Celebrating art and science in Greater Prescott
Alan Dean Foster gets ready for Christmas 2099 P. 10
Ty Fitzmorris
watches the skies ... for clouds P. 14
Jacy Lee
throws rockin’ furniture in a glass house P. 7
Gene Twaronite
gets ticked off at vampiric arachnids P. 21
And much2 more
P. 11 FEBRUARY 2015 | VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 | 5ENSESMAG.COM
AMPERSAND: ART GOES TO THE DOGS
P. 16
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5enses In which:
4 5 6 7 10
Peregrine Book Co.
lands on tough times, revamps vampires, drinks with writers, wrestles with depression, and reads Wolff-ish tales.
Rich Lewis
finds a fowl, weathered friend who, while rarely spotted around town, makes a verdant splash.
Helen Stephenson
gets glammed up and goes to the glitziest group of Oscar galas that Prescott has to offer.
Jacy Lee
sees the proverbial glass as half full when it comes to great, Depressionera antiques and collectibles.
Alan Dean Foster
celebrates a celebration-less pause between — NO, NEVERMIND, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY.
11 14 16 20 21
James Dungeon
discusses rocks, minerals, fossils and artful, sculptural jewelry with Prescott artist Lesley McKeown.
Ty Fitzmorris
bears tidings of nature, come rain or come shine, in this on-again, off -again winter daze.
Tisza Sawiczki
fetches some historical documents, tells the art world to heel, and makes sure every dog artist has her day.
Paolo Chlebecek
turns on, plugs in, and drops in on the annual Computer Electronics Show in Sin City.
Gene Twaronite
takes a panel from Ben Edlund’s strip and gets as tight as a tick with a much-reviled arachnid, naturally.
February 2015 • Volume 3, Issue 2
Copyright © 2014 5enses Inc. unless otherwise noted. Publisher & Editor: Nicholas DeMarino Copy Editor: Susan Smart Read a new 5enses the first weekend of every month. Visit 5ensesMag.Com, Facebook, & Twitter for more. Contact us at 5ensesMag@Gmail.Com & 928-613-2076.
Plus
5/6 8 22 22
Flip Photo
A visual puzzle by the Highlands Center for Natural History
Left Brain/Right Brain
Find out what’s going on in Greater Prescott
Oddly Enough
Comics by Russell Miller
Not-as-holy-days
Enjoy these alternative reasons for the season(s)
COVER: Jewelry by Lesley McKeown featuring a fish fossil in limestone prepared by Keith Horst set in a sterling silver prong setting with 24 karat gold. Courtesy photo. Cover design by 5enses. Read James Dungeon’s story on Page 11 for more. COVER DETAIL: “Plate h.00,” allegedly painted by a Basset Griffon. Courtesy image. Read Tisza Sawiczki’s story on Page 16 for more. RIGHT: Jewelry by Lesley McKeown featuring an Australian boulder opal set in sterling silver with 24 karat gold. Courtesy image. Read James Dungeon’s story on Page 11 for more.
5ENSESMAG.COM • FEBRUARY 2015 • CONTENTS • 3
Peregrine Book Co.
Staff picks By Peregrine Book Company staff “Stilwater: Finding Wild Mercy in the Outback” By Rafael de Grenade De Granade’s book, published by the literary press Milkweed editions, is far more than an account of wrestling tough cattle in a tough land, it is an account of her coming into a relationship with that land. When you read this beautiful book, you too, may find yourself transformed by sharing her experience. —Susan
experience and as a deeply patient, insightful observer. There is nothing coldly clinical about this book, nor does it at any point stray into the realm of sentimental platitudes. If you genuinely want to learn about depression, you can do no better than this. —Reva
“The Historian” By Elizabeth Kostova In an era where the vampire has been turned into a teenage heartthrob, this is not the norm. In this beautifully written novel, one is easily lost in the world created by Kostova. —Jon
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“The Trip to Echo Spring: Why Writers Drink” By Olivia Laing Part travelogue, part criticism, and part memoir, “The Trip to Echo Spring” examines the lives of Tennessee Williams, Raymond Carver, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, John Cheever, and John Berryman, all of them brilliant and all of them troubled and alcoholic. Shimmering with insights and details, it leaves the reader enriched, educated, and inspired by the words of these great writers as seen through Laing’s insightful lens. — Michaela “The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression” By Andrew Solomon “Atlas” is just the word to describe this essential text on depression. Solomon writes both from personal
highlandscenter.org
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4 • FEATURE • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
“The Night in Question: Stories” By Tobias Wolff The last story in this terrific collection remains the single best short story we’ve ever read — every time we read it, we have to catch our breath at the end. Yowza. —Jeremy
***** Visit Peregrine Book Company at PeregrineBookCompany.Com and 219A N. Cortez St., Prescott, 928-445-9000.
Bird of the Month
Green Heron A Green Heron lands in Gilbert. Photo by Rich Lewis. By Rich Lewis
Recently,
my partner and I were out birding in Watson Woods. As we walked over the red foot bridge and headed up the east side of the small pond, an ungainly bird flew in our direction from the other side of the lake. Upon noticing our presence, it veered, made a quick U-turn, and flew back from whence it came. My partner whispered, “Green Heron.” I had heard that they were around here, both at Watson and along Granite Creek where I live in the Dells, but they had always eluded me. I had only seen them down in Gilbert and in Mexico but never around Prescott, so naturally I wanted to get a closer look.
Known
to
lurk in the tall weeds rather than out in the open like Great Blue Heron or Great Egret, this was a rare sighting. Green Heron are one of the shortest in the wading bird family, and they are quite stocky when hunched in the bushes waiting to capture their next meal. They are strikingly colored: velvety green on their backs with a dark cap and a
reddish-brown chest. It is surprising how well their beautiful colors blend in with the vegetation surrounding them.
One
of their traits that I find most interesting is that they are one of the few birds that will actually try to lure fish to them by dropping small bugs, feathers, or stray items in the water as bait and then wait patiently for a fish to come and investigate. A quick strike from their perch and they’ve succeeded in finding another meal. In addition to small fish, they also eat frogs, snails, insects, and small rodents. The American Birding Association just named the Green Heron the Bird of the Year for 2015. Because you may not often catch a glimpse of them, you will likely feel that you have been given a wonderful gift when you do.
Highlands Center for Natural History’s
pilF Photo
***** Rich Lewis is a birder and photographer who lives in the Granite Dells. He also is the library director at Prescott College. Contact him at RLewis@ Prescott.Edu. Visit Prescott Audubon Society at PrescottAudubon.Org. Contact them at Contact@PrescottAudubon.Org or 928-778-6502.
Weather or not ... 5ENSESMAG.COM • FEBRUARY 2015 • FEATURES • 5
Prescott Film Festival’s SCRIPT NOTES
Adorn Your Lifestyle @ Snap Snap
Happy Oscars!
... and Valentine’s Day
brating Cele
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UNIQUE APPAREL & EXOTIC GOODS • OPEN DAILY 10AM-5PM •
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Highlands Center for Natural History’s
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... we’re thankful. Prescott gets rain, hail, and occasional snow. During a time of drought, it’s hard to be ungrateful for any type of precipitation, but then there’s freezing rain. Neighbors in the states to the north experience this when ground temperatures are freezing and warmer storms bear liquid rain. As this rain hits solid surfaces, it turns to solid ice. It’s beautiful but quite dangerous. Thankfully, it’s an infrequent event here.
6 • FEATURES • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
By Helen Stephenson
There’s
a huge party, and you’re invited! February marks a tradition at the Prescott Film Festival — namely, Oscar Month. Each February, the festival screens as many Oscarnominated films as possible. Screenings culminate in “An Evening at the Academy Awards,” where the event is broadcast live at the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center. The broadcast itself is, ahem, free. However, if you’d like to support the Prescott Film Festival, please come early for the “Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party.” Tickets are $50 for the party and reserved seats in the auditorium, plus two drinks. If you want to go all-out, there are just 16 tickets available in the VIP suites. These film festival supporters get a swag bag, reserved seats in the VIP suites, additional drinks and special treats, along with their own waiters.
