathbed. He granted the land of the open grass field and natural spring to the French Jesuits in 1613. The settlement, however, lasted only four months before being destroyed by an English scoundrel with an open letter of marque from King James to make any French settlement north of Jamestown disappear. Some of the French sailors escaped in a longboat in time to hide just to the right of the island in the back right of the photo as the English sailed, guns out, around the left side of Greening just passing the native village and still others fled to Valley Cove (see next two pictures). Thus began a long and sometimes very bitter fight over control of the Downeast waters and the Gulf of Maine. (Just behind us runs 'Man O' War Brook', the fresh water supply line for British warships making ready to fight the French off 'Frenchman's Bay'.)
(Valley Cove from Sea Level looking North)
(Valley Cove from above looking across to Abenaki Village area (Manchester Pt. Northeast Harbor)
Reading in the Year of the Book: 2013 (Part 4)
April and may reading. I only have one more Patrick Leigh Fermor book to read...exciting times!
Memoirs of Hecate County - Edmund Wilson
[This collection of novellas focuses on the passing life of the narrator as he cocktails his way through the upper class elite in the beginning of the 20th century. There are two living situations "Greenwich village or the forest." Most characters exist in a class just above the narrator and are therefore subject to the most harsh criticisms. His eye lamentably catches the passing of decades as high life culture gives way to straighter sober times. Supposedly banned for a long time because of its sexual frankness, I found that the sex scenes were pretty tame. Final word: excellent read and some final advice: "Don't pack your bad nights in your luggage". ]
Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac
[I don't know exactly how many times I've read this in the 13 years that I've owned this copy (given to me by a very nice High School advisor upon graduation). I wanted to read it now, not only because it is quick and entertaining, but also because I am getting ready to undertake an adventure in moving spaces and this book provides the right kind of attitude. Just go for it! and always remember the infinite dharma radiating out of the the experience.]
Mani - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[PLF is always an amazing read. This book on the lower Spartan peninsula has one major flaw: a long section toward the end about Greek painting that I found pretty boring. An apogeios to the mpatis of centuries bridged with refreshing waves of information. Fermor is at his best linking the history of a place with its current residents. A minor detail about the daily ambrosia ceremony can launch a fantastical lecture linking the invading Goths with the once turkish overlords and a passage of Homer. Mesmerizing portrayal of a place supposedly composed only of harsh sun and rock. ]
Train Dreams- Denis Johnson
[A small novel with a huge scope tying on hard working man's odyssey through the big events of the west, local and universal. A sober, sweat, and disturbing Forrest Gump tale of years of loneliness and backbreaking labor. Oh…and a misplaced daughter/wolf.
]
Memoirs of Hecate County - Edmund Wilson
[This collection of novellas focuses on the passing life of the narrator as he cocktails his way through the upper class elite in the beginning of the 20th century. There are two living situations "Greenwich village or the forest." Most characters exist in a class just above the narrator and are therefore subject to the most harsh criticisms. His eye lamentably catches the passing of decades as high life culture gives way to straighter sober times. Supposedly banned for a long time because of its sexual frankness, I found that the sex scenes were pretty tame. Final word: excellent read and some final advice: "Don't pack your bad nights in your luggage". ]
Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac
[I don't know exactly how many times I've read this in the 13 years that I've owned this copy (given to me by a very nice High School advisor upon graduation). I wanted to read it now, not only because it is quick and entertaining, but also because I am getting ready to undertake an adventure in moving spaces and this book provides the right kind of attitude. Just go for it! and always remember the infinite dharma radiating out of the the experience.]
Mani - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[PLF is always an amazing read. This book on the lower Spartan peninsula has one major flaw: a long section toward the end about Greek painting that I found pretty boring. An apogeios to the mpatis of centuries bridged with refreshing waves of information. Fermor is at his best linking the history of a place with its current residents. A minor detail about the daily ambrosia ceremony can launch a fantastical lecture linking the invading Goths with the once turkish overlords and a passage of Homer. Mesmerizing portrayal of a place supposedly composed only of harsh sun and rock. ]
Train Dreams- Denis Johnson
[A small novel with a huge scope tying on hard working man's odyssey through the big events of the west, local and universal. A sober, sweat, and disturbing Forrest Gump tale of years of loneliness and backbreaking labor. Oh…and a misplaced daughter/wolf.
]
Reading in the Year of the Book: 2013 (Part 3)
March was the month of vacation and travel. I've been to Florida, Colorado, and North Carolina on a long string of plane rides. Fortunately there has been ample time for backporch sunshine reading. Keep reading in the Year of the Book!
Three Letters from the Andes - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[A simple and quick read that has some wonderful flowing sentences and is also a bit more personal (perhaps less edited) than the other Fermor travel writings. His writing is like sitting in on a history class given by a much add professor who only uses texts from before 1950. The details Fermor notices in Lima are the old Castillan flourishes and dates from the 1500's with not much detail given to the inhabitants of the 1970's. The mountain climbing pieces are interesting for sure.]
Jamaica Inn - Daphne DuMaurier
[Jamaica Inn was so good. I wish there was a whole Jamaica Inn novel series. The environment of damp cold coastal inn in the lonely Scottish highlands is very enthralling. I burned out on the other DuMarier matieral but this book kept going! Perfect reading for a vacation too. Poolside, beachside, back porch, and open window delight. FYI: so much better than the movie, the movie does zero justice to the greatness of the read.]
Salt Sugar Fat - Michael Moss
[This book provides some deep insight into the manufacturing and engineering of processed foods and their relationships to overeating and obesity. Through case studies of specific processed foods the author relates how the three big manipulators are combined by the all the major food companies to seduce us into eating more and more and more and….the point being: the grocery store is a war zone and you have to equip yourself to better be able to defend yourself from the salt, sugar, and fatty onslaught.]
Of Walking In Ice (Munich-Paris 23 November-14 December 1974) - Werner Herzog
[An amazing window into the wit and vision of Herzog. "The fire-thought of ice creates the ice as swiftly as thought. Siberia was created in precisely this manner and the Northern Lights represent its final flickering. That is the Explanation" I'm surprised he didn't choose "The Explanation", although who knows what the incredibly long complex word for it is in German…probably the perfect word for Herzog's meaning. His way of direct and self-assured expression is always refreshing in print and movies and, as he would say, has Guts. A must read every few years]
The Way of the World - Nicolas Bouvier
[A brilliant and engaging ode to the road. The overall grand scope of this book fills me with the courage of travel. The characters, boredom, body ailments, and majesty of the traveling experience are laid bare in a very effective style. This is one of the best travel books I've read and the illustrations are amazing too. This book also has the added bonus of being a geographic sequel to where the writings of P.L. Fermor leave off (see Between the Woods and Water).]
The Murderess - Alexandros Papadiamantis
[A simple short novel filled with the horror of having baby girls in late 19th century Greece. The grandmother goes on a terrifying killing spree and ends up on the lamb hiding with ignorant shepherds and amidst the craggy ruins of her original depressing dowry landscape. A bleak book with lots of baby ghosts.]
Three Letters from the Andes - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[A simple and quick read that has some wonderful flowing sentences and is also a bit more personal (perhaps less edited) than the other Fermor travel writings. His writing is like sitting in on a history class given by a much add professor who only uses texts from before 1950. The details Fermor notices in Lima are the old Castillan flourishes and dates from the 1500's with not much detail given to the inhabitants of the 1970's. The mountain climbing pieces are interesting for sure.]
Jamaica Inn - Daphne DuMaurier
[Jamaica Inn was so good. I wish there was a whole Jamaica Inn novel series. The environment of damp cold coastal inn in the lonely Scottish highlands is very enthralling. I burned out on the other DuMarier matieral but this book kept going! Perfect reading for a vacation too. Poolside, beachside, back porch, and open window delight. FYI: so much better than the movie, the movie does zero justice to the greatness of the read.]
