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Gnomusy – Alexandra

David Caballero (Gnomusy – Gnome of Music) was born in Madrid, Spain in January 1963. A Civil Engineer by profession. His love of music started at an early age. His musical tastes include Jazz, Ragtime, Bluegrass, Electronic and Celt. David first published his music in 1999 in mp3.com under the name Gnomusy.

See video:

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David Caballero (aka GNOMUSY) began playing keyboards at age seven and composing music at age ten, he says, as a way to express himself and his perception of reality.

After several years of piano studies at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid (Spain), David explored other styles such as Andinian, Jazz, Ragtime, Bluegrass, Folk and Celtic music. This gave him the opportunity to develop a mosaic of influences and to discover the mysteries of the various instruments he practiced including piano, keyboards, guitar, mandolin, banjo and the flute.

A great believer in embracing technological advancements, Caballero says, “In the future, I foresee that artists will jointly create pieces through seamless collaboration between different art sources in which sounds, light and space will co-exist, interact and change dynamically.”

While his state-of-the-art studio provides great enjoyment, the fantasy world and nature are never far from Cabellero’s thoughts. He majored in Forestry Engineering at the Polytechnical University of Madrid, and has dedicated his professional life to the study of forest fires. Besides composing, he is a scientist who researches forest fire and information systems projects such as EUFIRELAB, co-funded by the European Commission.

In 1993, David began composing and sequencing synthesizers using computers and the MIDI protocol. Soon, he discovered that this approach gave a new dimension to his compositions. Using his Korg X3 keyboard, David wrote pieces like “Altair” (1995), “Virtuality” (1994) and “Camelot” (1997). These works, Caballero says, provided a preview of what later would become his particular style.

The songs portray fantasy worlds, which are full of characters and landscapes, exciting to the senses, with nods to mythology and ancient cultures, and, always, with a deep emotional component.

https://www.amazon.com/Ethereality-Gnomusy/dp/B0007UVXMM

Horse packing in the Bob: Central Montana

During a recent road trip up to Hannan Gulch just west of Augusta, I was again reminded of the vastness of our Bob Marshal wilderness area. The JJJ Wilderness Ranch, which is featured in this video, is situated just above Hannan Gulch and just along side of the Gibson Reservoir.

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Wide-open spaces. Gracious people. Where a rugged past meets a vibrant present. Central Montana remains an authentic experience unlike any other. Between Glacier National Park to the north and Yellowstone National Park to the south, you’ll find the genuine Montana you’ve been waiting for. You’re invited. Make us a part of your journey.

Call the Central Montana Tourism Office: 1-800-527-5348

The wilderness, along with the adjoining Scapegoat and Great Bear wildernesses, make up the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, with components administered by the Lolo, Flathead, Helena, and Lewis and Clark National Forests, respectively. All three wildernesses total 1,535,352 acres (6,070 km²).

The wilderness is located in parts of Flathead, Lewis and Clark, Powell, Teton, Missoula, and Pondera counties, and lies mostly within Flathead National Forest (70.3%) and partially within Lewis and Clark National Forest. The wilderness can be accessed by trails (via foot travel or on horseback) from surrounding roads.

U.S. Route 2 is to the north and separates the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex from Glacier National Park (U.S.). U.S. 89 and 287 are to the east, and Montana highways 200 and 83 are to the south and west. Popular points of entry from the west are located near the communities of Swan Lake, Seeley Lake, Lincoln, and Hungry Horse.

From the east, the Bob Marshall Wilderness is accessible from Augusta, Choteau and Dupuyer. The wilderness is approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of Great Falls, Montana; 50 miles (80 km) north of Missoula, and 30 miles (48 km) east of Kalispell; all of the communities have airports with commercial flights.

How wolves change rivers

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When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable “trophic cascade” occurred. What is a trophic cascade and how exactly do wolves change rivers? George Monbiot explains in this movie remix.

For more from George Monbiot, visit https://www.monbiot.com/ and for more on “rewilding” visit https://www.monbiot.com/2013/05/24/feral-searching-for-enchantment-on-the-frontiers-of-rewilding/ and/or check out George Monbiot’s book Feral: rewilding the land, the sea and human life: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Feral-Searching-enchantment-frontiers-rewilding/dp/1846147484/

NOTE: There are “elk” pictured in this video when the narrator is referring to “deer.” This is because the narrator is British and the British word for “elk” is “red deer” or “deer” for short. The scientific report this is based on refers to elk so we wanted to be accurate with the truth of the story.

“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” – John Muir

Narration from TED: “For more wonder, rewild the world” by George Monbiot. Watch the full talk, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rZzHkpyPkc

B-Roll Credits:

“Greater Yellowstone Coalition – Wolves” (https://vimeo.com/29465318)
“Wolf Mountain” (https://vimeo.com/42261942)
“Primodial – Yellowstone” (https://vimeo.com/77097538)
“Timelapse: Yellowstone National Park” (https://vimeo.com/79048279)
“Yellowstone” (https://vimeo.com/5333943)
“Howling Wolves – Heulende Wölfe” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgCRr8NTyx0)
“Fooled by Nature: Beaver Dams” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Na2HYq11yuM)

Music Credits:

“Unfoldment, Revealment, Evolution, Exposition, Integration, Arson” by Chris Zabriskie (https://soundcloud.com/chriszabriskie/unfoldment-revealment)

FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 106A-117 of the US Copyright Law.

Hubble photo captures a rare galactic collision

Image source: ESA/Hubble & NASA (tap or click to enlarge image)

NGC 7764A is located roughly 425 million light-years from Earth. It’s found in the Phoenix constellation, and it’s a perfect example of just how weird space can get sometimes. It’s easy to think of galaxies and see them as individual things that never interact with each other. However, that isn’t always the case. Based on this new Hubble telescope picture, it looks like two of the galaxies are merging together.

In the image, it looks like the two galaxies at the top have slammed into each other, with the tail of one even shifting towards the topmost galaxy. The European Space Agency (ESA) says that in reality, the interactions between galaxies aren’t quick at all. Instead, they take a very long time and galaxies rarely collide head-on with each other. The image also includes a third galaxy, which the ESA says it is unsure is interacting with the other two. It is, however, close enough to be pulled in by the gravitational pull of the others.

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Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have developed this simulation of the head-on collision of our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Estimated to occur in 4 billion years.

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Lazy B Bar & Cafe – Augusta, Montana

A good road trip is never really ever complete without stopping along the way for a quick snack.

Recently we stopped in for a quick bite at the Lazy B Bar & Cafe in Augusta during a recent road trip and I sorta came away a bit surprised at not only how fresh the food was, but also at just how decent the prices were too.

We ate and had coffee & soda for $24 bucks – There were 3 of us. Me, my wife, and a growing 15 year old. I’m pretty sure that all of what we had would have cost $40+ in Great Falls.

Wife had chicken alfredo with a large salad on the side, our Son had their “B” Dog Bonus (chili sauce, onion & mustard) that must have weighed at least 1/3 pound, with soda and chips, and I had their “B” Dog Kraut with coffee (they served up the whole pot). The Kraut wasn’t the soft and slushy kind you would get out of a jar either … it was the real deal.

What’s really sort of cool about towns like Augusta is that for some reason, they aren’t all up into that “let’s charge a bunch of money because we’re cool and trendy” deal. The prices are a little more down to earth, just like the people are.

Our Son was pretty stoked about being in, and eating in, a bar (it was his first time). “Not everyone that goes to a bar is there to drink”, I said to him …. “far from it. I used to go to a bar just north of Missoula when I lived down there because it had the best fried chicken on the planet.”

I think one of the reasons why some bar food is the best, is because the people running the bar don’t worry about it. They make way more money on the booze they sell. So much so that the food might even be considered a loss leader.

Another cool thing about the Lazy B Bar & Cafe is that the building it’s in was built clear back in 1883 and was once The Augusta Hotel. The original townsite was dedicated on May 8, 1893. And not to put too fine a point on it, the building that houses the Lazy B Bar & Cafe is actually older than the town itself. The most accepted version in the naming of this town is after Augusta Hogan, thought to be the first child born in this town, the daughter of J. D. Hogan, an early rancher.