Last night the Utah Jazz unvieled their new logos and one of their new players. Thanks to Tania’s relentless quest for new pictures, somehow i got talked into going. As usual, Tania got her ‘picture of the day’, while i picked up 200. Anyways, here’s a first look at Al Jefferson, sporting a new Jazz logo jersey;
new logo? two thumbs up
If it looks vaguely familiar, you can be forgiven. It bears a striking resemblance to the one the Jazz sported back in the Salt Palace days;
the Salt Palace Jazz
For the record, that is yours truly hanging out with two Jazz Dancers on the floor. But i’m not like that anymore;
yours, truely
Now i roll with four. [picture credit goes to Tania, who twisted my arm to pose.] i just noticed the hair and glasses changed, but same cheesy grin. Anyways, another thing i’ve noticed is one big irony, no racist;
a jazz band . . .
What do ‘jazz’ and ‘Utah’ have in common, besides a basketball team? oh well, here’s hoping Treme returns . . .
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i owe a debt of gratitude to Tania, who has been my inspiration. Her original blog was lost, and i picked up blogging because she didn’t think hers’ could ever match the flow and diction it had before. She has recovered nicely, and introduced me to a form of self expression i’d never thought i’d use.
self portrait
One hundred posts later, i’ve found a medium i don’t mind sharing in. i can give a raised middle finger to the world, if i chose, or kudos, or deafening silence. The web has proven surprising and engaging to me, and given me the opportunity to interact with people all over the globe. It has also given my family a rare peak, and my wife a barometer into the mood i’m in. Whether the posts have been profound and uplifting, or pedestrian and mundane, my biggest cheerleader and harshest critic has been vigilant in letting me know she read the dam thing.
So i find my self in the doldrums, the dog days of August. The dentist has abused me and so has the weather. The road ahead includes a visit to the North West, and possibly one to ‘the Greatest City in the World’. However the lottery numbers turn out, i’m convinced the best way for me to deal with it, is through the lense of a camera . . .
the road ahead
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The last time we took pictures at the Capitol building was in April of ’09. This last Saturday we went downtown again, to take pictures and go to the Farmer’s Market. We never made it to the market . . .
The Capitol building has been very photogenic for me. Some of my earliest attempts of trying HDR were of the building, and alot of people at the time liked the pictures i posted. A few things have change since that April, including the camera i’m using. But the Capitol has had for me a timeless feeling, and it still has been good to me;
the reflection pool
Having seen the building thousands of times from every angle, i was still surprised to see what i hadn’t seen before.
the Lions on the East Stairs
And it wasn’t just the Capitol Building we explored, we ventured around the capital city, as well. Salt Lake has hundreds of streets and dozens of neighborhoods too . . .
Second and Second
So, after being here for almost twenty years, i feel there is still a lot more to this city than i’ve already seen.
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i was born and raised in California. My adopted state celebrates the day that pioneers first entered Utah, and as irony would have it, i spent that day in Yosemite National Park.
The East Gate
A lot of time has past since i lived in Yosemite, and i have been back for a couple of brief visits, but this trip was especially special for the company i keep. Tania and i have been into photography and travel for awhile, and if there was one place that I knew, that offered the best of both – that place is Yosemite.
Toulumne Meadows Lodge
Half my life ago. i had darker hair, a minimum wage income, and no camera. i knew at the time that i would be back, with a fine machine to capture what i saw. In the mean time, real life happened, i almost lost my sight, i gained a house and a wife – and most importantly, someone who i could share this corner with.
Tunnel View
i came on a day my adopted state celebrated an arrival, i came half a lifetime later, i came as half of a couple. i came to a place i called home for awhile, a place alot of people have taken pictures of before – but i came back to a place i felt i knew and missed. i’ve published a few of the captures i’ve managed to process, but here is the story of the man behind the lense.
A sort of homecoming
When i moved to Yosemite, it started the long, slow process of me getting out of the way of me. Remnants still remain, i still shoot myself in the foot and i’m closer to a teenager than my contemporaries that have kids, but the time i spent in the Park released me from the demons of childhood and the mores of my upbringing. Today the influence of raw Mother Nature is a bigger part of me than the tradition of my parents. i’m glad for the fact that my natural mom has a part of my life as my adopted mom – spending time in the wilderness made me believe that i needed both to learn the lessons i would need to make my way in the world.
Today, a safe home and a warm bed are my prerogative. In the Park i was able to park my shoes by a door we pre-paid for.
home for a night
Twenty Four years ago, i found humility and a work ethic waiting on people that used the same amenities that i paid for last weekend. Being the one parking my boots at the door, i realized i did give something – to live in those shoes . . .
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i’ve been being dragged around, kicking and screaming, to take pictures with Tania. But that’s not the worst part~ we get home, go through the pictures and she’s saying “You’re ahead of me, i can’t take the same pictures as you!” Now, i’ve seen her pictures and haven’t told her yet – my pictures are not better, they’re just different. If there is a difference in the quality, it’s a) in the camera (i’m currently using a Canon 7D, she’s using a Rebel 450D) and b) i’m a bit more familiar with the programs we use for post processing.
