Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Six Degrees of Separation

You've heard of "six degrees of separation?" That we're all connected somehow by a friend of a friend in six or fewer steps? According to a recent poll through a Facebook algorithm, with the advent of social media, it's now even less than four.
If you're visiting here, we're one step apart, although we haven't formally made our acquaintance.
You may know of the party game, "Six Degree of Kevin Bacon?" It's kind of a trivia thing where you start with an actor and by association through movies you get to Bacon, with a capital "B," with the fewest steps.
Mr. Bacon doesn't know me from a hill of beans, but I'm closer to him than he may care to think.

First, my ex' brother played Drew Pigeon opposite Bacon in the movie, "Mystic River." I still haven't seen the movie, but I read the book! Second, my friend's son was producer of the very moving HBO special, "Taking Chance," starring Bacon. Thirdly, the crazy drunks that came up with the game went to my alma mater, long after I graduated, so I've not met them nor have I played their game.
I just know these things.

Sally, I dedicate this post to you because you like to know things. And you have relatives in Maine.

So do I. My parents live there. I visited many a time, long before they retired there.
It's a big state, with a lot of wilderness. Logging is big business and so are potatoes. But the best thing is Acadia National Park, which is celebrating its 100th birthday, as is the whole of the National Park System.


The view of the Atlantic from Cadillac Mountain is awesome and one of the first spots in the US of A to see the sun rise. The crashing surf, the rugged granite rocks, the scent of salt air and spruce.

Lobster! Need I say more?!
Oh, and it's home to the ONLY fjord in the lower 48, Somes Sound.


This is important information because "fjord" is the word of the day at the EIM. I've only seen Somes Sound once; I remember the family driving alongside one summer. Tall spruce and firs, granite rock, clear blue skies. (And more lobster).


Not far from there is Mount Desert Rock lighthouse. It literally sits on a rock.


There is also a Mount Desert Rock lighthouse here in Arizona. On Lake Havasu are fully functional scale models of famous lighthouses created to aid navigation on the lake. (Lake Havasu is also home to the London Bridge. It migrated).


You can walk right up to this one, I guess. We have a boat trip on Havasu on our bucket list, to see all the little houses.

In the meantime, we're watching 16 Tons of Monty Python. We're up to the 10th ton. Or, if we're somewhere with television, the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Are you? There must be a few tangly people watching as the theme at the Diva this week is the Olympics. I squeezed three out of the five rings into a square.


It's more Venn diagram than modern athletics, but I'm not minding it. Consider it a visual representation of just three degrees of separation.
I guess we're not really separated at all.


22 comments:

  1. I have never been to Lake Havasu. Guess we should right that wrong soon. (Just like living only 14 miles from New York City for 18 years and never seeing the Statue of Liberty! At least I have seen the Grand Canyon! Anyway, I love the little fjord you drew and your Olympic tile is a very nice way to use the circles as strings.

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    1. I've not yet been to Havasu nor have I seen Ms. Liberty up close and personal. I do hope you've been to then North Rim, it so pretty. Glad you like my interpretations. c

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  2. OK, how's this for 4 degrees of separation? 1) I'm from Pennsylvania and grew up and now live not even 100 miles from Reading, PA, the site of your apparent alma mater. 2) Kevin Bacon and I grew up in the same neighborhood and he and my sisters hung out at the same coffee house in the 1960, Germantown's Togetherness House. 3) I also thought "Taking Chance" was very moving. 4) I visited Acadia National Park in 1975. 5) We both like to write and to tangle. Having said that, we diverge in that I took a very literal approach to this week's Zentangle Diva Olympic challenge; whereas, you creatively squared off 3/5ths of the Olympic rings. Nice. :)

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    1. Oh, we're much closer than that! Lessee... for starters, I was born in Philly as were my parents and at least one grandparent. Been to Brigantine, as recently as last October and have a small collection of shells from Long Beach Island. There's also a replica of Brigantine Light on Havasu. I think I could fill a whole post with the interconnections! Do you hear the theme song from the Twilight Zone? Thanks for your kindnesses, c

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  3. Love your whimsical blog post and your use of the rings as your string!

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    1. Thanks, Suse! Glad you were entertained while you were here! c

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  4. Thanks for sharing photo's and your story. Your tile is very pretty!!!

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    1. Very much appreciated, Annemarie! Wish I could take credit for the Chamber of Commerce photos. c

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  5. Your rings interact beautifully, each one starts where the other leaves off. Beautiful.

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  6. I can't think of anything lining me to Kevin Bacon, which is a shame because I do have a soft spot for him ever since I saw him in a really dreadful but amusing film called, I think, "Tremors". What's more, I've never seen Lake Havasu. Has my life been wasted, I ask myself? But no, I've enjoyed reading your blog, I've admired your tangles and tried a few myself. Good enough.

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    1. I appreciate that you stop by and hope you are recuperating nicely, Magrat. Good enough for me! I don't know the film you speak of, but that doesn't surprise me much since I see so few. c

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  7. Your post always make me smile, and this one was no exception. Great inchie and loads of information.

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    1. Then I must be doing something right! Thanks for dropping in, Wendy! c

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  8. I love this post! I've been up Cadillac mountain, we went on a treasure hunt with the grandkids a few years back - it's a wonderful place! It was cold when we went as it was Columbus weekend but it was sooooo much fun :-) thanks for reminding me of that trip!

    Sally

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    1. I'm so glad you enjoyed this post and even better, that you've been to Acadia. It's a magical place in my book. It's years since I've been and it's calling me. c

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  9. Your post was so interesting. I have never played the Kevin bacon game but I like the idea of it. I am one of those fact geeks. I love facts and love to see them connect. I love to see the lines connecting. All your pics and artwork are awesome! Have a great week!

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    1. Thanks, Free! I appreciate that you follow along as I connect dots all over the place. SOmetimes I don't know where I'm going, but it always comes back around...c

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  10. Wonderful series of photos! Your challenge tile very lovely as well.

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  11. lovely fjord - I had no idea there were fjords in the 'lower 48'! neat! I love EIM- you can learn such interesting things - I'm an Olympic junkie - have very much enjoyed them

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  12. I'm glad you enjoyed the games in Rio and that I could impart some new knowledge. Just so happens that this was first hand for me--and you should go, it's a LOT nearer to you than to me! c

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