By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — Spring is finally officially here, and our thoughts turn, not so lightly, to … cleaning supplies?
No matter how lightly you take it the rest of the year, there’s something about the advent of spring that weighs heavily on the average woman’s conscience.
At least, women of a certain age. I think most of us who are Boomers and beyond grew up in households with moms who were spring cleaning fanatics.
They may not have actually vacuumed and dusted attired in crisp shirtwaist dresses, high heels and pearls, like TV stars Donna Reed and Harriet Nelson — and Barbara Billingsley and Jane Wyatt, the moms in “Leave it To Beaver” and “Father Knows Best.”
But they saw it as a realistic and admirable goal, and never could quite understand why we found it so silly.
I thought it might be a Midwestern syndrome, but I’ve found the spring cleaning compulsions hit me every year in March, even in high desert country, when it’s the worst possible time for major cleaning.
It probably makes sense to deep clean in other parts of the county, when the snows are melting and combining with April showers to wash everything clean. You can wash the curtains and hang them outdoors on lines with the rugs, throw open the windows and refresh everything with fragrant spring breezes.
Here, however, instead of fragrant breezes, we have ferocious, dust-laden winds.
And if you’re new to the region, and still think the winds and occasional half-hearted droplets of rain have any scouring and cleaning potential …
Well, just take a look at your car after a stint in a spring storm, one of the rare ones that yields a bit of moisture. It’ll end up polka-dotted with gray-brown dust, the sticky kind.
And our ubiquitous, sticky dust is the main reason to skip, or at least delay, spring cleaning marathons.
I learned the hard way. My first year, I did it all. I scrubbed the tiles and rugs, waxed the floors, washed the blinds and curtains and even washed and polished all the windows, inside and out.
The next day, the first of the spring storms started, with a little bit of rain, winds that reminded me of my last hurricane-filled years in Florida, and dust, lots and lots of dust.
Dust that spotted my gleaming windows. Dust that creeps in, like poet Carl Sandburg’s Chicago fog, on little cat feet … and small grandchild feet and big adult feet.
Dust that also seeps through the best insulated door and window frames. Dust that sticks with peanut-butter-to-roof-of-the-mouth tenacity to just about everything, even the blades of fans you turn on in every room, hoping to drive it away.
It also makes people crabby, and in concert with desert blooms, aggravates our spring allergies.
But in my more cheerful moments, I try to remember that we have it better than many places I’ve lived. The winds really are not as bad as the Florida hurricanes or the Midwestern tornadoes and snowmelt floods. And the dust isn’t anywhere near as sticky, irritating and voluminous as the volcanic ash that buried us in the Pacific Northwest, when Mount St. Helens erupted.
The sensible thing is to move our megacleaning events to a calmer season, like summer or winter.
But old habits die hard and when I was notified of a spontaneous spring visit, my instincts were still to pull out all the stops and get back into the full-tilt spring cleaning mode that seems hardwired in my DNA.
Then I remembered my patina philosophy.
So I may run the vacuum, change the sheets, polish a mirror or two and flick a dust cloth here and there, just to keep my hand in.
Then, I’ll explain to my guests that what they are seeing is not dust, but a fine, weathered patina I’m cultivating, a patina that is prized by Santa Fe snobs and top decorators throughout the Southwest.
Or, for now at least, that’s my story and I‘m sticking to it.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Organic Easter
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — This year, I’m in the mood for a minimalist, low-impact, labor un-intensive Easter.
Homemade is usually earth-friendly and it’s also the least expensive way to go in tough economic times.
It may also be the most fun, and the best way to generate fond memories that last a generation.
I’ve been touched, and privileged, over my years in Las Cruces to witness some wonderful traditions, like watching viejos and viejas share the techniques of making traditional palmas, used in Palm Sunday services, with younger generations at Tortugas Pueblo.
Philly Dickson told me how much it meant to her to share those experiences as a young girl, and in all the years since.
She’ll miss the friendly, creative gatherings this year, because of a health issue, “But I’ll be there in spirit, and somehow, no matter what, enough people always seem to show up to get everything done,” she said.
Some Las Crucens go with more contemporary ideas, but that homemade spirit is still what they’re after.
When I was talking to Rhoda Mitchell for today’s story, she told me about some unique eggs she made with her kids.
“I would draw little cartoon characters, Pocahontas and other Disney characters, on their eggs. One year, we had all the NFL teams on eggs,” she said.
But there were never any prefab Easter baskets. It’s a family tradition to pick out all the treats and assemble custom candy and treat assortments for the kids, one year, in a little red wagon for each child, “and then the Easter bunny leaves them, like Santa Claus,” she said.
That’s how it was in my house, too.
Every year, mom would show us how to blow the gooey contents out of eggs, which we’d save for scrambled eggs or a quiche. It was not an easy task. Most years, if I remember right, we’d max out at about two apiece and then we’d decide to move on and dye the hard-boiled eggs.
I remember the dye pellets and powders and little decals and crayons. The results were never quite as impressive as the pictures on the little Easter kits. But we were very proud.
