Memories are biological magic that enable you to experience bygone moments - over and over.
Nag on the Lake
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Luciano Pavarotti, James Brown - It's A Man's Man's Man's World
Jack Kerouac and Panoramic Maps
![]() |
| Image source |
In the summer of 1956, the Beat writer Jack Kerouac ascended the North Cascade Mountains, climbing up through the glacial crests of Washington State to Desolation Peak, where he would assume a summer post as a fire lookout for the United States Forest Service.
“Lo, in the morning I woke up and it was beautiful blue sunshine sky and I went out in my alpine yard and there it was, everything Japhy said it was, hundreds of miles of pure snow-covered rocks and virgin lakes and high timber, and below, instead of the world, I saw a sea of marshmallow clouds flat as a roof and extending miles and miles in every direction, creaming all the valleys, what they call low-level clouds, on my 6600-foot pinnacle it was all far below me. . . . I made bacon and eggs, dug a garbage pit a hundred yards down the trail, hauled wood and identified landmarks with my panoramic and firefinder and named all the magic rocks and clefts, names Japhy had sung to me so often.”
See images of what Kerouac calls his “panoramic”: circular maps custom-made for the fire towers that once dotted the American wilderness like land-bound lighthouses and designed by Archie Norcross.
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Monday, July 20, 2026
Wondrous Churches of Lalibela
The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela in northern Ethiopia date back to the 12th century. The 11 interconnected structures were each carved out of volcanic rock from the top down.
The Fly
Fun fact.
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 17, 2026
The 1980 Hungarian short Oscar winning film ‘The Fly’ was created from nearly 4,000 crayon drawings. pic.twitter.com/qhRrsoxauY
Via Memo Of The Air

