Sixty Six

I may have turned 66 today, but I still love to play, and teaching the grandchildren to spin tops on the top of ketchup bottles seems like the perfect way to celebrate. Luckily for me, and for them, Maya and CJ had fun with the concept without going crazy. I'm going to send in this one to my top spinning forum group. We're collecting a bunch of pictures to create a photo collage for International Top Spinning day.

Below, I'm intrigued by the phrase "Status terminates on 10/15/19" on my temporary driver's license renewal card. I guess getting another 8 years would pretty good, but I was sort of hoping to be more like 2/3rds done! 99 would be a good goal!

Maya's First Art Show!

Maya has been very interested in the concept of the Art Show for quite a while. Her visit to our booth at the Clothesline show was a big influence, plus a lot of our work is to be found around her house, and around our house! She has been suggesting to Cheryl that she would like to go along when we do a show.... Cheryl has (hopefully wisely) suggested waiting until she is 8 years old. Maya will of course remember that, and will be ready to go to the first show after her 8th birthday!

Above is an example of the work she created for her first show. I was amused that the first step in the process was making the price tags! She used a percent sign rather than a dollar sign, but remember - she is 4! Step 2 was making the artwork, which commonly utilizes scotch tape these days... I think she finds it takes too long for glue to dry?

She then proceeded to tape her work to the wall, but a "gentle" suggestion got the tape off the wall. She did not like the idea of leaning the work against the wall on the table under the TV, but found the couch a perfectly acceptable "wall".

As I looked over the work, she told me --- "You might not want that one. It is quite expensive."

We may need to work on her sales technique? On the other hand I like her idea of making the price tags first. A lot of us artists/craft makers, tend to make pricing an after thought instead of perhaps the most important part of the process!

My old Cornell apartment mate!

Just got a phone call from one of my college roommates! Kim Howell lives in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and has been a professor in the Department of Zoology and Wildlife Management at the University of Dar es Salaam since not long after we graduated from Cornell together in 1967! We've been in touch some by e-mail over the past few years, and he is in the states now visiting his father, sister, etc, and we got to talk by phone a bit. First conversation since 1967! Kim is going to talk with our other apartment mate - John Day - later tonight, and maybe I'll get to talk with him soon too? Last time I saw John was about 15 years ago in New York City while I was there for the gift show. Thanks for the call Kim, and safe trip home, and continued health and creative work to do!

Information below gleaned from the web.

Kim M. Howell

Professor Kim M. Howell has been a staff member of the Univesity of Dar es Salaam since 1970, where he is currently a Professor in the Dept. of Zoology & Wildlife Conservation. He has broad interests in the ecology and distribution of small mammals, birds and reptiles and amphibians and is the author of numerous publications and several books. His field work in Tanzania's biodiversity hotspots has yielded shrew and frog species new to science.

Academic Qualifications

BSc Cornell University, Ithaca New York, 1967;

PhD, Univ. of Dar es Salaam, 1976

Teaching

Undergraduate courses in chordate biology, Mammalogy, Herpetology and Ornithology; Environmental Impact Assessment

Research

Monitoring small vertebrate biodiversity; Environmental Impact Assessment

Biodiversity Monitoring Techniques; Taxonomy, biogeography, ecology and

conservation of small vertebrates; Biology of bird and mammal pest species and their

control; Management of the live animal trade; The use and maintenance of specimen

collections and electronic biodiversity databases as research, management and

educational tools. Currently I am, with Prof Alan Channing of University of Western

Cape, completing a book on the Amphibians of East Africa.

Most important publications:

Harvey, W.G., and Howell, K.M. 1987. The birds of the Dar es Salaam area. Le Gerfaut 77: 205-­258.

Broadley, D.G. and Howell, K.M. 1991 A checklist and key to the reptiles of Tanzania. Syntarsus 1: 1-70.

