Posts Tagged With "Travel"

Eastbound and Up: Nashville (Part 2)

October 9, 2016 By Matthew White Leave a Comment

Whenever you see the words “art district” be wary.

Why? Governments aren’t good at identifying the best art districts for your time and money. Crime statistics, however, are better indicators. Go out and see for yourself. I could elaborate, but it’s beyond the scope of this blog entry.

One of the main reasons for visiting Nashville this time were stops in the Nashville Arcade. The spaces are great. But, unfortunately, the memo about being open 11a-3p on Saturdays ended up in the spam folder. As discussed in an episode of the Brain Fuzz arts podcast, engagement – the dead horse that artists and arts administrators continue to whip – requires that 1) the door be unlocked when you say it will be unlocked and 2) the phone be answered.

So much for those “art district” signs.

The Biscuit or The Gravy?

East nasty biscuit at Biscuit Love in Nashville - a recommended travel stop

An East Nasty at Biscuit Love in Nashville. Bring your own defibrillator.

There is good news, however. As explained in part one of this Nashville travel exposé I was unclear on hot chicken’s origin story. Biscuits on the other hand, I understand their origin story better. And, one place that is not overhyped in the Gulch is Biscuit Love. All of the development in the Gulch can be off putting. To see a line of fifteen or twenty deep there is not unusual. What is unusual however is the phrase “East Nasty” – a biscuit with chicken, cheddar, and gravy.

WeHo

With a full stomach of hangover food, you can head on over to two of the best gallery spaces in the south. Zeitgeist and David Lusk Gallery are comfortably located side by side in Wedgewood. These two spaces are always on the Nashville list. Nearby is Fort Houston – a real world working model of what a creative co-working space can be. It’s pretty awesome. I did not see an “art district” sign.

In so many parts of Nashville, you find the real world authenticity that is hard to reconcile with the overhype and escalated development that the city is experiencing. It’s much like the difference between the Nashville of the 2010 floods and the Nashville of the 2016 gas shortage. For a while, you can still get that sense among the Wedgewood area stops.

The Backwash

On a grocery trip / ice run in East Nashville, we were met with this response in trying to locate bagged ice:

“Yes, but it’s spring water sourced. Is that OK?”

When your soakage will be an East Nasty, it will work.

Eastbound and Up: Nashville (Part 1)

July 5, 2016 By Matthew White Leave a Comment

“Smells like Bonaroo, tastes like heaven,” said the barkeep at The Pharmacy, regarding their Etienne Dupont Cidre Bouche Brut de Normandie. Neither one of us knew quite what to think about that assessment, but I can attest to the claims regarding their burgers probably being the best in Nashville.

The burger at The Pharmacy might actually be the best in Nashville.

We were between stops on our first day back after a few months away, sandwiched between settling in our E. Nashville Airbnb and hitting a vinyl shop.

The afternoon’s itinerary also included a stop at a certain coffee shop where you can admire the artisan style iPad point-of-sale while trying to decide if you’re in a line or not (and for what). There, you have ample time to admire Metric on their turntable setup as you wait for your order to be called out.

Also, they have coffee.

I’ve had a similar experience while seeking caffeine there before. A friend’s recent account of his visit was surprisingly similar down to bus cart confusion. I still couldn’t locate the bus cart.

They also have several hot teas.

Eastbound and Up

One could easily stay in East Nashville and never go downtown, or anywhere else for that matter. Still Nashville has so many evolving neighborhoods that would be must stop destinations in any city. Grimey’s is truly a one-of-a-kind music store with a fine venue right under it in The Basement. That’s worth leaving East Nashville for. But, they’ve got a sister – or brother – venue with the Basement East in, you guessed it, East Nashville.

Black Mountain at Mercy Lounge in Nashville.

Closer to downtown, you’ve got Mercy Lounge and The Cannery Ballroom. The history alone regarding these Cannery Row venues is surprising. Speaking of history, there’s of course the Ryman. And, yes, the acoustics really are what they say they are.

Most of these stops have histories before the development boom of the last ten or fifteen years in Nashville. This boom has brought an almost overwhelming number of destinations for foodies and those with high credit limits and levels of disposable income. At the time of writing, roughly $2 billion in building projects across the area are underway.

What’s fueling the development? I hate to say it, but it looks like it might actually be as simple as a concerted shift in urban design combined with an effort to attract business (read: employers) to the city. Area industry has been lauded as more diversified (read: it’s not just country music) than that of other cities. It’s a college town. It’s a sports town.

