Category Archives: Life

Tenderloin Appreciation Society – Paton Field Work

February 4, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Scott and I’s schedules are often difficult to get to align, so last year I increasingly took other people with me on my tenderloin quest. Then I followed that up by not adequately reporting on my findings and furthermore, not taking good enough notes to post something of consequence at this late of date.

Therefore rather than getting a really good, solid review of the tenderloins I encountered in 2019, you are just going to get pictures and the general gist of my memories.

On of those tenderloins I remember was at 209 Main in Paton. The family and I went there after church on a Sunday in late September. Here are some pictures of the experience:

What I remember of this tenderloin is that it was delicious. Good breading. Good thickness. Toasted bun.

The rules of Tenderloin Quest are that you have to eat the tenderloin how it is served. However, I do not believe that lettuce belongs on a tenderloin. Lettuce is for the salad I should be eating for the two days before eating the tenderloin and the two days after I eat the tenderloin.

The onion rings and nachos were also delicious.

Logan took the pictures of me taking my first bites of the tenderloin.

Although it was a really good tenderloin, I’m not sure it was good enough to join the Tenderloin Pantheon. I would need Scott to back that up anyways. It takes a consensus opinion to be placed on the Tenderloin Pantheon.

I know there are at least a couple more tenderloins from 2019 for me to write about in the coming days. Plus, I might be checking out a tenderloin in Ames in the coming weeks. Plus a tentative tenderloin outing in Corning needs to happen before Ash Wednesday. If I get real ambitious, I should head up to New Hampton. However, I don’t see that happening until at least after Easter.

Until next time, happy tenderloining!

Animals, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Street Photography, Vest, WPC - Reminder

Sunday at the Fair

January 31, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Hitting up the 2019 backlog for a collection of pictures I took while wandering around the Boone County Fair on the last day of the Fair. I was mostly just still playing a bit with the RXO II as I looked to capture many of the animals that were being exhibited.

I recall buying the RXO II because we got a rando bonus at the Computer Mine. I should’ve done something smart with that money, but instead I bought a really, really small camera to photograph sleeping pigs with.

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

WORK

A WORK photo is any image of a person engaged in WORK or tools that are used in WORK or anything that might remind you of WORK. Remember, WORK doesn’t just happen at your place of employment.

Happy photo harvesting!

Flowers, Macro, State Fair

Smiles are to Humanity

January 30, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

On the day that Baby Got Rack competed at the Iowa State Fair, I took some time to go over to my favorite part of the Iowa State Fair to take some flower pictures.

Unfortunately, the lighting was atrocious, but I took a couple flower pictures I don’t hate.

I went to the State Fair a second time last year and I believe the lighting for my flower pictures was much more favorable. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.

9 Emotions Project, Anders, Animals, Art, Bill, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Christianity, Faust, Formal Portrait, Jay, Jesse, Movies, Photo Journal, Road Trip, Willy

Birthday Road Trip – Little Brown Church

January 26, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

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!

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:

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.

Animals, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Cousin Amy, Ernie, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Geri, Jay, Jesse, Mom, Photoshop, Sara, Self-Portrait, State Fair, Teresa

2009-08-24

January 25, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

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:

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.

Art, Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Flowers, Holidays, Jason, Johnathan, Logan, Macro

The Ultimate Triumph

January 23, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I took a few pictures on Easter of last year that seems like a good time to share.

I think the pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt were taken by Jaxon. In fact I’m positive they were taken by Jaxon.

We are a little more than a month away from Lent now and I’ve been thinking on what I’m going to do for Lent. I would say that traditionally Methodists don’t really give up something for Lent. Instead they add something for Lent.

I’ve been playing with the idea of going pescatarian for Lent.

Why pescatarian?

#1. Eating less meat is the best thing you can do to help the planet:

Industrialized agriculture and the onset of the worst species extinction crisis since the demise of the dinosaurs means that livestock and humans now make up 96% of all mammals. But despite consuming the vast majority of farmland, meat and dairy accounts for just 18% of all food calories and around a third of protein.

