Category Archives: Basketball

Basketball, Bill, Iowa State, Jesse, Road Trip, Still Life

Iowa State 67 Washington State 56

April 16, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

The Iowa State Men earned their way to play their first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Omaha by being a #2 seed. They won their first round game over Otz’s first ever team South Dakota State. This setup a 2nd Round matchup with Washington State. Jesse and I picked up tickets for a cheap $250 a piece and headed to Omaha to watch the Cyclones play.

We met up with Bill at his favorite sports bar before the game and knocked down some tasty chicken wings.

Here are some pictures:

Iowa State struggled a bit early been then pulled away in the 2nd half to win fairly easily.

The arena in Omaha is kind of a dump though. It is lousy enough I’m not even sure I want to claim it as an outpost of Hilton. It is not as nice as Hilton South in Kansas City. The rows are crazy close together, at least for us poors up in steerage. The concourse up in steerage is also incredibly small. A lot of people think the concourse at Hilton proper is too narrow. They should try walking around Hilton West. The scoreboard only shows individual stats for one team and that team on our side, was Washington State. There is a stat board at one end of the arena, but you can’t read all of the stats on it because they have a curtain that covers up about 30 percent of the scoreboard. The arena is so poorly designed that at one point Jesse and I accidentally left the arena and ended up at a high school prom. We had to sweet talk a cop into letting us back into the arena.

All in all it was a great trip, with great friends, watching a great basketball team. I can hardly wait for next season as Iowa State is projected to be a preseason Top 10 next year. It is hard to say how that will ultimately shakes out as there is still a lot of action to go down in the transfer portal. Iowa State still needs to add 2-3 players for next year’s roster. They need 1 more big and 1 more shooter. I was going to do a preview of next season on this post, because I thought Iowa State would have all the hay in the barn from the transfer portal. Unfortunately, John Calipari moving from Kentucky to Arkansas triggered a chain of events that cost Iowa State a transfer from Colorado as the player’s price tag went up to nearly $500,000. Too rich for Iowa State’s blood. So we will wait and see and then do that preview at a later date. Same thing goes for the women.

Adam, Andree, Andy, Angie, Baier, Basketball, Derrick, Elainie, Elizabeth, Faust, Jesse, Joe Duff, Linda, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Pastor Sarah, Robert, Russell, Sara, Shawn Lockner, Teresa, Tim, Toby

Roundball Oracles Year 19 Final Standings

April 10, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

With UCONN mercilessly smashing Purdue (and every other team they played in the Tournament) on Monday night, another smashing round of the Roundball Oracles came to a close.

This year’s champion was… drumroll please… Micky! He adds himself to the list of Immortals!

ROUNDBALL ORACLE CHAMPTIONS – LIST OF IMMORTALS

2024 – Micky Augustin
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 hand out 2 trophies for the Roundball Oracles. Micky will take home the Championship trophy for the 2nd time ever. But who gets “The Sara” for last place?

Do you have another drumroll in you? It goes to Oracles newcomer Aaron Sader!

“The Sara” Winners:

2024 – Aaron Sader
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

Here are the Final Standings:

1. Micky Augustin – 287
2. Toby Sebring – 262
3. Sara Lockner – 258
4. Michelle Haupt – 257
5. Jesse Howard – 244
6. Jason Baier – 232 points
7. Jordan Toot – 225
8. Sean Gildersleeve – 220
9. Russell Kennerly – 220
10. Linda Bennett – 220
11. Adam Gordon – 208
12. Derek Dohrman – 204
13. Andy Sharp – 202
14. Angie DeWaard – 201
15. Elainie Stensland – 198
16. Sarah Karber – 192
17. Rachel Gildersleeve – 188
18. Tim Peterson – 184
19. Robert Henning – 184
20. Derrick Gorshe – 183
21. JJ Baier – 182
22. Corey Faust – 174
23. Elizabeth Nordeen – 170
24. Lowell Davis – 169
25. Humble Narrator – 163
26. Shawn Lockner – 160
27. Ben Baier – 159
28. Carrie Baier – 146
29. Olivia Baier – 145
30. Joseph Duff – 145
31. Andree Jauhari – 140
32. Will Baier – 140
33. Jackson Faust – 139
34. Teresa Kahler – 136
35. Aaron Sader – 129

I’ll have to get the trophies ordered and delivered soon.