Howell, K.M. 1993 Chapter 9. The herpetofauna of the eastern forests of Africa.pp. 173-201. In Lovett, J. and Wasser, S.(eds.). The Biogeography and Ecology of the Forests of Eastern Africa.Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

Poynton, J.C., Howell, K.M., Clarke, B.T. & Lovett, J.C. 1998. A critically endangered new species of Nectophrynoides (Anura: Bufonidae) from the Kihansi Gorge, Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania. African Journal of Herpetology 47: 59-67

Spawls, S., Drewes, R., Howell, & Ashe, J. 2002 A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Academic Press, London. 2nd printing .

Consultancy:

Major consultancies include environmental baseline surveys and environmental impact studies for three gold mines (Bulyanhulu, Ashanti-Geita, and Tulawaka), the Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project, and Songo Songo Natural Gas Pipeline. Other consultancy has included Biodiversity Baseline Studies for the Usangu Wetland (SMUCW project) and Rufiji Environmental Management Project (REMP) and others, as well as a programme designed to reduce bird hazards and bird strikes to aircraft at Dar es Salaam International Airport.

Beth's Birthday Tops

Our friend Beth still hasn't turned 70, but our local birthday party was held waaaaay early so it could be a surprise, and her family birthday with her children and grandchildren was held last weekend in Northern Virginia. These tops were made early, and smuggled into Bert's luggage? or hidden in the spare tire? for the trip to Virginia, and can now be shown because all the birthday parties are over, and the last surprise for this year is revealed???

Thanks for all the years of friendship Beth, and keep spinning always!
See below.

Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival - part two

More about the Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival --- Check out part one if you missed yesterday's pictures and comments.
Above - "Honoring" the military and patriotism is a big part of the festival. I'm sure that the person who put these on their front sidewalk meant well, but these guys are not exactly my taste. And below, a double tent full of a lot of hand made things, including the wooden flag under the tree to the left.

I'm not sure why this little sign (below) was leaning up on the back of the German Food truck, but on the other side was a tent of German Food served by folks in lederhosen and all the matching stuff. (I double checked on Google, and I did spell that right despite my dictionary wanting to change it to "leaseholder"?????)

Below, a nice exhibit of fresh local apples right on the corner of Main and Park! As the end of the festival was approaching, the vendor was hand writing signs on cardboard - "Bushells $10.00 each - any kind" Even if spelled badly, that is a great deal!

And - below - The Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival is sort of a mini Sturgis. I would estimate that about 10% of the folks there probably came on their motorcycles.

And - Thanks to my family - Anne, Wyatt, and Maeve - residents of Cohocton - their house is about 150 feet from that lovely exhibit of apples, and across the street from the motorcycles! Thanks to Anne for the lentil soup and the wonderful cookies - I should have taken a picture, but I was too busy eating! (She saved me from needing to get one of those deep fried pickles!) Thanks to Maeve and her friend Jared for coming home from college to visit! Thanks to Wyatt for spending a little time with us in between hanging out with his friends. The Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival really is the highlight of the social year here! And thanks to Mom and Dad for coming along and making sure a good chunk of our family got together again! I wish my brother Dave could have been there with us - I'm sure he and I would have chuckled over many of the same things. I did wear my Merlefest shirt as I usually do when I want to bring my brother along. I miss you Dave.

Coming soon - pictures of the bounty of Anne's garden!

Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival - part one

The Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival is sort of the essence of small town America. I probably wouldn't even know about it if my sister-in-law and my niece and nephew hadn't chosen this small finger lakes village to move to a few years back. They have everything from a tractor pull - cancelled this year, to a rubber duckie race on the Cohocton River - we got there after the "catchers" had netted all the strays, and were standing around with wet pants. Folks from far and wide set up tents to sell everything from maple syrup to apples, fudge to kettle korn, sausage sandwiches to deep fried pickles (at least there was something vegetarian!). There were at least 6 "bouncy houses", and a couple of places to buy a custom made Amish shed for your back yard. At least one tent sold pretty much anything tie dyed - see above. Below, my friend and "sort of former relative" Darlene was helping a friend sell Nunda Mustard. Pretty good mustard actually. Note: I find a recurring theme in my life of losing relatives and friends as other relatives and friends get divorced and move on with their lives - usually a good thing for them, but a lot of other people who had no problem get separated too!

