Question the Candidates

School board candidates forum tonight at the Elementary School gym: election next week, Feb 3 @ high school - all day long.

I doubt anyone needs reminding for either. I've heard large turn outs are expected. Many plan on getting to the forum early for good seats. Whether anticipated is from a sense of civic responsibilty, personal connections to stakeholders or because it's an otherwise slow week does not really matter. Just come.

I'd hoped to publish position statements and qualifications for candidates but did not get to touch base with everyone running. In fairness, that sort of thing has to be everyone or no one. There are, of course, the ubiquitous flyers about town - broadsheets, time honored ancestor of more conventional modern publishing. Whatever medium works and gets the word should continue side by side with newer versions.

Catch a copy of the Jan 22 MountainairView Telegraph for their piece on the candidates. Only two responded, however. One candidate who did not get a comment in has been getting the word in that time honored traditional way - going from house to house and talking to as many voters as possible.

What kind of questions should we ask tonight?

First though, let's question ourselves: take an inventory. What are our expectations for the school system? What is the role of the school system in the community? What responsibilities do school board members have? Whom do they serve? Are our own expectations in line with what students and the community needs? If not, then which comes first and what kind of adjustments are we prepared to make?

There are minimum requirements to qualify as a candidate and then there are optimal qualifications. e-Democracy's job description for school board members seems as a good a place to start as any. Portland Public Schools has also posted a job description for school board members - along with agendas and minutes for meetings.

If you want to make the best choice possible, learn more about education issure and policies, school boards and what they do, what challenges schools face in these times. Don't take anyone's word - ask for sources, insist on data to back up claims no matter who makes them. Just recently I heard someone who ought to know better claim success for a policy when I know it was not true - and so would anyone who can read and use a search engine. In short, question authority (if you have one, wear the tee to the forum) and do your own homework.

A useful description from eDemocracy:

With an eye toward helping children learn, candidates run for the school board for many reasons, among them: to advocate for particular issues, to address fiscal issues, or to represent a particular cultural group. Personal agendas go a long way toward defining how an individual elected to the board will approach the job. However, school board members do not have the luxury to work only on issues of concern to them or within their realm of expertise. A school board member must deal with many interrelated issues including but not limited to taxes, budgets, students, teachers, parents, curriculum, government regulations, technology and building construction and management. In addition, a school board member is both empowered and required by state law to perform specific duties.

Arts Funding Update

as promised, the Arts Alliance updates us on arts funding ...

January 28, the House Appropriations and Finance Committee voted to table a recommendation from the Legislative Finance Committee for a cut of $408,000 in grant funds for New Mexico Arts. Today, the Senate Indian and Cultural Affairs Committee gave a unanimous "do pass" recommendation to Senate Bill 24, which would increase grant funding for New Mexico Arts by $900,000. Next stop for SB 24 will be the Senate Finance Committee.

The Arts Alliance, working with New Mexico Arts and others, helped to organize testimony and supportive attendance at both meetings. Thanks to all those who called and wrote e-mails to House members. Almost every committee member who spoke made reference to the very high volume of calls they had gotten on this issue. Your calls make a huge difference, and the number of calls stand in sharp contrast with many other issues before the Legislature.

Next steps include further discussions and negotiations on where we will wind up between the two positions -- a $408,000 cut and a $900,000 increase. We will keep you posted on all developments, any future committee meetings, and any additional opportunities for supportive phone calls (see below).

We encourage you to call or email Rep. Egolf and/or Rep. McCoy to express your concern about the LFC-recommended cuts to the New Mexico Arts budget. (Find NM legislators)

Notes by: Kevin Hagen, President of the Arts Alliance Board of Directors

Roadside America Sightings

Roadside America is my long time favorite site for the scenically funky - drive through folk art & eccentric Americana - as well as one my original sources of information about the Shaffer Hotel - history and images.

photo by Birdman of Hell Paso

Sadly, the Shaffer piece is no longer listed under NM attractions, nor does it come up on site searches, although Mountainaire is featured on the Society for Commericial Architecture's (SCA) New Mexico page .

Three pictures there, as apposed to Roadside's former spread with more images + copy Maybe it's time for Mountainair to angle for another Roadside America visit and its page back. Let's take matters into our own hands by submitting our own stories and pictures. Tour the Roadside America site and gear up for a Bring Back the Shaffer blitz.

Start with the main and New Mexico pages. Check out FIELD REPORTS from the Roadside America team's featured stories since the last Sightings:

Early 20th c. automobiles Pioneer Auto Show, ND

• CALIFORNIA: Bosco the Dog Mayor; Wrist Wrestling Capital & Statue
• FLORIDA: Presidents Hall of Fame
• ILLINOIS: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum & Mecca of Albino Squirrels
• INDIANA: A Town Named Santa Claus
• SOUTH DAKOTA: Pioneer Auto Show & Porter Sculpture Park
• WISCONSIN: Wizard Quest

ROADSIDE NEWS ROUND-UP
New to RoadsideAmerica.com: a regular round-up listing of news reports on attractions that we encounter in other news sources.

Smallest Church in America - S. Newport GA

Most recent Roadside News posts:

TRUNKATIONS
Read about wacky new places in "Trunkations," Roadside America's blog of news and rants. Post comments welcome!

Latest Visitor Tips
Tips, leads, stories from travelers, plus reports on quirky museums, ironic monuments, and must-see oddities! Trip planning caution: Some tips may not be verified. Over time, attractions change, move, burn down. What's a vacation without a little risk? Submit your own tip.

