Map of our U.S. Travels

Map of John Wise and Caroline Wise's travels across America

It’s been 18 years since we started tracking our travels on an old Michelin map. While we’ve been to all four corners, the geographical center of the United States in Lebanon, Kansas, and been to some places such as Yellowstone nine times and the Oregon coast probably more than that, there are still vast swathes of America that remain unseen to us. Large parts of the North and South Carolina coasts have not been explored yet along with small segments of the Texas, Florida, and New Jersey shorelines we’d still like to visit. The Great Plains could certainly use some work, along with the Southern States. We’ve been to the majority of the Hawaiian Islands and while we’ve seen Alaska from Anchorage to Fairbanks and from Juneau to Haines, that is one state that would require two lifetimes to see it all.

I used an infrared filter on the image to turn it black and white as it brought up the darker highlighted roads we’ve traveled and brightened the state outlines making them easier to see, should you be wondering why this photo, in particular, was chosen to be presented sans color.

Crochet Motifs

Crochet motifs made by Caroline Wise for an art project titled "Arizona!" that will be on display over the Scottsdale River Walk in Arizona

Caroline has been crocheting these motifs which are about 36 inches wide (1 meter) as part of a larger art project being created by Choi + Shine Architects. Their “Arizona!” installation will be hanging over the Scottsdale River Walk / Canal starting in November. Caroline has been working on these since March while I’ve been delivering them as they are finished and picking up more chord. People are working on this across the U.S. to contribute the many pieces that will ultimately be needed for the project.

Arizona Road Map of Our Travels

Map detailing the travels of John Wise and Caroline Wise in the state of Arizona

Yesterday’s blog entry spoke of the difficulty in finding roads we’ve not traveled before in Arizona. Looking up the last time I posted a map of our state I see that I’ve never shared it, so here it is. I believe this is the first map of Arizona we purchased back in 1995 after moving from Frankfurt, Germany to Phoenix, the copyright date is 1994. The routes in various highlighter colors I think might be when I thought each road trip could be its own shade, or maybe it was just the pen I found at the time?

Now that we have enough distance in time from some of the roads that have already been traveled we will be trying to fill in some of the small gaps such as paying visits to Sasabe, San Miguel, and Sells in the south. Alamo Lake in the west, Shumway, Ft. Grant, Mt. Graham in the east, and finally Temple Bar, Cove, and possibly the short road to Perkinsville up north. Everything else requires a four-wheel vehicle, not our Prius.

Encoding

I'm looking at you

Slicing the blade of time along the disappearing edge, we begin to approach the sharpest point where the event horizon distorts: we are about to collapse into an alternative universe. This current space we inhabit is another launchpad for extra-dimensional exploration. Our minds have been packed with the tools of interpretation that will allow us perspective shifts upon cultures not yet experienced.

The influence of previous proximity is largely negated by the time delta. Nearness can be enhanced momentarily for those best prepared for newness. How does one become equipped for such encounters? We tune in to being wakeful. Brevity demands we act now and embrace what we may have otherwise not known.

Are we headed somewhere without? Is that even possible? Regardless of where we are on the physical plain, we are still within. No matter where we embark or where we land, we will still be inside the entity only known to us. Should we decide to expand the universe, the plasticity of our conditioned mental environments will dictate and limit the breadth of our ability and discovery. Malleability is not a desired trait aside from those who have managed to cultivate themselves as creators and leaders; even there, we enforce hard limits.

With conditions ripe, we manifest a reality alteration. Automated systems of support are aligned for the occasion, and all that is left is to act and be present. What patterns emerge and sequences coded will be largely dependent upon all that preceded these days. A record of this journey will be forthcoming.

138 Countries

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I was just looking at my stats of who visits my blog and found that over the course of the last year people from 138 countries of Earth’s 195 recognized countries have stopped for one reason or other right here. I guess it’s appropriate seeing how America-centric my blog is that the largest group of visitors is from the United States. Filling out the top 10 are China, Russian Federation, Ukraine, Germany, France, Netherlands, South Korea, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Taking me up to 100 is Myanmar, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Montenegro, Haiti, and Mozambique. Down bottom closing it out are Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Jordan, Belize, and Guam. In between those are nearly 120 other countries where a search engine suggested that they should visit www.johnwise.com. For whatever reason, I’m happy that so many people on Earth find my site and catch a glimpse of how I see things.

Bach Didn’t Have Patch Cables

Kermit and Sloths

Industrial Music Electronics (IME) Piston Honda MK3 (untreated sound at end of the piece) with no modulation, being fed into Mutable Instruments Clouds with the following modulation: Position by IME Kermit, Size and Blend by Non-Linear Circuits Sloths, 1V/Oct by IME Stillson Hammer MK2. No other effects or modulation.