Month: December 2010

Amorphophallus scans

How bad did it stink? Not bad at all. Because I chickened out on Christmas eve, chopped it off, scanned it, and dumped it in the compost pile. There was just a funky little aroma if you put your nose right down into the flower. But as you can see in the scans, things were just getting going inside.

amorphophallus scan

Shot above is close-up of partially dissected flower. Below is about all you can fit on the scanner bed. (I’ll spare you the regions to the north.)
amorphophallus scan

The portion of the flower I removed cried out to be scanned, too. Inside …
amorphophallus scan

And out …
amorphophallus scan

How bad is this going to stink?

Just in time for the holidays, I’ve got my first Amorphophallus (don’t know the species) about to flower. So how bad is this going to stink?

I keep a few pots around because I love the foliage. Now I’m wondering if I’ll have the same love for the flower. Chances are good I’ll move it to the office Friday and let it ride out the putrid period while no one is around over the holidays.

amorphophallus flower

David Bromberg and The Angel Band (State Theater, Ithaca, 12/3/2010)

Packed the lumbar pillow and braved the State Theater for an excellent show by David Bromberg and company Friday. He and the band haven’t lost much since I first saw him 35 years ago as the opening act for Hot Tuna at SUNY Binghamton when I was still in high school.

Back in the day, says Bromberg (if you can believe him), he played a now-defunct theater here in Ithaca that had a strip club nearby that employed a dancer who danced to one of his songs, and she came over and danced for the concert. Here’s the story.

Sharon (from 20 years ago): ‘It won’t cost you no money, boy. You got to pay with your heart.’

Here’s what the band looks like now:

Hustling across the street into the theater I noticed a car with some bizarre bead work animals on the hood. Little did I know that it was the art of Bromberg’s wife, Nancy Josephson, who leads The Angel Band (they opened the show and sang back-up during the main act). Check out her cars/bead/other media art here (and click older to see more).

She’s also been working to raise money (and hope) for Haiti since long before the earthquake: