Picture of the Day - Sunset Through Oaks

Sunset seen through oak trees in the Adelaida, CA, area one recent evening.

High Flight

High Flight

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
 And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
 Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
 of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
 You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung
 High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there,
 I’ve chased the shouting wind along, and flung
 My eager craft through footless halls of air....

 Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
 I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace.
 Where never lark, or even eagle flew —
 And, while with silent lifting mind I have trod
 The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
 - Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

~ John Gillespie Magee

Slipping The Surly Bonds Of Earth

One can see the euphoria on the base jumper's face after he has landed.... he's no less an endorphin-addict than any other type of addict. Beautiful scenery in this video and some great electronica cuts in after the jump is complete.

Scripture of the Day - Timothy

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing let us be therewith content."

~ First Timothy 6:6-8

Tohoku Tsunami Video Montage

This montage of Great Tohoku Tsunami video features footage all of which I have never previously seen. Visit Top 10 Most Dramatic Tohoku Tsunami Videos for my main list plus links to several more additional videos of the same event.Be sure to also check out Tohoku Tsunami Video Montage II.

Existentialist Eyegasms Galore!

Despite the fact that many/most folks who participate in extreme sports (such as those shown in this video) are actually to varying degrees adrenaline junkies and endorphin addicts there is yet another layer of truth and meaning and reality. All of us to some degree, both daredevils and phobics alike possess a primal urge to fly and generally have unlimited range of motion. Sports, extreme or not, as well as dance and other physical activities and even simply fantasizing possessing the ability to do such things gives each of us an outlet to address that urge in a limited fashion given the limitations we all experience during this life. However, this all points to a deeper reality that we are viscerally wired to be free of the physical limitations of this universe and the body within it containing our soul during this phase of our existence. Those of us making the cut in this life and whom go on to spend eternity in God's presence will be able to experience the euphoria of freedom of physical motion that this universe's physical laws place upon us.

Quote of the Day - Otto von Bismarck

The older I get and more I learn about life the more I come to appreciate the oeuvre of quotes Otto von Bismarck bequeathed upon the world as his legacy. Were he to have lived long enough to experience the first three world wars I'm sure he would be even more certain of the certitude and verity of his  observation that...

"There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children and the United States of America."

Nosmoking in Arbic

Be EXTREMELY SPECIFIC when dealing with language barriers!

Grimsvotn Volcano Video Of Note

This is my favorite volcano video . Be sure to watch this in full-screen mode and with your sound cranked up!

Scripture of the Day - Isaiah

To me this speaks of an End of the Age event that has thus far escaped identification by theologians and the mainstream of our faith heretofore. I cannot avoid thinking of a bolide impact or series of impacts that is a near-extinction event for Mankind hence the "burning" and this is the only agent that could achieve that specific effect on a global scale. Even all the world's nukes detonating would not come close to achieving what is described here. 

"The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away, the proud people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few of them remain."

~ Isaiah 24:4-6 (Kimicus ad Absurdum translation)

El Hierro Jacuzzi From Space

Recent satellite image of the ongoing submarine eruption of El Hierro Volcano in the Canary Islands. The visible ash cloud is not drifting downwind in the atmosphere but downstream in the Atlantic Ocean. Image Courtesy of NASA.

Lost In Translation

Quote of the Day - John Lennon

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" ~ John Lennon in "Beautiful Boy"

Cuesta College Clash of Clubs

Today while on North County campus of Cuesta College for classes I'm enrolled in there I encountered a line-up of fold-up tables in the quad area. It was the Clash of Clubs campus club promotional event one of my instructors had told us about last week. I decided to stop by and say HELLO and the following is what I found. I regret that I did not take the time to get the names of any of these fine people.

The business club was represented by the hottie at left showing off all the email addy's she had picked up for her club (no surprise there... even I gave her mine and I'm not a business major). At right, the fella with the Captain America shield represented Student Vets Association (SVA) who had not a single email addy signed up until I came along (poor guy). I do believe that shield drove away more than just bullets but included prospective new members. ;-p

These cuties represented the Nutrition Club which I'm considering joining on account of their hikes and such and that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

The two girls at left represented Alpha Gamma Sigma to which I'm eligible to join and am contemplating it. At right is a visitor from the next door table representing the Associated Student of Cuesta College club.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes(all rights reserved).

Picture of the Day - Wellsona, CA

Wellsona, CA, viewed today from the southwest looking northeast. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Modern Man Defined

One of the late George Carlin's best sets and one in which we are assaulted with more modern cliches than have ever before or since been uttered by a human being in under five minutes in all of human history.

