Category Archives: Basketball

Andree, Andy, Angie, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Derrick, Elizabeth, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Laura, Linda, Logan, Lowell, Mark, Michelle, Micky, Nader, Robert, Russell, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Shawn Lockner, Toby, Willy

Roundball Oracles Year 19

March 17, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

It is time once again for the greatest sporting event of year. It is that time known as March Madness. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Once again, I will be sponsoring a NCAA Tournament Pool. There is no cost to enter the pool, except for pride. And if pride is nothing to you, well done.

The winner gets a trophy. The dead last place person gets a trophy known as The Sara*. Nobody else gets a trophy. I’m not made of trophies people!

By winning, you get your name etched on the List of Immortals:

PAST ROUNDBALL ORACLE CHAMPIONS – LIST OF IMMORTALS

2023 – Will Baier
2022 – Ben Baier
2021 – Micky Augustin
2019 – Becky Parmelee
2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

But I said that there are 2 trophies. The 2nd trophy, The Sara, goes to the adult that finishes dead last, while trying. A person can not tank on purpose and win The Sara. The reason The Sara winner has to be an adult is that I don’t want to mock children, to their face. Does that mean I have no problem mocking children behind their back? Does it make me a bad person if I say yes? Probably a better rule would be that to “win” The Sara, you have to be at least a teenager. I have no problem mocking teenagers to their face. At least, back when there was a Youth Group.

Past “The Sara” Winners:

2023 – Ben Baier
2022 – Joey Randazzo
2021 – Rachel Gildersleeve
2019 – Russell Kennerly
2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

The Sara doesn’t have the long storied history of the championship trophy, but it will get there. I have no doubts. This will be the 9th winner since its inception after all.

These were the final standings from last year:

1. Will Baier – 204
2. Toby Sebring – 200
3. Sarah Karber – 193
4. Tim Peterson – 189
5. Cathie Morton – 188
6. Elizabeth Nordeen- 185
7. Andy Sharp – 184
8. Russell Kennerly – 184
9. Linda Bennett – 183
10. Micky Augustin – 183
11. Carrie Baier – 180
12. Dawn Krause – 178
13. Corey Faust – 177
14. Jesse Howard – 176
15. Jason Baier – 173
16. Angie DeWaard – 171
17. Michelle Haupt – 170
18. Carla Stensland – 170
19. Jackson Faust – 168
20. Frank Meiners – 157
21. Lowell Davis – 155
22. Andree Jauhari – 154
23. Christopher D. Bennett – 154
24. Robert Henning – 154
25. Nader Parsaei – 147
26. Logan Kahler – 145
27. Rachel Gildersleeve – 145
28. Joey Randazzo – 144
29. Olivia Baier – 141
30. Jordan Toot – 141
31. JJ Baier – 141
32. Brandon Kahler – 136
33. Becky Parmelee – 131
34. Derek Dohrman – 122
35. Sara Lockner – 112
36. Shawn Lockner – 111
37. Ben Baier – 111

If you are a basketball fan, or are just interested in having fun, click on the link below to join my pool:

Roundball Oracles – Year 19

The rules are as follows:
Round 1 = 1 point + seed
Round 2 = 2 points + seed
Round 3 = 4 points + seed
Round 4 = 8 points + seed
Round 5 = 16 points + seed
Rounds 6 = 32 points + seed

The Play-in Games (AKA the First Four) don’t matter. You can wait for those games to complete before filling out your bracket. The deadline to fill out your bracket, is tip-off of the first game on Thursday. Roughly 11 AM.

Under special circumstances, I will allow you to turn in a paper bracket to me. So, don’t be afraid to ask.

Yes, your child can fill out a bracket. Your dog, no.

There were 37 competitors in 2023. A 1 person gain from 2022. Hopefully there is continued growth in participation this year, but I don’t know that I have 1 more friend than I did in 2023. It is possible I have gained even more friends since 2023. I might be a pretty great person.

*You have to be 14 years or older to win “The Sara”.

Adam, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Elizabeth, Iowa State, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Road Trip, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Steph, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 442 – ROAD TRIP

March 4, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

ROAD TRIP! One of my favorite ways to spend a day. Also one of my favorite themes! But did it inspire enough people to leave their house to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out?

