Phonecian fate of xlendi

In a recent visit to the archeological Museum in Malta, I came across drawings of a discovery of a Phonecian shipwreck in the bay of Xlendi. The drawings depict cargo scattered on the bottom in the form of clay vessels whose contents have been lost to desiccation. Yet the vessels have remained. My hope is my vessels may receive the same fate at the bottom of Mud bay where I live. Therefore I intend to continue scattering them in the bay to achievement of this fate and sometime in 2526 they will be rediscovered.

This blog

No useful information, no historical context, no well-reasoned alternative perspectives, no coherent explanation of complex and intractable issues, and certainly no insight. Just unfounded free to relinquish their role as exemplars and tutors and to recognize the grim fate they share with the rest of humanity

Moonset

Memnon

Memnon? Is it a vessel or is it a statue? This blog is about the meaning behind the vessels that I make, and it gives me some comfort to know that my thoughts can have meaning to others who read it, but it occurred to me that some things which are obvious to all of us and often talked about are completely misunderstood. Therefore, I offer whomever may read this my input insights regarding bitcoin. May I first point out my observation that this is all hiding in plain sight, for after all the foundation of bitcoin was really just to provide a means of currency that was immune from the transaction fees that banks typically charge on credit card transactions and from governments who kept increasing the money supply, therefore contributing to inflation. I find it astonishing that this has been completely forgotten in the speculative run-up in the value of bitcoin. My second observation is that the mechanism the bitcoin code uses to verify a transaction, namely blockchain has worked against the utility of the code: repeating a falsehood over and over and verifying the falsehood still doesn't make it true. Perhaps it is the very banks and governments that bitcoin sought to replace that have contributed to the speculative run-up of the soon to be bankrupt currency (along with all other cryptocurrencies). I remember the first bitcoin transaction I completed, around the time The New Yorker did an article, and I was um hesitant to receive the 65 bitcoins a renter wish to pay me for the rental of my ski cabin. It was easy for me to accept the crypto and then just exchange it for currency in dollars the next day. this was sometime in 2011. On that day, my 65 coins served their purpose-- a means of transferring something of value. Today the value of those 65 coins is approximately 4.5 million, but really nothing has changed. And thereinn lies my suspicion that all that increase in value is bunk. And if you think im wrong, Ive got lots of old fiat from Italy, Mexico, Germany and France that's worthless too today, but sometime in the past it still worked. Im still accepting bitcoin for rent too

Phish Sphere opening night

As a listener of live phish or a holder of recordings of tapes from past shows yeah I'm you can hear me. I don't know how we're gonna ... So lets talk about the visuals here. Removed from the scene and listening, really listening polyrhythm always different and now we have these visuals-- not the spinning indivuals in the crowd ( that is still here), but the possibility that all those recordings could look like this: opening night at the Sphere! First of all this show felt personal to me. Was it meeting Trey in the hotel corridor after the soundcheck on Wednesday evening? I don't think so? ( that's another story). From the moment Evolve began, with the going- down -the road -feeling -bad visuals reminiscent of what I remember from "Acapulco Gold" the Arne Wong inspired dog with the swirly eyes on a journey and the Hunter S Thompson-esque arrival at the Mars Hotel now ebranded " Hotel of Phish" with swirling toilets and probably an interface that allows one to enter any room in the house depending you desire to check in or check out. These possibilities are endless as you could imagine... But the Sphere was different. the collective vision of growing up and all the visuals we carry in our minds-eye from 40 years the references contained here-in. I remember seeing Beatlemania (50 years ago) and understanding that even though I never listened to the Beatles I could take it all in like an Orca teaching her children ( cubs) all there is to know with such superior knowledge all there is to know ( share). You can do it all here with them too. And the visuals allowed me to remember that. While hearing theme from the Botton im reminded of how many times ive felt the need to swim up -- like visiting Vegas it's complicated. So soon , I m sure, we will not have to go there because the digital world makes it possible anywhere. Besides, I would rather sit in Trey's living room in Vermont where its compfortable-- iintermission all day and night anyway. Or look at old Phish posters while listening to those old tapes and thinking about all the good times. There was also something apocalyptic about night 1 too. Was it leftovers from Dorthy's presentation before? Definitely! Or is it the realization that such a good thing won't last forever; Or maybe it is the beginning of the apocalypse? Then, We bought tickets for night two (in all the excitement) like the depression and could have sold them at a hendese profit, but why not make the magic accessible? ( gave them away) We need'nt blast off into space when home is so cool really? I want to go there, but not at the additional expense. My souvenir cup may not save the planet, but I can always drink from it again. Lots of love to all those who are going to the rest of the shows. And if you have a chance to make it for nights 4-9 Go.