A family amid the flowers
We had gone downtown Saturday afternoon on one of these expeditions, Tania with a purpose and me to kill some pixels. We’ve been seeing brides for the last three times we’ve went out. Wednesday, when we went to Gardner Village;
Thursday, at Thanksgiving point;
And then at the City County building;
And on the Main street plaza, where the quail first come into the picture;
So i think this might be an omen – my friend Kevin mentioned that i would be a good choice to shoot his wedding, when we were in Vegas. Since then, i’ve seen plenty of brides. Every morning i see quail, but the family that lives in the Main street plaza was the first that posed for me.
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Three weeks of June are gone. There’s a new U.S. Open golf champion, today is Father’s Day, and i got to use my fishing license for the first time this year . . .
Father in law, Captain of the scow
My Father in law took us to Strawberry Reservoir to go fishing. i can’t think of a better way to spend a day.
Then the reality hits that the fish aren’t biting, it’s still spring in Utah, and the Open is being played. It started off a nice day (besides the fact the motor wouldn’t start) and got progressively more Hasson. By that, i mean the fish finder was in ‘demo mode’, showing us a whole Sunday School of fish – but it was an electronic mirage. Smooth sailing turned to wind and chop. Nothing was biting, except the wind that picked up off the lake. By noon, we decided to pull up and eat a sandwich.
View from the Lodge
We weren’t the only ones to call it a day – there was traffic everywhere, and for the first fifty miles, most of it pulling boats. It looked like all the dad’s were rushing home to see the U.S. Open, when Tiger and Phil and Ernie all had a chance to win a major. Dustin Johnson started the day with a three stroke lead and promptly endeared himself to hackers everywhere, with a triple bogey followed by a double bogey followed by a bogey enroute to a smooth sunday score more like an amateur flight at the local muni as opposed to the last round of our country’s premier golfing event. An event played out at Pebble Beach, a California links course thousands of miles from Northern Ireland.
An event won by an Irishman, the first time since 1970 someone from the U.K. won the event. It did not suck, unless you were a golfing superstar, an American golfing superstar to be more specific.
i bring up things that suck because i cleaned the man-cave today, and in a rare concession to modern appliances and contrary to everything Father’s Day stands for, i ran the vacuum cleaner in my den. It left behind various bits and pieces, so i can say, it didn’t suck either . . .
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What do they have in common? i celebrated each, in it’s turn, today. Sixty Six years after the landing at Normandy, today’s world bears little resemblance to that one. The wars we are fighting today are not against a conventional enemy, and we cannot mount an Operation Overlord that would establish a beach head on enemy soil. We are already there, fighting an enemy that is more an idea than a regulated army. A Fourteenth century idea, but an idea nonetheless. . .
We went to Meadowbrook today, and played nine holes. My play was atrocious, but like Utah weather there were glimpses of something nice. i putted especially well.
After golf we threw a couple of steaks on the bar b que. A little sangria, and settled in to watch ‘Treme’ (one of the best shows imho, an American original – much like the city it portrays). As we watched, i had opened the door to the back patio. The sun was out, but we heard the tell-tale patter of big drops on the awning. Rain, accompanied by intermittent thunder and lightning.
i went on the back patio to see which direction the lightning was happening, and i saw it
rainbow
In the West, threatening clouds gray and menacing. In the East, the last rays on the mountain and a rainbow. A pretty way to end the first week in June . . .
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Memorial Day sunrise
From last year, a picture of our flag. This year, i spent time at Wheeler farm on Saturday, and we went to Wendover Sunday. We are going golfing today, and all in all welcome the unofficial beginning of summer.
Wheeler Farm is right in the middle of Salt Lake valley. They have done a good job of preserving what farm life was like here, so many years ago.
Wheeler Farm
The trip to Wendover (on the ‘Fun Bus’ – two words that don’t belong in a sentence together) was fairly uneventful and gave us a chance to throw away $200 with nothing to show for it. Another reason to love our country. Wendover the town straddles the state line of Nevada and Utah, and owes it’s existence t0 the fact that gambling is illegal here. It’s a hundred miles west of Salt Lake City and the drive is so boring that someone actually built a tree in the salt flat.
Wendover Tree
So, although spring is still on the calender, summer kicks off with a pause to remember who made this all possible.
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The good news is springs almost here, and the Jazz are still playing. The bad news is, it’s the first week of May and springs not quite here, and the Jazz are done. OK, basketball fan, i know they’re not eliminated yet, but down 3 – 0 i doubt they’ll win four in a row. Especially against the defending champs.
tipoff
Tania and i went to the game.
At the game
It was fun for what it was, the swan song to the 2009/2010 season. We had seen seven (i went to another, but that’s a post for another time) in a package, some electrifying and some ho-hum, and we really thought even short handed the home team would beat the champs at least once. After all, the beat the hated rivals to make it this far . . .
Oh well, it’s one way to say sayanora to a season and welcome another. Good bye basketball and hello golf.
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Today was the first in a new month, and for Tania, the first in a new year. My wife celebrated a birthday. By ‘celebrate’ i mean she went shopping all day. When she came home, we went out for a nice dinner.
Tuscany
A restaurant in the south east corner of the valley, Tuscany specializes in Italian fare, notably from the region it was named after. They served one of the best pork chops i have ever had. Tania went with the four cheese ravioli, and i could tell it was made with care.
Happy Birthday Tania, and thanks for sharing it with me.
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