Scavenger Hunt Sunday – Labor Day Weekend Edition

It is Sunday and that means it is the day that Ashley Sisk hath made for Scavenger Hunt Sunday! Every week she posts the prompts and then we are supposed to go out and get photographs with the prompts in mind unless you are big ole cheater like I am. So lets get on with it is what I say!

1. Back to School

We are big time back to school with son Logan (working above on a geometry project involving measuring a room above.) He is a junior and has changed schools and he is having to step up, which means that everybody, especially his mother is stepping up also. Things are going great so far although the anxiety level is also way up.

2. Family

Here we are at Gulf Shores, Alalbama earlier this summer on our vacation. Great time was had by everybody.

3. Books

Did you say books? We love books, reading them, looking at them, shopping for them, browsing,

4. Portrait/li>

I don’t do portraits but I love this shot of my wife Heather on our vacation earlier.

5. Detail

Details mean macros to me and I’m not much of a macro guy so how about some redbud buds. Redbud trees sure make Spring beautiful here in northeast Oklahoma.

Anyway, that is Scavenger Hunt Sunday this week!

Woody Allen’s “Magic in the Moonlight” with Colin Firth and Emma Stone

If you are looking for a good date night movie consider Magic in the Moonlight by Woody Allen, starring Emma Stone and Colin Firth. It is set in the 1920’s in the south of France. It is beautifully photographed and costumed. I don’t know exactly what kind of movie it is. It is not exactly a romantic comedy but it kind of is. Colin Firth, well he plays his usual lost Colin Firth Role. Emma Stone plays a spirit conjurer and is cute as a button. Not very sexy but very cute, kind of like a brand new puppy she is just so darling. The wardrobe she wears is wonderful and the cars, oh the cars are wonderful.

Firth plays a magician, Stanley Crawford, an avowed anti spiritualist who sets himself on exposing Sophie Baker (Emma Stone) a fabulous clairvoyant. Talk about irony and plots, within plots, crosses and double crosses, and perhaps a little romance here and there (and everybody stays fully dressed although Stone at one point wears a very sheer see through dress.)

I found the film very satisfying on several levels, a great story, beautiful cinematography, and snappy dialogue.

Keep the kids home. Nothing embarrassing but I think it might bore them to tears.

Check out IMDB for photographs, cast information, and general movie information.

Check out the movie web site for yet more information and visuals.

The Hundred-Foot Journey with Helen Mirren

If you are looking a for an interesting, very well made, movie to go to try out “The Hundred-Foot Journey” You can read the IMDB data here and the Movie Web Site and I’ll tell you that this is a great movie about overcoming hardships and hard feelings and bridging across cultures. It is a sexy movie where everybody keeps their clothes on and don’t go to this movie hungry because food, both cooking it and eating it is a big part of the movie. This is the best movie that I never heard of. I give it five stars out of five.

Helen MIrren does an ouststanding job (of course) Manish Dayal plays the handsome young chef Hassan and Charlotte Le Bon plays the young, innocent, Margarite.

Heather and I loved this movie. I hope that you do also.

Turkey Mountain – Still Saying No to the Mall

Since the controversy erupted about Simon Properties‘ plans to put an 800,000 square foot outlet mall on Turkey Mountain you would think that all there is on Turkey Mountain is trails. Goodness knows there are trails on Turkey Mountain.

There are big wide trails and there are very faint, barely used, tracks through the grass and brush and everything in between.

The trails are used by runners, walkers, hikers, bikers, and even a few unicyclers. There is a lot more than trails on Turkey Mountain. Yep.

There are petroglyphs. I had heard about them and it took me a while to find but I finally found them.

Some say they were made by the vikings way back when or the Celts. Who knows. I think such things are a lot more interesting than anything I have found in an outlet mall.

What do you think?

I’ll tell you something else that goes on up on the mountain. Logan and I went up there to check our geocache in an area called Rock City. We found a several guys up there with their radio controlled jeeps negotiating the rocks. It was pretty darned interesting watching them maneuver their cars around the various obstacles.

Now that beats the pants off an outlet mall any day. Well guess what. I’m not really sure but if that mall goes in I am thinking that Rock City will be part of the mall. Yep, the best you can hope for is a Nike discount store. Buy two get a third half off is my motto.

Do you know what else goes on up there. Geocaching and geocaching is all about families and being outside and adventure. Kiss that goodbye also.

