There's A Song In The Air

We have all said it. We all complain. Over the years, I have come to learn that those that complain the least are really the one's who don't mean it as much.Yes, the first Christmas song of the season has hit the airwaves. "It's not even Halloween", I said when I heard it. Then, I saw a commercial that had a tad and a hint of the holidays in the visuals. It does seem to get earlier and earlier each year, not counting the wholesale shows that occur in July. But the real measure of how early it gets is when you start to hear the choral works from Westminster and King's and all the others in the U.K.on the radio programs. English choral works are the benchmark, after all.

In fact, it struck me so much, that I turned to my favorite classical radio station WXXI-FM in Rochester, New York to check on their live stream schedule. It seems that even the radio schedules manage somehow to wiggle in a song or two hear and there and broadcast schedules are like clockwork. No one messes with them! Ever! Why WXXI you ask? Well, maybe you don't ask but the real reason why I listen to them is because of their International Market being so close to Toronto and Ottawa and the Great Lakes with a larger audience per square mile of listeners and a great Choral college just down the block.

Yes, here's another one of my inter secrets. I love choral music. In fact, my organ teacher in college was a noted choral composer who got me interested in cantors at a Jewish Synagogue where she was organist. She taught 5 days a week, played the Saturday Services at the Temple and Sunday Services at a large Baptist Church. The woman was cast iron diverse! But, what I learned from her still controls how I play today. When I do. If any, anymore.

English choral composers like John Rudder or Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music, King's College, Cambridge, England,  have made their mark on both new and traditional choral works, but it is at Christmas time that even my heart seems to respond well to the beauty of sound as it echos in the high vaults of English Cathedrals. And, besides where else can you bring together choral works and great organ installations into such splendid mixtures?With the audio technology today, you don't even have to be in the cathedral to sense the sound within those walls. Since I don't fly anymore, because of  my bionic implant, listening to an HD-CD is probably more comfortable than the riggers of travel anyway.

Last year, with the bad weather here in Dallas, the Christmas Parade was skipped.  I try to support the Christmas Parade in downtown Dallas because the charity is one of the best. It made me think of the former J.L.Hudson parade down Woodward  Avenue in Detroit. As a kid, I grew up watcing the Cotton Bowl Parade and the Hudson Parade on television every year. I have seen both in the cold. Now, it's just a matter of choice. Do I want to get out in the crowd or just flip on the tuner and listen to music? The choice gets easier every year! But the spirit of the holidays  will always go with me beyond the grief and the sorrow. Music has been my crutch to lean on and get me through the holidays year after year now.

96-Days 'til Christmas

Bonnie Parker

At least once a year, I try to visit the graves of the down-trodden and forgotten. Call it what you will. In fact, the Good Book says that we should visit the graves of the dearly departed. The term dearly could mean family. It could mean friends. It could also mean the down-trodden and forgotten. There are a couple of graves that I visit at the National Cemetery, too. It takes some effort, sure. But, people turn out by the tens of hundreds to visit Elvis' grave at Graceland, or JFK's grave at Arlington. Jim Tipton of Find-A-Grave fame, made a hobby of visiting celebrated individuals at their graves. Ancerstry.com had been linking to his site for years before finally buying the site. In Dallas, there are several that fall into two groups. Those on the Shady side of the street and those on the Sunny side of the street. I visit both because I do not judge anyone. True, I might express displeasure with their viewpoints, but as a person, to judge is not in my cupboard. So going to the grave of Lee Harvey Oswald, or Bonnie Parker or any other is a way to spend an afternoon in the summer. I have a personal connection through mom as to why I visit the grave of movie star, Greer Garson and while in that cemetery, I go see Mickey. To me growing up, he was Mr. Baseball. He still is.  

Yesterday, I was  checking up on the progress of the US Geological Surveys Ft. Worth Field Office's installation progress of radar measuring devices over waterways. I had taken pictures earlier in the summer of one of their new devices and had talked with their Public Information person in Austin. After looking at the pictures, the PI person ask if I would withhold  one image until such time as the Field Office had completed the installation. Naturally, I'm going to comply with her wishes.She explained to me what they were waiting on to complete the installation and in my original image, there was a bare wire that had not and could not be completed at the time the unit was placed. Once that wire is connected, then I am free to release the images as stock.

