Once again, content way exceeds output here. Deek and I had a great time, building his tiny house, talking to hundreds of people. We did 2 presentations together that went over well. It was a total seat-of-pants operation, both in an unexpected building project (borrowed Skilsaw from hall maintenance guy, ladder from ladder display guy, tape measure & combination square from polypropylene panel guy) and dual slideshow/talks. Fun! We agreed that it was actually good the building wasn’t finished. It gave us something to do. Better than just sitting around all day.
I ended up liking Charlotte a lot. Good vibes everywhere. Good people. They’re relaxed. It’s what I expected. There’s a big part of America out there in between the Almighty Coasts. And you know what, I don’t wave the flag, and am appalled by a ton of things America and Americans do and have done, but underneath I love this country and Americans for the good stuff (did you see Gracie Gold skating in the Olympics — wow!). A lot of kindness and simpatico here in North Carolina. I have a ton of stuff to report from the Home & Garden Show, but it’ll have to wait. Actually, I just got the idea to do a YouTube slide show with vocal description of this trip. “These two little buildings, abandoned, neglected, behind an abandoned house, both perfect in proportion…architects should study country buildings…”
Once this new book is launched, I plan con making a bunch of videos, boy am I excited about this. Suddenly I realize that a lot of my compulsion to communicate can be done via vids.
It’s Monday morning, am at a Starbucks. In the land of fast-food and characterless and interminable malls, a Starbucks can be a haven. (Had to come back to mall-land to get a motel last night.)
After this song finishes, I’m heading out on some back roads. I took an extra 1-1/2 days to hunt and shoot (Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, mighty fine little camera).
Blues and Rock 'n' Roll by Sean Chambers on Grooveshark
People keep saying “Beautiful day,” and I grit my teeth. Yes, the sun is out and sky is blue, but the weather is creepy. C’mon low pressure, move back in and let those storms blow in from the ocean. This photo is the end of a weak front that brought only 1/10th inch of rain…article in NYTimes titled “Older Mind May Just Be a Fuller Mind,” saying that the older you are, the bigger a library of memory you have to deal with, the longer it takes to access it. I’ve been saying to people for years that memory is not infinite and that some stuff has to get pushed out for new stuff to get stored — how’s that for rationalization of all the things I can’t remember now?…Also in NYT an article on sloths; they discovered that sloths have moth living aboard (in their fur) that create algae and a large part of sloths’ diet consists of eating this algae. Efficient or what?…Right now listening to Bach Sonatas and Partitas by Chris Thiele, mandolinist from The Punch Brothers. There’s something about the ringing tones of the mandolin that are perfect here, different from the sound of a violin or piano or harpsichord, and the musicianship is stunning; dazzling runs, lovely interpretation…Come to think of it, the whole point of the Llewyn Davis movie was not the film, but the concert film, “Another Day, Another Time,” made in New York in September; way better film…Last night we ran across a documentary on the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Crafts Festival in Smithville, Tennessee, and was it good! It’s hard for us (east or west) coastal people to remember that there’s a huge part ofAmerica out there that’s not really on our radar. These fiddlers were so good, tons of them, quiet and unassuming and excellent and the clog dancers were a delight; I’ve got it marked on my calendar (July 4-5, 2014), and I might just go; maybe a road trip across America, maybe about time…Went eeling a few days ago and nada, maybe the big surf of late sent them into hiding…going to take my kayak to Tomales Bay this afternoon in search of horseneck clams and cockles…I’m on a campaign to get more seafood…had pasta with mussels last night…last, and the big news around here, is that we’re almost finished with Tiny Homes on the Move and I’m pretty thrilled with it.
Friday night I took my kayak up to Tomales Bay and put in from a beach near Nick’s Cove. The purpose: to observe the bioluminescence, which I’d read about. It’s a phenomenon in waters hereabouts where luminous plankton glow on dark nights. I’d first seen it several years ago while walking on the beach barefoot on a dark night at low tide. I would kick some water and when it landed, flashing spark’s danced around on the water’s surface. Holy cow! Then I took my hands and threw water on some rocks, small pinpoints of brilliant light cascaded down the rock—ping, ping, ping.
