Sunday, June 13, 2010
if you are following this blog, please change to my wordpress blog
Managing three blogs is a little time consuming. So, Please visit my wordpress blog at http://denajill.wordpress.com for my personal writing and visitmyarkansas.com for my Arkansas Travel writing.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
An Interesting Road Trip
On December 3, 2009 I traveled with Joe David Rice, Tourism Director on a very interesting journey. We had two very important destinations for the day. First to meet a Captain with the Poplar Bluff, MO police department to witness the transfer of a stolen Civil War tombstone and next to observe the unveiling of the first highway sign for the Rock “N” Roll Highway 67 in Swifton, AR.
A full and detailed story involving the tombstone will be released soon and placed on www.arkansasmediaroom.com so I’m just going to tease you with my blog. The very short history behind our stop in Newport involves the discovery in Poplar Bluff, Missouri of a Civil War tombstone of a Union soldier. It was determined that the tombstone was taken from Independence County, Arkansas. I was involved in the research and planning of the return of the tombstone and wanted to be there and witness the transfer from the Poplar Bluff Police Department to George Lankford, Arkansas Civil War Commissioner, and frankly, I really wanted to see this tombstone that had consumed a large part of my life over the past two weeks. We met Capt. Mike Elliott at US Pizza in Newport, AR enjoyed salads and sandwiches in this very busy restaurant while we waited on George Lankford to arrive. After lunch we recruited a few willing Arkansas farmers to help us move the stone from Capt. Elliot’s car to Lankford’s car. The tombstone is that of Civil War Union soldier Isaiah Hines. Mr. Lankford is continuing the search to find the burial place of Hines so that the marker can be returned to its rightful place. Until then, the Independence County museum has graciously agreed to house the stone.
Our next stop was Swifton, AR to participate in the unveiling of the Rock “N” Roll Highway 67 sign. Across from the sign is the Kings Capri and King of Clubs private club. This establishment hosted many fathers of Rock “N” Roll and is considered by some to be the birthplace of the genre. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Sonny Burgess and the Pacers are just a few of the performers who traveled up and down this highway stopping along the way sharing their music.
While there, I browsed through the Club, amazed by all of the pictures and autographs of performers past. The nostalgia of the room was overwhelming! Sonny Burgess was sitting in the corner of the room visiting with Evelyn King, former owner of 57 years of the club. I enjoyed listening to old stories involving Elvis and other performers. Later, Sonny and Rep. J.R. Rogers continued the trip down memory lane and even shared the story of when the Beetles landed in Walnut Ridge, AR. If you get a chance, take a road trip down Rock “N” Roll Highway 67.
A full and detailed story involving the tombstone will be released soon and placed on www.arkansasmediaroom.com so I’m just going to tease you with my blog. The very short history behind our stop in Newport involves the discovery in Poplar Bluff, Missouri of a Civil War tombstone of a Union soldier. It was determined that the tombstone was taken from Independence County, Arkansas. I was involved in the research and planning of the return of the tombstone and wanted to be there and witness the transfer from the Poplar Bluff Police Department to George Lankford, Arkansas Civil War Commissioner, and frankly, I really wanted to see this tombstone that had consumed a large part of my life over the past two weeks. We met Capt. Mike Elliott at US Pizza in Newport, AR enjoyed salads and sandwiches in this very busy restaurant while we waited on George Lankford to arrive. After lunch we recruited a few willing Arkansas farmers to help us move the stone from Capt. Elliot’s car to Lankford’s car. The tombstone is that of Civil War Union soldier Isaiah Hines. Mr. Lankford is continuing the search to find the burial place of Hines so that the marker can be returned to its rightful place. Until then, the Independence County museum has graciously agreed to house the stone.
Our next stop was Swifton, AR to participate in the unveiling of the Rock “N” Roll Highway 67 sign. Across from the sign is the Kings Capri and King of Clubs private club. This establishment hosted many fathers of Rock “N” Roll and is considered by some to be the birthplace of the genre. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Sonny Burgess and the Pacers are just a few of the performers who traveled up and down this highway stopping along the way sharing their music.
While there, I browsed through the Club, amazed by all of the pictures and autographs of performers past. The nostalgia of the room was overwhelming! Sonny Burgess was sitting in the corner of the room visiting with Evelyn King, former owner of 57 years of the club. I enjoyed listening to old stories involving Elvis and other performers. Later, Sonny and Rep. J.R. Rogers continued the trip down memory lane and even shared the story of when the Beetles landed in Walnut Ridge, AR. If you get a chance, take a road trip down Rock “N” Roll Highway 67.
