Sight & Sound - Spring Is Reaching It's Peak

A Cedar Waxwing along Hazard Rd. Photo shot yesterday.

Music: Antonio Vivaldi, The Four Seasons - Spring, movement 1: Allegro

Photo © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Theme Thursday - Mystery

Newport has a mystery, albeit a manufactured one. There's a mysterious stone tower atop the hill overlooking the harbor in what is now Touro Park.

Documentary and archaeological evidence pretty much points to this being the remains of a grain mill built by Benedict Arnold (the original Benedict Arnold, 1615 - 1678, the first governor of the colony of Rhode Island under the royal charter). But there have been many romantic theories concocted before the current scientific methodology made things clearer. The most prevalent theory was that it was built by Vikings, followed closely by the theory that it was built as a signal beacon by Portuguese navigator Miguel Corte-Real, who was shipwrecked in the area in 1501 - 1502; we have a large Portuguese population here, so that one got popular fast! And of course there are a ton of descendants of Irish immigrants here, so St. Brendan is another popular candidate for architect of the tower. But archaeological evidence, especially carbon dating of the mortar between the stones, pretty much backs up the documentary evidence that this was Benedict Arnold's flour mill. Still, it's a striking presence there in the middle of the park.

Music time! I couldn't pass up "Mystery Train", written by Junior Parker and Sam Phillips and made famous by Elvis Presley. But I really like this live version by Brian Setzer a whole lot better!

One of my favorite "mystery" songs is "Let the Mystery Be" by Iris DeMent. I'm a huge Iris fan, going back to her days as a regular on A Prairie Home Companion back in the 1980s. She has such an old soul voice; it sounds like every time she opens her mouth to sing she's channeling the souls of all those Scots-Irish women who settled in the Appalachian and Ozark mountains with their menfolk, voices molded by the hard life of pioneer families with no amenities but what they could conjure up or manufacture themselves. Please excuse the quality of this video; the really good one I used when I did a post on the song in the Just A Song blog last year seems to have been made "private" since then, and this was the only other video on YouTube (or anywhere else online) of this song from the Transatlantic Sessions DVD.

Okay, now I'm gonna get self-indulgent and revel in some more Iris DeMent. I really do love this woman's voice and songwriting talent! One of the first songs I ever heard her sing was her own "Mama's Opry" on A Prairie Home Companion; it's the story of her mother's dream to sing at the Ryman when the old Opry was still playing there. Iris has since sung that one both at the Ryman theater and at the new Opry; Mama must really be smiling! The only version on YouTube has embedding disabled, so please go here to watch it; it's well worth the click. Meanwhile, here's another favorite, her duet with Emmylou Harris on her (DeMent's) "Our Town", again from the Transatlantic Sessions DVD.

And one last indulgence. Nanci Griffith did a version of the Carter Family tune "Are You Tired of Me Darling" on her 1993 recording Other Voices, Other Rooms; she sang it in a vocal trio with Iris and Emmylou. Now that's a "choir of angels" if there ever was one! Unfortunately the live version with all three ladies which is posted on YouTube has lousy sound, so I had to make an mp3 file off the CD so you could hear these three voices in all their wondrous glory. Enjoy!

Photos & text © 2007, 2009, & 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Butterflies, and a Leftover from Yesterday

The butterfly population is picking up. I saw these on the Cliff Walk while taking the scenic route to errands today. The top photo is of a Red Admiral, and the bottom shot is of two Clouded Sulphurs on one of the Cliff Walk's ubiquitous Beach Rose bushes.

I forgot to add one more moment in history for May 10 yesterday. On May 10, 1970, 40 seconds into overtime, Bobby Orr flicked the puck behind the St. Louis Blues goalie to win the Stanley Cup, and then flew through the air in celebration. This is probably the most famous goal in U.S. hockey history. Boston sports fans are hoping for another Orr moment as the Bruins are once again competing in post-season playoffs. Fingers crossed!

