In Milwaukee…

We are in Alterra Coffeehouse in Milwaukee near the lakeshore as I type this post.  Last night, we saw the Brewers hold on for a 5-4 victory over the Blue Jays at Miller Park.  This is an image I took messing around as we walked into Miller Park in the late afternoon.  We met my college roomate Paul at the game, and then after we had a pint of Guinness at County Clare Irish Pub near our hotel.  I’m not usually a fan of Guinness (our any beer for that matter), but it was tremendous the way it was served, with a rich, creamy, foam top.  According to Liz, the Guinness was poured right, and that’s what made it so good.  Liz is a beer afficiando, so I trust her explanation.

It was a good day from the start in Madison until the finish in Milwaukee.  In Madison, we walked through the Farmer’s Market off the Capitol Square, walked again down State Street, had the red brats at State Street Brats for lunch, went to the Law School and climbed to the top of Bascom Hill.  We topped off our day in Madison with Babcock Ice Cream in the Memorial Union.  It simply is the best Ice Cream anywhere, and is the official king and queen of Liz’s 2008 Ice Cream Tour of Wisconsin.  RANT ALERT:  And for you latte-sipping weenies who had ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery or Ben and Jerry’s on State Street, what on earth were you thinking?  That stuff is admittedly good, but that’s like going to Italy and ordering Pizza Hut over the local Roman Pizza Stand. That stuff is not even in the same planet as either Babcock Ice Cream, made right on campus by students from the working dairy farm, or the other local ice cream parlor on State Street (the Chocolate Shoppe).  I guess it is part of the sad trend of chains over local places across the country.  RANT OVER.

Greetings from America’s Dairyland (aka Rainland)…

We went through a ferocious lightning storm yesterday between Minneapolis, MN and Appleton, WI.  As we looked down on the waves of neon green farmland and forest, we noticed standing water in nearly every farmer’s field.  For the first time in a long time, we were in a small propeller plane.  The place bucked with every blast of wind and every rumble of thunder.  Just about the time the pilot lowered the landing gear, Liz and I were looking out to our window to the right when a bolt of lighting seemingly struck right next to the plane.  We were sitting right in the front of the plane, with the Flight Attendant immediately buckled in next to us.  Even the flight attended audibly gasped and had a look of complete fear.  She realized the look on her face was scaring the passengers, so after a few moments she said something about the plane being able to withstand lightning.  Fortunately, the pilot did a good job landing the plane in the storm.  After we landed, we had to wait a little bit longer than usual in the plane until the airport personal could safely attach the metal jetway to the place in the storm.  The pilot and co-pilot opened the flight door and were talkative to the flight attendent and some of the passengers in the front.  The co-pilot mentioned the bolt of lightning immediately to the plane’s right as we made our final approach for the lightning.  He said something about just closing his eyes for a moment and hoping…

Once on the ground, the storm absolutly pounded the area.  At least a dozen tornados were reported across the area.  And torrenential rains flooded rivers, roads, city streets, and parking lots.  In Ripon, Wisconsin (home of Ripon Good Cookies), manhole covers shot into the air due to water pressure.  In Oskkosh, Wisconsin, where they received 4.6 inches of rain during the storm, cars sat on the street with water above the tire wells.  And as I understand, the worst of it was still further to the south near Madison, Milwaukee and Fond du Lac, where the area was already heavily flooded from this past weekend’s storm.  We intend to visit my Madison, but now I’m sure if we will be able to do so, especially with rain in the forecast everyday in the near future.

Never Too Late to Remember: Memorial Day 2008

Sorry about the long absence. My work schedule has been ferocious of late, and I just have not had the energy or will to spend time in front of the computer. Anyway, I thought I would share a couple of pictures from Memorial Day weekend 2008. Liz and I spent in hour at dusk in the National Veteran’s Cemetery in Santa Fe. Liz found the tombstone of a women who had served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. We speculated that this woman served as a nurse through three wars, and imagined the horrendous images of suffering that must have ran through her mind over the years. It was quite a powerful evening, walking among the thousands of headstones with the American flags blowing the in breeze. Enjoy the images…

Young Fireman, Santa Fe Plaza

“Young Fireman, Santa Fe Plaza“

 

This image is from the 4th of July Pancakes on the Plaza in Santa Fe in 2007.  I saw this young child with a great red fireman’s helmet on his head.  I wanted to capture an image that featured the mixture of youth and the dream of being a fireman.  I purposely choose to remain standing and take the picture looking down on the child, both to increase the impact of the fireman’s helmet and the emphasize the smallness of the child.  Once again, I used selective desaturation to bring an old-time feel to the photograph.

Hot Air Balloon at Sunrise

“Hot Air Balloon, Saguaro National Park“

Another photograph from Saguaro National Park in Tucson.  I was searching for my perfect vista when suddenly a hot air balloon when whizzing by overhead.  I ran frantically looking for a place where I could take a quick capture that would get both the balloon and the desert environment.  I also frantically tugged filters off the lens and adjusted the ISO and my camera so I could capture the scene hand held.  I had maybe 15-seconds to take pictures by the time I found a spot before the balloon disappeared behind the distant ridge.

After the balloon disappeared, I noticed numerous sharp pains in my gluteus maximus.  In my frantic run, I had rubbed my backside up against a small cactus.  In turn, the cactus dutifully deposited cactus spines in my deserving rump.  Not sure if it was worth it, but the adrenaline rush was certainly fun.