 That also means going back and retaking the image again. So, since there are two more units in the works, I'll wait until they are all complete and then go  out and shoot all three. There are no stock images of these new devices anywhere. Therefore, not only do I not want to reveal the locations at the request of the USGS office, I don't want the competition shooting them either! So, I go on a faux-shoot and just observe the progress. But, on the way back from any shoot, I try to fulfill my penitence and visit a few graves of forgotten and down-trodden souls.

 Yesterday, it was the grave of Bonnie Parker of Bonnie and Clyde fame. Clyde's grave was a bit closer to where I was  but you can't get into the cemetery because it is posted and locked. There are those that have done so but my images go untouched by the devil of soft wear that is called photo shop, I don't shoot images on posted property either.

If I am invited, that's one thing and I carry releases with me. Or, if on common property that can be shot from a street or public place, I shoot until the cows come home. While trying to respect the fact that graves are family related and sensitive, weighing those images in the general public interest in a good way is permitted. It's only when in the name of "news" that  you try to put someone down in bad light using the media, that colors the waters of photo journalism and related forms. That's why the tabloids have so much trouble.

Bonnie Parker was a girl that had a good heart. She lived in a time when the Wild had not totally been removed from the "Wild West" by time. It was the first modern era of the Wild West with Prohibition and real gangsters like Thomas "Lonnie" Licavoli, and Al Capone. It was a time when making a name for yourself was recorded with the old flash-type cameras, daily newspapers running headlines with one and two inch block type; the bigger the type, the bigger the story. And the villains made their fame with the clothes still on. My, how things have changed. And it's still as political today as it was then; even more today, I would say.

Since my last visit there, the care at Crown Hill has gone down. The mausoleum is showing its age on the outside. The grass had not been cut. The grounds were dry and cracked and Bonnie's grave was without grass. Still, the grave echoed a message through the inscription on the headstone that rang of an inter- character. Bonnie Parker was a good person at heart.

Bonnie Parker 1910-1934
"As the flowers are all made sweeter by the sunshine and the dew, 
So this old world is made brighter by the lives of folks like you."

DART Does It Again -- 4 Months Ahead of Schedule.

Texans should be proud of their state government projects. Especially, the transportation sectors. The Dallas High 5 Project was about a 7-year project and finished a year early. The LBJ-I35 remake was another multi-year project and it is nearly finished and still running ahead of schedule. But, the still amazing project of connecting DFW International Airport to the DART Rail System, already the largest light rail system in the country, finished 4-months early with Inaugural Service direct to Terminal A at DFW International that began on August 18th, just two weeks ago today.

I rode the Blue line from LBJ-Central on TI Boulevard to the west end station in downtown Dallas where I got off to catch the Orange Line to DFW. I could have ridden the Orange line from LBJ-Central and not had to change trains, but I am a people watcher and I like the hustle-bustle of downtown, the sounds, the smells, the muted train whistle. Generally, a crowd of people like to talk, but the train stations are different. People are in their own little worlds with their ear buds in their ears.  It seems every one has them. Except me. I use a pair at home when the cat sleeps and I want to listen to a pod cast or catch an episode of Comedy Central. But when I am out shooting, the last thing I want is to have wires hanging from my ear canals.Besides, waiting for the train to arrive at LBJ-Central or waiting for the same train downtown for DFW is elementary. In fact, it gives me 10-15 minutes of people watching and breaks up the train ride.

After catching the Orange Line it was just another train ride until after the stop at the Beltline station. I had ridden Orange line that far once before after the Beltline station opened. Although it is located on DFW International Airport property, the connection route on to Terminal A is about a 4-mile run through scrub brush until it comes out at the connector to 114 Carpenter Freeway and Royal Lane briefly before turning south and heading on the east side of the traffic cross-overs  and the bridge taxiway from Terminal A to runways 18L and 18R. Runways 17L,17C and 17R are located east of the Dart tracks. There is also two cross-wind runways; one on the far east and one on the far west edges of the airport.  The connection switch to the future Cotton Belt Line is already in place and ready to go. Let's all hope the money can be found and construction begins earlier than expected finishing earlier than the completion date in the future, once the future construction begins. I ask the question if there was any shuttle service to Founder's Plaza where watching the big heavys come in on 18R is done but there is not one currently. That is the one bad part of service to DFW. Riding the Dart to DFW to watch the planes from Founder's Plaza cannot be done via Dart.