The mighty hoofprint of farmed meat isn’t just inefficient. Deforestation to make way for livestock, along with methane emissions from cows and fertilizer use, creates as much greenhouse gas emissions as all the world’s cars, trucks and airplanes. Meat rearing practices risk mass extinctions of other animals, as well as spawn significant pollution of streams, rivers and, ultimately, the ocean.

#2. Goals should be realistic and attainable. While going pescatarian will vastly reduce the amount of meat I eat, it is a realistic goal, because I know there is no way I could pull off going full vegetarian and let’s not talk about going vegan.

#3. A pescatarian diet is healthier. It is healthy for the heart, reduces the risks of some cancer, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

#4. The prophet Kurt Cobain taught us that “it’s okay to eat fish, ’cause they don’t have any feelings.”

This means that I need to get that road trip to Corning with Shannon to tenderloin it up on the books before February 26.

Animals, Becky, Black & White, Carla, Dawn, Elizabeth, Flat Earth Joe, Formal Portrait, History, Holidays, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Naima, Pastor Sarah, Photoshop, Russell, Shannon, Steph, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 227 – TEXTURE

January 20, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I would be remiss if I didn’t open today without wishing everybody a Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Today, I want to share some of his words following the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Often our movement has been referred to as a boycott movement. The word boycott, however, does not adequately describe the true spirit of our movement. The word boycott is suggestive of merely an economic squeeze devoid of any positive value. We have never allowed ourselves to get bogged in the negative; we have always sought to accentuate the positive. Our aim has never been to put the bus company out of business, but rather to put justice in business.

These twelve months have not at all been easy. Our feet have often been tired. We have struggle against tremendous odds to maintain alternative transportation. There have been moments when roaring waters of disappointment poured upon us in staggering torrents. We can remember days when unfavorable court decisions came upon us like tidal waves, leaving us treading in the deep and confused waters of despair. But amid all of this we have kept going with the faith that as we struggle, God struggles with us, and that the arc of the moral universe, although long, is bending toward justice.5 We have lived under the agony and darkness of Good Friday with the conviction that one day the heightening glow of Easter would emerge on the horizon. We have seen truth crucified and goodness buried, but we have kept going with the conviction that truth crushed to earth will rise again.6

(later)

This is the time that we must evince calm dignity and wise restraint. Emotions must not run wild. Violence must not come from any of us, for if we become victimized with violent intents, we will have walked in vain, and our twelve months of glorious dignity will be transformed into an eve of gloomy catastrophy. As we go back to the busses let us be loving enough to turn an enemy into a friend. We must now move from protest to reconciliation. It is my firm conviction that God is working in Montgomery. Let all men of goodwill, both Negro and white, continue to work with Him. With this dedication we will be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man’s inhumanity to man to the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice.

If you are ever in Memphis, I can’t urge you to visit the Civil Rights Museum strongly enough.

It is an extremely powerful and rage inducing experience.

As white supremacy continues to be emboldened in this country and has made an ugly resurgence in the last couple of years, I pray that after this current shameful chapter in American history closes, that there is some real healing in this country.

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WooHoo! TEXTURE makes is 17 straight weeks of double digit submissions! I was a little worried about this week because TEXTURE is one of the more abstract themes. Not technically difficult, but a little on the obtuse side. Plus, at least in central Iowa the temperature barely climbed into positive digits all weekend. But, we hit double digits and I barely had to twist any arms this morning!

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

Monica Henning

Elizabeth Nordeen

Carla Stensland

Michelle Haupt

Sarah Karber

Stephanie Kim

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn Krause

Becky Parmelee

Micky Augustin

Cathie Raley

Tamara Peterson

Kim Barker

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:

COUNTRY

COUNTRY! What a great theme! But what is a COUNTRY photo? A COUNTRY photo is really just any photo that is taken outside of a town, city, village, or hamlet. This should be easy enough. I know plenty of you (like me) drive through the COUNTRY to get to work. Some of you live in the COUNTRY. But something doesn’t have to be in the COUNTRY to suggest the COUNTRY. Plus, remember that the word COUNTRY has more than one meaning. A quality tip for people who live in the middle of say Brooklyn or Minneapolis.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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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.

