"EUREKA! I Found The Answer!!!"

Of Life's many conundrums, one we've all heard on multiple occasions is...

"Which came first:
the chicken or the egg?"

And then, it hit me just the other day. Be it the grocery store, Target, WalMart, you name it, as soon as you enter you are slathered in colorful seasonal candies for sale, and Easter is as big as any of 'em, holiday-wise. The more colorful the better, too. Easter is all about dying eggs at home and getting that Easter basket full of sweet goodies that we really don't need to be eating, truth be told.

And so it was in that cornucopia of sugary offerings that I found the 'enlightenment' to answer the age old saying above....bear with me, please...

When you think of traditional Easter candies, what comes to your mind? I'm a softie for the malted milk eggs, myself, but I digress. Of the several stand-out finalists to that question, let me spill the (jelly) beans:

Chocolate eggs and Marshmallow Peeps.

Most of us can handle the chocolate egg part. Not nearly as many can stomach the sticky baby chicken "Peeps" which come in yellow, pink, purple and who knows what other colors and shapes...and now species. I've heard you can do neat things to them in the microwave, but there I go digressing again...
(Google it for some fun...)

So from that point of analysis, which came first: the chocolate egg or the marshmallow chicken? Enquiring minds wanted to know...

Let us begin with the unusual "Peep", unique to the world of American confections. Though hard to truly nail down a true birth date, it looks like "Peeps" as we know them made their commercial appearance in 1953, though there were earlier test markets back in the 40's. To further complicate the issue, it is said that the "Peeps" pusher Just Born (no kidding, that's his name) used a formulation that Rodda Candy Company used back in the 1920s for the same type of marshmallow chick...but that was cool, since he bought the company the same year he launched the "Peeps" family ...I suppose it's fair to say marshmallow chicks, themselves, were around in the early 1920s, though just not known as "Peeps."

And now, to the chocolate egg. No doubt when you think of the filled egg you immediately think of Cadbury Creme Eggs, which made their debut back in 1923...so already there isn't a clear winner, given the 'fudge' factor involved with sticky chicks...however, if you widen your definition to just a chocolate egg, you can find records of the French and Germans making them back in the early 1800s...

As Paul Harvey would now say, "And now....you know.........the rest of the story...Good day."

There you have it. The egg came first. Now you can sleep better at night...unless you're dreaming of 8-foot tall purple 'Peeps' that come into your house and lay on your freshly washed sheets...

Hoppy Easter! Stay warm, y'all!!!

"Travelogue: Craven Canyon, Black Hills, S.D."

(CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE)

Craven Canyon is "somewhere" in the Black Hills. While on protected land, it is rather remote, and the noted petroglyphs and pictographs are not, themselves, well-protected. When I made my video postcard of this area, I spoke in advance with the National Forest personnel who watched over this treasured area, letting them know what I wanted to create and 'say' to viewers. I feel I have an obligation to show natural 'treasures' while at the same time treading a thin line to protect them, as well. Face it: there are a lot of insensitive dolts out there who wouldn't think twice about defacing such an ancient site, hence my not spilling my 'locator' beans. With research you can find it, as I did...

It's a good hike in to the 'place', no doubt...and while now a semi-arid region, eons ago there must have a been a lot of water to have carved the canyon and its picturesque walls. Spiritually speaking, the area of the paintings and carvings definitely serves as a 'power-center' for things Sacred, as it was apparently used/occupied over many centuries...

While information is not definitive by any means, Craven Canyon was used by unknown ancient cultures, in terms of thousands of years through dating of the art styles and established patinas. Sometimes there is a beauty in not 'knowing' something...we as a society have developed this obsession of wanting to know every little detail of information about any and everything, which is NOT how you find the heart of matters Spiritual. There just aren't a whole lot of answers for this unique place, worthy of protection.

For your knowledge, petroglyphs are images that are painted or drawn onto the rock surfaces...



...where pictographs are chiseled or etched into the stone surfaces...sadly, in the past certain individuals have tried to flake off the stone facing where the images are, only to destroy the very thing their greedy hearts wanted to steal in the first place.


I do remember it was a blistering hot day, and I didn't carry nearly enough water for myself. I was smart enough to leave the pups at home, knowing the terrain involved and that highly limited water sources would be an issue...

In that aridness, though, remains a rawness of beauty that makes you want to keep walking around the next bend or rise...

I made my Journey to find and see the drawings for myself, in silence, and in reverance. In so doing, I found a whole lot more along the way....

As you travel to places, be they big or small destinations, make sure you take the time to 'see' things that others might miss...rushing from point A to point B is...well....pointless. Look for the Beauty and you will find it staring at you.