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, February 26, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Mary Green – 2 weeks (2)
2-Stehanie Kim – 2 weeks
3-Becky Parmelee – 2 weeks
4-Willy McAlpine – 4 weeks
5-Sara Lockner – 6 weeks
6-Monica Jennings – 6 weeks
7-Suzie Brannen – 8 weeks (2)
8-Lowell Davis – 8 weeks
9-Michelle Haupt – 8 weeks
10-Alexis Stensland – 8 weeks (2)
11-Brandon Kahler – 9 weeks
12-Scott Degeneffe – 27 weeks (2)
13-Sabas Hernandez – 28 weeks
14-Mike Vest – 33 weeks
15-Sheri Fakhouri – 37 weeks (2)
16-Logan Kahler – 38 weeks (2)
17-Nathanial Brown – 39 weeks
18-Jesse Howard – 39 weeks
19-Tamara Peterson – 42 weeks
20-Mindi Terrell – 54 weeks (2)
21-Linda Bennett – 83 weeks
22-Sarah Toot – 84 weeks
23-Angie DeWaard – 88 weeks
24-Dawn Krause – 92 weeks (2)
25-Kim Barker – 98 weeks
26-Joe Duff – 99 weeks
27-Teresa Kahler – 110 weeks
28-Carla Stensland – 110 weeks (2)
29-Micky Augustin – 112 weeks
30-Andy Sharp – 113 weeks
31-Bill Wentworth – 114 weeks
32-Cathie Morton – 118 weeks
33-Elizabeth Nordeen – 119 weeks
34-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 121 weeks
35-Kio Dettman – 123 weeks

Reminder. Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.
3. Sometimes, for special people, for special circumstances, we can negotiate something.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks or the rules of the challenge or how to submit. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

WPC - WEEK 442 - ROAD TRIP - ADAM GORDON

Adam Gordon (Central BBQ – Southaven, Mississippi) – 1 week

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 1 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Indiana) – 3 weeks

Mary Green (Indiana)

Stephanie Kim (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York) – 3 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 3 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Sara Lockner (Woodward, Iowa)- 7 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone County, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Michelle Haupt (Des Moines, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 9 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Saint Paul, Minnesota) – 10 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 28 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (35 South Near Ames, Iowa) – 29 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 34 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Red Lobster – West Des Moines, Iowa) – 38 weeks

Logan Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 39 weeks

Logan Kahler (Ames, Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) – 40 weeks

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 40 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 43 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 55 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 84 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 85 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 89 weeks

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 93 weeks

Kim Barker (Estes Park, Colorado) – 99 weeks

Kim Barker (Dacono, Colorado)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 100 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 111 weeks

Carla Stensland (Polk City, Iowa) – 111 weeks

Carla Stensland (Polk City, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Huxley, Iowa) – 113 weeks

Micky Augustin (Alleman, Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Omaha, Nebraska) – 114 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 115 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 119 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 120 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Norwalk, Iowa) – 122 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 124 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Ames, Iowa) – 546 weeks

37 participants! That is a great week! Up one from last week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Colorado (2)
+ Indiana (2)
+ Iowa (32)
+ Kansas (1)
+ Minnesota (1)
+ Mississippi (1)
+ Nebraska (2)
+ New York (1)
+ Pennsylvania (2)
+ Texas (1)

Thanks to the travels of Mary, we added Indiana to the list! Thanks to Adam’s travels, we’ve added Mississippi!

Here is the Year 11 list of states where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each state):

+ Arkansas (4)
+ California (1)
+ Colorado (4)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Indiana (2)
+ Iowa (339)
+ Kansas (13)
+ Michigan (4)
+ Minnesota (3)
+ Mississippi (1)
+ Missouri (1)
+ Nebraska (12)
+ New York (6)
+ Pennsylvania (8)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Texas (16)
+ Vermont (1)

17 states so far! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple states:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX)
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT)
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN)
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO)
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN)
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD)
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE)
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS)

Mary has joined the list of people that have submitted from 3 states. Jen maintains her 1 state lead to be crowned the Queen of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Travel! I’ll keep workshopping that name. But I might buy a crown for the winner. Just another idea I’m spitballing.

There were a couple of big milestones reached this week. Brandon hit the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! But Joe Duff 10 upped him and reached the Triple Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo!

It wasn’t all fun and games though. Not all rainbows and unicorns. Monica’s streak ended at 6 weeks. Suzie’s is no more after 8 weeks!

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:

SENTIMENTAL (SUGGESTED BY JOE DUFF)

SENTIMENTAL! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! It will be interesting to see what people find gets them all filled up with sentiment!

I look forward to your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of SENTIMENTAL in this place in this place that is mostly purple because I am sentimental next Monday.

