Images
Road to Chichén Itzá
“El Castillo” The temple of the winged serpent Kukulkan. He was a bit of a bass-ass and live-heart-ripping-out monster-god-dude.
It is impressive to look up and think – “Glad I’m not being sacrificed today!” … but, you can imagine the scene.
Kukulkan guards the steps to his Temple.
Here he is again on the “wall of skulls” where they use to place the heads of defeated warriors. No – these ancient Mayans were not easy going in any way. Small and very angry people by all accounts on the walls at this site.
More graphics with common themes of heart-ripping by various animal type gods.
The ball game arena is impressive. This is detail of a high place for important people to sit. Kind of Mayan luxury boxes -This is where Mayan Chris Christie would hug Mayan Jerry Jones after the game.
They call this “the snail” – believed to be an ancient observatory…you know, so the sacrifices lined up with the stars.
Another view of “The Snail”
Here is “actual size” me in front of some ruins (I am not tall,…ok,…I may not even be average height, but here – I am good!). This ancient world is a good fit, except for all the extreme violence and hardship of course.
Shipping tourists to this site is big business – these buses are new, clean and plentiful. Here is a selfie of me and my son taken in the reflection of a shinny wheel.
This was a great trip — I need to say that all the violence and sacrifice came from the tour guides who would remind us of a chilling new way to be dispatched at each ruin we visited. This site was already abandoned a couple hundred years before the Spanish arrived – where we had another great round of blood-letting and savagery ensue.
I loved the food at the Mayan restaurant we visited after touring the site.
And I feel a connection and sadness for the Mayan people that still live in the area of their “lost’ civilization. It seems that they do not share in the fruits of this great peninsula as much as those that came after them.
I was only here a week so I may not have an accurate grasp — they have been here for thousands of years — they have already seen their world completely destroyed at least twice over — and they still approach the day with a smile.
Cheers from the cave!
Weekly Photo Challenge – Depth
I went classic perspective with train tracks – I admit to Photoshop because … well … there will be Photoshop in everything I do …especially for making a simple point about keeping a clear path in murky times. Focusing on the tracks instead of the landscape tends to clear things up.
I turned around to capture the sun rising through the trees – and, yes again — I over-saturated and blurred my way to a respectable image – This is my take on “can’t see the forest for the trees” – which is a stretch for a perspective challenge —– But — Both these themes are strong mantras to me right now – so I share them with you.
After looking at work by talented photographers around WordPress – I almost did not hit the publish button – but then this whole blogging deal is about putting down what we are and getting on a trajectory for improvement. I need to set the stones down in order to step on them and move forward.
And this is all for fun anyway, right?
Cheers from the cave!
Je Suis Charlie
Illustration credit: Wayne @ Cave of Fame
Winter scenes
Taking a few pictures that give an idea of what we have around the cave this time of year. I went to one of my favorite places on the Hudson river and there were more than a couple hunters with high-powered rifles in these same woods. I understand the passion about the sport and the need to keep the deer population in check (because we killed all the wolves that used to do this job without having to spend $800 bucks at the nearest Cabela’s!)—-having said that—–I really did not want to get shot at—and I wasn’t,… so….
Cheers from the cave!
Reboot Yourself
Reboot Yourself
I started “Blogging 201” http://dailypost.wordpress.com/courses/blogging-201-branding-and-growth/ last week and have been making some changes with the website.
I am not done yet.
These are not tweaks – these are discarding the clutter to keep the vision clear.
I am not abandoning rock music—I am bringing it with me on my new adventures.
I just need to stand up and declare to my music purist friends – that I am not one, or at least; not a good one.
Although I respect and admire those of you that stay on point and on topic. I guess I do not have the discipline to keep this blog “In the lines”.
I am faced with two options –
One: Abandon it altogether and do something more “useful” with my time.
Two: Rock it out in the direction it is pulling me and go as far as it will take me—with feeling.
So here we go with option two and you are most welcome to join me.
And as always-Cheers from the cave!
This Will Destroy You- They move on tracks of never ending light.
Post Rock
It does not shake us – it does not rattle us — it calls us
This image is from an early morning shoot at the lake a few weeks ago- it is a mundane effort that I originally over-saturated and turned gold.
Then I wondered what would happen if I inverted the whole thing for the opposite effect.
Boom Baby!~ Black becomes white- yellow becomes blue – warm to cool and we are on to something. It takes it from warm reality to cool dream—-just one little [Ctrl-i] click of the keyboard and we have magic.