This
year, the film festival got a jump on Oscar Month by screening two films before nominations were announced: “Boyhood,” with six and “Ida” with two. As we’re writing this article at the last moment possible, nominations were just announced. Organizers are busily writing to distributors and producers to see which films they can bring to Prescott in February. We do know we will be screening all of the Oscar-nominated short films. Animated films include Disney’s “Feast,” which is about a rescue dog observing the romantic life of a new couple, “My Single Life,” which is about a mysterious vinyl record single that suddenly lets a woman know how to travel through her own life. And there’s “The Bigger Picture,” a stark, darkly humorous tale about caring for an elderly relative. This year’s crop of live action shorts includes “Boogaloo and Graham.” The film follows two little
boys as their dad gives them two baby chicks to care for. Soon after the boys declare themselves vegetarian and dream of running their own chicken farm. But things happen. ... “The Phone Call” is about a shy woman working at a helpline call center. When she receives a phone call from a mystery man, she has no idea that the encounter will change her life forever. “Butter Lamp” follows a young photographer and his assistant as they try to convince Tibetan nomads to be photographed in front of various backgrounds. The documentaries include “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1,” about the people who man a crisis hotline for veterans, “White Earth,” about an immigrant mother with three children working in North Dakota in the winter, and “Joanna,” about a woman blogging about her terminal illness for her 5-year-old son and husband. These and other Oscar-nominated films will be taking the screen during February. Please go to the Prescott Film Festival website, PrescottFilmFestival.Com, for updates on the schedule and titles. (Some films have mature themes.)
The
fest experimented with another event last year that’s now officially a tradition: Valentine’s Day dinner and an evening of romantic short films. As of press time, we’re still working on getting releases for some of the films, but so far we can confirm “Love Notes,” a self-professed “story of optimism.” The film is about Spencer and Tilly whose musical connection transcends their blindness. See you at the movies. ***** Helen Stephenson is the founder and executive director of the Prescott Film Festival and the director of the Sedona Film School at Yavapai College.
can manifest in many ways. Some people become problem drinkers or overeat. Some people never get out of bed. And some people mass produce inexpensive furniture or inundate the world with cheap glassware. The Great Depression started in October of 1929 and lasted roughly up until the start of World War II. Our images of the Depression today are of boarded-up businesses, apple carts in the streets, skyscraper suicides, and emaciated Dust Bowl residents. And while many businesses closed never to reopen again, there were also myriad products in demand that exploded onto the marketplace. A good correlation might be the proliferation of electronics since 2008, the year of our severe recession. Cell phones, laptops, smart phones, et al, have exploded in both varieties and sheer numbers since then.
ware or kitchen items with their purchases. Gas stations, grocery stores, and even movie theaters rewarded patrons with glassware. Companies like Pyrex and Anchor-Hocking became successful during this era. Even before the War Machine of the late 1930s began roaring, industrialization was vastly increasing and becoming more sophisticated during the Depression. The demographic trend toward an urbanized population spurred further needs for a growing population. Kitchen items, formerly primitive handmade utensils, were now mass produced. In the realm of glassware were bowls, plates, pitchers, glasses, salt and peppers, spice canisters, juicers, candy trays, and measuring cups. There were tons of non-glass items, too, such as mashers, choppers, can openers, spatulas, whisks, and stirrers, all in myriad colors. So many colors were produced that in 1937 it prompted the National Retail Dry Goods Association to adopt the “Standardization of Kitchen Colors.”
As
Another
Depression
far as the antiques business goes, the first word we think of after “Depression” is “glass.” Depression glass came from many different companies and in many different colors. Amber, blue, black, crystal, green, pink, red, yellow, and white were the primary colors. The dozens of companies producing this glass had several things in common. The glass was inexpensively mass produced and was practical and functional. Much of the glass was sold in smaller stores or was given away as promotional items. Cereal, flour, soap, and butter were common products purchased by everyday people who would receive dinner-
major market in today’s antique business from the Depression era is furniture. Most people refer to this furniture as ’20s or ’30s, and in the larger cities of the United States it was very common back then. It was most often presented in these days as partial or complete bedroom or dining room sets. Walnut or mahogany, or often times cheaper woods stained to look like walnut or mahogany, were the predominant wood choices. The concept of a matched set at an affordable price was a novel idea. Previously, matching bedroom or dining sets were always custom made and only avail-
So,
as evidenced by these examples of antiques and collectibles from the past, the world didn’t grind to a halt. Remember this for what we have gone through in the last six years, and for what we might go through again. One man’s Depression is another man’s elation. ***** Longtime Prescott resident Jacy Lee has been in the auction business for 37 years and is directly responsible for a fraction of a million pounds of minimally processed recycling each year.
4 ART WALKS
4FRIDAY ’S
By Jacy Lee
new era of home décor was dawning and smart furniture companies were shining with it.
COT T
It’s a pane in the glass
able for the upper class of society. The Heywood-Wakefield Company was one of the first to offer these “harmonious” sets, as they were called. Heywood-Wakefield was the nation’s largest chair and baby carriage manufacturer. Prior to the Depression they employed more than 5,3000 people. After drastically cutting back their workforce in the early 1930s, expansion would soon follow with new ideas. Aside from the harmonious set idea, they introduced the “Moderne” style in 1931 with production line furniture building. At a time in history when money was tight, they were able to reach a lower-middle class and the solid middle class market. With the help of magazines such as House Beautiful and House and Garden a
PRE S
Depression
Photo by Lowkeyvision, Creative Commons 3.0.
