McHose Park Mystery

October 31, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

On Thursday Jesse and I moved some furniture around. Later in the afternoon we went to check out the frisbee golf course in McHose.

I had heard rumors about this course for quite some time. But I had only seen 1 or 2 holes. Jesse and I decided to find every last hole on Thursday. It came as somewhat of a surprise when it took us almost 3 hours to find all 18.

It was a pleasant surprise to find out how dangerous some of them were to get to.

Jesse celebrating.

Note the perfect frisbee form.

Jesse

I believe that multitasking is just a fancy way of saying: “Look at me. I’m not doing anything well.” However, I did make a fantastic throw and schedule a pickup of my broken kitchen cabinet for repair at the same time. However, I somehow feel like I could have done both better.

A good looking throw.

The best throw of the day.

Look at the concentration on Jesse’s face.

I thought disc golf was a stoner’s game?

Jesse making crossing the stream look much tougher than it really is, but still I’m impressed that you have to cross the stream via a bunch of broken up concrete blocks. Not a course for the faint of heart.

I managed to find a nice patch of mud hidden underneath some leaves.

A dangerous bridge. Most of the railing is missing. The bridge shakes like crazy. I love every bit of it.

Another dubious bridge. Awesome.

You fall. You get wet.

I admit that I’ve always dismissed disc golf as a stoner sports meant to occupy the time of stoners in between discussing the best Dave Matthews album and waiting for the munchies, but this course may have changed my mind. At least holes 3-11 are pretty intense. You have to cross the stream multiple times in ways that your safety is in question. I love that. The Boone park system has slowly been taking away fun things since my youth because they have been deemed dangerous. Tornado slides. The cable bridge. The tire climb. Merry-go-rounds. This course definitely has some aspects of danger that are missing from most of McHose Park.

I still miss the tornado slides though.

Art, History, House, Politics

House Search

October 30, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett

On Wednesday I looked at about 10 houses. I kind of liked 1 house, so I might have a bit of direction as to what kind of house I want.

Here are some pictures.

I think I want to build something like this at some point.

This house had a fireplace and built in glass cases, but kitchen floor and all of the electrical would have needed to be replaced.

The tub too. You can’t really tell from the picture, but this is the smallest tub I’ve ever seen.

This was listed as a “full” basement.

Beautiful wraparound porch destroyed by turning part of it into a 3 seasons room.

Not even in the top ten of the scariest stairs I descended on this day.

I might be too impressed by built in cabinets.

This was the kitchen in the house I kind of liked. I actually was surprised how much I like the window over the sink.

I’m not even going to comment.

I kind of liked the kitchen in this house. But there was no electricity upstairs and all 3 bedrooms were upstairs. Actually the kitchen was the only thing to like about this house.

No electricity upstairs, but a brand new 3 car garage???

It was definitely an educational experience.

There was a weird experience where we looked around the house while the current occupants were still there.

Maybe I’ve lived in a cave, but I was shocked by how many houses only had access to the basement from outside. I didn’t even realize that there were still houses like that.

On a small unrelated note, I did gain some insight into the “idiot” sign at the suffrage march.

The term idiot is in the Iowa Constitution.

Article II, Section 5:

No idiot, or insane person, or person convicted of any infamous crime, shall be entitled to the privilege of an elector.

I would write more, but I want it to be a surprise when you get in the voting booth on Tuesday. If you are voting in Iowa.

Animals, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Derrick, Jen, Road Trip, Sara

Ottumwa

October 29, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett

I spent most of Monday with Sara.

We started the day by lunching at Fresh Cafe and Market. It is an interesting little restaurant in West Des Moines that is only open about 20 hours a week. They specialize in serving an organic menu.

We started the meal with a double shot of wheat grass. I’m not big into wheat grass, but Sara has made me curious about it. This was the fourth different type of wheat grass that I have tried with her. This was also the best. It was a healthy boost that was most likely negated by our supper.

Sara ordered the Hummus & Veggie Wrap.

I ordered the Mediteranian Wrap. I assume that there is a reason why they spell it that way. I chose the spinach tortilla. The wrap consisted of organic greens, fresh veggies, black and green seasoned olives, tomatoes, feta, lemon and olive oil. It was quite excellent.

At the conclusion of the meal we hopped in her car to travel to Ottumwa to visit Jen.

Sara likes driving to Ottumwa because there are no turns.

We stopped at a gas station in Oskaloosa to get candy. Sara was very high on Big League Chew.

Sara was very high on this sucker that reminded her of the Ogden swimming pool.

Bailey

Bailey and a neighborhood dog

Derrick,Sara and Jen

Jackson and a neighborhood dog

Derrick’s Chainsaw Sculpture

This mullet wig would be part of a Halloween costume, if I were to dress up.

This was my first time ever in Ottumwa. It is a town that seems to be fading out of existence, but there are a few nice touches.

In downtown Ottumwa there is an “Adult” Theater. Two storefronts down is a Christian outreach ministry.

We had supper at the Sirloin Stockade. The Sirloin Stockade is kind of a low rent Golden Corral or Bonanza, but it is also considered the best restaurant in Ottumwa.