And we relished the leftover purple and pink and green and yellow deviled eggs, to snack on for days after the Easter feast, kind of a kiddy version of a St. Paddy’s day green beer blast. The eggs were almost as delicious as the first bite of your chocolate bunny’s eartips and as satisfying as consuming a hoarded stock of your favorite color of jelly beans. (I was partial to the minty green ones.)
I’ve wondered how a perfumer would sum up the aromas of an American Easter: ham, hard-cooked eggs, slightly stale candy, hot cross buns and fresh spring flowers and new grass. Irresistible.
But the true meaning of Easter does not elude childhood perceptions. Some of my first vivid memories of church ceremonies are indelibly joined with the traditions and displays: Easter lilies, the little Sunday School lessons and pledge envelopes with crosses, waving the palms we made out of green crepe paper ...
The crucifixion was a vital and necessary part of the sermons, lessons and passion plays, but somehow, in those kinder, gentler, pre-Mel Gibson “Passion of the Christ” days, the focus seemed to be on the hopeful, palm-waving preludes and the triumphant resurrection, rather than the crucial but gory and heartbreaking second act.
I thought about that as an adult one Caribbean spring, on a ship off the shores of Granada, as I watched their traditional Easter kite flying rites, symbolizing Christ’s ascension to Heaven.
I like the eggs and the bunnies. But if I had to hard-boil it down to the crucial elements of Easter for myself and my loved ones, I think I’d go with a crucial trinity of symbols: the palms, the crosses and the kites.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — This year, I’m in the mood for a minimalist, low-impact, labor un-intensive Easter.
Homemade is usually earth-friendly and it’s also the least expensive way to go in tough economic times.
It may also be the most fun, and the best way to generate fond memories that last a generation.
I’ve been touched, and privileged, over my years in Las Cruces to witness some wonderful traditions, like watching viejos and viejas share the techniques of making traditional palmas, used in Palm Sunday services, with younger generations at Tortugas Pueblo.
Philly Dickson told me how much it meant to her to share those experiences as a young girl, and in all the years since.
She’ll miss the friendly, creative gatherings this year, because of a health issue, “But I’ll be there in spirit, and somehow, no matter what, enough people always seem to show up to get everything done,” she said.
Some Las Crucens go with more contemporary ideas, but that homemade spirit is still what they’re after.
When I was talking to Rhoda Mitchell for today’s story, she told me about some unique eggs she made with her kids.
“I would draw little cartoon characters, Pocahontas and other Disney characters, on their eggs. One year, we had all the NFL teams on eggs,” she said.
But there were never any prefab Easter baskets. It’s a family tradition to pick out all the treats and assemble custom candy and treat assortments for the kids, one year, in a little red wagon for each child, “and then the Easter bunny leaves them, like Santa Claus,” she said.
That’s how it was in my house, too.
Every year, mom would show us how to blow the gooey contents out of eggs, which we’d save for scrambled eggs or a quiche. It was not an easy task. Most years, if I remember right, we’d max out at about two apiece and then we’d decide to move on and dye the hard-boiled eggs.
I remember the dye pellets and powders and little decals and crayons. The results were never quite as impressive as the pictures on the little Easter kits. But we were very proud.
And we relished the leftover purple and pink and green and yellow deviled eggs, to snack on for days after the Easter feast, kind of a kiddy version of a St. Paddy’s day green beer blast. The eggs were almost as delicious as the first bite of your chocolate bunny’s eartips and as satisfying as consuming a hoarded stock of your favorite color of jelly beans. (I was partial to the minty green ones.)
I’ve wondered how a perfumer would sum up the aromas of an American Easter: ham, hard-cooked eggs, slightly stale candy, hot cross buns and fresh spring flowers and new grass. Irresistible.
But the true meaning of Easter does not elude childhood perceptions. Some of my first vivid memories of church ceremonies are indelibly joined with the traditions and displays: Easter lilies, the little Sunday School lessons and pledge envelopes with crosses, waving the palms we made out of green crepe paper ...
The crucifixion was a vital and necessary part of the sermons, lessons and passion plays, but somehow, in those kinder, gentler, pre-Mel Gibson “Passion of the Christ” days, the focus seemed to be on the hopeful, palm-waving preludes and the triumphant resurrection, rather than the crucial but gory and heartbreaking second act.
I thought about that as an adult one Caribbean spring, on a ship off the shores of Granada, as I watched their traditional Easter kite flying rites, symbolizing Christ’s ascension to Heaven.
I like the eggs and the bunnies. But if I had to hard-boil it down to the crucial elements of Easter for myself and my loved ones, I think I’d go with a crucial trinity of symbols: the palms, the crosses and the kites.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Artistic talent spans generations in the Mesilla Valley
Artistic talent spans generations in the Mesilla Valley
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — For the Love of Art Month is officially over for 2010, but every day is prime time for art lovers and artists in this region, where art seems to be in our DNA.
I’ve lived here long enough, now, to know several generations of artists from the same families.
As it happened, this February was an especially vivid reminder of our gifted residents.
