Dreamachine and James' sign

Recently I decided to recreate a device known as the dream machine (or dreamachine). It was originally conceived and created by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville, two associates of William Burroughs. The device is very simple, it's a cylinder of heavy paper set on top of a record turntable. Holes are cut into the paper so when it rotates; with a lightbulb suspended within it, a strobe effect is achieved. The intention is to imitate the same frequencies that the brain exhibits when it is in a hypnogogic state (hypnos- to sleep and agogos-leading to). The hypnogogic state corresponds to when Alpha brain waves are detected with EEG (electroencephalography). This is the brain state we are in several times a night as we are transitioning from active concentration (Beta waves: 12-30 hertz or cycles per second) to deep sleep (Theta waves: 4-7 hertz). The Alpha waves are in the 8-12 hertz range so in order to replicate this frequency I just did some algebra to figure out how to arrange the ellipses I cut into the paper.

I set it up so the bottom row flickers at 8 flashes per second, increasing 1 hertz each row moving up. To experience its effects you are supposed to put your face close one of the rows and close your eyes. I haven't experimented enough with it yet to have realized the full effect, but I have noticed some very subtle color and shape patterns that rapidly form and morph.

Hypnogogic states have had a connection to the arts, philosophy, invention and spirituality. Edger Allan Poe described a half-dream state as the source his ideas saying; "only when I am on the brink of sleep, with the consciousness that I am so.." Similarly Wagner, Beethoven, Isaac Newton, and Thomas Edison credited the "border-land state" with enhancing their creativity. I read a long time ago that Nostradamus would have an assistant wave his fingers in front of his eyes while his head faced the sun for inducing prophecy.

Anyways, it was fun to create and research, here is a video of it. The frame per second rate is actually slower than how fast its flashing but you get the idea. It makes for a cool lighting and who knows... maybe it will make me into a seer of sorts!

I gotta post something James made for me. He made this retro styled auto shop sign, hand painted and really sharp looking.

Matthew's Creek

Matthew's Creek
Originally uploaded by pyramis

This is one of my favorite pictures from Flickr. It was taken on the Salmon River, one that isn't to far from my new home. It reminds me of the summers I've spent on the American River; lazing on a tube and drinkin' beers in the sun.

Franz Kafka's "A Country Doctor" Animation by Koji Yamamura

Found this the other day when I was watching some shows on Hulu. There is a button at the bottom of the viewer to turn on the close captions if they are not already on (the voices are in Japanese). Please be patient, the movie will be interrupted with an advertisement once or twice.

I was really impressed with the animation. The use of distortion and exaggeration to express different aspects of experiencing surreality and psychological anguish. I drew a straightforward message from this story; passivity and blaming others for your problems will leave you naked and in the cold.

This is one of Kafka's stories considered to be substantiating existentialism (The Metamorphosis being the more famed one).

"A Country Doctor" comments on man, who, buffeted by the scheme of things, is unable to transcend the part assigned him by the absurdity of that existence. Because he does not lack conscious knowledge of his condition, but refuses to act in the face of his portentous freedom, the doctor, an archetype of the anti-existential hero, deserves his fate. Lacking the human stuff necessary to create and structure situations, he permits himself to be manipulated by the groom, the family, and the horses; but he becomes, by submitting, a tool within the situations they create. Never, consciously, does he attempt through an overt act, until too late, to establish his own essence, to rise above any manipulative value he possesses for others. As doctor he is a thing, an object, a tool; as man he is nothing."

Louis H. Leiter

Anyways, philosophy aside, its a very interesting short movie. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Solitude in Mendocino & Sex Changing Chickens

Haven't been on here for a few weeks. I was watching a friends property and doing some winter maintenance there. It was a great two weeks of little distraction, and lots of enjoyable solitude.

This here is Arrow. I'm not sure what kind of dog he is but he is a handsome pup. He could pass for part fox in this picture.

This is Ham, a chocolate lab. He always looks this somber and serious.

I guess its wasn't truly solitude as these two fellows were with me at every waking moment. Ham was the solemn leader of the two who would always bring me sticks to throw. Arrow was lovable, disobedient and very attention starved. I learned to enjoy their personalities greatly in my time with them.

This fine specimen is Buckbuck. Suitor and guardian to the 9 egg layers and 4 meat chickens.

Here is one of the egg laying hens struttin' her stuff on the roof of a shed.

The meat chickens waddled to get around; if they did decide to move about. They could hardly keep from dragging their breast on the ground as they sought out more food to eat.

I dispatched one of the meat chickens near the end of the stay. Two of meat chickens had been fighting each other for a couple of days. The strange thing is that the two fighting hens had pronounced combs and wattles; though they were purchased as female chicks. Were they mis-sexed or possibly there was some spontaneous sex reversal?