Salt Sugar Fat - Michael Moss
[This book provides some deep insight into the manufacturing and engineering of processed foods and their relationships to overeating and obesity. Through case studies of specific processed foods the author relates how the three big manipulators are combined by the all the major food companies to seduce us into eating more and more and more and….the point being: the grocery store is a war zone and you have to equip yourself to better be able to defend yourself from the salt, sugar, and fatty onslaught.]
Of Walking In Ice (Munich-Paris 23 November-14 December 1974) - Werner Herzog
[An amazing window into the wit and vision of Herzog. "The fire-thought of ice creates the ice as swiftly as thought. Siberia was created in precisely this manner and the Northern Lights represent its final flickering. That is the Explanation" I'm surprised he didn't choose "The Explanation", although who knows what the incredibly long complex word for it is in German…probably the perfect word for Herzog's meaning. His way of direct and self-assured expression is always refreshing in print and movies and, as he would say, has Guts. A must read every few years]
The Way of the World - Nicolas Bouvier
[A brilliant and engaging ode to the road. The overall grand scope of this book fills me with the courage of travel. The characters, boredom, body ailments, and majesty of the traveling experience are laid bare in a very effective style. This is one of the best travel books I've read and the illustrations are amazing too. This book also has the added bonus of being a geographic sequel to where the writings of P.L. Fermor leave off (see Between the Woods and Water).]
The Murderess - Alexandros Papadiamantis
[A simple short novel filled with the horror of having baby girls in late 19th century Greece. The grandmother goes on a terrifying killing spree and ends up on the lamb hiding with ignorant shepherds and amidst the craggy ruins of her original depressing dowry landscape. A bleak book with lots of baby ghosts.]
Reading in the Year of the Book: 2013 (Part 2)
February has proved to be another heavy reading month. Strong NYRB contributions make the hours between the pages fly by. March is a vacation month and may be a little bit light on reading. Selections from Thoreau, Fermor, and Bouvier are first on the list!
Nature Stories - Jules Renard
[Shorts with illustrations about everyday life in the countryside. Some melancholy and some whimsical. Would be great to share with kids and help open up some of that inherent observation and self-discovery that goes along with being a human being.]
The Thirty Years War - C.V. Wedgewood
[History books with lots of names, dates, and place names are often difficult to get through. The beauty of this one is that the author is able to pick the narrative up in places and create a sudden flow of information that leads you deep into the history. This is a great book and provides clear insight into the causes and effects of the many crazy movements and shifts that wrecked the German areas for so many decades. Not a "people's history" for sure, but a very good review. I love reading history!]
Don't Look Now (and other stories) - Daphne DuMaurier
["Don't Look Now" and "The Birds" were good and entertaining stories but I found getting through the rest of the stories a bit tedious.]
Poetry of the Late T'ang - A.C. Graham (trans.)
[My interest in Buddhism started with a chance finding of the Cold Mountain poems and ever since the magic of Tang Dynasty poetry has held my imagination. So much drifting and sorrow set in a million different places. This collection is a good introduction to some of the the other, more standard and formal, poets from the late T'ang. Some are great and some are a quick read. "What's so urgent about this business you waste your heart on?" - Li Shang-Yin]
Warlock - Oakley Hall
[The classic western story. So many Deadwood and Bob Dylan parallels it is crazy. This book took a little bit of time to get in to with some of the plot lines and endless conversations seeming just to add pages instead of substance but all the loose ends come together in an epic final showdown! Outlaws, rustlers, gunfighters, marshalls, saloon owners, miners, prostitutes, lonely deputies, and the aging cavalry all play major roles.]
Peking Story - David Kidd
[This short book is a fascinating picture into the complete and swift destruction of the ancient elite cultural traditions of the once majestic imperialist China with communist takeover. David Kidd, an American, had a first hand taste of the Red Army's ideology and the rising cultural war that would play out in the horrific circumstances of the cultural revolution. The stories about the garden and the 600 year old incense burners are really sad.]