Quote of the Day - Robert F. Kennedy

This quote from Robert Kennedy is a rephrasing of a line spoken by The Serpent in George Bernard Shaw's play "Back To Methuselah" that went "You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’"

"There are those that look at things the way they are and ask why?I dream of things that never were and ask, why not?" ~ Robert F. Kennedy

Father Guido Sarducci On Paying For Your Sins

Don Novello as Father Guido Sarducci most famous for his appearances on Saturday Night Live back in the 1970's and 1980's and into the early 1990's. 

Scripture of the Day - Agur

"Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."                        

~ Proverbs 30:8-9

Music To Invade Poland By

Rammstein is arguably one of the greatest metal bands in the world. They are unique enough to almost require their own categorization given their sound ranges across multiple sub-genres of metal music to include amongst others, industrial metal and Neue Deutsche Härte. Their style and sound has been humorously referred to as "music to invade Poland by". Below is their first big hit, "Du Hast." The song really rocks and its accompanying video is a tribute of sorts to the Quentin Tarantino movie "Reservoir Dogs". As with all their music videos, the entire band appears as the actors in the video for the song. At last check, all the band members one sees in this music video are still with the band to this day.

The Fort Pillow Massacre

In-Class Test Question Essay For History 207A With Dennis Judd

Fort Pillow is located 40 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee. It is the location of a former Union fortification (and not a very good one) that was easily overwhelmed by Confederate forces led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest on April 12, 1864. The Union forces were comprised of about half and half white and black soldiers. About half these soldiers died but there were three "interesting" caveats to this. First, the kill ratio of dead to injured and/or captured was way higher than typical for the war overall. Second, there was a significantly higher death rate for black Union soldiers than white Union soldiers. Third, the majority of Union casualties came after the fort had fallen. According to eyewitness accounts from both sides that day, under direct orders from Forrest the black Union soldiers were slaughtered wholesale while even a good many white Union soldiers were likewise executed after all the Union forces had surrendered. Some of these deaths allegedly entailed some POW's being essentially burned at the stake (more specifically tied to bed frames and set on fire) or buried alive. After initially celebrating the slaughter, the Confederacy and its media changed tactics and ignored it or even denied it given the outrage it engendered in the North and the potential blow-back it might (and in some cases did) trigger.

It would be easy to imagine this was an isolated atrocity such as will inevitably occur in any war. However, this atrocity was hardly an isolated incident even though it was the most over-the-top incident of its kind in the war. As it turns out, General Forrest's orders at Fort Pillow was merely in keeping with well-established Confederate policy. This policy was shamefully founded on the Dred Scott Decision that asserted that black slaves were not endowed with rights to which white folks need concern themselves such as a right to life or liberty and that slaves were mere property. Consequently, killing black Union soldiers was done to discourage other black Union soldiers from fighting for the Union and thus to the South was no worse than slaughtering livestock according to this flawed world view. One can quite reasonably draw parallels between this and Rome's treatment of Sparticus' defeated slave army whose captured members were subjected to crucifixion along the Appian Way inbound to Rome as a psychological device to intimidate other slaves from contemplating armed rebellion against their masters.

As is always the case in such matters there was subsequent blow-back for the Confederacy as black Union troops henceforth oft invoked the memory of Fort Pillow when rushing forth into battle and in some cases themselves executed Confederate prisoners or troops trying to surrender. At the time of the massacre Union generals threatened reprisals but none such were forthcoming as a consequence of policy. To this day the State of Tennessee glosses over the events of that cruel day even in their historical interpretation materials at modern-day Fort Pillow State Park. It is worthy of noting that there never were any post-war "Nuremberg Trials" regarding this event as there was for Andersonville.

Sam Kinison On Marriage & World Hunger

The late Sam Kinison in his earliest televised performance and this was certainly his best performance.

My Top 10 Favorite Sci-Fi TV Series

Below is my short list of favorite science fiction television programs in as close to an accurate assessment of my preferences as I am able. This rating is hard to peg as my preferences come more in clumps than in an individual sequential descending order.

1. Star Trek (original)
2. Battlestar Galactica (re-imagined version)
3. Farscape
4. Firefly
5. Lexx
6. The Flash
7. Greatest American Hero
8. The Invaders
9. Battlestar Galactica (original)
10. Star Trek: Enterprise

Yet Another Tohoku Tsunami Video

I saw this Great Tohoku Tsunami video last year but since that time lost track of it in the midst of the numerous other videos of this disaster that are extant on Youtube. To my delight I recently found it again on Youtube quite by accident and offer it here for your edification.
Note: be sure to check out my primary blog posting Top Ten Most Dramatic Tohoku Tsunami Videos.

