Category Archives: Cool

Rawr

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My 3 and 4 year olds are reading these days, with voracious appetites at times. Upon reaching a milestone, we had a party at Barnes & Noble for little PJ where he got to pick out some new books and celebrate. Well, there was something else with a voracious appetite in the kids’ section: these stuffed T-Rex dinosaurs! I couldn’t resist a quick photo.

Feelin’ patriotic today? Go check out this rock

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On a day when America is celebrating the fact that Osama bin Laden has achieved room temperature, I thought I’d re-post some photos of one of my favorite local patriotic landmarks. This enormous rock, about five feet tall and parked in a very remote location outside of Bismarck, has more patriotism than the American left. The owner of the land on which it sits, I presume, has adorned it with an American flag, the names of some North Dakota soldiers killed in the global war on terrorism, and the following quote from our President:


“We will not waver; we will not falter; and we will not fail.
Peace and freedom will prevail.” President George W Bush

It’s just a shame that very few people will ever see this rock; I stumbled upon it by accident while out getting the truck dirty. Can you imagine the heartfelt pride in our soldiers the artist must have felt as they painted this tribute to their sacrifice? It’s very moving and I had to tell you about it. At the bottom of this post I’ll give you directions on how to find it; it’s not that hard, really.


To visit this rock, something that might be especially appropriate this Memorial Day, simply take Expressway north from where it intersects with Century Avenue. When you reach 57th Avenue, take a right and head east. It’s at the end of the road a short while later with a little cul de sac where you can park and/or turn around. Here’s a little map I put together:


View Bismarck-Mandan Blog in a larger map
Today is a day of great pride in our nation and its armed forces, but we shouldn’t let that pride wane on any other day. Landmarks like this one are a great reminder of that. Pay it a visit!

Luke sings with Luke from Luke

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Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn;
and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? -Luke 12;24

This counsel from Jesus was a good starting point for Luke Graner as he performed at the Belle Mehus a while back. You may remember my photos from the event. Being a Bible lover myself, I caught on pretty quickly to the opening tune.

Luke uses a very interesting method to construct his music, using a Boomerang looping device to build his songs in layers as we watch and listen. Many times he’ll have multiple instances of his own voice accompanying him. Thus, for the first song, Luke sang with Luke from the Gospel of Luke. Fantastic.

Wanna see and here it? Dakota Media Access has posted it here (Windows Media format).

Eyecatching is exactly the right word for it

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Hat tip to my buddy Kyle for this one, a rather inventive billboard going up on State Street next to the Dairy Queen. These workers were having quite a time getting the net full of eyeballs just right. Yes, that’s right…a net full of giant inflatable eyeballs.

My little boys, who were with me in the truck, thought it was pretty cool to see eyeballs bigger than they are. Even a four year old gets the gimmick behind this ad, with the net “catching” the eyes. Eyecatching, indeed!

Four year old photo

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Well, actually I mean four year old photographer. I took one of my little boys out in the truck last Friday to show him the sunset, and we found ourselves near this “falling farm” just west of Mandan Airport.

I took a few shots but he wanted to try as well, and I’d much rather showcase his work as a proud Daddy. My camera is very heavy, so I helped him support the weight, but the framing and actual shot are all his. Naturally, Daddy did the Photoshop processing once we got home. I couldn’t be more proud…maybe little PJ will be a photographer someday!

A couple of cool postcard finds

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Poking around the other day I found a couple of new postcards. As you know, I’ve got a fondness for the old Liberty Memorial Bridge. This card features the bridge from way back…even before it connected to west Main Street! I’m too young to remember this, but I sure can appreciate it.

This incredibly blown-out and oversaturated post card is very important to me. Look at the top of the tower to see why: it’s got lights hanging from the top edge of the capitol tower! It actually wasn’t until I discovered an older postcard of the capitol that I discovered this interesting tidbit. I thought the tower had always been lit from below. I was wrong.

Here’s a postcard I bought last year, the one through which I made my illuminative discovery. I’m so glad they light the tower from below now; those lights on the top look really cluttered! I bet it was no picnic changing bulbs, too!

I’ve got a couple more interesting old Bismarck postcards to share soon. Stay tuned!

Watching the watchers

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While working in the Joint Operations Center a while back I couldn’t help but notice the large wooden Samurai standing in the far corner next to the monitors. Once we wrapped up I was given permission to take a couple of quick cell phone pics so I could do some background checking later. This particular statue is very important.

The Samurai portrayed here is Kusunoki Masashige, a warrior who was a legend and an inspiration to Kamikaze pilots during World War II. This particular statue originally stood in a Tokyo military school and was claimed by a North Dakota unit, the 164h Infantry Regiment, as a war souvenir. Given to the State Historical Society, it spent nearly forty years in their care and adorned the Liberty Memorial building on the capitol grounds. In 1986 it returned to the National Guard and now sits in a very high-tech setting at the JOC, one suitable for such a revered warrior.