The Treehouses of Cad Goddeu

Audio accompaniment for this post provided by Robin Williamson from his magnificent (and out of print) 1981 album Songs of Love and Parting (on Flying Fish Records). The song is Gwydion's Dream and you can hear it here. Gwydion was a magician in Welsh Mythology and appears in the poem Cad Goddeu, which appears in the ancient Welsh manuscript, The Book of Taliesin (also the name of an awesome Deep Purple record my sweetie gave me for Christmas). In the Poem, Gwydion brings the trees to life to fight as his army.

The KGB in the Third World

Inspired by the book The World Was Going Our Way :The KGB and the Battle for the Third World
Here is a review of the book
Audio accompaniment for the post is a Russian Pagan Folk Song and you can hear it right here.

Pages from the upcoming book: Soviet Espionage Gadgets

Soundtrack provided by Jody Stecher & Krishna Bhatt. The Song is Called Russian Two-Step and it is Amazing! Listen here.

Soviet Espionage Gadgets Pt. 1 (Non Covert Cameras)

Spherical Hovel Designs

Constructed at Stefan's Birthday gathering on Jackson St.

Tentacles in a room without an Aquarium

At Hattie's Hat while talking about Malcolm Gladwell with Amanda and Tim. Soundtrack for this drawing provided by Alan MIlls. The song is The Squid Jiggin' Ground. Listen here.

Images for the Old, Weird America Talk

KEXP DJ Greg Vandy will be speaking Thursday night at 7 pm at the Frye Art Museum. Admission is FREE! It is part of the Old, Weird America Exhibit. Greg asked me to draw this map of Harry Smith's influence on the folk revival and Greil Marcus' book Invisible Republic/The Old, Weird America.

A New Culinary Tradition For The Moderate To Exorbitantly Wealthy

Audio accompaniment provided by Tom Paley. Listen to Sue Cow right here. You can get the album from Davey.

Lumberjack Pianos

The Lumberjack Piano or The Hammered Dulcimer as its known outside of Michigan, is an instrument with the strings stretched over a trapezoidal sounding board. It is usually set on a stand, at an angle, before the musician, who strikes the strings with mallets. There is a great little book by Nancy Groce called The Hammered Dulcimer in America. It is available at the King County Library- because I just returned it. Listen to Bruce Hutton playing Haste to the Wedding / Harvest Home (medley). It can be found on his awesome 1978 Folkways Album Old Time Music- It's All Around.

Guy Inspired by Dune

I got a book (from Cinema Books on Roosevelt) on the making of the 1984 David Lynch film Dune. It is an adaptation of the Frank Herbert book from 1965. Almost every printing of the book has a fantastic cover. And the movie is an 80's sci fi classic on par with The Wrath of Kahn, Bladerunner and Empire Strikes Back. Both Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ridley Scott tried directing the movie and failed. Jodorowsky's version was set to have Salvador Dali in it and working on the production design. The worlds are amazing, the miniatures are inspiring, the set design and wardrobe are also great. In addition to that, Brian Eno contributes to the soundtrack. Listen To the Prologue to the film right here.

Mechanical Crabs

Inspired by my uncle's ash tray in which the lid of the crab opens to reveal a receptacle for ash and cigarette butts.

Paintings inspired by Gourmet Magazine (R.I.P.)

I don't know what issue this was from but i have always liked the photographs in the magazine and the people at Conde Nast are a bunch of turnips for shutting it down.

The Sixteenth Century Resonator Citternophone

The Restored Early 19th Century Supertone Parlor Guitar

Before


During

After


Click here to hear me playing the Supertone. I talked the nice man who was selling this guitar down to $15. That of course was at Tuxedo Junction, in one of the back garages in the instruments area. I also had to buy about 30 bucks worth of tuning machine from the helpful people at Dusty Strings.

Admiral Yi Sun sin

Admiral Yi Sun-sin was a Korean Naval Admiral who implemented the armored Turtle Ship nearly 200 years before they made an appearance in the American Civil War. He is reported to have won every naval battle he entered and succesfully fought off the Japanese Navy during their invasions of Korea between 1592 and 1598. He was shot and killed during the battle of Noryang and had two of his officers prop him up so that no one knew he was dead until the battle had ended. According to another source, he ordered his body be hidden in the cabin, while his nephew put on his armor and beat the war drum for the rest of the battle.

Martin A. Armstrong

According to his website:
Martin Armstrong author of the Economic Confidence Model based on an 8.6 year business cycle theory inspired by the work of Nikolai Kondratieff. Martin A. Armstrong is currently serving a five year sentence at Fort Dix Camp in New Jersey. He continues his economic and financial writings from prison and hand draws many of the covers of the reports. Thanks to Jennifer for showing me the New Yorker article on Mr. Armstrong. Wikipedia on Kontradiev: Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kondratiev (Николай Дмитриевич Кондратьев) (4 March 1892 - 17 September 1938) was a Russian economist, who was a proponent of the New Economic Policy (NEP) in the Soviet Union. He was executed at the height of Stalin's Great Purge.

The Fourth Trumpet and Clinton Hess

Wal-Mart Caskets and Burial Services

Spooky Halloween Radio Show Episode!

Download

Oysterville, WA

The top picture is of the historic church in Oysterville. The church is unlocked and inside is a beautiful and tuned piano and pump organ. It says not to play the pump organ...but I did anyway. I played the Stephen Foster song "Hard Times Come Again No More" on both of them. It was written in 1854 (the same year Oysterville was founded) and I found it chronologically appropriate for the building.

Oysterville Church Piano from Drew Christie on Vimeo.

Oysterville Church Pump Organ from Drew Christie on Vimeo.

Oysterville was established in 1854. It was a hub of oyster farming as the name suggests. It was the seat of Pacific County until the seat was relocated to South Bend in 1893.
On February 3, 1893, all of the county records and books were stolen in order to move the county seat from Oysterville to South Bend, Washington. However, it had been agreed upon that the seat would be moved to South Bend. There is a sign telling the story of this incident across from the historical Oysterville school.- Wikipedia

Digital Pictures from a digital camera from False Proof opening night

Thanks to curator Cable Griffith, I was allowed my own entire room at the Kirkland Arts Center and I filled it up. These are pictures of it! Thanks to everyone who showed up!

Sights and Sounds of the Deep: In Search Of The Elliot Bay Sea Creature with Drew Christie ©1985

I am under strict orders not to divulge any internet images from the False Proof show at Kirkland Arts Center, but I am uploading an unaired documentary by PBS from 1985 about my and Ben's exploits searching for the Elliot Bay Sea Creature.
Watch here