I have quite the collection of oddities and cool stuff bouncing around in my cell phone, maybe I’ll throw a few more up here from time to time. Even though I have my big camera with me most of the time, the cell phone cam turns out to be pretty handy when time is short.
Each memorial area (the Bismarck one is nearing completion now) has an area that would be perfect for a piece like this, which leads me to believe that the placement of the pieces will be the “cherry on top” once the rest of the memorials are finished.
Work continues under the Bismarck side of the bridge, presumably on the park that I heard would be placed there. Just because we drive over the new bridge every day doesn’t mean that it’s finished. I can’t wait to see what the area looks like once all the features of the bridge and its ancillary features are complete!
You can click on this picture to get a double-sized version (opens in a pop-up window).
I’ve never thought I’d run out of unique and interesting features of the prairie culture, and it’s with good reason. Things like this catch my eye from time to time, and occasionally I’m surprised with something new and creative, like decorating a dam with something eye-catching!
In the mean time, I noticed that I took my 44,000th photo over the weekend, the one above. Time flies (pun intended) when you’re having fun! Of course, the photos come more slowly in the winter time. I need to maximize my opportunities during the summer, balanced with family time of course, and so far this year has been pretty good for that.
Check back soon for some amazing aircraft photos! I’ve got so many “keepers” that I’ll have to make a special gallery; a blog post containing them all would take forever to load.
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 deathtraps 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:
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.
The license plate reads “MOGWAI.” For those of you who don’t get that… you are obviously not children of the 1980s. That or you didn’t see this movie. In any case, I caught the reference instantly.
This was a pleasant surprise, because I already had the “4×4 Mongrel Trifecta” completed:
I figured my work was done with the trifecta. Then I found myself employing a term that doesn’t even exist in my dictionary as this fourth photo op presented itself. If I ever run into that pink/red El Camino 4×4 that used to sit in the used car lot over at Cedric Theel a long time ago, I’ll have the quintfecta! Ugh…I need to come up with better terminology. I could say something like “4×4 by four” I suppose, that’s got a nice ring to it…but what happens when I see a fifth?
We have a really neat capitol building. I’m grateful to have been able to poke around in it from time to time over the years. I’ve been up on the roof, frequent the observation deck, and seen a few other very interesting nooks and crannies, so to speak. Those were all during the daylight hours. To be able to photograph it at night was certainly a treat, one I won’t soon forget. I have other, cooler photos as well, with some funky angles and that sort of thing. Perhaps I’ll share those later. I can’t let ’em all out at once!
This is a fantastic idea for the North Dakota state government, and I’m glad they did it again this session. I posted about it two years ago during the previous session, and I’ve been looking forward to it ever since.
After the night was wound down, I hung out quietly and patiently until I had the Great Hall of the state capitol to myself. I then ran around with my camera and tripod for a while; this is the only occasion I can think of where a regular citizen can see the inside of this wing of the capitol all lit up at night! I’ll post those pictures soon.
I have a box of souvenirs, tapes, and other stuff from my job at the TV station, including the newspaper clipping of the Help Wanted ad I answered when I applied for the job. Of all the items in that box, this little statue ranks among the most meaningful. I’d been meaning to take a picture of it for a while, but since it’s Jody’s birthday today I thought it was a good time to bump the photos I was going to post for a few days.
Jody had a link on Facebook to her KFYR-TV Blog entry today, and the story she related reminded me of what a genuine person she is. That is probably obvious even in her on-air demeanor, but I can’t tell; I’ve never seen Jody on TV without already knowing her. I’m not writing this to flatter or embarrass; however, in a business where newsrooms should have revolving doors installed for the people who come and go, certain people stand out. In my 21 years of working in the media business I have met and/or worked with a handful of TV and radio personalities who I think deserve mention. I’ve written about some of them, and this is a perfect opportunity to share this story.
Happy Birthday, Jody! I know it was a bittersweet day, according to what you’ve written. I agree with your take on what’s important, and I’m learning more every day now that I’m a Daddy. As far as reaching out to an old friend, this is how I thought I’d give it a try.