Return to the Valley of the Vapors

Inside the Valley of the Vapors: Outside. 

Inside the Valley of the Vapors: Underside.

Inside the Valley of the Vapors: Upside. 

Inside the Valley of the Vapors: Beside. 

Today's Rune: Joy. 

Farewell, 2014!

Did a fair amount of walking the Earth in 2014, plus travel by air, rail and four-wheeled automobile. No ships this year, no bus, but one horse and buggy team. Madrid was a highlight, plus around Spain by rail and via London and New York City by jet. Walked Center City Philadelphia in cold weather in January (including Northern Liberties -- great name), plus visits to New Britain and Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania; afterwards, Memphis and Shiloh, Tennessee; Corinth, Mississippi; Hot Springs, Arkansas; North Carolina's Research Triangle area (where I began the first day of the year), plus Greensboro and Fayetteville; and New Orleans for quick sorties (much easier to fly in and take a taxi than drive, I've learned). Wanting to get to back to Detroit and Spain and also on to Cuba for the first time, maybe even Portugal. Interesting year, for sure. Got to spend time with lots of family and friends along the way, another benefit of traveling.

Saw many things while walking, and took photographs from time to time. One of the gifts of pictures is being able to see details that may have been missed or overlooked in person. The little red and gold hammer and sickle symbol embedded in this scene, for instance: it must have caught my eye, but if so, I would have forgotten were it not for this image. Turns out that it's the logo for el Partido Comunista de los Pueblos de España (PCPE). Probably wouldn't see that in Kansas -- which is just another excellent reason to see places far from home base. Finally, people and places change with time, so return visits are equally eye-popping.

Happy trails, y'all! A salute to 2014!

Today's Rune: Fertility. 

Architecture: Hot Springs, Arkansas

The Buddha rests in Hot Springs.

Tom Moore 10¢ cigars.

Uneeda Biscuit 5¢

 Mountain Valley Water.

Mary Shrine (Our Lady of Grace). Note transmogrifying bricks.

Escape tunnel, Arlington Hotel.

Lady of the Vapors (aka Mother Nature). 

Today's Rune: Fertility. 

Power Points: Sortie Into Hillsborough, North Carolina (Take II)

Ever noticed how places that are "power points" are intensifiers for both good and bad? Hillsborough, North Carolina, for instance, has a lot of wonderful things going for it. But there is and always has been crazy stuff going on there, too. It seems the same with all power points that I've ever visited. Hot Springs, Arkansas, percolates with such things, for instance. Greensboro, North Carolina. Detroit. New Orleans. Philadelphia. Findhorn, Scotland. And so on. 

The Colonial Inn, Hillsborough, on King Street: I used to go here with family and friends to share special celebratory meals, the kind where a wide variety of dishes are put on the table and you graze at will. It was a wonderful place. 

The Colonial Inn sign, faded now but you can still make it out, boasts "Since 1759."  Maybe there was an inn or tavern here then and during the American Revolution. The core of this Colonial Inn, however, was actually built in 1838.  It has been called Spencer's Tavern, the Occaneechie  (aka Occoneechie) Hotel and the Corbinton Inn. The interior eatery that I became familiar with began operations after World War Two, and ended before the turn of the latest century.

What happened? Apparently, a bad citizen, a demented miscreant of some kind, purchased the property more than a decade ago and has since let it rot in place. He won't fix it and he won't sell it, either. What a disgrace! Here's an instance where local authorities ought to seize the property and turn it over to someone who will restore its integrity, help it come alive again, and put the reprobated citizen in stocks on the courthouse square for a day so people can throw eggs at him (kidding -- maybe). Something must be done or the Colonial Inn will be lost forever. Use it or lose it!

Today's Rune: Signals. 

  

Van Gogh in Hot Springs

Van Gogh did not visit Hot Springs, Arkansas, but if he were alive today, he'd probably derive inspiration from the interior of Angel's, an Italian place on Central, the main avenue in the historic district. There's a second Angel's (in the Park) attached to the Park Hotel (built in 1929). There's plenty of other art in Hot Springs, too -- ranging from various architectural creations through kitsch and formal museum (the MOCA, for example -- Museum of Contemporary Art, housed in the repurposed Ozark Bathouse, originally completed in 1922). Back at Angel's, besides the absorbing interior that includes a colorful gantry bar space, I usually go for appetizers like antipasto, crab cakes, bruschetta and house salad. However, everything looks good, from pizza to more upscale offerings. Spicy aromas add to the atmosphere. 