I had a chance to catch up with Carolyn Bunch, whose portraits of Borderland women have established a distinctive style and influenced generations of artists who were lucky enough to have her as a teacher, first in regional schools and in later years in her studio classes in the galleries she ran with her husband, Henry Bunch.
She’s also the mom of Tony Pennock, whose water tank murals have set another style trend, maybe even qualifying our region as the imaginative historic water tank mural capital of the world.
Tony’s kids are also helping to carry on the tradition. His son Myles, 22, recently helped Tony complete his latest mural near the site of the old Las Cruces landfill.
And there’s a multigenerational performing arts dynasty or two in the works, too. Tony Award-winning playwright and filmmakaer Mark Medoff and his wife Stephanie have some talented kids and grandkids who have shown up in stage and screen roles. Their daughter, opera singer Jessica Medoff Bunchman, continues to win awards and rave reviews from the likes of the New York Times. She’s based in New York and tours in a cabaret act she created with her pianist husband Michael Bunchman.
Also a hit in the Big Apple is nationally renowned concert pianist Jeremy Denk, who may have gotten some of his dramatic flair from his dad, Joe Denk, a frequent star in local theatrical productions.
The multitalented Divens, singer-songwriter-musician-playwrght- artist Bob, his brothers, physician-author Ben and photographer Jack, all grew up in Las Cruces with the late, great William Diven, a teacher and author whose winning credits included a singing triumph on the “Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour,” in its day a kind of precursor of “American Idol.”
Sometimes the artistic talent manifests itself in new ways. Playwright, educator and Alma d’arte/Court Youth Center cofounder Irene Oliver-Lewis grew up with talented fashion designer mom Cecilia and dad Fred Oliver, nationally known for his furniture and architectural skills.
And they’re related to a whole clan of talented primos y primas (cousins) that includes national award-winning writer Denise Chávez, artists Fred Chilton and Beverly Chávez-Floyd.
There are enough visual, performing and literary artists to festoon every branch of a very creative tree … or maybe a grove or small forest.
I keep meaning to do a chart, in fact, like one I attempted some years ago while visiting the New Mexico home base, in San Patricio, of the Hurd-Wyeth tribe, which includes famed artists Andrew, Jamie and Henriette Wyeth and Peter and Michael Hurd … and many other talented primos.
When the Doña Ana Arts Council’s CAP (Career Art Path) kids exhibit the creations each summer, I always seem to find some familiar names and faces, like the kids of Olin Calk, the sculptor-educator who created our city’s signature giant roadrunner.
And there’s lots more young talent burgeoning in the creative groves: poets, painters, novelists, playwrights, dancers, singers, musicians, actors, multimedia artists …
Is it the water or the DNA or some magical high desert creative alchemy?
Spring is prime time to check out new talent at exhibits and performances, from NMSU to local schools, theaters and galleries.
Go exploring. You might discover the latest talent in a fecund family, or the beginning of a whole new creative dynasty.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — For the Love of Art Month is officially over for 2010, but every day is prime time for art lovers and artists in this region, where art seems to be in our DNA.
I’ve lived here long enough, now, to know several generations of artists from the same families.
As it happened, this February was an especially vivid reminder of our gifted residents.
I had a chance to catch up with Carolyn Bunch, whose portraits of Borderland women have established a distinctive style and influenced generations of artists who were lucky enough to have her as a teacher, first in regional schools and in later years in her studio classes in the galleries she ran with her husband, Henry Bunch.
She’s also the mom of Tony Pennock, whose water tank murals have set another style trend, maybe even qualifying our region as the imaginative historic water tank mural capital of the world.
Tony’s kids are also helping to carry on the tradition. His son Myles, 22, recently helped Tony complete his latest mural near the site of the old Las Cruces landfill.
And there’s a multigenerational performing arts dynasty or two in the works, too. Tony Award-winning playwright and filmmakaer Mark Medoff and his wife Stephanie have some talented kids and grandkids who have shown up in stage and screen roles. Their daughter, opera singer Jessica Medoff Bunchman, continues to win awards and rave reviews from the likes of the New York Times. She’s based in New York and tours in a cabaret act she created with her pianist husband Michael Bunchman.
Also a hit in the Big Apple is nationally renowned concert pianist Jeremy Denk, who may have gotten some of his dramatic flair from his dad, Joe Denk, a frequent star in local theatrical productions.
The multitalented Divens, singer-songwriter-musician-playwrght- artist Bob, his brothers, physician-author Ben and photographer Jack, all grew up in Las Cruces with the late, great William Diven, a teacher and author whose winning credits included a singing triumph on the “Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour,” in its day a kind of precursor of “American Idol.”
Sometimes the artistic talent manifests itself in new ways. Playwright, educator and Alma d’arte/Court Youth Center cofounder Irene Oliver-Lewis grew up with talented fashion designer mom Cecilia and dad Fred Oliver, nationally known for his furniture and architectural skills.
And they’re related to a whole clan of talented primos y primas (cousins) that includes national award-winning writer Denise Chávez, artists Fred Chilton and Beverly Chávez-Floyd.
There are enough visual, performing and literary artists to festoon every branch of a very creative tree … or maybe a grove or small forest.