In short, it could be a poster child for what loose monetary policy is supposed to do everywhere.

Some Potentially Related – or Tangential – Facts About Nashville

Like Florida, Tennessee has no income tax.
Nashville is a pain to fly into without a private jet.
Hotel rooms are few, and a Hampton Inn might cost as much as $400 per night.
Uber is a very effective method of transportation there.
Carter Vintage Guitars is better than Gruhn Guitars, but don’t tell anyone.

What’s The Origin Story of Hot Chicken?

The demon spawn of tourism and loose monetary policy includes hype. In this case, the show Nashville can also be counted. And then there’s hot chicken.

Being southern, I had never heard of what has been hailed as a uniquely southern dish. Then, on a recent trip to Nashville, I found that it couldn’t be avoided. Like the author in a Bitter Southerner account, I didn’t understand where it came from or how I had missed it.

And, just as in the story from The Bitter Southerner, I made a similar discovery regarding it’s origin story when I asked an Uber driver about it.

He said he and his brother would be roused when their father needed soakage around 2 am. But no, he said, it was never as big of a deal as it is now. It was just a thing in the black community.

I asked another Uber driver, and he said the best hot chicken was in East Nashville, contrary to countless reviews of tourist traps. I did see the phrase “Spicy Chicken” on an old storefront window and a telephone number without an area code.

I don’t know the difference between spicy chicken and hot chicken, but I did get a Gulch restaurant to bastardize (read: improve) one of their dishes with hot (or spicy) chicken. It worked.

Anyway, you can get Nashville Hot Chicken at KFC now.

In the next post, we’ll continue our survey of Nashville including a look in on the arts and a trip for bagged ice.

Asheville: Portlandia of the East

April 7, 2016 By Matthew White Leave a Comment

Outside the Moog store and factory in Asheville, NC.

With just a few minutes before our tour of the Moog factory, it was decided that a drink was in order. Luckily, a quick survey of the vinyl and guitar shops on N. Lexington also yielded a bar with afternoon hours.

A Symbiotic Colony

Maybe you’ve had kombucha. The thought of different species in a “symbiotic colony” is a little much for some. The reminder of that colony in a sometimes gooey or lichenous form is too much for others. Anyway, those taps weren’t beer taps. And, it was delicious. Buchi – local to Asheville – is delightfully effervescent on draft, and it is served without the lichenous surprises at the bottom.

Beautiful, Wonderful, and Handmade Things

People making things in America.

It was with effervescent delight that we kicked off the visit to Moog headquarters. Yes, there’s a store there. More importantly, there are Americans actually building things at Moog.

And, they are beautiful, wonderful, and important things: Electronic musical instruments.

Job creation: Graffiti seen inside Moog.

I could go on for hours about Moog. Thanks to Bob Moog and the Moog brand, we have music as we’ve known it since the 60’s: The sonic climax in “Lucky Man,” important chunks of Sun Ra’s flavor of Afrofuturism, countless themes and sound effects. Dubstep. The reason that “Here Comes The Sun” sounds different than other Beatles songs.

And still, they make these instruments by hand in Asheville. On this particular day, clouds were literally over the factory, but inside, there was another cloud – that of the loss of another music icon, Keith Emerson.

History and Perspective

Back at the Grove Park Inn – I’m sorry, the Omni Grove Park – the evening was already in full swing with the ever-present music of the Great Hall. Smaller halls feature portraits of distinguished guests, annually selected. Some years were apparently bigger than others – I spotted both Eleanor Roosevelt and Richard Simmons.

Black Mountain College Museum awning in Asheville

Outside Black Mountain College Museum in Downtown Asheville.

Later that night I tried to explain to an Uber driver that our view was over the entrance/exit for the parking garage. She tried to convince me that this was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s favorite spot, so that he could monitor the comings and goings of the guests.

I must have had the wrong parking deck.

Creative Community

Black Mountain College studies building outside Asheville

Beside what was once the Black Mountain College studies building.

The centerpiece of this trip with Atlanta Contemporary donors was to explore the story and site of Black Mountain College. Atlanta Contemporary makes guided trips like this available to its donors, and these excursions provide unique experiences with sights and stories you might otherwise miss. Like a trip to Hale County, Alabama that we took some time ago.

In today’s era of academic inflation, Black Mountain College is an almost unbelievable story: Some of the world’s greatest creative minds of the 20th century congregated just east of Asheville in an effort to explore new ways of learning and creating.

