05 Tuesday Feb 2013
Posted in Bad Photography
Tags
Arctic, Humor, Oops, Ordering Out, Photography, Pictures, Pizza, Snow, Winter
This was after about two and a half days of blizzard. The odd thing is that I don’t actually think it snowed, but apparently the wind blew straight at my door for awhile.
30 Wednesday Jan 2013
Posted in Bad Photography, Las Vegas, Street Art
Tags
Art, Las Vegas, Nevada, Photography, Photos, Street Art, Travel
Beautiful
So, this is the second half of my photo gallery from Las Vegas, again focusing on the murals of the arts district. (Volume I is here.) I want to thank my friend Liliana for helping get a couple of these from my crazy phone to the net.
A few items of note:
This website has a list of a hundred murals in Vegas, including quite a few that i haven’t managed to get in here.
The Erotic Heritage Museum had some interesting pieces. …and by ‘interesting’ I mean…. uh, nevermind.
A number of the pieces included here (and some I never found) appeared to be the result of an event, called the Meeting of Styles in September of 2012.
And a couple of interesting stories:
Not quite Banksy, but interesting!
…as always you may click on a photo to embiggenn it.
25 Friday Jan 2013
Posted in Alaska, Bad Photography
Tags
Alaska, Anaktuvuk Pass, Caribou, Mountains, North Slope, Photography, Photos, Winter
Moon Over a Mountain
Earlier this week I was fortunate enough to spend the day at Anaktuvuk Pass. We flew in at about 10ish in the morning and back out at 8ish in the evening. Anaktuvuk Pass is a small community on the North side of the Brooks range. It is currently home to about 300 people, having grown out of the settlement of Nunamiut (interior Inupiat).
At one time, I am told caribou herds used to come through this pass in the thousands. Today the numbers are not so high, and I hear they don’t come quite so conveniently close-by for supper. Still, I’d wager you can get a good bowl of tutu stew in this community.
Anaktuvuk Pass is also the home of Rainey Hopson, whose blog Stop and Smell the Lichen is a favorite of mine. I didn’t get a chance to meet her, but some day… Anyway, if you really want to know what life is like, read Rainey’s blog. She also makes mustards and jams, etc. from local berries and sells them online. …yes, I’m giving her a plug.
Highlights of the trip included a visit to the school, another visit to the museum, and several walks around the community, a camera in my frozen hand.
See how I suffer for you, my dear readers!
Actually, I was rather surprised to find it was only 25 below, because it sure felt worse than that. By this time of year, I should be getting used to that kind of temperature, but we’ve had a rather warm winter thus far in Barrow. It’s just 6 degrees below here at the moment. …getting spoiled!
(If you zoom out one click at a time, it’s kinda neat.)
Heh, …when we first flew in, I was excited because I thought I saw trees, but my colleague quickly corrected me. They were merely bushes.
(Sigh!)
As always, you may click a picture to embiggen it.
21 Monday Jan 2013
Posted in Bad Photography, Las Vegas, Street Art
Tags
Art, Las Vegas, Murals, Nevada, Photography, Photos, Street Art, Tourism, Travel
Clowns Close-Up
When I mentioned that I was in Sin City for Christmas, someone on Twitter asked if there were any murals in Vegas. I hadn’t really thought about it, as I soon proved with my answer. Vegas to me can usually be divided between the bare (earth-toned) walls of most residential neighborhoods and the kitchy goodness of the Strip and its progeny. …I tend not to notice either as I go about my business.
If you look closely you can see signs of effective graffiti-abatement programs all over the town. Graffiti does not last in much of Vegas, and it doesn’t appear that most of these programs distinguish a well done work of art from a simple tag. Even a legal mural can apparently be quite a problem.
This area was home to me for a good chunk of my life, but I always feel like a tourist when I come back to Vegas. …more so when I venture near the places this town is known for. Some parts of Vegas are more Vegassy than others.
…and sometimes it’s better to be a tourist than others.
Like this time for instance!
I decided to look around and see if I could find a mural or three, just for the heck of it. I soon discovered the Las Vegas Arts District, a neighborhood that was nowhere near this colorful back in the days I called this area home. But here it is, the source of most of the pictures I posted below. They hold an art fair here on the First Friday of every months, but my own interests lay mainly with the murals strewn about the walls of various buildings in this district.
Suffice it to say that I was very wrong to think Vegas doesn’t have interesting Street Art. They have rather a lot of it. You just have to know where to look.
***
This is a two part post (cause I got a lot of pics). I’ll add a few comments on some particular locations to the second post.
(As always, you may click to embiggen!)
04 Friday Jan 2013
Posted in Bad Photography, Street Art
Tags
Art, Colorado, David Choe, Denver, Leo Tanguma, Murals, Photography, Photos, Street Art
Demon Mustang of the Denver Airport
As it happens, this New Year found me in Denver, camera in hand. Downtown Denver was damned cold on New year’s Eve, but the fireworks were pretty cool. I spent much of the rest of my time wandering about with a camera in my hand and a friend from Brazil at my side. Liliana caught me being bad once. Against my better judgement, I have included the evidence in this gallery.