Cano's Castle, Beer Can Folk Art Environment

around town, briefly noted

Tomorrow, Tuesday Jan 27, is the County Spelling Bee at the Mountainair High School, but I'll be missing it - pottery making workshop day at Mountainair Clayworks. My choice does not privilege pottery over spelling or mud over misspelling. Time permitting, I'll ankle across the road to Alpine Alley for coffee, to see who's there, visit a spell and, as usual, muse on the sociological significance of who takes coffee where and with whom. Shades of 18th c. London coffee house culture. Or not.

The usual exciting day out... in addition to above and seeing Jude's latest fiber fantasies (if she brings samples to the workshop), there's the Post Office, B St Market, other errands - and running into whoever else is out doing the same. Also Tuesday is or used to be Art, etc oil painting group day at the Methodist Church community meeting room.

Friday, 6:30 pm, presumably at some school district facility, is a forum for candidates in the Feb 3 school board election, Q & A too, so be sure to bring your questions. Got ideas? Mail them to vcrary@yahoo.com for an "election special" post with more information about the election, education issues, sample questions ... and, of course, forum location. Pick up a Jan 22 copy of the MountainView Telegraph for candidate statements. There may be one in The Independent as well

Noted in passing & well worth your attention: legislative update posted at New Mexico Central. Also check out recent additions to local blogroll and recent posts from less recent additions. There are not too many for you to bookmark or subscribe to email updates or RSS feed.

I still have notes from last week's workshop and coffee visit to shape into a post - interesting notes on assorted local project, plans & other endeaveor - and a report from Dennis Fulfer on the last town council meeting, hopefully up before the next one.

Arts Advocacy

Toolkit and Talking Points for the Arts

New Mexico Arts Funding in Jeopardy

Cricket Appel of the Arts Alliance reports that the House Appropriations and Finance Committee (Henry Kiki Saavedra, Chair; Danice Picraux, Vice-Chair; Rhonda S. King, Member) will meet Wednesday, January 28 at 1:30 PM to vote on the budget proposals that have been submitted by the Legislative Finance Committee and the Executive Branch. The LFC recommends reducing New Mexico Arts budget by $400,000 and the Executive Branch by $100,000. This would represent as much as a 45-50% reduction to organizations receiving funding through New Mexico Arts grant budget. Overall, state agencies face a 10% reduction in budget while, by contrast, the arts in New Mexico Arts face a considerably steeper reduction.

R.I.P. Arts Funding (Canada)
Karen Whaley, Say it with Pie

Express your concerns over this LFC-proposed reduction by calling or faxing your state legislators by phone (http://nmlegis.gov/lcs/legislatorsearch). Due to the last minute nature of this issue, it would be best to call to their Santa Fe phone number OR send an email to the email address listed in the contact information.

Additionally, New Mexico Community Arts Network and the Arts Alliance advocacy efforts influenced the Economic & Rural Development Committee to endorse and submitt SB24, which calls for a $900,000 increase in New Mexico Arts Budget for granting purposes. As this bill proceeds (track its progress), contact legislators to appeal for support of the bill.

The Arts Alliance will distribute notices as SB24 progresses, and I will post them here at Mountainair Arts and other outlets - with exhortations to Given the economic constraints this year, Focusing on HAFC meeting and budget discussion this coming Wednesday has been recommended.

Please take the time to make your voices heard...

Information sent by Cricket Appel, cricket@abqarts.org, Executive Director, Arts Alliance

Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator

Have I posted the Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator before? I can't remember. If so, it's due another airing. If not, it's overdue. In the interest of equity and balanced coverage, I also post poetry related generators and promise to cover other areas as well... Feeling inarticulate? Critically gauche? Or just verbally powerless? With the Instant Art Critique Phrase Generator, you need never again feel at a loss for commentary or 'insights.' Here's how it works: Pick at random any five-digit number, such as 80479, then read off phrase #8 of Table A, phrase #0 of Table B, and so on. The result is a Critical Response to the Art Product (figure out the acronym) sentence. Add a few more five-digit numbers to make a longer C.R.A.P.statement. After you have mastered the basic technique, you can realize the full potential by arranging the phrases in DAECB order, etc. Soon you can produce critiques as easily and fluently as anyone with an MFA! TABLE A 1) I'm troubled by how 2) With regard to the issue of content, 3) I find this work menacing/playful because of the way 4) It should be added that 5) I agree/disagree with some of the things that have just been said, but 6) Although I am not a painter, I think that 7) Um... 8) I'm surprised that no one has mentioned yet that 9) It's difficult to enter into this work because of how 0) As an advocate of the Big Mac Aesthetic, I feel that TABLE B 0) the internal dynamic 1) the sublime beauty 2) the disjunctive perturbation 3) the optical suggestions 4) the reductive quality 5) the subaqueous qualities 6) the iconicity 7) the aura 8) the mechanical mark-making 9) the metaphorical resonance TABLE C 0) of the biomorphic forms 1) of the sexual signifier 2) of the negative space 3) of the spatial relationships 4) of the facture 5) of the purity of line 6) of the Egyptian motifs 7) of the gesture 8) of the figurative-narrative line space mark 9) of the sexy fish TABLE D 0) verges on codifying 1) seems very disturbing in light of 2) contextualizes 3) endangers the devious simplicity of 4) brings within the realm of discourse 5) makes resonant 6) visually and conceptually activates 7) notates 8) spatially undermines 9) threatens to penetrate TABLE E 0) the accessibility of the work 1) a participation in the critical dialogue of the 90s 2) the eloquence of these pieces 3) the remarkable handling of light 4) the inherent overspecificity 5) the distinctive formal juxtapositions 6) the essentially transitional quality 7) the larger carcass 8) the substructure of critical thinking 9) the exploration of montage elements

Alibi's 6th Annual Valentine Card Contest

Love is nice ... winning is better

Concoct your own message of unfettered affection on a surface no larger than 8.5 x 11 inches. Superior specimens will be published in our Valentine's Day issue on Feb. 12.