I keep meaning to do a chart, in fact, like one I attempted some years ago while visiting the New Mexico home base, in San Patricio, of the Hurd-Wyeth tribe, which includes famed artists Andrew, Jamie and Henriette Wyeth and Peter and Michael Hurd … and many other talented primos.
When the Doña Ana Arts Council’s CAP (Career Art Path) kids exhibit the creations each summer, I always seem to find some familiar names and faces, like the kids of Olin Calk, the sculptor-educator who created our city’s signature giant roadrunner.
And there’s lots more young talent burgeoning in the creative groves: poets, painters, novelists, playwrights, dancers, singers, musicians, actors, multimedia artists …
Is it the water or the DNA or some magical high desert creative alchemy?
Spring is prime time to check out new talent at exhibits and performances, from NMSU to local schools, theaters and galleries.
Go exploring. You might discover the latest talent in a fecund family, or the beginning of a whole new creative dynasty.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450
Artistic talent spans generations in the Mesilla Valley
Artistic talent spans generations in the Mesilla Valley
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — For the Love of Art Month is officially over for 2010, but every day is prime time for art lovers and artists in this region, where art seems to be in our DNA.
I’ve lived here long enough, now, to know several generations of artists from the same families.
As it happened, this February was an especially vivid reminder of our gifted residents.
I had a chance to catch up with Carolyn Bunch, whose portraits of Borderland women have established a distinctive style and influenced generations of artists who were lucky enough to have her as a teacher, first in regional schools and in later years in her studio classes in the galleries she ran with her husband, Henry Bunch.
She’s also the mom of Tony Pennock, whose water tank murals have set another style trend, maybe even qualifying our region as the imaginative historic water tank mural capital of the world.
Tony’s kids are also helping to carry on the tradition. His son Myles, 22, recently helped Tony complete his latest mural near the site of the old Las Cruces landfill.
And there’s a multigenerational performing arts dynasty or two in the works, too. Tony Award-winning playwright and filmmakaer Mark Medoff and his wife Stephanie have some talented kids and grandkids who have shown up in stage and screen roles. Their daughter, opera singer Jessica Medoff Bunchman, continues to win awards and rave reviews from the likes of the New York Times. She’s based in New York and tours in a cabaret act she created with her pianist husband Michael Bunchman.
Also a hit in the Big Apple is nationally renowned concert pianist Jeremy Denk, who may have gotten some of his dramatic flair from his dad, Joe Denk, a frequent star in local theatrical productions.
The multitalented Divens, singer-songwriter-musician-playwrght- artist Bob, his brothers, physician-author Ben and photographer Jack, all grew up in Las Cruces with the late, great William Diven, a teacher and author whose winning credits included a singing triumph on the “Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour,” in its day a kind of precursor of “American Idol.”
Sometimes the artistic talent manifests itself in new ways. Playwright, educator and Alma d’arte/Court Youth Center cofounder Irene Oliver-Lewis grew up with talented fashion designer mom Cecilia and dad Fred Oliver, nationally known for his furniture and architectural skills.
And they’re related to a whole clan of talented primos y primas (cousins) that includes national award-winning writer Denise Chávez, artists Fred Chilton and Beverly Chávez-Floyd.
There are enough visual, performing and literary artists to festoon every branch of a very creative tree … or maybe a grove or small forest.
I keep meaning to do a chart, in fact, like one I attempted some years ago while visiting the New Mexico home base, in San Patricio, of the Hurd-Wyeth tribe, which includes famed artists Andrew, Jamie and Henriette Wyeth and Peter and Michael Hurd … and many other talented primos.
When the Doña Ana Arts Council’s CAP (Career Art Path) kids exhibit the creations each summer, I always seem to find some familiar names and faces, like the kids of Olin Calk, the sculptor-educator who created our city’s signature giant roadrunner.
And there’s lots more young talent burgeoning in the creative groves: poets, painters, novelists, playwrights, dancers, singers, musicians, actors, multimedia artists …
Is it the water or the DNA or some magical high desert creative alchemy?
Spring is prime time to check out new talent at exhibits and performances, from NMSU to local schools, theaters and galleries.
Go exploring. You might discover the latest talent in a fecund family, or the beginning of a whole new creative dynasty.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — For the Love of Art Month is officially over for 2010, but every day is prime time for art lovers and artists in this region, where art seems to be in our DNA.
I’ve lived here long enough, now, to know several generations of artists from the same families.
As it happened, this February was an especially vivid reminder of our gifted residents.
I had a chance to catch up with Carolyn Bunch, whose portraits of Borderland women have established a distinctive style and influenced generations of artists who were lucky enough to have her as a teacher, first in regional schools and in later years in her studio classes in the galleries she ran with her husband, Henry Bunch.
She’s also the mom of Tony Pennock, whose water tank murals have set another style trend, maybe even qualifying our region as the imaginative historic water tank mural capital of the world.
Tony’s kids are also helping to carry on the tradition. His son Myles, 22, recently helped Tony complete his latest mural near the site of the old Las Cruces landfill.
