Category Archives: Blogging

Weekend Reflections – Becoming Part of the Tempietto Scene

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The most photographed structure in Tulsa has to be the Tempietto at the Philbrook Museum of Art. It is just gorgeous and I love it and love taking pictures of it even more. Last Saturday I was there and I was waiting for the above group to get the heck out of the way but they were obviously waiting on somebody to show up. Probably a blogger who got sidetracked by something they wanted to photograph or maybe even a geocacher who has lost sense of time. Or maybe they were the beginnings of a square dance flash mob Or you know, I don’t know. 

Anyways, it struck me this group was kind of halfway colorful and I liked how their colors reflected in the water  and I will immortalize them forever in the Yogi’s Den archives. At no cost to them of course. 

By the way, yesterday was my 2000th post on this humble blog. I appreciate all of you. Thank you. I’m part of a big group of people who are the bright spots of the World Wide Web.

Weekend Reflections 

Graffiti Wednesday

My blog friend Jen   has been posting on Wednesdays about graffiti that she finds in and around Oklahoma City. She has spent a considerable amount of time learning all about the subject. She has become quite passionate about the subject and I love reading about her trespassing and running down trains in order to document good examples of graffiti.

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When she started posting about graffiti I was a little apprehensive. To me a lot of it is vandalism with paint as opposed to an art form. Although I have to admit many of the practitioners have talent and  I wonder why they haven’t been more productive with their talent.

Graffiti in Downtown Tulsa
(This isn’t graffiti, it’s a commissioned mural.)

With Jen one gets insight, summaries of research, access to deep thinking, insights, and great photography. Me, you just get snapshots, and  a link to Jen!

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Above is the worst possible graffiti. On a rock face on my beloved Turkey Mountain in Tulsa. Ughh.

I ventured to the Elm Creek Tunnel discharge into the Arkansas River. I had two purposes. One was to check out the graffiti, the other was to find a geocache hidden there. I find some graffiti, I have yet to find the geocache.

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Lets just say that the most of the talent of the graffiti artists here is still rather undeveloped.

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They are pretty good sloganeers though. I bet you didn’t know sloganeers was a word. Try it on Words With Friends if you get a chance. Let me know how it works for you.

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I’ll have to do some more research to find the vivid examples that my friend Jen finds.

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I like this sentiment, but the art needs a little work.

Tulsa’s storm drain system also fascinates me apparently we have a very extensive drainage system that attracts urban explorers from all over. Below is a video of a party that was thrown about a half mile into the tunnel in 2010.  Personally, I think those attending the party are nuts. Attending the party in ankle deep water in the dark?

So, I’ll be on the lookout for a lot better examples of graffiti. My dream of unifying graffiti blogging and geocaching is getting off to a rough start.

These Boots Have Legs

A couple months ago or so I started a new Tumblr blog. It is just for images and nothing else. The only text is the name of the photo and some tags. People don’t even comment.  You can also search for images on tumblr and then reblog those or you can hit a heart button to “like” the photo.  The site keeps a running total for the likes and reblogs for you and some of the images have been liked and reblogged thousands of times. I like the site but there is no relationship building like in regular blogs where you get to know people.

After a short time I learned what kind of photos are popular on tumblr. Bright colors and geometry sells! So I found a photograph of a boot display I took last year and massaged a little to boost the colors and darken the edges and posted it So I posted it on my tumblr site  and in less than 12 hours over eighty people had reblogged it.

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So, who are these rebloggiers? Most of them young women aged about 18 to 28 it appears who just love anything country, cowboy, trucks, jeans, guns, true love, and boots. Their sites are exuberant and full of life. Check out http://kissmycountryass.tumblr.com/, http://midwestern-darling.tumblr.com/, or http://hicktownprincess.tumblr.com/.

I posted the photo below from Flickr Commons. I loved the color and movement and the abandonment of the dancer.

2007 Powwow

As you would expect it was a totally different group of people primarily Native Americans judging by the content of the blogs. About 31 reblogs so far. I learned a lot going through their sites. First, opinion is sharply divided on the neon regalia of the dancer. Second, what really makes many Native Americans angry are people who take photographs during pow wows when they are asked not to do so. Lesson learned for me!

Yogi’s Den will always be my main blog but it is fun to experiment a little. I think of tumblr as a photographic exchange. I’m sure that all sorts of copyrights are being violated.

Do you have a tumblr site or more than one blog? How does that work for you?

Meet the Mooses and other Family

My beautiful, smart, witty, and pretty newlywed youngest niece, Jillian has started a blog. Please click on over to Meet the Mooses and say Hi! Her mother, my sister, has had a blog for some time. If you haven’t already please check out News From the “Pole” Yard. I have another niece, the eldest Dana with a blog Dana of Oz., where she posts, sometimes, about her life in Australia.

So we’re just all over the blogosphere. Thanks again to Al Gore for inventing the internet and making this all possible.

Microsoft Image Composite Editor

Microsoft Image Composite Editor is a free handy tool from Microsoft that combines multiple images into one such as panoramas.