Mail entries to:

Alibi's Sixth Annual Valentine's Card Contest
2118 Central Ave SE, PMB 151,
Albuquerque, NM 87106

Submissions will not be returned. Winners will be awarded with proof of their dominance.

We must receive your card no later than Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. One entry per person.

Let them eat (Inauguration) cake

Did you see the 7 ft, 3000# red, white & (mostly electric) blue inaugural cheesecake on tv this morning? I'm looking for a picture to post but not finding it. In the meantime, NYT blogged it ("An Inaugural Cake Saga") and presidential cakes abound...

Here's what the posh Willard Room Restaurant in D.C. has on display, found on Cake Wrecks:

[tilting head] Hey, isn't the White House leaning a little to the left?

Inauguration Cake Balls

According to Erin's Food Files, they are very easy to make, boxed cake & canned frosting, just a little "time consuming" to assemble. She made the cakes the night before, rolled them into balls & stuck them in the freezer, and then a couple hours later dipped them in chocolate & decorated them.

Cake Balls, adapted from MANY sources on the web

1 Devils Food boxed cake
1 can whipped cream cheese frosting
chocolate almond bark
red candy coating (optional)
blue candy coating (optional)
white non-pareils (optional)
1/4-1/3 cup hazelnut liqueur (optional)

Make cake according to instructions. Let cool completely.

Cut cake into cubes, and put half the cake in a bowl. Crumble cake. Add liqueur and mix to combine. Add about 1/3 of the frosting. Mix to combine (I used my hands). Add more frosting if necessary.

Using spoon or cookie scoop, portion and roll into balls. Place on cookie sheet on wax paper and place in freezer.

Wipe out bowl. Add the remainder of cake and crumble completely. Add in about 1/2 of remaining frosting. Mix to combine. Add more frosting if necessary. Portion, roll into balls, and place on cookie sheet in freezer. Let chill at least an hour.

Melt almond bark in double boiler. Dip balls and place on waxed paper to cool. Melt colored candy coating and decorate as desired. If using nonpareils, be sure to sprinkle those on while candy coating is still melted! It dries fast!

Inauguration Day 2009

This is news everybody on the planet already knows - and possibly other galaxies as well. I'm watching the packed crowds in DC there to be part of the day and waiting for the ceremonies. All inaugurations are but this one more than most. The last one I really watched and remember best (the rest something of a blur) was JFK in 1961. Mr Morvant brought a tv to American History class and told us we were watching American history. The first Catholic president. Big deal in Catholic Cajun country. Rapt, we listened to Kennedy tell us, "ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" and then tell us about his plans for the Peace Corps. We all wanted to go.

Living our lives thereafter, history, much of it televised, happened along the way, assassinations,.wars, 1st man walking on the moon, We all stayed up to watch those 1st steps - waking up the children to come see so someday they could say they saw the first man walk on the moon - but had to keep poking them so they would stay awake

Another must-witness is upon us but at least in the daytime. We're watching. Live streaming coverage is everywhere. The inauguration is even an MTV event. Type "inauguration" into Google and 28,700,000 results come up. 11,500,000 for "Obama inaguration." Too many even for skimming. Wherever you sit on the political spectrum, however you voted, today is a historic day.

Although born in the uppermost part of NY state (north of Ithaca & Watertown), I spent many growing up years in the Deep South and witnessed segregation, evil codified into the legal system, in all its many & soul-destroying uglinesses. Such memories, for good or ill, shape whoever lives them.

At 10, I would sit in the back of buses (after being told not to) despite looks from conductor, driver and white passengers. This was not from any sense of doing something for a cause or taking a stand on principle. Even then I did not know my place and could not abide being told where to sit or who to associate with. More memories keep surfacing today. So many that I would hug and dance with are no longer, so it is up to me to hug their memories and dance for them.

We hoped for change but found it hard to believe in. I have few illusions about deep transformations being complete - but I can believe they are underway. Then there are the other travails and challenges ahead. For now, let us watch history, mark the day. It's another moon walk.... sit back and watch it.

INAUGURATION IMAGES: D.C. Webcams

• Various locations including Mall to Capital Building
• http://www.camvista .com/usa/ ec/dc.php3
• Mall to Capital Building
• http://www.earthcam .com/usa/ dc/metrosquare/
• Various street intersections - maps and webcams
• http://app.ddot. dc.gov/services_ dsf/traffic_ cameras/index. asp?portal_ link=rb
• More traffic webcams
• http://www.trafficl and.com/city/ WAS/index. html?campid= 0&ssns=14&
• Washington Monument and the Mall
• http://www.nature. nps.gov/air/ WebCams/parks/ nacccam/washcam. cfm

VALENTINE UPDATE

The "Valentine's Day Dinner" planned by the Jubilee committee as a fundraiser has been canceled.