Two Turning Points In The American Civil War

For History 207A with Dennis Judd

My entire adult life I have been haunted by, amongst other things, turning points and final stands. I expressly do not believe in reincarnation, but if I did not know better I'd probably believe I have been a warrior many times throughout history in many different turning points and final stands, only to die and be reincarnated in another time and place as a warrior in yet another conflict's turning point or final stand. What I believe is really occurring within me is that I have an intense soul and strong intellect (I'm not egotistically declaring myself to be smart but merely that my mind is unusually active) which allows my mind to wrap itself around concepts and personalities and events and grasp not only the details but the emotions and overarching gravity of these things. This allows me to connect with them as if I had been there in those events and/or interacted with those people.

As with all conflicts, the American Civil War (which I consider to actually be the Second American Civil War after the American Revolutionary War) contained a turning point, or rather two of them. One of these turning points was the Battle of Gettysburg which it seems everybody has heard of and most people seem to know something about if for no other reason than there have been some notable Hollywood movies made about it such as the 1993 movie "Gettysburg". The other turning point in the war was the Battle of Vicksburg, or more accurately, the Siege of Vicksburg. The siege began 47 days before the city finally fell and just as the Battle of Gettysburg likewise concluded. In fact, one of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's reasons for initiating the campaign that resulted in the Battle of Gettysburg was to divert Union focus away from beleaguered Vicksburg, Mississippi. However, no memorable movies devoted to Vicksburg were filmed and given America's propensity to learn more from television and cinema than from books and schooling few Americans know much about this chapter of the war.

For me personally, Vicksburg has personal meaning as according to family oral tradition one of my ancestors from my mother's father's side of the family fought for the Confederacy at Vicksburg and survived. Union General Ulysses S. Grant while orchestrating the North's western theater of operations pursued Confederate General John Pemberton into the Southern stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. However, two direct assaults across the Mississippi River were unsuccessful due to terrain advantages for the defenders. Hence, a resourceful Grant looked for another avenue of attack and headed south down the west bank of the Big Muddy and crossed it at Bruinsburg and then headed northeast to Jackson, MS, taking. He then headed back west to Vicksburg, MS, where he laid siege to the city entrapping General Pemberton and his rebel army which he had foolishly neglected to evacuate prior to Grant's approach. Pemberton's army had experienced horrendous losses fighting Grant prior to Vicksburg but was pretty much finished off by the privation of the Siege of Vicksburg. The city fell on July 4, 1863, and the heinous memory of that siege and its privation for soldier and citizen alike led to the city refusing to celebrate Independence Day for the following century.

The immediate consequence of the fall of Vicksburg was that the Union now controlled the Mississippi River. This in turn allow Union forces out west to more quickly and liberally resupply their forces. More strategically, this resulted in splitting the Confederacy into eastern and western pockets. As a result, food and other supplies that came into the Deep South from places like Texas would no longer be available to the Confederacy. This in turn deepened the starvation already setting in there. Even had Robert E. Lee won at Gettysburg it is not certain the Confederacy could have won the war as result of what happened at Vicksburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg occurred as a result of Robert E. Lee's machinations and initiative. He had multiple objectives at stake in undertaking this bold move. As previously stated, he hoped to relieve Vicksburg by diverting Union forces away from it by striking deep into Union territory as up to that point most of the fighting in this conflict had occurred south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Unfortunately for the Confederacy that fact would not change after the Battle of Gettysburg. Lee also hoped to put on a strong enough show to impress Union politicians to sue for peace and/or for foreign powers in Europe to side with the Confederacy. In fact, British military observers were embedded behind Confederate battle lines in order to make this very determination on behalf of their government. A final and logistical motive for this maneuver was to obtain food from foraging Union farms as well as shoes for his Southern army from a shoe factory in Gettysburg, PA, (let the Southern jokes begin).

Heading into the Gettysburg Campaign General Lee had the advantage of a better army as well as a large enough army to wage offensive warfare. He also faced an Army of the Potomac that had just experienced yet another leadership change a few days prior when General Joseph Hooker was replaced with General George Meade. On the down side, General Lee in the previous major engagement, the Battle of Chancellorsville, lost Confederate General Stonewall Jackson who was mistakenly killed by one of his own sentries. In response to this Lee stated "I have lost my right arm." Also, as previously mentioned his army was hungry and also suffered from the perennial of  Southern problems, a dearth of shoes.

