Sometimes I get a bug for a certain photograph and spend my camera opportunities trying to acquire it. While I have plenty of photos of the International Space Station flying over various Bismarck-Mandan landmarks, I wanted another one with the capitol building in the foreground. That has proven quite difficult.
First, we have the night portrayed above. I had bad information; while I had the camera set properly, and managed to get perhaps the sharpest twilight photo of the capitol since I started dabbling in photography, the ISS flew directly over my head (maybe even slightly behind me). Darn.
Last night would have been a perfect night for an ISS capture: it was passing just above the capitol, very brightly, and for several minutes. Then the clouds spoiled it. Grrr.
I already have a photo of the ISS over the capitol; however, I want ANOTHER one. Don’t worry…I’m persistent. It won’t escape. For now, maybe I’ll use a more flexible foreground object like a windmill or something.
Somebody’s got to keep the troops in line! That duty apparently falls upon the stuffed cat (or is it a dog?) at this house on north 4th Street. The question, as always, is: who watches the watchers?
I couldn’t help but wonder what those trucks were doing on the new Memorial Bridge last week or so. I was hoping that by sticking people over the railing and working on the underside of the bridge, they’d finally get those fancy lights working on the pillars! No such luck: they were painting.
I’ve never been a big fan of heights when it comes to scaffolds, ladders, or bucket trucks. Sure, I’ll do it…but that doesn’t mean I like it. I hope these guys are more comfortable with the idea, because the boom on this truck goes all the way down!
This guy had some spectators, as three girls were enjoying a sunny day at the river right by where he was painting. I bet that was a pretty wild looking sight from the water level, a guy hanging from a truck on a big telescoping arm…painting. I found it pretty cool that the truck could do such a thing, and I was glad I wasn’t the guy on the end of that arm! The paint looks good. Now if they could just get those lights working…
I’m neither a farmer nor a daily commodities investor, but I’ve enjoyed listening to Gene Graner of Heartland Investor Services on KFYR Radio from time to time. Well, last week he was talking about political forces acting on the markets, and said some things critical of our state’s anointed Democrat congressional delegation. Apparently that isn’t going to fly at KFYR Radio. Here are the comments – click on the bottom of the graphic to play the clip.
My friend Rob at Say Anything and I have been following this since the get-go. He relayed Gene’s details by email:
” Today July 2, 2009 I was silenced by the socialists and removed from the daily shows I do on KFYR radio for the comments I made.
I was told I could continue if I just report on the markets. I said I would report the markets and what affects them, including politics.
I was then thanked by the General Manager, who is a know Obamacrat, for the work I had done but that I was no longer needed.
Friends, I put liberty before wealth, freedom before treasure. If more people would do this, this country would not be were it is at, continuing it deep spiral into extreme socialism.”
Thankfully, Gene told me he was doing the KFYR gig pro bono, so getting taken off the air doesn’t affect his livelihood at the political whim of a Democrat sympathizer who can’t stand criticism of his party.
This is concerning. I mean, it’s obvious that the media is in the tank for Democrats, but it’s getting worse. For instance:
Look at who the Bismarck Tribune is friends with on Facebook… pro-homosexual agenda “civil rights” and pro-Obama groups. They don’t bother hiding it, but why should they? It comes out in their “journalism.”
Around a HALF MILLION acres of private land have now been put under the “management” of a bunch of liberal Democrats who are not elected and hold no official office, but they’ve been loyal to the cause and so their “foundation” will be in charge of coming up with a “plan” for usage of pretty much all the land between Huff Hills and the Knife River Indian Village! The Sierra Club, a group historically hostile toward individual property rights, will now be telling the property owners they loathe what they can do with their land! Have you seen or heard THAT on the news?
How about the fact that Kent Conrad has been under investigation by an ethics committee for MONTHS for being part of, and benefiting from, the mortgage crisis that caused much of our current financial meltdown…yet you have probably not heard one single word about this in the North Dakota media! That means KFYR AM and TV…KXMB…any of them. They’re all complicit in this.