The Nazarene Church will be hosting a Valentine Brisket Dinner the same night. The Jubilee committe does not want to have a dinner on the same night. If there are too many dinners, everyone loses. Instead, we'll make a big weekend of it! the Jubilee Committee will hold a Valentine Bingo on the Friday before Valentine's Day, February 13th,. 6:00pm at the MAC Building Concession Area. Snacks will be available at the Concession Stand - list and prices to be posted later.

The committee hopes that everyone will come out and have a great time the night before and that both events will be HUGE successes. Money raised from Bingos, Movies, Dinners and other fundraisers buy fireworks for the whole community not just the Jubilee.

Let's all spread the word out for a great turnout for Bingo Night, Friday February 13. Talk about making Friday 13th a LUCKY DAY!!! Then, Saturday, stay local and go to the Brisket Dinner at the Nazarene Church.

playing to learn & help

AIDtoCHILDREN was developed based on a desire to help underprivileged children in the most impoverished places around the world. The goal of AIDtoChildren and the method of achieving of it are simple: bring aid to children in need through learning. Just play the vocabulary game: for every correct answer, .25 cents will be donated to children in need. Please send your feedback to info@aidtochildren.com.

briefly noted & thanks for all the fish

Pop's Cafe at the Shaffer is on winter hours, no more Friday and Saturday nights ... also applying for a wine and beer served with food only liquor license....did you miss signing up for a clay workshop this month?... not to worry, more to come, catch the next one... contact Mountainair Clayworks for details & schedule or for studio space....mark your calendars for Valentine Bingo, February 13 @ MAC Concession Building... presented by Jubilee committee .... Another Jubilee fundraiser - Movie Night - is returning....Hooray for Hollywood & especially THE RETURN OF MOVIE NIGHT (please...no spanners in the works this time around) .... 2009 dates already set for December's Toys for Tots & Holiday Lights Parade ... if you or organizations you belong to are planning an event or activity using town venue (ie community center, park, MAC), book your date now (before someone else does) and get it on the community calendar... and the Chamber online event calendar.too... send event details to webmaster@mountainairchamber.com

Not really thanking anyone for fish... just that I like the line and how it sounds with "briefly noted" ... but do want acknowledge and thank Jude Mowris, Roy Kirby, Wana Beth Fox, Dale Harris, Dennis Fulfer, Kristine Lauritsen, Tomas Wolff, Dee & Jerry Melargno, Patricia Autrey, Karen Smith @ 2ponyz, Laura Kayser, Kathleen Clute, Patty Mahoney, Ben & Sandi Steinlage, Frances & Annie, Joan Page, Hamilton Montgomery, Jay Mortenson, Bert Herrman, Gretchen, Hilltopper, RRyder, Montañero, Ridge Runner, Maureen & Neil Hamilton @ Jackass Junction, Alice, Tamra Hays, CD Hall, Arlene Perea @ Forest Service, Dierdre Tarr @ Claunch-Pinto, Suzan Brazil @ City Hall .... and of course the eponymous "anonymous" for their input, contributions and comments. I couldn't do it without you. (If I've overlooked anyone, please let me know so I can rectify the oversight)

Blogging, I just can't have too many cooks stirring the pot with me... So anyone out there thinking about sending information, posting comments, sending pictures, submitting pieces... go Nike and JUST DO IT... anonymously if preferred... email me @ vcrary@yahoo.com

Where I've been, what I've been up to...

Wordle graphic representing geographic distribution of Webheads

Never mind where I've been: what's BAW (actually BaW)? In the real world, if that's what you prefer to think it is, nowhere but right here in Mountainair. In the virtual world, another story altogether and one involving BaW, which stands for Becoming a Webhead, e.g. joining a community of practice for online teaching, becoming part of an international group of ESL teachers using internet and communication tools (such as groups, voice technology, 2nd Life, social networks, blogs, wikis) in teaching. Webheads are a world-wide, cross-cultural, and active online-community of educators open to anyone who wants to join.

If one is simultaneously Webhead and MountainairHead (as per recent conversations with Dennis and others), would that make one a Webby MountainairHead, an Airy Mountain Webhead or MountainWeb Airhead?

But so far I am still managing my blogger resolution of posting once a day to one or more of my blogs. Some days, even most or all. Ironically, my ESL writing class blog (closed except to class members) is taking the most gaps in blogging....

Please note: plogged (posted on poetry blog, Poets & Writers Picnic): Call for Nominations for the Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts along with other notices you may or may not be interested in. Poetry blogging from Mountainair is taking off, getting us on the map, despite picnic & sunflower being months off: praise from NM & out of state poet, even ones on other continents - including an invitation to collaborate online with an international poetry event in Italy.

Session 2 work, Mountainair Clayworks pottery workshop,
photo by Jude Mowris

From Tuesday's Hands on Clay Workshop @ Mountainair Clayworks. Mostly Jude's and mine. The fish dish on the upper right and the smaller geometric abstract bowl next to it are Jude's. I think the leafy dish/bowl in the middle is by Sandy Foltzer. Jude posted a report with more details and images at Notes from Straw Mountain

Waiting to hear more from organizer about two local students planning on summer tour in Italy before posting appeal for support. There was a flyer at Clayworks and no doubt at Cibola Arts as well. If quick skim memory serves, travel plans focus on or at least start with Florence. I hope they read Dante before they go - and that the organizer has read his in the original Italian. Should it be a condition of support? Firenze senza Dante? Ché travisamento!

Dante about to enter "selva oscura" and "selvaggia," by Salavador Dali

Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita
mi ritrovai per una selva oscura
ché la diritta via era smarrita. 

Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa dura
esta selva selvaggia e aspra e forte
che nel pensier rinova la paura!

Tant'è amara che poco è più morte;
ma per trattar del ben ch'i' vi trovai,
dirò de l'altre cose ch'i' v'ho scorte.

Ditto on waiting to hear from more candidates before blogging position statements and qualifications. This election is very important. Money is short and will be getting shorter. New Mexico's ranking is up from the cellar but still in the lower 1/3. Mountainair, I hope it comes as no surprise to anyone, is not leading the pack. We talk development but there can be none (just colonialist incursions) without education and skills. Human resources are the ones that count most, not land, wind, ruins, cultural artifacts...

Now back to other Web 2.0 apps , surfing the net for tools and my collection of composition teaching resource texts for my week 4 presentation. There will be more about it blogged, want it or not...

Historical Society of New Mexico

From David Caffey,on the Historical Society of New Mexico Annual Meeting 2009,New Mexico History Conference, Santa Fe Community Convention Center, April 30-May 3, 2009 Conference program and registration information are now available on the Historical Society of New Mexico website, http://www.hsnm.org. The (online) program materials include information concerning hotel accommodations in Santa Fe. We encourage you to make arrangements soon in order to ensure availability. There will be a pre-conference "150/100 Symposium" and an advance peek at the new and long anticipated New Mexico History Museum (grand opening, May 24). David L. Caffey, Program Committee Chair, Historical Society of New Mexico, 575-769-4010, david.caffey@clovis.edu *~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~***~~* More NM History (yeah, homework... going live here? learn more about the history. it's the state with the nation's oldest society) New Mexico History - the short version for visitors from NM Mag Vacation Guide NM history timeline from PPSA Online Magazine (last issue 2000) NM Digital History Project NM history links (+ archaeology & geneolgy) at All About New Mexico, a comprehensive list of NM links Historical Museum Guide for NM The History of New Mexico from the The History Channel Preserving the History of New Mexico Agriculture and Rural Life

Get Your Kicks on Route 60?

It just doesn't have the same ring.

In 1946 when Bobby Troup wrote his song "Get Your Kicks On Route 66," the alliteration of "route six six" gave the song its charm. But twenty years earlier when the US Highway system was laid out, the proponents of what was to become the "Mother Road", campaigned for the US 60 designator.

The divisible by ten numbers were to be the primary east west highways. The proponents argued that the Chicago to LA route was clearly destined to be the primary route from the east to California and as a primary route it deserved the US 60 designator. Competitors for the Route 60 designator correctly pointed out that the divisible by ten numbers were supposed to be true cross country routes. And although Lake Michigan is Great Lake indeed, it is not the Atlantic Ocean. The competitors won and the eastern end of Route 60 began in Virginia. The Chicago to LA route received the now famous "US 66" designator instead.

This led to a slight problem for Rand McNally as they planned their maps in 1926. As a Chicago company they were well aware of the controversy. Unfortunately the outcome was not settled in time and Rand McNally placed their bets with the losing side. When the 1926 maps and atlases went to print their version of US 60 left Chicago and headed for LA.

The first example is a 1926 Rand McNally map of the state of Illinois issued by Standard Oil of Indiana. The cover shows a gentleman and a lady in their sporty car stopped to ask a local for directions. Billed as "showing the main trunk and highways", the map included the new US highway designators. Most of the new US highways followed existing Illinois state routes.

For example the major east-west routes, US 20 followed Illinois 5; US 30, the Lincoln Highway, followed Illinois 6; US 40, the National Old Trails Road, followed Illinois 11 and US 50 followed Illinois 12. The major north-south route US 51 followed Illinois 2.

State route Illinois 4, the diagonal route from Chicago to St. Louis, received the US 60 designator. Shown below are the map cover and selected portions of the map itself.

The second example is the 1926 Rand McNally Auto Road Atlas of the United States. This atlas contained a complete set of junior Auto Road Maps. The entire US 60 route from Chicago to LA can be traced in this atlas. The atlas cover is shown below. The portion of the highway from Santa Fe to Gallup, New Mexico is shown in the graphic at the top of the page. Along this stretch, only the portions of the road near Albuquerque are marked as paved.

From The Road Ahead, A Collector's Look at North American Road Maps

ART: Speaking about pottery

Look for more pottery blogging, a Clayworks effect you might call it. This from Gallery News in Collector's Guide NM Art News:

A lecture about the first Museum of New Mexico director and another lecture on Native American Pueblo pottery, both in Santa Fe this week.

Acoma pottery

This year, the Museum of New Mexico celebrates its one hundredth anniversary. One of the largest state-run museums in the country, it was originally housed in the Palace of the Governors on Santa Fe's plaza. It now consists of many institutions, collections, and the New Mexico State Monuments system.

The first director of the Museum was Edgar Lee Hewett. Considered quite opinionated, Hewett was also an unfaltering advocate for the preservation of art, culture and heritage. He was one of the earliest to explore the archeology of the southwest, and the founding of the Museum created a state-supported education and outreach base for these archeological studies. Hewett oversaw much growth in the course of his 36 years at the helm of the Museum, including the dedication of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1917 and the establishment of the New Mexico State Monuments system in 1931. Listen

For more information on this and other arts events, or to submit your arts event to our calendar, please visit Collectors Guide on the web and click on "Get Arts
Calendar."

