Ma Kamai

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the Jaintia Arts and Culture Museum here in Jowai, which is the brainchild of Ma Kamai War, a local musician and caretaker of all things Pnar and an adherent of the traditional Ñiamtre belief system. He very kindly sat with me and recorded an interview in Pnar, explaining the history of the museum, how it started in 1993 and what its purpose is - to keep alive the knowledge of Pnar culture and arts. He then described each of the artifacts he has collected, from clothing to farming tools, dishes, baskets and instruments, carefully climbing over some things in order to get to others.

Amazingly, he has done this almost completely without external funding, though he could certainly benefit from funding that would help him expand the room he keeps everything in and turn it into a true display that people could wander through. To learn more about Jaintia artifacts, you can view his webpage here, and I'm hoping to edit the video soon, for a more interactive description.

Vlog Day 64 - Polymers, Quaker Oats, Wonder Bread

Jonathan Crissman showed me around the University of Akron and the town after his shift at the library. They have the science building sponsored by Goodyear (polymers used in modern tires were developed here) and down the street is the old Quaker Oats plant that has been turned into a hotel and tourist town. Apparently they don't get a whole lot of tourists anymore.
On the way home for dinner, we stopped at the Wonder Bread outlet as well - they bake bread here in Akron and it smells pretty good. Jonathan's favorite is Pumpernickel. I have to admit it is pretty good.

Vlog Day 56 - Grandview

I wandered around Grandview, Missouri a bit today - had lunch with my friend Phil, visited IHOP's prayer room, which has teams that keep prayer and music going 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's pretty cool - you'd have to experience it for yourself. The facilities are a bit spread out within the town of Grandview (part of the sprawl that is Kansas City), but part of the land is located across the street from the Truman Farm, which is where President Harry Truman spent part of his life, learned to farm, and 'gained his common sense', according to his mother. I stopped at what is left of the farm and was able to take the cell-phone guided tour. Pretty interesting, and not super involved, which was nice.

Vlog Day 54 - Lawrence Tornado

Today was a pretty chill day - I visited the Watkins museum briefly (did you know they made electric cars at the turn of the century? Milburn did, that is) and then spent most of it in Signs of Life Books (google search it, it's a cool place in Lawrence), and half the time they were playing my music. I spent the time editing video, writing a letter, and talking to people. I also wandered around the bookstore, which rose incredibly in my estimation when I discovered a Square Halo book on its shelves!
Square Halo Books is a publishing company that my friend Ned Bustard started (Ned helped design my album cover and does other great stuff through World's End Images) which publishes great books on art and music - look for a new book out soon, on the business of art/music.
After Rachel got off work, we decided to ignore the tornado warning sirens and walk to get something to eat, which was perhaps not the wisest move. As the storm clouds overtook us (with lightning and beginning to swirl ominously) we took shelter in Wheatfields, a local bakery/pastry shop, and ended up waiting out the storm with other customers in their pastry kitchen. I managed to document the event. Fortunately, the tornado didn't touch down in Lawrence, passing northeast through the city before developing into an actual tornado of swirling wind.
I left Lawrence around 9pm to drive to my friend's house in Kansas City, and the last couple shots in the video are me trying to document the incredible lightning show I received on my drive - miles away and safe enough to drive past. I tell ya - weather is no joke out here.

Vlog Day 50 - Peel Mansion, Wal-Mart Museum and Steakburger

I visited the sights of Bentonville, Arkansas today - saw a really neat old house built by Colonel Sam Peel, who was a soldier in the confederacy before moving back to Arkansas and becoming a statesman. It was recently renovated with the help of Wal-Mart and is a pretty cool place. Some really pretty gardens and one of the oldest oaks in the area. The largest sycamore is now in pieces, and they have a giant ring from the trunk sitting against the house.
Sam Walton's original 5-10 has now been converted into the Wal-Mart Visitor's Center, which acts as a museum for the company and catalogs its growth from a small variety store to the incorporated international company that it is today. The museum is really interesting, and shows how Mr. Walton's company grew through a focus on people promoted and exemplified by the man himself - this guy was really committed to providing decent goods to people at the lowest price possible, yet his passion for this was combined with a care for the customer and the people that worked for him, as well as a sense of humor. He was not a person that was wrapped up in himself, and I think the world has benefited from his efforts, for the most part.
Right next to the museum is The Station Cafe, which claims to have the best steakburgers in Northwest Arkansas. I have to admit they are pretty good - as are their chocolate malts. All in all, a great day!

Vlog Day 43 - Chattanooga

I wandered around Chattanooga today for a few hours - quite a nice downtown area. A lot of history has come through here: as the beginning of many people's journey along the Cherokee Trail of Tears the site of a couple major battles in the civil war, and one of the first areas to benefit from hydroelectric dams. Just kind of wandered around and took it easy..

