Lucid Stead: an Illusion by Phillip K Smith III

Against a barren landscape in California High Desert a 70 year old shack has faithfully stood. Sunrise after sunrise, cool nightfall after nightfall, everyday the same…until that is, it met up with Phillip K Smith III. He calls it Lucid Stead. Rocking this little cabins world, the artist covered its mortar in mirrors giving the illusion that the cabin is see-through. Crazy colorful lights fill the window and door frames as dusk comes over the still horizon. The artist explains, “When you slow down and align yourself with the desert, the project begins to unfold before you. It reveals that it is about light and shadow, reflected light, projected light, and change. One might see blue, red, and yellow… But looking down and walking ten feet to a new location reveals that the windows are now orange, purple and green".

 

Float, Balloon Sculptures by Janice Lee Kelly

Bouncing, prancing, bounding into the sky’s vast canvas, a dance of balloons by Janice Lee Kelly wave their designs at the world down below. They’re colorful, vibrant, enthusiastic against natures palate.  Their insane designs defy gravity, presented as illusions that thrill her audience.  In general balloons tend to carry a resume loaded with specialties in celebrations, joy bearing, smiles and cheer. It’s no exception here; the sculptures and bouquets that come out of her FLOAT studio have been center stage at the circus, giant exhibits and of course special delivery sized for that special someone.

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum - This quaint archive of the silent era preserves and pays homage to a seminal moment in film history

Fremont, California

It was Spring in San Francisco. One quiet April morning, in 1906, a San Francisco filmmaker took what was then a relatively new invention, the motion picture camera, and shot a mild, unassuming film of his city’s bustling downtown.

Just a few days later, those same buildings tumbled to the ground.

The silent film captured that morning reflects some of the final hours of a city that would be forever changed by what would become known as the Great San Francisco Earthquake. It was one of the most devastating natural disasters in American history, and without the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, the touching, quietly moving impact of such a short film likely would’ve been lost forever.

The Niles Essanay museum is one of the world’s leading curators and preservers of silent film history, memorabilia, and the films themselves. Inside its walls, classic movie posters hang in frames -- illustrations of a different time in both film making and art, and antique silent film cameras stand like sentinels guarding the films and memorabilia.

Sifting through the museum’s collections is like sifting through time itself, its pieces remnants of a time so distant now it’s barely a memory.

The quaint, box-shaped little building the museum calls home is itself an historic landmark. Once the location of Niles Essanay Studios -- prominent producers of silent films in their heyday -- the building and its now-dormant production facilities created and distributed many of the most famous silent films of all time.

Most notably, the studio produced several of Charlie Chaplin’s iconic films, so much so that Chaplin memorabilia and history is one of the museum’s main draws. In fact, the museum remains a key collaborator in Charlie Chaplin-based projects to this day, ranging from news and print features covering Chaplin’s history to homages, as was the case with a recent “Google Doodle” celebrating the great silent star’s birthday.

Today, the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum provides an entertaining window into a vastly different era, but also provides an increasingly important service. As modern culture moves further and further away from the silent era, not only its artifacts but also its memories are being lost. Thus, this more than a museum -- it is, and will remain, a bank for those memories.

Last Tree of Ténéré - The most remote tree in the world survived desertification, but not a drunken truck driver

Tchirozerine, Niger

The Ténéré wastelands of northeastern Niger were once populated by a forest of trees. By the 20th century, desertification had wiped out all but one solitary acacia. The Tree of Ténéré, as it came to be called, had no companions for 400 km in every direction. Its roots reached nearly 40 m deep into the sand.

When Michel Lesourd of the Central Service of Saharan Affairs first came upon the tree in 1939, he wrote: "One must see the Tree to believe its existence. What is its secret? How can it still be living in spite of the multitudes of camels which trample at its sides? How at each azalai does not a lost camel eat its leaves and thorns? Why don't the numerous Touareg leading the salt caravans cut its branches to make fires to brew their tea? The only answer is that the tree is taboo and considered as such by the caravaniers. There is a kind of superstition, a tribal order which is always respected. Each year the azalai gather round the Tree before facing the crossing of the Ténéré. The Acacia has become a living lighthouse; it is the first or the last landmark for the azalai leaving Agadez for Bilma, or returning."