Nature Stories - Jules Renard
[Shorts with illustrations about everyday life in the countryside. Some melancholy and some whimsical. Would be great to share with kids and help open up some of that inherent observation and self-discovery that goes along with being a human being.]
The Thirty Years War - C.V. Wedgewood
[History books with lots of names, dates, and place names are often difficult to get through. The beauty of this one is that the author is able to pick the narrative up in places and create a sudden flow of information that leads you deep into the history. This is a great book and provides clear insight into the causes and effects of the many crazy movements and shifts that wrecked the German areas for so many decades. Not a "people's history" for sure, but a very good review. I love reading history!]
Don't Look Now (and other stories) - Daphne DuMaurier
["Don't Look Now" and "The Birds" were good and entertaining stories but I found getting through the rest of the stories a bit tedious.]
Poetry of the Late T'ang - A.C. Graham (trans.)
[My interest in Buddhism started with a chance finding of the Cold Mountain poems and ever since the magic of Tang Dynasty poetry has held my imagination. So much drifting and sorrow set in a million different places. This collection is a good introduction to some of the the other, more standard and formal, poets from the late T'ang. Some are great and some are a quick read. "What's so urgent about this business you waste your heart on?" - Li Shang-Yin]
Warlock - Oakley Hall
[The classic western story. So many Deadwood and Bob Dylan parallels it is crazy. This book took a little bit of time to get in to with some of the plot lines and endless conversations seeming just to add pages instead of substance but all the loose ends come together in an epic final showdown! Outlaws, rustlers, gunfighters, marshalls, saloon owners, miners, prostitutes, lonely deputies, and the aging cavalry all play major roles.]
Peking Story - David Kidd
[This short book is a fascinating picture into the complete and swift destruction of the ancient elite cultural traditions of the once majestic imperialist China with communist takeover. David Kidd, an American, had a first hand taste of the Red Army's ideology and the rising cultural war that would play out in the horrific circumstances of the cultural revolution. The stories about the garden and the 600 year old incense burners are really sad.]
Reading in the Year of the Book: 2013 (Part 1)
So far this new year has proved to be a great reading odyssey...I have been hitting the New York Review of Book Classics library very hard and have yet to be let down. Some of the following titles have notes from me but it is mostly just a list. Read them too! and call me.
Butcher's Crossing - John Williams
[An excellent starting off book! This quick read about the fading of the American West follows a young Eastern college boy on a tragic hunting expedition for the last remaining herds of bison hidden in an untouched Rockie's glen. A good companion read for some historical perspective would be Andrew Isenberg's Destruction of the Bison. I can't wait to read Stoner by John Williams]
The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll - Alvaro Mutis
[This collection of very entertaining stories follow Maqroll, a man with no country, through his adventures on and off tramp steamers around the world. So steamy! Highly recommended]
The Traveler's Tree - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Patrick Fermor was definitely one of the best travel writers out there. I have been making a slow study of travel writing for many years and have done Chatwin, Iyer, Theroux, and many others so I was excited to get hold of the NYRB Classics Fermor library. I plan on reading all of his writings this winter and, hopefully, the final part of his European trilogy will come out this year. The Traveler's Tree was a bit tedious at times but presents a very unique view of the Caribbean in the mid-20th century as power was being transferred to self rule from colonial rule.]
A Time of Gifts - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[At 19, Fermor set off on foot through pre-WWII Europe from the Netherlands to Constantinople. This first book sees him through Holland and Germany, following the Danube all the way to Romania. Fortuitous wanderings!]
Between the Woods and the Water - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Book Two! But he doesn't get to Constantinople (spoiler alert). This book reflects less wandering and more of a detailed study of Danube history through Romania and Transylvani as the young Fermor stays with Barons and friends. Very good.]
A Time to Keep Silence - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Short little study of life in a few European monasteries. Reflecting on silence and religious study. Sweet and simple]
A High Wind in Jamaica - Richard Hughes
[This is a strange book and I did not particularly like it while reading. Upon reflection, however, I like it more and more! Some kids from an estate in Jamaica get kidnapped by strange pirates on their way to school in England. Weird.]