"This is a BIG blog entry..."

BIG Easter weekend ahead...

BIG weather changes coming in...

BIG birthday today...

Let's start with the party hats....a big 25th Birthday
Dateline: April 3, 1972
Setting: the streets of New York
Who: actually not 'who' but 'what' was born...the cell phone! One Martin Cooper made the first portable phone call on a behemoth DynaTAC test unit. It wasn't until 1984 that a refined DynaTAC 8000X hit the public market...with a price tag well over $3,000 and a hefty 2-pound weight. As the ol' saying goes, "You've come a long way, baby!"

The weather will be causing concerns here in North Carolina...early spring cold snaps are not that unusual...but when combined with what has been excessive warmth with highs in the 80s on many recent days, plant/crop blooming and growth has accelerated ahead of 'normal' schedules...and this weekend's forecast of low temperatures down in the 20s does not bode well for botanical interests. Critical will be the duration of sub-freezing temperatures and at what level, with the coldest morning clearly being Easter Sunday morning. One of those situations where you plan for the worst and hope for the best...regardless, the 80s take a back seat while low 50s take the wheel for highs by Friday. Luckily, we start pulling out of the dive Monday afternoon.

No doubt this is a big weekend not only for religious reasons but for special gatherings of family, travel, special outdoor sunrise services...luckily we have calm and sunny weather, just nicely chilled....

"In your Easter bonnet....
With polarfleece upon it..."

Here in Charlotte is a dynamite blues singer/guitarist Daryl Ryce. I heard her sing this little ditty on a Spartanburg radio station during a live interview many moons ago, and had forgotten some of the words. So here is my version of this little ditty for you in honor of Daryl and her wonderful talents:

"See the Easter Bunny
Hop, hop, hop...

The fuzzy little ears go
Flop, flop, flop...

Behind the Easter Bunny
Drop, drop, drop....

Chocolate Easter Eggs?
Not, not, not!"

"Jonah and the Whale: A Cliff Notes Version"

Well, here are some pics of a really special project. The buyer had been in contact with me off and on for quite some time to make a custom flute...long story short, after tossing ideas left and right, he asked for a "Jonah and the Whale" theme...and my little mental wheels said "do it!".
It began with with outlining the needed dimensions, designing a little extra at the 'foot' for the overhanging tail...I usually make a flute a tad longer than needed to begin with...

...Next, I went to my messy but thorough 'wood room' and had thought that Makore, a.k.a African Cherry, would be a wonderful choice. For you musicians and craftsmen, it is an awesome tone-wood for instruments... I had this idea of a whale going up the flute, with it's fluke hanging over the end of the barrel. Have I ever done something like this before? No. Have I ever done a relief carving before? No. But I knew I could. How was I going to create a "Jonah" for the flute? I had no idea...

So I began measuring...and choosing the appropriate bit for the bore...

and began cutting...

gluing...


...and then planing/shaping down to size...

What was tricky was making the final product a certain key...as you remove wood, the pitch rises, so I had to keep it pitched quite flat through many of the intermediary steps, lest I finish with the flute above pitch. You can easily raise the pitch, but lowering it?...ah, Excedrin headache #724...

As it got closer to completion, I found a diagram of a whale to serve as my model and spatial marker...enlarged it to a size appropriate for my working space...a wee bit tricky to translate and adapt it to a 3-D rounded surface... But, ultimately, it worked!

And so, the detailing/carving went, some with Dremel bits, some wood burning inbetween steps, using other hand knives...I knew, too, I needed to keep the fluke/tail area a little thick and 'supported' so it would not be prone to breaking off down the road. To top it off, I decided to use a hand-rubbed salad bowl finish on the wood for a beautiful realistic appearance...(click to enlarge any photo)

Then came the "Jonah" issue...decided to make it a composite block in 3 woods, with the boat being in the style (just not scale) of a Galilean fishing boat (see photo detail)...

...the Jonah figure is only 1.25" tall and, luckily, nothing broke! The three pieces were joined/anchored by a dowel for extra sturdiness...part of my last-minute version was to have Jonah face the player, adding the whale's approach from the briny deep behind him, though the block is reversible...

...and, well, as they say, "the bird flew!" After a little hand-rubbing with some wax, it will hit the mail this afternoon to it's new home.

Just like Life...the Joy is in the Journey...the Process...not the end result, as pleasurable as it may well be...this flute has only just begun it's Journey of providing music for others the enjoy.


Make sure you live your Life LARGE! Life is NOT a dress rehearsal...

"You Just Never Know..."

