Christmas Ornaments From The Sea

Sea Angels are small swimming sea slugs. They are found in all temperatures, but the largest ones are in the Polar regions. They may be angels, but are those horns I see? They love to dine on Sea Butterflies.

Christmas Island famous red crabs. Roads are closed when they begin their massive migration on this Island.

Red sea Star. A nice tree topper.

A small platonic jellyfish with glowing red chlorophyll from the algae it eats

My favorite fish...the Green Puffer. We actually had one of these in an aquarium once. His name was Wally. We noticed that Wally had big teeth and we soon knew why as Wally enjoyed eating all our other fish. We loved him in spite of his bad habits....

Christmas Eve Anticipation

One might wonder why I am so fond of John Everett Millais' painting, Christmas Eve (1887). I believe this painting illustrates well a quote from the book I am reading, An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin... "Those artworks that come all ready to love empty out pretty quickly."

Millais is the British Pre-Raphaelite who is probably best known for his earlier painting of Ophelia, capturing her as she floats down a Denmark river, singing. Millais' first snow scene, Chistmas Eve, is painted at the old castle of Murthly overlooking the Tay River near Dunkeld in the highlands of Perthshire, Scotland. Each winter over several years, Millais along with his wife and children, rented Birnam Hall Lodge in the gardens of the castle. It was a location he knew well and loved and was also near his wife's home place. To me, this painting is everything Scottish. Some may describe the scene as bleak yet I see it as one of serene beauty with a hint of new beginnings which will be brought with the impending darkness. There is barely enough snow to cover the bird's feet...and you can still feel and smell the rich earth and leaves. Humans are absent....or are they? Look at the tracks which are reminders of the activities of the day. There was a sled or buggy ride in the snow, a walk to the castle, and a dog passing. One feels the contrast of human and nature's activity. The Jackdaws are all that are left to survey the day's fun as the family has now gathered in the castle as the sunset and warm fire within the castle walls light the windows. Everyone is inside, darkness is finally arriving and the excitement and fun of Christmas will begin. The darkness in the sky and grounds only adds to the warmth inside. It is the ultimate moment of Christmas anticipation...sunset. This is a painting whose meaning, for me at least, is defined by its title. It also brings back a wonderful, yet simple, Christmas memory. In the mid 60's when my sister and I were around 10 and 11, my mother had developed a Christmas Eve afternoon tradition of letting us walk to the double feature at the movie theatre near our house. It was a way for us to be occupied as it got our minds off of opening presents and she had the afternoon to prepare Christmas Eve dinner and wrap more gifts. We would leave for the movies after lunch and as we left the theatre to walk home it was 5:00 or so...about the same time as in the painting. The fun was ready to begin and we couldn't wait to get home. Our walk through the almost deserted town and neighborhood had this same combination of joy and serenity as we approached our own warm "Castle".

As with all castles, Murthly comes with its share of history and lore. It has been owned by the same family, the Stewarts, since 1615. It was the family seat of Sir William Drummond Stewart, an aristocratic adventurer who saw the American West as his vast playground. From his Wild West adventures he returned to the castle with mementos including buffalo which he used to establish a herd on the property, Douglas Firs and Sequoias, and two Native American Indians who resided in the garden cottage. There is a story that the Indian companions became bored with Scottish high life so they had a few drinks, attached a rowboat to four wagon wheels, hitched two buffalo up, then rode the boat-wagon through town for some fun.

Coincidentally, I discovered while writing this that Christmas Eve was auctioned at Sotheby's last week. I wonder if it was purchased and by whom...




A recent picture of Murthly Castle which can be rented for weddings and other events.

The exterior of Chapel of St. Anthony the Eremite on the castle grounds.

The interior of the chapel.

The gardens, with the Sequoias brought by Sir William from his wild west travels.

Sir William Drummond Stewart, the aristocratic adventurer.

The Day At Stonehenge

Winter Solstice, beginning...

and ending...

Magic Tomorrow

Total lunar eclipse (around 3 a.m.) and Winter Solstice...both tomorrow.

