On New Year’s Day, between the Outback Bowl and the Rose Bowl, I went over to check out the ACTORS building in Ames with Becky, Terra and Geri. Geri is actually the President or Chairman of ACTORS.
Some pictures.
Shoes
Becky & Terra
Rubber Chicken
Ham
Geri and I
Dressing Room
It was an interesting experience.
The 2009 Photography 139 Calendar went through quite a large metamorphosis this year. I wasn’t sure that I was going to produce a calendar this year. The amount of time involved in the designing, printing, laminating and binding the calendar was becoming a burden on me and my friends. I can’t even count how many hours last year Jesse, Jay and Nader put in to making these calendars.
This year I outsourced the printing of the calendar. This was much harder for me to do than one might suspect. I think I don’t necessarily give the outward appearance of being a control freak, but I do have things in my life where compromise is not to be considered.
Once I was able to talk myself into outsourcing the printing, everything else sort of fell into place. The amount of time put into the calendar this year by me and my friends was only a couple of hours. Most of the time was actually spent in designing the calendar. Jesse and Jay were not even bothered at all.
I can thank Mike Vest for being my liaison between me and my printer. He also punched every hole in the calendars for hanging. I also need to thank Shannon for binding all of the calendars.
I have yet to distribute all of the calendars, but I would like to beginning sharing the pictures that I selected for the 2009 calendar.
Below is the picture for January.
This is the only picture in the calendar that wasn’t taken in 2008. This self-portrait was taken late in 2007. The location of this picture was the Campanile on the Iowa State University campus.
After we left the Field of Dreams on Sunday, we visited the St. Francis Xavier Basilica. It is one of only 53 Basilicas in the United States.
Spires
Spires
The Church
Altar
Stained Glass Window
Sanctuary
Spire
Willy
Jay
Dessert in Jesup
Traditional Road Trip Photo
The height of each spire is 212 feet.
The term Basilica is a Greek derivation from “Basileus” meaning a royal or kingly building. In the day of the pagan Roman Empire, most cities had a large building of special architectural design to accommodate large audiences for orators of the day. They were called basilicas. In her earlier centuries, the Catholic church conferred this title on churches of unusual architectural and spiritual significance. Their number is small. Some hold the title by a special Papal edict as is the case of the Dyersville Basilica.
The Basilica is often referred to as the Pope’s church for his use in the event he should ever visit the area. There are Major and Minor Basilicas. The Major Basilicas of which there exist only five, are all in Rome, the best known being St. Peter’s. The Basilica of St. Mary’s in Minneapolis was the first church in the United States to be raised to the rank of a Minor Basilica in 1926.
St. Francis Xavier was the twelfth church in the country so honored. It is unique in that it is one of three in a rural area; all the others are in metropolitan areas.
There are now 53 basilicas in the United States. St. Francis Xavier Basilica is one of the finest examples of the true medieval Gothic architecture. Its graceful and pleasing lines are reminiscent of some of the outstanding Gothic cathedrals in Europe.
-Basilica Pamphlet
These are the pictures I entered in the Boone County Fair.
VEISHEA Crane
Saturday was my annual lunch with Mark at The Machine Shed. It seems that it is also becoming a tradition that we get an out of focus picture of us taken together.
However, I think it is becoming a trend. Take a look at other pictures I’ve had taken with friends lately.
Perhaps this could be my new thing.
I got all of the old pictures off of my phone. There aren’t a terribly large amount of pictures on there because the old phone is about 4 years old and didn’t have much memory on it.
It turns out almost every picture on that phone ranges from bad to horrible. Although some are amusing.
One major plus of the new phone is the memory card. I can use pictures taken by a real camera for the Caller ID Photo. As you can tell by these images, that will make a big difference.
On May 10, 2008, I loaded up into the famous Rideshare Van with Baier and we headed to Fort Dodge to tour the Fort Dodge Museum and see the “Real” Cardiff Giant.