*~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~*
And now some pottery history


Elaborately edged earthenware pots from prehistoric Japan,
middle Jomon period (2500-1500 BCE) and hand shaped probably by women potters
for ceremonial purposes: Jomon Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

• History and Tradition of Pottery and Ceramics
• Neolithic Chinese ceramics
• Neolithic and Bronze Age Greek pottery
• Neolithic Pottery Manufacture, Isle of Manx National Heritage Museum
• Oldest pottery north of the Rio Grande?
• Where does the oldest pottery in the world come from?

Recently pottery has been found in Japan that dates back to 13,000 years ago, which, if you use the latest radiocarbon calibration, gives a date of 16,000 years ago. (or 14,000 BC). Early pottery has also been found in Russia, in the far eastern end, in the Vladivostok region. At the height of the Ice age, the sea levels would have been much lower, and the northern island of Japan may have been joined to the mainland of Asia at this time. Early pottery has also been reported from sites in China

• Oldest pottery in Americas Is Found in Amazon Basin
• Oldest pottery in North America

Around 4,500 years before present time, ancient people of the Archaic period of civilization began making pottery on Stallings Island in the Savannah River near present day Augusta GA

Stallings pot

ART: Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, "Modernists in New Mexico"

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum presents an exhibition demonstrating the encounter between some of America’s most innovative twentieth-century painters and New Mexico. The exhibition includes works by various modern artists, most of whom arrived in the southwest after 1912: George Wesley Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Robert Henri, Edward Hopper, Raymond Jonson, John Marin, Georgia O’Keeffe, and John Sloan.

On exhibition 13 February through 10 May, 2009 at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe.

(read complete Art Knowledge News article, Modernists in New Mexico)

Technology: Top 10 Forecasts for 2009 & beyond

among the World Future Society’s latest roundup in The Futurist ...

Nanotechnology, a type of futurist technology

1. Everything you say and do will be recorded by 2030. By the late 2010s, ubiquitous, unseen nanodevices will provide seamless communication and surveillance among all people everywhere. Humans will have nanoimplants, facilitating interaction in an omnipresent network. Everyone will have a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. Since nano storage capacity is almost limitless, all conversation and activity will be recorded and recoverable. -Gene Stephens, "Cybercrime in the Year 2025," July-Aug 2008, p. 34

2. Bioviolence will become a greater threat as the technology becomes more accessible. Emerging scientific disciplines (notably genomics, nanotechnology, and other microsciences) could pave the way for a bioattack. Bacteria and viruses could be altered to increase their lethality or to evade antibiotic treatment. Another long-term risk comes from nanopollution fallout from warfare. Nanoparticles could potentially cause new diseases with unusual and difficult-to-treat symptoms, and they will inflict damage far beyond the traditional battlefield, even affecting future generations. -Barry Kellman, "Bioviolence: A Growing Threat," May-June 2008, p. 25 et seq.; Antonietta M. Gatti and Stefano Montanari, "Nanopollution: The Invisible Fog of Future Wars," May-June 2008, p. 32

3. The car’s days as king of the road may soon be over. More powerful wireless communication that reduces demand for travel, flying delivery drones to replace trucks, and policies to restrict the number of vehicles owned in each household are among the developments that could thwart the automobile’s historic dominance on the environment and culture. If current trends were to continue, the world would have to make way for a total of 3 billion vehicles on the road by 2025. -Thomas J. Frey, "Disrupting the Automobile’s Future," Sep-Oct 2008, p. 39 et seq.

4. Careers, and the college majors for preparing for them, are becoming more specialized. An increase in unusual college majors may foretell the growth of unique new career specialties. Instead of simply majoring in business, more students are beginning to explore niche majors such as sustainable business, strategic intelligence, and entrepreneurship. Other unusual majors that are capturing students’ imaginations: neuroscience and nanotechnology, computer and digital forensics, and comic book art. Scoff not: The market for comic books and graphic novels in the United States has grown 12% since 2006. -World Trends & Forecasts, Sep-Oct 2008, p. 8

5. There may not be world law in the foreseeable future, but the world’s legal systems will be networked. The Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), a database of local and national laws for more than 50 participating countries, will grow to include more than 100 counties by 2010. The database will lay the groundwork for a more universal understanding of the diversity of laws between nations and will create new opportunities for peace and international partnership. -Joseph N. Pelton, "Toward a Global Rule of Law: A Practical Step Toward World Peace," Nov-Dec 2007, p. 25

6. Professional knowledge will become obsolete almost as quickly as it’s acquired. An individual’s professional knowledge is becoming outdated at a much faster rate than ever before. Most professions will require continuous instruction and retraining. Rapid changes in the job market and work-related technologies will necessitate job education for almost every worker. At any given moment, a substantial portion of the labor force will be in job retraining programs. -Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies, "Trends Shaping Tomorrow’s World, Part Two," May-June 2008, p 41

7. The race for biomedical and genetic enhancement will-in the twenty-first century-be what the space race was in the previous century. Humanity is ready to pursue biomedical and genetic enhancement, says UCLA professor Gregory Stock, the money is already being invested, but, he says, "We’ll also fret about these things-because we’re human, and it’s what we do." -Gregory Stock quoted in "Thinking Globally, Acting Locally, Living Personally," Nov-Dec 2007, p. 57

8. Urbanization will hit 60% by 2030. As more of the world’s population lives in cities, rapid development to accommodate them will make existing environmental and socioeconomic problems worse. Epidemics will be more common due to crowded dwelling units and poor sanitation. Global warming may accelerate due to higher carbon dioxide output and loss of carbon-absorbing plants. -Marvin J. Cetron and Owen Davies, "Trends Shaping Tomorrow’s World, Part One," Mar-Apr 2008, p. 52

