The namesake for this blog: from This American Life - Invisible Man Vs. Hawkman

Invisible Man Vs. Hawkman

By

John Hodgman

"John Hodgman conducts an informal survey in which he asks the age-old question: Which is better: The power of flight or the power of invisibility? He finds that how you answer tells a lot about what kind of person you are. And also, no matter which power people choose, they never use it to fight crime. (14 minutes)"

I think this is such an interesting and fundamental question - if you could choose between the two, which super power would you choose: invisibility or flight?

Cross-Country, Telemark and Backcountry Skiing Links

Cross-Country, Telemark and Backcountry Skiing Links
 
Randy Johnson at Moses Cone Manor

Nordic Skiing Technique - Traditional Style - Diagonal Stride: (Good examples, a bit technical)

Nordic Skiing Technique - Ski Skating - One Skate Double Pole - V: (Good example of how to skate ski)

Nordic Skiing Technique - Ski Skating - Offset - V1: (Example of how to climb fast)

What state is Roan Mountain (the mountain, itself) in?

I recently read this article by Derek Halsey in the Mountain Times on the Kruger Brothers "Roan Mountain Suite", published on 10/18/2016.  I am both a fan of the Kruger Brothers and a lover of Roan Mountain - and long-time occasional reader of the Mountain Times. I am an avid hiker and Roan Mountain is one of my favorite places in the entire world!

I am writing to point out some misconceptions in the introductory statements the article, especially the portion I have bolded.

For most of the hikers located in the High Country, Roan Mountain is considered part of our family of peaks, even though it resides just across the border with Tennessee.

In fact, when you take the half hour drive from Banner Elk (right on Rt. 19E then left on Rt. 143) to the mountaintop lot where you park to hike both the Appalachian Trail as well as the Roan Mountain Grassy Highlands, a “Welcome to North Carolina” sign stands just yards down the road. But let there be no mistake, Roan Mountain firmly resides in the Volunteer State and is happily claimed by the citizens of Tennessee.

The caption on the page 2 photo states:
Roan Mountain is considered part of our family of peaks in the High Country, but the mountain resides just across the Tennessee border.
 
It's indeed true that the quickest and most direct way to get to Carver's Gap and the summits of Roan Mountain from the Boone/Banner Elk, NC area is through TN.  Although it is possible to access Roan Mountain from the NC side by taking NC Hwy 261 via Bakersville, from most of the Boone area, this adds unnecessary time and miles to the trip.  (However, keep in mind that this is the faster way to access Roan Mountain from areas in NC to the West and South of Boone).  Due to its location, Roan Mountain is on the high country's periphery, although high country residents do typically include it in the "local" repertoire of hikes, because of its relative proximity and it being a true mountain gem.

It would be foolish to downplay the historical and cultural significance that the town of Roan Mountain, TN and Roan Mountain TN state park play in that area.  The Rhododendron festival around the 4th of July and other celebrations throughout the year bring world-famous acclaim to the town and its environs.  But, while the Volunteer State may claim Roan Mountain as its own, the fact remains that the vast majority of the mountain itself, including the "highlands", lies within NC - and many Tarheels (including me) also claim it as their own.

This not only includes sharing the highest summit of Roan Mountain between NC and TN, Roan High Knob (the 6,285 ft peak, not 6,185 ft as stated in the article) but also includes all of the following in NC: Roan High Bluff (the 6,267 ft peak, including the associated overlook), the Rhododendron Gardens (and all vantage points to the east, south and west), the bathroom facilities and parking areas on the summit area, and thus the vast majority of the mountain. 

This can be seen by taking a close look at the map of Roan Mountain: while the NC/TN border runs to the west along the crest of the balds to Carver's Gap and up to Roan High Knob, just to the west at Toll House Gap, the state border takes an abrupt turn to the north.  This leaves the remainder of the mountain to the west and south in NC.

Likewise, the vast majority of the highlands east of Carver's Gap, including the famed balds that run to Grassy Ridge Bald (along with the Appalachian Trail and the TN/NC border), are mostly within NC.  Just before Grassy Ridge Bald, the state line also turns to the north, and nearly the entire summit area above 6,000 ft is in NC. 