Pulling into the new Terminal A station was exciting. Finally, getting to DFW without the parking and doing it with no-stress travel, it was easy to see why anyone would ever want to drive to DFW again unless you were picking up a rental car, but you can have those delivered to your hotel, so that problem is also eliminated. It just makes sense to ride the DART! It's a no-brainer.

I was talking to a TSA

Walkway from DART train platform to Terminal A-14 entry

Inspector that was on the platform talking with people as he was doing his check-list of how the service was going on Inaugural Day. He stated to  me that inside Terminal A, "you can get a drink and a candy bar at the newsstands, but if you want real food, you must go through security". It makes sense. So those of you that want to ride the DART to DFW just to test it out, it's a fun trip and you can get a candy bar and a cold drink before you catch your ride back to where ever you got on board. The TSA Inspector was nice but still doing his job. 

Terminal A Platform at DFW International Airport.

Spanish Plateresque

It goes without saying that I love architecture and big pipe organs.Seldom does one find both in one location here in the states. Oh, did I say, Spanish Plateresque? Well, I believe I did. So go get your coffee or a glass of wine and pull up a chair for your spouse or partner because, not only is this amazing, I'm going to ask you do some of the work yourself. Don't fret, it's nothing more than looking up a couple of links that I will tell you about so you can know what you are looking at. Ready, Alright. Here we go.

The Cathedral
Spanish Plateresque architecture was the dominant architecture in Spain during the middle ages (late 15th and the 16th centuries). While the rest of Europe was embracing the Italian Renaissance, Spain was bathing in the grand tradition of the great European architecture in it's cathedrals. The only difference was the fine details that were left out on the European cathedrals (and they have a lot as it is). The floor plan of this cathedral is a basilica floor plan. It was built in 16 years during the great depression of 1931 at a cost of $3.25 million dollars. Ground breaking was in 1925 and the cornerstone was placed in 1926. It was completed in 1940. The structure is of Massachusetts granite and Indiana Limestone.

The Organ
The organ part of this geographic location is about one of only six Skinner organs  built. It has a sister organ that sits  about two miles away. That is now, two of the six Skinners and the odds just got better. Much better. It is a 76-rank instrument. The console sits on the basilica floor near the alter. It has roughly 5,000 pipes from pencil size to nearly beer keg size and from roughly 7-inches tall to 32 feet. The opus number for the cathedral organ is number 820 on the Skinner Opus of builds and was personally finished by Ernest M. Skinner, himself. It remains since 1930 virtually unaltered. The cathedral that it sets in is 285 feet long by 215 feet wide with 96 feet from bottom to top.The Rose window above the front entrance measures 28 feet in diameter.  In 2009, the Organ Historical Society gave a historical citation of the instrument.

Back to the Cathedral 

The only Spanish Plateresque cathedral in North America is Our Lady,Queen, of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral. To the locals, it's just Rosary Cathedral. It sits on Collingwood Boulevard at Islington Avenue in Toledo's Old West End, a Victorian section of beautiful homes with  names attached  such as Stranahan, Owens, and  Libby. Stranahan was the Champion Spark Plug. Owens was Owens Corning Fiberglass and  Libby was the  Libby Glass. Great Industrialist in their own right.

Rosary Cathedral is the mother church to the 163 parishes of the Diocese of Toledo covering 19-counties of Northwest Ohio. It is the seat of the Bishop. The second bishop of the diocese that approved the plans for the cathedral was Samuel Stritch (1921-1930) Later, he would have a high school named after him, Cardinal Stritch. The dedication of the cathedral was under the 3rd bishop, Karl Alter. It was the end of the depression.

Toledo's sister city, Toledo, Spain, was held in the minds of its designers as Rosary Cathedral was built in the spirit of those great European Cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Today, it remains there in the 21st century.

