THE SIGNAL from David Katznelson
“It is the music which changes the place from the rear room of a saloon in back of the yards to a fairy place, a wonderland, a little comer of the high mansions of the sky.”― Upton Sinclair
As the Constitution readies for the auction block (see below) this week is the anniversary of Stonehenge being sold at auction. Yes, in 1915 Sir Cosmo Gordon Antrobus auctioned off Stonehenge to Sir Cecil Herbert Edward Chubb for 6,600 pounds ($11,500 which is the equivalent of a little over $700,000 today). As the story goes, Chubb was sent into the auction room by his wife to put a bid on a table and chair set she had her eye on and came out of the room the owner of a mysterious grouping of rocks that while historic…and in our present day minds something quite important to our civilized world…at the time had been under-appreciated property that had exchanged hands quite often since King Henry VIII had confiscated it from the Priory of Amesbury during a time that he was confiscating monastic property to help fund his military campaigns (long sentence, I know). I’m sure Chubb’s wife was mystified (putting it nicely).
The Antrobus family had tried to turn Stonehenge into a money maker, building cottages and a restaurant on the property. At one point, when under the watch of Cosmo’s father Sir Edmond Antrobus III, who refused any act of restoration to the monument, there was a thought of selling the stones to a buyer in America. When under the ownership of his son Sir Edmond Antrobus IV, restoration was finally allowed by the "Father of Japanese Archaeology" William Gowland after Stone 22 of the Sarsen Circle fell during a storm. And while Gowland was not an archaeologist, he figured out (and I quote) that “antler picks had been used to dig the stone holes and that the stones had been shaped on site” which was major news since to this day there is a mystery as to who built Stonehenge and to much of the building process.
During his time overseeing the property, Edmond IV was initiated into the Ancient Order of the Druids and conducted a Druid ceremony at the rocks. To this day, Druids are still some of the only groupings of people who are allowed to have annual ceremonies there.
When Cosmo inherited Stonehenge from his brother Edmond IV he auctioned it off to Sir Chubb (love that name) who in time donated it to the United Kingdom with the one condition that it would only cost a visitor 1 pound entrance fee (which lasted until the 1970s).
Oh yeah.
“I’ll Be in Another World”: A Rediscovered Interview with Jorge Luis Borges
Borges’ stories are outer-worldly enigmas of brilliance…his poetic pros painting such imaginations for his reader. And this interview…with incredible questions like “Do you remember the last thing you saw?” (Borges went blind in the 50s) and “Did you dream last night” lead to fascinating insights of the writer (the beginning of his answer to the latter: “I dream every night. I dream before I go to sleep, and I dream after waking up. When I begin to say meaningless words, I’m seeing impossible things.”)
TRUE LOVE CAST OUT ALL EVIL: THE SONGWRITING LEGACY OF ROKY ERICKSON
There was only one Roky Erickson and yes…as this book digs into (and the work of Bill Bentley celebrates) Roky was much more than just the leader of one of the great psychedelic bands of all time, The 13th Floor Elevators. Throughout his career he wrote crazed, beautiful songs that will echo through the chambers of multiple dimensions forever. Looking forward to digging into this book (and thanks Cary Baker, for hipping me to it).
Christo's dream: Wrapped Arc de Triomphe opens in Paris
A beautiful swan song for the artist who taught us to think big and challenged us to think of our public space differently…and to enjoy playing with reality.
Philanthropist to Sell Rare Copy of Constitution for $15 M. at Auction
Ever since seeing this headline, I have been thinking about a few things. First: who knew 500 copies of the Constitution were originally printed…with only 11 known remaining. What the hell happened to the others? Standard board room trash? Cabinet liners? Gift wrapping paper? I also cannot stop thinking about that, given the current economic inequality we are facing in this country, how appropriate it is for one the countries most important documents will be selling from one private collector to another for tens of millions of dollars. Quite an apt metaphor.
Thacker Mountain Radio Hour holds season premiere at the Old Armory Pavilion
The 24th year of this incredible radio show is a’starting….
THE EDGES OF TIME
By: Kay Ryan
It is at the edges
that time
thins.
Time which had been
dense and viscous
as amber suspending
intentions like bees
unseizes them. A
humming begins,
apparently
coming
from stacks of
put-off things or
just in back. A
racket
of claims now,
as time flattens. A
glittering fan of things
competing to happen,
brilliant and urgent
as fish when seas
retreat.