The area I've chosen to focus on doesn't include the eastern part of the highlands that also includes Yellow Mountain (split roughly half and half between TN and NC), Big Yellow Mountain (which is almost entirely in NC), Little Hump Mountain (split roughly half and half between TN and NC) and Hump Mountain (which is almost entirely in NC).  If these areas were included, too, the highlands would tip to an even greater portion being in NC.
 As a beginning reference point, please see the USGS Topographic map centered on Carver's Gap (Note: this map is a composite of 4 topo quads):

https://www.topoquest.com/map.php?lat=36.10664&lon=-82.11055&datum=nad27&zoom=8&map=auto&coord=d&mode=pan&size=l.

Next, see the markup I've done on the attached topographic map showing the area in TN and NC (see: Roan Mountain Highlands centered on Carvers Gap with lines - 8m per pixel.jpg).  The state line is highlighted in red.  Everything to the north of the line is in Tennessee (Carter county).  Everything to the south of the line is in NC (Mitchell and Avery).  On this map, I've traced the 6,000 ft elevation contour line in a dark hue, green in NC and blue in TN.  I've also traced the 5,000 ft contour line in a lighter hue, again, green in NC and blue in TN.  I've done my best to not obscure any text or contour labels on this map.

If you compare the area within each of the shaded colors, i.e., green (in NC) vs. blue (in TN), you'll easily see that the vast majority of the mountain is in NC.  To help display this more effectively, I've created another version of the above map where I've shaded the areas in the respective states (see: Roan Mountain Highlands centered on Carvers Gap with lines and shading - 8m per pixel.jpg).  Dark blue indicates area in TN at or above 6,000 ft.  Light blue indicates area in TN at or above 5,000 ft.  Dark green indicates area in NC  at or above 6,000 ft.  Light blue indicates area in NC at or above 5,000 ft.  On this map, it's very easy to see that the vast majority of the highlands is in NC.

If you'd like to inspect this in more detail, check it out on Google Maps, especially where the state line turns north at Toll House Gap:
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.101318,-82.1353465,1267m/data=!3m1!1e3

Fresh Air Remembers Traditional Music Legend Doc Watson

In memoriam of  Doc Watson's passing away in 2012, here's a link to two interviews that Terry Gross had with Doc on Fresh Air back in 1988 and 1989.

Here's Doc's Wikipedia page.

Thoughts on MerleFest 2019 + Links

Ok, so here's RollingStone's review of MerleFest 2019

My take on it is both the same - and somewhat different.  Many of what I consider highlights aren't even mentioned in the RollingStone article...  What I have listed below are my highlights, which may or may not have been mentioned in RollingStone.  

(All the songs listed below were performed at MerleFest 2019.  In some instances I couldn't find a video of the song performed at MerleFest, so I've included some from other festivals.)


The Dirk Powell Band - during his sets, Dirk played: violin, guitar, banjo and mandolin (and sang!). He's an incredible musician - and the more I learn about him and the music he plays, the more I respect him and his musical genius!

• The Balfour Waltz (La Valse Balfour)/My Old Wagon (Le Vieux Wagon) (medley)
• Carolina Rain
• Home on Oak Ridge/Unnamed (medley) - For the unnamed song, I suggested <<saute la colline>>, country french for "jump the hill".  When I heard it, I thought of some mountain folk dancing and trying to jump over the hills...

Amos Lee

• Windows are Rolled Down

Molly Tuttle (with Christian Sedelmeyer on violin)

• Bas Pelles Eriks Brudpolska - Swedish folk tune
• Take the Journey

The Hillside Album Hour

Each year, the Waybacks and friends choose an album and do a live electrified acoustic version of it.  This year was Led Zeppelin IV (ZOSO), with their own "twists", is it merely artistic creativity or copyright infringement protection?

• Black Dog
• Rock and Roll
• Genesis Hall (Fairport Convention)/The Battle of Evermore
• Stairway to Heaven
• Legalize It (Peter Tosh)/Misty Mountain Hop:
• Four Sticks
• Going to California
• When the Levee Breaks

Here's another set of links of the album hour.

The Avett Brothers and Brandi Carlile

• Murder in the City

Brandi Carlile

• The Mother
• Madman Across the Water  (the left channel is dead, but it still sounds great!)

Tyler Childers

• Nose on the Grindstone (video from Tuck Fest - a day after his performance at MerleFest).  This song is powerful and haunting.  The lyrics left me spellbound...  

The Sam Bush Band - Sam and his amazing band are perennial favorites at MerleFest and they never disappoint.  I always appreciate Sam's ability to cover other people's music and do it justice.  BTW - Sam's playing "Eric Clapton's guitar, after taxes" (electric stratocaster mandolin). 