Art, Basketball, History, Street Photography, Travel

George Perry Floyd Square – III

February 17, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

On Thursday night, in Iowa City, Caitlin Clark pulled up near the logo and drilled a 3 pointer. The crowd went crazy. The announcers went crazy. She went crazy. Her teammates went crazy. She has just become the all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball history!

Only, not so fast. Did she?

Now, this isn’t meant to be a slight against Caitlin Clark. She is a great basketball player. Maybe, the greatest women’s basketball player in history. BUT, she isn’t the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history. Not yet.

You see there are a couple of caveats to her being the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history. You have to listen closely. If the announcers/reporters are doing their job, they are saying the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. Next, they will start counting down her march to overtake Pete Maravich as the all-time leading scorer in NCAA history. Men’s or Women’s.

That is right, but there is more college basketball than just the NCAA variety.

Caitlin Clark is no the second all-time leading scorer in women’s major basketball. Some might call it Division 1. Before the NCAA could see their way to oversee women’s basketball, women’s basketball was ran by the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. From 1971 to 1981, they oversaw women’s sports and believe it or not there was a woman at a major college that scored more points than Caitlin Clark, so far.

Caitlin Clark has currently scored 3,569 points, so far. So who still has more points than her? There are a few, but here are the key ones.

Lynette Woodward scored 3,649 points in her career at Kansas. Making her the current all-time leading scorer in major women’s college basketball.

Pete Maravich scored 3,667 points in his college career at Louisiana State. No matter, what he is and remains the greatest scorer in college basketball history. He amassed his total in only 3 years because when he played, Freshman were not allowed to play. He also played before the institution on of the 3 point line. In fact, so did Lynette Woodward and the next person on this list. Maravich averaged… AVERAGE 44.2 points per game over his college career. 44.2!!

Pearl Moore scored 4,061 points in her college career at Francis Marion College. Making her the all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history. Regardless of level.

John Pierce scored 4,230 points in his career at Lipscomb. Back when he put up his monster stats Lipscomb was an NAIA school. So that makes him the all-time leading scorer in college basketball history at all levels.

This isn’t to put down what Caitlin Clark is doing. It is just that some people have seemingly been wiped out of the narrative and their accomplishments forgotten. I think their accomplishments should not be forgotten.

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Time once again to share a collection of images I took last July while visiting George Floyd Square in Minneapolis.

Still plenty more pictures to share from this powerful experience.

Basketball, Nature, Olympic Sports, Still Life, WPC - Alternate

For You

February 6, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

I took a few pictures for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme RULE OF THIRDS. Mostly around Memorial Park, but a couple at Franklin and a couple in downtown Boone. Here are some that I liked, but not enough to submit for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

We did so well with the rule of thirds, I think next year I will have to make the golden ratio or the golden spiral a theme. What do you think?

Amy, Andy, Angie, Basketball, Bill, Brandon, Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Drone, Elizabeth, Iowa State, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Night, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Street Photography, Tamara, Teresa, Travel, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 433 – HUMANS

January 1, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett

It is time to share the July image from the 2024 Photography 139 Calendar image. It is a picture taken with Rodan139 of somebody setting off fireworks on the 4th of July in my neighborhood.

JULY

I chose this image since I felt the fireworks represented the 4th of July well.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

CAMERA: Hasselblad L1D020c
DATE: July 24, 2023 – 1010 PM
LENS: 28mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 28mm
APERTURE: f/5.6
EXPOSURE: 3 seconds
ISO: 400

Tomorrow I will share the August image!

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HUMANS! They are all over the place! But are there enough of them kicking around to make HUMANS a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, December 25, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Evie Gorshe – 1 week
2-Mary Green – 1 week
3-Elainie Hernandez – 1 week
4-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
5-Alexis Stensland – 1 week
6-Scott Degeneffe – 18 weeks
7-Sabas Hernandez – 19 weeks
8-Mike Vest – 24 weeks
9-Sheri Fakhouri – 28 weeks (3)
10-Logan Kahler – 29 weeks (3)
11-Nathanial Brown – 30 weeks (2)
12-Jesse Howard – 30 weeks
13-Tamara Peterson – 33 weeks (2)
14-Mindi Terrell – 45 weeks (3)
15-Linda Bennett – 74 weeks (2)
16-Sarah Toot – 75 weeks (2)
17-Angie DeWaard – 79 weeks
18-Dawn Krause – 83 weeks
19-Kim Barker – 89 weeks
20-Joe Duff – 90 weeks (2)
21-Teresa Kahler – 101 weeks (3)
22-Carla Stensland – 101 weeks (2)
23-Micky Augustin – 103 weeks
24-Andy Sharp – 104 weeks
25-Bill Wentworth – 105 weeks (3)
26-Cathie Morton – 109 weeks
27-Elizabeth Nordeen – 110 weeks
28-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 112 weeks
29-Kio Dettman – 114 weeks (3)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Brandon Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Carrie Moellers (Mambai, India) – 1 week