On the eve of the battle, two more factors entered the equation that would cripple any hope of victory for the Army of Northern Virginia. J.E.B. Stuart and the cavalry he commanded went off on a shopping spree for free Union wagons and disengaged from direct contact with the enemy as well as lost contact with his own chain of command. This was done despite the fact cavalry in that day and age were not only a strike force but also an instrument of reconnaissance without which Lee had no idea as to the strength and disposition of Meade's forces. This would prove fateful as Lee would soon be caught off guard by the size and disposition of Meade's approaching force. Another unfortunate factor for Lee was the fact that he made a grave tactical error in rejecting General James Longstreet's sage counsel that the then-unfolding battlefield favored the enemy and needed to be moved elsewhere. Lee rejected this advice as he wanted to defeat the Army of the Potomac deep in Union territory and in a fair fight. As Sun-Tzu suggested in the Art of War and W.C. Fields rephrased "Never give a sucker an even break."

The catalyst for the battle was a Union cavalry contingent crashing a Confederate shoe-hunting party titled "Johnny Reb & The Shoe Factory" located in Gettysburg as there was a shoe factory located there (okay, I'll stop). Although no major fighting resulted from that encounter it did result in forces on both sides pouring into the area and Day One starting on the morrow. Day One saw the Union forces ejected from areas north and west of Gettysburg and chased right out of town to the south and forced back into more defensible positions. It is from these more defensible positions that the Union forces would hold the line and be victorious. Notably, Confederate forces on this day failed to take Cemetery Ridge before it could become an established defensive position for the Union. Day One was a round won by the Confederacy.

Day Two saw most of the remaining forces that would be engaged in this battle by both sides having done so by this morning. The Union forces enjoyed a 2-1 numerical advantage in defense. Traditionally, an attacking force should enjoy a minimum of 3-1 numerical superiority for it to have any reasonable chance of success. The Confederate forces attempted to envelope the Union salient by flanking maneuvers on both the left and right flanks. The right flanking maneuver was to be a diversion and hold in place Union forces while the left flank was the primary target. It was on this flank the effort came the closest to success where Confederate forces attempted to take Little Round Top at the south end of the Union's "hook-shaped" defensive salient. They hoped to completely turn the Union flank and transform the salient into a pocket and that pocket into a death trap. This did not succeed as Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his 20th Maine Regiment along with an ad hoc collection of other smaller units held onto Little Round Top at the extreme southern end of the Union flank. At the climax in true Hollywood movie-style, a bayonet charge necessitated by running out of ammunition succeeded in forcing not mere retreat but in some cases the surrender of the attacking Confederate forces. Day Two was a round won by the Union.

Day Three saw Lee get a bit more forceful (desperate?) and throw all that he had against the Union defenses in a reprise of the previous day's general plan. This time he intended for amongst other things, General George Pickett's division along with two other divisions commanded by General Johnston Pettigrew and General Isaac Trimble to slam into the center of Union forces on Cemetery Ridge. To call this attack "Pickett's Charge" as it is commonly known is perhaps a bit inaccurate as a result of this fact as all three division generals were equals who were in turn subordinate to General Longstreet who opposed the attack and only reluctantly gave Pickett at best a tepid indication to commence the attack. "Pickett's Charge" was preceded by possibly the largest artillery barrage of the entire war, especially in light of the fact Union big guns joined in response albeit with fading intensity over time to intentionally mislead Confederate gunners into believing they were knocking out Union guns when they were in fact not. This soon became apparent as the three divisions of "Picket's Charge" containing anywhere between 12,500 and 15,000 men began spreading out across the 3/4 mile deep and mile wide "kill zone" in which they endured not only catastrophic artillery fire but also withering rifle fire from rifles with both long range and great accuracy. For a short time one small part of the attack did penetrate Union lines in what have been called the "high-water mark of the Confederacy" but that was soon repulsed and the charge degenerated into a virtual route.

The immediate consequence of this fiasco was that General Lee immediately went on the defensive after losing half of that day's attacking force and 23,000 more casualties overall for the entire three-day FUBAR. Although the Union suffered about the same number of casualties they not only possessed a large force to begin with but could replace their losses much more readily than the Confederacy could replace their's. Lee immediately took responsibility for what happened and realizing his tenuous tactical position retreated south back to Virginia. He was followed by a very tepid pursuit initiated by General Meade who allowed Lee to get away without trying to annihilate him while he was vulnerable and away from his home turf. This failure allowed the war to continue another two years. Hence, both commanders failed to deliver a knock-out punch to end the war immediately as they both could have done. However, Meade won a strategic as well as tactical victory that indeed turned the tide of the war.