My usual obsession with street art found its way into the lens, though I have included a few additional pics in thus set. Liliana caught a lot more than I did. I took the liberty of included a few pieces that appeared in a previous post. The murals just belong here too. they were done by David Choe, and they are beyond cool! I have by no means captured the wealth of public art in this city, much less the whole state of Colorado. Time simply ran out, so I am cheating and taking much of it back with me.
The Denver Airport airport really is the gift that keeps on giving. I finally got a decent pic of the infamous mustang, even if it was from a ways out. I also grabbed a few pics of some of the murals in the airport itself. Now I’m not usually all that interested in indoor murals, for some probably arbitrary reason, but these are worth a little attention. Painted by Leo Tanguma, these aren’t your run-of-the-mill public building murals. No these guys are full of disturbing content and subversive messages. Combined with a Demon Horse and a statue of Anubis, these murals have clothed the Denver Airport a reputation that would make Scandinavian rock band proud.
Brings a tear to my eye.
(You may click on a picture to embiggen it.)
17 Monday Dec 2012
Posted in Bad Photography, Street Art
Tags
Art, Murals, New Mexico, Photography, Photos, Santa Fe, Snow, Street Art, Travel
Railroad Station
Santa Fe isn’t cold enough.
I was sitting down for lunch at a conference in Santa Fe as a snow storm settled on the town when someone asked me how the cold here compared to the cold back home. I told her it wasn’t cold enough here.
After the laughter, I explained that I had stepped in a puddle of melted snow that morning, the result being that my foot was cold and wet. This was not the sort of thing I had to worry about in Barrow, at least not for much of the year.
Santa Fe just isn’t cold enough.
Oh but it’s a beautiful city for a walk, even with the wet snow that melts around your feet and makes them wet.
***
Quite a few of these murals are from a sort of youth center, called Warehouse 21.
In other news, I added a couple pics to the photo-gallery for the Institute of American Indian Arts, in Santa Fe.
(If you click on it, it will grow!)
07 Friday Dec 2012
Posted in Alaska, Bad Photography, Street Art
Tags
Alaska, Alaska Natives, Anchorage, Art, Mural, Photography, Photos, Street Art, Tlingit
Raven and Eagle
When I tell people I live in Alaska, I almost invariably hear about a visit to Anchorage. Either that or a relative who lives there. It’s the geographic equivalent of saying; “Oh you live in Denver; I’ve been to Albuquerque,” except that Denver and Albuquerque are closer to one another, and more similar. There really is a world of difference between Barrow and Anchorage. The Anchorage skyline is full of mountains, and it doesn’t lack for trees. I always notice those first. And then I notice all the people.
I also notice the artwork.
From my first visit to Anchorage, I took a shine to its public artwork. There is a particular downtown alley so full of murals I find myself headed towards it every time I make it into town. And yes, I am happy this city is part of he state I now call home, which is probably why it makes sense after all that people bring it up. I never get into or out of Alaska without going through this stopping point.
…which is a very good thing.
I am particularly fond of a number of murals featuring themes from Alaska Natives. The Raven and Eagle symbolism is of course a prominent feature of Tlingit life, and a number of murals feature hunting motifs familiar to Yupit and Inupiat. A few specific highlights of the tour would include:
– The Iditarod Mural, which now includes the name of John Quniak Baker, an Inupiat from Kotsebue. He won the race in 2011.
– A rather bland looking multi-panel piece with just a hint of something devious in it. (Honestly, I don’t know if I got all the panels right, but look closely. There is an interesting twist in there somewhere.)
– A Mural commemorating Alaska statehood. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘Alaskan Mount Rushmore’. It features portraits of Robert Atwood, Bob Bartlett, William Egan, and Ernest Gruening, each of which has been generated out of a range of smaller murals. You can find out more about this piece here.
– A Whaling Wall, one of a series of spectacular pieces created by the Wyland Corporation.
– The Sun Station at the Anchorage Light Speed Planet Walk.
– The Anchorage History Mural by Bob Patterson, …which should probably get its own post some day.
– I’m particularly fond of the murals on the backside of Phyllis’s Cafe, not the least of reasons being that she was kind enough to talk to me about it for a little while. the Tlingit symbolism in the mural is no accident as Phyllis belongs to the Eagle Moiety, Killer Whale clan as I recall. She told me the mural still has a little work to go. Perhaps, I will be taking new pictures of it some time in the near future. I also enjoyed a wonderful meal of King Crab and amber ale in the cafe that evening, the perfect ending to a long trip.
I have by no means captured all the artwork anchorage streets and alleys have to offer, which is good, because I plan on going back for more.
(You may click on a picture to embiggen it.)
16 Sunday Sep 2012
Posted in Bad Photography
Tags
Art, College, Colorado, Denver, Photography, Photos, Saint Cajetan's, Street Art
Giant Dancers Inhabit Downtown Denver
…eek!