Merce Cunningham and John Cage gigged here: The dining hall at Black Mountain College today.

On top of that, they actually had some graduates.

Two Views of the Past

Black Mountain College hosted the likes of Robert Rauschenberg, Willem De Kooning, Josef Albers, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Buckminster Fuller, and dozens of others during its time.

The story is kept alive in downtown Asheville by Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center. They show Black Mountain College related work as well as house a collection. In addition, the Asheville Art Museum houses works by Black Mountain College artists, and they highlight them in their exhibitions.

Paint drippings remain in one studio at the former campus of Black Mountain College.

Meanwhile at the actual site on Lake Eden, about twenty minutes east, the former studies building stands as a stark reminder of the school’s role in shaping countless creative paths.

Other structures remain. There’s the dining hall, where the residents put on plays and performances. Beneath the studies building, two frescoes by Jean Charlot are weathered, but still visible.

The campus is now home to a kids’ camp. I’ve read a few accounts regarding the experience there. It was intimate. It was experimental. It was hippie dippy before its time. Being part of the community actually required labor, sacrifice, and personal investment.

“Knowledge” – part one of the now faint and weathered frescoes by Jean Charlot.

Having the opportunity to walk the campus now, you get the distinct feeling that life would not have been easy by our standards at all.

But, there would have been a spirit, a creative drive, that would keep the residents moving forward in their purpose. What is that? What does it look and feel like? Where are the Black Mountain Colleges of our day?

They’re out there. Or are they?

Further Fermentation

“Inspiration” – part two in the Jean Charlot frescoes, painted in the summer of 1944.

Sure, the arts are alive in Asheville, but right now, beer is the bigger draw. Fun fact: Asheville has more breweries per capita than any other city in the US. But, if kombucha or beer isn’t your thing, there are any number of drinking and dining establishments from moonshine cocktails to sunset cocktails. Then, there’s The Crow & Quill, membership required.

And there are the handmade goods. Amid the sound of a distant drum circle, you can shop for any handmade leathergoods you might require. While waiting for brunch, you too can discover a fantastic shop with vintage belt buckles and handmade wallets, keychains, belts, and checkbooks. Which is nice. It’s real, man. And it’s there waiting for you.

Meanwhile if you find another kombucha bar or an artisan knot shop, let me know.

The view from Lake Eden at Black Mountain College.

Making It Rain @ Art Basel Miami Week

December 8, 2015 By Matthew White Leave a Comment

Rainbow over Art Basel Miami week at the beach.

A rainbow forms over preparations for an event at Miami Beach.

Somewhere around 41st and Collins, your Uber app would make an offer available to set sail on an Uber Boat across the bay. You and five of your friends, cocaine cowboys style.

Meanwhile around 18th and Ocean, you practically needed an Uber Boat to cross the road. Heavy downpours on Thursday night and during the day Saturday made jumping from beachside to Aqua not only treacherous but potentially ruinous to a pair of espadrilles.

The Soak

Espadrilles weren’t even safe inside the fairs. In at least one of the gargantuan fair tents, water was coming up from the beach sand around the edges and up through the seams of the plywood floors. Water ran aggressively down the inner walls.

At one booth from a Mexico City gallery, I watched large puddles of water creep from the edges – just underneath three framed underwater photographs. Had the artist thought of this playful addition, the triptych would really have been something.

Localized flooding at one fair during Art Basel Miami week 2015.

One half of the gallery assistants didn’t see the humor right away. The other did. She laughed heartily without an effort toward addressing the influx of rainwater.

Amid the sound of wet vacs elsewhere in the fair, it was difficult to tell when the rain finally stopped. Artists, collectors, and gallerists all got soaked.

Making It Rain at NADA

NADA moved to the freshly facelifted Fountainbleau with a strong and noticeably more upscale presence. If the rainy weather outside wasn’t enough – and budget permitted – fair goers and participants could make it rain until the morning hours at LIV.

Meanwhile, Miami Project and Art on Paper moved to the aging Deauville.

All offer 18% gratuity included for your convenience.

A Cutting Edge Week for Art Basel Miami

On Friday night, the Art Basel Miami fair partially became a crime scene – or rather, an official one. An X-Acto blade is great for precision cutting and slicing, while only passable for stabbing. Anyway that’s exactly what a fair attendee used one for. There was a great deal of blood – so much so that the act was mistaken for a performance piece by those nearby.

Bloodied fair goer at Art Basel Miami 2015

Stabbing at Art Basel Miami 2015. Photo from Miami Herald.