Henceforth the Confederacy would lack the troop strength to engage in offensive operations but instead merely react to Union depredations led by up and coming Union Generals U.S. Grant and W.T. Sherman over the course of the following two years down the stretch run of the war. Futhermore, following this debacle no European nations had any interest, most notably England, in getting involved in a war on behalf of slavery which was unpopular in England. Obviously, the outcome of this battle had the opposite effect as was intended by General Lee of encouraging Union politicians to sue for peace. On a final note: the Army of Northern Virginia failed to gain appreciable food supplies as hoped and about those shoes they came to Gettysburg to get, well, they now had plenty of shoes they could strip from their dead.

Picture of the Day - Paso Robles Inn Haunts

Haunted hallway on the second floor above the ballroom at the Paso Robles Inn.

View down the stairs into the haunted foyer and through the doors into the haunted ballroom.

 Be sure to also check out History Haunts The Paso Robles Inn and Electricity In The Air Tonight At Paso Robles Inn and Paso Robles Inn Photo Study I and Picture of the Day - Paso Robles Inn Coffee Shop.

Both photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

February 2012 SLOGMC Meeting Report

Tonight I attended the February meeting of the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club and captured these images there. Dick Reynolds gave a presentation on blister pearls in abalone. In addition to most of the regulars being in attendance there were both guests and new members present as well which made for a busy meeting. We planned a field trip to Nacimiento-Ferguson Road on the Big Sur Coast for President's Day morning later this month. Mike Shipsey won Find of the Month. I was able to attend because I do not have an evening class Tuesday nights this semester. It was nice being back!

Close-up of a lone blister pearl in red abalone shell. 

More blister pearls in red abalone shell.

Dick Reynolds giving his presentation on blister pearls.

Complete red abalone shell.

Close-up of red abalone shell.

Mike Shipsey's ametrine specimen which won "Find of the Month" honors tonight.

Dan Manion purchased these quartz bookends at Quartzsite for $1.

New member Rolland Felton's fossilized whale vert he recently found in the Potomac River area. 

Fossil shark teeth found in the Potomac River area.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Yosemite HD

Check out Yosemite HD II two years later.

Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.
This video is a collaboration between Sheldon Neill and Colin Delehanty. All timelapses were shot on the Canon 5D Mark II with a variety of Canon L and Zeiss CP.2 Lenses.

Project Yosemite Website: http://projectyose.com
Contact info: info@projectyose.com

Thanks to Dynamic Perception for their motion controlled dolly and continued support!

Dynamic Perception Website: http://dynamicperception.com

Track: Outro
Album: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Artist: M83
Site: http://ilovem83.com
Publishing: http://emimusicpub.com
Licensing: http://bankrobbermusic.com

This whole project has been an amazing experience. The two of us became friends through Vimeo and explored a shared interest in timelapsing Yosemite National Park over an extended period of time. We'd like to expand this idea to other locations and would appreciate any suggestions for a future project.

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/SheldonNeill
https://twitter.com/#!/barple

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/sheldon.neill
http://www.facebook.com/delehanty

Behind The Scenes: http://vimeo.com/35223326
By Dalton Runberg

Our hearts go out to the families of Markus Praxmarer who lost his life while climbing Half Dome on September 19th, 2011 and Ranger Ryan Hiller, who was crushed by a tree January 22nd 2012. They will be missed. (A photo of Ranger Ryan Hiller can be found to the right, above the statistics counter)

Electricity In The Air Tonight At Paso Robles Inn

I just returned from a stormy midnight run to the Paso Robles Inn. My nocturnal visit was precipitated by my ongoing research project for a profile essay I am writing about the place for my English composition class at Cuesta College. A couple of days ago I decided I would visit tonight while a predicted powerful Pacific storm rolled into the region overnight. It was dead still as I plied the deserted streets of Paso Robles near midnight en route to my destination. Upon reaching the Paso Robles Inn I was immediately struck by the presence the place gave me. As I began to capture these images I was cordially challenged by the night watchmen who carefully and conscientiously monitored my movements during the brief time I was allowed onto the property. My passage home along Spring Street took place awash in an atmosphere alive with the sound of wind and the scuffling of leaves and an occasional piece of litter traveling down the street the same direction as I northbound. The signal light at the intersection of 13th and Main Streets was doing something weird by turning yellow along the north-south axis every other minute or so and then immediately blinking back to green without the east-west axis receiving a green light for any duration of time and without there being any cars waiting at the light to disrupt the north-south bias. As I approached my cross street a sheriff patrol car pulled out of it and southbound onto Spring Street slowing momentarily to check me out carefully. To this I responded with a friendly but fearless stare-back and knowing nod of my head. Two blocks later I was safely home and am still downloading, both physically and metaphorically what I just experienced.