Basketball season is barely over and I already miss it!

Art, Basketball, Iowa State, Jesse, Night, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Street Photography

Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship

April 9, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

The Saturday after the Iowa State Women played for the Big 12 Championship, the Men did the same thing. The played the #1 team in the country, the Houston Cougars. The two teams had split the regular season games. Each team winning on their home floor. Both schools went undefeated at home this year. The only two schools to do that. I was expecting a very tight and hotly contested game, but the rubber match ended up being not much of a game. Iowa State blasted the #1 team in the country by 28 points. The first victory for Iowa State since all the way back in 2022. It was one of the largest margins of victory over the #1 team in history.

It was a completely unexpected result. A conference championship was a little unexpected for the Cyclones at the beginning of the season. They didn’t get a single vote in the AP Preseason Poll. However, they were expected to be at least decent. That lost some pieces from last year’s NCAA Tournament team, but they brought back almost all the key pieces. Plus they brought in some scoring punch for the backcourt in the transfer portal ad they brought in 2 freshman that are expected to play in the NBA. But, Iowa State ended up being much better than expected, thanks mostly to the vast improvement of Tamin Lipsey from his freshman year to his sophomore year.

Here are some pictures from the trip I made to the game with Jesse:

Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament Road Trip

Missouri Rest Area

Garth Brooks played the Boone County Fair, we didn’t hang a banner for it.

Pretty much every Houston fan at the game in one picture.

The best point guard in the country, hope he is healthy next year.

This guy made his hat.

MVP!

Best coach in Iowa State history?

BRE!

This picture was for a project I’ve already decided to abandon.

Charlie Hustle had a pop up store. All the clothing in there was super cool!

It was a great day! But it wasn’t the last road trip I took to watch Iowa State play in the postseason!

Alexis, Basketball, Iowa State, Still Life, Street Photography, Tenderloining, Teresa

I Scream: Hilton Field Work

April 7, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today’s food adventure took me to Ames. To the cathedral known as James H. Hilton Coliseum. A storied basketball (and other sports like volleyball and gymnastics) venue where the Iowa State men went undefeated and the women went 13-2. I had this adventure at the final home game of the season. March 2. It was the first time I had ice cream since November. I went to the game with Alexis (who went in Carla’s place) and Teresa.

The opponent was the Cincinnati Bearcats. On the menu was the Clone Cone.

Here are some pictures:

You can barely make out the Clone Cone stand from the end of the line.

It appears to be 2 different flavors, but it is all vanilla.

The Clone Cone also enjoys watch Audi Crooks cook!

Big fan of Emily, Addy, Kelsey, Hannah… well really all of them!

Last bites

You know my policy on ice cream. It is the same as Ted Lasso’s:

“Ice cream is the best. It’s kinda like seeing Billy Joel perform live. Never disappoints.”

I have to confess… maybe it was the environment. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had ice cream in over 3 months, but this was about the best tasting ice cream of my life! It tasted like victory. Like a 16 point win over the Bearcats.

But it was also a little bittersweet as it was the last game in Hilton ever for Hannah and Nyamer. And as it turned out, for Shantavia and Jalynn.

You can your own Clone Cone at virtually any Iowa State sporting event at Hilton. You will only have to wait until November. But it will be worth the wait. Both the Iowa State men and women’s basketball teams should be pre-season Top 10 teams. Top 15 at the worst.

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

This week my weight went down 1.8 pounds. I am now down 26.5 pounds since starting Noom. I am 3.1 pounds away from reaching my May 1 goal weight. 28.1 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*.