Big Tom And Elisha, Keepers Of The Mountain

Whenever the weather turns a little extreme at my house, whether it be extremely hot or cold, I find myself thinking about the not so distant King of the Black Mountains, Mount Mitchell. When it is 100 degrees at home and fraught with humidity, I visit the online current conditions site at Mt. Mitchell to dream about 60 degrees and a breeze. A visit there in July cannot be beat. But it is odd that today while we have 30 degree weather, I find my mind still wandering through the Black Mountains and taking a virtual tour on the Internet while thinking about the reported 13 degrees with a 20 mile per hour wind at the highest peak east of the Mississippi. I always have to fight the urge to get in the car and go there. A different world, only two hours away. But instead, I must leave the job to the two souls minding the mountain, Big Tom Wilson and Elisha Mitchell.

When the UNC professor, chemist, and geologist, Elisha Michell first surveyed the area in in the late 1830's, Big Tom Wilson was a young teenager. Wilson would later accompany Mitchell on his 1844 ascent as he worked so diligently to determine which of the Black Mountain's peaks was the tallest east of the Mississippi. Big Tom was that magical mountain man mixture of legend and reality. He was a well known and respected tracker as well as gamekeeper for the large tract of virgin wilderness known as the Murchison Preserve. He and his wife lived in a lop-sided cabin where chickens and other animals had free range. He was six feet two inches, which was tall for a man of his time, but with a slender frame that defied his nickname. He had magical, honest blue eyes. In his 1888 book, Charles Dudley Warner says "Big Tom's most striking attribute was his spiritual vitality, not his physicality." He was a "man of native simplicity and mild manners."

Mitchell's careful measurements of the mountain would later be challenged by politician and former student, Thomas Clingman. Clingman incorrectly insisted another peak was the tallest (current Mt. Gibbs). This set off the Clingman-Mitchell controversy and sent Elisha back to the mountain in 1851, no longer a spring chicken in his 60's, to verify his previous endeavors. He became lost in the night and slipped and fell over a waterfall. After eleven days of Mitchell missing, it was big Tom who wisely used his tracking skills to recreate the path a lost man in the dark may take, and he found Mitchell's body floating in the pond below a waterfall, where he had slipped on some moss and fallen. It was only right that Big Tom should be the one to discover his hiking companion. Mitchell's watch had stopped at 8:36.

Mt. Mitchell is rightfully named for the brave man who never gave up on his quest to prove it was indeed the highest. Big Tom also has a mountain in the Black chain bearing his name. Today there is a re-creation of Big Tom's cabin on Mt. Mitchell that can be visited. Elisha Mitchell was originally buried in Asheville, but one year later, men hacked their way for three days through the mountain wilderness so that his resting place would be on the top of Mt. Mitchell. His coffin was placed on mountain rock and then covered with more smaller rocks. Those who traveled to the top of his mountain were supposed to carry a small rock with them to place on his grave as a token of respect and to build a momument to him. But the mountain is the real monument to both Mitchell and Big Tom. To quote Warner "There was never a burial more impressive than this wild internment above the clouds. It is the most majestic, and the most lonesome grave on earth." I think that is exactly what Mitchell would have wanted.... along with a few visits by Big Tom.


Big Tom pays respect to Elisha's grave site. Big Tom lived into his 80's.
Ohhhh Elisha. A man of letters and mountains.

The pool where Mitchell's body was found by Big Tom. Big Tom is sitting to the right of the waterfall. This waterfall is on private property and hard to find.

Big Tom mountain in the foreground of the Black Mountain Range.

I love this painting by Asheville artist, Ian Brownlee, Elisha Mitchell's Funeral.
"The wild internment above the clouds."

Catmen- Perce Blackborow And Mrs. Chippy

Stowaway Blackborow and handsome Mrs. Chippy, pictured outside the galley of the Endurance, which may explain why Mrs. Chippy was the only one on board to gain rather than lose weight. This photo made in 1914 is the only picture of Mrs. Chippy.