EVERY
TH
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5ENSESMAG.COM • FEBRUARY 2015 • FEATURE • 7
Left Brain: February’s mind-full events Events
“Eugene Bullard” • 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25: Dr. Larry Greenly tells the story of Eugene Bullard, the world's first black fighter pilot in WWI, via ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program. (ERAU Davis Learning Center, 3700 Willow Creek Road, 928-777-6985)
3 4
“Paleontology & Milk Creek Fauna” • 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 3: Dr. Jeb Bevers, Yavapai College, talk, via the 2015 Science Speaker Series. (ERAU AC1-107, 3700 Willow Creek Road, 928-777-6723) “Spectroscopy 101: How You Can Almost Touch the Stars” • 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4: Via webinar, Tom Field, contributing editor for Sky & Telescope Magazine, explains how spectroscopy is now available as a low cost hobby for amateur astronomers. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500)
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LAN party • Noon Saturday. Feb. 7: Play multiplayer computer games like “Quake,” “Counterstrike,” and “Tribes” at monthly Local Area Network party via Western Sky PC. (Game On, 1957 Commerce Center Circle Suite C, Prescott, PPCGG.Com)
“A Photographic History of Arizona” • 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7: Jim Turner, Arizona Humanities Speaker's Bureau, presents a pictorial tour through the history of Arizona. (Phippen Museum, 4701 Arizona 89, 928778-1385, $5-$7) Harvey Leake • 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7: Wetherill Family Descendant Harvey Leake leads a photographic tour of the Four Corners region. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)
8 10 11
“Extreme Photography” • 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8: David Rich shares photos of places you might not want to visit but will be happy to view from the safety of your chair. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)
“Paleontology & Milk Creek Fauna” • 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 10: Dr. Jeb Bevers, Yavapai College, talk at monthly Central Arizona Geology Club meeting. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)
“The C-130 Hercules” • 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11: Lt. General John Hopper, USAF retired, discusses how the C-130 Hercules aircraft came about and how it was used in Vietnam as well as in Desert Storm, via ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program. (ERAU Davis Learning Center, 3700 Willow Creek Road, 928-777-6985)
14
Prescott Audubon Bird Walk • 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14: Monthly Audubon bird walk. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-776-9550) “Big Chino Pipeline Issues Revisited” • 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14: Dr. Peter Kroopnick, science committee chair of CWAG, and Seve Mauk, director at Yavapai County Development Services, discuss the Big Chino Pipeline at monthly Citizens Water
27 Susan Orlean • 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27: New York Times bestselling author and journalist Susan Orlean, former New Yorker staff writer and contributing editor for Rolling Stone and Vogue, discusses her work including “The Orchid Thief” in conjunction with a Feb. 28 screening of “Adaptation,” an, ahem, adaptation thereof. Via the Yavapai College Southwest Literary Series. (Yavapai College Library, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2261) PHOTO: Susan Orlean. Photo by Gaspar Tringale. Advocacy Group meeting. (Granite Peak Unitarian Universalist Congregation Building, 882 Sunset Ave., 928-445-4218) Ladies' Valentine Tea • 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14: Writer and historian Nancy Burgess talk with tea, finger foods, and live entertainment, via Skull Valley Historical Society. (Skull Valley Community Center, 3150 Old Skull Valley Road, 928-9103827, $5, RSVP)
17
“Breaking Relativity: The Why & How of Lorentz Violation” • 12:10 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17: Dr. Matthew Mewes, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, talk, via the 2015 Science Speaker Series. (ERAU AC1107, 3700 Willow Creek Road, 928-777-6723) Phenology workshop • 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17: A hands-on workshop sharing the science of plant and animal life cycles and how they relate to changing environmental conditions, via Prescott College Natural History Institute. (Highlands Center for Natural History, 1375 S. Walker Road, 928-350-2280)
19
Phenology workshop • 9 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 19: A hands-on workshop sharing the science of plant and animal life cycles and how they relate to changing environmental conditions, via Prescott College Natural History Institute. (Yavapai County Cooperative Extension Office, 840 Rodeo Road, 928-350-2280)
8 • EVENTS • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
“Sacred Trees of Norway & Sweden: A Friluftsliv Voyage” • 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19: Prof. Doug Hulmes, of Prescott College, discusses the traditions and folklore related to Tuntre and Vårdträd trees. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) “Pulsar Timing & Other Radio Happenings” • 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19: Dr. Andri Gretarsson, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, discusses “light-house-like” beams of radio waves, via Prescott Astronomy Club’s Third Thursday Star Talks. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-778-6324)
26
“Reeling Through Life” & “A Muse & a Maze” • 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26: Prof. Tara Ison, Arizona State University, reads from “Reeling Through Life: How I learned to Live, Love, and Die at the Movies”; Prof. Peter Turchi, University of Houston, reads from “A Muse & a Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic.” (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) “Saving the Great American West” • 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26: Hugh Grinnell impersonates his relative George Bird Grinnell, founding father of the National Audubon Society, at monthly Prescott Audubon meeting. (Trinity Presbyterian Church, 630 Park Ave., 928-778-6502)
27
“Headwaters Biodiversity: Life in Southwestern Springs” • 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27: Larry Stevens, curator of ecology at the Museum of Northern Arizona and director of the Springs Stewardship at MNA, discusses springs in the arid Southwest. Cosponsored by the Butte Creek Restoration Council. (Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave., 928-350-2280)
28
“Insect Sampling for Restoration” • 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 28: Ty Fitzmorris, curator of insects at Prescott College Natural History Institute, and Larry Stevens, curator of ecology and invertebrates at the Museum of Northern Arizona, teach four methods for collecting insects for scientific study. (Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave., 928-350-2280, $10)
“Lauren Greasewater's War” • 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28: OneBookAZ winner Stephen Hirst reads from his latest historical novel. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)
21 Multi-day 22
“Montezuma Castle National Monument” • 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21: American Western history writer Rod Timanus discusses his recently published book about Montezuma Castle. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000)
“How to Develop a Tight Plot & Memorable Characters” • 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22: Novelist, screenwriter, and creative writing instructor Dorothy Cora Moore presents a writing workshop and discusses her book, “Writing Made Easy.” (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1526, RSVP)
25
“The Islands at the End of the World” • 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25: Young adult author Austin Aslan discusses “The Islands at the End of the World” and the writing process. For teens, grades 6-12. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1537, RSVP)
Prescott Area Boardgamers • 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 4 & 18: Play board games. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500) Drop in chess • 2 p.m. Saturdays: Play chess, all ages and skill levels welcome. (Prescott Public Library, 215 E. Goodwin St., 928-777-1500) Bird walks • 8 a.m. Feb. 6, 13, 14, 21, and 26: Local, guided bird walks at Granite Basin, Backyard Bird Count No. 1 &2, Goldwater Lake, and Chino Valley. (Jay’s Bird Barn, 1046 Willow Creek Road, 928-443-5900, RSVP)
February’s art-full events :niarB thgiR Events
Art
“Les Contes d’Hoff mann” • 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4: Via satellite, The Metropolitan Opera’s presentation of Offenbach’s tale of a tortured poet and unwitting adventurer. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $12-$30)
Carleen Blum • From Feb. 1: Acrylic paintings by Carleen Blum. (Whole Foods Market, 1112 Iron Springs Road, 928-445-7370)
4
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Oscar-nominated live action shorts • 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 6: “Aya,” “Boogaloo & Graham,” “Butter Lamp,” “Parveneh,” and “The Phone Call,” via Prescott Film Festival. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-533-8897, $5-$10)
Oscar-nominated short documentaries • 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 7: “Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press I,” “Joanna,” “Our Curse,” “The Reaper” and “White Earth,” via Prescott Film Festival. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-533-8897, $5-$10) “Late Night Catechism” • 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7: Call it Loretta Young meets Carol Burnett. (Prescott Center for the Arts, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286, $12-$20) “Timbuktu” • 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7: Best Foreign Film Oscar-nominated film about a cattle herder’s family, via Prescott Film Festival. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-533-8897, $5-$10) Oscar-nominated animated shorts • 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7: “Me and My Moulton,” “Feast,” “The Bigger Picture,” “A Single Life,” and “The Dam Keeper,” via Prescott Film Festival. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-533-8897, $5-$10)
8
“Sacred Mayan Predictions for 2015” • 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8: Historian Raymond Tarpey Tarpey discusses the Mayan calendar. (Peregrine Book Co., 219A N. Cortez St., 928-445-9000) “Skylight” • 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8: Via satellite, National Theatre Live’s production of David Hare’s tale of former lovers locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $10-$15)
