It is cold, windy, and miserable right now but just before my run Saturday with a friend, it was warm, sunny, and nice. What a difference one cold front can make!
I’m sure you notice that I’m cheating with the photo. I’m using the Topaz Impressions program which converts photos over to various styles of painting. So this is what the “Cave Art” style looks like. Sorry, SOOC is so nice but I love tinkering.
So do you like tinkering with photos? Or do you like SOOC?
Its that time of year again. On a very chilly and windy day Tulsa had their Veterans Day Parade. We had marching JROTC units from high schools in the area. A few schools pulled their units out of the parade because of the weather. I get that but the kids that did show up were appreciated.
And we had all sorts of Veterans, some sitting on trailers. I bet they were freezing. I don’t know about you but sitting outside when it is freezing is very cold. On the other hand I don’t think some of these people could walk the distance.
We had women vets in red Thunderbirds. Now that it styling!!
And Jeeps. I don’t know what the deal is but there were lots of Jeeps. A coworker who had one in the parade said that there were over 70 of them. I think he undercounted. But hey, bring them on. An event has to change with the times to thrive and grow is what I think. If people want to bring their Jeeps, well that is okay with me.
Even the the pink Jeeps. Pink is hot these days.
And the motorcyclists. I have a love/hate relationship with motorcyclists. Right now I love them. Ask me tomorrow, who knows what my attitude will be tomorrow. Except tomorrow evening will be the start of my three day weekend. My attitude will be pretty good then!! Sorry, who cares what my attitude is.
I always enjoy the military vehicles.
They had a few marching bands. I saw this group performing down the street and thought they might do it again. They didn’t but they do march in style I think.
Something else new this year is that several corporations had people marching in the parade. This is Quik Trip a convenience store chain headquartered in Tulsa. They were not tossing candy but they were passing out coupons for free beverages, any size? I’ll take a beverage!
There is nothing like the old military vehicles. Isn’t this about the manliest thing you have ever seen? Beats the crap out of pink Jeeps that have never been off the pavement.
What I like the best are the Vets that just show up and get in the parade on their own. No entry fee for any entry and individuals can just show up.
So I love the walking Vets the best. The least we can do is show up and show our respect.
Big excitement this past week in Tulsa. Wizard World brought their Pop Culture Convention to Tulsa, 2014 Comic Con Tulsa, for the first time ever. I didn’t know exactly what it was and neither did Logan but I bought us tickets anyway. We had to go check it out. It was a good thing that we bought them several weeks in advance because the Saturday single day tickets sold out.
So what is Comic Con. Welllllllll, it is about a certain segment of pop culture having to do with super hero movies, comic books, and art and books having to do with that certain segment of culture. Fans show up in costumes portraying their favorite characters. I didn’t know hardly any of them. Except for like Mario and Luigi, Freddy Krueger, and others. Basically super heroes, and super villains and a sprinkling of cartoon characters. Logan was my guide, he knew who everybody was supposed to be.
There were also booths were you get autographs, for a price, of actors and authors. Again, I didn’t know who any of them were except for William Shatner. And unsurprisingly Logan knew most of them. What a drag attending Comic Con with old Dad uh?
There was a fantastic array of merchandise of all prices between sold. Everything from art work and books to costumes to weapons (costume weapons).
We had a good time and are planning to go again next year. They are already selling tickets!
Check out the Tulsa World on Comic Con Tulsa
Cold weather is coming but Sunday is warm. I put the Cowboys vs Jaguars game on DVR and we loaded up and drove to Turkey Mountain for a little outing on the Lollipop and Zoi trails.
The sun was out and the temperature was warm.
We saw a lot of stuff. We saw too washing machines out in the middle of nowhere. No driers though. Contact Baltimore appliance repairs to fix any kind of appliances.
We found this old bed frame in the middle of nowhere. Maybe a homeless guy was going to put in a flower bed? Logan didn’t see the humor in that.
We found these strange little berries. Heather thought they might be persimmons. I don’t know. What do you think?
Heather and Logan found an oil well and announced they were rich! I asked what about me? And they said “What about you?” What about you? Have you ever been left out of an oil deal? I know what you feel like.
The woods were beautiful Sunday. It was like a cathedral.
This is my favorite pic from Sunday. It looks like the woods are creeping up behind him and are going to swallow my only son. Of course his shirt doesn’t help.
Have you been on a good walk lately?
It is time again for Ashley Sisk’s Scavenger Hunt Sunday. So lets get to it.
1. My View
Sorry for this crappy shot, blurry and with reflections and all. I work on the 17th floor and we get a pretty good view to the west with the Arkansas River and all. I love it. Next month we are moving down to fifth floor and the view west will be occluded by several buildings. I’ll miss my westward view but I’ll have to make do with the a “City Side” view as they say. That’s all right, I’ll just work with what I have. My office is now a beige box and I’m going to another beige box so what is the difference. I’m just glad to have a spot.
2. In My Bag
I carry books with me whenever I go anywhere, or magazines, or my Kindle. I don’t ever want to be out of stuff to read.
3. Warm
My Dallas Cowboys fleece blanket. Keeps me warm on those cold nights.
4. Sleeping
This is Abigail. She likes sleeping on a pillow.
5. Part of the Body
Unlike some Hollywood celebrities, if somebody hacked my phone looking for body parts, my boots are about the only thing you are going to find. Not that boots are a body part but you know what I mean. Well, sometimes my thumb will show up but that’s about it. I think those celebrities were done wrong but can anybody out there explain to me why somebody would have nude photographs of themselves and loved ones on their phones? Or anywhere for that matter. Of course, I know that Ms. Sisk’s readers are much too genteel to participate in such shenanigans.