Amy Peterson (Jewell, Iowa) – 1 week

Amy Peterson (Ames, Iowa)

Mary Green (Michigan) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Michigan)

Scott Degeneffe (Goldie’s – Prairie City, Iowa) – 19 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 20 weeks

Mike Vest (Noel, Missouri) – 25 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 29 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 30 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 31 weeks

Jesse Howard (Sun Records – Memphis, Tennessee) – 31 weeks

Jesse Howard (Big River Crossing – Memphis, Tennessee)

Tamara Peterson (Swede Valley Church – Rural Boone County) – 34 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 46 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 75 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Sarah Toot (Kansas City, Missouri) – 76 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 84 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 90 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 91 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 102 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Hilton Coliseum – Ames, Iowa) – 102 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Story County, Iowa) – 104 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 105 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Saint Louis, Missouri) – 106 weeks

Cathie Morton (Waukee, Iowa) – 110 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 111 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Tursi’s Latin King – Des Moines, Iowa) – 113 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 115 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Beale Street – Memphis, Tennessee) – 537 weeks

30 participants! That is a pretty great week, considering the holiday! Thanks to Cathie’s sister we end the year with a new country. India! I believe that to be the first submission from Asia ever for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Kansas
+ India
+ Iowa
+ Missouri
+ Tennessee
+ Texas

Here is the final calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Hawaii
+ Idaho
+ Illinois
+ Indiana
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Kentucky
+ Louisiana
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Mississippi
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Nebraska
+ New Hampshire
+ New Jersey
+ New Mexico
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Carolina
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Vermont
+ Virgin Islands
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

41 states and 1 district and 1 territory! That is pretty impressive! Over 80% of the way there!

The state nobody submitted from are:
+ Alabama
+ Alaska
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Maine
+ Massachusetts
+ Rhode Island
+ Virginia
+ West Virginia

Here is the final map for 2023:

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ Spain
+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Canada
+ Peru
+ France
+ Austria
+ Germany
+ Italy
+ India
+ Slovenia
+ Belize

The big milestone this week was Micky joining the 2 Year Streak Club! WooHoo!

But not everybody rang in the new year with their streak intact. Evie’s couldn’t build on last week’s submission. Either could Elainie. Or Willy. Or Alexis.

SUNDAY MORNING – SUGGESTED BY SARAH TOOT

SUNDAY MORNING! What a great first theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

This year I’m not going to give a description of the theme. I’m going to trust you can figure it out on your own and through the theme reveal image. However, if you do have a question, don’t be afraid to ask.

Here is an updated list of the rules for Year 11:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of SUNDAY MORNING in this place that likes to have plenty of submissions by Sunday morning next Monday.

9 Emotions Project, Art, Basketball, Birthdays, Black & White, Blogging, Boone County Fair, Boone FUMC, Carla, Drone, Elainie, Evie, Formal Portrait, Fran, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Kim, Layla, Logan, Micky, Mom, Naima, Road Trip, Saydie, Shannon, Shawn Lockner, Still Life, Street Photography, Tenderloining, Teresa, Vest

Post 5,005

November 4, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start this milestone post by wishing Elainie a happy birthday!

Happy birthday Elainie!

I hope your birthday is amazing!!

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Today is also Layla’s birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAYLA!

I hope you have an awesome birthday!

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Can you believe that this is the 5,005th entry in the blog known as “An Artist’s Notebook”? Every 250 posts or so I like to take a moment to reflect on where this post has been and post a lot of meaningless stats. I meant to post this post on Sunday night when it would have been Post #5,000, but you know how my week went. Not great.

As always on these posts, I like to start by quoting the very first “An Artist’s Notebook” entry that published on August 9, 2006. That first post that published 6,296 days.

That post that started with these words:

So here is the first journal entry. I felt like having as pretentious sounding name as possible for my journal. I have a few goals about this journal. My main goal is just to actually write in it. My second goal is to be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings. I have another journal on another website, but it is really just a collection of sarcastic statements and cheap jabs at open faced sandwiches. This journal is meant to be about what my achievements and failures are in the world of art. What projects I am working on and what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish. What I am photographing and what I am thinking about entering in photo contests. What I am thinking about. It might not always make sense. It might just be things I need to write down because they strike me as poignant or inspirational. This is in a small way an online “idea box”.

