Citizenship and the Media

Last Monday evening was the second event in the speaker's series put on by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at ASU.  This time we heard from David Leonhardt (right), op-ed columnist for the New York Times and Ramesh Ponnuru (center), senior editor for the National Review.   The man on the left is Paul Carrese, the director of the school.  He moderated the discussion.  Their topic was how the media has a responsibility to promote civic literacy.  Another very interesting exchange of thoughts and ideas.  I'm so glad I learned about these events when they began three years ago.  They have been stimulating, educational and above all, a sane contrast to today's news stories.

Everybody Loves a Parade

I left Phoenix last Friday morning for my road trip to New Mexico and when I got to the mining town of Globe Arizona, I stopped for lunch and found myself caught up in Hight School Homecoming festivities.

It's been....well lets just say a very long time....since I've watched a homecoming parade so I decided to stick around and watch.  Of course, I didn't have much choice since my car was parked on a street that had been closed.

I got to see the homecoming Queen but since the sign read "Queen and King", I had to wonder what happened to said king.  Maybe stage fright?

There were a few floats to admire (3 to be exact).  After all, it is a small town.

And, you can't have a parade without the fire department participating!

I have to admit, it was fun to watch!

Exploring

I took a little road trip this last weekend to attend the open house event at the Very Large Array (VLA) on the plains of St. Agustin in New Mexico.  There are 27 of these huge radio telescopes working together to scan the heavens and they are spread out in a "Y" configuration over and area of almost 30 miles.

I have always been fascinated by astronomy and space exploration so places like this have a special appeal to me.  The open house event consisted of a series of behind the scenes tours guided by one of the scientists working at the facility.  If you saw the 1997 movie starring Jodi Foster, "Contact" you might recognize the huge radio dishes.  Much of the action was filmed at the VLA.  When I saw the movie, I had already been to the VLA once and had read the book "Contact" by Carl Sagan.  I also had read Sagan's 1980 book "Cosmos".  (I told you this stuff fascinated me!)

Sometime in the next few weeks, I'll do a more extensive post about my visit to the VLA on my travel blog.  But, for now here are two photos, one a close up view of one of the dishes and the other a view looking out on one leg of the "Y".  I enjoyed the tour very much!

Celebrating the Neighborhood

I found this mural in the F Q Story historic neighborhood recently and it seems to celebrate the neighborhood and its history.  It was pretty long so I had to photograph it in sections.  This section shows a couple of historic homes and an old street car.

This one celebrates the now with two more homes that have been lovingly restored.  I managed to get that cat on the fence post all the way to the right but it looks like I cut that poor dog below in half.

Here's the full mural.  Well, except for the bits that got chopped off the ends.  The mural must be fairly new because I know it wasn't there about 5 years ago when I used to cruise this neighborhood looking for cute houses to photograph.

Linked to Monday Murals.

It Wasn't All Monarchs

A week ago I posted a lot of photos of the monarch butterflies at the Desert Botanical Garden.  They were in the butterfly pavilion and there were lots of them this year.  However, they weren't the only butterflies sharing that verdant space.  I thought I should feature a few of the other beauties that were on hand.  Above is a pretty gulf fritillary.

And here is a white peacock.  There were lots of these too.

I believe this one is a cloudless sulphur.  It was the only one of these that I saw.

Here's a pipevine swallowtail. 

And, I always enjoy seeing a buckeye hanging around.

There were also a few giant swallowtails around.  I think I've given everyone equal time now.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm looking inside the Duomo in Milan Italy.

Something Sparkly

When I drove past this house I saw something sparkly out of the corner of my eye so I slowed down to get a better look.  That low wall in front had tiles in it that sparkled and glinted in the sunshine.

So I zoomed in tho get a better look and not only did I find sparkly tiles and jewels embed in the wall but, I saw these two fancy birds adding to the shine.

Corporate Logos in the Yard

I saw this green dinosaur in front of a house recently so I turned around to go back and get a photo.  I recognized this fellow as "Dino" the logo for Sinclair Oil Corp.

After I turned around and went back, I saw this fellow sitting in the same yard.  It's "Pegasus" the corporate logo for Mobile Oil.

What an unusual choice of art for the front of one's home!  I wonder if the owner works in the oil business or possibly in advertising.  Or, maybe they just like corporate logos!

Turning the Corner...

The lecture series I've been attending for the last two years at Arizona State University has started again and the first speaker was Robert Putnam.  The lectures are organized by the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at ASU.  Putnam is a Harvard professor among other teaching and leadership roles as well as the author of 15 books.  In 2013, President Obama awarded him with the National Humanities Medal for "deepening our understanding of community in America".

His talk was based on his newest, not yet published book titled "Turning the Corner: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again".

What an excellent speaker.  He began with several slides with graphs depicting things like income equality gaps, political cooperation, public membership in organizations, membership in churches and marriage age rates from 1890 to present day.  Each one of the graphs looked exactly the same.  Very low in 1890 and steadily rising until 1970 and then steadily falling back to the same levels as 1890 today.  He attributes that to a steady shift from a "we" society to an "I" society.  Starting in 1910, grass roots efforts had people working together to solve the nations problems.  Starting around 1970, efforts to work together began to dwindle until now when we have an almost complete stalemate.

He is confident that we can reverse the trend and he sees the beginnings of that with the way the youth have taken up serious causes like global warming and gun violence with such force and determination.  He said involvement in groups and organizations are key. People need to be exposed to and exchange different ideas and knowledge, and they need to do it face to face and not behind a keyboard.  We also need a charismatic leader to push us forward.

It was an excellent lecture and I look forward to reading his book when it is published next year.