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“Iolanta” & “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle” • 10:55 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14: Via satellite, The Metropolitan Opera’s presentation of Tchaikovsky’s enchanting fairy tale and Dartok’s erotic psychological thriller. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $12-$30)
“An Evening of Romantic Short Films” • 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14: Second annual Valentine’s Day event, via Prescott Film Festival. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2000, $5-$45)
13 & 27 “Live Nude(Plant)s” • Noon Fridays, Feb. 13 & 27: Lunch-time open drawing hour featuring an assortment of living and preserved plants as well as insect and bird specimens, plus other ethically sourced artifacts from nature. Bring your own supplies. (Prescott College Natural History Institute, 312 Grove Ave., 928-350-2280, $5 donation) IMAGE: “Live Nude(Plant)s” promotional image, manipulated. The Improvitionians • 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14: Improv comedy at 5,000 feet. (TBA, 928-445-3286, $5)
21
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” • 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21: Nine-time Oscar-nominated Wes Anderson film about a legendary concierge and a lobby boy at a famous European hotel between the wars, via Prescott Film Festival. (Yavapai College Performing Arts Center, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-533-8897, $5-$10)
27
4th Friday Art Walk • 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27: Monthly art walk including including more than 18 galleries, artist receptions, openings, and demonstrations. (ArtThe4th.Com)
“A Glass Act” • 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27: New works by glass artist Nate Macomber. (Van Gogh’s Ear Gallery, 156B S. Montezuma St., 928-776-1080)
28
Contra dance • 7 p.m. lesson, 7:30 p.m. dance Saturday, Feb. 28: Contra dancing, via Folk Happens. (First Congregation Church, 216 E. Gurley St., 928-925-5210, $4-$8)
Multi-day “The Other Place” • 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5-7, 12-14, 19-21 & 2 p.m. Feb. 8, 15, & 22: A mystery unravels as contradictory evidence, blurred truth, and fragmented memories collide in a cottage on
the windswept shores of Cape Cod. Directed by Catherine Miller Hahn. (Stage Too, North Cortez Street alley between Willis and Sheldon streets, 928-445-3286, $15) “The Grapes of Wrath” • 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26-28 & March 5-7 & 2 p.m. March 1 & 7: A stage version of John Steinbeck’s masterpiece. Directed by Jon Meyer. (Prescott Center for the Arts, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286, $12-$20) Modern-day meditation • 6:50 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 4 & 18: Open. Calm. Think. Act. An active, four-part practice. (Blackbird Yoga 332 W. Gurley St., 303-903-2630) Community yoga • 5:15 p.m. Tuesdays & Thursdays, 10 a.m. Saturdays: Free community all-levels yoga. (Deva Healing Center, 520 Sheldon St., DevaHealingCenter.Org) Mindfulness meditation • 6:30 p.m. informal sit, 7 p.m. formal sit Tuesdays: Meditation group open to people of all faiths and non-faiths. (First Congregational Church, 216 E. Gurley St., PrescottVipassana.Org) Saturday Night Talk Series • 7 p.m. Saturdays: Weekly talks including “A Real Question Has No Answer,” “Owning Our Power & Using It to Serve,” “Spirituality for the Second Half of Life,” “Building Castles on Sand.” (The Courtyard Building, 115 E. Goodwin St., 928-771-0205, $5)
“Pursuing the Vision” • Through Feb. 14: Photography by the Yavapai Alumni Photo Group. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223) “Red, White, Black, & Blue” • Through Feb. 14: Works by visual artist Kerry Skarbakka, Oregon State University. (Prescott College Art Gallery at Sam Hill Warehouse, 232 N. Granite St., 928-350-2341) “Transformations: Confronting Ourselves” • Through Feb. 14: Works by photographers Colleen Fitzgerald and Vicki Provost, and ceramicist Scott Ziegler. (Yavapai College Art Gallery, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2031) “Little Treasures” • From Feb. 15: Works by the Granite Mountain Jewelry Artists featuring an array of techniques and styles. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223) Patrick Harper • From Feb. 20: 2D and 3D art by Patrick Harper. (Mountain Artists Guild & Gallery, 228 Alarcon St., 928-445-2510) “Relocations: Remnants of the Past” • From Feb. 20: Digital montage photography by Stephen Marc, Arizona State University. (Yavapai College Art Gallery, 1100 E. Sheldon St., 928-776-2031) “There Are Two Stories Here” • From Feb. 20: Works by printmaker and book artist Katie Baldwin, University of Alabama Hunstville. (Prescott College Art Gallery at Sam Hill Warehouse, 232 N. Granite St., 928-350-2341) “Seeing Red” • Through Feb. 21: How do you “see red?” (Prescott Center for the Arts, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286) Art & Heritage of the Cowboy Artists • From Feb. 22: A commemorative exhibition that explores the beginning and history of cowboy artists of America. (Phippen Museum, 4701 Arizona 89, 928-778-1385, $5-$7) “Water, Water, Everywhere?” • From Feb. 23: Living in Arizona, water takes on a more urgent focus than somewhere like Hawaii and generates many questions. (Prescott Center for the Arts, 208 N. Marina St., 928-445-3286) “Piece & a Poem” • Through Feb. 24: Annual art show featuring pieces paired with the written word. (’Tis Art Center & Gallery, 105 S. Cortez St., 928-775-0223)
9
Meeting our holidays coming
Alan Dean Foster’s
Perceivings
in stores until after Thanksgiving, Halloween merchandise not appearing until the very end of September, and definitely no Valentine’s chocolates until right around the first of February. What has happened in the interim to instigate this heinous time-shift? I’ll tell you what’s happened. Technology has happened.
By Alan Dean Foster It’s getting worse, and I don’t know if I can take any more coerced happiness. JoAnn pointed it out to me the other day. We were discussing holidays, not Einsteinian physics, but somehow the two began to overlap. “I understand,” she said, “if you’re making crafts for Christmas presents and you need to get started on the work by July … but otherwise, it’s gone crazy!” She’s right. When did holidays start accelerating beyond their designated dates, leaping forward in the space-time continuum? Christmas is the worst offender, but it is no longer alone. The depressing situation now affects every holiday — even those bloated by the government for political purposes (Labor Day) or the greeting card companies for pure profit (Valentine’s Day) or the candy companies for a boost to the bottom (our bottoms) line (Halloween). The proof can be found in any store.
Christmas
was a couple of days ago. The speed with which the majority of Christmas products vanish immediately after Christmas is astounding. Do the companies that manufacture the relevant holiday-themed products tote around mini-black holes in which to dump the stuff ? Do the bins filled with 50-percent-off Christmas items contain mini-disintegrators that self-activate after one week? And what immediately fills the shelves formerly occupied by snow globes, enough colored lights to reach from the Earth to the Moon, faux wreaths, perfectly shaped mini-conifers, and Christmasthemed candy (which is really left-over Halloween candy that’s been repurposed by the same manufacturers)? Why, Valentine’s Day-themed candy, of course. It didn’t used to be this way. Growing up, I distinctly remember not seeing Christmas items
Everyone
talks about the speed with which tech has accelerated contemporary life. The ability to immediately access news, friends, and information is matched by the corresponding ability of technical and mechanical sources to supply that instant gratification. Wal-mart didn’t become Wal-mart just by offering low prices. The key is a distribution and warehousing network that allows the company to respond with astounding speed to the needs of far-flung stores. Other companies have swiftly copied. Technology is what permits this. Computers and the internet are what allow your local supermarket to restock 12 boxes of super high-density bath paper (not 13, not 11) in less than 24 hours. Obviously, thunk said merchants, why not apply the same techniques to holiday shopping? Every year, those bins of 50 percent reduced holidaythemed items get smaller and fewer as advancing technology allows for better and quicker inventory control. Before long, I expect the post-holiday bargain bin to disappear altogether. By monitoring ever more closely and ever more intimately the buying habits of shoppers, merchants will reach the point where they will know exactly how many cases of marshmallow peeps orthodontically-challenged customers in Topeka will buy. Eliminating waste in manufacturing should also result in reduced costs to the customer. Both producer and consumer benefit. But only financially.
10 • COLUMN • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
Thanks
to these developments, our wallets will likely be healthier. Our psyches? I’m not so sure. Because the acceleration of holidays and holiday merchandise due to continually advancing technology is stealing our downtime. It has reached the point where the “holiday” season is year-round. Valentine’s Day gives way to St. Patrick’s Day (an artificial “national” holiday if ever there was one) gives way to Easter gives way to the Fourth of July gives way to … you get the idea. Ever notice that one section of every Wal-mart is virtually devoted to permanent floating holiday merchandise? It all blurs together. A few more heavily promoted and advertised holidays here and there, and there’ll be no respite from this collective happiness whatsoever. Ordinary days, normal life, will surrender to an endless procession of holidays, interrupted only by timeouts for birthdays and anniversaries. There will be no days when we’re allowed not to think of the next upcoming holiday. People used to smile when a friend, weary from shopping and planning and decorating, would say, “I need a holiday from the holiday!” It’s not so funny anymore. ***** Alan Dean Foster is author of more than 120 books, visitor to more than 100 countries, and still frustrated by the human species. Follow him at AlanDeanFoster.Com.
The Atlas statue atop the old city hall in Potsdam, Germany, carries the heavy burden of holiday ornamentation. Components public domain. Illustration by 5enses.