And you know something else, geocaching is all about whimsy and serendipity. You won’t find any elves doors at the mall. Not one you could afford anyway. This one is free. It is on a pretty darn steep slope. Find the cache with one hand and hold for dear life with other is the method I recommend.

Know what else? How about an Oklahoma Rock? It is probably safe from the bulldozers, for now at least. You know how it is, haters have to hate, and developers have to develop. It’s in the Bible somewhere. I think.

The thing about Turkey Mountain is that is not a real wilderness. It has old abandoned farms, cisterns, fields, and lots of oilfield. I think it used to be kind of an outlaw kind of place that is slowly going back to nature. If only we would let it.

There are lots of ghosts up on the mountain. You can almost see them at certain times late in the evening when almost everbody has gone home. There is an air of mystery about it.

Anyway Turkey Mountain is unique. A wilderness within sight of downtown. It is important to keep it that way. An outlet mall can go anywhere. If you think we need one of course. We’ve been doing fine without is my opinion. Here is a little more information on the matter.

And here is a Online Petition opposing the location of the mall. Check it out.

And here is some information about the George Kaiser Family Foundation regarding their property on Turkey Mountain. They own 139 acres and pledge not to develop it. Lots of people thought that the acquisition happendd this week and that the mall is prevented. Actually, if I understand correctly, they have owned the property for some time. I guess that I have a little take on their announcement. I see it as a head nod to Simon to go ahead and send the bulldozers in, we won’t oppose you. I guess I’m a little cynical maybe. The Foundation has been really good to Tulsa They are a great supporter of the Turkey Mountain but I detect a note of surrender in their announcement. The foundation is putting together a mammoth park project on the River Parks called A Gathering Place for Tulsa. It will cost over $300 million and will be wonderful. Check out the Link.

And here is the City Council and Tulsa Mayor web sites. Drop’em a line. Let them know how you feel.

Other Resources

Trail Zombie’s Post concerning the environmental impact.

The Tulsa Voice article referenced in Trail Zombie’s Post

New Facebook Page – Forgotten Malls of Tulsa reminding us that all malls have a lifecycle and it doesn’t last very long.

Blog Post by Bob Doucette on zoning and land use

Skywatch Friday – South Dakota Skies

South Dakota is truly part of the breadbasket of the world. As far as you can see and for miles beyond is soybeans like this field or corn. To most of us it is just a matter of patriotism when our government announces possible sanctions of agricultural exports to Russia for their misbehavior to Ukraine. To a lot of farmers it means a possible loss of markets and lower prices for their crops. Nothing is cost free.

Skywatch Friday

The Damn Dam of Flandreau

The Damn Dam spans the Big Sioux River just outside the small town of Flandreau, South Dakota where my dad spent his boyhood. He and his brothers and another friend all went in together and bought a canoe and lived what sounded like the Tom Sawyer life on the lake behind the dam. Fishing, camping, canoeing, and “hanging out.” It still looks like a good place to hang out.

It was called the Damn Dam by my mother and my Aunt who were very tired of visiting the dam every year and never missed an opportunity to not go. It was all in good fun though. My Dad and his brother still like to go and I like to go because they like to go and they have great stories. The stories get better ever year. I’m much to polite to say anything about that though.

Cousin Robert, Dad, and his brother at the Damn Dam.

New School for Logan this Year

Young Logan has started a new school this year and so far everything is going great!! He has been going a week and a half now and he seems to really like it. He is taking some tough classes like Biology, Geometry, and Sign Language.

The school really makes an effort to make everyone feel welcome with several events such as as “Mud Night” which fortunately was more grassy than muddy but was still a lot of fun for everybody. The kids certainly got into it. We are so proud of Logan, despite not knowing anybody he went to the first dance and the mud night and had fun. We are also proud of the other kids. Some of them are really making an effort to include him in what is going on and making sure he has somebody to sit with at lunch.

It is not a special needs school but they do have a program where they make accommodations and support for the kids that need it. We are very impressed with what has happened so far and are hopeful for the future.

His old school served him well for years. He started out in public school and despite the efforts of his classroom teachers who put their heart and soul into their kids, the administration refused to provide the help he needed. We went to another school and it was a lifesaver. They gave him a voice (maybe too much of a voice!) and self confidence and he blossomed. We felt the need to change to a college prep school and encouraged by his speech therapist and an occupational therapist we started the search. Heather did all the work and it was a God thing, a door suddenly opened and we found a great situation. We know the going is going to be a lot tougher but we think he is up to it.