Besides Angel's, downtown Hot Springs eateries and watering holes that I've tried and liked at one time or another include: The Ohio Club (former gangster and performance haven); Rolando's Nuevo Latino Restauraunte (Ecuadorian); Granny's Kitchen (breakfast, with a couple of groovy Cuban posters in the way back); Andrews Restaurant and Bakery (Louisiana style, a second floor eatery with interesting interior, initially lured in by free beignets); the Venetian Dining Room at the Arlington (compare with The Shining); and Maxine's ("a former brothel," named after Maxine Temple Jones -- the Hot Springs equivalent of CBGB, with bands like the Legendary Shack Shakers and poetry nights, too). Not an eatery but also not far from Rolando's is the Mary Shrine, on a corner perch above St. Mary of the Springs Church, always worth a visit at different times, thanks to ever-changing ambient light.  

Today's Rune: Joy.   

Hot Springs, Arkansas: The Arlington Hotel

Hot Springs, Arkansas, is to me an ideal place for a sojourn: it's low-key and there's plenty to do (or not do) in a day, a few days or over a more leisurely period. For those into this kind of thing, it's situated in an area that features an extensive geological "crystal bed" and hot spring mineral waters. That is, the "Valley of the Vapors" is a concentrated "power point." The Arlington Hotel is part of Hot Springs National Park. It maintains much of its original 1920s and 1930s charm -- and "Spanish Colonial" eccentricity. I love it. Pictured above is the front lobby after hours, on the side away from the bar. Outside, there's a spacious wraparound veranda.

At the Arlington, also plenty of history and hauntings, as they say. The parade of big-hitter guests over the years has included: Al Capone, FDR, Harry Truman, certain Republican presidents best left anonymous, Babe Ruth, Will Rogers, Mae West and Bill Clinton.

Today's Rune: Joy.   

White Smoke, New Pope: And Along Comes Francis

Where were you when Pope Francis was chosen?  As for me, it's Hot Springs, Arkansas, at the Arlington Hotel, watching on CNN. He seems like a good choice, with Saint Francis as earthly model: San Francesco d'Assisi (circa 1181-1226). Our new Francis is a Sagittarius, which means he probably has a wild streak; things will happen with him in charge of the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Francis was a reformer, close to having been declared a heretic but instead, kept in the fold. Defender of the poor, friend of the birds.  Now, Pope Franciscus of Argentina.

What a year, this 2013 A.D., what an epoch -- in the midst of climate change, social reform, start of a second term for Barack Obama, retired pope (Benedict XVI), death of Hugo Chávez, election of Pope Francis I, 50th anniversary year of the death of JFK. And it's only March! What next?

Today's Rune: Wholeness.       

The Wind Cries Mary

Certain symbols bring comfort and peace. When I see a statue of Mary, I see compassion, an understanding of the weight of the world. The "thin" Buddha icon works this way, also. Both combine compassion with a certain amount of detachment. Warm feelings, yet a certain emotional displacement away from the daily troubles of the world.

A note on the above Mary: it's the Our Lady Of Grace Shrine on an elevated corner by St. Mary's Catholic Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Over the years, I've seen some of her fingers broken off and later repaired -- which may be why the hands look so out of scale upon closer observation. The strange atmospheric aura of the Valley of the Vapors causes the surrounding bricks to molt and in places crumble, enhancing the eerie beauty of the place. 

What statues, signs, symbols or places bring you comfort?  Or the reverse? 

Today's Rune: Joy.    

Phantoms of Hot Springs

In Hot Springs, different elements blend or live side by side or one on top of the other. Maxine's showcases bands like the Legendary Shack Shakers, the very same that I caught at the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, where they played in a lineup with Cracker and the Reverend Horton Heat. Maxine's has a sort of CBGB dive vibe, which is good because the latter no longer exists except in the memories of recording angels.
 

The Caddo and members of other First Nations loved smoking tobacco down the centuries. In Hot Springs, this tradition continues, but only in designated locations. Here, a ghostly advertisement for Tom Moore cigars, ten cents apiece.

At the MOCA there are other reminders of other ancient ways, some mysterious and some less so. Beyond the esoteric details and like tobacco smoking, this depiction still resonates on a primal level.

Today's Rune: Fertility.

In the Valley of the Vapors: The Arlington Hotel

It's historic. It's a time capsule with all mod cons. It's affordable. It's part of Hot Springs National Park in the Valley of the Vapors. It's the kind of "power point" I love. 