Below - some folks actually make a living charging people 50 cents to keep bouncing little rubber balls into bins with bingo card thingys at the bottom until somebody gets a BINGO and wins a $2 Chinese teddy bear?

Below - probably the most creative product I saw - Bird houses on pitch forks????? Does one inherit a bunch of pitchforks from an eccentric collector relative and have to figure out something to do with them? Or does one spend their weekdays wandering from flea market to antique store looking for pitchforks?

Certainly a couple of steps better than the Redneck Wind Chimes shown below on a Red, White, and Blue stand! Those cans are actually rather nicely pre-rusted. Is there a quick rust system or chemical available, or do you just collect a lot of cans and set them out in the back yard for a few months? So many questions come to mind wandering around the Cohocton Fall Foliage Festival.

More pictures and commentary on this event tomorrow. I'm oddly fascinated!

Let's start a "Bring Back Buttons" campaign!

We don't see as many buttons as we used to. I remember wearing several each day, and I remember a large collection of buttons pinned to the headliner in one of my old vans! These days I wear my handmade wooden Obama 12 pin most of the time, or one of my other wooden political pins - "Yes We Can", "Mr. Obama", or "That One" ..... The "Mr. Obama" design was born the first time I heard him called that on the radio - it turns out that NPR has a system - "President Obama" is used the first time he is mentioned in a news story, and "Mr. Obama" is usually used for subsequent mentions of our president in the same story.

"That One" is a reference to the time when John McCain in the October 7, 2008 debate with Barack Obama referred to him as "that one." John McCain was referring to Barack Obama's vote on an energy bill in the senate. McCain said it was "loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one." McCain pointed at Obama as he said the words "that one."

I think we should "Bring Back Buttons". They are a good way to start a great conversation. We don't need to agree with each other's buttons, but we do need to talk to each other! Maybe bring back bumper stickers too?

100 posts in 100 days!

In some bizzaro world sort of way I think these two items go together. Above - an actual book from 1818! The story below --- “For Children Three Years Old,” is from Lessons for Children by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Philadelphia, 1801

There was a naughty boy; I do not know what his name was, but it was not Charles, nor George, nor Arthur, for those are all very pretty names: but there was a robin came in at his window one very cold morning — shiver — shiver; and its poor little heart was almost frozen to death. And he would not give it the least crumb of bread in the world, but pulled it about by the tail and hurt it sadly, and it died. Now a little while after, the naughty boy’s papa and mamma went away and left him, and then he could get no victuals at all, for you know he could not take care of himself. So he went about to every body — Pray give me something to eat, — I am very hungry. And every body said, No, we shall give you none, for we do not love cruel, naughty boys. So he went about from one place to another, till at last he got into a thick wood of trees; for he did not know how to find his way any where; and then it grew dark, quite dark night. So he sat down and cried sadly; and I believe the bears came and eat him up in the wood, for I never heard any thing about him afterwards.

Below - an oddly similar sentiment?

Just a couple of things to think about???

Follow-up on the new top cart and first top show using it!

Above - the the new top cart stocked with the items transferred from the old top cart. I couldn't believe the extra stuff that had accumulated over the years in the old cart. I pared the collection down to items that I actually show people, and got rid of all the duplicates and unused stuff in the original cart. I could not include the tall top that I have always ended the show with, because it won't fit in the new lower bin, but I added a great old top that has a short pencil for a tip, and traces a wonderful spiral as it precesses! It used to be part of the show. I don't remember how it got moved out of the cart, but it is back now!Above - me showing the magnetic Swirlaround top.

Below - spinning a German top that works with an external plunger.

Below - Maya wanted to feel what my magnetic peg top felt like spinning from the metal ring on the end of the string.

As usual, even with all the things I removed from the top cart collection, I had at least another half hour of tops to demo and tell stories about when the time came to cut if off and move on!
After the show, the kids all made a couple of tops to take home. Interesting patterns made with markers or crayons.... many of the kids made one for themselves, and one for a sibling. This included Maya making one for CJ! Below, I glued the stems in place, and the kids used one of my old whirligig presses from The Toycrafter to push the stem in.