Vlog Day 38 - World of Coca-Cola

I visited the World of Coca Cola in Atlanta today - exciting stuff! I've always wanted to visit the museum since I'm such a fan of the drink (definitely not a Pepsi person), but haven't had a chance until now. It was pretty busy, as you can see from the video.
Once we negotiated the line we were herded like cattle into the 'paraphernalia' room which is chock-full of CocaCola memorabilia. Here we were given a talk by a guy, which I included a short snippet of. He also mentioned that they're missing 4 Norman Rockwell coke paintings, so if you happen to have one, let me know and I can talk to them for you... =)
After the video snippet the screen raises up and doors open and you enter the main exhibit, where I got a shot of me with the statue of the hero and creator of Coca Cola. Perhaps my favorite part was all the commercials from around the world - hilarious stuff! Then of course the tasting room and on home. By the time I left I had to go to the bathroom.

Vlog Day 32 - Epcot

I went with my friend Matt, his girlfriend Melissa and his friend Ivan (and family) to Epcot Center today, in the Disney World park. It was pretty cool - I've never been to any of the Disney World theme parks before. As we were walking around for twelve hours, it struck me that westerners (and particularly Americans) seem to play just as hard as they work, almost as if to have fun you have to expend tons of energy in recreation. Not that it wasn't fun - I had a blast hanging out with friends and riding the rides, being exposed to new experiences and learning new things. It was just interesting how dedicated everyone seemed to be to the experience and yet how tired everyone was. I wonder if we've forgotten how to rest.
I got to ride Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Mission to Mars, The Land, and a few others that were pretty cool (a really neat aquarium and greenhouse), but the country exhibits were probably my favorite. Different cultures representing themselves, albeit in a fake touristy way, but they did have museum displays that were actually interesting, and later in the afternoon there were live performances by musicians from each country. The Moroccans were jammin'! We ended up at the Norwegian restaurant for dinner (no goat cheese or real Norwegian bread, unfortunately) and the girls got to meet all the Disney Princesses except for Jasmine. Finally, the day culminated in a spectacular fireworks show. Notice how it's accompanied by music - the whole day was accompanied by background music intended to inspire and encourage and keep us happy. I think it probably works subliminally...

Vlog Day 29 - Arthaus

In Port Orange, next to Daytona Beach, is a non-profit organization that celebrates the arts. Named 'Arthaus' and founded by my aunt Laurie Ring, it has been celebrated by local media as a place where kids are encouraged to be creative and expressive, and to grow in their artistic abilities. It's a great thing - today I stopped by for a tour.

Vlog Day 23 - Art and Music

I slept in rather late today, partly due to the fact that I had a couple cups of Leopard Forest's excellent coffee and as a result stayed up the rest of last night. So I took my time getting up and ventured out into a cold and rainy day around 2pm to visit the local Andrew Wyeth display at the art museum here in town. Who knew that Greenville has one of the largest collections of AW's work? He really did some amazing paintings. Also on display were paintings from early North and South Carolina painters that were quite stunning.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reading in the library next door to the gallery. I picked up a 200-page book by a favorite author at 4pm and was done by 7.40 or so. I think I'm slipping. The time was when I could finish a book like that in 3 hours or less. I was pretty tired though.
Open mics were next in line - I played at Coffee Underground's Acoustic Seen (where I met up with Jeremy and Julie from college who also happen to know my brother from JBU) and then went with some friends to Smiley's Acoustic Cafe, where the fries are amazing. Good times, great food, good music! Thanks Greenville!

Vlog Day 19 - Museum and Studio

This afternoon, after helping uncle Bruno pile wood in the woodshed, we went to the Waxhaw museum, which has an interesting display all about the early days of Waxhaw, which was originally settled by Native Americans and then by Scotch-Irish and Germans who came from Europe by way of Philadelphia and Lancaster, PA. Andrew Jackson was born around here somewhere along the border of NC and SC, and some of the revolutionary war battles were fought around here. Pretty interesting stuff.
Then we went into town, crossed the railroad bridge and visited a shop where Josh Burch makes furniture and musical instruments, among other things. I sat and played music with him, chatted and recorded some video. He is also a singer-songwriter - you can hear his music HERE. Then back to the house to finish clearing the wood. A good day, all-in-all.

Vlog Day 4 - National Mall, Museums, and Ebenezers Coffeehouse

Breakfast at the Anderson's house was wonderful. You can see the scrumptiousness in the first video below. There are a bunch of videos today because it was such a full day. I slept in, then had breakfast (as mentioned earlier) with some great conversation - great people! Then drove down to the National Mall in DC and wandered around the Washington Monument, the carousel at the mall, the Air and Space Museum, and the National Gallery of Art. You can hear my stories about riding the carousel and getting lost in the Air and Space museum in the two videos. One more thing you didn't know that you wanted to know about Hiram. =) Such a gorgeous day to visit DC, and totally avoided the crowds by coming this early in spring (because Spring is here in DC).

I then drove to Ebenezers Coffeehouse with the great help of my GPS, dropped off some stuff and hung out there for a bit using their wi-fi. I met up with my friend Bryan and his fiancee Heidi for a quick dinner at Johnny Rockets in Union Station and then went back to move my car, soundcheck after Tim Be Told (who are pretty good, btw - you should check out their music online) and play a 30 minute set. The place filled up really quickly, and though I think I would have preferred people to have chairs, I think it was a great show! Some friends from Houghton (Bel and Katie) came out and it was really good to see them. Tonight I'm spending the night with other friends from Houghton, and then off tomorrow to Purcelville - moving right along!