Category Archives: Jesse

Fly Iowa

Back in August, Fly Iowa came to Boone. It was the first time Fly Iowa had been in Boone since the 1990s, I believe.

I had never been to an airshow before, so I didn’t really know what to expect, other than wall to wall blasting of Kenny Loggins classic “Danger Zone” on a constant loop.

And that was my biggest disappointment, not only wasn’t “Danger Zone” played on a constant loop. They didn’t play it one time! Complete garbage.

Despite that fact, I did find it entertaining and a good use of an afternoon. In fact, I took over 1,0000 pictures. That would be over 40 rolls of film in the old days. So I hope you like airplane photos, because there are going to be at least 10 of these posts scattered across the next several weeks!


Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019
I have so many questions…

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019
Fun fact: Red Baron is the worst frozen pizza. Next to Tombstone.

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Fly Iowa - 2019

Thankfully, I have “Danger Zone” on my flash drive that plays music in my car and Jesse and I listened to it on a loop on the way to Fly Iowa and on the way home.

Birthday Road Trip – Pixel 2 Pics

This is the last collection of pictures from my Birthday Road Trip. This collection is the collection of cruddy cell phone pictures I took with the trusty Pixel 2. A phone that is almost paid for, so it will surely die very soon.


Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

Birthday Road Trip - Cruddy Cell Phone Pictures

We lunched at Mabe’s Pizza. It was okay, but certainly wasn’t great. Somebody with a less refined pizza palette probably would have been bonkers for it though.

Now I should start planning in earnest for this year’s birthday road trip. Less than 3 months to go!

Birthday Road Trip – Misc.

Hey! Guess what? One week from today is Ash Wednesday! Do you know what that means? It means that it is another chance to come support the Youth Group’s Mission Trip to Indianapolis!

We will be holding a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser from 6-7 PM at the Boone First United Methodist Church. You can come down there and slop down some delicious spaghetti for whatever price you deem acceptable. Just throw some of your spare scratch in the donation basket and knock down as much spaghetti as your heart can take. Some garlic bread too!



All the information you need is right there. Hope to see many of you there!

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This is the second to last collection of images from my Birthday Road Trip. This is a collection of some random stops and places that just didn’t quite have enough pictures to warrant their own post. Places like Fort Atkinson and The Small Church near Festina.


2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

2019 Birthday Road Trip - Misc

The last collection of images from my Birthday Road Trip are the cruddy cell phone pictures I took that day.

Birthday Road Trip – Dunnings Spring Waterfall

I’m not 100% sure if the waterfall featured today is the Dunning’s Spring Waterfall or the Dunnings Spring Waterfall. I have seen it spelled both ways by multiple reputable organization. This is the type of thing that keeps me up at night.

The Dunnings Spring Waterfall in Decorah was the main goal of my birthday road trip. I had visited it once a few years back and I have always been completely unsatisfied with my pictures of it. It was a goal of mine to get back there and take at least one picture of it that I liked.

Here are my attempts:


Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Birthday Road Trip - Dunnings Spring Waterfall

Jesse fell down the side of the waterfall and cut himself. But he kept the camera equipment he was carrying protected, so good work on his part!

I have a couple more sets of pictures from the Birthday Road Trip still to share. Kind of a miscellaneous set of pictures and the some cruddy cell phone pictures.

Your Real World Away

Today is Valentine’s Day. I have been told that today is a holiday invented by the greeting card companies. I don’t know if that is the case, but I can’t think of the greeting card industry without thinking about one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies of the last 10 years. 11 years actually. The scene where Tom quits the greeting card company in 500 DAYS OF SUMMER:

(Sorry, some mild profanity)

(set at a meeting to discuss new greeting card ideas)

Tom: Yeah, uh, this is… And Rhoda, no disrespect, but um, this is total shit.

McKenzie:
Tom!

Tom: “Go for it” “You can do it”? That’s not inspirational, that’s suicidal. If pickles goes for it right there, that’s a dead cat. These are lies. We’re liars. Think about it. Why do people buy these things? It’s not ’cause they wanna say how they feel. People buy cards ’cause they can’t say how they feel or they’re afraid too. We provide the service that lets them off the hook. You know what? I say to hell with it. Let’s level with America. At least let them speak for themselves! Right? I mean, look! What-What is this? What does it say? “Congratulations on your new baby.” Right? How ’bout, “Congratulations on your new baby. Guess that’s it for hanging out. Nice knowing you.”

