Art Is Where You Find It.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email notification about a new geocache in the area. It was out beyond the interstate in a forgotten "subdivision" called Sunshine Valley Ranchettes.* The name of the cache was "Dry Well Cache", and sure enough.. there was a dry well there. The cache was pretty easy to find, but I was more interested in this cryptic note at the end of the cache description: "Be sure to check out the "Library" 1/3 mile to the East". Trust me.. there is nothing out there but dust and mesquite, so I had no idea what this was referring to. Being only a third mile away, I was about to find out. I assumed it was some joke, and was probably a pile of old "mens' magazines" someone had dumped out there.

I was totally unprepared for what I found:

A library!

These are the kind of things that make you go "WTF?"

Looking about, I found that someone... or probably several "someones" had put a lot of work into the landscaping and design of this... installation. Because that's what this is- an art installation. I found the clue in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet.

(Below the drawer with every issue of Cabinet Magazine.. the top drawer contained the card catalog).

Not only is there the Library, but a horse shoe pit, (with horse shoes), a cemetary, and even a "Biodegradable Toilet"!

But who put it here? And when? Being the desert, things remain pretty much unchanged from season to season. I would have to wait till I got home to get the story.

Which is what I did. Googling "rebargroup.org", I came face to face (after navigating a few pages), with the very installation I had just been exploring! You'll have to admit, that's quite a story!

So, who is REBAR Group?

"REBAR is an interdisciplinary studio operating at the intersection of art, design and activism."

Be sure to check out their website to see some of the many installations they've done all over the country. Very clever. Very entertaining. The story of the building of the Cabinetlandia National Library (with pictures!) can be found here. I wonder how many people, other than me, and a handful of geocachers, have seen this place? Somehow, I think that's not important to the artists.

*This part of New Mexico was peopled by schemers and dreamers who, decades ago, laid out dozens of subdivisions in anticipation of the housing boom that never happened. If you look at a detailed Google map of Luna County, NM, you'll see the roads, hundreds, maybe thousands, of them. In reality, they don't exist, which is why, if you're going to visit us: don't trust your GPS for directions!

Fanny. A Fine Staghound.

Fanny. Past co-winner of the Golden Hare TCC Hunt (now the Holiday Run), and one AK shy of a TCC title. Participant in epic 5 minute jackrabbit race that Dutch Salmon called one of the 5 best courses he's ever seen. Drama queen. Tone deaf "singer". Official "Dashboard Dog" of the Hare-Brained Express. Trophy winner at the Loomis races. We'll miss her.

Hockey! Everything Else is Just..... Sports.

(Leon Halip/Getty Images)

That was the scene in Ann Arbor this afternoon, as a Guinness World Record Breaking crowd watched the University of Michigan hockey team shut out arch rival Michigan State 5-0 in "The Big Chill At The Big House". Michigan has led the nation in attendance at football games for most of the last 4 decades, but football has never hosted a crowd this big: 113,411!

The increase over the previous Guinness record hockey crowd could hardly be classified as incremental. The previous record? 77,803 last Spring, in Germany. For a little icing (no pun intended) on the cake, this was also the largest crowd to ever watch any NCAA sporting event.

Adding to the fun, the ceremonial puck drop before the game was performed by Michigan Alumnus, Lawrence Kasden. But that only seems appropriate, doesn't it?

And, as if that wasn't enough cool hockey for one day? NHL Network is broadcasting Hockey Night In Canada... in 3D... Canadians v. Maple Leafs! Does it get any better than this for a hockey fan?

Fun For a Winter's Day..

Among the many and sundry email alerts and newsletters I receive, is the Tech Talk from PC Pitstop. And among the topics in the newsletter I received today, is one titled, "Steve Bass's Top 15 Time Wasters of 2010"... How could I resist?

I haven't checked out all of the time wasters yet, but there were two I really need to share.. Ball Droppings.. has all the elements of a classic time waster, as you work harder and harder to come up with more and more complex sounds and visuals.

The other is just stunning.. as you tour the known Universe in six and a half minutes..

I've reduced the size to fit here, but make sure you go to YouTube and watch the full size version. This reminds me of a film that first blew my mind at the Ontario Science Centre way, way back in 70s...

...but which takes the concept many steps further by not stopping when it returns to Earth.

Lots of other fun time wasters at the link. Have fun!

Lane Changer..

Make gif

Why this? Why now?

This is what's known as a "workaround".. Animated .gifs don't animate if you put them on Facebook by themselves. But.. if you share them as a link.. they do! At least that's my hope.

So, if you're also a "fan" on the Shot On Site Facebook page, you're getting a sneak preview of tomorrow's "Today's Image".

That is all.

As Relevant Today...

Crockpot Bound...

Yes, that's Willow running ahead of Sandia! Momentarily, she will turn that hare, and Sandia will then be in the lead... until he turns the hare yet again, and Willow (oh yes!) will make her first take! Good girl!

This run lasted about 90 seconds, featured lots of turns, and two journeys under the barbed wire. They didn't quit on this jackrabbit, and I'm proud. They will also enjoy it mixed with their kibble tomorrow.