A Visit to a Haunted Museum
On December 2, the four Arkansas travel writers met in the haunted basement of the McArthur Museum of Military History. We meet from time to time to discuss story ideas, Web site updates and ongoing projects and events. It was an eerie and surreal place to have a small intimate meeting. The exposed stone walls appeared to be several feet deep. There were museum displays around us and dress dummies and manikins in the corners of the room. We were told that this was not the most haunted place in the museum but every time we heard a noise I think we all jumped. I didn’t mind because it kept everyone alert and paying attention. Maybe I’ll have all my meetings down there. After we wrapped up our work, we took a brief tour of the museum. First we visited the séance room. Legend has it that there is an entrance to an escape tunnel from this room but according to Stephan McAteer, there is no tunnel. From there, we visited the David Owen Dodd stained glass, took photos of the WWII jeep on the first floor and heard the story of how some paranormal experts believe the jeep to be a portal into another dimension. Then on to my favorite exhibit- the Lee Grant exhibit. If you get a chance, visit the MacArthur Museum of Military History. The permanent exhibits are phenomenal but you can spend countless hours learning about the Civil War and perusing through this exhibit.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Catching up
So, I have really been behind in my blogs. I've been putting most of my travel information on Whrrl.com. I have a widget on this page so you can keep up. Along with my Arkansas travels, I also went to Montgomery, AL where I was treated with wonderful Southern hospitality.
I spent the fall in the eastern Arkansas Ozarks, the northeastern Ozarks, the Ouacitas, the Arkansas Delta and the Timberlands. I am still amazed by all there is to see and do in this great state. I have now traveled from Ozark peak to Ouachita peak having spent time on Mt. Magazine (Mt. Magazine State Park) located near Paris, Arkansas and on top of Rich Mountain at Queen Wilhelmina State Park. I have listened to the blues along the Mississippi River in Helena, AR and dined at a table set for 120 guests in Tyranza, AR. I traveled to Camden, AR, Texarkana, AR, and Grady, AR through the vast timberlands of this state and visited pumpkin patches and historic buildings along the way. I went to Piggott, AR where the Ernest Hemingway wrote several stories and 100 pages of A Farewell to Arms.
I visited a wildlife ranch outside of Pocahontas, AR (Warm Springs) called Buck Hollow Ranch were I listened to the eerie sounds of the bugle of a male Elk. I was awed by the huge size of the animals and how they could still gracefully move through the grass or charge at another male who was entering their territory. I sat in the truck searching for signs of wildlife. Just when I had given up, a deer would leap through the woods. Having noticed movement, my eyes focused on a turkey hidden in the underbrush and a large elk resting under a tree. I've been told that these tired elk have spent hours protecting their cows and then fighting with other males. Many of them are so exhausted, they missed the chance to mate and don't even have the strength to eat. That, I think, is pretty ironic. All of that work and they missed the "opportunity" that they were working towards.
Last month, my friend Rebecca traveled all the way from Indianapolis, IN to visit. We walked the River Market and visited the grounds of the Clinton Library. And, of course, were carried away by the sounds bands as we walked down Clinton Ave. We stopped and listened to the tunes of Mysterious Ways, a U2 tribute band at Sticky Fingerz in downtown Little Rock. The next day, we took in all of the beautiful fall color in the Ouachita Mountains and visited the waterfalls at Lake Catherine State Park.
Last week, I visited downtown Conway where I dined on Italian food and experienced all of the wonderful downtown shopping available in that city. There just aren't a lot of true downtown shopping locations like this anymore. Old store fronts filled with modern wares, art galleries, coffee shops and restaurants. They even have an Eiffel tower on display!
So, there is a brief summary of my fall travels. I've left a lot out, but you can catch up on those by visiting whrrl.com and searching for me. Next week, I travel to Paragould, AR, which, by the way, is the only town in the U.S. named Paragould.
I visited a wildlife ranch outside of Pocahontas, AR (Warm Springs) called Buck Hollow Ranch were I listened to the eerie sounds of the bugle of a male Elk. I was awed by the huge size of the animals and how they could still gracefully move through the grass or charge at another male who was entering their territory. I sat in the truck searching for signs of wildlife. Just when I had given up, a deer would leap through the woods. Having noticed movement, my eyes focused on a turkey hidden in the underbrush and a large elk resting under a tree. I've been told that these tired elk have spent hours protecting their cows and then fighting with other males. Many of them are so exhausted, they missed the chance to mate and don't even have the strength to eat. That, I think, is pretty ironic. All of that work and they missed the "opportunity" that they were working towards.
Last month, my friend Rebecca traveled all the way from Indianapolis, IN to visit. We walked the River Market and visited the grounds of the Clinton Library. And, of course, were carried away by the sounds bands as we walked down Clinton Ave. We stopped and listened to the tunes of Mysterious Ways, a U2 tribute band at Sticky Fingerz in downtown Little Rock. The next day, we took in all of the beautiful fall color in the Ouachita Mountains and visited the waterfalls at Lake Catherine State Park.Last week, I visited downtown Conway where I dined on Italian food and experienced all of the wonderful downtown shopping available in that city. There just aren't a lot of true downtown shopping locations like this anymore. Old store fronts filled with modern wares, art galleries, coffee shops and restaurants. They even have an Eiffel tower on display!
