3 Drives On A Vinyl

I became aware of the trance track "Greece 2000" by the Dutch progressive trance group 3 Drives On A Vinyl a number of years after the band released it in 1997. When it was released I had not yet come out of my fog of mental illness yet and the seclusion I placed myself within while dealing with it. Even after I discovered trance in 2001 as I described HERE it would not be until last year or the year before that I found "Greece 2000" while randomly following links through Youtube. When I first listened/watched the video below I fell in love with it immediately. Part of me regrets I missed the rave scene (sans the E, of course) and dancing to music like this when I was still twenty-something in the 1990's, but what happened was supposed to be and I am at peace with it.

My Top 10 Favorite Short Stories

A convergence of realities occurred today which has prompted me to share this list with you. This semester at Cuesta College I am enrolled in a general education English Literature class. One part of the curriculum has been short stories which as most of you probably don't know is my favorite literary genre. This reality converged late this afternoon with the happenstance that while talking to my friend Marybeth the subject of short stories and our shared love of them was discussed. She asked me for some titles of my favorites and my mind nearly drew a blank other than the top two mentioned here. This has prompted me to compose my top ten list and share it with you here.

1). "The Most Dangerous Game" ~ By Richard Connell

2). "The Upper Berth" ~ By F. Marion Crawford

3). "An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge" ~ By Ambrose Bierce

4). "To Build A Fire" ~ By Jack London

5). "The Fall Of The House Of Usher" ~ By Edgar Allan Poe

6). "The Necklace" ~ By Guy de Maupassant

7). "Harrison Bergeron" ~ By Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

8). "The Masque Of The Red Death" ~ By Edgar Allan Poe

9). "The Scarlet Ibis" ~ By James Hurst

10). "The Cask of Amontillado" ~ By Edgar Allan Poe

The Host of Seraphim

I have always been haunted by this song by Dead Can Dance and it's attendant video which reminds the viewer of the art film "Powaqqatsi". This song was featured at the tragic climax of the movie adaptation of Stephen King's "The Mist". The language being sung in this neo-gothic, ambient, world music piece is operatic glossolalia.

Veterans Day 2012

This Veterans Day morning I drove down to Atascadero and visited the Pine Mountain Cemetery where my late father, a U.S. Army veteran, is buried. He died 27 years ago this month as I explained in Losing A Father. I don't go to my father's grave much anymore and when I do it is usually on Memorial Day or Veterans Day. Once I was done visiting there I headed over to the Faces of Freedom Veterans Memorial across town where I visited for a short time although I missed the big Veterans Day celebration which was actually held there yesterday.

Pine Mountain Cemetery in Atascadero, CA.

Flags are placed on all the graves of veterans.

My father's grave: Rest In Peace James Gordon Noyes

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Atascadero's Faces of Freedom Veterans Memorial

This memorial was dedicated on November 8, 2008.

This sculpture was created by Atascadero sculptor Mark Greenaway.

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

My DeeDeeite Delight

As I shared with you here last August, I met Deedeeite (a fractured rhyolite with silica-filling of void spaces) discoveress and Orcutt Mineral Society member DeeDee Magri at the Nipomo Gem & Mineral Show this year and enjoyed meeting the woman and getting to know more about Deedeeite. Following posting of my article DeeDeeite, DeeDee Magri, & Me she was so pleased she kindly gave me a partially-cut piece of her namesake silicate that she herself had found which was a real honor. I recently had Santa Lucia Rockhound member Galen Moyer (the same guy who polished my biconoid I shared here recently in My Beloved Biconoid Tubes article here. I thank Galen for his wonderful work on this stone as well as on the biconoid.

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

Nocturnal Heavy Light

I'm currently watching/listening to this audio-video extravaganza as I troll the internet enjoying my new computer and monitor I purchased day-before-yesterday. The sound and look and theme and atmosphere of this piece remind me of and make me miss playing the online computer game Anarchy Online which I have not played in a couple of years due to chronic computer problems. With this new machine I hope to get back into playing that game once again. As most of you know I am a nocturnal creature by nature and also love electronic music and ancient ruins and thus when all three can be atmospherically blended in this fashion I can't resist. Crank this up on your speakers and go full-screen with it on your monitors.

An Unexpectedly Beautiful Sunset

I worked for my friend Janet today out west of Paso Robles, CA, several miles. At the end of the day witnessed a gorgeous sunset, much more so than I had anticipated which made it all the sweeter. Below are the images I captured in the order I captured them and none are altered in any way.

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