Category Archives: Cool

BMSO “Mimes and Marvels” photos…hold onto your hat!

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After a lovely dinner at The Walrus Restaurant this weekend, my wife and I took in a fantastic season finale at the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra. Naturally I’m biased because my favorite violinist plays with the BMSO, but Saturday night held a particular treat.

Performer Dan Kamin (dankamin.com) came to town last week to entertain children and adults alike, including his program “The Classical Clown” with the Symphony. The show itself is wonderfully assembled, and it was a real joy to experience firsthand!

In addition to a variety of music selections and a fun ride with the character of the Classical Clown, the evening took a very colorful tone. It ranged from dancing…

…to a menacing, mime-frightening drama, complete with a walls-closing-in routine…

…to some sweet lullaby relaxation. Mr. Kamin’s character led us through the ups and downs of the selections performed by the Symphony, giving a new context to many familiar favorites.

This is no ordinary clown, however; after a brief trip backstage, he returned with tuxedo and baton, ready to conduct the Symphony! And conduct he did…

…until our conductor, Dr. Beverly Everett, returned with a few tricks of her own! This is a challenging production in that the conductor needs to co-star and deliver a lot of dialogue. Dr. Everett performed brilliantly! She was captivating and a perfect partner for Mr. Kamin. The orchestra was able to get in on the act a few times, too, which I’m told was a real treat for them.

The “cherry on top” for the evening was a not-so-brief Q&A session with conductor and mime, where a bunch of us were allowed to ask questions to our hearts’ content and hear Mr. Kamin describe his craft.

The show’s star performers graciously took questions from the group until almost 9:45! We got to hear Mr. Kamin talk about his experiences teaching Johnny Depp how to do magic and mime routines for movies such as Benny & Joon (which I loved), including a trick he used during the Pirates of the Caribbean. He also taught Robert Downey, Jr. the skills he needed to star in the movie, “Chaplin.”

What a personable fellow! You can tell that Mr. Kamin really enjoys his work. He talked a lot about the history of his craft, relating silent movie stars with mimes and other genres of performing without words. He taught a little boy how to do the “moon walk” and explained how, while popularized by Michael Jackson, the move was actually invented by Marcel Marceau.

Like I said, he hung out with us for quite a while! In addition to talking about the history of mime, he also expounded on my comment about relating comedic timing to music timing in his work. He talked about how he runs into different and similar conventions in humor when performing in different parts of the world, as well as what it was like to perform for a deaf audience.

The art of mime couldn’t ask for a better ambassador than Mr. Kamin. He said so many things I wish I could have written down. The one I was able to type into my phone, one of the best of the evening: “I look at Mime in the greatest sense, as in it’s what happens when you stop talking.” Well said. He compared the stereotypical “mime in white face” to the silent movie stars of old, Cirque du Soleil performers of today, and other styles that have existed for decades (if not longer).

Naturally I wanted to thank Dan Kamin in person for a brilliant show, his gracious gift of time to answer questions, and his warm personality. I think I blurted part of that out as I mentioned how I liked the scenes he brainstormed for the aforementioned movies. Then it was time for a quick photo and good-bye. Now it’s time to go out and rent Benny & Joon again…

(I hope these photos aren’t too grainy. I didn’t take my camera with me, instead relying on my wife’s little point-n-shoot model. It doesn’t perform in low light like an SLR, but I know how to extract the most from it when there’s no room for my big camera.)

The coolest “Mustang with a Geo Metro engine” you’ll find

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This beautiful specimen of aircraft is a homebuilt replica of a P-51 Mustang. It’s not a shiny metal-skinned plane, and it’s certainly much smaller, but it sure is sweet looking. The builder paid a lot of attention to detail!

As you see from the side, this tiny little one-seater is pretty compact, with clean lines and a nice gray and black paint job.

The biggest surprise: Inside the nose sits a three-cylinder engine from a Geo Metro! I’m pretty sure that fact makes this the only Geo-powered “Mustang” in existence.