We had a protest going here in Tulsa early this week.
We had these guys on a street corner in downtown Tulsa. I asked them what the deal is and they said that the individual named on the sheet was guilty of embezzlement. He’s a city counselor and I googled him and could find no mention of anything remotely illegal or unethical or anything else.
Couple that with a slogan written on a white board at work in a seldom used conference room:
“We are Anonymous.
We are Legion. We do not forgive.
We do not forget.
Expect us”
So this intrigued me. The slogan and the Guy Fawkes masks are associated with a group called Anonymous. They are called Hacktivists because they use the internet as an alternate form of protest.
November fifth, the day I took the pic was the day of the Million Mask March when all the members were supposed to get their masks on and go public. Ironically it was the day after the elections here in the USA and I wonder how many of these guys bothered to vote.
Sorry dudes, I think your anonymous protest accusing without any substantiation somebody with embezzlement is total crap. I guess that you have the right to stand on a corner with your bedsheet sign but do you really want people to take you seriously? And writing kind of halfway threatening messages on whiteboards? Creepy! It reminds me of people who put religious tracts in the stalls of restrooms.
So what do you think? Do you know any hacktivists? Are you a hacktivist?
Sometimes I think I take too many photographs of some scenes. LIke the tempietto in the gardens at Philbrook Museum of Art for instance. I think it is one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen especially with the reflecting pool in front of it.
Based on a tip from Spare Parts and Pics I downloaded the Topaz’s Impressions program. It converts photographs to look like a painting or drawing. The above pic uses one of the “Colored Pencils” presettings. The program is a little expensive, at least for me, so I’m “messing” with it on a 30 day free trial. Let me know what you think of it. For comparision the original photo is below. It is not SOOC though. It is an HDR composite. Just in case you are new to this blog I need to tell you that I don’t worship pics straight out of the camera (“SOOC”).
Let me know what you think!
Saturday was a busy, busy day for the family. Heather went with her Mother to western Oklahoma to visit family. Logan has a lot of stuff going on and so he and I stayed home. So I took him to his horseback riding class, then to his Improv comedy workshop, and then to his rehearsal (Have I told you that he auditioned for and got a part in a Christmas play coming up.)
Anyways while he was at rehearsal I ventured to the Brady District north of downtown and took in the Day of the Dead celebration at Living Arts of Tulsa. I had always wanted to go and now I had my chance.
The first thing I saw were the murals. For something celebrating the dead they sure are alive. I love the big bright colors. The holiday is known as Dia De Los Muertos and originates in Mexico.
They are macabre in a friendly kind of way.
I really don’t get the symbolism.
This is my favorite.
There were two stages and lots of performances. I saw Ballet Folklorico Tonatiuh performing some amazing dances.
The video is only 12 seconds long. These young ladies are spectacular. It brought back some great memories of Ballet Folklorico de Mexico which I got to see during a two week stay in Mexico City when I was in high school.
As good as the murals and the performing arts were, the most fascinating thing at the show for me were the Altars or Ofrendas made to departed loved ones. The Day of the Dead is the day that the dead reunite with the living. The altars are set up in honor of the dead, not to worship them. Lots of good information here. The altar above is for Robin Williams.
This one is for the women who were convicted and executed for witchcraft at the Salem witch trials.
This one was set up in honor of dog. Note the treats and personal items and photographs. The candles are to help guide the spirit to the Altar.
Their were altars that were very personal. Note the fresh fruit and snacks which is common. The marigolds are common also.
Note the beverages which were favorites of the departed and the bread, Pan de Muerto. The dead do not eat or drink the beverages. Instead they absorb the aroma and extract the essence of the food or drink.
A suicide support group had put together an altar.
I loved the whole concept of once a year reuniting in spirit with the loved ones. I found the whole thing to be a celebration of life and an affirmation of a belief in the afterlife, rather than a macabre fascination with death. It got me thinking, I think I might have to specify what I want on my Ofrenda. Pictures of Heather, Logan, and I on the beach would be a must. And my GPS receiver and an ammo box for geocaching, one of my many participant ribbons for my running, a sunrise photograph and one of my cheap film cameras for photography. . Oh, yeah a Fat Tire Beer, and a Snicker’s Bar. And a Breaking Bad DVD, along with one of Chinatown (the best movie ever made. I’m not even going to discuss it!) And don’t forget a Metallica CD, or Five Finger Death Punch. I could go on and on.
What about you, what would your Offrenda have on it?
It is time again for Ashley Sisk’s Scavenger Hunt Sunday where she provides five prompts and then we provide images for those prompts. So without further ado, lets get started!
Dress Up
This is an archive photo of one of the races I ran in. Lots of runners these days dress up for the races. It just adds to the fun.
Candy
Sorry for the fuzzy shot. I have over 40,000 images and very few of candy. I think that is because I eat the candy before I think about taking pictures of it. One of the races I run, the Tulsa Run 15K used to be sponsored by a Quik Trip and they would provide candy bars to the runners when they finished. Sometimes they would have the candy bar nazi’s who would tell me, just one please! And I’d say okay and take two. They don’t sponsor the race any more, probably because of my greed so this year Heather bought me two Snickers Bars. Cmon Quik Trip, step up to the bar again!!
Fall Colors
I spent an hour in the gardens at the Philbrook Museum of Art on Saturday. It is one of my happy places. Fall color is just beginning to show here in Tulsa.
Trick or Treat
Another fuzzy one from the archive. Heather made Logan a Super PIzza Boy costume one year. He obviously loved it.
Photographers Choice
Another shot from the gardens at Philbrook. Thank you for indulging me.
