20th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival - Day Two

The second day of the 20th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival at the Pacific Valley Store started much stronger than Day One and remained at that pace throughout the day. I took the following images over the course of the day and they are presented in the order I took them.

Outside view of Dave's booth - Day Two

Inside view of Dave's booth - Day Two

The Jade Festival is populated with colorful characters.

My friend Keith Olivas in his booth.

My friend Goro proudly showing off his jade purchase.

Patti Harsch's belly dance troup Benot Serat

Smokey the Bear posed with his entourage.

Dan Beck & Chris Poelma from Kansas are regulars at the festival.

Plaskett Creek Canyon behind the festival grounds.

What passes for a parking lot at the festival.

The drive home at the end of the day.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Check out DAY ONE of the Jade Festival.

Check out DAY THREE of the Jade Festival.

Also check out my Big Sur Jade Festival T-Shirt blog posting.

20th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival - Day One

Today was the first day of the 20th Annual Big Sur Jade Festival held at the Pacific Valley School where it has been held for the past 18 years and for whom it is an essential fundraising event.. The first two years of the festival were held just down highway at the road-side parking lot of the Gorda Store. This year as in the previous two years I helped my friend Dave with his booth at the store. This included setting up his booth this morning and then manning his booth throughout the day as I will do all weekend and then help him pack up this coming Sunday evening. We did not camp at the show as sleeping comfortably there is difficult given all the carousing that occurs so we commuted each morning and evening to and from Dave's place in Atascadero. The following images I captured throughout the day in the order you see them presented here.

Outside view of Dave's booth - Day One

Inside view of Dave's booth - Day One.

Patrick Keegan organizer of the inaugural 2011 Lapiz Lazuli Festival

Close-up of Patrick's California lapiz lazuli

A strange disturbance was observed in the water on the way home.

Close-up reveals some sort of current of water upwelling in the wake of a rock.

Climbing into the highest part of the road near Salmon Creek on the way home.

San Luis Obispo Co. coast in the distance.

All photos by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved)

Check out DAY TWO of the Jade Festival.

Check out DAY THREE of the Jade Festival.

Also check out my Big Sur Jade Festival T-Shirt blog posting.

Picture of the Day - Estrella Area Storm Cell

This is the view from my neighborhood this hour. I realize this image is a bit dark but I chose it because I like how the darkness contrasts with the brightness of the storm cell off to the northeast of here (here being Paso Robles, CA).

Storm cell as viewed from Paso Robles, CA. Photo by Kim Patrick Noyes (all rights reserved). 

The Day Lassen Peak Went Nuclear

On May 22, 1915, Lassen Peak at the southern end of the Cascade Range went nuclear and produced its largest eruption of its 20th Century active episode which lasted from 1914-1917. This was one of only two volcanic eruptions in the contiguous United States during that century with the other being Mt. St. Helens in 1980. Much has been written about the mountain and the eruptive sequence of nearly a century ago and it is not my intent to rehash that in this space. What I wish to share with you are this amazing images of that dramatic Spring day in 1915 as viewed from two very well-known cities still in existence today, to wit, Anderson, CA, just south of Redding, CA, and even further to the south, Red Bluff, CA, county seat for neighboring Tehama County, CA.

I am awestruck by these two dramatic images of this powerful Plinian eruption having myself been to both small cities innumerable times. Therefore I can easily relate to how dramatic this scene must have appeared from those two communities. I would hasten to add that were this exact scene to repeated today it would be the biggest story on the news in the United States and even a big story overseas. What you see below is a very big volcanic eruption a safe distance from any population centers and contained within an evacuated zone. Nonetheless, that eruption wa not taking place all that far from small cities and numerous smaller communities even closer to the then-erupting volcano. Many of those communities remain in some form or other unto this day.

For another image of this eruption check my other column Another View From The Day Lassen Went Nuclear

Note: my friend Lin Kerns has posted a much more expansive treatment of this eruptive series on her own blog HERE. 

As viewed from Anderson, CA

As viewed from Red Bluff, CA

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Epilogue: I have since posted this follow-up PIECE.

Of Trance & Air Raid Sirens

I have always been haunted by the sound of air sirens since I was a Cold War child in the 1970's living in the LA Basin. Sometimes I would hear them when they would accidentally go off. In other instances I would hear them in a World War II movie as London got blitzed or in whatever other context of that war was being portrayed. That coupled with my lifelong intellectual/emotional connection to end-of-civilization types of themes has caused the sound of air raid sirens to hold a perpetual and powerful draw on me.

I fell in love with electronica and its trance variation a decade ago as I explained HERE. I found a trance track a few years ago on Tiesto's Magic One: First Flight album that combines both my air raid siren interest and my trance interest. The track is entitled "Back On Earth" by Voyager and utilizes near the beginning and ending the sound of an air raid siren. The way it is mixed creates a  hauntingly beautiful and yet mournful and melancholy effect which I love.

Update (as of 01/27/15): I posted another track from the same album tonight in "Lock Into The Sun."

Random Musings of a Ramblin' Fool XXXV

Last month saw Eclectic Arcania's most viewed month in its history. Not coincidentally this same period saw the highest quality of content yet in the history of this space as I continue to evolve as a blogger. In keeping with that trend I hope to create a higher standard for my Random Musings column. Also worth noting: check the margin at right for two additional volcano webcams for Mt Etna in Italy and Mt. Hiero in the Canary Islands. Additionally, check the margin at left for my new globe app which I think is rather cool. You might also notice I have ads back on my blog page. Whenever anybody clicks on an ad I get paid.... just sayin'.

Why El Hierro You Ask?