All About the Art

On Monday and Tuesday, I introduced you to Shaneland Arts, the new business that recently opened in a store front that had been empty for about two years.  This new place is a combination of things, art gallery, retail store, coaching and workshops.  One corner of the store is set up as a classroom and when they start offering classes, I just might attend one or two.

The gallery part featured art work by a variety of local artists like this piece by Scott Hide.

Looking closer at this Arizona scene, I discovered that it was put together with open books.  The pages of the books are painted with the scene but if you look closely, the words still show through.

There was one other piece by Scott Hide that I found interesting, this one is called My Gallery 64.  It's a series of small pieces each framed in one big panel.

I think I'm going to enjoy visiting this place from time to time.

Theme Day: Orange

Yesterday I mentioned that I visited a new business called Shaneland Arts.  Well, imagine my delight when I discovered this small space inside the store that is completely decorated in orange.  An orange back door, an orange carpet, an orange sofa and lots of other orange items.  I knew immediately that I had my theme day photo!  I love it when a plan comes together so well!

To see other ideas in orange, click here.

Two Different Sides

I recently saw this pretty mural on the side of a building I used to frequent.  The mural is called "A Mexican Mural" by artist is Diego Perez.  The building used to house Aaron Brothers Art Mart and I used to buy picture frames and mattes there as well as having many things professionally framed.  I could always count on them to come up with creative and artistic ideas that made my photographs look gallery ready.  About two years ago, they suddenly closed.  I found another store about 12 miles away and went there a few times and then it closed.  This building had been empty ever since.

A trip around to the other side of the building where the entrance is located revealed a totally different mural this one called "Colorfall" by Lauren Lee.  The new business that has moved in is called Shaneland Arts.  So, naturally, I went in to check it out.  Tomorrow I'll have more about this new place.

Linked to Monday Murals.

After the Storm Has Passed

After we've had lots of stormy weather here in Arizona, we can always count on a day or two of big, white puffy clouds.

I went to the garden on Friday to see if I could capture some.  They were indeed dotting the sky and I even found some reflected in the water.



I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  As promised, I have some details of one of the buildings in Lowell Arizona.

Clouds and Puddles

It's been a week of clouds and rain puddles here in the desert southwest.  The remnants of hurricane Lorena that I mentioned on Wednesday have been hanging around for the past few days.

I'm not complaining.  It's a very nice change from the months of hot and hotter weather we've had over the summer.

I did venture out to the Desert Botanical Garden late Monday afternoon to snap a few photos.  Cloudy skies sometimes make great photos.

You might notice the young couple in the very lower right of the photo above.  They thought the light was perfect for a few of what I'm guessing might have been engagement photos.

Fashion Challenge

I recently cut through the Saks Fifth Avenue store to get to a lunch place and I was stopped in my tracks by this display of current fashion items.  I couldn't resist snapping a photo of this varied assortment of clothing items.  Given where I was, I'm sure all these items have a hefty price tag but, quite frankly, they look like items thrown together from thrift stores or garage sales.  I wonder if my ambivalence might be attributed to my age.  😬

An Entrance & A Message

I like the look of the entrance to this house with the contrasting wall and doorway to enter an enclosed patio.  Then I saw the cute little sign next to the entrance with the lighthouse on it.  Below the light house it says "Seas the Day".  Something tells me the owners of this house enjoy time on the coast.

The Storm

I was driving toward home Monday evening when the remnants of hurricane Lorena made its way into the Phoenix area.  I snapped this photo right out the windshield as I was climbing up over the Papago Buttes along McDowell Road.  I saw those clouds and knew I had to get the shot.  By the time I got home, the wind was blowing and I could see lightening strikes to north and west of me.  Pretty soon it was raining bucket loads, the lightening was like a blitzkrieg while the thunder was rattling the windows.  I loved it!

Bird Watching

When I was at the garden on Sunday I, of course stopped at my favorite spot to watch the birds enjoying the water there.  These two young mourning doves seemed a little afraid of the water.  They kept watching it carefully and reaching toward it but they seemed afraid to venture to the edge.

This little house sparrow on the other hand, splashed around in the water enjoying a refreshing dip.

And, this house finch appeared to be admiring his reflection.

But, then he jumped in and gave himself a very good bath.

I love watching birds splash around in the water.  It makes me smile every time.

Monarch Mania

Finally, after the long and very hot summer, it was pleasant enough to take a walk at the Desert Botanical Garden.  And luckily, the fall butterfly pavilion had just opened on Saturday.  The fall butterfly exhibit features monarchs and this year there was an abundance of them.

I enjoyed finding them among the fall flowers and hidden in the leaves.

This one was hanging onto a branch over the little pond inside the pavilion.

But, I was quite literally thrilled when I found a whole cluster of them clinging to the leaves of a tree.  It was a stunning sight to see.

I'm so glad the temperatures have become more manageable.  I hope to get out for walks again!

Halloween Tree

Isn't this tree perfect for a scary Halloween night?  I can just see it with a full moon behind it, dark all around and little goblins roaming around in the street.

That former neighbor of mine from the other side of town who goes all out for Halloween decorations would love this tree.  He'd have skeletons sitting on every branch!


I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  I'm visiting a town that is getting pretty ghostly.

Little Free Libraries

I'm seeing more and more of the little free libraries popping up all over the city.  It's a wonderful thing to see.  It's good to know that so many people have embraced the need to encourage reading.

They come in all shapes and sizes.  Some even have a little solar powered light to shine on it after dark.



The one to the left has to be a favorite.  It's one that has been built to look like Dr. Who's tardis!  You can't beat that!