I already knew that there would be a certain amount of controversy surrounding the trip and the Cardiff Giant due to the Cardiff Giant’s phallus. However, I will delve more deeply into the realm of the Cardiff Giant and his junk later. Today I just want to cover some of the salient points of the trip.
We did some important things like:
Pretend to be Repentant Prisoners
See the Cardiff Giant
However we also learned a few things on this trip.
heck out the “Conditions for Employment for Teachers” in 19th Century Central Iowa.
Since you can’t read that, let me start out by saying I know some womenfolk that I hold in very high regard. Some of them its even for their morality. But I don’t know a single womanfolk that could hold to these standards or would even bother trying.
Conditions for Employment
Another lesson learned on this trip is that the man who carved the “Real” Cardiff Giant looked eerily similar to Donald Pleasence’s Doctor Loomis character from the horror movie classic Halloween (1978).
Haddonfield isn’t all that far away. I bet Smith’s Grove isn’t that far away either. Perhaps he just swung over on his breaks.
Even though I haven’t watched a horror movie in many a year now, I still have thoughts like this running through my head (in Donald Pleasence’s voice) when I look at the Cardiff Giant:
I met him, fifteen years ago. I was told there was nothing left. No reason, no conscience, no understanding; even the most rudimentary sense of life or death, good or evil, right or wrong. I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes… the *devil’s* eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that [Giant’s] eyes was purely and simply… *evil*.
Or
– I- I watched him for fifteen years, sitting in a room, staring at a wall, not seeing the wall, looking past the wall – looking at this night, inhumanly patient, waiting for some secret, silent alarm to trigger him off. Death has come to your little town, Sheriff. Now you can either ignore it, or you can help me to stop it.
Or
This isn’t a man.
A final non-gypsum-phallus related lesson we learned is never eat at the Fort Dodge Bonanza, no matter how nostalgic you are feeling for the old Ames Bonanza. The high point of that meal was watching an employee refill the buffet with a cigarette dangling out of his mouth.
There are many more pictures posted in the famous Photography 139 Gallery in The Cardiff Giant Road Trip Album:
BELOW IS NO LONGER ACCURATE:
There are some bonus pictures in the Friends Album that you have to be a Registered User to see. There might have been some rules violations in those pictures and I don’t feel right posting those for the whole world to see after the Museum Director asked to buy some pictures off of me.
Last Friday Jesse and I embarked on a road trip that we lovingly named The Big Jesus Road Trip. Our final destination and epoch of the trip was a 33 foot tall stainless steel Jesus statue.
A plan was hatched and a route was devised. The plan was set in motion. Considerations were made. Including starting the road trip by listening to the Audio Adrenaline song Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus.
I could move to hollywood (yeah)
get my teeth capped i know i could
be a big star
on the silver screen
just like james dean
i could be a star
i could climb the corporate laddermaybe be just like the beatles
melodic rocking heavyweights
i could learn to sing and dance
if i only had a chance
i could be a big rock stari could be anything i wanted to
i could do anything but one thing’s true
never gonna be as big as Jesus
hand
never gonna be as big as Jesus
never gonna build the promise land
but that, that’s all right,
o.k. with me (bop bop bop bop ba dop, ooh!)i could build a tower to heaven
get on top and touch the sky
i could write a million songs
all designed to glorify
i could be about as good
good as any human could
but that won’t get me by
But in the end, we just headed out on the open road to the sound of the Taurus.
We passed through the following cities:
We did important things like:
Visit the Surf Ballroom
Visit the plane crash site that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritichie Valens
Feel the pain of finding out that the World’s Largest Cheeto had been kidnapped.
>Feel the thrill of seeing the World’s Largest Cheeto when the waitress brings it out for a special appearance.
Meet this awesome guy!
Kiss the Blarney Stone
Got a honk and a wave from the friendly folks in Mallard
See the world’s ugliest statue.
