Wow. March 30, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature, Love and Death.Tags: elephant artist
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My friend Jennifer just pointed me toward this video, which was put up by Robin at Ponderings and Pawprints:
This is strangely hard for me to watch; I’m not entirely comfortable with the anthropomorphism in this piece, because I can’t really see it coming from the elephant’s point of view.
But it certainly corroborates my conception of Humans as not unique or special in the natural world. We’re just as beautiful as the next thing, and no more, and that’s pretty good.
The decisions which Humankind makes affect everything else on Earth. The fates of field mice and elephants are really out of their hands, aren’t they?
So it comes down to us, the People, to try to keep things sane and working. And not just working for us, working for All living things.
Namaste.
Water Over Stone. March 30, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: beneath the water
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There’s a lot of color lurking beneath the surface of some of our local brooks, in particular the ones which scour steeply down to the banded gneiss which makes up a significant proportion of our local bedrock.
There are greens and reds and oranges, some crisply displayed beneath the ordered frenetics of a surface headed resolutely for The Sea,
Some smoldering beneath that surface, with the water itself orchestrating the flow of color and light:
It’s an amazing presentation of the patient power of water and the resolute resistance of stone. And at this In-Between Season, there’s still an element of ice in play, adorning the dark wet surfaces, bringing light into the depths:
I’m destined to bore you with this stuff, which pulls me in and holds me in its existential currents. I’m sorry, but I’m smiling as I say that, because I’m enjoying myself, up to my ankles in it as I am.
Bear with me; Spring will come, the Small Things will grow and bloom, and my offerings will expand to include growing greenery and tawny young men clinging improbably to the undersides of rocks.
Hey, something for everyone, you know?
Water Under The Bridge. March 30, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: Bissell Bridge
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Here’s a shot I took this morning in the shaded gorge beneath the Bissell Covered Bridge, which is presently being renovated:
I know, it’s a funny exposure. But after my next paycheck hits my account I’ll be springing for some ND Graduated filters, and then I’ll have no excuses: either I got it right, or I didn’t!
A Stir Fry. March 29, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Dinner with TCR.Tags: ginger, tofu, veggies
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‘Cause, you know, a veggie meal every once in a while can’t hurt.
So here’s my version of tofu, done with a bunch of fresh ginger and lots of peppers, onions and fresh basil, all served over a mound of basmati rice.
Enjoy!
Because You Rock! March 29, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in music.Tags: Edgar Winter, Frankenstein
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This evening I noticed a post at konagod’s place with a clip from the Edgar Winter Group.
This was more than a bit strange. I mean, how often do YOU think about the Edgar Winter Group?
And yet, on a walk-about through the woods of Southern Vermont this afternoon, I was engulfed by thoughts of that very same musician, and lamenting his transformation from the jazzman who produced Entrance, his first solo album after leaving brother Johnny’s monstrous blues group, to the bare-chested and overly-made-up rock phenomenon who produced Frankenstein and its ilk.
Now in case you missed it (and most everyone did,) Entrance was a drop-dead gorgeous jazz-rock fusion tour-de-force, featuring Edgar on lusciously full piano tracts, extraordinarily vibrant alto sax work, and totally over-the-top vocals, culminating in a forty-plus second high-note finale on Tobacco Road destined to curl the toes of anyone who deigned to listen.
So with that little nudge from konagod, I went looking for anything from Edgar’s album Entrance. But I found nothing, as this gem was apparently a total commercial flop.
But what I DID find was a live version of his hit, Frankenstein, in which he does an amazing drum battle with his man Chuck Ruff, and it really changed my mind about his conversion from jazz prodigy to rock monster – he still tears it up! And a more recent(2006) youtube video shows him still kickin’ it down!
So for all of you rockers out there, here’s a gem which I hope you enjoy as much as I did: Edgar Winter and White Trash playing Frankenstein:
The four guys in this video are having SO much fun that I DARE you not to dig it!
A Walk. March 29, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: Pelham Brook
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Took a walk today, down a steeply forested slope to a piece of Pelham Brook which isn’t visually accessible from the road. With the right footwear, it was a reasonable enough trek, but had I had on The Wrong Stuff, this little adventure would have ended badly.
But it didn’t, and I got to a place which offered both sunlight and shadow, foreground and distant setting, and motion to complement the stillness of a Spring snow.
I like this shot, in part because of the process of accessing the view, and partly because of the tribulations of setting up my equipment on the icy rocks in the middle of this scene.
I’m happy to say that I did nothing to this image other than to rotate it 90 degrees. The light was right, and that’s really all that matters in a photograph, isn’t it?
Ah, Spring! March 28, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: pick-your-own blueberries, Spring Snow
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Well, sort of.
Except that there’s a new coating of snow, with the plowed banks towering over a parked car.
At least it’s like that up in the High Country:
Down in the valley where I live, it’s a bit less pristine, with the Plowing of The Snow being superimposed on Mud Season.
Trust me, you don’t need a photo, ’cause it ain’t pretty.
But uphill from here, it’s still white and clean, though I haven’t heard a peep from the pick-your-own blueberries…
I’m working on being patient without losing sight of The Future.
A Couple More. March 27, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: a vernal pool, Glendale Falls, The large and the small of it
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Here are a few more shots from recent days. I’m playing with my new camera, enjoying wandering in the wilderness of new possibilities, struggling with the steep learning curve I’m presented with.
It would be a lot easier if I could read, but those days seem to be far behind me. So instead, I’ll shoot lots of images, throw most of them out, and try to recognize the Good Ones as they pass through my frame of awareness.
Some striking Red Algae in a vernal pool along the Deerfield:
And another shot of of a portion of Glendale Falls:
A Message To Homophobes. March 27, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Love and Death.Tags: American Dick Head, Jay Leno
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So over at Shakesville there’s a thread responding to a(nother) recent Jay Leno Homophobic Moment.
Seems Jay loves him some Homo jokes, ’cause, you know, Fags are so, well, Gay.
And a few (well ok, quite a few) folks have submitted photos to Melissa expressing their deep appreciation for Mr. Leno’s sensitivity, solidarity and class.
As did I. But because I’m kind of a spaz, and because I don’t know how to send a goddam e-mail in Yahoo-friggin’-whatever, I’m not really sure I got my message across.
So I’ll repeat it here, at the risk of being redundant:
FUCK YOU, JAY. You’re not funny, unless “lookin'” is the criterion. You’re a vapid shadow of your once edgy self. You’ve sold out to your Corporate Pimps, and you suck ass.
I’m not really sure if this will dispel the recent rumors of my Bad-Assedness, but I do expect it to cause a little talk on the construction site.
Images From My Day. March 26, 2008
Posted by littlebangtheory in Art and Nature.Tags: a succulent, Glendale Falls, maple season
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Here are a few of the things which caught my eye today:
Maple season in these parts coincides with mud season. This is the maple part.
And this is along the brook leading down to Glendale Falls, near which I worked today:
I really shouldn’t have gone down there in my work boots; they were totally inadequate for the moderately steep but impenetrably icy terrain.
But the light was good, and I got to snap a few off:
Little Bang Theory 