Then there were cops, an arrest, social media posts, caution tape, the works. There was also a very thoughtfully worded statement, sensitive to the fact that travelers from around the world are now on perpetually heightened terror alert. The “isolated incident” was “immediately secured.”

In the end, it wasn’t terror or even a hate crime according to police. The alleged assailant was simply charged with attempted murder.

Interestingly, one article noted that the alleged assailant was “starting to think about applying to graduate school.” At the time of writing, there is no news regarding the victim’s thoughts on getting an MFA.

And More Senseless Blade Violence

Blade violence wasn’t limited to the fairs during Art Basel Miami Beach weekend. The next morning on Alton Road, blocks away from the convention center and south of the gorgeous 1111 Lincoln Road parking deck, an attempted bank robbery led to police permanently “neutralizing” a man. He was armed with a barber’s straight razor.

The Surge

As a result, a portion of Alton Road was closed, further complicating a traffic situation already yielding Uber surge rates – 4.6 on one occasion in fact.

And forget that Uber Boat. If you tried to book it, the prompt always said that “all ships have set sail.”

A Layover in Denver Airport’s Concourse A

October 6, 2015 By Matthew White Leave a Comment

Mustang sculpture at Denver International Airport

Behold a pale horse welcomes you to the Denver International Airport. You should see it at night. Photograph provided courtesy of Denver International Airport.

I’m never without the impression that Denver International Airport is creepy. It just feels creepy. Whether its about the blue Mustang sculpture – “cursed” because it actually killed its creator Luis Jimenez – or the gargoyles in the suitcases that await you at baggage claim, it’s always been a confusing, contradictory space.

There is plenty already out there about the apocalyptic murals, the swastika-like shape of DIA’s layout, and the dedication stone “control console.” (And we’re just talking about what is visible at DIA). Therefore, I want to focus on new observations and things I haven’t been able to find much about, situated on Concourse A.

Concourse A Central Core Sculpture

View of the sculpture in concourse A of the Denver International Airport entitled Dual Meridian.

Great view of the sculpture in concourse A of the Denver International Airport. See any pyramids, triangles, or all-seeing eyes? Look more closely. Photograph provided courtesy of Denver International Airport.

The massive sculpture in the center of concourse A – David Griggs’ Dual Meridian – is obviously exploring themes of travel, technology, and the evolution of transportation.

On this visit however, I was struck most by the poor visibility for much of the sculpture.

Two sides are arranged in such a way that the sculpture can be viewed and appreciated from those vantage points. But, visibility is painfully impaired from the two other sides situated against the flow of train traffic below. Important and costly elements are visible only from certain angles and heights, such as the stone “world map” feature of the installation.

Why is this?

For such an advanced structure in terms of engineering and architecture, wouldn’t this have been taken into consideration by the New World Airport Commission? After all, opening at $2 billion over budget, sticking to the numbers has hardly been an issue for DIA.

If viewed from certain angles, you also get some interesting geometric effects.

The Beacon

Not far away from “central core” as DIA calls it (?!) sits an unwieldy and extremely heavy artifact – presumably a beacon from aviation history. As with so much of the airport, wall texts and explanations regarding the installations and displays are sparse. I couldn’t find anything regarding this piece nearby, and my research was not productive either. Even worse, I failed to document the artifact on my last visit and have not found an image in my subsequent research.

The conspiracy theory takeaway from “The Beacon?” “Light” and the Promethean act of providing illumination to man are important themes in Illuminati symbology.

Names of continents and other texts in a DIA floor mosaic

Look closely and try to read the texts in this DIA floor mosaic.

Floor Mosaics

At first, there isn’t anything obviously sinister about the floor mosaics entitled Patterns and Figures – Figures and Patterns in Concourse A. It’s after a little study that you start to have questions.

Like Dual Meridian at the center core of the A gates, viewing and processing the floor mosaics isn’t easy. The content is severely obscured by its installation. Little of it can truly be read and absorbed from the first level.

But, take a ride higher on the escalator, and elements become more clear. Others however, not so much. Areas along the border of the mosaic are confused and hidden from that vantage point. Why? It is as if this element along with others – just as with Dual Meridian – are intended to be viewed from a much higher vantage point. And, by “much higher,” we’re looking at two to three floors higher along with the removal of some elements of existing floors.

The word “quiet” and what else? Also, note the black outlines of triangles with “all seeing eye” squares. See them?