Built in 1925, the (third) Arlington Hotel provides a good vista of the downtown historic district -- espeically from this floor, the sixth. Back during Prohibition days, and at the onset of the Great Depression, Al Capone looked out a similar window from the fourth floor. Later, FDR and Harry Truman came to stay. Let's not forget Babe Ruth, Mae West, and later, Bill Clinton. Singers and bands. Comedians. Actors. Writers. Why? It's a power point, a place to experience firsthand to believe. Really.  
 

The Shining, anyone? The Great Gatsby? Get into the ghostly groove in the Valley of the Vapors -- at the Arlington Hotel.

Today's Rune: Journey.  

Cosmo Cyborg

In Hot Springs, Arkansas, the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) is showcasing, among other exhibits, Robotic Portraits by Deena des Rioux. As the above exhibition card notes: "Following in the tradition of Man Ray's photo-montage and influences from Dada and the Surreal to science fiction, the artist engages camera and computer to rethink the portrait as a technological subject."

Indeed. How much have we become the Man Machine, the Human Machine? How wired are we?  How much do we utilize advanced technology? Can you imagine the possibilities?

Recently, I've seen the barcode in advanced action at a Korean spa: simply wear a waterproof bracelet with barcode and key, charge whatever you wish on it, and pay at checkout -- via another electronic transaction.

From Google to Wikipedia, from online banking to GPS, we're in for a penny, in for a pound, in for a barcode, in for a scan.  

QR (Quick Response) Codes are already ubiquitous. Traffic, weather, medical records, fees, shopping, food delivery, energy sensors, all of it. Check it out, we're already here.

Back in Hot Springs, the MOCA's program director is very cool and energetic. The museum and its exhibits are on display within The Ozark, a 1922 Spanish Colonial Style structure on Bathhouse Row "repurposed" from its original function to become the MOCA. It's really ideal as an art and related events space, probably much better suited for art than for saunas and baths (as it used to sport from the 1920s through 1977). Here's a link: http://museumofcontemporaryart.com/    

Today's Rune: Gateway.  

Sojourn in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Back from Hot Springs, Arkansas, via Hope and Texarkana. This was my first visit in eight years. Just as then, loved it. And this time, stayed at the Arlington Hotel (opened on the last day of 1924), where Al Capone used to stay and on different occasions, FDR and Bill Clinton. Let's not forget Babe Ruth. Totally cool experience. More details to follow at some point, I suspect.  Fascinating locale.

(Above: closeup of Hot Springs' main row in 1880, US Library of Congress).

Today's Rune: Partnership. 

Christopher Hitchens, RIP

Fare-thee-well, Christopher Hitchens, always a joy to see in action, to read, to often disagree with. My favorite recent quip of his that springs to mind: "Cheap booze is a false economy" (Hitch-22, 2010).

Gore Vidal landed the last good shot in their back-and-forth quibbling: "Hitchens identified himself for many years as the heir to me. Unfortunately, for him, I didn't die" (2009). A salute to them both.

Today's Rune: Protection.

Shock Delivered: Respect Yourself

Back to McGuinn's English class, I'm eighteen and it's 1979. Our "shot-gun writing" prompt on D-Day + 35 involves a response to Joan Didion's 1961 essay* "On Self-Respect." The touchstone I go for: "[T]he willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own

life . . . is the source from which self-respect springs." I think this choice underscores my early embracing of Existentialism, which may be grounded in religion, spirit or secular humanism.

I scrawl out three single-spaced pages, including this: "It is easy to [choose] not to have self-respect. For a person without self-respect is a person without independence [or] responsibility to himself." I then go on to use the word "cop-out" a couple of times, slang for shirking and, really, cowardice.  Freedom and Responsibility must walk hand in hand, or we are lost. I hold myself to that way on down the line from there to here. Be Free, Take Responsibility for your arc.     

*In Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968).




















The Staple Singers say it all right here (1971):



Today's Rune: The Mystery Rune.

Ice

I've found myself on a long high road in the dark, suddenly faced with ice. Lots of ice. In the mountains, this is a scary fact. In times like this, all time-distance calculations are thrown out the window. All bets are off. I will not be arriving at the point of my final destination in ten hours. I may not be arriving at all.

Enough situations like this cause a rethinking of how to get from here to there. I saved more for airfare. I took trains or a bus. Trapped in the mountains of West Virginia or on the Pennsylvania Turnpike or on I-80 or in Ohio, enough was enough. Forget about it.