Since those words, I have posted 5,005 journal entries. (Normally I would do this little exercise on post #4,750, but I was in Vegas at that time.) This website is still something of an “idea box”. Sometimes I’m just working stuff out here. I don’t know why, sometimes I need to work stuff out in public. But this website is definitely more than just an “idea box”. It is a place where I post a few thoughts and a ton of pictures. I’ve gone through a few photo projects on these pages. From THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT to the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT to THE SELFIE PROJECT to the POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT to name just a few. This website has also created a community with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Which is one of my proudest achievements. Even if it sputtered and spit and barely survived in its first few years.

5,005 posts. I can’t even measure the elevation changes my life have taken since then. Major ups. Major downs. Peaks and valleys. 5,005 posts and I vow to keep on chugging along.

On these reflective posts, I like to publish a bunch of statistics that me and Joe Duff find interesting. So I might as well get to it.

Every post in “An Artist’s Notebook” is tagged with at least one Category. It is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the website. They are listed at the top of each post. Here are some statistics about Categories:

THE TOP 10 MOST USED CATEGORIES (RANK IN POST #4757 & INCREASE SINCE THEN)
10. Carla – 582 (#8 – +52)
9. Teresa – 590 (#9 – +65)
8. Road Trip – 611 (#6 – +42)
7. Macro – 627 (#10 – +132)
6. Formal Portrait – 638 (NR)
5. Jesse – 684 (#4 – +54)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

Dropping from the from the Top 10 was Shannon, a category that was #7 in Post #4757.

The 5 categories that have the best shot at making the Top 10 in Post #5,250 are Shannon, Nature, WPC-Submissions, and Candid Portrait.

It should be noted that some of these increases are caused by my working on the categories on some older posts.

THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Photoshop – 432 (#10 – +43)
9. Candid Portrait – 475 (NR)
8. Nature – 538 (+101 – #8)
7. Road Trip – 611 (#5 – +42)
6. Macro – 627 (#6 – +132)
5. Formal Portrait – 638 (#8 – +191)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

WPC-Submission fell out of the Top 10. It was ranked #7 in Post #4757.

The categories that are just right outside of the Top 10 are Still Life, Naima, History, and Self-Portrait and Christianity.

THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Vest – 350 (NR)
9. Jay – 353 (#6 – +5)
8. Micky – 359 (NR)
7. Logan – 380 (#9 – +61)
6. Kim – 395 (#7 – +53)
5. Mom – 464 (#5 – +6)
4. Shannon – 576 (#2 – +37)
3. Carla – 582 (#3 – +52)
2. Teresa – 590 (#4 – +65)
1. Jesse – 684 (#1 – +54)

Dropping from the rankings was Willy and Derrick.

The categories that have the best shot at cracking the next Top 10 are Willy, Derrick, Jen, Andy, and Sara.

If you are wondering what is your best way to improve your Photography 139 Score and crack the Top 10, it is simply to be active in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE or go on trips with me or participate in various other photo projects or be related to me. Now these aren’t necessarily the 10 people that have influenced my photography the most, but these are the 10 people that have made the largest imprint on this website.

I can tell you the people that have influenced my photography the most, but that is a tale for another time. But I’m pretty sure you can guess who.

If you have spent any time on the Photography 139 website, you know that on the left sidebar, the “Top 100 Categories” are listed. I thought I would give a little bit of coverage to the Bottom 10 of the Top 100. There are currently 203 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but they are mostly people that either very recently came into the life of this website by birth (Jonah Kahler) or another way (Nathanial, Mindi, Fran). Or people that I thought would be a bigger part of my life and then weren’t. No need to cover those people. The Category that is #203 probably needs to be purged.

THE BOTTOM 10 OF THE TOP 100
#10. Andree – 77
#10. Flat Earth Joe – 77
#10. Self-Portrait Project – 77
#9. Photo Journal – 79
#8. Commercial – 83
#7. Sabas – 84
#6. Becca – 89
#3. Pufferbilly Days – 91
#3. Pastor Sarah – 91
#3. House – 91
#1. Faust – 92
#1. Writing – 92

The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Kelly, Lowell, and Suzie.