The only time that I have seen the Cathedral draped in black crepe was for the mourning period after JFK's assassination. Even in his death, in that place, God was glorified. It was a sight that left such a lasting impression on the mind and stirred the emotional well deeply.

Back to the Organ

The sister organ sits on stage at the beautiful Greek-styled Toledo Museum of Art's Peristyle Concert Hall that is less than two miles due south of the cathedral. In my late teens, I attended a concert in the Peristyle to see and hear, the great E. Power Biggs perform. (Marilyn Mason, eat your heart out.) I also heard her perform in concert at an Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tennessee a few years prior to the E.Power Biggs concert. E.Power gave the better performance by far. I even think him better than Virgil Fox. Cameron Carpenter? We shall see when he settles down from his current showmanship stage.

Finale

Some of you will remember the piece with the link to St. Sulpice titular organist allowing a group of students to play Widor on that magnificent instrument. Well, there is something to be said about great organs in great cathedrals the world over, but not enough that Daniel Roth allows people to play his relished place and charge at St. Sulpice. What is often unsaid is that these instruments are such masterpieces. The places where they reside are masterpieces. But only a limited few ever get a chance to sit on the bench, much less play them.

There is something that runs through your soul much like a bolt of electricity to hear that sound being spoken from a pipe high in the vaults in response to  you having  pressed the key at the console. I have sat down on the benches of some well-respected instruments and have played some wonderful instruments from university auditoriums, and university chapels to churches, to concert halls, to private chapels and residences that had smaller versions. I have also had the honor of playing two identical Schantz three manual  organs in different installations; one in a Catholic church with Chef Boyardee tile on the walls and one in a Methodist church. The ravioli maker guy's tile made a big difference in sound. I'm not so sure his ravioli matches his tile making ability.

 It will always be difficult to play these instruments. Their key-keepers guard these more than a great Stradivarius violin is guarded by its owner. Most large cathedrals give tours and showing off their pipe organs. It is very much part of the tour from the National Cathedral in Washington to New York's St. John the Divine, to the only Spanish Plateresque Architectural  Cathedral in North America like  Rosary Cathedral or even the Lay Family Organ in the Meyerson Symphony Hall, here in Dallas.

DART's new Train to DFW Terminal A

Enjoy the architecture and the music the next time you take a tour in person or via the internet and when in another city, a great place to burn extra time is touring the local cathedrals and organ lofts.

Links from YouTube

You tube has a 11-minute video about the building of Rosary Cathedral, Toledo, Ohio. There is also videos of short concerts on the Skinner organ.  The Toledo Dioceses produced the 11-minute clip. The acoustics in the cathedral is super. The sounds resonates from cut-off for about 5-6 seconds.

The pictures in the video show the Plateresque style  in the spirals very well. Inside, the vaulted arches are well viewed as is the famous Rose Window above the front door, with both inside and outside views.

The outside of the cathedral doors were beautiful draped in mourning black crepe. I hope I never have to see that again anywhere, but at the time, it was not only historic, but went deep into one's emotions.  I have searched the web for images from that time period and not a single image was found.

Just a note about one of the other Skinner Organs. The church on Wall Street had one of the original Skinners but it was damaged during the 911 attack. At last word, it still had not been replaced although there is a replacement organ currently installed, it is not the Skinner that was there. 

I did find a You Tube video of Ty Thompson playing the giant 5-manual at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. You navy guys will recognize the hymn. The video reminded me of the young student playing the Widor Toccata at St. Sulpice.


 

Super Moon? Malarky!

Alright, it's time to vent! I've been thinking about this all summer long. It occurred to me that when I was a kid, we called all the hype today about super moons, simply: "a harvest moon". Technically, it's not a harvest moon but our grandparents didn't have social media either.

This morning, I read a blog post by U.S. Naval Observatory astronomer, Geoff Chester. "For the most part it is a 'non-event' that is almost purely hype" he said in that post. What caught my eye and sparked this post was his earlier statement (which I fully agree with) when he said, "This is being touted as yet another 'Super-Moon' by popular and social media for reasons that I still can't fathom."

Well, Geoff, I can't fathom it either. In fact, I am so totally disappointed by what is coming out of  journalism schools today. The graduated level of understanding has flat-lined. Sure, there is all the hype about how smart kids are today and how tech savvy they are or have become. Really. What is happening is that the wheel is not trying to be reinvented with the new generations--just renamed. Not only is it confusing. It's total disrespect. But, that seems to be a whole different topic while still being in the same category.