Weight obviously fluctuates quite a bit based on a ton of factors. From what you ate the day before to when you ate your last meal to when you went to bed the night before to when you last went to the bathroom to when you weigh yourself. I try not to get too high if the scale ticks down or too low if the scale ticks up. The important thing is that the general trend is going in the right direction.

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. This week I did achieve a new badge on FitBit:

I achieved walking 250 miles since starting using Fitbit in February on April 4.

That is all to report for now.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will be back on the Catholic Fish Fry Circuit!

*Ultimate goal weight subject to change.

Art, Basketball, Carla, Iowa State, Jason, Road Trip, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa

Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship

April 2, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

A few week’s back Carla, Jason, Teresa, and I loaded up into Teresa’s new car and drove down to Kansas City to watch Iowa State play in the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game. It was the second year in a row for Iowa State to make the Championship Game. This year was quite a surprise after everything Iowa State lost last year to graduation, the NCAA hating Iowa State, and the transfer portal. Iowa State lost the best player in school history. They lost the #4 pick in the WNBA draft. They lost their starting center. They lost the two players that would have been considered the best two returning players to the transfer portal. Then to make matters worse, they lost their leader, the best returning player, and the best point guard in Iowa State history for over half the season to injury. Their rotation to start the season consisted of 5 true freshman, a Division 2 transfer, and a transfer from the Big Sky Conference.

Despite all of the strikes against this team, they were one of the most fun teams to watch and they battled and they persevered and they somehow made it to the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game. It was definitely worth the trip down to Kansas City to watch.

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Hilton South

I wasn’t that guy.

I’m so excited for the future of this team. The transfer portal is already open for college basketball. They’ve already lost 4 players to the transfer portal, but I think only one of them is a potentially major loss. It will be interesting to see what Iowa State pulls in through the transfer portal, but I’ll get into all that in the future.

Animals, Art, Basketball, Black & White, Elainie, Football, Holidays, Iowa State, Sabas, Shannon, State Fair, Still Life, Street Photography

Iowa State Fair – Day 3 – Delta

March 29, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today is Good Friday.

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. If you are looking for a place to worship tonight, you can join me at the Boone First United Methodist Church. It is a Tenebrae Service. It starts at 6:30.

What is a Tenebrae Service? From our website:

A Service of Tenebrae, or “Shadows,” is based on a twelfth–century late night/early morning service and is an extended meditation on the Christian Scriptures that tell of the suffering of Christ during his betrayal, trial, and public execution. This service utilizes a mix of readings, liturgy, hymnody, and candlelight to draw our attention to Jesus’ suffering and death for the whole world.

Here is a Good Friday Devotional written by Rev. Lucky Cotto.

Good Friday

The Centurion near the Cross

Scripture Readings:

John 19:23-24
Matthew 27:50-54
Mark 15:39: When the centurion, who stood facing Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “This man was certainly God’s Son.”

Devotional

The presence of Roman soldiers around the crucifixion of Jesus Christ indicates that this was a state-sponsored crucifixion ordered by the Jewish leaders opposed to Jesus’ message. (Incidentally, the Jews were treated as slaves and oppressed.)** The opponents claimed that Jesus had deceived the Jews and that He was opposed to them paying their contributions to the empire, and that, in addition, He claimed to be the Messiah, King of the Jews and stirred up the people with His teachings.

But the Roman Empire didn’t care. In fact, Pontius Pilate could not find a reason to crucify him, all he could think of was the coming uproar against the empire. In his own words, “Pilate then said to the chief priests, and to the people, “I find no crime in this man,” and he said to them, “You brought this man before me as one who was misleading the people. I have questioned him in your presence and found nothing in this man’s conduct that provides a legal basis for the charges you have brought against him. 15 Neither did Herod, because Herod returned him to us. He’s done nothing that deserves death.” As Pilate wanted to release Jesus, he again addressed the people; (Luke 23;1-24, VV. 4,14,15,20).