Photos & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Monday Potpourri

I was in Ballard Park again yesterday. I got this shot of that Solomon's Seal patch; as you can see, it goes beyond being a mere patch and gets very close to being defined as a thicket!

While in the park I noted all the birds about and singing - lots of Goldfinches, Yellow Warblers, Gray Catbirds, Robins, Cardinals, and Eastern Towhees. I heard and then caught a peripheral glimpse of a Phoebe in the trees surrounding the Quarry. And heard but didn't see - at least two House Wrens and a Baltimore Oriole. Oh yeah, and there was a veritable aerobatics show going on over the Quarry Meadow, a mixed crowd of Barn Swallows, Rough-winged Swallows, and Chimney Swifts all dodging and swooping and twisting in the air. It was quite a sight!

Yesterday was a sad day, too. It seems we lost Lena Horne; she was 92. She was a pioneer in race relations as well as being a premier singer and entertainer. This morning I heard an excerpt from an interview with her back in the 1980s; the interviewer asked her if, because of her lighter color, she ever contemplated passing for white back in the 1930s and '40s, when her career was just getting started and passing might have made her life a lot easier. She laughed and said she wouldn't have dared, her grandmother would have killed her for trying any such thing. And then on a more serious note she said she never even thought about it because it would never have occurred to her to deny who she was. Amen! Here's Ms. Lena in her most remembered appearance, singing "Stormy Weather" in the 1943 movie of the same name.

There are some musical birthdays today, too. Donovan (Donovan Leitch), Scots folksinger turned psychedelic Pied Piper and '60s icon turns 64 today. I thought I'd celebrate with one of his more famous psychedelic tunes, "Sunshine Superman".

U2 frontman Bono (Paul David Hewson) turns 50 today. U2 is one of my favorite bands, and one of the best rock & roll concert movies ever made is Phil Joanou's documentary of their 1987 Joshua Tree tour, U2: Rattle and Hum. My favorite segment in the film, and one of my favorite U2 songs, is "Pride (In the Name of Love)", a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. This is a prime example of Bono's ability to work up an audience.

And that's all the news that fits on this Monday afternoon. Enjoy!

Photo & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

More Spring in Newport

I was walking around in Ballard Park and on Hazard Rd. yesterday, and I bring you more Spring flowers and stuff.

In Ballard Park plants in the Lily family are blooming up a storm. Below left is some Lily-of-the-Valley along the Valley Trail, and below right is some Canada Mayflower on the same trail. Below that is a shot of some of the Solomon's Seal growing in the Aspen Grove in the Quarry (yes, Solomon's Seal is a member of the Lily family). And below that is the Red Admiral butterfly who settled on some of the Solomon's Seal to watch me take pictures.

Around the edges of the Quarry Meadow and along the woodland stretches of the various trails, the forest floor is also full of Garlic Mustard, a member of the Mustard/Cress family that smells like garlic when bruised. The leaves are great in a salad.

Down on Hazard Rd., there were no new birds to be seen in Gooseneck Cove's salt marsh. I heard my first Marsh Wrens of the season, but they were well hidden. And there were no Egrets or Herons or large Sandpipers (we get both Greater Yellowlegs and Willets in the salt marsh) to be seen. But I did get this panoramic shot looking south that captures the color of Spring on Gooseneck Cove. Enjoy!

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Ghosts of Newport Past - Victorian Marble

I wandered through Island Cemetery again yesterday, and what caught my eye this time was all the Victorian-era marble scattered about. The Victorians may have been straight-laced in how they behaved, but their arts went right up over the top - ornate, full of flourishes, exotic (the fascination with all things oriental reached its peak during the Victorian era), neo-Gothic. The marble stones in Island Cemetery from that era reflect all of that. Here are the best examples of what I found yesterday.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Theme Thursday - Pink

Mama Gaia likes pink a lot!

Deptford Pink, a member of the Carnation family.

A very close-up macro of individual Milkweed florets.

Star-gazer Lilies.

Swamp Rose Mallow.