And there’s a multigenerational performing arts dynasty or two in the works, too. Tony Award-winning playwright and filmmakaer Mark Medoff and his wife Stephanie have some talented kids and grandkids who have shown up in stage and screen roles. Their daughter, opera singer Jessica Medoff Bunchman, continues to win awards and rave reviews from the likes of the New York Times. She’s based in New York and tours in a cabaret act she created with her pianist husband Michael Bunchman.
Also a hit in the Big Apple is nationally renowned concert pianist Jeremy Denk, who may have gotten some of his dramatic flair from his dad, Joe Denk, a frequent star in local theatrical productions.
The multitalented Divens, singer-songwriter-musician-playwrght- artist Bob, his brothers, physician-author Ben and photographer Jack, all grew up in Las Cruces with the late, great William Diven, a teacher and author whose winning credits included a singing triumph on the “Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour,” in its day a kind of precursor of “American Idol.”
Sometimes the artistic talent manifests itself in new ways. Playwright, educator and Alma d’arte/Court Youth Center cofounder Irene Oliver-Lewis grew up with talented fashion designer mom Cecilia and dad Fred Oliver, nationally known for his furniture and architectural skills.
And they’re related to a whole clan of talented primos y primas (cousins) that includes national award-winning writer Denise Chávez, artists Fred Chilton and Beverly Chávez-Floyd.
There are enough visual, performing and literary artists to festoon every branch of a very creative tree … or maybe a grove or small forest.
I keep meaning to do a chart, in fact, like one I attempted some years ago while visiting the New Mexico home base, in San Patricio, of the Hurd-Wyeth tribe, which includes famed artists Andrew, Jamie and Henriette Wyeth and Peter and Michael Hurd … and many other talented primos.
When the Doña Ana Arts Council’s CAP (Career Art Path) kids exhibit the creations each summer, I always seem to find some familiar names and faces, like the kids of Olin Calk, the sculptor-educator who created our city’s signature giant roadrunner.
And there’s lots more young talent burgeoning in the creative groves: poets, painters, novelists, playwrights, dancers, singers, musicians, actors, multimedia artists …
Is it the water or the DNA or some magical high desert creative alchemy?
Spring is prime time to check out new talent at exhibits and performances, from NMSU to local schools, theaters and galleries.
Go exploring. You might discover the latest talent in a fecund family, or the beginning of a whole new creative dynasty.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
My Pluto Files
ONLINE EXTRA: For a link to the latest information on the New Horizons Pluto probe, go to http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/
To see some of the latest pictures of Pluto, go to www. lcsun-news.com and click on the Las Cruces Style column column.
Tune in
Watch: “The Pluto Files” on science series NOVA
What: Documentary on Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh’s life journey
When: 7 p.m. MST Tuesday on KRWG, Comcast Cable 2
View the entire program online beginning Wednesday March 3 at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pluto/
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — Ah, Pluto. Full-fledged or dwarf, it’s the planet we love, and we aren’t alone.
We also love its discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh. And we have company there, too, I learned when I did a story about the upcoming show on the beloved little heavenly body and the equally beloved farmboy-turned-astronomer who discovered it.
“The Pluto Files,” will air on NOVA, the PBS science series, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, locally on KRWG. It’s hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was one of the ringleaders in the effort to demote Pluto to dwarf planet status.
Tyson was naturally a little wary of the reception when he came to film the show in Las Cruces and met Tombaugh’s widow Patricia and many of the Tombaugh clan, including Clyde’s son Alden and daughter Annette.
Tyson seemed surprised that they gave him a warm welcome, fed him and shared stories.
“That has got to be the friendliest family I have ever spent time with in my life. I learned how friendly people can be, even in times of intellectual conflict.”
It was clearly a fun experience for the Tombaugh clan, too.
“My grandson, Kyle Clifford, plays Clyde for the re-enactment of Pluto's discovery at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.,” said Annette, who adds that Kyle is “similar in many ways” to her dad, who was 24 when he discovered Pluto.
“I'm 23 now and I was 22 back in September when they filmed the part of the show that I'm in,” Kyle said in an e-mail from his current home in Silver Spring, Md.
“It was a great experience to get to portray my great-grandfather in the show. I learned a lot that I didn't know before about the processes involved in the discovery of Pluto, and how difficult and tedious some of the work was. The people putting the show together were very nice and great to work with. The staff at the Lowell observatory were also extremely nice and welcoming. They invited me back to the observatory after we were finished filming and I got to look through several of the telescopes they have there,” Kyle said.
While we’re at it, let’s update our own Pluto files. Many of you will remember that Clyde’s ashes are on the New Horizons probe, which was launched in 2006.
“The probe will arrive at Pluto on July 14, 2015. Mom (Patricia) is determined to stay around for the occasion. She'll be 103 when the probe arrives at Pluto,” said Annette, who invites us all to keep track of the epic journey at http://pluto.jhuapl.edu
I also heard from Steve Hussman, department head for Archives and Special Collections at NMSU Library.