Vance:
Sit down, Hansen.

Tom:
How bout this one, with all the pretty hearts on the front? I think I know where this ones going. Yep! “Happy Valentines Day, sweetheart. I love you.” That sweet? Ain’t love grand? This is exactly what I’m talking about. What does that even mean, “love”? Do you know? Do you? Anybody?

McKenzie:
Tom…

Tom:
If somebody gave me this card, Mr. Vance, I would eat it. It’s these cards, and the movies and the pop songs, they’re to blame for all the lies and the heartache, everything. We’re responsible. *I’m responsible.* I think we do a bad thing here. People should be able to say how they feel, how they really feel, not you know, some words that some stranger put in their mouths. Words like “love”… that don’t mean anything. Sorry, I’m sorry. I, uh… I quit. I’m… There’s enough bullshit in the world without my help.

Well anyways, I made you a picture for Valentine’s Day:


Valentine's Day - 2020

Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope yours is exactly how you want it to be!

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I’ve resolved to make public the dates and movies of Union Street Theater’s Monthly Movie Night, because (and get this) you are invited! February Movie Night will be very special, it is going to be a Leap Day Movie Night.

Date: Saturday, February 29, 2020
Time: 6 PM
Place: Union Street Theater
Address: 1416 Union Street, Boone, Iowa

The theme this month is romance. The B movie is TEETH.



TEETH

Here is a quick synopsis of the film:

Dawn (Jess Weixler) is an active member of her high-school chastity club but, when she meets Tobey (Hale Appleman), nature takes its course, and the pair answer the call. They suddenly learn she is a living example of the vagina dentata myth, when the encounter takes a grisly turn.

The feature will be RED ROCK WEST:



RED ROCK WEST

I get it. I know what you’re thinking. Nicolas Cage is the worst! And you are almost right. Kevin Costner is actually the worst and Nicolas Cage is the second worst. Remember that while Cage is awful, he did manage to make RAISING ARIZONA and ADAPTATION. 2 great movies! All Kevin Costner can say is that he was in THE UNTOUCHABLES where Sean Connery carried him.

Here is a quick synopsis of RED ROCK WEST:

When unemployed ex-marine Michael Williams (Nicolas Cage) stumbles into a bar in Red Rock, Wyo., the owner, Wayne (J.T. Walsh), mistakes him for a hired killer and offers him $10,000 to kill his wife, Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle). Michael plays along, taking half the money up front, then tells Suzanne what her husband is planning. She seduces Michael and proposes that he kill her husband instead. While he weighs his options, the real killer (Dennis Hopper) turns up looking for his money.

I believe that Jay will be holding his second Root Beer Symposium that night, so an added bonus will be blind taste testing a series of root beers.

I can’t guarantee your mental health if you attend Union Street Theater Movie Night. I still believe that Movie Night broke Willy.

March Movie Night will be a tribute to the great Kirk Douglas. Movies have yet to be determined at this time.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is FAMILY:


WEEK 231 - FAMILY
FAMILY

A FAMILY photo is any photo of a group of people that share a common relationship or common values or common purpose or even common DNA.

Happy photo harvesting!

WPC – WEEK 230 – REFLECTION

Today is a very big day in the history of my oldest friends. Not just because one of my old friends climbed a building and set his shirt on fire and got arrested yesterday. No, because today is Bill’s birthday!


February 9, 2010

9 Emotions - Bill

March 12, 2019

Happy birthday Bill!

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Looks like the streak lives on for one more week. 19 weeks in total. REFLECTION struck a chord with the absolute bare minimum to extend the streak of double digit submissions!

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:


WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 230 - REFLECTION - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:


WEEK 231 - FAMILY
FAMILY

FAMILY! What a great theme! But what is a FAMILY picture? A FAMILY picture is any picture that involves a FAMILY. And don’t let any Scrooge McDuck’s from Ankeny try to tell you that FAMILY can only be defined by DNA. Remember, a true family provides its members with emotional and spiritual kinship through:

+ Shared values, beliefs, and traditions
+ Common experiences and activities
+ Unconditional, non-judgmental support

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

+++++++

HOUSEKEEPING


A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

OR

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very familial Monday!