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.

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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 country Monday!

Animals, Candid Portrait, Ernie, Flowers, Formal Portrait, House, Jill, Mom, Photoshop, Shorty

2009-08-15 & 2009-08-20 & 2009-08-21

January 18, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folders 2009-08-15, 2009-08-20, and include pictures from an anniversary dinner for Shorty and Doris and pictures from that time I actually tilled up part of my backyard and planted a garden.

The picture of Jill that is edited in a couple different ways is her with a car that she described as her mid-life crisis. But that can’t be the case. She was only like 30 when she bought that car.

This is the first time that these pictures have been published. Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will definitely involve the Iowa State Fair and Teresa and Ernie. But not in a way that is connected.

Candid Portrait, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining, WPC - Reminder

Tenderloin Appreciation Society – Don Williams Field Work

January 17, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

It is hard to believe, but I haven’t published a tenderloining blog since August 26, 2018 when I recapped Michelle and I’s trip to The Filling Station in Ames. I actually made a few tenderloining trips and I just never got around to telling the world what I experienced. I feel guilty about this because I have a gift. A true gift for evaluating tenderloins. The fact I’m not sharing this with the world is very greedy of me.

The tenderloin I’m going to recap today comes from a trip to the Don Williams Golf Course Clubhouse. It came a few weeks after I ate breakfast there with my Mom and wasn’t overly impressed. A trip that really hammered home my loyalty to The Whistle Stop Cafe for those treasured Saturday morning breakfasts.

Despite the fact that I wasn’t impressed by the breakfast there, I was intrigued by the passion of the new operator of the Clubhouse. He spoke eloquently about his tenderloin and more than one person in the restaurant backed up his bragging.

I decided to organize a trip out there with Scottie D. to give it the test.

Because it is over 6 months since I’ve been there I won’t go into detail about the quality of the tenderloin we experienced. To say it wasn’t very good should be sufficient. I shouldn’t be surprised because people in that area think that The Lucky Pig has a good tenderloin. They are sadly misguided.

Here are a few pictures of our trip:

I have a couple other tenderloining trips to post about eventually. I promise that any 2020 tenderloin trips will be reported on as quickly as possible. Hopefully with the taste of tenderloin still swirling around my mouth.

I know for sure that at some point I have a trip to Corning with Shannon on the books. I will also be visiting New Hampton for a date with a tenderloin at some point soon. The lucky person to join me on that venture is still to be determined. Could be you. But let’s face it, do you really think you have what it takes? Search your soul for the answer.

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

TEXTURE

A TEXTURE photo is a photo that concentrates on the feel, appearance, or consistency of the surface of a substance. A reminder that often TEXTURE is more apparent in a black & white image.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Flowers, Macro, Road Trip, Teresa, Town Sign Project

Who’s a Big Boy – Addendum

January 15, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

This is a collection of images that I took on my way home from following the Big Boy. After letting the train roll past us one last time, Teresa and I headed back to Boone after stopping off in Carroll for a delicious meal at Rancho Grande Mexican.

Then in Glidden we stopped at Dairy Mart for ice cream. Then finally made a brief stop at the Harrier Marsh to take a few photos.

Glidden, Iowa

Ralston, Iowa

I just want to say for the record that flavor burst ice cream is straight trash. I understand it is a way to try to serve several types of ice cream on the cheap, but it is garbage. It is just vanilla ice cream with some weak tasting syrup dribbled around the outside.

That isn’t to say that my experience at Dairy Mart was bad. What I got was delicous. A raspberry shake. I stayed away from that flavor burst garbage.