Life and all in Redding California
Around here, “being PC” doesn’t mean politically correct. It means Palo Cedro style. We were invited to this very PC party last weekend to celebrate a retirement. I captured a few images that offer you some sense of this fine event, and here they are presented as a brief video. It won’t offend anyone around here to accuse them of being very PC. Switch the setting in the lower right corner to 1080p HD for full PC effect.
We’re all very PC here. It’s Really Redding.
Guest post by local friend and thoughtful writer, Nadine Bailey. It first appeared in Facebook as something of a reaction to an article about our Sundial Bridge that appeared in the Sacramento Bee. I asked if I could repeat it here, and she kindly agreed:
I came back to Northern California in the middle of the debate over the Sundial Bridge. Working for a conservative state senator I became the minority voice, on our staff and conservatives in general, for the support of the bridge. During construction I would take my lunch and park and watch as the bridge propelled itself across the river. Even then the language my lunch companions told the story of what this might mean for our community, as the diversity of the languages spoken by the visitors each passing week increased.
While most people would like to think of themselves as California Natives, most people who live here are from somewhere else. They came searching for gold, timber, rich farm and grazing land, weather and anything else that felt like a dream that could be realized. They stayed and carved out the communities that exist today and for every success there are the memories of those who fell along the way. We know the famous ones, of Donner and the parties who never made it to the California dream. Most families have tales of their own, a baby that died on the trail, or a husband lost to sickness on the journey west, great uncle killed in a mining accident and loggers who failed to conquer the tall trees.
The Sundial Bridge stands like the dream of all who came to California with the vision to seek a new life; of those who succeeded and those who, even in their failure built the communities that stand today. These communities who send their sons and daughters to war, who raise up men and women to fight the weather and the land to grow our food and forgo the charms and benefits of the urban life to build communities that never give up, even when it seems that the whole world is trying to pound them down. When I see the white spire of the Sundial Bridge rising against the backdrop of the shimmering river and green of the forested mountains, like the bones of oxen left along the trail, I see the strength and determination of the people of the West, who take so little and give back so much. I see the future and the past calling us to new visions and dreams.
My friend Craig Padilla posted this performance video of his recent composition, Challenger Deep. Please give it a view/listen.
Part of the charm comes from knowing that he created this using a modular synthesizer built by his friend and northwest micro-manufacturer, George Matson. For any synth-geeks out there, you’ll know this is a fairly minimalist hardware synthesizer setup on which to compose, in an era where mega-synths exist in software and apps. For everyone else, please simply enjoy this composing/performance of a lovely work of ambient and evocative northstate style music for what it is, by a widely regarded master of the genre.
Believe it or not, this 2014 music is available on vinyl from the artist.
So, enjoy. It’s Really Redding.
“Cemeteries are like history books you can read” say Mike Grifantini of the Shasta Historical Society. We attended his walking tour of the Redding Cemetery over the weekend.
The monuments and markers serve as a rich illustration of history. A striking example was the many Reddingites who died from the flu epidemic in 1918. That pandemic must have had a grim impact on our small town. Many lives ended that year. History made real.
It’s a place of austere beauty. A solemn reminder that all our stories come to an end.
The gentleman above lived a good life, it seems. We should all strive for such a legacy.
Meanwhile below, one of the more painful of the million ways to die in the west, a movie currently playing in Redding theaters.
It is perhaps more important to realize there are a million ways to live in the West too. That’s Really Redding.
Connections. That’s what looking at history provides. Connections to the past.
We attended the Shasta Historical Society’s walking tour of Diestelhorst Bridge yesterday.
Below, historian Mike Grifantini offers stories that help connect us all to the Diestelhorst Bridge.
The story of its origin resonated. The bridge was a project funded by forward thinking Redding civic leaders around a hundred years ago. They commissioned a leading architect of the time for its design, A.V. Spah.
The civic purpose for the bridge was to drive highway traffic through downtown Redding. If it weren’t for this bridge, traffic would have shifted east via Freebridge, and would have left Redding merchants high and dry.
Evidently, their plan worked. Redding did not dry up and fade away.
I considered the connection to another bridge in Redding, the Sundial. Now celebrating it’s 10th year. A bridge commissioned by visionary civic leaders, and designed by a leading architect. A bridge designed to drive traffic through Redding, rather than around it. Connections.
You can see the Sundial in the lower corner of the image above. Its angularity seeming to be a reflection of the trestle struts.
Forward thinking citizens. Using bridges to drive commerce, and connecting a thriving community. A plan like the bridge itself, having withstood the test of time.
It’s Really Redding.
There’s another historical walk in Redding scheduled for this evening. See what connection you may find.