Beautiful. This plane looks graceful even while tethered to the tarmac.

I didn’t have time to hang around for some aerial shots, but had just enough to time to work some angles and thank the owner. I also didn’t want to be too big an interruption to the EAA meeting.

Now if only there were some real machine gun controls in here… 🙂 It’s a tight fit but it looks like the canopy offers amazing visibility.

Nice tail. Again I just have to admire the craftsmanship. It’s no surprise; I run into plenty of North Dakotans who display remarkable ingenuity as inventors and artisans.

One last beauty shot before I said my goodbyes and hopped back in the truck. I had an appointment to make, so I was unable to spend more time looking at and photographing this work of airborne art.

Talons spotted in Bismarck yesterday

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I was out with my little boys yesterday afternoon and noticed something very eye-catching as we drove past the airport on our way home: a pair of Air Force jets, T-38 Talons. Sweet! They were parked on the tarmac near Executive Air and preparing for flight, so the fellas and I grabbed a spot of fence to watch ’em.

This one was up and running already when we got there, while the other one was about to spin up on the APU. These jets are pretty quiet from the front, thankfully.

Soon they began to taxi to the end of the runway, cockpit canopies open, and then they took off in quick formation. My boys were thrilled to see “fighter jets” (yes, I know they’re trainers and not armed) and surprised at how fast they were. There were a few other onlookers over by EA to see these supersonic beauties take flight. Wow, talk about great timing, eh?

I’d love to know the story behind these flags

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This large vacant lot along North 19th Street in Bismarck becomes the home of an enormous snow pile during the winter. We’ve had plenty of snow this winter, so the lot has been filling up over the past few months. In order to maximize the space, the snow is pushed into piles as it accumulates. These days there’s a surprise atop a couple of the piles if you look closely.

Some enterprising soul has put a couple of United States flags atop these snow piles. I don’t know if they were placed there as the snow was piled, or if some hiked out on top of the vast expanse of snow to place them. But they’re there…waving proudly.

Hopefully they don’t fall into the muck as the snow melts…whoever put them there, I hope they keep an eye on them. In any case, it was really neat to look over one afternoon and see the flags waving on top of a monument to the bountiful winter we’ve had so far!

Beware the loppy-eared king of the hill

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This fella (and his roommate, who was barking in a different corner) now stands taller than the fence meant to contain him. If you thought that BEWARE OF THE DOG sign was serious before, I’m sure you’ll be on the lookout now! My guess is that neither of them have any intention of leaping over the chain link, but one can’t be took careful.

That late night steam image I had referred to earlier

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A few posts back I mentioned a photo in which the plumes of steam from the Amoco BP Tesoro refinery were heading in one direction and the steam from the Heskett Station power plant were heading another. Here it is. I spotted this while out by Hawktree one night on Highway 1804, so I pulled over to capture it. I’ve no idea what would cause this phenomenon, but I figure it’s probably a pretty rare occurrence!

Visitor from the 4×4 Galaxie (pun intended)

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If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know that I take great amusement from seeing the different 4×4 creations and amalgamations that I occasionally spot around town. My boys and I were out in the truck tonight and spotted this creation just before sunset: a Ford Galaxie on a ’79 Ford F150 chassis!

I got to talk to the owner of this beast for a minute, and he said that the transformation took a mere four days due to a lot of planning. It’s a really nice piece of work, I must say. This creation was only recently finished, but I bet you’ll spot it around town soon!

I’d say this whole homemade 4×4 thing is getting out of hand…but isn’t that the point? I’d hate to discourage this kind of creativity and ingenuity. Besides, it’s exactly the opposite of what liberals want us to do, drive silly little death traps in a vain attempt to “save” the planet they worship.

For any of you who haven’t seen them all, here are a few of the other creations I’ve spotted in Bismarck-Mandan:

My boys and I spotted this rugged looking Ford Van conversion last year. Yep, it’s a dually; it’s got four tires on the back. I guess it’s ready for some heavy cargo, since it can’t pull a fifth wheel trailer. Interesting.