“Clyde Tombaugh’s papers are housed in the New Mexico State University Archives and Special Collections Department and offer a tremendous resource for research and interest both on the subjects of astronomy and Pluto, as well as a number of other subjects,” Hussman said.
Look online at http://archives.nmsu.edu/exhibits/tombaugh_website/index.htm
“The collection of papers contains some 200 linear feet of materials, including over 1,000 photographic images, oral histories and professional papers highlighting Clyde’s life and extensive professional accomplishments,” Hussman said.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
To see some of the latest pictures of Pluto, go to www. lcsun-news.com and click on the Las Cruces Style column column.
Tune in
Watch: “The Pluto Files” on science series NOVA
What: Documentary on Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh’s life journey
When: 7 p.m. MST Tuesday on KRWG, Comcast Cable 2
View the entire program online beginning Wednesday March 3 at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pluto/
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — Ah, Pluto. Full-fledged or dwarf, it’s the planet we love, and we aren’t alone.
We also love its discoverer, Clyde Tombaugh. And we have company there, too, I learned when I did a story about the upcoming show on the beloved little heavenly body and the equally beloved farmboy-turned-astronomer who discovered it.
“The Pluto Files,” will air on NOVA, the PBS science series, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, locally on KRWG. It’s hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was one of the ringleaders in the effort to demote Pluto to dwarf planet status.
Tyson was naturally a little wary of the reception when he came to film the show in Las Cruces and met Tombaugh’s widow Patricia and many of the Tombaugh clan, including Clyde’s son Alden and daughter Annette.
Tyson seemed surprised that they gave him a warm welcome, fed him and shared stories.
“That has got to be the friendliest family I have ever spent time with in my life. I learned how friendly people can be, even in times of intellectual conflict.”
It was clearly a fun experience for the Tombaugh clan, too.
“My grandson, Kyle Clifford, plays Clyde for the re-enactment of Pluto's discovery at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.,” said Annette, who adds that Kyle is “similar in many ways” to her dad, who was 24 when he discovered Pluto.
“I'm 23 now and I was 22 back in September when they filmed the part of the show that I'm in,” Kyle said in an e-mail from his current home in Silver Spring, Md.
“It was a great experience to get to portray my great-grandfather in the show. I learned a lot that I didn't know before about the processes involved in the discovery of Pluto, and how difficult and tedious some of the work was. The people putting the show together were very nice and great to work with. The staff at the Lowell observatory were also extremely nice and welcoming. They invited me back to the observatory after we were finished filming and I got to look through several of the telescopes they have there,” Kyle said.
While we’re at it, let’s update our own Pluto files. Many of you will remember that Clyde’s ashes are on the New Horizons probe, which was launched in 2006.
“The probe will arrive at Pluto on July 14, 2015. Mom (Patricia) is determined to stay around for the occasion. She'll be 103 when the probe arrives at Pluto,” said Annette, who invites us all to keep track of the epic journey at http://pluto.jhuapl.edu
I also heard from Steve Hussman, department head for Archives and Special Collections at NMSU Library.
“Clyde Tombaugh’s papers are housed in the New Mexico State University Archives and Special Collections Department and offer a tremendous resource for research and interest both on the subjects of astronomy and Pluto, as well as a number of other subjects,” Hussman said.
Look online at http://archives.nmsu.edu/exhibits/tombaugh_website/index.htm
“The collection of papers contains some 200 linear feet of materials, including over 1,000 photographic images, oral histories and professional papers highlighting Clyde’s life and extensive professional accomplishments,” Hussman said.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Things to ponder
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — I’ve been reflecting on new starts, philosophical dilemmas and the great mysteries of the universe.
Here are some things to ponder in your spare time.
• Early one recent morning, a small boy and his mom were heading to the bus stop as I was leaving for work. I heard her laughing.
“He just asked me, ‘What’s the biggest number before infinity?’” she explained.
It’s something I’d never considered, but when I Googled the question, there were 4,070,000 hits.
Several sources suggested it was an apples and oranges kind of thing and there is no correct answer because a number is a number and infinity is a concept.
We pondered the question in the newsroom and the most satisfying answer, I thought, came from Richard Coltharp, father of a bright and inquisitive small child himself.
The next time I spotted them at the neighborhood bus stop, I shouted Richard’s answer to the mom and son: “Infinity, minus one!”
• The team at SPI (Southwest Paranormal Investigations) let us know they’re getting ready to check out possible paranormal activity at two vintage downtown buildings that once housed the old Amador Hotel and an old hospital.
The Land of Enchantment has always been a spirit-filled place, and in recent years, there has been a boom in ghost hunters, ghost busters and paranormal investigators determined to mix it up with other realms.
I’ve listened to a lot of testimonials about spooks that lurk in all kinds of places, from an elegant dining room at The Double Eagle and crumbling enclaves in remote villages to hotels and Big Ditch Park in Silver City.
At some point, as earnest seekers searched for images on grainy film, or a possible message in an amplified audio loop, it occurred to me that the creatures they were attempting to contact were sometimes the kinds of souls (living or dead) one would do one’s best to escape swiftly, were they to materialize and start blathering at the average cocktail party.