The following categories have the best shot at dropping back into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Sarah Toot, Lowell, Suzie, Russell, and Nate

The following categories have the best shot at climbing up into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Layla, Kelly, Vacation, Saydie, and Kalista

“An Artist’s Notebook” is part of Photography 139. The 139 comes from Psalm 139:1-12. The Photography part comes from the fact this website is supposed to be filled with photography. So, what are the most popular photo galleries on the Photography 139 website? Glad you asked:

TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY 139 PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES (LAST 365 DAYS)

To View the Gallery, Click on its Representative Image

10. Naima – 64,796 views

9. Tenderloining – 75,558 views

8. 9 Emotions Project – 81,405 views

7. Selfie-Project – 2022 – 88,632 views

6. Drone – 99,708 views

5. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9 – 108,852 views

4. Town Sign Project – 118,563 views

3. Las Vegas 2023 – 169,257 views

2. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 219,546 views

1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 10 – 323,781 views

Galleries that fell out of the Top 10 are:
Christopher D. Bennett, Miami Beach, Jayton Poole, and Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020

Galleries that fell just outside of the Top 10 are:
Sleeping Angels – 2023, Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 6, Photo Journal Rejects, Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2008, and Christopher D. Bennett.

But what are the most popular single images of the last 365 days? Don’t worry, I’m gonna feed you baby birds.

Top 10 Photography 139 Images

10. Sleeping Angels Fun Run – 2,772 views

9. Maven’s Birthday Party – 2022 – 2,820 views

8. Boone FUMC Thanksgiving – 2022 – 3,073 views

7. Color the Wind – 2023 – 3,149 views

6. Renaissance Fair – 2022 – 3,302 views

5. Fran and Pepper – 3,687 views

4. World Food Festival – 2022 – 3,754 views

3. Howards – 2022 – 3,976 views

2. 2023 Barbecue Contests – 4,168 views

1. Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship – 18,045 views

If you are interested in checking out some of the milestone posts of the past, I got you. Click on any of the links below to check them out:

Post 1
Post 750
Post 850
Post 1,000
Post 1,101
Post 1,200
Post 1,447
Post 1,718
Post 2,500
Post 3,000
Post 3,252
Post 3,751
Post 4,000
Post 4,250
Post 4,500
Post 4,757

I think that is enough. We will check back in, in another 245 posts.

Art, Basketball, Christianity, Flowers, History, Road Trip, Ruins, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa

Davis County Aux. – Vol. 1

October 25, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Time to start sharing the final collection of auxiliary images from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. The final county I harvested town signs from was Davis County. Teresa went on the final THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trip. There are only 4 incorporated towns in Davis County, so there were stops in other counties. Including the first stop in Pella for the Jaarsma Bakery:

Pella

Near Chillicothe

Ottumwa

Floris

Drakesville

Bloomfield

There are plenty more pictures left to share from this road trip. Including two sweet general stores!

Art, Basketball, Christianity, History, Road Trip, Ruins

Lee & Van Buren County Aux. – Vol. 1

June 14, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Back in August I took the Camry out on the open road to harvest the town signs of Lee County and Van Buren County. It was one of the longest trips I made on THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. I left my house at 6:41 AM and returned at 8:31 PM. I travelled 522.6 miles in between. It was a pretty great trip.

Here is the first collection of auxiliary images from the trip:

Selma – I haven’t been able to figure out what this is. There is no plaque and I can’t find any information on the internet.

Douds

It is said location is everything in business. I say if they didn’t sell a trash product like lemonade, they would still be in business.

Houghton

Pilot Grove

Saint Paul

West Point

Still so many pictures from this trip. Lee County has so many cool towns and Van Buren County has the historic villages that are also interesting.

Andree, Andy, Angie, Basketball, Becky, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Drone, Elizabeth, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Linda, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Nader, Nature, Pastor Sarah, Robert, Russell, Sara, Shawn Lockner, Tim, Toby

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

April 4, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start the day off by wishing Andree a happy birthday. Happy birthday Andree!

I hope your birthday is filled with joy, or at least as much joy as one can feel when they are in Houston, Texas.

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Yesterday was the end of the college basketball season, which also means it is time to crown the winner for Year 18 of the Roundball Oracles.

The winner was Will Baier. Congratulations Will! Making it back to back championships for Baier brothers! It seems like almost everybody in the Baier family has won, except Jason. Hmmmm…

His name is now on the List of Immortals.

ROUNDBALL ORACLES CHAMPIONS
2023 – Will Baier
2022 – Ben Baier
2021 – Micky Augustin
2020 – Tournament Canceled
2019 – Becky Parmelee
2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

Also “congratulations” goes to “The Sara” winner… Ben Baier. It was a close one this year and came down to the tie-breaker. It was so close to going Shawn. Then he would have had a “The Sara” trophy and the actual The Sara living in his house. Maybe next year.