The names of continents are scattered within the mosaic, which of course makes sense thematically for an international airport. But, symbols, words, and phrases are included, much of which are difficult to decipher. Presumably, the themes would adhere to the usual cliched universal values displayed in this kind of context – such as peace, love, and understanding.

However, one word is obvious: “quiet.”

Quiet?

What is the relation of quiet, or silence, to the continents? To global travel? Why would other words and phrases be so comparatively indecipherable?

And, again, there is no wall text or accompanying information readily available for what was a significant undertaking to install. Go to the web site and you get bland and brief expository texts.

So Many Questions . . . Did They Call Zone 2?

Just as with the Georgia Guidestones, you leave the site asking even more questions. Regardless of your thoughts on conspiracy theory ties, the Illuminati, or just plain creepiness, there are some basic and reasonable questions anyone would ask: Why are there such problems with artwork display, installation, and visibility? Why would you place some of the artwork that they’ve chosen – including gargoyles, stormtroopers, and apocalyptic narratives – in this context? Is the swastika style layout really a good idea for a cluster of runways? Is it all just poor planning? Bureaucratic incompetence?

And finally, is it really true that the British monarchy owns real estate near the airport?

So What Did You Do At Hambidge Center?

March 15, 2015 By Matthew White Leave a Comment

What you don’t do at Hambidge is more important than what you do.

I came to that conclusion about halfway into my two-week creative residency there. If you haven’t heard of it, the Hambidge Center is a place where creatives of various kinds go, once accepted, to work on proposed projects or creative objectives. At any given time, eight artists reside in separate studios scattered among the woods. The studios generally have no connectivity, no TVs, no mobile signal, and the phone doesn’t dial out. Except for 911.

The Rock House is the gathering point for dinners, laundry, and most importantly, wifi.

In fact, if you choose, you may see no one until 6:30pm when all the creatives commune for dinner in the Rock House. Lively discussion can last well into the night. The largely vegetarian dinners are prepared by a chef who expertly bobs and weaves the finicky dietary requirements that artists are often known for.

Scenic hiking opportunities are plentiful. Spaces to sit and stare at the sky or the neighboring mountainscape are everywhere. One could consume countless days studying the history of the Hambidge Center and the Hambidge Fellows that have passed through it.

But that’s not what you go there for right? I mean, you’re there to work. To produce.

Well, yes and no.

Idle Brains

In his excellent study, Creativity: The Psychology of Discovery and Invention, Mihaly Csikzentmihalyi both confirms and debunks a number of long held ideas regarding the creative process for everyone from artists to scientists. In it, he says that achievements in creativity require “surplus attention.” Later he expands on one reason why:

Something similar to parallel processing may be taking place when the elements of a problem are said to be incubating. When we think consciously about an issue, our previous training and the effort to arrive at a solution push our ideas in a linear direction, usually along predictable or familiar lines. But intentionality does not work in the subconscious. Free from rational direction, ideas can combine and pursue each other every which way. Because of this freedom, original connections that would be at first rejected by the rational mind have a chance to become established.

I just remembered where I left my keys.

So What Are You Working On?

Admittedly, while at Hambidge Center, I did not take on quantum dynamics – the domain that one of Csikzentmihalyi’s subjects claimed. But, immediately upon arriving the first night, other creatives do naturally ask, so what are you here working on?

The surroundings are rustic and authentic. This is the way refrigeration was done back in the day, and water at Hambidge Center is spring fed.

I had my prepared answer which I provided. Uncomfortably, I knew that the nature of what I wanted to accomplish while at Hambidge Center might – though would likely not – yield objects I could point to and say look what I made!

My intention for the residency was to finally carve out time during which I could experiment and dive into some technologies I needed to revisit and explore. That’s not usually pretty. It means downloading (which you can do in the Rock House), reading, tinkering, screwing up, realizing that you’re missing a cable, etc. And, in the end, there is often very little, if anything, to show for it. Especially when you forget your Mac’s admin password.

OK, But What Did You Accomplish at Hambidge Center?

You thought I was setting you up for the news that I didn’t do much of anything. Well, that’s not true. I did complete a mixed media work, something that probably would never have happened the way it did if I hadn’t had a pedestal as a furnishing in my studio. I had never had this in my work surroundings, and it made me look at a particular construction in a new way.

And, one day on a hike, I encountered stacked stones that presumably another Fellow had left behind. About that time, the solution to a problem I had been thinking through boiled to the surface.

Ruins along a trail at Hambidge Center.

Looking up at misty mountains on another day during gestural mark making, I had a realization bubble up that will change the direction of future work.