Friday, May 30 is Lake Shasta Caverns 50th anniversary, and tours are 50% off all day! The photo below is me and my kids returning from a tour sometime around the 25th Anniversary. Time flies…make some memories.
The ISS has HD cameras, and offers a live feed. Here is your planet, below. Press play. Wait a bit. If black, it’s probably night for the ISS. If grey or brown, it’s switching cameras. Be patient. Sunrise comes every 45 minutes for our intrepid crew and station, so check back soon. It’s worth it. Toggle “Best” and “Fullscreen” down at the lower right for the full effect.
Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Reflecting on Earth’s surface from space in realtime, it’s always amazing to me just how thin is our atmosphere. Enjoy breathing much? Given our behavior as a species, you’d think it wasn’t all that important to us.
This is a good live feed on which to meditate. It’s Really Redding.
Edit: Here’s some great ambient music with which to view your planet.
Atmospheres 1990 by Craig Padilla and credited to Skip Murphy (me) begins after the excellent John Serrie piece. Very nice compilation. However, I am not part of this piece of music.
“Regarding that track “Atmospheres 1990″: I hadn’t met you yet. That’s a track by me and Bryan Arnold. It was also the first recording of mine that received radio airplay… DJ Ron Dare played that to open his radio show (at KCHO) before he did a big marathon of my music tapes I sent to him.
-Craig”
Funny how stuff gets around on the interwebs.
Tracklist:
0:00 – Jonn Serrie – Starmoods
15:44 – Craig Padilla & Skip Murphy – Atmospheres 1990
26:28 – Sparkle – Over The Horizon
32:20 – Bass’Flo & Ziyal – Looking Back From The Edge Of Time
39:18 – Purl & Sinius – We Don’t Belong Here
48:32 – Purl & Sinius – Blue Water (World Exclusive)
59:26 – LucienMusique – Dreamed Life
1:05:23 – Sean Mackey – New Zealand Sprawl
1:10:26 – Sunlight – The Reborn of Life
1:14:32 – Sparkle – Mountain’s Pray (ft.ECHO)
1:19:50 – Sean Mackey – Roads (ft. Lambert McGaughy)
1:25:11 – Sean Mackey – Mountain Republic (nExow Remix)
1:29:07 – CMA – Without You
1:35:06 – Sparkle – Sunrise
1:40:49 – Jacoo – Desolation
1:44:50 – Kaj – Flashback
1:48:05 – Moseqar – Daydream
1:52:55 – NVprod. – I Miss You
1:55:35 – Sparkle – Memories (ft.Samlion)
2:02:21 – Phaeleh & Clubroot – Unharmed
2:07:40 – CMA ft Sacred – Loose Ends
2:11:30 – Sparkle – Leaving Roads
2:18:38 – Jacoo – A World Of Peace
2:22:03 – Owsey – In A Decade Full Of Dreams
2:29:09 – Ambientsketchbook – Peace
2:33:42 – Ludovico Einaudi – Le Onde (Ellipsis K Remix)
2:37:41 – Ludovico Einaudi – Nuvole bianche
2:43:23 – Dub-Eden – Nord Wind
2:48:21 – Dub-Eden – Source Of Life
2:55:05 – Sparkle – Memories (ft.Samlion) (Ellipsis K Remix)
2:58:08 – Tom Day – Flemington
3:01:55 – Dub-Eden – The Last Of Us
3:07:44 – Elysian – Sent To The Skies
Here’s a new locavore treat. Salt and Savour make sauerkraut in Dunsmuir. I bought a jar recently. The first application that came to mind was a kraut hotdog.
I know I was thinking of that flaccid, pale, and vinegar driven sauerkraut. But oh no, no. This is nothing like that.
“Subtle,” says the delightful Karry. Agreed. There is a lot going on in this kraut, but it doesn’t hammer your taste buds. Instead, imagine cut grass or a street after a rainstorm. The tangy caraway blend seen here has a nice veggie crunch in each bite. Surprising.
Sauerkraut also goes really well with a pastrami on swirl rye. And hey, guacamole. It seems this jar won’t last long.
The health benefits of naturally fermented sauerkraut are well documented. Nevermind that. It tastes good. I’ve heard their product is now available in Redding at the Farmers Market on Saturday, behind city hall. Salt and Savour are on Facebook too, so give ’em a Like. Highly recommended local food.
Captured these images from a meadow off Mt Eddy, about an hour’s drive north of Redding. Very pretty.
From Wikipedia, “Dodecatheon is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. The species have basal clumps of leaves and nodding flowers that are produced at the top of tall stems rising from where the leaves join the crown. The genus is largely confined to North America and part of northeastern Siberia. Common names include shooting star, American cowslip, mosquito bills, mad violets, and sailor caps.”
Mad Violets. They’re Really Redding.
