Quirky thoughts from an old man.
Provenance Noun: A record of ownership of a work of art or an antique, used as a guide to authenticity. Also the place of origin or the earliest known history of something. Example: “The provenance of many early maps is questionable.”
In the photo there is a small peak just to the right of Piestewa. I want it to be named Mount Simon. Suddenly this is a revenue idea for the Phoenix Park and Recreation Department. Sell virtual naming rights to all of the minor peaks, knolls, valleys, canyons and other land features in the city. …
On Friday night November 1 I went down to ASU to see the reopening of the Imagined Borders map exhibit at the School of Transborder Studies at Arizona State University. It was nice to see many old friends and old maps again. I was asked to make a few remarks about the exhibition which is …
I go up Piestewa Peak on the weekends with my hiking buddies and many weekdays day I hike the nearby trails in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve. I often pick up a beautiful stone and bring it home. Yesterday I henged some of the stones from my pile.
Will there still be crafts and hobbies in this new digital age? What will they be like? Are handicrafts dead. Do children still build with Popsicle sticks? Is tinkering dead? These are good questions and I don’t have the answers but I have seen a few clues that I can share. Take a look at …
The US-Mexico Map collection that I donated to the School of Transborder Studies at ASU is being exhibited at the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix. I’m speaking at the opening tomorrow night 2/19/2105 and helped to write an OpEd for the Arizona Republic about the ever changing border. Here is one of the effects of our …
There are crop circles in South Eastern Washington State. Image from Google Maps Could Earthlings have created these? Are they evidence of extraterrestrials or possibly a higher power.
My wallet is gone and it’s not a bad thing. Let me explain. We had our family Hanukkah last Sunday and Lillian took my wallet and gave me a new iPhone case that has a slot in the back that is just large enough to carry a drivers license and a credit card. This is …
A website that I have touted before is Bridge Hunter. It is a user developed guide to the historic and interesting bridges in the United States. Kind of a Wikipedia for bridges, it is very popular with engineers and others that like to see great engineering. Recently I was asked by someone for advise on …
Last month I went to the meeting of the California Map Society at the LA Public Library. It was my first visit inside the building since the fire about 15 years ago. They have done a super job blending the old and the new and the public and the private. The blending atrium Go on …