The art of View-Master

We took a recent trip to Selma, NC, to visit their antique district. The town itself was a bit of antique, a portrait of what the world used to look like. It was a little unsettling to find it so apparently deserted on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, but I guess if I lived there, I would take every opportunity to leave for more exciting venues.

The antique district itself was impressive - at least, to people like us it was impressive. We went with open minds and an open wallet, expecting - hoping, even - to find something to take home. Sadly, we found nothing except for a booth overflowing with an excellent collection of View-Master reels. I bought quite a few fantastic reels and, when we got home, I pulled out my existing collection and viewer and spent hours flipping through them.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I'll say it now: I love View-Master. I think it is an art form that is nearly totally lost. In the time I've spent writing this post, I have also done some cursory research on making your own reels, and it is still possible, although slightly expensive - $100-$200 for a working vintage camera, $40+ for a set of 6 blank reels (apparently they are no longer in production), $50 for a film cutter, plus the cost of 35mm slide film and the expense of having the film developed. It is intriguing - I am inspired to make the attempt, although I want to make sure that it is a potentially sustainable hobby. For example, if the blank reels are no longer available, I doubt if it is really worth the investment of hundreds of dollars to produce a half dozen reels.

At any rate, as fun and rewarding as that may be, my real joy is discovering old reels. I love the slight discoloration that they have. I love seeing the old cars, the old tourists in their old clothes (ankle-length skirts and suits and ties to see Yosemite!) frozen forever in time. But more than that, they are captured in 3-D. There's something very special about that. It is also amazing to see the clothing that is clearly from an era long-gone posed next to vistas that are practically unchanged.

I am very interested in a d.i.y. View-Master hobby, but it will certainly require some research. There are plenty of methods for creating 3-D images from digital photography as well as film, but making it a View-Master reel is something special.

Please enjoy some additional photos from Selma.

Saturday afternoon at the Bain Waterworks

Please accept the usual apologies for my extreme negligence in failing to maintain this blog properly. We - especially me, since I do the writing here - have been extremely busy (not a real excuse, I know) for the past few weeks. More importantly, we haven't done much of interest lately. I don't really feel a strong compulsion to write or post photos when nothing of any real importance or interest has happened. Things have happened, now that I think about it - last weekend our friends Charlotte and Loren came over and we plunged into the chilly river behind our home. Bronwen put some pictures up on her Flickr account - you can check them out.

But this week - oh, boy. It was amazing! We visited the Bain Waterworks - a defunct old waterworks facility that has been cleaned up and touched up by a dedicated crew of artists. There were so many little details, so many heavy machines, industrial gears and pipes, switches, levers and peeling paint that we could have spent several more hours there just taking pictures. As it was, we took 197 photos between the two of us. It was wild and crazy fun. One of the most entertaining and unique experiences I've had since living here.

You can see our house from here!

Wow! A double header today! It's been a busy weekend for us. The weather was supremely beautiful (maybe a little cloudy on Saturday, a little too cool on Sunday) and we went exploring. Today (Sunday) we went to the top of the dam near our apartment. In the picture you can actually see the roof of our apartments from the dam - it's a little harder to see now because the leaves are all growing back, but it's the bit of white on the left side of the picture.

The whole trip up to the dam takes about 10 minutes and has the very real benefit of going under the road, so no street crossing is necessary. The dogs love the scenery and fresh air. As of press time they are both sleeping soundly, and we expect them to remain wiped out for the rest of the day.

Saturday afternoon in the park

I have to apologize for the sloppy writing on this blog lately. I go to post some pictures and feel compelled to write something clever to accompany it, but often the pictures really need no text, especially if the text is going to be completely lazy. I have to think about my legacy here!

So here are some pictures we took on our visit to Pullen Park yesterday. There are paddle boats, a train ride and a vintage carousel. Just as we arrived, the sun dipped behind the clouds and the whole place cooled down too much for us to splay out comfortably in the sun.

Just like in the olden days!

We went to the Renaissance Fair (I refuse to write that with the extra 'e', no matter how funny it looks) this weekend and got sunburns all around. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, if a little warm. But after the longest, coldest winter of my life it was a welcome change.





I was on the verge of missing the Highland Games in Sanford and the Renaissance Fair more than made up for it. I'd never been to a Renaissance Fair before, so I was a little surprised at how many people were dressed up, and how loose they were with their costumes. There were plenty of buxom wenches, of course, and men in kilts, but there were also fairies, wizards and pirates. Basically, if you had a costume that you could wear to a screening of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Caribbean, you would not have looked out of place. That is not meant as a criticism, though, because it was a lot of fun to see so many people enjoying themselves so thoroughly.