Meanwhile the crowds continued to shout, “crucify Him, crucify Him” (vv21) and the priests encouraged them to ask that Barabbas be set free. They wanted a revolutionary who had been in prison for murder to go free. At the same time, the Jews could not execute anyone. So, from the legal and judicial point of view Jesus’ sentence was unjust and tainted with false accusations. It is the effective result of false narratives promoting political manipulations orchestrated by religious fanatics who could not accept the message of Jesus’ kingdom.

However, from the perspective of what God intended for humanity, and what Jesus’ sacrifice would mean for the world, Jesus bore our sin, therefore, bore our guilt, our crimes, and on the cross, as Paul wrote: “God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.”

At the foot of the cross are the Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross, mocked Him, tore His clothes, and were asked to watch over Him. Finally, He died and when He expired there was among the soldiers a centurion, a prominent officer, in charge of at least 100 soldiers. We do not know if he was comfortable and in agreement with the crucifixion of Jesus, if he knew about Jesus, or if he was interested in Judaism. Surely, he saw the sign above the cross that said “King of the Jews”, and he must have heard the thief standing next to Jesus who said to him: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk.23:42). and the assurance with which Jesus said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do”. The centurion saw and heard everything that was happening and saw when Jesus gave His last breath and died. What came out of this man’s mouth was to praise God and say, “Truly this man was righteous.”

For Reflection

As a result of his new conviction, the centurion turned against the government he served. He had a transformation of mind and heart, even though he was one of those who wounded Jesus’ side, and executed him. Now he could see that this Jesus was truly sent by God, that he was truly who he said he was. Let us ask ourselves: Who is Jesus for me? Should we strive for people in positions of power who are guilty of committing injustice on the innocent to change in the face of an encounter with the gospel?

Prayer

God who loved us so much that You did not mind sending Your only Son to come to save us, to save humanity, help us to recognize that great love that You have for us and that we can live as Jesus lived, who, in the midst of pain had compassion and asked you to forgive us. Thank You that we can feel Your forgiveness, Your love, and Your grace. Amen.

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Time to share another collection of images from my trip to the State Fair with Monica and Graham and then Elainie, Sabas, and Tiffany. At this point in the day Monica and Graham just kinda ghosted me. I never saw them again. I hope they are doing okay, wherever they are.

I’m pretty sure this is the last time I saw Shannon. Have seen. I’m sure I will see her again someday.

Still more pictures to share from this day. I don’t think I’ll be going to the State Fair with Sabas and Elainie this year. With Elainie all preggers now, I’m sure she won’t be up for that kind of heat and activity. Maybe Sabas and I will go and we’ll send her pictures. Lots of pictures.

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

WPC – WEEK 445 – HOBBIES

March 25, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

NOTES: 1. THIS IS ONE OF 2 THEMES THAT HAVE A SPECIAL, EXTRA RULE. MAKE SURE YOU READ THAT RULE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT. 2. I’VE BEEN GETTING SOME SMALL IMAGES SUBMITTED. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE FAQ ANSWER ON IMAGE SIZE. YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST YOUR CAMERA SETTINGS OR YOUR EMAIL ATTACHMENT SETTINGS OR YOUR IMAGE TEXT MESSAGE SETTINGS OR MAYBE YOU ARE AN OVER-CROPPER. DON’T BE AN OVER-CROPPER. CROP WTH YOUR FEET. 3. AS ALWAYS, I APPRECIATE ANYBODY THAT GETS THEIR SUBMISSION IN BY SUNDAY NIGHT.

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It is the last Monday of the month and on the last Monday of the month I like to revisit our Frequently Asked Questions. Who asks these questions? I mostly ask them of myself. But that isn’t a Frequently Asked Question. These are:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

What skill level photographer can participate?

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
NO. It is a challenge. There are no winners and losers. Well the people that don’t participate are losers.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 2. If you send me more than 2, I will post the first 2 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.

If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.

If I start to average like 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme every week. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact (AND CAN’T EMPATHIZE THIS ENOUGH) I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their widest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point. But don’t tempt me!