The El Hierro volcano is located on the island of El Hierro in the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa in the East Central Atlantic Ocean is experiencing the sort of volcano swarms indicative of an impending eruption and it is a rather large volcano so who wouldn't want to watch an impending eruption on my blog?

The Car is Caput!

My Oldsmobile Intrigue needs a transmission other than the one that currently reside within it that does not work  Following much research of all my options and fully exploiting all my connections I have been blessed with an offer of a 1995 Volvo which I hope to purchase this coming week for a grand. Anybody interested in purchasing my Olds for any reasonable price?

... And So Is My Leg, Sorta

I rather significantly injured my right leg two Thursday's ago while splitting firewood for my friend Steve. I  had the splitter in the upright position while working a large, dry, behemoth and it exploded a large segment into my leg which was adjacent to it steadying it in the mouth of the splitter. I immediately experienced a large hematoma as well as a rather significant bloody abrasion. It was followed by bruising and pain and stiffness to the front right of the lower leg. It is very slowly healing given how much walking I have had to do on it and most nights I experience edema in my right foot and sleep with the leg raised up. I have no health insurance and no money to go to the doctor so I am doing things the way folks have successfully managed to do them for thousands of years in the case of such injuries: suck it up and deal with it and let the body heal itself. Given I can walk on it I am being told by everybody around me that it is not broken so I assume I bruised the bone along with all the soft tissue damage.

School is Rocking

I continue to thrive in my studies at Cuesta College and am quite hopeful at this point of extending my 4.0 GPA through the Fall 2011 semester. Thus far I have done well on all my tests and quizzes in each of my three classes. Well, except for one quiz in American History that I don't wish to talk about that won't matter by semester's end.

The Harvest is Past, The Summer Is Ended

Well, the last part of that is true but the first part is now in full swing in respect to the grape harvest. As one who suffers from mild S.A.D. I am not too keen on what is now happening with the noticeably shorter days and diminished ambient warmth and lower-angle sunlight. What warmth there is has a distinctly different feel than that of Summer and the winds we are experiencing here carry the unmistakable fragrance of the change of seasons. This past week saw some mid-90's here in the North County of San Luis Obispo County. I'm willing to bet anybody $100 that is the last of the temperatures in the 90's that we will experience until April or May of next year. It just started raining outside my window while composing this message. The weather over the next few days will bring the first Winter-like storm of the season to much of California. The viticulturalists on the Central Coast are scrambling to get their grape harvests in before the rain for those grapes that are even ready to harvest in the first place. Some grapes might be lost that are not ready to harvest and get damaged by this rain. This problem is all the more grievous up north in Napa and Sonoma Counties and adjacent areas which stand to get even more rain than down here.

2011 Big Sur Jade Festival

This coming Friday through Sunday will be the 20th Annul Big Sur Jade Festival at the Pacific Valley School on the Big Sur Coast of Monterey County. As of this writing I will be in attendance in the Rocks & Relics booth helping my friend Dave. At this point the weather forecast looks clear for the show itself. However, and quite unfortunately the weather forecast is looking very wet for the four days immediately preceding the show. If the weather follows the forecast this will make a muddy morass out of the show grounds in the playground of the school to which this show is a fundraiser. If it is bad enough the show will be canceled to avoid damaging the school grounds.

10th Annual Cayucos Gem & Mineral Show

Coming up in a couple of weekends will be the Autumn 2011 Cayucos Gem & Mineral Show hosted by the San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club. I will be there helping my friend Dave in his Rocks & Relics booth as I did last year and I will be there in my capacity as a SLOGMC member and show co-organizer. I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Santa Lucia Rockhounds and San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club Websites Updated!

I have updated the websites for the Santa Lucia Rockhounds and San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club. You are invited to check them out and any input or questions are welcome. You are also welcome to come visit either or both of these clubs where any and all good people are welcome.

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Why The Ruling Elite Don't Need To Worry Yet

It would be interesting to see what would happen if the smorgasbord of Leftists who comprise the wannabe Arab Spring calling themselves "Occupy Wall Street" ended up mixing it up in the streets with the Tea Party Rightists.

The Ruling Elite don't need to worry yet though as the opposition is too divided by the divisive Culture War which conveniently keeps the Masses from cohesively picking up their torches and pitchforks and marching on the castles as a coherent force of change (or upheaval depending upon your perspective).

The Ruling Elites would need to worry once significant numbers and types of Bureaucrats and Technocrats joined any revolution and the Law Enforcement and Military Establishments decided that protecting the U.S. Constitution and protecting the Ruling Elite was no longer one and the same thing (which they aren't). ;-p

Don't get me wrong, on a personal level I prefer the Elite Class intellectually and culturally whereas I despise the pervasive ignorance and lack of cultural sophistication of the Masses of whom I am a member. I do recognize that without a Ruling Elite there is no civilization. I also recognize that there are good and bad Elites just as there are good and bad members of the Masses.

My own worldview is not divided between Elites and Masses but between "dickheads" versus "non-dickheads". I feel the non-dickheads on all levels of our society need to start speaking up because we are hearing way too much from all the dickheads on all levels and from both sides of the political aisle.

However, back to the Ruling Elite: it seems that year by year the current crop of Ruling Elite whom those on this list work for seem to grow more detached and share less commonality of values and virtues with the other 95% or more of the population which is creating a dangerous disconnect going both ways. 

All I can say for certain is that the only constant is change and we here on this list are privileged to live in interesting times that are about to get a lot more interesting.

As a Christian I recognize that empires and civilizations rise and fall and yet God's Church (in the global sense, NOT the Catholic Church) continues eternal. As such I am commanded to love even the dickheads which is something I have had a great struggle with of late.

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