Version #1 of  the Paso Robles Inn main building.

Version #2 of the Paso Robles Inn main building.

There was an electric feeling in the air here tonight... I don't know if it was the storm or not.

The oldest building in the Paso Robles Inn complex... and perhaps the most haunted location in Paso Robles.

Be sure to check out History Haunts The Paso Robles Inn and Paso Robles Inn Photo Study I and Picture of the Day - Paso Robles Inn Haunts and Picture of the Day - Paso Robles Inn Coffee Shop.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

The Adam & Eve That Never Was

Kim's Favorite 2012 Super Bowl Ad

Scripture of the Day - God (Jer 9:23-4)

"...Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindess, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight..."

~ Jeremiah 9:23-24

Paso Robles Inn Photo Study I

This morning before church I visited the Paso Robles Inn for breakfast in their coffee shop as an element in my investigation of the establishment as part of the process of writing a profile about it for an assignment in my English composition class at Cuesta College. What follows is the fruit of this investigation. 

I love the blend of retro architectural styles (both American and Spanish)  of the coffee shop.

This image of the coffee shop interior came out darker than I wanted but it's the only one I took so you're stuck with it.

View from the coffee shop looking into the restaurant serving Sunday brunch replete with buffet.

For some reason the spurs on this Mexican cowboy in this wall mural in the coffee shop caught my attention as the spurs struck me as incongruous with the dress-like garment worn by him.

View from hotel lobby into the adjacent hotel office with cozy fire in the fireplace.

Another view of the lobby looking into the office.

The only remaining original building of the Paso Robles Inn... and one that is purportedly haunted.

The retro American ambiance in this place is quite strong mixing a presence of elegance with wistfulness.

This scene captured the retro elegance of this place as best or better than anything else.

View looking into the historic and storied ballroom. 

View looking out onto the ballroom from the head of the room. A subtly heavy presence pervades in this room.

View of the Paso Robles Inn from across the street at the city library.

The landmark tower of the Paso Robles Inn.

Be sure to also check out History Haunts the Paso Robles Inn and Electricity in the Air Tonight At Paso Robles Inn and Picture of the Day - Paso Robles Inn Haunts and Picture of the Day - Paso Robles Inn Coffee Shop.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Scripture of the Day - Micah

This theme keeps coming up and this verse jumps off the page at me...

"Arise you and depart for this is not your rest...".  ~ Micah 2: 10

Electile Dysfunction Defined

Electile dysfunction - the inability to become aroused over any of the candidates for office put forth by either party in a given election year.

Legend of the Urban Ninja

For those of you familiar with the legend of the Urban Ninja no further explanation is necessary but you are certainly invited to it enjoy again. For the uninitiated let me simply say this is a clever and hilarious spoof of ninjas as they have appeared in the popular culture, particularly films and television and is conducted in mini-mockumentary form. It is the brainchild of Robert Hoffman III. There are two short films shown in order below. The world waits with baited breath for the third installment of Urban Ninja. 

Update: I added the third installment in the series on the night of September 2, 2013.

Picture of the Day - Paso Robles Inn Coffee Shop

This image was taken today.

Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

An Encounter with Jonathan Meader

At this past weekend's San Rafael Gem Faire covered HERE I had the privilege of conversing with artist, author and egyptophile Jonathan Meader when he visited the Rocks & Relics booth. I learned a number of significant things from him and thoroughly enjoyed our all-too-brief discussion. I look forward to picking up where we left off next time I am in San Rafael. Meader was kind enough to give me an autographed copy of his 1995 work The Wordless Travel Book. This clever little gem of international communication is based upon the visual symbology of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs updated to represent the context of modern civilization. It now proudly sits in my library. Meader is currently working on an expansive book project more about which I will not divulge here now. Needless to say it will be quite remarkable once completed and I am excited to see the finished product. I hope to acquire a copy of it for my personal library once it is published in light of the fact it relates to a topic of lifelong interest to me.