This most honorable Tom is the famous Mrs. Chippy who accompanied Ernest Shackleton and his crew on the Endurance as they sailed from London to the Anartic in 1914. Mrs. Chippy actually belonged to the ship's carpenter whom he followed around like a possessive wife, thus his name-Chippy is slang for carpenter. His "second mate" is pictured with him above. Perce Blackborow was a 19 year old stowaway who was allowed to stay on board and became Mrs. Chippy's devoted companion. Mrs. Chippy was handsome, devoted, good natured, and intelligent according to the crew. As the Endurance became trapped and broken in the ice with the crew spending a year in distress, one crewman wrote that the cat carried on unfazed, and that "Mrs. Chippy's total disregard for the diabolical forces at work on the ship was more than remarkable-it was inspirational. Such perfect courage is alas, not to be found in our modern age." Perce and Mrs. Chippy, two courageous fellows.

Fashin' Report: This Is The Way...

All 63 year olds should be required to dress..work it Ronnie Wood

Happy Birthday Skydog

Only a few months before he died this prophetic photo was made. Front center is the Duane. If you don't listen to this music, you are missing a big thing. The "Black Angel" behind Duane is Berry Oakley who was killed in a motorcycle accident also a year later only 3 blocks from Duane's accident.



Duane Allman, probably the second best, if not the best, guitarist of all rock and roll time would be 64 today. What in the world would we be able to listen to today if he had lived 39 more years...maybe it would have been too much to handle. Hope you're still flying high old gypsy.

"There ain't no revolution, only evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace."

Birthday Boy-Oscar Claude Monet

A photo of the young Bohemian Monet from 1860-age 20.

November 14th--Happy 170th birthday, Claude Monet, the Frenchman who left us with so much beauty while he was fathering Impressionist painting. The Impressionists were the rule breakers of 19th century who cut loose with accurate depiction of light, natural surroundings out of the studio, broken color, and rapid brush strokes. Claude was the daddy of it all, being the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy. The term Impressionism came from his painting, Impression, Sunrise, (1872), when the critic, Louis Lecroy, wrote a

satirical review of the painting and the term stuck. Monet had titled the painting, Impression, because he felt the image created could not be accurately taken as an actual view of Le Havre harbor, but was his impression, instead. It is fascinating that even though the sun appears to be the brightest spot in this painting, research has proven it actually has the same measured luminance as the sky. If a black and white copy of the painting is made, the sun practicallydisappears. According to neurological researchers, this gives the painting a very realistic quality because the older part of the brain's visual cortex, which we share with most mammals, measures brightness only and not color. Only the newer visual cortex found in human and primate brains perceives the color.

Monet rarely painted a scene only once and this was the case with the Cliffs at Etretat (shown below) in the Haute-Normandie area of northern France.

The Cliffs Etretat, Sunset 1883

The Cliffs at Etretat After a Storm 1870. I like the 'caloges' in this painting..the thatched boats turned into little abodes. This painting was done from a hotel room window. The real thing, no impression here. The rock formation pictured is one of the many "hollow needles" or natural arches in this area.

Is The Poe Toaster Nevermore?

This is old news that I somehow missed, but on January 19th of this year, a 60 year old tradition came to an end as the Poe Toaster was a no-show. Each year on Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, this mysterious cloaked stranger has made a middle of the night visit to the grave in Baltimore leaving French Cognac, three roses, a note, and a toast to the gravestone. Is it a coincidence that the tradition ended in 2009 which is the 200th anniversary of Poe's birth? Will he resume his duties January of 2011, or will there be imposters who rally in the night to take over the tradition? The curator of the Poe museum who observes and opens the gate for the ritual each year says there is a gesture made by the dark visitor that only he knows and will serve as verification of his authenticity. January 19th will tell...my suspicion is that unfortunately, this honorable tradition may have ended.

Exibiting Multitudes

The Age of Adz album cover with artwork by Outsider artisit, Royal Robertson.