I paddled over to Hog Island and hit it lucky, sunset-wise. As the sun started going down, flocks of cormorants sailed overhead, going to roost in the shallows of the island. When it finally got dark, I took my paddle and splashed some water, and there were sparkles. I didn’t see a lot of luminescence other than that, maybe because there were a few lights shining on the water from across the bay. Maybe you have to get in a darker part of the bay, like down around Marshall, to see fish swimming in a green glow.
I loved being out there in the inky blackness of night; no wind, the water glassy. Something about being totally alone in the dark of the moon is exquisite.
Thursday I hiked, hopped, jumped down a steep canyon… The entire west coast has rivers and creeks that run down to the ocean. Anywhere from Washington down to San Diego, it’s the same, clear water heading to sea, running perpendicular to the coast. In Baja, it’s arroyos…This canyon, with a good water source running even in this drought, isn’t much traveled; it’s makable, but not easy…so beautiful…at one point I slipped and fell down a slope; luckily hit no rocks…gotta be more careful.
“In November 2010, my best friend and I found ourselves nearing the end of an impromptu and underfunded trip to Europe. With just 80 Euros to our names in Florence, we relied on a network of friends of acquaintances to secure lodging for a long weekend before we moved on to Athens. We had only a vague understanding of where we were going to spending the next few days. All we really knew was that we were going to be staying in a non-traditional community in the mountains northeast of us. The author J.R.R Tolkien and “elves” were mentioned, but we weren’t sure how much of what was being told to us was simply lost in translation.
We boarded a train, a bus, a Jeep and finally walked on foot to reach our destination. It was breathtaking. We were greeted by a herd of cattle wandering the valley as we made our way to the dwellings. We learned that the community was nearly entirely self-sufficient; all their food was grown there. There were many cows, goats and chickens being raised as well. We also learned the name of the community, which translates to the Valley of The Elves in English.…”
Click here.
Two emails from Bill Cullin:
1. Subject: I never buy books! But I purchased yours and loved it.
I always use the library and just return them since I get so many, but yours I had to buy.
Best $30 I spent.
I am about to take a walkabout for about 3 months. I am in Seattle Washington and will head south along the coast till I get warm and then head east probably into Arizona.
I wanted to write off the trip and save on expenses so I wanted to take my truck. I had purchased your book for another project but got inspired and decided to go in style.
Two inches of insulation, pine tongue and groove, wood blinds, interior propane heater, alarmed and interior locking. And from the outside day or night you would never guess.…
2. My “Truck Suite” was inspired from your book. I am on my walkabout trip. I am posting videos on YouTube and Facebook.
Here is a article being placed in our local newspaper. If this article may be useful for your newsletter you are welcome to use it and the photos.
Thanks for the inspiration!
–Bill Cullins
www.youtube.com/billcullins
Read More …
My friend Louie and I spent a few days in the city last week. Went to Fox Hardware on 4th Street, classic old school hardware store, huge inventory, somehow I’d never been there. Went to the Ferry Building foodie complex (too crowded with tourists), wandered around Union Square, Maiden Lane, went to Macy’s Men’s store, rode escalators up to all 5 floors, saw no clothes of any interest, checked out North Face, went to the Maritime Museum, had 2 Irish coffees at The Buena Vista…
All Saints Co. Tailors had dozens of beautiful old sewing machines as window display.
Above and left: elegant little sailboat built in 1937 at Maritime Museum
Bottom 2 pics: an 8′ El Toro
“Kosta has left a new comment on your post ‘https://www.lloydkahn.com/2013/12/12/calgary-man-living-in-tipi-despite/ —Calgary man living in tipi despite freezing temper…’:
Loyd see as russian survived in tent from film in minus 28 degrees on celsius nearly month https://piterhunt.ru/scripts/forum/showthread.php?t=42267
And there is continuation beside this histories in that place…”
In Russian, but pics tell story.
Click here for my latest GIMME SHELTER newsletter.
“In 2007 Christoph Rehage, a German native studying in China, came up with the grand scheme of walking back home from Beijing to Bad Nenndorf (Germany). He calls it ‘The Longest Way’.
Christoph embarks on this mission taking a picture every day while growing a beard. And it results in a mighty kickass beard.
Although he only made it one-third of the way from Beijing to Urumqi, he went back home to get his degree, he did accomplish something extraordinary…”
Click here.
From E. L. Walker
Once this new book is launched, I plan con making a bunch of videos, boy am I excited about this. Suddenly I realize that a lot of my compulsion to communicate can be done via vids.