Have you ever been caught on an icy road with your life hanging by a thread? I remember once on the way to work in North Carolina, cars spinning off the road in front, having to slowly, carefully make my way back home to call it a day. Now with cellphones, it doesn't seem quite so bleak, but it is still terror-inducing, if only for a moment, like the moment before ice melts into water.

Now, in my mind, Led Zeppelin's 1970 "Immigrant Song" pops up:

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
Hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new land,
To fight the horde, sing and cry: Valhalla, I am coming!

Yes, I am coming, but not quite yet.  

Today's Rune: Journey.

Lana Gramlich Interview, Part II

Down Louisiana Way ⒸLana Gramlich
(used by permission).

Erik: Besides Abita Springs, anywhere else you've been that was (or seemed like it could be) a good place to live or visit for a while?

Lana: I have family in Canada and try to visit on a regular basis. It’s a wonderful place to spend time. The people are pretty laid back, the scenery is fantastic, the cities are full of culture and fun and you can’t beat free healthcare. Some years ago I was fortunate enough to visit New Zealand, which was also stunningly beautiful and full of friendly, helpful people. It’s much more geologically active than Canada, generally speaking. I was shocked to learn that Auckland’s situated on a dormant volcano field. Not extinct . . . dormant. I don’t think I’d be comfortable living there, but the visit was well worth it! After Hurricane Katrina my husband and I relocated to Austin, TX for a while. I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed it more if we weren’t dealing with Katrina-stresses, but overall I’d have to say it was a pretty cool place, too.

Erik: Do you work on photography, painting (and drawing) at the same time and in a similar way?

Lana: I don’t really draw much anymore—I switched to painting quite a while ago, and I don’t usually draw on my canvases before I paint. Regardless, painting and photography are typically opposing processes for me. When I paint, I have a general idea (at least) of what I want to produce. The actual painting can sometimes be quite stressful—either indirectly (something about the painting’s not working and it’s bugging me) or directly (I’m uber-focused in an attempt to paint a long, narrow, straight line, etc.) Paintings take at least a few sittings (for a few hours at a time) to get through. I may go out with my cameras in between painting sessions, if that counts as “at the same time.” My photography is much more Zen. When I head out with my cameras, the main focus is enjoying a lovely hike in a peaceful, natural area. Since nature doesn’t work well with “plans,” I have no preconceived ideas when I go out. As a result of these two factors, my photos are spontaneous, depicting nature as it is. To me, nothing is more beautiful.

Erik: Does music play a role in your work?

Lana: Surprisingly, not so much. Despite being a music lover all of my life, it doesn’t play much of a part in my artistic creations. When I heard that Rick Wright (of Pink Floyd) passed away in 2008, I painted Great Gig in the Sky as a tribute [pictured above, also copyright Lana Gramlich, used by permission]. I also borrowed lyrics from the band, Mountain, as titles for two of my paintings: Down Louisiana Way and Mississippi Queen. Those are the only links between music and my art that come to mind.

Erik: Can you tell us a little about the creation and production of Eye Candy Photography: Scenes from the American South?

Lana: The book was the result of at least a few years of photographing local flora, fauna and landscapes. After looking into self-publishing, I realized that creating such a book would allow people to have a wide variety of my photos for just a little more than the price of one of my large, matted prints. I could share more of my local images with a much wider audience. It also acts as a more manageable “portfolio” (of sorts) for me. The photos in the book are among my personal favorites, many of which have also either won awards and/or been published in some other format (magazine covers, etc.) Most of the shots are from my own area—I’m blessed to live among such beauty—but there are also one or two from a camping trip I took last year in Mississippi. I was delighted when the library system I work for decided to add it to their collection.

Thanks for taking the time to interview me, Erik. I always enjoy reading your blog and I appreciate the opportunity to become a part of it. If anyone’s interested in seeing more of my work, here are some links for my pages:

Eye Candy Visual Arts: http://lanagramlich.webs.com/

Eye Candy Newsletter: http://eyecandynewsletter.blogspot.com/

The Dreaming Tree: http://lucidflora.blogspot.com/

My Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eye-Candy-The-Art-and-Photography-of-Lana-Gramlich/124020672361

“Like” my Facebook page to be entered into a monthly draw for a free 8" x 10” photo!

Today's Rune: Fertility.  

Eye Candy Phot...

Scenes from the Ame...