The moon is not 14% bigger. It is just closer to earth. Every one wants to put numbers to everything. And the number game is just that, a game. Numbers in percentages can be twisted so many ways, it even makes a rope get knots. A typical moon orbit is 238,885 miles from earth. At its closest perigee, it's 221,765 miles from earth. Another thing: it's not a super moon or a harvest moon, it's just a plain ole perigee moon. Pure and simple. It may LOOK 14 percent bigger, but it's purely an eye's perception. It's NOT 14 percent bigger.

If one wants too speak of the moon in Folk Lure, then use the terms set down by Daniel Carter Beard. He published in 1918 The American Boy's Book of Signs, Signals, Symbols. Also to be included in the reading list should be The Maine Farmer's Almanac. It was first published in the 1930s. It should not be confused with other Farmer's Almanacs that appear today.

Adapted from the Algonquin languages  came the original list of moon names by months. Because the Algonquin languages include several tribes, the names will vary somewhat. The romantics of the languages can be seen in the list and should be cherished, not renamed by some disrespectful person who thinks the tech savvy world needs new names to get more hits on their social media page.

 ALGONQUIN TRIBES NAMES OF MOONS

January      Wolf Moon, Old Moon, Difficult Moon, Black Smoke Moon
February    Snow Moon, Hunger Moon, Raccoon Moon, Bare Spot on the Ground Moon
March        Worm Moon, Crow Moon, Sap Moon, Lenten Moon, Wind Moon, Little Grass Moon,
                    Sore Eye Moon
April          Seed Moon, Pink Moon, Sprouting Grass Moon, Egg Moon, Fish Moon
May            Milk Moon, Flower Moon, Corn Planting Moon, Green Grass Moon, Root Food Moon
June            Mead Moon, Strawberry Moon, Rose Moon, Thunder Moon ,Corn Planting Moon
July             Hay Moon, Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Buffalo (bull) Moon, Hot Sun Moon
August        Harvest Moon, Buffalo (cow) Moon,Corn Moon, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon, Green
                    Corn Moon, Grain Moon
September   Harvest Moon, Field Corn Moon, Wild Rice Moon, Red Plum Moon
October       Leaf-Falling Moon, Nuts Moon, Hunter's Moon, Blood Moon, Sanguine Moon
November   Beaver Moon, Frosty Moon, Deer Mating Moon, Fur Pelts Moon
December   Oak Moon, Cold Moon, Long Night's Moon, Wolves Moon, Big Moon

There seems to be some effort to remove all American Indian Folk Lure from the printed page. This is another disturbing element of modern day social media and Journalism Schools, Political Correct Pundits or all combined.  

So, come September 9th, another almost perigee moon will occur. It's the last one of 2014. Already, the name changers are hyping that we won't have another one until 2034. WOW! Since the moon is on a 18-year cycle, if you add 18 to 2014 you get 2032. I guess this next cycle has been changed to 20 years by some social media because 20 years looks better than 18 in the numbers game. Or, they just like 20 better than 18 because it looks good albeit they can't tell you why 18 is the actual cycle based on calculations by the U.S. Naval Observatory. Bet they didn't even know that  the U.S. has a Naval Observatory or that the Vice-President's House is on the grounds of the Naval Observatory or that it's located in Maryland and not Virginia or D.C.


 

Harry James, Beatles, Greatful Dead

A sharpie discarded outside The Door. Signing autographs is common from the rock bands

Deep Ellum on the east end of Elm Street.

"Once I knew a preacher

Preached the Bible through and through,

But he went down in Deep Ellum

Now his preachin days are through.

Oh, Sweet Mama, Daddy's got them Deep Ellum Blues."

Recorded in 1935 by the Lone Star Cowboys and featuring Joe and Bob Shelton, the song has been recorded by trumpet player, Harry James, recorded by the Beatles and  recorded by that awesome band, The Grateful Dead.

People tend to forget that Dallas has a Blues culture that equals Memphis or New Orleans. Deep Ellum is the kettle were it still gets stirred, especially at The Door or Trees and others.