See the Big Jesus (and Mary too).
See the Sgt. Floyd Memorial.
I hope to go into more detail about the trip in the near future. Until then, you can check out many, many more pictures from the trip in my Photography 139 Gallery.
I have a week chock full of fun activities, but I think one might stand above all the others. Tonight Derrick and I are having a little bonding time by watching Crossroads.
If you instantly thought of the Britney Spears movie, you are not my friend. Please erase my e-mail from your address book. Delete my phone number from your cell phone. Unless, you are willing to learn. Then you can remain my friend, but you may have to make amends for your sin.
Those of you that instantly thought of the 1986 Walter Hill classic, good job. You get a gold star and might get a birthday present from me if you meet the rest of the birthday present getting criteria.
This movie is so sweet that it even eclipses the other events from this week.
I got this wad of cash last night at the bowling league awards ceremony. Yes ladies and gentleman, that is what 38 smackers looks like.
But even getting money is eclipsed by Crossroads.
I’m even going on two road trips this week to break in my new Road Trip Hat. The Big Jesus Road Trip on Friday. Then on Saturday I’m going on The Cardiff Giant Road Trip. The Cardiff Giant Road Trip had taken on a bit of an added dimension after some information I received last Wednesday. I don’t want too give too much away, but think “Gypsum Penis”. At least if I correctly deducted what the term “modest” was meant to insinuate.
I’m also going to see Chicago on Thursday at Stephens.
Plus, I’m having supper tomorrow night at Jimmy’s Barbecue.
If that isn’t enough, there is serving food for the Mother-Daughter banquet on Saturday night.
Of course there is the traditional Mother’s Day Barbecue on Sunday.
Yet they are all eclipsed by tonight’s viewing of Crossroads.
Derrick recently went down to the home of Delta Blues for a 3 or 4 day extensive training session with Peavey in Meridian, Mississippi. I gave him the mission of either getting a Mississippi String Tie (which is what a bluesman wears in Mississippi) or at least making it to Highway 61.
The folks at Peavey kept him so busy that he never accomplished either mission. In fact the only time he was free from them he made a trip to a gas station. He did report to me that they served catfish at this gas station. We both agree that Gas Station Catfish would make either a great song or album title.
I thought I would just share some of my favorite scenes from Crossroads.
“Where I come from, you don’t blow no harp, you don’t get no pussy.”
Highway 61
Mississippi Blues Tie
“Look at this old guitar here you been squeakin’ on. I bet you saw this thing in a music store and bought it just because you thought it was beat up! Well you got it all wrong. Muddy Waters invented electricity.”
“Where you learn to play them pussy chords, in music school?… Now if you spend as much time with your hands on them strings as you do on this girl’s ass, you might get somewhere.”
“Lots of towns… Lots of songs… Lots of women… Good times… Bad times… Only thing I wanted anyone to say is… ‘He could really play… He was good’.”
The Crossroads Again.
The Devil’s Guitarist.
The Guitar Battle.
Now that is a movie. I’m already getting me some of them Crossroads Blues:
I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
I went to the crossroads, fell down on my knees
Asked the Lord above, have mercy now, save poor Bob if you pleaseStandin’ at the crossroads, tried to flag a ride
Whee-hee, I tried to flag a ride
Didn’t nobody seem to know me, everybody pass me byStandin’ at the crossroads, risin’ sun goin’ down
Standin’ at the crossroads baby, the risin’ sun goin’ down
I believe to my soul now, po’ Bob is sinkin’ downYou can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown
You can run, you can run, tell my friend Willie Brown
That I got the crossroad blues this mornin’, Lord, baby I’m sinkin’ downI went to the crossroad, mama, I looked east and west
I went to the crossroad, babe, I looked east and west
Lord, I didn’t have no sweet woman, ooh well, babe, in my distress
I went in to see Monica to get my quarterly shearing. Do you see a difference?
I feel much better now.