Every blue moon, one is lucky enough to attend a concert with a sum more than its parts. You leave with a feeling...a feeling of newness, of understanding, and with a connection that lingers for days, weeks, or if you are lucky, for a lifetime. Sufjan Stevens has been quoted as saying that "music is a spiritual language" and he did his part to bring that thought to life at his Age of Adz concert in Asheville, NC, Sunday night. I was thankful I had taken the time earlier to look up previous concert setlists before arriving, noticing that he had played mostly new songs and they were the same songs in the same order for almost every show. So as I sat in the 2nd row (thanks to my best sister, the ticket fairy), I thought to myself, "this is a man with a plan." And a plan indeed it was. Sufjan Stevens took us on a voyage, and the Asheville crowd loved the ride. I could try to describe the sights and sounds, but that has probably been done plenty and my words would in no way describe how wonderful it was. It was great music, great effects, crazy

dancing, crazy hats, mesmerizing screen images, and a gifted performer baring his heart on a stage. It was an interactive and physical experience even if you never budged from your seat. It was an artist who traded the familiar and popular image of low keyed, softly sung guitar strummed songs for a busy, techno, synthesized, melodramatic performance that packed more bang to the heart than two hours of whispered secrets. And I am still asking myself, how on earth did he do that? A moment of enlightenment did come near the end when Sufjan paused

and referred to a quote by Walt Whitman saying "Walt Whitman said we all contain multitudes. So we should exhibit multitudes." You felt as though it was an apology combined with hope of an explanation and you could almost feel the audience sigh, "that's right." Sufjan also stopped in the middle of the concert to tell of his inspiration for Adz which came from the Outsider artist, Royal

Robertson. Royal was a mentally ill sign painter in Louisiana, who lost everything to this illness, but like most Outsiders, his art was his constant. Royal's illness led him to be consumed with scorn for his ex-wife, Adell, and this scorn led him to find his inspiration for his art. Sufjan explained that in spite of his scorn, Adell loved Royal and was at peace with him. This was a

"When I give, I give myself" Walt Whitman

man she had 12 children with... he was much more than an unemployed, mentally ill sign painter. It was evident from the way he spoke of her, that Sufjan was very connected to Adell. Maybe because there were multitudes to Royal and Adell understood.

Royal Robertson, the Louisiana Outsider artist who inspired The Age of Adz. He died in 1997.

Sufjan ended the set with his older, most famous song, Chicago, just as he had so beautifully begun the voyage with the older and popular, Seven Swans. After almost 10 minutes of hearty applause with the crowd on their feet, Sufjan came back and performed four of his old, bare-naked songs, strumming a guitar and bringing forth his soul-shattering falsetto. He left the stage, walking backwards, facing the crowd, placing his hand from his heart toward the audience over and over again. Like Whitman, who was transitional between transcendentalism and realism, Sufjan had just gone full circle and beautifully incorporated both spectrums of his work. At his other concerts this year, he has always done old songs at the encore, but usually only performing two or three songs and rarely four. I think he did four songs Sunday as a gift to Asheville because he was truly appreciative. Appreciative that we took the ride and we got it. We filed out of Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, somehow different, ready to exibit our multitudes.

Taking To The Wing

...with Sufjan Stevens tomorrow night in Asheville, NC, at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium....preparing for unbearable beauty with a cold night flight...

Where The Road To Nowhere Leads

A while ago I heard friends talking about a hike and they referred to the "Road to Nowhere" in their location. Just the name alone perked up my ears and I made a promise to visit and find out a little more about this mystery located on the North Shore of the Fontana Dam in Bryson City, North Carolina. In 1943, when many rural North Carolinians were only beginning to recover from the depression and others had left to fight in WWII, the United States Government and the Tennessee Valley Authority displaced about 1300 people to build the Fontana Dam project and hydro electric plant. Many of these people received little or no compensation when forced to leave their modest yet thriving communities. As a "peace pipe" of sorts, the Department of Interior, the State of North Carolina, and TVA promised to build a new road to replace the highway that provided access to the area where 30 or so cemeteries were left behind. The National Park Service began to work on the promise in the 60's but after constructing apx. 6 miles of the 26 miles planned, stopped construction in 1971. It seems that acid bearing rock was discovered which when disturbed can cause dangerous runoff in the surrounding forest. The years that followed have been filled with anger and legal battles to have the road completed. The battle is still going strong today.