So, there is a brief summary of my fall travels. I've left a lot out, but you can catch up on those by visiting whrrl.com and searching for me. Next week, I travel to Paragould, AR, which, by the way, is the only town in the U.S. named Paragould.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Photographs
I was most intrigued with Metz’s correlation of death and the photograph. The photograph is indexical as it refers to a specific point in time. It is also an icon of the specific image and yet is also a symbol of what we were. The photograph is like the tick on a clock. We can’t go back. We can try to recreate the photograph but we can’t. We can never get that point in time back.
Some cultures believe that by taking a photograph of someone, you are “stealing” their spirit. This seems funny, but is it? Maybe the spirit is in the photograph. It is remembered for years to come, as long as someone sees the photograph. In a sense, the photograph defies death, the symbol of the object being photographed lives on forever. For instance, I grow roses. When I see a perfect one, I will take a picture. I know if I cut if and bring it inside, it will start to wither. If I leave it on the plant, it will start to wither. If I run and get my family or neighbor to come and look at it, it won’t be the same rose that I saw minutes ago. The sun and ultimately, time has effected it. But, if I take a picture, I will forever have the rose the way it looked at that very moment. The rose dies, but the picture continues to be a symbol to me that I cultivated a beautiful flower.
Do you have trouble throwing away photographs? If so, why? I have hundreds of old photos of people – my family and friends. I have multiple copies, so when I’m cleaning out, I want to throw them out but I can’t do it. Is it because the photograph is like having a piece of the person’s soul with you? The photograph has captured the essence of the person and throwing it out is like tossing the person out. I’ve asked other people about cleaning out photographs, they too see it as a taboo but don’t know exactly why.
So, maybe a photograph can become a fetish. The first definition of fetish is: an inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit. (Mac desktop dictionary). We take photographs to remember objects as they were. We keep them in albums, on our computers, on our walls, our wallets, and ipods. We keep the “spirit” with us, or at least the symbol of the spirit of the object with us. A photograph keeps the spirit of the object alive and in a way defies death.
What is Text Without Context?
A word, or sign, cannot stand alone and have meaning. It is defined by the context that surrounds it. A sign, in text, only has meaning in context. Text is an organized system of metaphors and the intended meaning of a particular word, or sign, is determined by the other words surrounding it. Hjelmslev states that “No sign has meaning if completely isolated; every sign-meaning arises in a context, since we here mean a situational context or an explicit context…” (Johansen and Larsen 2002, pg. 115).
I have been increasingly aware of this lately because my daughter, Addie is learning how to read. Even before I read this chapter, this has been on my mind. Addie is constantly asking me what a word means. I’ll be working on a paper or reading and offer her an answer without thinking. On more than one occasion, she has said, that doesn’t’ make any sense. I stop and ask her to read the sentence. After hearing the sentence, my definition almost always changes. Why in the English language do we have so many meanings for one word? It is amazing how changing the context can completely change the meaning of the same word. The word is spelled the same way but it means something totally different.
In writing this paper, I asked Addie for an example of a word like this. She said, “left”. She said you could say, turn left or I left the room. I asked her if it still confused her. She said no, “because it depends on the sentence”. I was shocked when she said, “you have to read or listen to all the other words before you know which one to use”. I think I stood there with my mouth wide open, because she asked, “what?” and added, everyone knows that.” Even a seven year old understands what is meant by this theory.
How many times have we tried to explain something to someone else and have had to change the metaphor repeatedly? The context stays the same, but we change the word until we finally get our point across. I have seen this a lot in teaching. As teachers, we sometimes choose the wrong word in our explanations. We know the material, so we often use a harder word. When we notice the puzzled looks on our students’ faces, we back up and try it again with an easier word. We have left the context the same but because we were able to break it down, our students have learned a new word. They can connect the more complicated word to the same context. The next time they hear that word, they will know what it means based on the context that the word is used.
I now understand why good readers have better vocabulary. In elementary school, we would have to look up and memorize vocabulary words. The teachers usually would have us use the word in a sentence. They did this so we could associate the word and a particular meaning. Students that read all of the time will have a better understanding of the meanings of words because they have been exposed to so many different contexts for the words.
A word, or sign, cannot stand alone and have meaning. It is defined by the context that surrounds it. Therefore, if we want to be effective communicators, we must choose our words wisely or be very good at choosing the context with which we use them.