On to the videos... In December of 2006 singer Pink (aka Alecia Beth Moore) composed an open letter to then-president George W. Bush and sang it with help from the Indigo Girls - Amy Ray and Emily Saliers - called "Dear Mr. President". I've never been prouder of the new generation of R&B singers than I was when I first heard the song. Bravo, Pink! This video is from her performance at Wembly Arena in London during her 2006 "I'm Not Dead" tour.

Another "pink" popular music act is one of my favorites - Pink Floyd. I found this fantastic live performance of "Time" (from the Dark Side of the Moon album) at Earls Court in London in 1994.

And finally, I couldn't do a "pink" theme without a nod to the Pink Panther. Here's Henry Mancini's famous theme, featured in the opening credits of the 2006 revival movie starring Steve Martin. Enjoy!

Photos & text © 2007, 2008, 2009, & 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Wanna Go For a Ride?

Heh, heh! This particular puppy got a way better ride than just hanging out the car window. These shots were taken at Belmont Beach at the end of Marine Ave. on the Cliff Walk.

Photos © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Critters

It being the perfect Spring day, I took the scenic route to the library and the grocery store.

There were a bunch of Common Grackles on a lawn across Old Beach Rd. from Easton's Pond. This handsome fella was the most photogenic of the bunch.

This one gave me some serious chuckles. While walking along the moat around Easton's Pond looking for the huge, ancient Snapping Turtle who lives there (a friend of mine calls it the Primordial Beast), I noticed some disturbance on the muddy bottom just ahead of me. Heh, heh! It was this baby Snapping Turtle digging in and thinking I couldn't see it because it couldn't see me.

A Song Sparrow singing away in the not-yet-budding bramble along the Cliff Walk; the closer to the ocean the later things bloom because of the effect the cold ocean water has. Oh, and that blue in the background is the ocean.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Theme Thursday - Bicycle

The League of American Wheelmen was founded by Kirk Munroe and Charles Pratt right here in Newport on May 30, 1880. It was founded to promote bicycle safety and sponsored rallies and races as well. They were also involved in the Good Roads Movement, created to promote the paving and maintenance of roads throughout the US, well before the advent of the automobile. Now known as the League of American Bicyclists, it keeps a list of bicycle-friendly cities and towns, and promotes the idea of turning unused railroad tracks to bicycle paths. There's a small 3-feet-high granite memorial to the LAW in Touro Park facing Bellevue Ave.

For today's video and musical enjoyment, my first pick just had to be Queen's "Bicycle Race", also known as "I Want to Ride My Bicycle". There were a lot of choices on YouTube for this song; I picked this one because the slides used were just right for this week's theme.

Now the next bit is a little more history. Remember the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, and especially near the end when Dave disables HAL's memory? HAL ended up "singing" "Daisy, Daisy" (also known as "A Bicycle Built for Two"), part of his start-up sales pitch program. Well, Kubrick borrowed that from Bell Labs' Max V. Mathews, who in 1961 created the program to make the Bell Labs' big IBM 704 computer sing the song. Being the electronic/computer music geek that I am, I actually have a copy of that historic recording; here it is:

Max is still with us, and he's one of my heroes. He now teaches at Stanford University, one of the hotbeds of computer and electro-acoustic music, and was Scientific Advisor with IRCAM (Institute de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) in Paris. His focus is on performance, i.e. creating programs to allow the performer to use the computer in live performances. He's been a huge influence on people like Donald Buchla (synthesizer and digital interface inventor) and Thomas Dolby. Which brings me to the final video: Max himself in 2007 improvising over the original program for "Daisy, Daisy", this time on the much more convenient laptop computer rather than a room-sized IBM 704. Enjoy!

Photos & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Sight & Sound - Ivy on a Stone Wall

Kenilworth Ivy (aka Ivy-leaved Toadflax) on a stone wall outside the Common Burying Ground.

Music: "Sunlight", by The Youngbloods from the 1969 album Elephant Mountain

Photo © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

It's Cherry Blossom Time in Newport

Our Ornamental Cherry trees are painting the town pink.