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that. In fact, I appreciate you letting me know where a picture was taken. If you don’t let me know, I will assume the picture was taken in the state you live in.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

I will take suggestions only and ONLY in the comments sections of the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE posts the last week of October and the 1st week of November.

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HOBBIES! A great theme! Everybody has a HOBBY or 2. From making kolaches to eating kolaches, HOBBIES can really run the gamut! But did enough people have photography as a HOBBY to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, March 18, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
2-Elainie Hernandez – 1 week
3-Deanna McClain – 1 week
4-Johnathan Stensland – 1 week
5-Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks
6-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks
7-Adam Gordon – 3 weeks (2)
8-Mary Green – 5 weeks (2)
9-Stehanie Kim – 5 weeks
10-Becky Parmelee – 5 weeks
11-Sara Lockner – 9 weeks
12-Lowell Davis – 11 weeks (2)
13-Michelle Haupt – 11 weeks
14-Alexis Stensland – 11 weeks
15-Brandon Kahler – 12 weeks
16-Scott Degeneffe – 30 weeks
17-Sabas Hernandez – 31 weeks
18-Mike Vest – 36 weeks
19-Sheri Fakhouri – 40 weeks (2)
20-Logan Kahler – 41 weeks (2)
21-Nathanial Brown – 42 weeks (2)
22-Jesse Howard – 42 weeks
23-Tamara Peterson – 54 weeks
24-Mindi Terrell – 57 weeks (2)
25-Linda Bennett – 86 weeks (2)
26-Sarah Toot – 87 weeks
27-Angie DeWaard – 91 weeks
28-Dawn Krause – 95 weeks
29-Kim Barker – 101 weeks
30-Joe Duff – 102 weeks
31-Teresa Kahler – 113 weeks (2)
32-Carla Stensland – 113 weeks
33-Micky Augustin – 115 weeks
34-Andy Sharp – 116 (2) weeks
35-Bill Wentworth – 117 weeks
36-Cathie Morton – 121 weeks (2)
37-Elizabeth Nordeen – 122 weeks
38-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 124 weeks
39-Kio Dettman – 126 weeks (2)

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:

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 127 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Summerset, Iowa) – 125 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 123 weeks

Cathie Morton (Nassau, Bahamas) – 122 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, NE) – 118 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 117 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 116 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 114 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 114 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 103 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 102 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 96 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Story County Administration Building – Nevada, Iowa) – 92 weeks

Sarah Toot (Nobu – Las Vegas, Nevada) – 88 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 87 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 58 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 55 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) – 43 weeks

Jesse Howard (Hilton West – Omaha, Nebraska) – 43 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 42 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 41 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 37 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 32 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Bettendorf, Iowa)

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 31 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 13 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa) – 12 weeks

Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 10 weeks

Stephanie Kim (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York) – 6 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Boone, Iowa)- 6 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa)

Elainie Hernandez (Ogden, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Tim Panages (West Des Moines, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Hilton West – Omaha, Nebraska)

39 participants this week! A pretty good week! But that is a 1 participant drop from DECORATION.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Bahamas – 1
+ Iowa – 39
+ Kansas – 1
+ Nebraska – 3
+ Nevada – 1
+ New York – 1
+ Pennsylvania – 1
+ Texas – 1

Thanks to Sarah’s trip we added Nevada! Thanks to Cathie’s trip, we added the Bahamas!

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

+ Arkansas (6.5)
+ Bahamas (1)
+ California (1)
+ Colorado (4)
+ Florida (3)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (1)
+ Indiana (2)
+ Iowa (444)
+ Kansas (17)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (4)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (8.5)
+ Nebraska (17)
+ Nevada (1)
+ New York (9)
+ Pennsylvania (11)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (19)
+ Vermont (1)

23 states so far! 1 foreign country! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN) – 5
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE) – 3
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2

Andy maintains a 2 state lead over Jen to be crowned the most travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE photographer!

Becky joined the list of people that have submitted from multiple states! WooHoo!

The big milestone this week was Sara joining the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! Also the first ever submission from Tim! That’s pretty sweet too!