I was at the airport picking somebody up today and I took pictures of a mural depicting various people in the energy business. The mural was too big to fit into one shot so I took five photographs with the idea of combining them somehow.

The result

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All I did was open the photographs into the program and it did the rest.

It’s free, check it out at the link above.

Versatile Bloggers

I’m so happy my friend Baloney has given me an award!!!

Isn’t it pretty I love it. But in typical Baloney fashion she has given me some homework. (That’s the former school teacher in her you see)  I have to reveal seven truths about myself and then give the award to seven other bloggers. So lets get to it.

The Seven Truths

I hate science. Just cannot stand it all. You see science is all about facts, data, analysis, and theories, and you actually have to show your data and analysis. Worst of all before you can publish your data and theories you have to let other scientist review your work. How dreadful! Its just a lot easier to have Glenn Beck tell me what to think about stuff like Global Warming.

And besides what matters is my feelings about things, just ask Oprah, she’s on at 4!

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I hate Sports – I really do. What’s the point? Point me to a good quilting show instead.

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These girls tried to tell me about something called the Dallas Cowboys.

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They don’t look like boys to me. What do you think?

For some reason I ended up being the team blogger. I even have my own locker.

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I hate going out into the woods. There is this thing called Geocaching that is just so lame. Why on earth?

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Gardens, They are just so dreadful.

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The allergies kick in just thinking about it.

I hate art. I just don’t understand why people like it. I mean anybody can paint. Just go to Hobby Lobby and get one of those paint by number kits. Same thing.

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I hate eating at nice places

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I mean, what’s the point? Meat and potatoes for me, preferably fried. Yep that’s me.

I hate running!!

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Hey look there is SuperPizzaBoy in a race

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And look there is Baloney, and my wife Sweetie, Go Ladies Go!!

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I especially hate trail running, you never see anything good!

Holmes Peak #2

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And many runs have this horrid practice of serving beer to the runners.

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I just cannot believe anybody would drink beer at 9 in the morning after running several miles. Runners are just awful, don’t you think?

And I”ll add an eighth truth. I do this with trepidation. Baloney is a stickler for the rules and she is liable to jerk that award away from me and then where would I be? Awardless and alone that’s where. But I’m going to risk it.

My eight truth is that I am very positive person.

Now, I get to inflict this on seven unsuspecting bloggers. Lets see, who has made me mad lately? Hmmm.

The Real Housewives of Oklahoma – They are awesome. Check it out. Baloney is one of them (Mrs. Priss is her handle there.) – So right back atcha Baloney!

Bill at Tulsa Gentleman – Bill is a very creative blogger and a great photographer and genuine all around nice guy. He, SuperPizzaBoy and I are trying to get a disk golf game going soon.

Dawn’s Diversions – Dawn is another RHOK star. She has turned into media superstar lately. She is a champion commenter.

My Sister Ellen of News of the “Pole Yard” I know that its nepotism but she really has a nice blog describing the life of her and her family out on the Colorado prairie.

An Oklahoma Granny – Check Granny out, she blogs about her life. She is a good and interesting writer and a great commenter.

Ken at …Miles to go before I sleep – He is a running blogger with a great sense of humor and big heart. Ken is an ultra runner which means distances over a marathon. He has run 100 mile races!! A genuine nice guy.

Sarah at Brit Gal in the USA. Describing the adventures of a Brit married to “Hubster” in northwest Oklahoma. She is a US citizen now!! Great photographer, great sense of humor. And she and I have a mutual acquaintance it turns out.

There are just so many bloggers to choose from.

Why Do I Blog?

The Real Housewives of Oklahoma‘s Monday meme theme is Why Do I Blog?

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I had always been interested in the technical side of blogging but I had no idea what I would say. Then I discovered Baloney of That’s Baloney. (Miss Priss is her handle with RHOK.) She was already an acquaintance (who has since become a friend) she told stories with her blog and photographs and is very funny and scary smart and even today if I only have the chance to read one blog in a day, its hers I read.

So I started writing and posting photographs and slowly I “met” other bloggers who were very nice, helpful, and encouraging. Now I am acquainted with a very broad range of people from both here in Tulsa and all over the globe. I have met several local bloggers and find that rewarding. I hope to meet more in the future.

I love blogging because it allows me to tell my story and also find out about other people and their stories. I think that blogging is a big worldwide conversation and I get to participate in it.

It is really as simple as that.

Look Who is Blogging Now

The world’s greatest sister, Ellen, who lives in Colorado with the world’s greatest brother-in-law Irv has started her own blog Ellen’s Blog. Please go check it out. Her latest post is about her trip to Hawaii. As a bonus, BIL Irv shows off a geocache that he found. Hawaii and geocaches, it doesn’t get better than that unless they can throw in some Fat Tire Beer.

If we are nice to her she met share a few photos with us from her trip to Australia.

Ellen is a fellow Forest Service kid, except she is a lot smarter and better looking than I am. Now if I can just get brother Bob in Fresno blogging our lives will be a total open book.