Sunday, I revisited Deep Ellum for its fantastic architecture, long history lines that included the days when Bonnie and Clyde hung out in Deep Ellum to the current rock bands that visit The Door and Trees with their tricked out  tour buses and loads of customer ticket purchases just to get inside to see the groups. The atmosphere is eclectic and electric all rolled up in one. It's the culture of Deep Ellum that I enjoy and how it has evolved over the years.

A decade ago I did a marketing survey of Deep Ellum for a Fortune 200. It lead to a grant for the Deep Ellum Association, the funding arm of the Deep Ellum Foundation.  It was a six month task that turned every rock, went down every alley, into every business, and noted trends from  old posters and signs and window displays including broken beer bottles in lots, alleys and streets. Broken glass in the alleys and parking lots on a Monday morning told the story of the past week end. Good or Bad. 

 Deep Ellum has always been like a magnet for me,culturally. I love Blues and Jazz and Heavy Metal. Deep Ellum is the elixir of all that. The tattoo parlors, their indelible inks and art are a current trend, although tattoos are tens of hundreds of years old. I've noticed more bikers than in the past twelve years. To me, the kettle is brewing again. Brewing like it did in the old days. It's not just the kids that want to get wild on a weekend like it was for a while. Older people are coming back to Deep Ellum with their families. The lines for tables on Sunday were out the door and down the block. That is with the heavy street construction going on down the Elm Street section were everything from new storm sewers to new pavement is beginning to look more complete. It is still a mess but Dallas let a few things go way to long.

Cultural districts have a way of working around that. Especially the ones that Main Stream feels is a bit uncouth, when it was the uncouthness that made Main Stream what it became.  You have to learn to mix with it all. Nothing is more fun than seeing an old neighbor in jeans and a tee on a Friday night then at the Meyerson or Wyle all gussied up the next night. It's meant to be that way. Cross overs in culture thrives. Grows. It becomes a great experience. People who can not do that miss out on the experience of life.Mom missed out on more than she should have, but at least, she was aware that the "country club" boy and the "farm boy" could be both, like my old neighbor. Even needed to be both at times. She loved the old song that sang of the soldier," how you gonna keep them down on the farm after they've seen Pariee?"

Historical irony. The box is located across the street from the old Union Bankers Bank. Romantic thought of the 30's, Bonnie and Clyde might have noticed at one time.

Now, DART Rail has two stations in Deep Ellum on the Green Line. Some of the old charm is fading unfortunately. Still, one can find the unusual and see past history just by walking down the streets of Deep Ellum. The old newspapers covered the windows of one business on  Elm Street.

edited to remove Long and add Lone from Long Star to Lone Star 09/09/14

Eerie seeing this 100-year old history on display.

Albert: My Hero

Credit: Albert Einstein/Arthur Sasse/AFP/Getty Images
















This picture of Albert Einstein was taken on his 72nd birthday. Sticking his tongue out at the photographer was his ideal. Frankly, that was his privilege.

Currently, I am in the midst of re-reading Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson. I'm at the point of Summer Vacation,1900. Chapter Four. Fifty pages down. Five Hundred and one to go. A second time, mind you. My summer reading has slowed down some only because I don't pack a book with me when I carry my camera case. I'm up to 40-pounds already and that is quiet enough walking, riding or lugging in and out of the car. Plus, I just took a stack of books back to Half-Price Book's Headquarters at North Park and haven't been to the bookstore for my winter's list of reading.

 I know, there are those techs that load up their Kindle. Frankly, I don't own one and I don't plan to buy one. When I read, I like the comfort and romance of a hard-cover book! Remember those? We have allowed Amazon dot com to cause our cherished book stores to fall like trees in the forest. I know, it saves trees. Well, trees were made to produce pulp and convert it into papers were inks could be married to the paper for hundreds of years. We even built buildings called libraries to house those beautiful hard-bounds. Just the other day, I went into one and they gave me a new fancy digital id card. The method of checking out is modern as most every one knows. Even self check outs. But, the basic reason people go to libraries is for books, Even though the libraries have digital editions, too.

Albert, I hope that  more of your letters and papers are discovered and some one writes about you again.