The jousting and sword fighting was highly entertaining, although they really lacked any element of danger. Obviously no one was trying to kill anyone. But I found myself agreeing with a fellow attendee who heckled the sword fighters by shouting, "I want to see blood and heads!" He was about 8 years old. Again, it was fun, but my juvenile bloodlust was not sated by the toothless displays of non-violence.
(oh yeah - our new camera takes video with sound! Welcome to the twenty-first century!)

Certainly the highlight event (for me) was the coursing of the hounds. Two retired racing greyhounds (like Julian!) ran about 200 feet after a lure. Although it was brief, it was still extremely exciting to see them run.


Even though I felt a little out of place in my jeans and tee-shirt, I doubt I'll do any dressing up next time. That just isn't my style.

Art is everywhere!

North Carolina is spoiling us! Last weekend we drove to Chapel Hill, the third point in the Triangle (with Raleigh and Durham). Each city has plenty to offer; beautiful, historic buildings, arboretums (can't wait for Spring!) and an art museum. The reason we went to Chapel Hill was to visit their art museum - it wasn't quite as nice as the Raleigh museum, but a little bit better than the Duke museum in Durham. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of quality museums at my disposal - I can't tell if the Triangle is especially lucky to have so much art everywhere or if Orlando (and all of Central Florida) is just the cultural wasteland that everyone says it was.

I apologize that there are no photos from Chapel Hill. It was a beautiful city with some truly historic buildings dating back to the late 1700s, but for whatever reason, we neglected to take the time to snap any pictures. We'll be back, and we'll take plenty of pictures next time.

Only 28 Days Until Spring!

I know it's been a tragically long time since I've written anything here - nearly a month exactly - and it was nearly a month exactly before I wrote then. There are, of course, the usual explanations, excuses and reasons for why I have not written. And some of them are actually pretty good, if I say so myself.

First of all, I've been busy. That's absolutely true. I got a promotion at work (hold the applause, please) and am now the AV director at the Raleigh Marriott City Center hotel. And while it's great news that I even have a job right now (and don't think that I take that for granted!), it comes with a very steep price; namely, I lost a lot of free time, both at home and at work. My free time is very precious to me and I was very sad to see it go. On the other hand, free time is now more valuable than ever, so I am less inclined to spend an hour or two each week discussing my life.

But of course that isn't all of the story, because if it were important to me, I would find time. The second reason for my lack of punctuality here is that not much has happened. Really! I'm sure you would love to hear from Bronwen and me each and every day, but the truth is that we live pretty boring lives here in Raleigh. We work, then we walk the dogs, then we watch Jeopardy, then we eat dinner and then we watch a movie, a TV show or play a video game. And then we go to bed and do everything all over again. That isn't to say that we are bored. We get quite a lot of pleasure from this routine and look forward to our various TV shows or Netflix arrivals or next levels on BioShock and Eternal Sonata. But that just isn't much to write home about. There are weekends, of course, but until recently, they just haven't been much more eventful. We visit one restaurant or antique mall or museum, but there really isn't much else to do.

Which brings me to my third point: Winter sucks! Yes, it's great fun to wear jackets, sweaters and gloves in the lead-up to Christmas, but after that, it just becomes kind of a drag. I've said it before and I'm sure you'll hear me say it again, but humans are hardwired for a four-season year. One thing I never knew I never knew was how instinctive a season is. By the time I start to get tired of a season, the next one is just around the corner! So although North Carolina hardly suffers bitter winters, it is legitimately cold at times. Leaves do indeed fall from the trees when they are supposed to and they grow back (presumably) when they are supposed to. So a whole bunch of things suddenly make more sense to me. I see the value of Spring cleaning, for example - after months of being shut indoors by muddy, chilly and unpleasant weather, throwing open the doors and windows sounds like a luxury!

For my part, I can't wait until the weather warms up and green starts to creep back into the landscape. We have hiking trails aplenty here, and we are dying to visit them. We are also really looking forward to swimming in lakes again - Summer is still months away, and that's fine. Springtime will be beautiful, I am sure. Trails we hiked in November will be unrecognizable in April, and the JC Raulston Arboretum in bloom is a mouth-watering prospect. Believe me, there will be pictures!

Things are starting to warm up. A few weeks back the temperature was in the 70s and we wore tee-shirts and jeans - no jackets! yay! - and took Lux to the dog park to run around. We hiked up to the dam around the corner and took the dogs. It was beautiful, like a free sample of what Spring will be like.

So things will improve here on NXNC. More things will happen to write about and my time-management will improve. I really want to get on a more regular schedule here. I will commit - here and now - to writing a new post every Saturday. I'm even putting it on my calendar! I may write more throughout the week - this post was particularly enjoyable to write - but I don't want to promise to more than I can reasonably deliver.

