Xark!

Merry Xmas, Mom

My mother, Joyce, was raised in little Eldora, Iowa, but her family moved to Florida when she was about 13. In November, my travels took me within two hours of Hardin County, where our family once had deep roots, and so on Nov. 7 I toured the area with my camera. This Flickr photo set and this annotated Google map are the result, and it's my Christmas present to my mom for 2009.

Love you, Mom. I hope this feels like taking a little trip back home.

View Nov. 7, 2009 tour of Eldora in a larger map

Why we're not blogging here

Today my mother wrote to see if we were OK, because we haven't been blogging much. This, then, is the 21st century: "Now be sure to eat right. And wear clean underwear and a nice hat. And be sure to blog every day."

In fact, the reason we're not blogging much at Xark is because Janet and I are blogging/vlogging and podcasting our collective asses off at SpoletoToday 2008. Janet's in charge this year, which means her dream has finally come true: She gets to tell me what to do, and I have to do it.

Here are the videos I've put up so far...

Monkey: Journey to the Grocery Store

Monkey: Journey to the Grocery Store from Dan Conover on Vimeo.

The second (better) Amistad video

Amistad: Race, art, history and opera from Dan Conover on Vimeo.

Images of the road

So we're back from our tour of the Deep South: 7 days, 6 states and plenty of gas ($3.17 a gallon in Alabama).  I've taken some of my photographs and put them in a gallery. There was snow and cool architecture and plenty of new ideas and new friends. Check it out if you have time.

Sweetness overload

I'm not going to put these on the front, because ... well, just because. And they're not new: They hit Digg big last year, apparently. But these shots of a deer and a rabbit, photographed by Canadian photographer Tanja Askani of Alberta, Canada, do seem to be saying something about companionship. It's the holidays and we're bombarded by maudlin marketing crap, so I don't want to hit you with something else kitschy, but if you're in the mood for it, or just in dire need of it... (Thanks to Patricia Anthony for the e-mail forward)

Tankboy

Found whilst putting together a package of photos for some old friends from Germany...

That's me driving Charlie-Three-Four,  rolling back into Christiansen Barracks (Bindlach, FRG), after six weeks at our border camp, circa 1985...

Breathtaking African photography

I just found this one via the magic of Stumbleupon: A gallery of black and white photography by someone named Nick Brandt. I love black and white, and these are masterful images.

Photo: Elephants & Egrets After Storm, Amboseli 2007

Think Warm Thoughts

News outlets are reporting that Hillary Clinton has unveiled her plans for national health care. I don't know many of the details, but if the picture accompanying the story is anything to go by, it looks as though they are planning on keeping costs down by offering low tech colonoscopy exams for everyone!

Think healthy, people.

World's Ugliest Dog, redux...

Here's Elwood, the reigning "World's Ugliest Dog." He's ... just...

Damn.

(Associated Press photo)

St. Patrick's Day Parade, Charleston

Photos by Luke Conover.

John Sloop: Now & then

Professor John Sloop, Chez Xark, 2007.

Honors student John Sloop, Coffey Hall, 1982.