With the exception of possible angelic or other divine communications, I confess that I’m basically of the “go toward the light” school, when it comes to communicating with lost souls and wayward spirits.
I think we can sum up our best advice in three little words: “Get an afterlife!”
• Facebook aspires to create greater communication and foster intimacy with our loved ones near and far.
But sometimes, the limits of cyberspace are emphasized in laugh-out-loud ways.
Consider this formulaic query, for instance: “Sally Swartz recently became friends with Tom Derrickson and thinks you may know Tom, too.”
I do. In fact we were very close for many decades before Facebook was invented. Sally’s my sister and Tom is our brother.
• We have American Indian lineage in the family tree and American Indian amigos and philosophers with whom we ponder such questions as “Why are we here?” and “Where are we going?” “Where did we come from?”
Some of the New Agers in the tribe hold with Edgar Cayce’s reading that ancient Atlantis was the source of America’s Pre-Columbian population. Others go with the Asian land bridge migration theory.
“If that one’s true, some of our relatives are finally getting some of their own back from those jerks who traded Manhattan for a few beads. Now America is pretty heavily in debt for all those trinkets Asia has been sending us,” an astute family philosopher postulates.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — I’ve been reflecting on new starts, philosophical dilemmas and the great mysteries of the universe.
Here are some things to ponder in your spare time.
• Early one recent morning, a small boy and his mom were heading to the bus stop as I was leaving for work. I heard her laughing.
“He just asked me, ‘What’s the biggest number before infinity?’” she explained.
It’s something I’d never considered, but when I Googled the question, there were 4,070,000 hits.
Several sources suggested it was an apples and oranges kind of thing and there is no correct answer because a number is a number and infinity is a concept.
We pondered the question in the newsroom and the most satisfying answer, I thought, came from Richard Coltharp, father of a bright and inquisitive small child himself.
The next time I spotted them at the neighborhood bus stop, I shouted Richard’s answer to the mom and son: “Infinity, minus one!”
• The team at SPI (Southwest Paranormal Investigations) let us know they’re getting ready to check out possible paranormal activity at two vintage downtown buildings that once housed the old Amador Hotel and an old hospital.
The Land of Enchantment has always been a spirit-filled place, and in recent years, there has been a boom in ghost hunters, ghost busters and paranormal investigators determined to mix it up with other realms.
I’ve listened to a lot of testimonials about spooks that lurk in all kinds of places, from an elegant dining room at The Double Eagle and crumbling enclaves in remote villages to hotels and Big Ditch Park in Silver City.
At some point, as earnest seekers searched for images on grainy film, or a possible message in an amplified audio loop, it occurred to me that the creatures they were attempting to contact were sometimes the kinds of souls (living or dead) one would do one’s best to escape swiftly, were they to materialize and start blathering at the average cocktail party.
With the exception of possible angelic or other divine communications, I confess that I’m basically of the “go toward the light” school, when it comes to communicating with lost souls and wayward spirits.
I think we can sum up our best advice in three little words: “Get an afterlife!”
• Facebook aspires to create greater communication and foster intimacy with our loved ones near and far.
But sometimes, the limits of cyberspace are emphasized in laugh-out-loud ways.
Consider this formulaic query, for instance: “Sally Swartz recently became friends with Tom Derrickson and thinks you may know Tom, too.”
I do. In fact we were very close for many decades before Facebook was invented. Sally’s my sister and Tom is our brother.
• We have American Indian lineage in the family tree and American Indian amigos and philosophers with whom we ponder such questions as “Why are we here?” and “Where are we going?” “Where did we come from?”
Some of the New Agers in the tribe hold with Edgar Cayce’s reading that ancient Atlantis was the source of America’s Pre-Columbian population. Others go with the Asian land bridge migration theory.
“If that one’s true, some of our relatives are finally getting some of their own back from those jerks who traded Manhattan for a few beads. Now America is pretty heavily in debt for all those trinkets Asia has been sending us,” an astute family philosopher postulates.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
How do we party in February? Let us count the ways.
Feb. 7, 2010
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — It’s Black History Month, For the Love of Art Month, and the only time in decades, I’ve been told, that Lunar (also known as Chinese) New Year and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day.
Some may feel a little daunted by all the celebratory opportunities. Not me. I’ve been honing my February fiesta skills for a lifetime, because it’s also Aquarian birthday season.
Your Las Cruces Style columnist was born on this very day, in fact, more than 39 years ago.
I’m in interesting and eclectic company, I discovered, when I did a little online search and came across a site offering quotes from people who share my birthday.
“A loving heart is the truest wisdom,” quoth prolific author Charles Dickens.
“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well,” pronounced psychiatrist Alfred Adler.
Among other Feb. 7 birthday kids are Garth Brooks, Ashton Kutcher, Chris Rock, Sinclair Lewis, and locally, Border Artists co-founder Virginia Ness ... and very locally, right here in the Sun-News newsroom: photographer Norm Detlaff and our former Sun-News colleague and current Carlsbad Current-Argus managing editor Martha Mauritson. Since we are all over 39 now, the three of us could have lit enough candles to start a forest fire.