Even more lasting perhaps, I learned a lot about myself and my daily work habits.

Whatever the domain, it is difficult sometimes to get OK with the realization that ideas, answers, and improvements take time. We have an innate or culturally engrained requirement to point to a result – a product, an object, a manuscript – as quickly as possible after time spent with a problem. But, if innovations or a breakthrough in any field are to occur, staring at the sky is a necessary part of the creative process.

If you can get over the self-imposed production requirement, things start to happen in time. And, time is what you have at Hambidge.

A Visit to the Georgia Guidestones

February 25, 2015 By Matthew White Leave a Comment

The Georgia Guidestones are located conveniently off of Guidestones Rd.

About 45 minutes east of Athens, GA sits Elberton. The town is mostly known for granite. And, since 1980, it’s become known for a few particular slabs.

The Georgia Guidestones, often called America’s Stonehenge, stand on a hill overlooking Hartwell Highway. You have to seek them out, and when you do find them, you realize that they’re massive. They reach over nineteen feet high and weigh over 100 tons.

But, it’s their mysterious origins and the more than 4,000 characters sandblasted on them that attract the most attention: The guidestones feature a kind of new “ten commandments” in twelve languages.

Mysterious Origins of the Georgia Guidestones

The Georgia Guidestones’ placement does undeniably call to mind the Stonehenge site.

So how did they get there? The history has been explored in a number of places online and perhaps best explained by Scott Wolter on H2’s America Unearthed.

In short, the story goes like this: A man using the pseudonym R.C. Christian walks into an Elberton bank with cash and very specific instructions for the site. The bank coordinates Christian’s wishes via the Elberton Granite Finishing Company. Still, no one knows who R.C. Christian was except the banker who, to his credit, continues to honor his commitment to his customer and the request for anonymity.

Today, the guidestones sit on private property and remain the property of Elbert County.

So, Who and Why?

Some say R.C. Christian was L. Ron Hubbard. No one really knows, but it doesn’t really sound like Hubbard. Supposedly, R.C. Christian – his name supposedly chosen because he was a Christian – represented “a small group of Americans who seek the Age of Reason.”

Christian made it known both to Granite City Bank and Elberton Granite Finishing Company that the monument was undertaken with the hopes of encouraging a new age of reason and appreciation of conservation.

The stones are now seen by many as a Ten Commandments of a godless New World Order. Some of the commandments seem harmless enough. I particularly like:

Avoid petty laws and useless officials.

That sounds like something most of us could rally around. However, it is difficult for many to get a handle on #1:

Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.

Anytime you start talking about population control, people understandably get uncomfortable. The world population is over 7 billion right now, and at the time of the stones’ placement, the number was around 4.5 billion. So, do the math – what would that 500 million number look like in practice?

What The Guidestones Are Telling Us

The placement of the stones, and the stones themselves, specifically draw from traditions of solar and astronomical calendars. The tone of the site suggests a coming apocalyptic event that the rest of us didn’t get the memo on. Or, are the stones and site calling for a man-made apocalyptic event?

Note the archaeoastronomical feature at the top slab of the guidestones.

One thing we can say for sure is that the commandments themselves are thematically consistent with known ideals of the Bavarian illuminati. Here they are in English, one of twelve languages that appear on the stones:

Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature.
Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity.
Unite humanity with a living new language.
Rule passion — faith — tradition — and all things with tempered reason.
Protect people and nations with fair laws and just courts.
Let all nations rule internally resolving external disputes in a world court.
Avoid petty laws and useless officials.
Balance personal rights with social duties.
Prize truth — beauty — love — seeking harmony with the infinite.
Be not a cancer on the earth — Leave room for nature — Leave room for nature.

I do like how they have the big ideas down but don’t get bogged down in the details.

In The End . . .

The placement of the stones orients with the North Star as well as the summer and winter solstices.

While driving away from the Georgia Guidestones, you realize that you leave with even more questions than you had upon arriving. It’s all too elaborate and costly to be a hoax.

And why, besides the availability of the granite, would it be situated there in Elberton? Christian named the climate and his ancestry as reasons, and the site is located near what the Cherokee believed to be the center of the world. (That may be where I stopped to get gas. Dirty bathroom by the way.) But, how does all of that synch up with the precision of the archaeoastronomical features?

As with any tourist site, visitors were parking cars, looking, laughing, and asking others to take pictures for them. I did not however see any selfie sticks.

And, nearby, in the spirit of leaving room for nature, a traveler walked her dog on a potty break.