Before we got out of the car Derrick made a dramatic announcement.

“At some point during the meal they are going ask you if you want a baked potato. The answer to this question is ‘yes’.”

“Why is that? Is the baked potato the best part of the meal?”

“No. But they won’t stop harassing you about the potato until you take it.”

I took the advice to heart.

Our waitress asked us if we wanted a potato.

“Yes, I want that potato.”

Then Derrick, Jen and Sara all turned down the potato.

“What the heck? You told me to take the potato and then you turn it down.”

Derrick answered, “I didn’t want the potato.”

It was the closest to a Willy moment that I’ve ever had with Derrick.

For the record, they never asked the rest of my party if they wanted a potato again AND the potato was the best part of the meal.

Formal Portrait, Nader, Photoshop

Happy Birthday Nader

October 28, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Nader’s Birthday.

Happy Birthday!

Brandon, Candid Portrait, Faust, Football, Formal Portrait, Iowa State, Jay, Music, Night, Willy

An Explosion of Catastrophe

October 27, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett

Iowa State’s entrance video is pretty cool. It shows intersplices action from this season with footage of many of the greatest Cyclones in history. The song that plays over the action is Saliva’s Ladies and Gentlemen. The opening lyrics of the song describe the Cyclone season, but not in the way that was intended:

Ladies and gentlemen please
Would you bring your attention to me?
For a feast for your eyes to see
An explosion of catastrophe

The song goes on…

Ladies and gentlemen good evening
You’ve seen that seeing is believing
Your ears and your eyes will be bleeding

At least I can say that my eyes have yet to bleed, but there is still the Missouri game left.

Brandon

Faust

Photo by Brandon Kahler

Sumrall

Weather Lady

ISUCFVMB

Arnaud

Right before this picture, #44 puked on the sidelines about 5 or 6 times.

Scales

Robinson

There are about 50 more pictures in the Snapshots Gallery.

Iowa State vs. Texas A&M Aggies

I guess the important thing to remember is that the team is really young and the experience that they gain now will undoubtedly lead to a conference championship in the next couple of years.

Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Event, History, Politics

Suffrage March

October 25, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Here are some pictures from the suffrage march on Saturday.

My favorite sign is from the march is the sign about “Idiots” having the right to vote, but not women.

For some reason that sign reminds me of Buck vs. Bell. The 1927 Supreme Court where The Supreme Court concluded it was okay for the state to sterilize a woman because her mother and her daughter were “feeble-minded” and “promiscuous”.*

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. wrote the following in his decision:

We have seen more than once that the public welfare may call upon the best citizens for their lives. It would be strange if it could not call upon those who already sap the strength of the State for these lesser sacrifices, often not felt to be such by those concerned, in order to prevent our being swamped with incompetence. It is better for all the world, if instead of waiting to execute degenerate offspring for crime, or to let them starve for their imbecility, society can prevent those who are manifestly unfit from continuing their kind. The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes.

Three generations of imbeciles are enough.

I wonder if the idiots on the sign were related to the imbeciles in the Supreme Court decision.

*Every time I discuss this case, I have to confirm to at least one person that this really happened in this country. Yes! This really happened in this country. Just more than 80 years ago.

Brandon, Candid Portrait, Football, Formal Portrait, Night, Russ, Sara, Teresa

Last Home Game

October 25, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett

Last Friday was Brandon’s final home game. It was the first time that I’ve been to a Boone High football game since I graduated high school.

It was an interesting experience. Some things have changed. Some surprising things happened. I took some pictures.

Dan

Behind the bleachers fenced off.

Brandon is #78.

I was very surprised to see that the underside of the bleachers are now fenced off. That is where all the good stuff at a high school football game is supposed to happen.

I ran into Dan and had a nice conversation with him. Dan has shaved his head since the last time I’ve seen him. Not a bad look for him.

I ran into Dan’s wife Kim. She thanked me for forwarding on news of her work on attempting to block the strip club/juice bar from coming into town. She was very happy that the news had made it all the way to Illinois. She also revealed the real reason why she wants to stop the strip club/juice bar from coming to town. I’m not sure it is a legitimate reason.

It was also exciting that Sara made it all the way from Des Moines to the game. This was also the first high school football game that Sara has been to since she graduated from Ogden. I honestly can’t believe that she came.

Black & White, Brandon, Formal Portrait, Teresa

Brandon Kahler Project: Chapter 2

October 24, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett

More black and white pictures of Brandon.

This picture is meant to be a joke.

Color pictures to be posted soon.

Black & White, Brandon, Formal Portrait

The Brandon Kahler Project: Chapter 1 – Frustration

October 23, 2008 Christopher D. Bennett

There are a limited amount of places a guy can go to get real black and white film processed. One of them is a local company that I will not name. I’ve had very poor results going to them.

But I recently took some film there to get processed from Brandon’s senior picture shoot. I did this because despite my better judgment I listened to somebody rave on and on about how great they were.

This was a mistake. Below are some of the images from that roll of film. Some of these pictures I really, really like, even though they wouldn’t qualify as your normal Senior Pictures.