9. The Middle East will become more secular while religious influence in China will grow. Popular support for religious government is declining in places like Iraq, according to a University of Michigan study. The researchers report that in 2004 only one-fourth of respondents polled believed that Iraq would be a better place if religion and politics were separated. By 2007, that proportion was one-third. Separate reports indicate that religion in China will likely increase as an indirect result of economic activity and globalization. -World Trends & Forecasts, Nov-Dec 2007, p. 10

10. Access to electricity will reach 83% of the world by 2030. Electrification has expanded around the world, from 40% connected in 1970 to 73% in 2000, and may reach 83% of the world’s people by 2030. Electricity is fundamental to raising living standards and access to the world’s products and services. Impoverished areas such as sub-Saharan Africa still have low rates of electrification; for instance, Uganda is just 3.7% electrified. -Andy Hines, "Global Trends in Culture, Infrastructure, and Values," Sep-Oct 2008, p. 20

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You may also enjoy these entries from the Encyclopedia Britannica blog ("where ideas matter"):

• The Fate of the Book: current smart critics of the new are articulate and informed, Their concerns about the decline of book-thinking get hearings. But a decade and a half ago another articulate critic of the rising internet who similarly yearned to protect the superior, but endangered book wrote a book about the waning of the book called The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age.
  
  
• 
  Reading in the Open-ended Information Zone Called Cyberspace: Am I in cyberspace when I’m reading? Or are cyberspace and reading-space are opposed conditions of sentience.... Cyberspace is centrifugal; reading is centripetal. Cyberspace is intransitive; reading is transitive.
  
• 
  Water cuts Steel = Sunflower. Watch water cut steel in the service of art. (Andrew Crawford, a blacksmith in Atlanta, shows us how to make a sunflower in this episode of “Iron is King.”)
  

Friday medley: week in review

Working on a more detailed report of Jan 6 Chamber meeting: there's a shorter version posted at Announcements and another on Facebook that you might be able to access. I doubt a bit more wait will bother anyone that much. For the impatient, briefly:

C & M CIRCUS - April 9 @ Rodeo Grounds; APPROVED: sharing event costs, work & income with Jubilee Committee (Kathy Anglin, Town Hall, et al);

SPRING FLING CLEAN UP DAY: May 9, scheduled before RFD comes to town; community wide yard sale @ MAC/campgrounds & to involve as many cpmmunity groups as possible; spring bingo on another day. Scott Remmich & Pam Pettingill in charge of Fling clean up day.

SUNFLOWER: Chamber collaborating with MMAC and Lodger's Board to put on Sunflower Festival, August 22

RFD-TV: May 12: "Best of America by Horseback" cross country Canada to Mexico trail ride will stop in Mountainair @ Rodeo Grounds w/ 30 riders, horses, trailers, support personnel, film crews, musicians for concert etc. According to Mayor Gilley, the trail ride will put on event such as parade, concert or street dance. Their last cross country trial ride (1995) got national exposure, made CNN & network news.

On the dot gov front, Dennis Fulfer uploaded Town Council 2008 meeting agendas and minutes. I'll be getting Chamber minutes from Kevin to archive on the Chamber website and intend to keep posting/send meeting summaries. Claunch-Pinto SWCD also archives minutes on its website. That's a pile of transparency in local gov't and NGOs - surely an example to the rest.

But there is more to life for MtairHeads than Chamber & other meetings...

On Announcements: school board elections Feb 3, some links about the role of school boards and members and an invitation to candidate to submit position statements and qualifications. In the process of looking for job descriptions, I discovered the e-Democracy site. We could open a Mountainair forum there. If not, it's still an excellent model for internet based participatory democracy - electronic equivalent of the old fashioned New England town meeting - and resource.

Mountainair Clayworks opening week of workshops made a stellar entrance onto the local arts scene, joining its "sister" cooperative, Art Etc (oil painting) as a community arts resource. Too bad AE is not up to Clayworks standard for keeping us in the loop. I keep hoping though. Tonight was the new cooperative's impromptu Open House / "studio warming." With luck I'll have a report to share... perhaps pictures. For pottery workshop, I refer readers again Jude's entry on her Straw Mountain blog.

workshop day 1 - pinch pots

All the best to cooperative members Pamela Armas, Kathy Baur, Kathleen Davies, Joan Embree, Mari Cicola and Tomas Wolff in their endeavor

Market Ideology and the Myths of Web 2.0

The essay "Market Ideology and the Myths of Web 2.0" debunks the myths of the Web 2.0 brand arguing that the popularized phrase limits public media discourse and thus imagining a future World Wide Web. Excerpt: The Web is empowering many individuals and also social movements today. However, users don't just click for the good of all beings; more than 742,000 people make a living on Amazon.com's used book "associate" program. The Social Web helps in the pursuit of individual self–interest. At the same time, it's important not to forget that we, the users are guests in the house of Social Media giants. Standing on their shoulders, we are entering their rooms; we are banking on the hospitality of their server farms, we are trusting that all the data that we are sharing through our conversations and on our profiles are not abused in scenarios of total control, barely imaginable today. The sci-fi novel Little Brother narrates a more frightening scenario and steps slowly taken to make this happen - an Orwellian future for the internet Food for thought.

pottering, chambering, bee-ing

Today is more of a musings than formal (whatever that is) posting day. A lot to get down & copious notes to draw. Too much for one post & still being processed. I continue to ponder the personal resolutions thing, ask myself why more Mtair-ites writing on my wall in FaceBook don't post blog comments (FaceBook vs MySpace is yet another matter), weigh pending web decisions (cancel static page hosting, exchange for single portal page, change blog name or just leave it all be as is).