Ben Baier went from the penthouse to the outhouse in one year. Maybe next year he will be back in the penthouse and his brother will be in the outhouse. It will be interesting to watch.

THE SARA “WINNERS”

2023 – Ben Baier
2022 – Joey Randazzo
2021 – Rachel Gildersleeve
2020 – Tournament Canceled
2019 – Russell Kennerly
2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

Here are the final Roundball Oracles Standings:

Congrats to everybody that did better than me this year. And there were a lot of them. Cherish the feeling, cause it won’t happen again. Okay, it probably will.

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A few weeks back I took Rodan139 out for a couple test flights. The second of those flights was a spin above the Pilot Mound State Forest. Here are a few pictures from that flight:

Next week I will share the pictures from the final flight I took on the battery test flight day.

Basketball, Iowa State, Lists, Nader, Night, Street Photography

5 Star Bridge

April 1, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Wow! Iowa did it! The Iowa women’s team ended South Carolina’s 42 game win streak and shocked the world by a score of 77-73. Caitlin Clark scored 41 points. She is the first player in history to score 40 points in back to back tournament games. On Sunday at 2:30 they will play Louisiana State for the National Championship.

Louisiana State is coached by Satan, I mean Kim Mulkey. Some people, who don’t know me well, find it shocking when they find out the sports person I root against the most vehemently is Kim Mulkey. “A women’s basketball coach?” They say with a fair amount of incredulousness.

“Yes, and there isn’t even a close second.”

Not Duke basketball. Not Notre Dame football. Not Nebraska football. Not North Dakota State football. Not Baylor football. Not Kansas basketball. Not Texas football. Not Texas basketball. Not the New York Yankees. Not the Los Angeles Dodgers. Not whatever NBA team Kyrie Irving plays for this week. Not Iowa in any sports.

But if I had to pick a second, it would be Texas in all sports.

Trust me, if you watch the game on Sunday, and endure her antics on the sideline, you will get it. That is without me telling you about how she covered for Baylor during their rape scandal. Or her infamous “people in the know” comment.

However, I clearly admit that if she is not the best coach in women’s basketball, she is one of the best. The only other coaches I would put on her level are Geno Auriemma at UCONN, Dawn Staley at South Carolina (although I have to say she was very clearly outcoached by Lisa Bluder last night), and Tara VanDerveer at Stanford.

For example, Mulkey left Baylor two seasons ago. In her final season at Baylor, they went 28-3 and made it to the Elite Eight. The year before that, the tournament was cancelled, but they were a favorite to win the Championship. The year before that they did win the National Championship. When she left, Baylor had won 11 straight Regular Season Big 12 Championships. Baylor had won 9 of the last 10 Big 12 Tournament Championships.

The year before Kim Mulkey moved to Louisiana State they had a 9-16 record. LSU hadn’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since the 2016-17 season. They hadn’t made it out of the first round since the 2013-14 season.

Two years later, LSU is 32-2 and about to play for the National Championship.

Meanwhile, Baylor slipped to 5th in the Big 12 this season and they have lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament both years since Kim Mulkey left. They are still good, but they aren’t cutting down any nets any more. (This year they lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament to Iowa State.)

After the Hawks bested the Cocks last night, I texted a couple people that the only mystery left now is whether or not Iowa will repeat as National Champions next year. I know that is pretty dismissive of Louisiana State. But I am pretty confident that Iowa will beat Louisiana State. They are a good team with good players, including Angel Reese, one of the best in the country. Kim Mulkey will be going for her 4th National Championship. I still think Iowa has a team of destiny feel to them. And while Caitlin Clark will be back next season (and possibly the season after that)*, Czinano will be gone. Warnock will be gone. To use a metaphor from the NBA, Czinano is definitely Clark’s Pippen to her Jordan. And remember who got that rebound with 20 seconds to go essentially sealing the win over South Carolina, that was Warnock. Iowa has 2 freshman coming in, but the one that is highly regarded (Ava Jones) was in an accident where a car ran over her family and killed her dad. It is still to be determined if she will ever be able to play basketball again. That doesn’t leave the cupboard bare. Marshall, Davis, and Martin can all use the Covid year and come back. Iowa State transfer Kylie Feuerbach should be back from injury. Iowa will certainly be an attractive landing spot for any transfers looking to play in a packed arena and to record television ratings.

My prediction is Iowa will win the game, but I expect it to be a very exciting game. The game is at 2:30 tomorrow and will be televised on ABC.