Here I sit on a Monday morning...and I'm not at work! Originally last night was supposed to have been a very special concert I was participating in that, alas, was canceled last week. I'd put in for this day off, and though the concert was canceled I decided to keep the day off and make for a creative long weekend. It worked! I plan on posting pics of a new flute someone commissioned with a "Jonah and the Whale" theme...cool looking flute, with a couple of "firsts" in my flute-making Journey. Stay tuned for that tomorrow.

Speaking of 'firsts'...loved scanning the AP wires this morning and reading about Sunday's miraculous golfing victory of Morgan Pressel, who sitting in the clubhouse after a very respectable tournament finish watched the leaders fall by the wayside on their final approaches. Suzann Pettersen had her victory all but sealed, leading 4-under with 4 holes to play before the proverbial wheels fell off her cart...her fate cemented when she missed her birdie putt on 18. In that moment, Ms. Pressel became the youngest woman ever to win an LPGA championship...at the ripe age of 18 years, 10 months, and 9 days. That's good stuff for the record books...unless you're Suzann Pettersen, of course.

Continuing on with 'firsts', the NCAA men's basketball final Monday night should be a barn-burner between two strong #1 teams, Ohio State and the defending NCAA champions Florida. I grew up in a tennis family (which is why I took up golf...Mr. Gotta-Be-Different, here!) and watched, among others, Yannick Noah play some impressive matches in his professional career (turned pro in 1977 and was inducted in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005)...as you may well know, his son Joakim Noah is one of the anchors to the Florida assault sqaud, and seemingly unstoppable. Ohio State has not been to the finals since 1962, and while a unit heavy on the freshmen side, they may well have the fearless hunger to give Florida a serious run for the money...or not. While on paper it should be a top-flight match-up...well, hence my title today. You just never know...

Yet another first is apparent to those that know me pretty well...I always tell people I'm a strange male in that;

I don't watch sports, and...

I love to shop.

Weird, huh. Love to participate in sports (when physically able these days!), but to sit down and watch a full game of any sort has heretofore been a rare event for me, no matter the season or level of play. So to talk so much 'sports' in this blog is a bit beyond my norm, but as I sat down to write, that's what I wanted to talk about...and that's what I love about the creative process, writing or otherwise: You just never know...

Time to go put Jonah in his boat for his new Journey...a whale of a Journey, no less.

P.S.: It's no fluke...

"Stressing, Are We?..."

Another Friday. For many, another end to a stressful week. Another 5 days completed holding back the urge to scream like a banshee at the top of your lungs. Another 5 days of endlessly telling yourself "insurance and benefits, insurance and benefits..."


(NOTE: for any News 14 management reading this, I am merely speaking for other friends; I love my job...no, really.)

Actually, I haven't had a stressful week...did kinda royally screw up my body clock by napping Wednesday afternoon in order to attend a movie premiere downtown that night, not lying down to sleep until 10:30pm, only to boing back up with the 1:00AM alarm and work my regular hours Thursday...no stress here. Sleep-deprived, yes. Stressed, no.

I think we are all aware how harmful and useless stress is, yet often we find ourselves with our knickers in a knot over some condition or other people or a visit from the Screw-Up Fairy. So today's post is meant to bring a smile to your face, hopefully. How do you know if you are stressed? Carefully study the picture below:

If your stress level is below the 'critical' level, you will see what appears to be, for all practical porpoises, identical jumping dolphins. If the dolphin on the right appears to be more green, you need to get more exercise each day. If you see a "sea cow", and I ain't talkin' Manatee, then you need to go to the doctor immediately...

...so you can open a whole 'nuther can of worms! Actually, a smile works wonders, so take a deep breath and say, "CHEESE!".....


Ever notice how some people have a million dollar smile...and then some?...


So here's wishing all of you a stress-free weekend! Now, go spread a smile today...the world needs more of 'em...

"Travelogue: Sunrises, Amelia Island, FL"

(REMEMBER: you can click on each pic to enlarge)

Fresh from last weekend are these images I had a hard time paring down...given the opportunity I love looking for form and texture, well beyond the traditional postcard-type of picture. Mind you, there are a couple of those as well...just thought I'd give you beach lovers something to dream about...

SO much is going on in the natural world at this time of day....the birds are active, searching for an early breakfast, gliding in the gentle breezes, all enjoying the relative coolness of a new day...

Without storms at sea, the ocean begins the day rather placid, still in anticipation of the day's winds and tidal pulls...and the transition from dark to purple-esque dawn to orange-y sunrises is always a joy to watch, as are the ever changing textures...