The Radiance of the King - Camara Laye
[This book, written in Africa in the 50's, turns the expected European African novel actions on their head. Clarence, a European man in debt and out of luck everywhere, is sold by a beggar to an aging village chieftan to serve as a baby making machine. He is everywhere duped and bewildered. This book is great and highly recommended.]
The Long Ships - Frans G. Bengtsson
[Epic viking sagas! Need I say more? Highly entertaining and provides everything one might expect from a Viking narrative. I wish there were more stories of Red Orm and his clan.]
Tun Huang -Yasushi Inoue
[Hsing-te misses his exam and is compelled into wandering the western frontier of the empire by a woman and a piece of paper. A new threat to imperial China is being born and Hsing-te gets caught up in the war hard. This is a historical supposition explaining the possible origin of the thousands of Buddhist scrolls found centuries later hidden in the Tun Huang caves. Not my fav book thus far in the odyssey.]
More books coming soon! Just gotta get reading.
Butcher's Crossing - John Williams
[An excellent starting off book! This quick read about the fading of the American West follows a young Eastern college boy on a tragic hunting expedition for the last remaining herds of bison hidden in an untouched Rockie's glen. A good companion read for some historical perspective would be Andrew Isenberg's Destruction of the Bison. I can't wait to read Stoner by John Williams]
The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll - Alvaro Mutis
[This collection of very entertaining stories follow Maqroll, a man with no country, through his adventures on and off tramp steamers around the world. So steamy! Highly recommended]
The Traveler's Tree - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Patrick Fermor was definitely one of the best travel writers out there. I have been making a slow study of travel writing for many years and have done Chatwin, Iyer, Theroux, and many others so I was excited to get hold of the NYRB Classics Fermor library. I plan on reading all of his writings this winter and, hopefully, the final part of his European trilogy will come out this year. The Traveler's Tree was a bit tedious at times but presents a very unique view of the Caribbean in the mid-20th century as power was being transferred to self rule from colonial rule.]
A Time of Gifts - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[At 19, Fermor set off on foot through pre-WWII Europe from the Netherlands to Constantinople. This first book sees him through Holland and Germany, following the Danube all the way to Romania. Fortuitous wanderings!]
Between the Woods and the Water - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Book Two! But he doesn't get to Constantinople (spoiler alert). This book reflects less wandering and more of a detailed study of Danube history through Romania and Transylvani as the young Fermor stays with Barons and friends. Very good.]
A Time to Keep Silence - Patrick Leigh Fermor
[Short little study of life in a few European monasteries. Reflecting on silence and religious study. Sweet and simple]
A High Wind in Jamaica - Richard Hughes
[This is a strange book and I did not particularly like it while reading. Upon reflection, however, I like it more and more! Some kids from an estate in Jamaica get kidnapped by strange pirates on their way to school in England. Weird.]
The Radiance of the King - Camara Laye
[This book, written in Africa in the 50's, turns the expected European African novel actions on their head. Clarence, a European man in debt and out of luck everywhere, is sold by a beggar to an aging village chieftan to serve as a baby making machine. He is everywhere duped and bewildered. This book is great and highly recommended.]
The Long Ships - Frans G. Bengtsson
[Epic viking sagas! Need I say more? Highly entertaining and provides everything one might expect from a Viking narrative. I wish there were more stories of Red Orm and his clan.]
Tun Huang -Yasushi Inoue
[Hsing-te misses his exam and is compelled into wandering the western frontier of the empire by a woman and a piece of paper. A new threat to imperial China is being born and Hsing-te gets caught up in the war hard. This is a historical supposition explaining the possible origin of the thousands of Buddhist scrolls found centuries later hidden in the Tun Huang caves. Not my fav book thus far in the odyssey.]
More books coming soon! Just gotta get reading.
No Source Netlabel 50th Release Compilation
Featuring tracks from pEACEFANg & Artie Appleseed! Crazy!
Lots of good minimal electronic and acoustic vibes on this one.
.paz.
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