Muir Woods documentary
A tromp through Muir Woods and accompanying information.
The Circumambulation of Mt Tamalpais. Summer Solstice 2009. Part One
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The 50th Anniversary of the walk happened on October 25th 2015 - for once, not at a solstice or equinox:
It was a nice change to get in this somewhat median circumambulation and with it came a subtle revelation; a noticeable openness replaced the feeling that comes with observing the usual quarterly solar energy shifts; these cyclical events seem to convey the feeling of squeezing past either a closing door (summer solstice, fall equinox) or past a door that’s opening (winter solstice, spring equinox), transitions recalling that seemingly minor outer-galactic extrusion - a synestial event so epoch-alyptic with it's polar/axial repercussions that, while giving birth to Earth and it's moon, it mystically allowed for the creation of the term 'season' - a phenomenon that set the stage for the huge array of Earth's ongoing natural activity including 'ritual.'
Each solstice and equinox this eccentric circumambulation around the local mountain is not only a welcome return but a quantum encounter with that ancient cosmic short-circuit.
Very enjoyable on October 25th as it opened up another doorway to the profound interiors and subtle treasures of The Circumambulation of Mount Tamalpais.
The Circumambulation of Mount Tamalpais, the mid-60's brainchild of zen Dharma Bums Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg, is a silent, 10 hour, 14 mile, public walk, up, around and down Mt. Tamalpais, visiting sacred sites, beginning at 8.00AM on the Sunday nearest* each Solstice and Equinox picking up the Dipsea trail from Redwood Creek at the overflow car park at Muir Woods National Monument. This video of the first part of the walk was made (with discrete camera) at Summer Solstice 2009 with Matthew Davis leading, as he had done for almost half a century until taking a break from it in 2014. Sadly, having lived a young 80 years, Matthew passed away on August 3rd 2015. (Also some video from 2010: Matthew at Sitting Bulls shrine:
The ritual walk continues. Dates: *Exception: Winter Solstice: the circumambulation happens the Sunday on or before December 22nd.
Resources: Opening the Mountain: Circumambulating Mount Tamalpais, A Ritual Walk by Matthew Davis and Michael Farrell Scott [ISBN: 978-1593761271.] Walking Tamalpais by Gary Snyder and Tom Killion [ISBN: 978-1597140973.]
Bay Curious: What's the Story Behind The Car Wreck on Mount Tamalpais?
Kermit Robbins has been hiking past an old car wreck on a Mount Tamalpais trail for years. He wants to know, how did the car get here, and when?
Shipping container family home: building blocks in Redwoods
Shipping container playlist:
Kam Kasravi and Connie Dewitt wanted a modern cabin that wouldn't disrupt the Redwoods on their property. First they considered prefabs, but quickly realized they wouldn't fit up the narrow road to their land in the Santa Cruz mountains. So they convinced their friend, architect David Fenster, to design them a home made from shipping containers.
Built from recycled cargo containers hand-picked from the Port of Oakland, Six Oaks was built around the footprint of the land. The containers were building blocks that were cut and stacked to fit between Redwoods along a steep grade.
While the home was assembled in 6 hours, it took nearly a year to finish the interior since so much of it was custom. The unique materials meant some unique requirements: instead of carpenters, they used welders; a commercial roofer had to be hired, etc.
Acoording to Connie, it wasn't the cheapest way to build, but It cost about $50 per square foot less than a more conventional custom home.
They didn't aim to build an extreme home, but the couple feel confident their home will hold up well under extreme conditions- i.e. falling trees, forest fires. Connie jokes that if a tree does fall on the home, it will get a little dent and we'll call the auto body shop to fix the house.
David Fenster, MODULUS architects
*Thanks to Connie and NorCal Construction for the construction time lapse:
Original story:
Mountain Sheep, Denali National Park, Alaska, USA
Unique, white Dall Sheep segment, (please turn up volume), from The Best of Alaska, a free Intrepid Berkeley Explorer video of glaciers by land, air, and sea; with Glacier Bay, Denali National Park, Moose, Bald Eagles, Caribou, plus totem poles, Native American dancing, incredible scenery, and other animals.
To enjoy all of this film, plus over 30 more free, non-commercial, streaming travel videos from every continent, and still pictures, please click on intrepberkexplorer above, and then the website link under my profile, or ask a search engine for:
Intrepid Berkeley Explorer
From Travels In Alaska by John Muir - FULL AudioBook - Naturalism & Outdoor Adventure
From Travels In Alaska by John Muir - FULL Audio Book
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Chapter listing and length:
From Travels In Alaska by John Muir -- 00:17:52
Read by Jason Mills
This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer visit librivox.org.
Words at War: White Brigade / George Washington Carver / The New Sun
George Washington Carver (January 1864 -- January 5, 1943), was an American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. The exact day and year of his birth are unknown; he is believed to have been born into slavery in Missouri in January 1864.
Carver's reputation is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, which also aided nutrition for farm families. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts.[3] He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP.
During the Reconstruction-era South, monoculture of cotton depleted the soil in many areas. In the early 20th century, the boll weevil destroyed much of the cotton crop, and planters and farm workers suffered. Carver's work on peanuts was intended to provide an alternative crop.
He was recognized for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a Black Leonardo.[4]
George Washington Carver reputedly discovered three hundred uses for peanuts and hundreds more for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes. Among the listed items that he suggested to southern farmers to help them economically were adhesives, axle grease, bleach, buttermilk, chili sauce, fuel briquettes (a biofuel), ink, instant coffee, linoleum, mayonnaise, meat tenderizer, metal polish, paper, plastic, pavement, shaving cream, shoe polish, synthetic rubber, talcum powder and wood stain. Three patents (one for cosmetics; patent number 1,522,176, and two for paints and stains; patent numbers 1,541,478 and 1,632,365) were issued to George Washington Carver in the years 1925 to 1927; however, they were not commercially successful.[40] Aside from these patents and some recipes for food, Carver left no records of formulae or procedures for making his products.[41] He did not keep a laboratory notebook.
Carver's research was intended to provide replacements for commercial products, which were generally beyond the budget of the small one-horse farmer. A misconception grew that his research on products for subsistence farmers were developed by others commercially to change Southern agriculture.[42][43] Carver's work to provide them with resources for more independence from the cash economy foreshadowed the appropriate technology work of E.F. Schumacher.