I know people at KFYR radio that I like a lot, some of whom I have worked with and been good friends with for years such as Phil Parker, Jason Hulm, Al Gustin, and Todd Mitchell. I don’t dare ask them if they are limited in what they must or cannot say on the air in either their radio shows or their news reports. I wouldn’t want to put them on the spot. I just fear that they operate under the same caution, that telling the truth about North Dakota politics may mean the end of their career. How would you like to have to work in such an environment? I sure hope that’s not the case for the employees of KFYR (or all of the Clear Channel stations in Bismarck).
I’ve never been more glad that I’m no longer in local broadcasting. I’m not constrained by any such rules. If you vote with your phone or your radio dial, you may consider whether this is a big enough travesty to tune out KFYR and other Clear Channel stations in town. You might also want to email KFYR TV and KXMB and ask them why they don’t have the sack to ask Kent Conrad or Byron “Skybox” Dorgan any tough questions. Why haven’t they mentioned that Earl Pomeroy said he didn’t support Cap and Trade “as it stands” – meaning that he would support it in some form?
Don’t let anybody in this town tell you that they’re a News Leader until they start doing some honest reporting. And if you’re concerned about the haps at KFYR Radio, call them or send them an email. Sure, we are used to this kind of thing on a national level, but there’s no reason why we should have to stand for it locally.
My little two year old is learning early on to love his country, honor the soldiers who fight for him, and respect the flag he was given to wave. He took to it like second nature.
These kids are future marketing majors…taking a crappy job (pun intended) and branding it “Free Fertilizer.” They just need to find a way to charge a nominal handling fee.
Old car body in the bushes? Usually I burn time and gas looking for this kind of thing, but today someone was nice enough to bring it to my camera on a trailer.
Two of the coolest seats in the house, today. Talk about a fun point of view! That haircut reminds me of my mohawk, only mine was nineteen inches long. Seriously. I have pictures.
He assures me he bagged all those deer himself. This was by far one of the most creative displays this year, so I salute his effort.
Later it was time to attend the Bis-Man Symphony playing at the capitol. A friend’s daughter plays in the Symphony, so I got some pictures for them…then it was time for the fireworks. A friend and I arrived early to play some intense frisbee on the lower part of the capitol mall, then hoofed it up to the top with our cooler full of Dew.
I tried a different approach this time around for capturing the fireworks, and for many of the shots it worked perfectly. For others it didn’t turn out so well, with the intensity of the fireworks overpowering the camera sensor. I still prefer the look to that of past attempts.
The night that the “4th” was put in the windows, I actually go to spend some time with the man who walks around and pulls the window shades to make it happen. He also turns on the correct office lights to make sure that the “4th” shows up properly. He has a map of the front face of the capitol with the windows he needs highlighted. It’s really cool! When he does the Christmas windows, I may ask to tag along and write a short feature about him.
Happy Independence Day! I was able to capture what I wanted with the camera but otherwise left it behind. I got family time in, motorcycle riding, frisbee, the Symphony, fireworks, tacos, and much more crammed into this single day. Friday our office grilled at noon and then shut down for the day, so I was able to attend Art in the Park as well with my family. I then took one of the little boys to the capitol to look out the windows up top, then to the glass elevator in the Logan Building, and some other local attractions. We got a LOT out of this weekend…I hope you did, too.
I was able, like hundreds of others, to attend the TEA Party on the capitol mall last night. There were a lot of enthusiastic folks in attendance, probably the equivalent of fifty to a hundred NDPC rallies. While I’ll fill in the gaps with photos and words when I have more time, I wanted to share some of my favorite signs with you:
Yet another fave! I wonder if the TOTUS likes this one.
Way to go, kids!
Almost as if on cue, the vultures started circling the capitol!
“Pie a Politician.” You could even put a bag over his head and write your favorite politician’s name on it!
Oddly, I don’t have a photo of the other sign that made my Top Five. It said succinctly: “Welcome to North Dakota, where you can get an abortion but you can’t buy bottle rockets.” That speaks volumes right there.
If I get a chance this weekend I’ll post a few more pics. Happy Independence Day! Enjoy it while it lasts!