Birthday Road Trip – Malanaphy Springs

After we left The Little Brown Church and the possible time travelers but probably LARPers, our next stop was the Malanaphy Springs Waterfall. It is the lesser known waterfall in/near Decorah. It isn’t as pretty as Dunning’s Springs. It definitely isn’t as accessible. It is a good 20-30 minute hike on a trail that isn’t well curated.

With that being said, it is definitely worth the extra work. It is a place out in the woods that is beautiful and private. A person can collect their thoughts there.

Here are some pictures:


Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

.Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

Malanaphy Springs Waterfall

I would like to return to this waterfall at some point this year. Looking ahead, I’ll probably take my birthday road trip on May 15 this year. But I have no clue where I will end up. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it is back in northeast Iowa again.

More pictures from this trip still to come.

Larry Howard

Willy, Jay, and I are taking Jesse out for his birthday. It isn’t anywhere near his birthday. Jesse’s birthday was way back in December, but life got in the way of going out then. We had to celebrate Willy’s birth. Then the holidays got in the way. Then it was the Camping World Bowl Road Trip. It took us awhile to come together on a day that worked for everybody.

After swapping calendars, we worked out the best day was February 7. A very special FNSC. We would gather ourselves up and head to The OP in Ankeny.

This is apropos because today is the birthday of Jesse’s dad Larry. Larry passed away on February 21, 2019. Larry was a Vietnam veteran and was eventually laid to rest at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Van Meter.

I was asked to take pictures of the ceremony once I got there. I didn’t actually plan on that and I didn’t have my normal camera with me. I did what I could with the RX0II. Here are a few pictures of Larry’s graveside service:


Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

Larry Howard's Graveside Service

If you have never been to the Veteran’s Cemetery in Van Meter, I recommend visiting it. Even if you don’t have anybody there. It will recalibrate your sense of priorities.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is REFLECTION:



REFLECTION

I don’t know that REFLECTION picture needs explained.

Happy photo harvesting!

Birthday Road Trip – Little Brown Church

For starters, happy birthday Anders! We celebrated Anders’ birthday last night at January birthday night with yellow cake, a DOLEMITE double feature, and a root beer tasting.

After all, DOLEMITE is my name and (expletive deleted) up mother (expletive deleted) is my game!

Here are some pictures of a man I consider to be at least the equal of Dolemite!


PHOTO JOURNAL - PAGE 121 ALTERNATE

9 Emotions Project - Anders Runestad


One of my secret (I guess) goals of 2020 is to be more proactive about putting information for Movie Night up on the website. Because if you are reading these words, you are invited to Movie Night.

But be warned, you may never be the same after you attend Movie Night. Exposure to great art tends to change a person. In fact, I think Movie Night broke Willy.

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Enough about Anders’ birthday. Let’s talk about my birthday. Last year Jesse and I took a road trip around my birthday. One of the stops we made was at The Little Brown Church. There were a bunch of LARPers there. Maybe they were time travelers. Either way, they were dressed up like it was the Civil War.

Here are some pictures from that stop:


Little Brown Curch

Little Brown Curch

Little Brown Curch

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Little Brown Church

Jesse had never heard of The Little Brown Church, but it is the church from that song. You know the song. The song about the little brown church.

There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood
No lovelier spot in the dale
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale

Our church hosted a filmmaker who made a documentary about it once. It was interesting, but it didn’t feature one time traveler.

2009-08-24

There are a ton of photos in the folder 2009-08-24. Most of them are from my trips to the Iowa State Fair in 2009. However, there is also a good chunk of them that are pictures of Teresa and Ernie.

This is already going to be a long post, so I don’t want to overwhelm you with a ton of words up front. I want to overwhelm you with pictures on the backside:


Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Iowa State Fair - 2009

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

Teresa and Ernie

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entry to its original glory:

The State Fair

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve some Stephanie and some of my mad gardening skills.