A quick explanation of the pictures you see on this post: (because I don't know how to make captons) We visited the grounds of the NC Museum of Art which is dotted with large-scale art projects in a natural setting. There is a wind machine, giant cement sculptures, Stargate-looking rings and a camera obscura (the Hobbit-hole looking building) which we were, sadly, unable to enjoy to the full extent because of cloud cover. Look for a revisit to these things in the future.

Thanks for tuning in and have a good weekend!

Paperback reader

Yesterday we found heaven. A library book sale! Unlike the Orange County library system, the Wake County libraries do not have a used bookstore. Instead, they save all of their old and excess books and blow them out in a gigantic sale! $1 paperbacks and $4 hardbacks... how can you resist? We obviously did not.

The smell is intoxicating - if you like books then you know. Old books, especially old paperbacks, have a certain earthy mustiness, dry and bitter but sweet at the same time. I do see the danger in this: we got rid of dozens of books - perhaps over a hundred - when we moved from Orlando, and here we are, just buying dozens more on a whim. But again - are $1 paperbacks really hurting anyone? I think we have found a new Fall tradition. And I think I'm not done. The sale is going on for the remainder of the weekend. I want to go back!

So this is what I'll be reading through the winter.

Hanging Rock

We went to Hanging Rock park today. It was our first excursion outside of Raleigh since moving to North Carolina this July. It wasn't just next door by any means, but it only took us two and a half hours to drive there. And it was absolutely beautiful. I am not used to such views, and certainly not used to having them so close at hand. I have put up a few pictures here, but I took 143 (after removing the blurry ones), and started taking them from the car on the way up. I know we must have looked like tourists, but who cares? The Fall colors are really coming in brilliantly, and the color just gets better the further west you go. So by the time we got to the park, we saw leaves green, yellow, orange, red and cranberry. And it was cold. Actually cold! Well, what we call cold, anyway - 60 for the high (not cold) but starting the hike at about 50. And that's cold to me.

It is amazing how fast the time seeps away in the mountains. We were there for hours and did very little actual hiking - 1.5 mile treks to this point, half mile treks to that one - I guess it all adds up, but we did not really cover too much ground. What kills you is the climbing uphill and lurching back down. Frozen fingers at the base of the trail and overheated at the top. And then there's the view. And it is breathtaking. It isn't even very high, but it feels like you are on the top of the world.

Libraries

I love public libraries. To me they are bizarre holdouts from a different era. When you think about it, they do not fit in to the mold of our modern American, Capitalist lifestyle at all. Publicly funded collections of books, free to the public (if you don't consider the taxes used to pay for everything) and conveniently located around the country. There are no membership fees, no stringent requirements need to be met, just residence. The amazing thing about them is that they serve no particular obvious need. Public schools make sense - without them our society would collapse in less than a single generation. The same could be said for public sanitation. But libraries are practically superfluous. Schools often have their own libraries, so public libraries are not specifically for education. They just provide free public access to information. They are not hallmarks of capitalism. Not everyone benefits from them (many people never use them) and no one profits from them - in fact, some establishments lose money. I would prefer, in most cases, to read a book from the library than to buy it from a bookstore. When I buy it, not only am I paying money for the book, but I also have to store it and carry it around with me wherever I go. Believe me - I own a lot of books.

I understand the historical necessity of libraries. As little as twenty years ago, not everything was available at every time. But now, thanks to the internet, information is free and everpresent. Books that were lost, out of print and buried in basements have resurfaced and can be bought. But still there are public libraries and I love them. The first thing I did after obtaining a North Carolina driver license was to get a library card. I literally got a driver license and that evening I picked up a library card. I feel something special when I go to a library. I feel a crazy sense of community, and books have an extra layer of energy. Books that I own have been read by me only, but books in libraries have been read over and over. I like to know that what I have just learned has been learned before and will be learned again.

So now it is time to pick up my borrowed book and read those words that have been read so many times before.

See Lux. See Lux Run

Run, Lux! Run!

Let me tell you about the flowers and the trees... and the bees

We went to the JC Raulston Arboretum this weekend and were, yet again, astounded at the amount of free cultural activities that Raleigh has to offer. This is one of the best gardens I have ever been to. It is quite large and diverse and is framed by some lovely architecture.

I forgot to bring our camera and Bronwen had to go back to get it. I am very glad that she did. The day was beautiful - nearly perfect for an afternoon among the flowers and bees. It could have been cooler, I suppose; it was near 80 at the peak. But since it is so close and so free, there's no reason to think that we won't go back often. I got a little trigger happy with the camera - this is merely a tiny sample of what I took. I hope you can forgive my self indulgence and enjoy the pictures!