But it wasn’t all good news. In fact it was mostly bad news. There was a veritable bloodbath of streaks. Jen couldn’t build on last week’s submission. Her streak is over before it began. Suzie and Monica had two week streaks go poof! Mary’s 5 week streak is over!

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:

#INSTAGOOD

#INSTAGOOD! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is an #INSTAGOOD image? Here is where that special rule for this theme is revealed. An #INSTAGOOD image is simply the best image you take this week. Period. And because it is the best image you take this week (HERE IS THAT SPECIAL RULE) you can only submit ONE picture for this theme. Only one picture is your best picture.

I will add, do NOT send me multiple images and ask me to pick the best one. Remember that one rule for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme because this is not a curate your pictures challenge, this is a get off your butt and go take pictures challenge! However, this week, you will have to curate all the pictures you take this week down to one, best picture.

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 see your idea of INSTAGOOD in this place in this place that is sometimes gets my best next Monday.

Basketball, Flowers, Lensbaby, Naima

I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

March 21, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

There are only 3 hours left to get your picks in.

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”.

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Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
I’m so lonesome I could cry

I’ve never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind the clouds
To hide its face and cry

Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die
That mean’s he’s lost his will to live
I’m so lonesome I could cry

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I’m so lonesome I could cry
-Written and Performed by Hank Williams

Hank Williams. The Hillbilly Shakespeare. Another American tragedy. Also the subject of what I consider to be the worst biopic ever made… I SAW THE LIGHT. Trust me, don’t watch it. It is dreadful.

However the song “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” is one of the greatest songs ever recorded. Certainly one of the greatest country songs ever recorded. It has been covered by Leon Russell. Elvis Presley. Jerry Lee Lewis. Johnny Cash. Connie Stevens. Bill Monroe. Al Green. Little Richard. Glen Campbell. Willie Nelson. Charley Pride. Waylon Jennings. Cowboy Junkies. John Waite. Keb’ Mo’. Townes Van Zandt. Me First and The Gimme Gimmes. Volbeat. Heck, even Terry Bradshaw covered it. Yes, Terry Bradshaw. The quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers covered it. Lynda Carter? Yes, even Wonder Woman has covered it.

However, Thursdays are for flowers. There aren’t many in this session. I took these flower pictures on July 23. There is a bonus picture of Naima in the mix.

Next flowertography meetup will involve many more flower pictures. We will begin looking at flower pictures I took at the Iowa State Fair.

Art, Basketball, Christianity, Olympic Sports, Street Photography

RAGBRAI – MADRID – II

March 20, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

A reminder, you still have less than 23 hours to join my NCAA Tournament Pool.

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

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.

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Time once again to share some more images from when RAGBRAI went through Madrid. Once again, they did an amazing job and I LOVED their “Alice in Wonderland” theme!

Still one more collection of images from RAGBRAI left to share. So looking forward to RAGBRAI this year for a variety of reasons!

Adam, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Elainie, Elizabeth, Iowa State, Jen, Jesse, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Sheri, Steph, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 444 – DECORATION

March 18, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

DECORATION! A great theme! Everybody loves to decorate. But did enough people like to decorate enough to make DECORATE a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, March 11, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week
2-Monica Jennings – 1 week
3-Adam Gordon – 2 weeks (2)
4-Mary Green – 4 weeks (2)
5-Stehanie Kim – 4 weeks
6-Becky Parmelee – 4 weeks
7-Willy McAlpine – 6 weeks
8-Sara Lockner – 8 weeks
9-Lowell Davis – 10 weeks
10-Michelle Haupt – 10 weeks
11-Alexis Stensland – 10 weeks (2)
12-Brandon Kahler – 11 weeks
13-Scott Degeneffe – 29 weeks
14-Sabas Hernandez – 29 weeks
15-Mike Vest – 35 weeks
16-Sheri Fakhouri – 39 weeks (2)
17-Logan Kahler – 40 weeks (2)
18-Nathanial Brown – 41 weeks
19-Jesse Howard – 41 weeks
20-Tamara Peterson – 44 weeks
21-Mindi Terrell – 56 weeks (2)
22-Linda Bennett – 85 weeks
23-Sarah Toot – 86 weeks
24-Angie DeWaard – 90 weeks
25-Dawn Krause – 94 weeks
26-Kim Barker – 100 weeks
27-Joe Duff – 101 weeks
28-Teresa Kahler – 112 weeks (2)
29-Carla Stensland – 112 weeks
30-Micky Augustin – 114 weeks
31-Andy Sharp – 115 weeks
32-Bill Wentworth – 116 weeks
33-Cathie Morton – 120 weeks
34-Elizabeth Nordeen – 121 weeks
35-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 123 weeks
36-Kio Dettman – 125 weeks (2)

