Mountain Views News          Saturday, July 12, 2014

B2

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, Jully 12, 2014 

Jeff’s Book Picks By Jeff Brown


SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

REVIEWS: 

LUCKY BALDWIN: THE STORY OF 
AN UNCONVENTIONAL SUCCESS 

by Carl B. Glasscock 

One of the most spectacular of the 
famous California pioneers, Elias 
L. (Lucky) Baldwin’s life is truly the 
story of an unconventional success. 
Glasscock’s biography chronicles 
Baldwin’s early years in San Francisco; 
his involvement with the famous mines 
and financial giants of the Comstock; 
the building of San Fraincisco’s first 
luxury hotel and theatre and Lake Tahoe’s premier 
resort-hotel, Tallac; his numerous love affairs 
and seductions; and finally, his closing years as a 
famous Southern California land developer and 
racing enthusiast.Lucky Baldwin has been spoken 
of as ”the embodiment of the unmoral frontier” 
and this story of his life and times, written by an 
early twentieth century journalist, is a fascinating 
narrative, mixing history with yarns about people 
and places in a unique way. This classic is certain 
to be enjoyed by all who love the Old West. Old 
fashioned writing, but entertaining material.

HENRY EDWARDS HUNTINGTON: HIS LIFE 
AND COLLECTIONS by Selena A. Spurgeon

A refreshing view of the lives of Henry Edwards 
and Arabella Huntington and the institution they 
created, drawn from original documents and 
letters in the Huntington archives. Written by a 
longtime Huntington docent, the book documents 
Huntington’s business enterprises, including 
the development of the railroads in Southern 
California. It also records what we know about 
Arabella Huntington’s mysterious background and 
first marriage to Collis Huntington. 
The purchase of the ranch in 
San Marino, the subsequent 
development of the library and art 
collections, and the creation of the 
gardens are also described. A final 
chapter, ”Arrangements for the 
Future,” provides insight into the 
way the founder’s plans shaped the 
unique educational and cultural 
institution of today.

DON BENITO WILSON FROM MOUNTAIN 
MAN TO MAYOR by Nat B. Read 

Don Benito Wilson is remembered as the namesake 
of Mount Wilson, but few know he was the second 
mayor of Los Angeles, that his landholdings 
become the sites of Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Culver 
City, Riverside and more. As Captain Wilson, 
he fought to in the Mexican War of 1846-1847, 
was taken prisoner and almost executed. True to 
his roots, Wilson’s grandson, General George S. 
Patton Jr., was a warrior and statesman who was 
born to defend his homeland. Historian Read tells 
the amazing story of Don Benito, with vintage 
photos and illustrations. As a Los Angeles County 
supervisor he oversaw a Los Angeles County that 
included what is today Orange, San Bernardino 
and Kern Counties. His Wilson College was the 
predecessor of the mighty University of Southern 
California. Many of the railroads he helped bring 
to Southern California still haul freight over the 
original rights of way that he helped determine. 
Southern California will perhaps never again see a 
person who made such a mark on so many different 
fields as Don Benito Wilson.


By Sean Kayden

STRAND OF OAKS

“HEAL” is the new 
record from Timothy 
Showalter, who 
performs under the 
name Strand of Oaks. The Philadelphia native 
started the project back in 2006. This marks his 
fourth studio album. Showalter has cited Jeff 
Buckley to Richard Pryor as influences. Previous 
efforts showcased Showalter as folk singer. With 
“HEAL,” the sound is bigger and brawnier. In 
addition to his previous sound, Showalter isn’t 
writing about fictional or fantasy themes. “Heal” 
feels more autobiographical. His tumultuous 
years on the road led him to a strained marriage, 
disappointment in has last album (“Dark Shores”), 
and his own hurting. It was indeed a troubled 
time for Showalter. However, as the fourth record 
proves to be his loudest ever, its the stories here to 
be as potent as ever.

 The journey of “HEAL isn’t the easiest to 
experience. The best songs here are the slow, 
morose ones. Opener “Goshen 97” retells 
Showalter living in his parent’s basement. He sings 
about finding his dad’s old tape machine, having 
fun but was experiencing loneliness. He was also 
singing “pumpkins in the mirror,” which came at 
a time the Smashing Pumpkins were one of the 
biggest rock acts in the world.

 This song is a loud one, featuring ferocious 
guitar work by J. Mascis from Dinosaur Jr. “Shut 
In” is the best track here with beautifully bright 
guitars, reflective lyrics, and buoyant melodies. 
Then it comes down to a slow, peaceful end. “Woke 
Up To The Light” is one of the low tempo tracks 
I was referring to. Showalter is at his best when 
he strips down a slower pace, where the lyrics are 
at the forefront, and the yearning is as powerful 
as the beauty found within sound being played. 
“Plymouth”is tender as a night sky. “Sometimes I 
move like shadows. Sometimes I move like wind. 
But most days I start where I begin.” I’m sure we 
all can relate to Showalter’s plight. The bittersweet 
song is clearly about his broken heart. A lot of the 
lyrics come full circle back to this ever so common 
theme with singer/songwriters. Showalter’s 
appreciation for 70s ballads, 80s electronics, and 
90s alternative rock are all readily noticeable. His 
music has a little everything and sometimes that’s a 
good thing. While loving every track wasn’t going 
be the case, I definitely didn’t shun away from any 
tracks. The deeply layered and masterfully crafted, 
“HEAL,” will please many of those searching for 
something a bit raw, something reminiscent of an 
earlier rock sound that seems to be severely lacking 
in this current generation.