But I digress. What I wanted to point out is that I’m experienced at February celebrations.
When I was a little kid, in fact, I thought my birthday started a week-long fiesta that culminated in Valentine’s Day, so I’ve been in training to be a February party animal for a lifetime.
And it’s only gotten more extreme over the years. For almost two decades, I lived in Oregon, which was admitted to statehood on Feb. 14, 1849, so there were some major fiesta opportunities, there.
And of course, Black History Month and Lunar New Year, when it falls in February, are more reasons to keep the party going.
Then there’s Presidents’ Day, previously known to many generations as Washington’s Birthday, celebrated on the third Monday of every February, this year on Feb. 15, though George’s actual birthday is Feb. 22, and Abraham Lincoln, whom many associate with Presidents’ Day was born on Feb. 12. And, if you’re updating your February greeting card list: William Henry Harrison was born on Feb. 9 and Ronald Regan was born on Feb. 6.
We must have some criteria other than numbers, though.
January, March, April, July and November each can claim four U.S. presidents’ birthdays, too, and August has five. Or Maybe it’s an Aquarian thing: There are more U.S. presidents born under the sign of the Water Bearer than any other sign of the Zodiac, when you add in the two January Aquarians, William McKinley (Jan. 29) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jan. 30). That’s a total of five, because we have to subtract Washington, a Pisces, even though we celebrate his birthday during Aquarius season.
Got that? No, well, never mind.
I don’t, because I finally landed in a place that devotes an entire month to celebrating, and as fortune would have it the month is February ... and what could be more fun and creative to celebrate than the arts?
And what better way to manage to blend in all the other things we have to celebrate: love, presidents, Eastern culture, Black history, Mardi Gras, Purim (Feb. 28) and the brand new FLAM WAPP (For the Love of Art Month Wearable Art Parade & Promenade) on Feb. 13.
I hope you paced yourself on Groundhog Day (Feb. 2). There’s still a lot to celebrate.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
By S. Derrickson Moore
Sun-News reporter
LAS CRUCES — It’s Black History Month, For the Love of Art Month, and the only time in decades, I’ve been told, that Lunar (also known as Chinese) New Year and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day.
Some may feel a little daunted by all the celebratory opportunities. Not me. I’ve been honing my February fiesta skills for a lifetime, because it’s also Aquarian birthday season.
Your Las Cruces Style columnist was born on this very day, in fact, more than 39 years ago.
I’m in interesting and eclectic company, I discovered, when I did a little online search and came across a site offering quotes from people who share my birthday.
“A loving heart is the truest wisdom,” quoth prolific author Charles Dickens.
“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well,” pronounced psychiatrist Alfred Adler.
Among other Feb. 7 birthday kids are Garth Brooks, Ashton Kutcher, Chris Rock, Sinclair Lewis, and locally, Border Artists co-founder Virginia Ness ... and very locally, right here in the Sun-News newsroom: photographer Norm Detlaff and our former Sun-News colleague and current Carlsbad Current-Argus managing editor Martha Mauritson. Since we are all over 39 now, the three of us could have lit enough candles to start a forest fire.
But I digress. What I wanted to point out is that I’m experienced at February celebrations.
When I was a little kid, in fact, I thought my birthday started a week-long fiesta that culminated in Valentine’s Day, so I’ve been in training to be a February party animal for a lifetime.
And it’s only gotten more extreme over the years. For almost two decades, I lived in Oregon, which was admitted to statehood on Feb. 14, 1849, so there were some major fiesta opportunities, there.
And of course, Black History Month and Lunar New Year, when it falls in February, are more reasons to keep the party going.
Then there’s Presidents’ Day, previously known to many generations as Washington’s Birthday, celebrated on the third Monday of every February, this year on Feb. 15, though George’s actual birthday is Feb. 22, and Abraham Lincoln, whom many associate with Presidents’ Day was born on Feb. 12. And, if you’re updating your February greeting card list: William Henry Harrison was born on Feb. 9 and Ronald Regan was born on Feb. 6.
We must have some criteria other than numbers, though.
January, March, April, July and November each can claim four U.S. presidents’ birthdays, too, and August has five. Or Maybe it’s an Aquarian thing: There are more U.S. presidents born under the sign of the Water Bearer than any other sign of the Zodiac, when you add in the two January Aquarians, William McKinley (Jan. 29) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jan. 30). That’s a total of five, because we have to subtract Washington, a Pisces, even though we celebrate his birthday during Aquarius season.
Got that? No, well, never mind.
I don’t, because I finally landed in a place that devotes an entire month to celebrating, and as fortune would have it the month is February ... and what could be more fun and creative to celebrate than the arts?
And what better way to manage to blend in all the other things we have to celebrate: love, presidents, Eastern culture, Black history, Mardi Gras, Purim (Feb. 28) and the brand new FLAM WAPP (For the Love of Art Month Wearable Art Parade & Promenade) on Feb. 13.
I hope you paced yourself on Groundhog Day (Feb. 2). There’s still a lot to celebrate.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com
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