Set in stone
By James Dungeon It started with a fish, tens of millions of years ago, probably in what’s now Green River, Wyoming. The fish lived. The fish died. And, for whatever reason, it didn’t float. Instead, it was buried at the bottom of a lake or stream bed, away from scavengers, slow to decay. And it was buried deeper and deeper and put under increasing pressure. As the years (and years (and years)) passed, fluids seeped through the compressed fish slowly replacing organic material with sediment. Then, in the 21st century, it was unearthed as fossil-bearing limestone. It found its way to Arizona via
lapidary Keith Horst, who shaped it and prepared it for a new incarnation. Prescott-based artist Lesley Aine McKeown discovered and purchased the fish from Horst. Drawing on three decades of jewelry work, McKeown recontextualized the specimen into a necklace, balancing the piece with a gold accent. She posted the resultant pendant on The Ganoskin Project, a jewelry resource and networking website,
where it was discovered by the curators of the 2015 ArtiStar Exhibition. Now — thanks to McKeown’s artistry — that fish-come-jewelry has been flown to Milan, Italy, where it’s on display until September, at which time it’s slated to make its debut on the runway at Milan Fashion Week. No so bad a fate for a fossilized fish, ehh?
Jewelry by Lesley McKeown featuring dragonskin jasper and fossilized ammonite on fossilized mastodon ivory with sterling silver and 24 karat gold keum-boo. This piece is from her “Fall 2014 Collection,” her most recent seasonal set of pieces. Courtesy image.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 >>> 5ENSESMAG.COM • FEBRUARY 2015 • PORTFOLIO • 11
... FROM PAGE 11 Jeweler’s eye McKeown has called Prescott home for less than a decade, but her roots in the area run deep. “My parents owned Gifted Hands Gallery in Sedona for 27 years,” McKeown said over coffee in December. “I bought the gallery from them around 2006 and kept it for about four-and-ahalf years before coming here.” She’s been making jewelry, primarily pendants and earrings, for 30 years. McKeown’s work shows at 45 galleries across the U.S. Locally, it’s exclusively shown at Van Gogh’s Ear Gallery, 156 S. Montezuma St., for about two years. It showed at Krieger-Marcusen Gallery prior to that. “The arts community is so diverse here,” McKeown said. “I think it’s a testament to the area that so many working, career artists live here.” Her eyes open wide when she talks about gemstones and fossils. Her eyes narrow when she discusses metalworking, and she can’t help but move her hands as if clutching a welding torch. “As you grow as a metalsmith, you’re always looking for ways to expand and learn new techniques,” McKeown said. “I’ve learned techniques that are, themselves, thousands of years old. There’s nothing new on this planet.”
McKeown is largely self taught. Through private and masters classes, she’s learned and refined techniques including fabrication, hollow form, shell form, anticlastic and synclastic raising, mokume gane, keum-boo, etching, roller printing, and sand casting, among others. When it comes to gemstones, minerals, and fossils, she mines the world famous Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, but, more often than not, turns to Prescott-based lapidary Keith Horst, owner of A&K Gems & Minerals. “He’s a stone junky,” McKeown said with a laugh. “Whether he’s picking up something in his backyard or working some exotic material from Indonesia, he’s a master at making it gorgeous.” The two met at the gem-and-mineral equivalent of a Tupperware party in Sedona years ago and bonded over their mutual love of Arabian show horses. (Incidentally, Horst is one of the founders of the Prescott Gem & Mineral Club, which boasts a couple hundred members and has taught in the visual arts department of Yavapai College for more than a dozen years.) “Lesley goes for organic things,” said Horst, who has four decades of experience as a lapidary. “She also like what I’d guess you’d call the weird, off-thewall stuff.”
Fossil’s rock Lustrous and hypnotic, McKeown’s jewelry combines elegant metalwork, subtle symmetry tinkering, and showstopping pendants. Some of the pendants are cabochons, i.e. polished, convex gemstones. Others are the geologic offspring of the natural world. “I’m really drawn to fossilized materials,” McKeown said. “The stone speaks, and the more outrageous it is, the more I’m interested.” Horst said McKeown often uses pieces that other jewelers might not even consider working with. “I like things that are sculptural, that will stand on their own,” McKeown said. A quick glance at her fall collection — she releases two seasonal bodies of work each year — reveals fossilized mastodon and walrus ivory, ammonites, and similarly exotic fair. “They’re specimens you can wear,” McKeown said. “They’re gorgeous, beautiful pieces of history.” These pieces are all the more storied for their unlikely natural histories. “Not everything that died or had a shell 50 million years ago is going to be fossilized,” said Shaunna Morrison, a doctorate candidate at University of Arizona studying with Dr. Robert Downs. “Most living things don’t become fossils. The process requires very specific conditions.” The aforementioned fossilized fish, for instance, was formed in limestone, which is calcium carbonate. If that sedimentary limestone had been buried even deeper, temperature and pressure could’ve turned it into marble, cooking out the fossil en route. “Basically, temperature and pressure conditions dictate what happens,” said Morrison, who uses x-ray diffraction to study the atomic arrangement within minerals, called crystal structures. “Look at diamonds and graphite — they’re both made of pure carbon,” Morrison continued, citing two more familiar materials. “The difference between the hardest substance on Earth and that soft lead in a pencil is just their crystal structures.” Temperature and pressure can also change the way in which a particular fossil forms. Consider ammonites. “Depending on how it formed, you’re getting a cast of the shell or mate-
rial that’s actually replaced the shell itself, sometimes both,” Morrison said. “Either way, they’re stronger as fossils than when they were originally formed and deposited.” Mettle, meddle, metal Despite their slow, arduous formations, fossils — and gemstones and minerals, for that matter — can be quite fragile. That’s a lesson both McKeown and Horst have learned firsthand.
“The stone speaks, a rageous it is, the mo — Les
12 • PORTFOLIO • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
“You have the heartbreak of breakage and imperfection,” Horst said. “Once you get over that hump, you get one-of-a-kind pieces.” “Sometimes a good piece goes in the
LEFT TO RIGHT: Jewelry featuring fossilized ammonite, fossilized mastodon ivory, and sterling silver. Jewelry featuring bumble bee jasper from Java, Indonesia on a sterling hollow form with 24 karat gold keum-boo and a freshwater pearl. Jewelry featuring a dendrite from Germany set in sterling silver with a prong setting. Prescott-based artist Lesley Aine McKeown. All jewelry by Lesley McKeown. Courtesy photos.
scrap bin,” McKeown said. “You learn right away to slow down and not to ever set a stone when you’re tired.” Still, there are aspects of jewelry making McKeown said you’re better off learning the hard way. “I’m one of those people who’ll pick up a piece of metal and beat on it and experiment. Then, after that, I’ll go to a book and look things up,” McKeown said. “When you’re fabricating metal, some of it’s visual, but it’s a super feely thing.”
tion of work. There’s also the ever-present boogeyman of fire scaling, a reddish, purplish oxide that forms on the exterior of silver and copper mixtures like sterling silver at high temperatures. “It’s the bane of a jeweler’s existence,” McKeown said. “You have to get it off, otherwise there’s discoloration, which is why you need to understand what’s happening on a molecular level.” Or, to put it another way: “It’s not about melting things,” McKeown said. “Well, not just about melting things.” The metalwork that’s literally behind McKeown’s jewelry is deceptively sparse. She uses a host of approaches to accomplish this end, and the results have proven surprisingly circular. “When I started, I had a very simple contemporary style, then I got into more complicated approaches, and now I’m back to that more simplistic style,” she said. “It’s a natural evolution I think a lot of artists go through: starting simple, exploring complexity, then returning to simpler forms.” The flourishes in her work, though, evoke tasteful simplicity achieved through skilled, informed executions. “The challenge is to make a more complicated form appear simpler,” McKeown said. “It’s a matter of constantly challenging myself.”
***** Find out more about Lesley Aine McKeown at LesleyAineMcKeown.Com. See more of her jewelry at Van Gogh’s Ear Gallery. Visit Van Gogh’s Ear Gallery at 156 S. Montezuma St., 928-776-1080, and VGEGallery.Com.
Contact Keith Horst and A&K Gems & Minerals at A&KGems@Yahoo.Com. James Dungeon is a figment of his own imagination. And he likes cats. Contact him at JamesDungeonCats@ Gmail.Com.
and the more outore I’m interested.” sley Aine McKeown There are some immutable rules, naturally. The matter-of-fact melting points of metals, for instance, necessitates working material from highest to lowest temperature to insure preserva-
13
News From the Wilds February weather Average high temperature: 54 F, +/-4.3 Average low temperature: 23.9 F, +/-3.7 Record high temperature: 77 F, Feb. 2, 1986 Record low temperature: -12 F, Feb. 6, 1899 Average precipitation: 1.77”, +/-1.76” Record high precipitation: 10.59”, 1927 Record high snowfall: 37.5”, 1932 Record low precipitation: 0”, 7.1 percent of years on record Max daily precipitation: 7.92”, Feb. 28, 1905
Red-tailed Hawks begin migration north, though some remain in the area and begin building nests and laying eggs this month. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris. By Ty Fitzmorris
In
most years, February in the Central Highlands of Arizona is still a very quiet time when mammals, birds, reptiles, insects and plants remain quiescent, waiting for the combined cues of increased day length and higher temperatures to end their winter diapause and begin searching for mates and food. But, in all years, the first glimmerings of spring’s vivacity begin this month in the deserts and the chaparral of our region. Over the next several months the activity in the lowlands grows from a hum to a roar, and gradually flows up the slopes and into the highest mountains carpeting the whole of the Central Highlands with flowers, warblers, and butterflies. But, for now, the uplands remain relatively quiet, leaving the naturalist to search for hints of spring.
Bird
migrations begin to pick up steam, as overwintering species such as Northern Goshawk and Townsend’s Solitaire begin the months-long journey that
will ultimately end in their breeding grounds as far north as the Arctic Circle. Other species migrate through the region to points nearer to the north, while the last of the migrants include the neotropical migrant warblers, who have spent the winter in the rain forests and dry forests of Central America and will breed and nest here. The overwintering waterfowl on Willow and Watson lakes, as well as the many smaller bodies of water will stay in our region for a while yet since they need to wait for the lakes to the north to thaw before migrating. A very small number of insects and their relatives begin to wake from their short winter torpor in February. On sunny days Mourning Cloak Butterflies (Nymphalis antiopa) begin claiming mating territories in river bottoms, and can be seen patrolling in lazy circles, chasing passersby. The earliest flowers, such as some manzanitas and willows, draw honeybees as well as native bees, which are extremely variable in size and color. Small longhorn bees, iridescent mason bees, and early
14 • FEATURE • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
bumblebee queens can all be seen at these blooms during sunny spells. Most remarkable, however, is a phenomenon that is barely noticeable — astute observers will see a proliferation of spider silk blowing in the sunlight, and near cliffs and canyons these pieces of silk might be extremely abundant, lofting in the wind. These pieces of silk are actually “balloons” created by young spiders, who use them to catch upward breezes and disperse over vast distances. In fact, many will loft up to a thin band of the atmosphere called the Aeolian Zone, which wavers around 25,000 feet in altitude. This largely unstudied region is populated by pollen grains, fungal spores, and very small insects, all of which might be able to cross vast distances once they’ve reached this relatively stable atmospheric zone.
February
can bring amazing storms and holds the record for both the most snowfall in a month and the highest rainfall in a 24-hour period. On the other hand, Febru-
Source: Western Regional Climate Center
ary’s precipitation is extremely variable and difficult to predict, with as many as one in ten years receiving no or nearly no rain or snow. A wet February can, by itself, usher in a glorious, flowering spring, while a dry one when there is no other snowpack can herald low fuel-moisture and high fire danger. In high desert such as the Central Highlands, the abundance and distribution of water is the single greatest predictor of all activity in the wilds. ***** Ty Fitzmorris is an itinerant and often distractible naturalist who lives in Prescott and is proprietor of the Peregrine Book Company, Raven Café, Gray Dog Guitars, and is a founder of Milagro Arts, a community arts nexus, all as a sideline to his natural history pursuits. He is also the Curator of Insects at the new Natural History Institute at Prescott College. He can be reached at Ty@ PeregrineBookCompany.com with questions or comments.
News From the Wilds, too A very brief survey of what’s happening in the wilds ... By Ty Fitzmorris High mountains • Ravens begin nesting and laying eggs. Yearling Ravens have spent the winter in communal roosts and can be seen flying in large numbers, but these flocks begin to break up now as breeding pairs form. • Northern alpine birds, including Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins, move into this area during extreme cold to the north. These finches follow the seed crop of coniferous trees, including Douglas Fir, White Fir, spruces, and pines. Visit: Maverick Mountain Trail, No. 65. Ponderosa Pine forests • Peregrine Falcons return to our area from the south to reoccupy nest sites. Most Peregrines are monogamous from year to year, with both partners migrating independently back to previous nest sites and beginning courting and mating once there. This species is named for its extraordinary migrations, which can lead some individuals to migrate from Chile to Greenland. • Abert’s Squirrels chew off the tips of growing Ponderosa branches to reach the inner bark, or cambium. This is an important food source for this rare squirrel during the late winter after they have depleted their other food stores, but they are also performing a vital service to Ponderosas. Ponderosas rely on a symbiotic root fungus to break down soil nutrients, and Abert’s Squirrels carry this fungus in their feces, transporting its spores from tree to tree and thereby keeping forests healthy. Visit: Miller Creek Trail, No. 367. Pine-Oak woodlands • Townsend’s Solitaires, relatives of the American Robin, begin migrating north to their breeding grounds as far north as Alaska. Solitaires subsist largely on the last of juniper berries from last year’s crop while in their wintering ground. • Sharp-shinned Hawks, the smaller cousin of the Cooper’s Hawk, begin migrating north through the Central
White-tailed Kites are extremely rare vagrants in the region, but this one, which visited Willow Lake in February of 2014, found abundant prey. Photo by Ty Fitzmorris. Highlands. These small hawks were once considered a threat to songbird populations, and so were hunted aggressively. Now ,“mesopredators” such as the Sharp-shinned Hawk are understood to foster biodiversity by preventing one species from outcompeting another,. Visit: Little Granite Mountain, No. 37. Pinyon-Juniper woodlands • One-seed, Utah, and Rocky Mountain Juniper release their pollen now, causing extraordinary allergies for many mammal species. • Winter flocks of Western Scrub Jays break up as jays form breeding pairs. Visit: Tin Trough Trail, No. 308. Grasslands • Pronghorn begin giving birth after eight months of pregnancy. Young Pronghorn are able to walk after only about an hour and can outrun a human when they are several days old. Pronghorn typically give birth to twins who will remain in the center of their herd for several months. • Toward the end of the month, broad-winged hawks such as the Rough-legged Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk and Swainson’s Hawk begin migrating north through the Central Highlands. Many can be seen perching on power line posts during this time. Visit: Mint Wash Trail, No. 345.
Riparian areas • Beavers, after consuming most of their winter stores, are very active in chewing away the inner bark of riparian trees. Their breeding season continues. • Coyote Willow (Salix exigua) flowers and is mobbed by Honeybees (Apis mellifera) for nectar and pollen. Honeybees are native to Europe and are unlike most of our native bees in that they are social and live in massive hives of up to 80,000 individuals. North America is home to roughly 4,000 species of native bees, most of whom are either solitary or seasonally social, and so remain inactive during the winter. • Newborn River Otters remain in their dens and, toward the end of the month, open their eyes for the first time. • “Vagrant” bird species (birds dramatically outside their range) can be found in and around the region’s lakes. Some of these birds have been blown by storms, while others are simply exploring potential habitat. These might include Common Loon, Ross’s Goose, Tundra Swan, and extremely rare species such as the White-tailed Kite. • The first migratory songbirds, including spectacular breedingplumage warblers, follow rivers and riparian corridors to breeding territories to the north. Visit: Willow Lake Loop Trail, off of Willow Creek Road in Prescott.
Deserts/Chaparral • Flowering begins in earnest, starting with Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), which paints large swaths of the desert bright yellow. Some species of verbenas and anemones, as well as Desert Marigolds (Baileya multiradiata), begin flowering at lower densities. In some pockets, manzanitas begin flowering. • Butterflies begin flying, including the small Sara Orangetip (Anthocaris sara) and the tiny Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon), both of which can be seen at patches of wet mud, seeking out minerals and nutrients. Visit: Agua Fria National Monument.
Skyward • Feb. 3: Full Moon at 4:09 p.m. • Feb. 6: Jupiter at Opposition. The largest planet in our solar system, a gas giant, is at its closest to Earth and is fully illuminated. Binoculars or medium-sized telescopes reveal as many as four moons and the planet’s red storm band. • Feb. 18: New Moon at 4:47 p.m. • Feb. 21: Conjunction of Waxing Moon, Venus, & Mars. The 3-day-old Moon will be within about two degrees of Venus and Mars low in the west just after sunset. • Feb. 22: Conjunction of Venus and Mars. This extremely close encounter between Venus and Mars is visible to the west after sunset. • Astronomical Highlight: When the skies are at their darkest early this month, our nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy, is visible with the unaided eye. Look for the galaxy as a smear of light next to Andromeda’s knee, to the northwest after twilight. The Andromeda Galaxy, which is the furthest object that can be seen with the naked eye, at 2.5 million light years away, is very slowly headed our way, and will collide with our galaxy, the Milky Way, in 5 billion years, after our sun has turned into a red giant and consumed the Earth.
15
... but you can teach an old dog classical aesthetics Being a consideration of clinical studies of canine expressive methodology
By Tisza Sawiczki
Art
has been shown to influence its viewers in many, profound ways, both cerebrally and emotionally. What is not as well known, however, is how the expression of art is used across species — other than man — to influence outcomes. Growing up, with pets all around us, I was moved by the manner in which they integrated themselves so firmly into our family. It was their playful and intelligent traits that led me in the direction my education would ultimately take. I was especially interested in behaviors that made pets “more human,” i.e., seem to adopt human actions and thought processes to further ingratiate themselves into the social structure of their captive home life. In my dual majors of veterinary sciences/animal social behavior and forensic creativity while attending Flagstaff ’s Northern Arizona University, I started writing my thesis on the ways animals interact with their
owners, specifically those natural to us but deviating from those typical of animals. Was intellect comparable? Could creativity be employed by the “dumber” mammalian orders?
I
work part-time evenings at the local Starlight Books and, nosing around the anterooms, chanced upon an edition of a text that seemed to shed light on precisely these topics. By no way scholarly, with details too intimate and tone too self-important — and, evidently, self-published — the text nonetheless presents information too significant to overlook. I have redacted instances of the author’s identity, as veracity of his findings cannot yet be corroborated; and a suspicion of crime is in evidence. Excerpts from these papers are presented here in their original form to preserve their accuracy and the compelling nature of their accounts.
Case I: Basset Griffon mix: name Hamlet; Plate h.00.; watercolor, saliva; truly exciting result, as the aspect of “self-image” is inescapable; faithful canine silhouette and implied movement both evident; first instance of identifying mark, seen as a paw-print in upper section, though whether deliberate or incidental [tracking] is unknown.
*****
PLAYFULL PORTRAITS OF YOUR DOG
CAPTURE THEIR CHARACTER! L ALIBERTE 928.713.5674
I
ARTIST J ACQUES
16 • FEATURE (HINT: SATIRE) • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
CONTINUED ON PAGE 18 >>> Case II: Halden Hound mix: name Macbeth; Plate m.22.; watercolor; a spare yet bold composition, appears figurative; color consistent with hypothesis that spectrum-perception limited; background framing most unexpected.
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... FROM PAGE 17
Case III: Boxer mix: name Othello; Plate o.11.; tempera, feed refuse; free-form column of swash-lines suggest a wagging tail or tongue; colors overlap in spontaneous order, presumably from top to bottom?
Take your heart for a new hike
She had wandered into their stables bleeding and gaunt, and she had been attended to, put up in a makeshift bed in the mud room, where the warmth of the hearth could ease her suffering while she mended. Now a family, they lived in this manner during the ensuing years. With a gratitude and humility burning in her, Sasha sought an avenue with which to articulate her feelings towards the Pruszewiczs. She somehow devised the means to do so, took up a brush and fashioned several artistic compositions on paper discarded about — in a primitive style as one might expect — but rich with ingenuity and emotion. Her works were discovered later that day by the couple after returning home from hunting, and it took them a moment to grasp what they were witnessing. A week later they called in a colleague, Dr. Peter Savolainen, an evolutionary theorist at the KTH-Royal Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, who was shown Sasha’s papers, and described to him what they believed was their cause. Further examination and an impromptu experiment by the Doctor did indeed confirm Sasha was the perpetrator of the art an and was encouraged to create more. The Doctor could only postulate that the canine’s efforts were meant as a gift to the couple for their compassion. It was obvious the significance of this find and its applications to Pet / Owner Relational Health Modes and Appeasement Gestures in Expressive Displays of Bonding. Research and Discoveries relating to a new order of inter-species co-dependency and mutual fulfillment would serve to break Clinical Psychoanalysis, Treatment Protocols and Outcomes wide open, and with my name attached thereon I therefore next sought contact with Dr. Savolainen, yet with my own obligations it was not another six months until a meeting could occur. In this time the Doctor had been able to replicate Sasha’s results with a brace of other dogs and their owners, and was intent on publishing his findings. Taking a good deal more resolve — and methods best left vague here — I convinced the Doctor that I was better suited to conclude his work and publish this historic discovery, under my name. This I did. ...
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18 • FEATURE (HINT: SATIRE) • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
Conclusion My work is far from done, as my thesis is in review and all NAU course work suspended due to allegations of plagiarism and malfeasance regarding my research – incidentally conducted with full institutional sanction – which my father’s attorney is responding to as this article goes to press. It seems there are forces invested in safeguarding the ignorance of “dog’s best friend.” The significance of these findings is too crucial to inter-species relations, and I fully intend to pursue the noble work of canine creative expression as soon as this affair is resolved. ***** Tisza Sawiczki graduates with honors this spring. When not exposing academic fraud, she free-climbs Flag’s cell tower and enjoys craft-brewed-s. Her current research concerns Greenpeace’s shocking liaisons with corporate CEOs and its stock holdings. Her dear chihuahua Ambien has since passed.
Case IV: Name unknown; Plate 4.S; media unknown; this one is a mystery, in that it appeared under my milk-box after a ferocious rain. I am inclined to call its creator “Satan” as that seems proper to me. Possibly a hoax, yet in the good name of Science I shall render my critique as if it is indeed canine in nature: very deliberate and detailed paw-work in evidence, with an unquestionably anti-anthropomorphism — I shall now invent the term “zoomorphism” to characterize an expression by an animal that captures its own form — in its portrayal. If not the work of Satan then surely a sign from Satan, and therefore I must scrutinize my research for intimations of displeasure.
19
Diagnosis: Technology
Show and tell, tech edition
By Paolo Chlebecek
“Take
me down to Las Vegas city where tech is new and the girls are
pretty!” Like the song “Paradise City” by Guns N’ Roses, CES 2015 is all of that and more. Much, much more! Consumer Electronics Show — CES for short and ease of tweeting — has been around since 1967 in New York but it later had competition from COMDEX or Computer Dealers’ Exhibition, also affectionately referred to as “Geek Week.” Both ran into trouble and eventually settled in Las Vegas in 1998, but didn’t get as much attention until 2003. Just what is CES? It’s where geeks and nerds put aside their differences and enjoy all that technology, creation, and innovation have to offer. Our yearly pilgrimage to the tech fest has always yielded fresh and interesting ideas. This year, as the last 13 years, is no different. The most common question I get after returning is, “What’s the most outstanding thing at the show?” And I guess that depends on your perspective. With 170,000 visitors, 52,326 exhibitors, 3,673 exhibits, and more than 2 million square feet of exhibit space, it’s impossible to see it all in just four days. There are a few significant developments though.