But blog daily resolution awaits ...

Mountainair Clayworks - ready for workshoppers

Yesterday morning (new thing for new year!) was pottery day at Mountainair Clayworks, studio and cooperative under the direction of Tomas Wolff on Limit across from the Alpine Alley coffeehouse and expat watering hole, our version of Harry's Bar. Hey, nobody said this was Paris, so don't go looking to pick a fight with Hemingway. More pottery days - one session Tuesdays through late February, another Thursdays and a Mosaics workshop session that started today, running like the others through February. You're not too late to join the Thursday pottery workshop. Friday Open House notice from Tomas just landed in mbx:

Just a quick note to let you all know that this Friday at 5 PM we are having an impromptu house warming/open house at the new studios for the Mountainair Clayworks at 209 N. Summit (across the street from the Alpine Alley Cafe).

Come see the newest creative action center in town! Classes for pottery and mosaics have started and local artists have opened their studios(including Pamela Armas, Kathy Baur, Kathleen Davies, Joan Embree, Mari Cicola and Tomas Wolff).

Clay coop member Joan Embree (mum?) & soothsayer spouse are usually back in the Republic of Berkeley by now but Joan is taking a Master Gardener course in Albuquerque (through UNM Extension). More (mental/experiential) mulch for the community garden project. I ask Joan to keep posted for sharing with you, dear readers and prospective micro-farmers.

string art by Roy Kirby

While waiting for more complete coverage of pottering, workshop, clayworks, cooperative, etc, treat yourself to Jude's post w/ pictures @ her Straw Mountain blog. Check out her other projects and Roy's string art while you're there. Neat chimes too but further back - wait for the blogzibit. And then there is the house (a collaboration) itself...

Then it was off to the monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting - lowish turnout but otherwise a productive (why "otherwise"? perhaps low turnout contributes to productivity?). More on the circus coming to town in April, RFD-TV visit (equestrian related) in May, Spring Fling (spling?) plans to incorporate cleaning up the town for visitors and hold a giant community wide yard, praise to wind harvesters for generosity, good deeds and community spirit (despite not creating local jobs and shipping harvested energy out state), other announcements. 2009 budget handed out - to be voted on next month. Presumably more chamberistas will be in attendance then. I probably need to work up something explaining what more I'll be doing in the way of promoting Mountainair online.

This morning was the spelling bee at Mountainair HS gym. My impressions and reactions are mixed, to say the least, and still being processed. Reflections forthcoming or maybe not.

I keep forgetting how to spell amnesia

I'm in meditating on ed mode these days anyway - more than my usual academic lists and correspondence with university faculty colleagues at play. I teach an online ESL class - yet another blog but not a public one - have been at this first by email, then by group and now by blog for about 10 years, Even on the lookout for computer / internet teaching tools and strategies, I signed up for online workshops in ed tech and teaching ESL at TESOL's Electronic Village Online (EVO). That's on top of being a guest presenter for a week in another EVO workshop on online teaching practices. My segment is on computer mediated strategies for writing feedback in online and hybrid classes. Triangulating learning systems - global, self-paced on demand, online, nationwide higher and local - goes beyond sobering and eye-opening. More like jumping from sauna into icy water.

Minims

This from the ever entertaining and even informative, Learn the Net: 10 Things You Can Do on the Net this Week

Amuse yourself with unuseful advice: Minims or Man Is The Only Animal That Wears Bow Ties.

minim ['mInIm] n: a statement expressed in proverbial or sentential form but having no general application or practical use whatever — compare MAXIM (a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits)

Minim examples:

Two heads are more numerous than one.
There are more things in heaven and earth than anyplace else.

Vanishing

Vanishing is part of change, the unchanging meme of any new year genre. This list of the "Top 25 Things Vanishing From America" includes swimming holes, out houses, handwritten letters, newspaper classifieds, hard copy yellow pages, landlines & dial-up, cameras that use film, bowling alleys, incandescent bulbs, wild horses, drive in theaters and the family farm.

We'll miss some far more than others and some losses will change us. No doubt most of us can add a few to the list. Not just things vanishing - what about the long gone but still fondly remembered - like Burma Shave signs. One set is preserved by the Smithsonian Institution. It reads:

Shaving brushes
You'll soon see 'em
On a shelf
In some museum
Burma-Shave

What can you add to the list?

aulde lang syne and a homecoming

First, the homecoming. Kris Pederson reports - with great joy and relief - that Amiga, canis errata et montivaga (wandering in the mountains), is back home again.

"Good news, our Amiga came back this past Friday morning! Thank you so much for helping to spread the word that she was missing. We have been very touched by all the efforts people have made to help us bring Amiga back home."

Who else is succumbing to the pull of seasonal aulde lang syne? Remembering and thinking to get in touch with - or in this the age of googling and other internet searches - at least look for in the ether? A catch and then some this year - so much easier not to lose people with email and the internet - easier too finding them again.

Megan Lemcke is especially remembered and sorely missed. I have one of her oils - prized but hardly the same as the person nor as being able to drop by and view works in progress. I was delighted to note a number of her paintings on MySpace are still "in progress." Those and other have changed since I last saw them.

Assent & Dissent
not in progress but changed since they left Mountainair


"Blue Door", still in progress

More of the remembered and refound to come.... Tell us about yours