Fritz Scholder: Indian/Not Indian

Fritz Scholder was invited to participate in the Rockefeller Indian Art Project at the University of Arizona in the early 1960s where he studied with other Native American artists and listened to Bob Dylan. He moved to Santa Fe a few years later and stirred up some controversy when he started painting Indians with beer cans, American Flags, and green hair. I don't remember too much more, but I sure did like what I saw.The National Museum Of The American Indian's new exhibit, Indian/Not IndianMP3: Bob Dylan - Baby, Let Me Follow You Down

Scenes From Antarctica

From Boston.com:

Down in Antarctica, November marks the end of spring, the beginning of austral summer, and the beginning of Antarctica's cruise season. The Sun just rose for the first time in 6 months on September 22nd, and is now visible in the sky all the time. Recent studies in Antarctica have brought new insights into the origins of deep sea octopus species (a 30 million-year-old ancestor from Antarctic waters), volcanic contributions to disappearing antarctic ice, and the effects of increasing numbers of icebergs scouring the seafloor. Collected here are 32 photographs of Antarctica from the past several years.

MP3: Springwater - Stone Cross

Best Microscopic Images of 2008

First Place - Diatom Rainbows:

Sinewy filaments within squirming microscopic diatoms, a type of algae, are artificially rainbow hued as a result of being photographed through polarizing light filters.Captured by retired British microscopist Michael Stringer, the photo took top prize--and U.S. $3,000--in the 2008 Small World Photomicrography Competition, organizers announced on October 15. Sponsored by Nikon, the annual contest showcases "the beauty and complexity of life as seen through the light microscope."

Second Place - Nanotube Factory:

Glowing-hot carbon nanotubes form an expanding orange ball in this image by Paul Marshall of Canada's Institute for Microstructural Sciences, a winner in the 2008 Small World photomicrography competition.The nanotubes are elongated, hollow cylinders of carbon atoms. To make a carbon nanotube--just 1/50,000 the width of a human hair--a piece of carbon (graphite) must be heated, for example by lasers or electricity. And sometimes, Marshall says, the heated mass of nanotubes grows like a bulb in the spring.

The rest of em..

Joel Sartore

A bowhead whale is butchered on the beach in Kaktovik, Alaska. The village is allowed by law to take three whales each fall for the meat and baleen. Offshore oil drilling threatens to disrupt the whales' migratory routes and the Native' traditional hunt.As birds chase after fish in once-flooded cattle pastures, the predators of birds move in as well. Here a yellow anaconda captures a great egret.Members of the Blackfeet tribe celebrate their claim on the Badger-Two Medicine Area in Montana, land sacred to them that has been threatened by natural gas development.More PhotosJoel Sartore On PBSMP3: Rodriguez - Sugar Man

Creepy Power

Sean Turley is a dear friend of ours, one that provides hours of passionate argumentation, an endless flow of East Coast madness, and our favorite book of rainy day Polaroids. He's our personal gatekeeper to America's great end of the line, and has provided us with a place to sleep every time we feel the need to look out onto a lobster bay and drive on the Atlantic's edge while listening to the past's Next Big Thing. He's a teacher, an eater, an asshole, a man with one of this land's great Old Ladies, and his pictures make us want to get our heads back to "the way life should be." Enjoy Sean's photos here and then check out their soundtracks here.MP3: Arbouretum - Pale Rider Blues

The first singles

Flickr:

Their first singles after The Beatles. Interesting to see how they saw themselves (or wanted to be seen): John the one-man revolutionary army; George contemplating holier things; Paul absorbed in silly love songs to Linda; and Ringo in a cowboy hat and leather trousers, struggling with them darn first position chords.

Nicholas Ozgunay

Nicholas Ozgunay lives out in Brooklyn by way of small town Missouri. He rarely uses more than ink and water to create landscapes that look like the cross section of distant planets and their moons. It's haunting and beautiful, like someone who has spent their lives in the cosmos and was asked to paint what they saw when they closed their eyes at night. It's not of this world, not of this time, and certainly not of the streets of Brooklyn. Thank God.Nicholas Ozgunay's WebsiteMP3: Philip Glass - Opening (Thank You Indie Muse)MP3: Michael Jackson - PYT (Pretty Young Thing)

On the shore of a lake in the great Granite State

We spent our July 4th in New Hampshire at the mighty Lake Winnipesaukee this year. (The Native American name Winnipesaukee means either "smile of the Great Spirit" or "beautiful water in a high place.") After a day of swimming, wiffle ball, and death defying stunts, we took a 9 p.m. light speed boat ride to catch a glimpse of the fireworks. Daniel laid back in the bow and took a thousand pictures of the show while the rest of us yelled, "grand finale" over and over and ate New England clam chowder. His half hour vow of silence paid off. Enjoy his wonderful out of focus kaleidoscope set here.Dark soundtrack:MP3: Human Bell - Hymn Amerika

Paul Bunyan

We've been thinking about summer camp a lot as of late and, when we were young, we went to a great gem of a place in Bemidji, Minnesota for four straight years in a row. There's a big ol' statue of Paul Bunyan and Babe in Bemidji (pictured above) and, according to Wikipedia, that ain't the only place with such a shrine. Paul and Babe statues reside in Brainerd, MN, Westwood, CA, Del Norte County, CA, St. Ignace, MI, Ossineke, MI, and Eau Claire, WI. There are a bunch of other places that have statues of just Mr. Bunyan, but without his sidekick, what's the point?

Elliott Landy Photo Exhibit

The Woodstock scene in the 1960s will forever be immortalized thanks to the work of Elliott Landy. Landy was/is the premiere photographer of the town and we thank the heavens that he was around for this one, this one, this one, and all of these. If you want to catch some of his photography on display and you are in New York City tonight, head over to the Belvedere Hotel's Hudson Room and, if you're like us, get super bummed out that you weren't around when the photos were taken.

Peter Parnall

Peter Parnall has illustrated a lot of children's book over the years, most notably for the stories of Byrd Baylor. His style is real easy to spot. Bright colors, lots of empty space, and usually some type of cactus, bird, or desert cliff. Although his work might be a little "Southwest Trading Post" at times, his illustrations have always stuck with us since reading Everybody Needs A Rock when we were younger. Parnall also illustrated the first edition of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire.Look: More books.MP3: Vetiver - ArbouretumMP3: Emitt Rhodes - She's Such A Beauty