Many thanks to the teachers at Maya's pre-school. They run a great place! I'll be going back soon to do the afternoon class top program!

I love my new top cart! Even with figuring out where things were, I think the show went quite a bit better than usual, and the lower level of the top spinning tray was perfect for little folks sitting in those short chairs! Low enough for them to see easily, and tall enough for the old man to not have to bend over too far!

#777

I don't even remember what it was that I wouldn't do that CJ wanted today, but he maintained this look for about 10 minutes figuring I would give in! I didn't give in, but I did figure I needed to save this moment!

I remember his dad using this very look on many occasions!

Post # 777!

Working on a new cart for my top show!

My old top show cart is a Sears tool box / work bench thingy. It has served well, and has helped me entertain and teach a lot of kids of all ages about tops. Click here to check out my web page about the top show, and to see a picture of the old top cart. When I was younger, hauling around the bulky and heavy cart - getting it in and out of the car, etc. was no problem. As an older person, I've begun to find I need to go find help with loading and unloading, etc., so yesterday I went out looking for options. Long experience with shopping for specific things has taught me that having a clear idea of what you want is not an easy way to shop! Contrary to all expectations, I found the Stanley Fatmax rolling tool box above.

My first step was to get rid of the Fatmax logo on the front --- imagine the snickers when I rolled into a classroom with that! Next make it my own with the same graphic of me spinning a top, that graced both ends of the old cart ..... this one has one on the front. Later I may put something on the ends of this new cart.

This particular rolling tool box sort of unfolds by stepping on the bottom, squeezing a latch, and rolling the top backwards - as above. Now I needed a place to spin tops! At first I was going to carry a small adjustable table with me, but after a couple of attempts, I created a wooden shelf that sits inside the folded out lid, held in place by some cleats that fit into the lower side of the open lid.

A panel wedges at an angle against the wheel axle below, and fits into a groove in the bottom side of the open lid to support the playing surface level and steady. I'll probably add some graphics to the front panel later, and make it larger or even shape it like a top? The only problem I foresee is if kids get in close and lean on it! Generally I keep kids back a bit because when some squeeze up front, the ones in back can't see. I anticipate this new cart working out nicely in one particular way.... the spinning surface is quite a bit lower, so little kids should be able to see better!

Now to fill it with tops, and give it a try at Maya's pre-school on Thursday morning!

I'll let you know how it works. The main problem will be adjusting my brain because I've been using the old cart for about 20 years or so???

This new cart weighs about 25% of what the old one weighed, so I anticipate being very glad to adjust!

One Of A Kind!

Cheryl loves to create figures from scraps and leftovers, and these are some of those. Never to be repeated, so I took some pictures. These range from about 12" tall to around 18" tall. Come to the show this weekend in Northampton, MA to meet them in person, and add one or more of them to your collection!

Click here for more info on the Paradise City Show

October 8, 9, 10 - Saturday, Sunday, and Monday!
Mention this blog entry, and get a free tiny angel!
No purchase necessary!

Ride on the other side of the canal!

After many bike rides along the canal, and some blog entries from there (search for "canal" at the top of this blog), yesterday Cheryl and I got to go on a great canal tour on the canal on the Mary Jemison. While it was a cold and rainy day, it was great fun, and I got to see the canal path from out in the water!

Because of the cloudy day, and the rain, most of the pictures weren't too good for posting here. Above - a cool hatch cover near the bow of the Mary Jemison.

Above - Cheryl!
Below - a colorful view of the bank near one of the many railroad bridges we went under - usually I ride over!

Below - the beginnings of fall color!

Many thanks to our friend Shalom who treated us to this lovely gift for our anniversary!

Feeling a little political today!

Click the image above to read more easily.

Two License Plates to start October

Above - wine lover picking up kid from pre-school, and below - our insurance agent!

Beginning of 4th month of daily blog entries! ( one entry got posted on the wrong day when I set the post options wrong, but I have posted 93 times in 93 days.) I'll try for 100 a week from now, and then see where it goes from there!