By Lana Gramlich

Book Preview

More Scenes From An Elevator

Seek and ye shall find, indeed. Since yesterday's post, I caught a good portion of Bernardo Bertolucci's Ultimo tango a Parigi / Last Tango in Paris (1972), including a key scene involving Marlon Brando's character chasing up winding stairs around Maria's Schneider's character as she ascends in a birdhouse-style elevator. This is a recurrent trope in mysteries, crime dramas, and so on. Who will get there first? Will the targeted person escape or crash and burn, figuratively or literally?

Shock and surprise is another recurring trope: armed folks shoot outwards from inside or armed folks shoot folks in an elevator; or a monster of some kind goes in, or a monster springs out.  Here, a snippet from Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006).  Bang bang -- surprise! 

Bloody elevators come in other varieties, too. I haven't seen Curtis Harrington's Games (1967) since I was a kid, but I sure do remember a scene where a lowering cage-style elevator reveals what is apparently a blood-dripping corpse  -- the horrific image stuck with me. Given the actors involved (Simone Signoret, James Caan, Katharine Ross and more), it would be fun to see Games again as an adult.

As for bloody elevators, let's not forget the bloody torrents gushing out of the elevator shafts at the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980) -- remember?

Today's Rune: Initiation.  

Many Rivers to Cross

Have crossed over a lot of rivers lately. The only thing they have in common is they each flow in one direction, though the direction in which each flows is often very different.

If you look at the satellite shot below, you can see both the Detroit River and the St. Clair River, plus connecting lakes.

Some rivers look more like swamps, or creeks. Others, vast waterways deep and fast-flowing. Most big cities in North America seem to have at least one river, if not more, nearby, bordering or channeling right through town. And their uses have changed with time: thanks to automobiles, rivers are obstacles to be crossed over on select bridges, or underneath through tunnels, or across on ferries.

Things to do with rivers or smaller waterways have cool names like riparian, rill, watercourse, rivulet, channel, delta. In writing, visual art, satellite imagery and music, rivers and their smaller equivalents can make characters in their own right. The Mekong Delta springs to mind, meaning poetically in Vietnamese, Nine Dragon River Delta.


Today's Rune: Defense. Believe it or not, the subject of rivers came up on the trip to Austin, maybe because of the Colorado River, the Blanco, the Bosque, the Guadalupe, the Nueces, the San Marcos, the San Antonio River, and so on. Let's not forget the Rio Grande / Río Bravo del Norte. Rivers sort of jump out more into immediate conciousness while traveling.

Hope Springs Eternal in the Human Breast

Today with wind chill, Detroit was as cold as the North Pole yet still, hope springs eternal in the human breast* and maybe two of the Big Three will make it, and two out of three ain't bad.

Meanwhile, in time for the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, here's a cool new book to check out:

Margery Krevsky, Sirens of Chrome: The Enduring Allure of Auto Show Models (Momentum Books, December 2008). In addition to stellar photos, there's a lot of good text, all of it well worth the sticker price.

Perhaps the most hopeful thing of all is that Barack Obama will become President of the United States of America next Tuesday. Perhaps there will be a ceasefire in Gaza just in time.

*Alexander Pope, ca. 1734; and there's also this of his, from 1717:

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd . . .

Today's Rune: Journey.

Made in America

Going through my stuff recently, I found a cache of buttons from the early 1980s. It was the time of many buttons, and now they are the stuff of time travel. Seeing how young Bruce Springsteen and Little Steven look now in the 1985 video of "Glory Days," it's a little eerie to think how young I was then, too. One of the buttons is from the Boss' 1981 The River tour -- his concerts were legendary at the time for running something like three hours long. The WXYC button brings back that UNC-Chapel Hill "alternative/progressive" FM radio station playing punk, New Wave, blues, etc. And the Rolling Stones 1981Tattoo You tour -- I saw them in Philadelphia in September at Veterans Stadium. George Thorogood and Journey opened. My father, who was on a business trip in his native Philly at the time, took me out to Bookbinders, the famous lobster house, and we sat two tables away from Journey and some of their entourage! It was crazy. Our finely attired old school Italian waiter griped about them, saying he wouldn't walk across the street to hear them play and had we heard how they tore up their hotel rooms? For Old Blue Eyes, though, he'd trade in a night's work for another show. More on all that some day, I suspect. Happy birthday, by the way, to my parents!


Sopranos fans will know that Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" was the song Tony plucked from the jukebox in the last scene of the series. Journey premiered it in the 1981 tour and played it while opening for the Stones in Philly. Across time, space, and memory, it's a wildly intereconnected world, indeed. Pictured here is Deborah Lin, James Gandolfini's fiancée as of this post.

Yesterday's Rune: Defense. Today's: Fertility.