Pirates Booty

The Pirates Booty:

witness to the visual feast of unimaginable riches served in hurricane aftermath where the author paints the meal in a kitchen of still- life splendor on the dessert island of Barbados.

 

John's couch

 True to my previous entry about renaming this blog I offer you ( dear reader) these photos with the following explanation:

This is me with an airplane that recently flew around the world.

I flew here to a hangar that has been owned by my family for longer that I have been alive.

Although, I was reluctant to go here because it's dusty, hot, very far from the ocean, and the air smells bad because of the nearby factory farms, I had to go because it is a kind of Mecca.

As my dad said, "all roads lead to an airport... " and in this case, the airport he is talking about is Chino. what?

I haven't been there in decades and what I am going to talk about happened there more than a half century ago. 

Probably 20 years ago, this hanger housed a Russian airplane that was capable of aerobatic maneuvers that no airplane today can achieve and even if you knew how to fly this it cost well over $1 million to buy and was uninsurable.  My dad's friend Jurgis Kayris, made modifications to this airplane so that when the airplane was shipped back to Lithuania, no one would know what modifications have been made.

A half century ago, well more than this, this hanger held in airplane:  an aerobatic airplane that flew so well the son of one of the richest men in the world, (the inventor of the Lear Jet) John Lear, purchased this airplane for his own. 

That was the Jungster I-- an airplane designed and built by Rim Kaminskas.  

At the restaurant in this airport called Flos, which is still there today,  My dad designed the Jungster III for his client, John Lear, and, in eight months, built the airplane so that it was ready for the Reno air races.  That airplane later became the first plane to surpass 200 miles an hour air speed . John L then sold the airplane to an Air Force pilot friend who sought and acquired the sponsorship of none other than Richard Bach, who was at the top of his fame after writing the seminal book Jonathan Livingston Seagull .  The famous airplane was donated to the Smithsonian museum.

 John Lear himself was denied his inheritance when his father died in 1976 and although I don't know what he did to piss his father off so much that he was left without a penny, but I can only speculate ... His friend Major John O Hall was convicted of selling secrets to the Russians and is in prison to this day. 

At the ripe age of 10 years old, I really don't know the details of this intrigue, but I can tell you these were formidable individuals and I could feel their presence and greatness of these antiheroes when we opened the doors to this hanger. 

The accompanying photos are not photos of minor junk.  Similarly , the photos of the vessels that I create  (shown in this blog)  carry with them, the complex meditative thoughts that swirl around in my head as I create them.  If you look closely at the artifact shown in the picture, the remains of  a couch wrapped in a fabulous upholstery which came from the home of probably one of the richest men in the world,  You can begin to see all that one of MY Vessels can hold.  What stories can this couch contain?

One of my earliest memories of something that was worthy to remember is the image of sleepyhead, John Lear, With his famous P 38 lightning in blazoned with the number 76 parked outside, greeting my dad and I, as we slid open the hanger doors on a Sunday morning To begin work on the airplanes inside.

He was living in the hangar and sleeping on the couch.

Well  as of today,the couch went into a dumpster and the hangar has been swept of all traces of the people who came here.  There now is no evidence of what mischief went on here.  John's couch is a Vessel of  obfuscation