I have been increasingly aware of this lately because my daughter, Addie is learning how to read. Even before I read this chapter, this has been on my mind. Addie is constantly asking me what a word means. I’ll be working on a paper or reading and offer her an answer without thinking. On more than one occasion, she has said, that doesn’t’ make any sense. I stop and ask her to read the sentence. After hearing the sentence, my definition almost always changes. Why in the English language do we have so many meanings for one word? It is amazing how changing the context can completely change the meaning of the same word. The word is spelled the same way but it means something totally different.
In writing this paper, I asked Addie for an example of a word like this. She said, “left”. She said you could say, turn left or I left the room. I asked her if it still confused her. She said no, “because it depends on the sentence”. I was shocked when she said, “you have to read or listen to all the other words before you know which one to use”. I think I stood there with my mouth wide open, because she asked, “what?” and added, everyone knows that.” Even a seven year old understands what is meant by this theory.
How many times have we tried to explain something to someone else and have had to change the metaphor repeatedly? The context stays the same, but we change the word until we finally get our point across. I have seen this a lot in teaching. As teachers, we sometimes choose the wrong word in our explanations. We know the material, so we often use a harder word. When we notice the puzzled looks on our students’ faces, we back up and try it again with an easier word. We have left the context the same but because we were able to break it down, our students have learned a new word. They can connect the more complicated word to the same context. The next time they hear that word, they will know what it means based on the context that the word is used.
I now understand why good readers have better vocabulary. In elementary school, we would have to look up and memorize vocabulary words. The teachers usually would have us use the word in a sentence. They did this so we could associate the word and a particular meaning. Students that read all of the time will have a better understanding of the meanings of words because they have been exposed to so many different contexts for the words.
A word, or sign, cannot stand alone and have meaning. It is defined by the context that surrounds it. Therefore, if we want to be effective communicators, we must choose our words wisely or be very good at choosing the context with which we use them.
Amazed by Arkansas - an Overview
When I first accepted the position as communication director for the great state of Arkansas, I thought I knew a lot about the places and people of Arkansas. I traveled a lot during my many years of living in Arkansas, but it was always destination based travel.
January 29, 2009 marked my one-month anniversary on the job. It was a whirlwind month and included trips to the Delta, Ozark, and River Valley areas of the state. During my trips to the Delta, I experienced Crowley’s Ridge and Village Creek State Park, Forest City, Wynne, Helena West Helena, visited the Delta Cultural Center where I felt the soul of the Delta through the blues music of Super Chikan, was moved by the bellowing voices of a Gospel choir at First Baptist Church in Helena, fed catfish and pork rinds by Grannie, and enjoyed a BBQ (hot, not mild) and a cold RC at Shaddin’s BBQ.
I was amazed by the towering bluffs of Crowley’s Ridge as they shaded the sun from the plantation homes of Helena West Helena and I wondered how could I have missed such a historically significant, rich in culture, and agriculturally significant city during all the years I lived in Arkansas? I missed this city because I stayed on the convenient interstate highway as I traveled from point A to point B.
My advise, if you want to truly learn about the land and the people of this great state, plan an extra day to your trips and experience the exits along the interstate. Utilize arkansas.com and read about the towns and cities located in between point A and point B. I have so much to tell about the areas I have traveled--and I’ve only made three trips in one month. If you are interested in learning about my travels, stay tuned. I’ve barely touched on the Delta, I haven’t even started on the river valley and Ozarks and next week, I travel to the Quachitas and Mt. Magazine!! Oh, and in case you are wondering, you can find me in the office, at my desk...most of the time. :)
January 29, 2009 marked my one-month anniversary on the job. It was a whirlwind month and included trips to the Delta, Ozark, and River Valley areas of the state. During my trips to the Delta, I experienced Crowley’s Ridge and Village Creek State Park, Forest City, Wynne, Helena West Helena, visited the Delta Cultural Center where I felt the soul of the Delta through the blues music of Super Chikan, was moved by the bellowing voices of a Gospel choir at First Baptist Church in Helena, fed catfish and pork rinds by Grannie, and enjoyed a BBQ (hot, not mild) and a cold RC at Shaddin’s BBQ.
I was amazed by the towering bluffs of Crowley’s Ridge as they shaded the sun from the plantation homes of Helena West Helena and I wondered how could I have missed such a historically significant, rich in culture, and agriculturally significant city during all the years I lived in Arkansas? I missed this city because I stayed on the convenient interstate highway as I traveled from point A to point B.
My advise, if you want to truly learn about the land and the people of this great state, plan an extra day to your trips and experience the exits along the interstate. Utilize arkansas.com and read about the towns and cities located in between point A and point B. I have so much to tell about the areas I have traveled--and I’ve only made three trips in one month. If you are interested in learning about my travels, stay tuned. I’ve barely touched on the Delta, I haven’t even started on the river valley and Ozarks and next week, I travel to the Quachitas and Mt. Magazine!! Oh, and in case you are wondering, you can find me in the office, at my desk...most of the time. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