Congdon Park and First Presbyterian on Broadway.

Looking at the Old Stone Tower in Touro Park through a veil of Cherry blossoms.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Earth Day in Ballard Park

Well, okay, Earth Day was Thursday, but we had the annual festivities in Ballard Park today because everybody besides me has a job and can only do things on weekends. Earth Day in Ballard Park is always commemorated with a little bit of a clean-up for two hours (which I had to opt out of this year due to my crooked cervical discs acting up and shooting fire down my left arm if I over-exert) and a walk along the trails to look at the beauties of the park. Rather than having to always be stopping to take pictures and then having to run to catch up, I took note of possible photo ops and came back later to take pictures. What I have for you today are scenes of the Earth in Ballard Park waking up after a long Winter's sleep. Enjoy!

Ferns poking up out of the ground and uncurling themselves along the Twin Ledges Trail.

High Bush Blueberry blossoms on the Joseph Cotton overlook.

Shadbush (aka Serviceberry) blossoms along the Southwest Trail.

Wild Strawberry in the Quarry Meadow.

Ground Ivy near the entrance to the Quarry.

This Carolina Wren was singing away along road near the Hazard Rd. entrance to the park.

And this Chipping Sparrow was singing away on the other side of the entrance.

Wood Anemone along the Valley Trail.

Believe it or not, very early Crabapple blossoms on the tree at he intersection of the Valley and Twin Ledges Trails.

Happy Earth Day!

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

Theme Thursday - Draft

Some of you probably figured I was going to go this way on this theme. I'm not a big football fan, so the NFL draft isn't a biggie for me, and not being a writer, I don't have any drafts, rough, first, or otherwise. But who can deny the beauty of draft beer, fresh from the tap? Ahhhhhhh! How come bottled beer never tastes like this?

I knew I had to get a shot of beer taps; luckily my next-door neighbor is the Café 200, so I walked over and asked Pat, the owner, if I could do a shoot of his taps. That's them below left. And that's my own collection of beer glasses below right. Now about that bottom shot... I usually don't post photos that aren't my own, but this one is so gorgeous, and so much better than any of my shots that it gives me a goal to strive for. It's the tap line in a London pub © by Bruno Girin in 2005 (license information posted at the foot of this article).

This week's videos are entirely in keeping with this beer take on the theme - three of my favorite Guinness commercials. Have a Guinness, it's good for you! Oh, and don't forget - good things come to those who wait!

Photos & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger, except the London pub tapline picture, © 2005 by Bruno Girin and used under Creative Commons Attribution, Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Oklahoma City, April 19, 1995 - Lest We Forget

For those who assume that all terrorists are foreigners who look, dress, and worship differently than themselves. On April 19, 1995, a massive truck bomb was exploded in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, injuring 680 and killing 168, including 19 children under the age of 6. Were the perpetrators Arab or Pakistani Muslims? No, they were Americans who considered themselves "patriots" defending American liberty - Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. We need to remember that our own people are as inclined to despicable acts in the name of God, Country, or whatever as any foreigner.

Music: "In Paradisum" from Gabriel Fauré's Requiem

May the choir of angels receive you and with Lazarus, once poor, may you have eternal rest.

Photo © 1995 by Charles H. Porter IV

A Very Curious Hawk, and Some Music

Our biweekly bird walk took us to Miantonomi Park on the North End of Newport; it's a treasure trove of migratory songbirds in Spring, although this week in April is still a tad early to get much action. Still, it was a good walk, and at one point we came across this older male Red-tailed Hawk, who stayed on his branch even when we walked right under him. From his expressions, I think he was trying to figure out what we were and what we were up to.

Just for the heck of it, I thought I'd include the song playlist I have in the sidebar here in this post, too. Since I listen to a lot of Blues on other media (mostly radio), I don't have much in my personal CD collection. But I have some treasures in my collection, and I thought I'd put a few of them together as a playlist on my DivShare account. This is some of the music that gets me going!

Photos & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger