Bartram Kinship Photography Reception at the Library Scheduled for February 10, 2023

PRESS RELEASE (01-26-2023) 

 MACON COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

Friday, February 10, 2023 - 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. in the Macon County Public Library Meeting Room - Listening to the Land - Bartram Trail Kinship Photography Reception

Photos from the Kinship Photograph Project along the Bartram Trail are on display in the Meeting Room this winter; On February 10th, we'll celebrate and learn more about their work.

Please join some of the photographers who've been taking a closer look at William Bartram's Trail, and learn how you can get involved with the months-long project! Learn more at https://kinship.photography/



DAY SPONSOR

Macon Media is being underwritten today by Franklin Health and Fitness, home of #ResultsForEveryone. Try FHF with a FREE 3-Day Guest Pass! To claim your pass, and to learn more about Franklin Health and Fitness, visit franklinhealthandfitness.com.

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Alternatives to Instagram

Instagram just set off a bomb inside its new privacy policy and terms of service. New wording essentially makes it possible to turn people’s photos posted after Jan. 16 using Instagram into advertisements. In other words, that sutro-toned picture of your beloved Lhasa apso freshly coiffed after her grooming might well become an ad for Classy Canine Dog Salon.

Source: Forbes||Did You Really Think Facebook Wouldn't Turn Your Instagram Photos Into Ads?


For those who are upset about Instagram's new TOS, please consider these alternatives:

Flickr. I think this is the best option for most people, and the one with the most promise.

It has both free and paid options. I use the paid option and have been very happy with it since 2007 or so.

My profile over there is http://www.flickr.com/photos/thunder-pig/

Another option is Photobucket, which I've used since 2005. They have both free and paid options and I use the paid option because it is the service I use to host nearly all the photos for my blog. You can also upload videos, too and I used it to host videos before Youtube came along.

http://photobucket.com/

You might also consider Picasa. I have an account, but don't use it very much even though I have unlimited bandwidth because I am a member of Google Plus.

http://picasa.google.com/

And then there is Google Plus. I have, as far as I know, unlimited bandwidth there, too. It also allows you to upload from your phone.

https://plus.google.com/photos/101706295300435696596/albums

And the bonus? All of the above sites acknowledge that YOU own your photos. What an amazing concept!

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A Hiker Passes Through Macon County: Jonathan Welch's Account

Jonathan Welch on Wayah Bald


A former staff photographer with the Mountain Xpress is attempting a thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail and is keeping an interesting blog of his experiences. [AT Blog]


He recently came through Macon County and made a stop over here, riding in the shuttle driven by Ron Haven.


You can see the two blog entries as he passed through our county by clicking the two links below:


Farewell GA, nice to meet again NC


"It's all about the smiles, not the miles!"


He is keeping an interesting record, photographic and written, of his journey and I hope that he keeps it up for the duration of his attempt. I will be checking on his progress from time to time and I hope that some of you will as well.


Hat Tip to the Mountain Xpress for posting a recent story on Welch's journey that alerted me to this endeavor.


Check out galleries of Jonathan's photographic work on his website.

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Stop Motion Truck Rally

Australian artist Keith Loutit is famous for his stop motion photographic scenes, and you can check out more of them at his Vimeo channel, and take a look at his other work on his webpage.




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On The Roof

These guys were working on the roof of the new Sylva Fire Department.

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Mare's Tails Over West Carolina

This is just one of the many Mare's Tails I saw in the sky today.

Mare's Tails, or Fallstreaks, are formed by ice crystal falling from a cirrus cloud formation and blown away by wind that varies in speed at different altitudes, leading to some spectacular shapes in the sky.

If you are a mentally deficient believer in chemtrails, they are Slyphs...some sort of "spiritual being" that is doing battle with chemtrails to save humanity. Don't believe that people are that stupid? Check this page out.

My grandmother used to say, "Mackerel scales and mare’s tails, make lofty ships carry low sails." It meant that a storm was approaching, and in the olden days, it was a mnemonic used by sailors to aid in weather forecasting in a way that they could remember. For sailing ships, it meant that the riggers had best start bringing the sails down so they wouldn't be torn off the ship in the coming storm. And I look to the National Weather Service to see that a storm is indeed in the forecast for the weekend. Luckily, it will only be rain this time.

Read more about the physics of Mare's Tails.

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Franklin First Baptist Church at Night

This is the Franklin First Baptist Church in Franklin, NC. I snapped this photo after tonight's County Commission meeting.

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Christmas Tree Viewed From Above

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The Future Jackson County Public Library

Construction continues...

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Fireworks

Video of the Franklin Fireworks.

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Explosions in the Sky

Here is one of the photos I took last night of the fireworks display in Franklin, NC.

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It Ain't a Parade unless it has a Firetruck in it!

Photo Credit: Bobby Coggins

Taken at the 4th of July Parade in Franklin, NC.

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Catamount and Flowers

I took this photo on October 1, 2008 at Western Carolina University.

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Making a Statement

I liked this guy.


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In Focus

I had big plans to go take photos of the budding trees and emerging flowers today, and the rain nixed that, so here is a photo I took last summer in stead of my "photo expedition."

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Cool Blue Dunes on Mars

view high-resolution photo here


The Abalos Undae dune field stretches westward, away from a portion (Abalos Colles) of the ice-rich north polar layered deposits that is separated from the main Planum Boreum dome by two large chasms. These dunes are special because their sands may have been derived from erosion of the Rupes Tenuis unit (the lowest stratigraphic unit in Planum Boreum, beneath the icier layers) during formation of the chasms. Some researches have argued that these chasms were formed partially by melting of the polar ice.

The enhanced color data illuminate differences in composition. The dunes appear blueish because of their basaltic composition, while the reddish-white areas are probably covered in dust. Upon close inspection, tiny ripples and grooves are visible on the surface of the dunes; these features are formed by wind action, as are the dunes themselves.

It is possible that the dunes are no longer migrating (the process of dune formation forces dunes to move in the direction of the main winds) and that the tiny ripples are the only active parts of the dunes today.

Find more cool photos of Mars at the HiRISE website. The above area in the above image is about three quarters of a mile wide!

HiRISE is the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The spacecraft is currently orbiting Mars approximately 13 times an (Earth) day. The Primary Science Phase (the main “mapping” phase of the mission) officially started on November 8, 2006, and was scheduled to last for two (Earth) years. It has recently been extended for two more (Earth) years!

For continuing updates, please visit the HiRISE Blog.

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Early Poll Report From Jackson County

I stopped by a couple of precincts on my way into the office, and found reports of heavy voting action. The Webster precinct had a preliminary report of 47 voting in the first 35 minutes of being open...that people were waiting when the poll workers arrived!

When I stopped by the Savannah precinct (also in Jackson County) at a quarter to seven, they were still plugging in an turning on the voting machines with the parking lot full of vehicles and about half a dozen in line. I did not ask the poll workers there any questions because they had their hands full.

Here are a few photos I took:

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Phony Palin Scandal Exposed

Kathy at Hang Right Politics has the scoop on the sordid mindset of the progressives, and their buddies in the Legacy Media:

The Truth Will Set You Free

The democrats are scrambling today to find just anything they can to taint Gov. Sarah Palin, the inspiring new addition to the McCain ticket. They can smell Obama in the toaster; the in the tank for Obama smear captains journalists in the media are questioning the firing of an Alaskan Dept. of Safety head over an allegation that he wouldn’t fire a state trooper, Palin’s ex-brother-in-law.

For the FACTS, go here.

Know the truth, and when you see this talking point on comment sections of other blogs or news articles, post the link. The real story needs to be common knowledge.

Frankly when I heard the media’s account I recognized that it was a DNC hit. Only a democrat would defend a state trooper for tazing an eleven year old boy - because the immorality aside - they need to present the story with all the tawdriness they can find because there is no scum on Palin.

I read over at Politico that they are also spreading the rumor than her 5mo. old son actually is her grandson and that her daughter had the baby. (And we know how frequently Down’s children occur in teenage pregnancies… sarc/off)

Other lines of attack include attacking her motherhood by saying a woman can’t have an important or challenging career and raise children. Democrats are saying this! Criticizing her for ‘abandoning’ a special needs child to his father. Hello? Where are the feminists the democrats are so famous for? This line of assault after the charges of sexism over the treatment of Hillary should just about elimate the women’s vote except for the diehard ABORTION-IS-THE-ONLY-ISSUE female Herods. Telling women with special needs children they should just stay home - yup, that’s a winner.

And of course the coup de grace in the Obama arsenal re Palin is the ‘experience’ card. Notice how all the comparisons are between the GOP VP vs. the DNC P. Scary. Our VP has more experience, and has the only executive experience on both tickets yet she somehow has a thin resume.

Here’s why democrats truly believe that she is inexperienced compared to Obama (the male/female double standard will be addressed momentarily). Democrats consider trying and FAILING as an accomplishment. All of the things Obama has TRIED to do are counted - his community organizer days produced no results other than the loss of $100,000,000 on a school system that remains in the bottom in achievement in the country, a Southside Chicago housing debacle, and a Senate career spent campaigning for President. In a ‘results’ don’t matter, we don’t need no stinking RESULTS mindset, Obama has credentials.

Source: Hang Right Politics (read the whole thing)

Commentary

I have found some truly nasty things (full of sexual innuendo and vulgar, filthy language, making fun of her religious faith) being said about Sarah Palin on many of the progressive blogs and in the Ron Paul forums. I expect it from profane people like Pam Spaulding because it is merely the expression of their black hearts. Some of the stuff on Daily KKKos and DU are unprintable.

The Idiot Ron Paul Supporters, on the other hand, claim to be conservative. Most of them have no idea what conservatism is beyond what they have been told by misguided people posing as political thinkers...and I include Ron Paul in that category. These people have been supping at the well of hatred for too long, and it has clouded their judgment, and is turning their hearts black. I have witnessed it locally, and nationally.

Here is just one snippet of an exchange (misspellings and foul language preserved):

You guys are Pitiful?

On August 30th, 2008 electronicmaji says:

Are you really Ron Paul supporters?

And you're thinking a woman, with 20 months of LOCAL EXPERIENCE in the least populated state in the country; who has had scandle after scandle is a good politician and person?

She spent 15 MILLION DOLLARS on a Ice Rink that NEVER GOT BUILT back when she was mayor. More importantly it should never have cost more than 2 million. NOT TO MENTION the turmoil caused in the town by that; taxes have increased their by about 20% because of it.

She's a big oil woman; shes in the pocket of big business; her husband works FOR BP. She REGULARLY forwards emails from her governor account to her HUSBAND?

How is any of this not a abuse of power?

She wrote a budget that was 2 BILLION DOLLARS bigger then the last one; and the biggest one in state history.

In the last month she:

1. Drove the local State Dairy Farm; which had just received 600 million dollars in State Funds into the ground; using all that money within 2 months; and making no money back.

2. Got into a scandle involving firing a cop who refused to fire a subordinate who her family member had a dirty divorce with and out of purely personal reasons. Such a grosse misuse of powers that the state saw it fit to investigate it; and this is a heavy republican state here.

3. Supported the bridge to nowhere; then once it got out and everyone knew against flip-flopped and didn't support it.

4. FLEW on a PLANE when she was in labour, 20 hours; from Texas to Alaska. Rumours have popped up that her pregnancy; which she announced when she was 7 MONTHS pregnant; was a coverup for her own daughters pregnancy.

5. Continues to support teach creationism in schools and abstinence only education at both the local and federal levels.

This women is not fit to be president. This women is not fit to be a Paul supporter. Anyone who goes over to Palin because of this is absolutely pitiful. And thats all I have to say.

• Login or register to post comments

Correction

On August 30th, 2008 alaskaron says:

You post is pitiful, but at least get your facts right:

1. The state-owned dairy did not spend 600 MILLION DOLLARS in two months. It was a $600,000 grant. BIG DIFFERENCE. And if you know anything, you know the dairy was already failing; Palin did not drive it into the ground.

2. The cop tasered his own young child; drove drunk in his patrol car, abused his powers by hunting illegally and covering it up, and he threatened to kill members of the governor's family. And you think that is the kind of cop we need patroling Alaska?

3. Which bridge to nowhere? Sarah never supported the Ketchikan bridge, which was "the bridge to nowhere."

4. Oooooh, unsubstantiated rumors! Do you have a birth certificate to prove that the governor did not give birth like she said she did? Where do you get this stuff?

5. Education is a local and state affair. States and localities can teach any damn thing they want. Get over it.

Source: Daily Paul

It is truly funny that all the above lefties (I include the Paul people) always accuse Republicans of the most foul things, when anyone with an Internet connection (and the stomach) to find them guilty of every last thing they accuse us of in quantity.

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Nikwasi Celebration Slide Shows

Ever have a relative who bored you to tears with slides of their latest trip? I'm that relative...only with a blog...so you can watch them at your leisure.

Here are the best photos I took Saturday at the Nikwasi Celebration, divided into two parts:








I have the first part of the video program edited, and will edit more tonight with an anticipated release by midday tomorrow.


Ruminations has some historical background.

Previously:

Dedication of Cherokee Heritage Trail Marker

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Dedication of Cherokee Heritage Trail Marker

I attended the Nikwasi Celebration in Franklin, NC today, and it was a good event.
Gordon Mercer, of the Public Policy Institute, was the Master of Ceremonies and Cherokee Chief Michell Hicks the Featured Speaker.

There were more speakers, songs, dances, craft demonstrations, Cherokee food, and a stickball exhibition game that was quite intense.

I have a lot of video to edit my way through, and since I lost my MP3 player, my options are limited, as I was using it to catch audio when I had to change memory cards in my camera and when I changed batteries. I plan on having an hour and a half to two hour show out of it by Tuesday afternoon.


Here is what is inscribed on the main marker beside the mound:

NIKWASI MOUND

You are standing on land that has been part of a town for about three thousand years. This mound was the spiritual, political, and physical center of the Cherokee town of Nikwasi. A council house or town house on top of the mound held the sacred fire, and everyone gathered there to hear news, make decisions, dance, and participate in ceremonies. Surrounding the mound were about one hundred houses, a field for playing stickball, and a dance ground, as well as hundreds of acres of crops, orhards, and gardens.

The Cherokee dominated the southern Appalachians for thousands of years. When Alexander Cuming visited Nikwasi in 1730, the Cherokees had men and women leaders in autonomous towns that functioned democratically. Cuming called a council here that was attended by more than two thousand representatives from Cherokee towns. Cuming chose an Emperor, and took a Cherokee delegation to London. In 1761 the British, former allies of the Cherokee, destroyed Nikwasi. After theCherokees rebuilt, the Americans destroyed it in 1776. The Cherokees rebuilt again and lived here until this area was taken by the Treaty of 1819.

A Cherokee legend tells that spirit warriors came out of the mound to help defend the Cherokee against an attack when the Cherokee men were away hunting. The legend goes on to say thst the spirit warriors also saved the town of Franklin from destruction during the Civil War.

The Nikwasi mound is one of the largest surviving mounds in the original Cherokee territory of 140,000 square miles. In 1946, the schoolchildren of Macon County saved their pennies and bought the mound through the Macon County Historical Society to save it from development. It is now owned by the Town of Franklin.

And here are some pictures to look at until tomorrow:







**update** May 19th Another local blogger has graciously linked to this post, and has more to add regarding the history of Nikwasi. It is well worth reading.

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