Aside
from the usual manufactures of every type of gadget, cable, and power converter looking for distributors, one of the most outstanding items are the UAV, i.e. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Every size and
A field report from the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show
type was displayed, some quad copters were so small it could easily fit in a child’s hand. Remote controlled and GPS guided, these tiny and sometimes immense six or a dozen rotor drones could maneuver like bumblebees and send a streaming video to your smart phone while you control it with a flick of the wrist. Most all have a camera and/or a motion compensating gimbal to attach any camera for ultra-high resolution video. You can record the video or pictures for very professional fly overs or inspection of building or equipment. DJI had some of the most impressive models available right now. However, many have privacy and safety concerns and they are justified considering the extremely precise control and detailed pictures and video they can take. But I could drone on and on about this. (Cue rim shot.) Suffice it to say you may want to look over head from time to time. Don’t forget the entertainment aspects of many of the items displayed at CES. TVs, Speakers, headphones and every sort of playback device you can think of is all available to experiment with, including Samsung’s SUHD TV — TVs that display quantum dot technology. Simply put, these screens feature crystals 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. Very impressive but not quite ready for prime time, much like a lot of tech displayed there. Still, the professional line of cameras from Samsung was ready. The NX30 was so good, Johnathan, a new friend of mine who’s been working for Reuters for 20 years, now exclusively uses the
Much
of the theme of CES revolved around IoT or “Internet of Things.” It’s a world in which objects that form part of our everyday lives can communicate through various networks, including but not limited to the Internet. By 2020, “they” — the conglomerate of tech companies big and small — expect there to be 26 billion devices connected to the internet. This further opens the need for IPV6 or a better way to get more numbers for devices to communicate. That, however, is a subject for a future column. The Consumer Electronics Show was incredibly enjoyable, educational, and a huge success for my troop. We talked with people from literally all over the world. We made great contacts with new and old friends. I’m already eagerly anticipating going back to Paradise City next year for more fun and adventure. ***** Paolo Chlebecek is founder and owner of PaoloTek, which he started in 2003. He loves dogs of all sorts and oddly finds himself driving around town between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. every weekday. Wave hi when you see him or contact him at Paolo@PaoloTek.Com.
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Samsung NX30 and lenses for all his professional work. That’s quite an endorsement for a relatively new product. Four years ago, when Samsung first made a foray into the high-end camera market, it was dismal. Glad to see they’ve greatly improved.
20 • COLUMN • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
LiterallyinBaskets.Bandcamp.Com
The tick
Gene Twaronite’s
The Absurd Naturalist By Gene Twaronite Few people, even nature lovers, love the tick. It is difficult to love a creature that has its mouthparts embedded in your flesh. This is the way most acquaintances with this little vampire begin. One does not set off on a nature hike to look for a tick in the field and exclaim, “Oh my, how interesting.” Instead, one is far more likely to go to the bathroom mirror and scream, “Oh my God, get that damn thing off me!”
Ticks
belong to the order Acarina, which also includes mites. There are about 850 different kinds of ticks — so far as we know, that is. According to one estimate, there may be as many as a million other kinds of ticks and mites in the world, still waiting for scientists to classify them. It is something to look forward to. Like spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids, ticks have eight legs, at least most of the time. When they first hatch out as larvae, however, they have six. If this sort of thing bothers you, you would do well not to become an acarologist (a specialist in mites and ticks), much less a biologist. Ticks make their living by sucking blood out of mammals, birds, and reptiles. They usually lie in wait on a plant until a suitable host passes nearby, then hop on board, anchoring themselves to the skin by means of a dart-like structure located below the mouth. Ticks are known to
wait around up to three years for a host to come by. They are very patient. One of the problems with bloodsucking — at least for the host — is that this is a fine way to transmit diseases from one organism to another. Among arthropods ticks are rivaled only by mosquitoes in the number of diseases transmitted. These include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, Texas cattle fever, relapsing fever, anaplasmosis, and a fairly new one — first recognized in 1975 — called Lyme disease. And if this isn’t enough, some female ticks can also pass along a nerve poison in their saliva that produces paralysis.
So,
if one day you happen to discover a tick on your person, you are probably justified in removing it as quickly as possible. If you are really patient, you can just wait for the female tick to have its fill of blood — after which she will drop off by herself to go lay her eggs — but few of us are this considerate of other life forms. Removing a tick, one of the most tenacious creatures on earth, is easier said than done, however. If particular care is not taken, part of its head — the capitulum — may remain in the flesh and possibly cause infection. Some folk remedies call for applying petroleum jelly or a burned match to the animal, the idea being to “encourage” the tick to release its hold so it can be removed intact. You might also try playing loud hard rock music next to its head. AC/DC works especially well, and some have reported good results with
Megadeth. These remedies can make matters worse, however, by actually irritating the tick and causing it to regurgitate its gut contents, which is not a good thing. The best bet is to use a plain old set of fine tweezers, then wash the wound with soap and water. Great care should also be taken to properly dispose of the tick. One source advises burning or drowning in alcohol. You might also try a tiny stake through the heart. You can’t be too careful with vampires. Column ©Gene Twaronite 2015 ***** Gene’s latest book is “The Absurd Naturalist. Irreverent Musings on Nature,” available from Amazon or your local bookstore. Follow Gene’s writing at his blog, TheTwaroniteZone. Com. “The Absurd Naturalist” logo by Jonathan Devine.
5ENSESMAG.COM • FEBRUARY 2015 • COLUMN • 21
Not-asholy days Between
groundhogs and naked babies, you’ve got plenty of reasons to celebrate this month, but there’s no reason to limit yourself to Bill Murray movies and rom-coms. Consider celebrating …
Harry
Houdini, known primarily asan illusionist and magician, wasperhaps the greatest escapeartist who ever lived. Althoughin his early career, whiletraveling with a medicineshow, Houdini “played” a medium who passed on messagesfrom the dead; he felt guilty about it. So guilty in fact, that hespent his later years debunking the tremendously popularparlor sessions of spiritualism which routinely bilked the publicfor hundreds of thousands of dollars. Houdini died in 1926 atthe age of 52, from a ruptured appendix.
Feb. 4: Create a Vacuum Day • Feeling empty? Feb. 8: Kite Flying Day • Go fly a kite. Feb. 10: Umbrella Day • A rainy-day holiday.
ODDLY ENOUGH ... Harry Houdini was the first person to fly a plane in Australia.
Feb. 13: Friday the 13th • Triskaidekaphobics beware. Feb. 18: Battery Day • Get charged. Feb. 21: Card Reading Day • Does “Magic: The Gathering” count? Feb. 22: World Thinking Day • Think on it. Feb. 25: Pistol Patent Day • Shoot. Feb. 26: Pistachio Day • Another nutty day. Feb. 27: Polar Bear Day • A bear of a day. *****
*****
The
Russian warship Novgorod launched in 1873 and took part in the Russo-Turkish War in 1877. It was designed to monitor shorelines. It had six coal burning steam engines. Each turned one of six screw shafts. The engine rooms took up a full half of the interior space. Considered immune to ramming, the Novgorod strutted nine inch armor plating. The two main guns were 26-ton, 11-inch cannons on a swivel — huge for the time. A sister ship, Rear Admiral Popov, was also built. Because of the round construction and shallow draft, steering was difficult, and the pitch and roll was excessive, even in calm waters. ODDLY ENOUGH ... Any time the guns were fired the recoil rotated the ship uncontrollably! Repositioning was difficult once the spinning started. In fact, the only way to fix this problem was to securely anchor the ship in position. This led to the Novgorod eventually being converted into a floating fort. ***** Russell Miller is an illustrator, cartoonist, writer, bagpiper, motorcycle enthusiast, and reference librarian. Currently, he illustrates books for Cody Lundin and Bart King.
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22 • FEATURES • FEBRUARY 2015 • 5ENSESMAG.COM
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