When I look at a scene, I naturally start with the 'big picture'...but it is a valuable thing to teach yourself to look at parts of the big picture...isolate certain aspects of the environment...focus on it and just look at it by itself...

...note the colors, the textures...note the unique form that makes it look 'different' from the other parts of the scene...then put the camera to the eye and capture that wonderful essence...

One nice thing about my job is that even on 'vacation' I naturally wake up before sunrise, a time of day I dearly love as so few people are up and about. It helps to know your camera, and what it means to adjust your EV settings, or go to selective priorities for certain effects, though for the 2nd of the 3 sunrises I realized my camera had 'magically' switched into monochrome mode...

And yet, even in that after-the-fact realization that something got terribly screwed up, there were some images that made me smile, even in black and white....and I know enough to know that even if something appears to be a 'lemon' there is always a 'lemonade' to be made from it...

And so I've included 3 of my 'oops!' images that I thought looked pretty neat in black and white, anyway...figured you might like them as well...you certainly can't call them 'normal' but as a great bumper sticker I've seen says, "Why Be Normal?"...

3 consecutive sunrises, all with consistent spring weather which helps heal the Soul...finding the uniqueness of each day, for that is what each New Day is: a Gift. A Gift not only to be enjoyed, but to be shared with others...which is the whole impetus of why I bother to write this blog at all...


As my daily mantra says, "Each new day give thanks, help others, and make a difference."

Go in peace, friends. Thanks for stopping in.

"All Hail to NPR!!!"

I had to run a long errand Tuesday afternoon, in 80+ degree heat. In and of itself that's not an issue, but it starts to be one when my car's air conditioner decided to quit working on the return trip from Florida Sunday, and have had no time to have it checked/recharged just yet.

I love that ol' car, heading toward the 250,000 mile mark. Put 54,000 miles on it in the first 12 months alone, thanks to endless acting auditions and work from Philadelphia to Atlanta. The tape deck went kaput after 8 months, but by then I'd exceeded the 36,000 mile warranty so I never had it repaired. Still enjoyed a CD changer for years, but, alas, that rolled over dead over a year ago.

I guess that makes me a radio guy by default, though I can make a 5-hour trip and never turn it on...not one of those people who has to have noise. Too, mainstream radio grates on my nerves with the insidious loud, fast-talking ads, or the same old songs playing repeatedly because they use a lot of pre-taped programming...they need to bring back more live DJs and interaction with them, and quit playing strong-armed political games like not allowing the Dixie Chicks to be played for awhile. It has become quite boring to me. (NOTE: the above was edited to remove any insinuation that Clear Channel was involved in playola, which they are not.)

the station is owned by, say, Clear Channel, which allows only certain artists and labels to be played (read 'artists and labels Clear Channel has financial contracts with'). Frankly, it bores me.

But what a jewel there is in public radio (and TV)! NPR radio might not always have on a program I'm interested in hearing, but I almost always learn something from listening. The morning talk shows fit my travel schedule these days, so I get a good dose of Charlotte Talks, the Diane Rehm Show, Here and Now, and Fresh Air, to name a few.

And it was this afternoon, as I sweated like a pig in the stop and go traffic, that Fresh Air had on Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren. Only days ago I mused at the number of credit card solicitations that regularly bombard the mailbox, wondering why when so many Americans are deeply in debt and trying to get out...yet here was this major contrapuntal effort by 'lending institutions' to extend even MORE credit to people...

...and there was Ms. Warren ripping up the credit card industry up one wall and down the other, and with excellent reason and credentials: she is an internationally known expert on bankruptcy, credit law, and a staunch opponent of consumer lending organizations. She recently testified in depth on Capitol Hill about unscrupulous tactics commonly used by lenders to pull the wool over consumers' eyes, all in the (ultimate) name of raking in billions of dollars in earnings in late fees and 'hidden traps'. Everything I had been thinking of recently was addressed front and center, and the substantiated accusations would make you shake your head in disgust. It all gets back to this idea where good solid business practices spiral out of control into an unending appetite fueled by greed that many times knowingly takes advantage of consumers by duping them. With 8 BILLION credit card solicitations sent out last year, it must be a system that wallows in unfathomable profits...and comes with a lobbying arm that is equally as overwhelming.

This link is to the website where you can listen to the whole program, though it is almost 40 minutes long. You can open it and then continue to work at your computer while you listen...it is well worth your time and effort to hear all of her sage advice and knowledge. I certainly learned a lot. Or, if you just don't have time to listen, you can remember the title to yesterday's post: things aren't always what they seem. The scary details are in the fine print, in this case.