I looked into it a little more and it turns out sexual transformation from female to male is not so uncommon among the "Gallus gallus domesticus". Female chickens only have one functional ovary, the left one. If this ovary is damaged (cysts, cancer, or adrenal problems) then the right ovary starts to regenerate. The right ovary (known as an ovotestis) once functioning will produce hormones like testes, ovaries, or a combination of the two. This, in time, can create male secondary sexual traits in the hen; for example a larger comb and wattle.

I guess I ended an alpha male contest between two transgendered hens.

I roasted the chicken with some veggie broth, garlic, paprika, angostura bitters, potatoes, and onions. It turned out great.

While we're are talking about chickens, here is a quick bit of trivia. "Gallus" the family name refers to Gaul or the region of modern day France. Its commonly said that the chicken was domesticated in ancient India, but recent archeological evidence attributes the people of Vietnam with this endeavor (some 10,000 years ago). The domesticated chicken traveled far and wide in the ancient world, it arrived to the courts of Egypt around 1300 B.C.

Half way through the two weeks two friends visited and let me use a truck for a couple of days. I drove into Fort Bragg on a saturday and bought some groceries and then checked out the beach there. I also took some pictures at the peak of one of the hills to get a eyeful of the surrounding emerald hills. It was great to get away for part of the day and see some new sights.

Sweet and Savory Pork Chops

The local co-op grocery had a special on organic smoked pork chops, 4.50/lb, so I had to grab a few and invent a new recipe. When I got home my roommate pointed out the surplus of vermouth we had in a cabinet so naturally I decided to use it for sauce. The apple I used is a honeycrisp apple. These apples are remarkable. They are huge, crisp, tart, and sweet. The ones I got are like oversized braeburns.

Here is the recipe I put together.

2 smoked pork chops
1 apple

1 red onion
2 yams
2 garlic bulbs
1 cup of vermouth
1 cup of dark ale

brown sugar

flour

Cut the yam and onion into 3/4 to 1 inch slabs. Cut the tops off of the garlic. This may seem like a lot of garlic but it mellows out after cooking and you'll wish you had more. Section apple into wedges. Space these ingredients in a casserole dish with the pork chops. Take a small amount of the dark ale and mix with 1 tbs of flour, then combine with the rest of the ale and vermouth. Pour this on top of all the ingredients.

Cook in oven at 350 for 1/2 hour covered with aluminum foil. Then another 1/2 hour uncovered. Then 5-10 minutes in the broiler after coating the chops with brown sugar.

Serve with marinated onions on top of the chops. This recipe was given to me by Mom, great to have around for anything savory. I used apple cider vinegar which is especially suited for this recipe.

2 med red onions
4 cups of boiling water

Marinade:
1/2 cup cider vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tbsp honey or sugar
1/2 to 1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of peppercorn
1/2 of whole cloves

1 quart mason jar

Peel onions slice as thin as you can, transfer to medium sized bowl. Pour boiling water into bowl, soak for 5 minutes. Strain with a colander. Combine marinade ingredients while onions are draining. Stir in onions sit in marinade 10 minutes. Put into a jar, tighten the lid, and place in the fridge. You may have to put more water and vinegar to cover the onions in the jar, just be sure to keep the ratio even.

Hiller Park in McKinleyville

Click on photos to view large

Today I biked over to Hiller Park to check out the Mad river estuary. The ride over on the Coastal Bike Trail is a great scenic route which passes a number of cow pastures complete with bird flocks and dilapidated barns. The sun was shining through a light cloud cover and it was very pleasant out. Once I got down where the river meets the ocean I got to see a pair of seals cruising down the current of the river. It was great to see them effortlessly get pulled through the eddies and bends of the river; it looked really fun. I am gonna have to do that once I get a wetsuit. Unfortunately I didn't get a shot of them, they had already passed me while my eye was occupied in the viewfinder; sometimes having a camera keeps you from seeing the great things right in front of you!

The sand bank of the river on the beach undergoes a constant process of being built up and destroyed with the rise and fall of the tide. While you walk along its side there is always chunks of the bank edge falling into the current. There is also a wall that is around 5 ft tall created by the last flooding of the river.

In this picture below; taken right at the last bend of river before it empties into the ocean, you can see a number of tree stumps scattered about. This phenomenon is called a "ghost forest". It occurs when a subduction zone earthquake causes the ground to suddenly drop several feet. This causes the roots of the trees near the ocean to be exposed to salt water killing them off.

After enjoying the estuary and walking around a bit I started back up a trail that headed towards McKinleyville. This is where I found a few mushrooms scattered about. I have yet to look up this one, it is so young and small it maybe pretty hard to identify. I'll post more info if I figure it out. The was a large grove of coastal oak and all the trunks and limbs were covered in spanish moss. Spanish moss (Ramalina menziesi) is actually a lichen (a symbiotic organism composed of fungi and algae), and this species in particular is very important to sulfur cycling and removes a considerable amount from our atmosphere.

Thats it for now, check back next week!