 “Wait For Love” is the closer, a fitting title 
due to Showalter’s own personal quandary with 
romance. It starts off with a mellow piano until 
it explodes into something much, much greater. 
It’s a bold, powerful, and a pure rock anthem type 
tune. In the end, “HEAL” has a lot to offer, even if 
everything being offered isn’t what you’re always 
looking for. A lyric, a track, a particular beat will 
appeal to you in some way. I’m not saying this is 
album to mend any broken hearts or allowing one 
to discovery their own journey through the eyes 
of another. But Strand Of Oaks’ “HEAL” is dark, 
personal and surprisingly cautiously optimistic. 
The name of the album is in all caps and it’s more 
of a shout than just another carelessly dismissed 
title. I’m not saying it can fully do the trick, but if 
you’re in need of healing, you might want to look 
no further.

Grade: 7.1 out of 10

Key Tracks: “Shut In,” “Woke Up To The Light,” 
“Plymouth,” “Wait For Me”

Artist: Strand Of Oaks

Album: HEAL

Label: Dead Oceans

Release 

Date: June 24th, 2014


THE WORLD AROUND US

 


ATHENA OBSERVATORY TO PENETRATE X-RAY UNIVERSE

 
If a lot of us on Earth feel baffled by simply how 
to survive the next 24 hours, space scientists are 
taking a longer view—way out to the year 2028.

 That’s when the European Space Agency 
(ESA) plans to launch the Athena orbiting X-ray 
Observatory as its second ‘large-class’ science 
mission in the 21st century. Athena will be the 
largest X-ray telescope ever built, with a 120-inch 
diameter X-ray mirror.

 It will observe the X-ray emission from 
material swallowed by black holes just before it 
disappears, providing vital information about 
the extreme gravitational environment around 
the black hole and the spin of the block hole itself. 
This will allow for a greater understanding of 
how black holes grow and the vital role they play 
in the formation and evolution of the universe.

 Observing the universe’s radiation at the 
extreme short-wave end of the electromagnetic 
spectrum, ESA’s Athena X-ray Observatory will 
have capabilities matching NASA’s James Webb 
Telescope, which is designed to detect near-
infrared light at the long-wave end of the visible 
spectrum. Between them, these space telescopes 
will vastly improve our ability to learn about two 
kinds of objects undreamed of just a few decades 
ago—black holes and exoplanets.

ARCHAEO-ASTRONOMY STEPS OUT FROM 
SHADOWS OF THE PAST

 While most astronomers may be looking 
toward outer space and the far future, others 
are turning their gaze to the distant past. This 
week, a developing field of research that merges 
astronomical techniques with the study of 
ancient man-made features and the surrounding 
landscapes is being highlighted at the National 
Astronomy Meeting (NAM) 2014 in Portsmouth, 
UK. From the “Crystal Pathway” that links stone 
circles on Cornwall’s Bodmin Moor to star-
aligned megaliths in central Portugal, archaeo-
astronomers are finding evidence that Neolithic 
and Bronze Age people were acute observers of 
the Sun, as well as the Moon and stars, and that 
they embedded astronomical references within 
their local landscapes.

 “There’s more to archaeo-astronomy 
than Stonehenge,” says Dr. Daniel Brown 
of Nottingham Trent University, who will 
present updates on his work on the 4,000-year-
old astronomically aligned standing stone 
at Gardom’s Edge in the UK’s Peak District. 
“Modern archaeo-astronomy encompasses many 
other research areas such as anthropology and 
ethno-astronomy.”

 In response to this more cross-fertilized 
approach, some researchers are proposing to 
rename the field “skyscape archaeology.” Dr. 
Fabio Silva, co-editor of the recently established 
Journal for Skyscape Archaeology, says, “We 
have much to gain if the fields of astronomy and 
archaeology come together to a fuller and more 
balanced understanding of European megaliths 
and the societies that built them.

 Silva’s studies of European megaliths focus 
on 6,000-year-old winter occupation sites and 
megalithic structures in the Mondego Valley 
in central Portugal. He has found that the 
entrance corridors of all passage graves in a given 
necropolis are aligned with the seasonal rising 
over nearby mountains of the star Aldebaran, 
the brightest star of Taurus. This link between 
the appearance of the star in springtime and 
the mountains where the dolmen builders 
would have spent their summers has echoes in 
local folklore about how the Serra da Estrela or 
‘Mountain Range of the Star’ received its name 
from a Mondego Valley shepherd and his dog 
following a star.

 Brian Sheen and Gary Cutts of the Roseland 
Observatory have worked together with Jacky 
Nowakowski, of Cornwall Council’s Historic 
Environment Service, to explore an important 
Bronze Age astro-landscape extending over 
several square miles on Bodmin Moor in 
Cornwall. At its heart lie Britain’s only triple 
stone circles, The Hurlers, of which two are linked 
by the 4,000-year-old granite pavement, dubbed 
the Crystal Pathway. The team has confirmed 
that Bronze Age inhabitants used a calendar 
controlled by the movements of the Sun. The four 
cardinal points are marked together with the 
solstices and equinoxes.

You can contact Bob Eklund at: b.eklund@
MtnViewsNews.com.