Further reports coming as things develop.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday – Warm Hands Edition

1. Table Setting

How is this for a table setting. We splurged on room service during stay in a hotel. Nothing like a nice hotel and room service. Of course you end up paying very dearly for it so enjoy it! I just love stuff like this.

2. Flowers

Last Spring was awash with Daffodils here in Tulsa. The day I was taking pictures there was this man and woman with a video camera and a small tripod. They would get the camera going and then lay down in the flowers making out in front of the camera. I mean making out seriously. So, does anybody know what that is all about? Ice Bucket Challenges make more sense to me.

3. Children

This is where I have to revert to my cheating ways. I don’t take pics of children in general. So, let me see how about a baby goat? Well, I’m cheating there also because this is a lamb not a kid. It was a lot cuter than the kid pics that I have. Don’t get mad at me for cheating. I have been cheating a long time so it must be your fault not mine. Besides the lamb is pretty darn cute don’t you think?

4. Running

Here I am getting ready to run in some race or another. Fall is coming and that is race season. My must dos are the Tulsa Run 15K and the Route 66 Half Marathon. I’ve gotten slower over the years, a lot slower but I’ll keep on going as long as my knees hold out. Note my big huge wool gloves. I take a lot of grief for them but you know something? My hands and fingers are warm in them and I’ve run in some pretty darn low temperatures. So there.

5. Photographer’s Choice

This is downtown Tulsa. I love Tulsa and its downtown. The Oil Capital has lots of history and lots of beautiful art deco buildings. The people are the best part though.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Saying No to an Outlet Mall on Turkey Mountain

There is big news here in Tulsa, Simon Property Group wants to build an “Upscale Outlet Mall” here. That is just great. We need economic development and jobs and investment and all that good stuff. I just have one problem with the concept.

They want to build it on Turkey Mountain right near the Turkey Mountain Wilderness Park. The outlet mall is going to be huge, covering 53 acres. Simon Properties Woodland Hills Mall is a little over 60 acres. As near as I can tell the spot where I took the photo above would be inside the outlet mall.

It is going to ruin a lot of things about Turkey Mountain. The one place in Tulsa where one can get away from it all.

Turkey Mountain is home to a lot of critters, Everything from snakes, turtles, and deer to…

… thousands of people: geocachers (above), hikers, runners, bicyclist, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and just people wanting to go get their heads clear.

This is the wrong place to build an outlet mall. There are other places in the city where it wouldn’t have such a drastic effect.

I know that it is private property and I’m all for property rights as anyone else but not when it has such a drastic effect on the adjoining property. Plus it is anticipated that Simon Properties will be demanding subsidies and special tax treatment to make their project feasible. (Why is it that giving money to starving people is welfare and giving money to multi-billion dollar companies is incentives?) I don’t know about you but I’m not really wanting to provide incentives to somebody to destroy a wilderness and pave it over.

So, I will be writing to the Mayor and writing and talking to my City Councilor and contacting Simon Properties Group to see if they can make a wiser decision on locating their new Outlet Mall.

I am saying No to the Turkey Mountain site. Build in Tulsa if you wish, but do it somewhere else.

What about you? Have you ever fought City Hall on anything?

Foto Fun Friday – Sting Edition

This week’s number was 1414 and what came up for me was Sting. Heather and I found him in concert at an Indian casino in southern Oklahoma just north of Dallas. I took my good camera to the concert and endured numerous finger waving ushers to put my camera away. You kidding me dude, you charge this much for tickets, and no pictures. No way Ray!!

I put together a blog post and I got a tweet from Sting’s tour that they liked it and another tweet from the tribe that owned the casino that they liked my post also. So…. I’ll keep taking pics at concerts. I mean they are selling music not photos right!! Plus we had cocktails with Sting’s keyboard player David Sancious. He is a very nice and gracious guy who got his start in Bruce Springsteen’s E street band. This year he toured with Peter Gabriel in Europe and is now touring with Sting and Paul Simon on their tour “On Stage Together.” We spent a lot of time talking with Mr. Sancious and I had my camera and I was not going to ask him for a photo. Sorry, it didn’t feel right.

Foto Friday Fun

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