Since the NCAA Tournament is like a holiday for me. It is the end of the sports season, until college football season begins in September. A time of year where I cancel my television package and save a few bucks over the summer. Kind of like a Lent for this sports fan. Lasting from the end of the men’s National Championship Game until the kickoff of the first college football game. Probably some people out there that won’t like that analogy.

But bear with me, since I consider the NCAA Tournament to be a holiday and on holidays I like to release power rankings, I’m going to release my power rankings of the college coaches at Iowa’s 4 “major” universities in the 3 main sports I care about. Yes, Boomer Saia (Iowa State Tennis) and I’m sure whomever coaches wrestling at Iowa are pretty impressive, but they definitely aren’t in the top 3 sports I care about. While Andy has worked on me for years now, I’m still not sure I even consider wrestling a sport.

IOWA UNIVERISITY COACH POWER RANKINGS

12. Todd Stepsis – Drake Football Coach
11. Tanya Warren – Northern Iowa Women’s Basketball Coach
10. Mark Farley – Northern Iowa Football Coach
9. Fran McCaffery – Iowa Men’s Basketball Coach
8. Ben Jacobson – Northern Iowa Men’s Basketball Coach
7. Allison Pohlman – Drake Women’s Basketball Coach
6. Bill Fennelly – Iowa State Women’s Basketball Coach
5. Kirk Ferentz – Iowa Football Coach
4. T.J. Otzelberger – Iowa State Men’s Basketball Coach
3. Matt Campbell – Iowa State Football Coach
2. Darian DeVries – Drake Men’s Basketball Coach
1. Lisa Bluder – Iowa Women’s Basketball Coach

This list was harder for me to put together than I thought. The bottom and the top was pretty easy. But I feel the middle could be very fluid. If Allison Pohlman has another great season, she could definitely climb. If Fennelly has another distavorous offseason, he could fall. 2 weeks ago he would have been higher. FIVE players transferring later, he is lucky to be above Allison Pohlman. If McCaffery ever wins a couple games in a tourney, he could climb. What does Otzelberger do with the highest ranked recruiting class in school history? What transfers does he bring in? Does Campbell rebound from a bad season last year? Does Ferentz ever fire his worthless son? Does Jacobson ever return to the form he showed at the beginning of his career? Or should he have jumped ship seconds after Ali Farokhmanesh hit that 3 against Kansas all those years ago.

My decisions are final. No interviews at this time.

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Seems like a good day to share some pictures I took of the Iowa State Pedestrian Bridge I took a couple months ago. Some day when I release my bridge power rankings, it will be #1. Something like: 3. Brooklyn Bridge. 2. Golden Gate Bridge 1. Iowa State Pedestrian Bridge.

I took these pictures with Nader after going to a movie. If you are ever looking for somebody to just wander into your shot over and over and over and over and over and over again, I can recommend Nader for the job.

This bridge is phenomenal it has it’s own Twitter account and strikes fear into the hearts of Big 12 fans from Lubbock to Morgantown to Lawrence to Stillwater. You can check it out by clicking the link below:

Iowa State 5 Star Bridge – Twitter

If you haven’t had a chance to walk this bridge on an Iowa State Gameday you need to put it on your bucket list.

* If Iowa is smart,(I know technically the university can’t be involved) they will line up all the sponsors they can find and make Caitlin Clark a multi-millionaire by tomorrow. Do whatever they can to get her to come back for the extra Covid year. If Olivia Dunne and the Cavinder twins (I’m not blind, I know why they make so much money) can make a million dollars, Caitlin Clark should be making several million dollars. I know Caitlin Clark is a polarizing figure. There are people that don’t like all of her playing to the crowd and all of her trash talking and all of her flopping and her arguing with refs. To be honest, I don’t like the flopping. I don’t like the constant arguing with the refs, but she is the best thing that has happened to women’s basketball, probably ever. Tickets to the Women’s Final Four are more expensive than tickets to the Men’s Final Four. Trust me, those ticket prices are not skyrocketing because people want to see what incredibly stupid outfit Kim Mulkey is going to wear.

As for the trash talking and playing to the crowd. I love both of those aspects of her game. For example, in the South Carolina game she refused to guard Raven Johnson because she is a bad 3 point shooter. At one point “guarding” her from 10 feet away and then waving her off, basically begging her to shoot. In the Louisville game she told a Louisville player that was running her mouth to “Shut up. You’re down by 15.” I love me some good trash talk. My absolute favorite moment of Iowa State’s men’s season (and I know he was a big part of why our season tanked at the end) was when Caleb Grill hit a big 3 against Texas than ran over to their bench and told Texas’ coach that he needed to call a timeout.