This Will Destroy You- They move on tracks of never ending light.
This song pulls me in to a void of contemplation-not a bad thing or a good thing; more like another realm of the mind thing—like stepping outside of yourself in order to take a little gander.
I think this band is from Texas and this is soothing stuff.
The blue image starting me thinking of this tune.
Below is the image that started this:
And sorry for using arty words like invert and saturation in a post.
Desolation
Lake George, N.Y.
After the tourists are gone. At sunrise with a warming filter added in Photoshop.
Why Geeks owe Devo everything.
Why Geeks owe Devo everything.
You neuvo geeks don’t understand because you were not born before the revolution. ..
Before the revolution-there was only darkness for the fleet of brain.
Al Gore had not yet invented the internet.
We played chess by mail (yes, stamp and envelope mailbox-mail!…-pawn to king 4, bitch!)
We were hunted down in school and beaten up for good sport-they would later call this bullying-and even later would declare it a bad thing. Think Hunger Games High school.
Comics were not cool…and we read them because we were not cool but they made us feel better. There was no banding together at a Comic Con…with dressing up in costumes and fellowship! Fellowship? Friends? …No –none of that.
When our glasses broke, we could not afford to fix them right away, so we rigged them the best we could. And we did that because without them-we could not see!
Star Wars was yet to become an official religion- it was just a movie they forgot to make toys for. (yes, there would be an over reaction of epic proportion and geeks everywhere or maybe nerds would buy tons and tons )
In this dark age-there was no difference between a geek and a nerd-each were considered the lowest form of life.
Star Trek was a campy 60’s show.
AND—-Batman was still a joke with the cheesy “Bam” graphics or as Robin would have said “Holy History Batman!” He was yet to make that Walter White transformation and go all badass over Gotham.
Those were the dark days of Geekdom and there was no music.
Then this band Devo came out.
They were smart, smart-ass and funny. We had a band….Yeah! We don’t have to pretend to like Foghat anymore people-we can dance…it just might be O.K to be us!!!
We are legion and we are the bomb!
Then Bill Gates and Steve Jobs arrived and the rest is history.
But first was Devo-first was sound. This revolution would not be televised.
R.I.P- Robert “Bob 2” Casale
Cave Olympics- Prog-Rock
Progressive rock– the arty, pompous and always a tad snobby weird cousin of rock music. Those who like him will affectionately refer to him as a bit eccentric and an acquired taste. Those who don’t like him will call him an overblown pompous ass wallowing in mindless self reflection that is all too full of codswallop*.
*pick your favorite word here to describe senseless drivel – I always liked this one
But I digress and getting back to the music-
Both are correct descriptions.
Bands like Rush, early Genesis, and Yes- I do not like and will use the bad definition to explain why.
Bands like Pink Floyd, Supertramp and solo Peter Gabriel I like and will refer to the good definition.
Many fans will be the opposite or simply hate all of these groups for being way too much over the artsy ledge.
I am cool with that
But the winter games are still going on at the Cave and we need some medal winners
The Bronze:
Arcade Fire.Afterlife
Before I get all my 8 or 9 readers to band together and tell me this not prog….Here is the test.
Is it artsy? Check
Is it self-important drivel and over the top in a way that angers some music fans? Check
Would you have thrown this band in with all the other progressive bands if it came out thirty years ago?
Again-Check.
And I love this song and it is my website-Just a regular guy in a regular virtual cave-so there and let’s go to silver.
The Silver:
Frank Zappa.Watermelon in Easter Hay.
Frank was a talented and thoughtful musician known for a too grotesque sense of humor. He would be a mega star today. It was nothing more outrageous than Eminem.
And the dude could play guitar.
If you got a chance to see him live then you got a chance to see something like the massive migrations of buffalo across the Great Plains before they were all gone. You got to witness something special that was normal for the time but fading fast. You got to be part of history.
I now feel like I am history! (that is good, right?)
The Gold:
Pink Floyd.Shine On You Crazy Diamond
I could write a book on what this song means to me. (maybe someday)
My favorite Pink Floyd song from my favorite Floyd record-Wish You Were Here.
This is the ultimate bromance ditty-One guy writing a song about a friend that has lost his mind but will never be considered lost. It is song of hope and a song about love and respect. Friendship is a deep and mysterious thing that this song is not afraid to expose to the light. Madness is another dark depth that few pieces of music will dare to set sail for. Just for those two reasons this song is beautiful and this version is unforgettable.
Next I will go for the “Classics” and Cheers from the Cave!
Cave of Fame 