This little Gremlin conversion scores big points for the license plate: MOGWAI.
 

Nothing says class like a Mercedes sedan. Apparently if you don’t like the ride height, it’s possible to give it a little boost (along with some four wheel drive for good measure).

Equally classy is the Cadillac sedan, which happens to bolt on to a Suburban (by the look of things) chassis. The step rails are a bonus in my book. This is in the nicest shape of all the conversions I’ve seen.

Knight Rider had a lot of gadgets, but I’m pretty sure that four wheel drive and a Vortec V6 were not among them. There’s a ZR-2 model S-10 chassis underneath this Firebird.

There’s one other 4×4 I haven’t seen around here since the mid 1990s: a pinkish-red pearl El Camino, or possibly Ranchero, which was last seen on the used car lot at Cedric Theel. Who knows where it eventually ended up. If I spot that one, I’ll count my collection complete. Of course, that’s what I said before I saw the Gremlin.

Something special today at the All Veterans Memorial

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Last night I got done working on the wife’s truck and decided to pay a visit to the All Veterans Memorial on the grounds of the North Dakota state capitol. With today being Veterans’ Day, there will be a lot of visitors here. This memorial does something special on this day, and I didn’t feel like intruding on the day with my camera during a solemn occasion (although I may be visiting to pay my respects).

For anyone who doesn’t know, the top of this memorial is only square on the outside; the inside is a spherical dome. That’s important for many reasons, which are evident when you’re there. At the center of the monument is a globe on a pedestal.

As the placard describes, something special happens here at 11 o’clock on the eleventh hour of the eleventh month every year, in commemoration of Veterans’ Day.

At precisely that time, the rays of the sun travel down this hole in the dome of the monument, beaming their way directly toward the globe at its center. I was kinda hoping that someone would be able to clean that stain off the wall where water sometimes drips through the tunnel.

On the globe, North Dakota is raised and polished above the surrounding terrain. The light of the sun strikes it directly for a brief period of time every Veterans’ Day at 11 am, lighting it up for those in attendance. Hopefully someone can tidy up this globe before it sees all the attention today; I tried to dab a couple of spots off with a clean handkerchief, but that didn’t help like an actual cleaning would.

While this is a really neat phenomenon, it’s really all about remembrance. Millions have served this great nation over the past couple hundred years and every one of them sacrificed a great deal, even if they didn’t lose their life or suffer physical injury in battle. Today is only one of the 365 days each year that we should hold them in high regard and thank them for the freedoms we enjoy because of their commitment to duty. If you’re there to see the light of the sun strike North Dakota on the globe, that’ll be really neat. Then take some time to peruse the names on those metal placards and consider the men and women who protect this great nation.

And now for something a little different

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I took my little boys to watch a friend fly his paraplane last week, and they were thrilled. It basically flies by pushing itself forward, which puts air into a giant parachute up above. It’s pretty neat to watch him drift lazily by, and even though it’s a two-seater I prefer the view from the ground.

I suppose it’s ironic that I like approaching 200 miles an hour on a motorcycle, but I don’t like airplanes. When I am told I must fly somewhere for work, I comfort myself by looking out the window as we take off. Most jets that fly out of Bismarck go airborne at 120 to 140 miles per hour, which is nothing for me; I’ve still got a few more gears at that speed!

My little two year old assured me, after watching the paraplane flight, that he is going to be three soon…and that means that he can fly the airplane. He told me how he will turn the key, it will make the propeller turn, and he’ll go up in the sky! His one year old brother and I will be able to watch him fly around, he says. I guess he’s got it all figured out.

Another milestone was reached with this photo, as it’s my 49,000th picture with this camera. I want a new one very badly but don’t have the money for it. If that makes your heart well up with pity, click on the “Donate” link on the right hand panel and contribute to Clint’s Camera Fundâ„¢!