I recently spent a couple days in Denver, which was a lot of fun while attending a conference at the Community College of Denver on the Auraria campus. CCD shares this campus with two other institutions, Metropolitan State College of Denver and the University of Colorado, Denver. Its a rather unique arrangement which seems to work well for the students.
Highlights of the trip included time spent at the old St. Cajetan’s church, a wonderful presentation by Carlos Fresquez, a Friday evening in Downtown Denver, and seeing the infamous mustang statue at the Denver airport. Sadly, I did not get a picture of this last one, but you just gotta love a statue so Demonic that it killed its maker. …okay maybe not, but it makes a good story anyway.
I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of that!
So, here I sit in Hotel in Anchorage, waiting to go back home. It can be quite an ordeal getting into or out of the North Slope. I once spent 36 hours in the hands of the airlines, just getting to Santa Fe. A trip to San Antonio once took 24 hours. But the worst experience for me was a 30 hour trip from Vegas to the North Slope with 3 cats in tow. This time, the business office was merciful, and I have a nice layover in a good place …notwithstanding the storm.
I soon shall recover my full Northosity!
(If you click on the pics, they will embiggen.)
19 Sunday Aug 2012
Posted in Alaska, Bad Photography
Tags
Alaska, Arctic, Deadhorse, Drilling, North Slope of Alaska, Oil, Photography, Photos, Prudhoe Bay
Prudhoe Bay + Clouds, and Clouds Again!
So, compliments of a couple flight delays, I recently spent an evening in Deadhorse. I’ve touched ground here a number of times, but I never managed to get off the plane. It was difficult to get a sense for the community in a short time and without a vehicle, but it was a fascinating glimpse into an interesting community.
No, I did not find a bar full of drunken, brawling brutes, so that’s strike two against The Grey (awful movie). In fact, Deadhorse is a dry community, though my shuttle driver could tell me of times long past when leaving $10.00 on your pillow could get you a bottle of Jack Daniels (sh…). For the present, however, it looks like people keep their nose pretty much to the grindstone while they are up here. The urge to party can wait to folks finish a stretch and fly home. The town has few permanent residents, but its temporary workers number a few thousand.
I arrived to find the power out at the airport (not to worry, the runway lights were doing just fine). My first step outside led me to the Prudhoe Bay Hotel, ..but alas, I was not to set foot inside it.
***
***
My own reservations were at the Aurora Hotel, which was a lovely place. To control the inevitable muddy boots, guests were expected to wear booties about the place. The food was good (though not as good as Mike’s cooking at the Marsh Creek Inn). Guests could be found sleeping at all hours, and many rooms had signs posted to that effect. Production continues here at all hours, so I suppose it should come as no surprise to see that sleep does too. The Hotel had a nice gym on the 2nd floor (yeah right!) and a nicer lounge on the 3rd floor (that was tempting), but I wanted to take a walk.
I was told to be careful as a mama bear and her cubs had been hanging around town for a couple days. I said; “she’s here already?” Seriously, I thought I left them in Kaktovik! At any rate, these bears never put in an appearance, which is just as well, cause I was on foot.
Getting up at 6:30 in the morning, I really didn’t think I needed to leave a note on my own door, but I learned otherwise at about 4:00am. Apparently, housekeeping at the Aurora is also a 24/7 affair.
And that’s that. Home safe and sound!
(If you click them, they will grow!)
17 Friday Aug 2012
Posted in Alaska, Animals, Bad Photography
Tags
Alaska, ANWR, Arctic, Nature, Photography, Photos, Polar Bears, Wildlife
Not a Bear,
…ha!
So, I just spent the last 3 days in the village of Kaktovik on Barter Island. From listening to friends, students, and coworkers, the village brings to mind three things; ANWR, The Bone Yard, and the Marsh Creek Inn.
Kaktovik lies off the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; its residents hunt in the area, and they will be directly affected by any changes to its status. How the particulars are likely to shake out is the subject of a different post.
The bone yard at Kaktovic is a well known bear hang out. It’s located just off the end of the runway, and it is a regular attraction for polar bears, …and people with cameras. I didn’t get out to the bone yard itself, but I did get to watch a mother and her cubs amble their way toward town. …Later that night I awoke to the sound of shots fired in an effort to scare them off. The next day, I spoke with a lady whose supply of seal oil stores had been raided the night before and another who had been up all night on bear patrol …you could say that this time of year, the population of Kaktovic increases a bit.
…and the difference is bears.
Finally, the food at the Marsh Creek Inn has been nothing short of legendary among my friends and coworkers. Mike, the proprietor of the inn, serves not only as the clerk and the head cook, he often drives the shuttle out to the airport. His cooking surpassed my expectations. It was fantastic.
***
***
It took me a couple extra days to get out of Barter Island. Fog proved to be the culprit on day one, but day two was a mystery. The plane didn’t leave Fairbanks until it was too late to make my connections. Tonight I’m in Dead Horse, one step closer to home at any rate.
Here are my pics from Kaktovik (you may click a picture to embiggen it):
northierthanthou 