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

It is the third week of the month and on the third week of the month I like to share a map of all the states where people have submitted from heading into today. Here is that map:

We’ve put a good dent into the United States already.

WPC - WEEK 444 - DECORATION - MICKY AUGUSTIN

Micky Augustin (Ames, Iowa) – 115 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Summerset, Iowa) – 124 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 101 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Hilton South – Kansas City, Missouri)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 86 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Monteagle, Tennessee) – 42 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Fort Valley, Georgia)

Lowell Davis (Iowa)- 11 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa)

Scott Degeneffe (Boone, Iowa) – 30 weeks

Angie DeWaard (State Historical Building – Des Moines, Iowa) – 91 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Nashville, Tennessee) – 1 week

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 126 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 102 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (The Breakfast Club – Ankeny, Iowa) – 40 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (The Breakfast Club – Ankeny, Iowa)

Adam Gordon (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Michelle Haupt (Saint Louis, Missouri) – 11 weeks

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1 week

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 30 weeks

Jesse Howard (Hilton South – Kansas City, Missouri) – 42 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 12 weeks

Logan Kahler (Bloomington, Minnesota) – 41 weeks

Logan Kahler (Bloomington, Minnesota)

Teresa Kahler (Ankeny, Iowa) – 113 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Ankeny, Iowa)

Stephanie Kim (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York) – 5 weeks

Dawn Krause (Brass Armadillo – Des Moines, Iowa) – 95 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 1 week

Cathie Morton (Between Fort Lauderdale and Nassau Bahamas) – 121 weeks

Cathie Morton (Between Fort Lauderdale and Nassau Bahamas)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 122 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bentonsville, Arkansas) – 5 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Perry, Iowa) – 45 weeks

Andy Sharp (Grand Isle, Louisiana) – 116 weeks

Andy Sharp (Gulf of Mexico – Off Louisiana)

Alexis Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 11 weeks

Carla Stensland (Power & Light District – Kansas City, Missouri) – 113 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Johnathan Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 57 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 87 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 36 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 117 weeks

40 participants! That is a great week! Tops ORANGE for the most popular theme of Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Florida (2)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Iowa (34)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Minnesota (2)
+ Missouri (4)
+ New York (1)
+ Pennsylvania (1)
+ Tennessee (2)
+ Texas (1)

Thanks to the travels of Nathanial, we added Georgia to the list! And thanks to Andy’s travels we added Louisiana to the list.

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

+ Arkansas (6.5)
+ California (1)
+ Colorado (4)
+ Florida (3)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (1)
+ Indiana (2)
+ Iowa (405)
+ Kansas (16)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (4)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (8.5)
+ Nebraska (14)
+ New York (8)
+ Pennsylvania (10)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (18)
+ Vermont (1)

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

+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN) – 5
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO)
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO) – 2
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2

Andy maintains a 2 state lead over Jen to be crowned the Emperor 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.

Logan, Jesse, Carla, Cathie, and your humble narrator all joined the group of people that have taken submissions in multiple states.

There were no major milestones reached this week. The only bad news was that Willy’s streak went POOF after 6 weeks. The humanity!

HOBBIES

HOBBIES! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

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 HOBBIES in this place in this place that is something more of one next Monday.