Don't be fooled by the light at the end of the tunnel. The Road to Nowhere stops right beyond the tunnel's exit.

I am sure this story is only the tip of the iceberg and there may never be a harmless solution. I suspect there could be environmental concern and awareness today that was unknown or possibly unimportant in 1943. I don't believe anyone having lived in this beautiful area would want to intentionally harm it in any way. But I also know that a promise is a promise, and a promise to a people deep rooted in the land and their heritage is a promise to those who follow after them as well. Folks not having access to their ancestor's grave sites (unless they are physically able to walk, hike, or ride a boat to get to them) is a big deal in this part of the land. Graveyards are people's tangible history and serve as their "fixed stars" when everything else in their world starts spinning with unwelcome change.

So take a walk on the Road to Nowhere, and maybe it will indeed take you somewhere--to a beautiful place deserving the remebrance of a broken promise and the sacrifice made by those who called this place home over 65 years ago.

In areas near the road, one can hike to the beautiful graveyards and also see the remains of several automobiles from the 30's left behind as families were forced to leave.

Halloween Wisdom

"For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all." Aristotle

1965: Smoke Blowing

I have been focused on 1965 all week after watching last week's Mad Men. This next to the last episode of the 4th season was titled "Blowing Smoke" and the year was 1965. It has made me remember how strange that year was for me personally and evidently for our country in general. I remember my 11th birthday that year and how distraught I was because I had loved being 10 and I didn't want to change. I realize now, that our world was changing and I was feeling it. We were all beginning to learn that things are not always as they seem. Culturally, it was an in-between time, with a "big change is on the way" feeling in the air. There was a lot of smoke blowing going on and a lot of smoke in our eyes...Matthew Weiner gets it totally right every time. My thanks to him, once again, for giving me the inspiration to remember....

Ahhh The Beatles were still presented as the upbeat good guys. Little did we know that in the next year they would begin recording St. Pepper and everything about them, and about music, would shift on its axis.

In contrast to the Beatles, The Stones are presented as the naughty and dark December's children...but we were the ones in the dark, not realizing this was the beginning of one of the smartest, most business savvy, and long lasting music endeavors of all time.

We were only one year away from the formation of The National Organization for Women, but this is what we loved to watch on TV.

One of the greatest and most influential men in black history would be killed in 1965, but Malcolm X was better recognized at that time as a symbol for violence, racism, black supremacy, and antisemitism.

There was a big change in board games making them a showy 3 dimensional adventure. They also took so long to set up, you never had time to actually play them. Our first good lesson as children as to what Saturday morning Ad Men could do to you.

Bob Dylan, who had been the great hope for Folk Music, goes electric at the Newport Jazz Festival, abandoning the folk orthodoxy and sending Pete Seeger over the edge.

Sonny and Cher have a number one hit with I Got You Babe, but it is accused of being a poppier version of Dylan's It Ain't Me Babe.

Truman Capote will change literature by writing the first "non-fiction novel", claiming everything in this great book was true.

We are determined to make one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century a convict as Johnny Cash is arrested again- this time in El Paso for supposedly smuggling heroin across the border of Mexico. The heroin was his prescription drugs in his guitar case. A few years later our fear of him will subside after he has his religious epiphany at the Nickajack Cave in Tennessee.



We are in hot competition with the Russians for the race in Space...but we are Lost in Space on TV.


We begin to work on Barb's image...but it never takes. Move over, Barbie and let's clear the air, Mrs. Blankenship is the real astronaut.



We send troops to Viet Nam, with an unfortunate beginning to the biggest smoke blowing event ever. Once again, man prayed for rain, then cried because it was raining.



The last episode of Mad Men is tonight and it is titled "Tomorrowland". Some of the smoke will clear as that hippy, hopeful, and exciting last half of the Disneyland sixties is coming....bring it on.