• Speak of the Devil

The Strange Story of Cisco's (Sort of) Beloved Hold Music - Two nerds, a four-track recorder, and 65 million Cisco phone systems.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/01/the-strange-story-of-ciscos-sort-of-beloved-hold-music/283262/

Which cities are liveable without air conditioning – and for how much longer?

Mapping the world’s cities where you can live comfortably without heating or air conditioning reveals how few boast such ideal climates – and how global warming may further narrow the field 

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2018/aug/14/which-cities-are-liveable-without-air-conditioning-and-for-how-much-longer

Donald Trump's Press Conference, Annotated on NPR.org

I just read this article on President-Elect Trump's first press conference and have concluded that Mr. Trump continues to lie, inflate the truth, make half-truths or semi-truths and rarely is able to speak the truth without embellishing it in some way.

I only read the transcript, I didn't actually hear him speaking, but his speaking style is very unclear.  He makes many claims and assertions and then partially, or sometimes completely, rolls them back.  He doesn't always answer the same question the same way, which is a bit disconcerting, because over the course of an hour or less, that facts, or even his opinions on the topics he's discussing shouldn't change.

It's almost as if he's having a conversation with himself inside of his head, except that he's speaking out loud.  And this isn't just in his car!  He's speaking to reporters from all of the major news organizations across the world.  So, you could say that he's exposing his very back-and-forth, maybe-this or maybe-that, or maybe-not-at-all kind of speaking to the entire planet.

Donald Trump's Press Conference, Annotated

Five myths Donald Trump tells about Donald Trump

Interesting article on what Donald J. Trump claims about himself vs. what the case is in reality. I think you might find that there's more than just a bit of discrepancy between "The Myth" and "The Man"... [link]

Mural in Reykjavik

Vimala Rajendran is a crusader against domestic violence, a peace activist and a darn good cook. She opened Vimala’s Curryblossom Café in Chapel Hill, NC after years of creating donation-based meals out of her home. At Vimala’s restaurant, everybody eats, whether they can pay for their food or not. Rajendran joins WUNC radio's "State of Things" host Frank Stasio to talk about her personal journey and her recipe for running a successful, socially responsible business.

http://wunc.org/tsot/archive/Meet_Vimala_Rajendran2.mp3/view

Dark Matter, Dark Energy and the Shadow Universe

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/03/06/148039168/dark-matter-dark-energy-and-the-shadow-universe

"Perhaps the dark universe makes us matter more than we ever realized."

Boone, NC is now cliché

I'm not sure who created this originally but a high school classmate sent it to me recently. If you know anything about Boone, NC is pretty spot on!

Just thought I would share the love of our home town....

...you check Ray's Snowman-O-Meter religiously during the winter
months.

....you do not believe in weather forecasting.

....you wonder where the Watauga County Public School System came up
with some of those "snow days."

....you predict every new/renovated building will become a bank (with
surprising accuracy).

....most directions include a reference to the "Wendy's intersection."

....you no longer marvel at the incredible two-story Wendy's.

....you make bets on whether the crawling vehicle in front of your car
is a Floridian.

....you look forward to the first fireflies. (Firefly Capital of the World,
that's us!)

....like it or not, the Wooly Worm Festival IS a big deal.

....you have given up hope of ever finding the next book in the series
at the Watauga County Public Library.

....you repeatedly bemoan the absence of a Target and/or Starbucks.

....you refer to the Boone "Mall" with quotation marks.

....you have eaten dozens of pre-movie meals at Dos Amigos.

....you cannot go to Wal-Mart without running into at least one person
you know.

....you know exactly who I'm referring to when I mention "the bearded
guy on King Street."

....you got all excited over ASU's double championship, even if you
know nothing about college football.

....you consider the misinformed pronunciation "App-a-lay-shun"
something bordering on profanity.

....you dare that Verizon "Can you hear me now?" guy to try his little
reception trick in the mountains.

....you ditch the jackets when it's over 45 degrees at the slopes.

....you frequently use the term "going off the mountain" to refer to
day-trips.

....you go to Tweetsie Railroad for the best Fourth of July fireworks
every year.

....you rejoiced at the demolition of the Chalet.

....every winter rain strengthens your belief in global warming.

....you know someone who has had a bear in their backyard.

....you have tossed peanuts to the bears at Grandfather Mountain.

....you have spun a car around in an icy parking lot just for the fun
of it.

....Macado's is your staple fall back restaurant (particularly late at
night).

....you consider your town an insignificant little place, but everyone,
everywhere you go, seems to have heard of it.