Dreary Saturday

Late fall, early winter weather settled in Saturday; not ice and snow but overcast and rainy. Not to fall victim to the elements, Linda called and asked about the botanical center. I liked the sound of that and, surprise, grabbed my camera. She swung by and we were rolling.

On the way, we passed the outdoor skating rink that Eric and I had seen full of people on a colder but clearer day. This time, there were only a handful; not bad considering it was cold and rainy. We figured that these folks had plans or promises to keep and, if there was ice, they were going to be skating.

The Botanical Center was still decked out in holiday style. Poinsettias were much more abundant than usual and there were Christmas lights and balls accenting certain areas. A sculptor also had several pieces on display intermingled with the plants.

Attendance in general was good as we could always see people doing this or that; several of them also had their cameras out as well.

One mother / son pair were doing some very good educational work. The mother had prepared for the visit and had a small book with at least a map of the United States that I saw. The two of them were mapping where certain plants were located in the center and referencing the map to see where that plant was more commonly found. More than once, we heard the woman instruct the boy to go to a particular plant and she'd meet him there.

Linda was pleased with her introduction to another Des Moines landmark and we called it a day.

Back to the ice

Friday night, Linda and I returned to the 95KGGO Arena to see the Des Moines Buccaneers take on the Omaha Lancers. Once again, our seats were behind the goal in the north end of the arena giving a interesting perspective on the attack and defense.

Looking down the length of the ice puts both goalies in view at the same time; we've learned more about their role as watchmen and communicators of situations. In the last seconds of the time an opposing player is in the penalty box, both of these goalies would smack the ice with their sticks letting their attacking teammates know that another defender will be there soon. When the goalie recognizes an icing call could be coming, he'll raise his glove hand to let his teammates know that the opportunity exists; that the lead man can / should hustle to the puck but the rest can relax a bit. We keep learning.

Overall, this game was exciting. The crowd was near capacity for the venue and easily brought to full voice. An early goal by the Bucs brought us to our feet and turned up the sound system another notch. Shortly thereafter, the crowd demonstrated how unimpressed they could be when Omaha scored their answering goal. The remainder of the first period was hard fought. Each team showed excellent defense and frustrations and tempers started to rise. No "scraps" broke out but there were occasions where players were jaw to jaw letting each other know what was on their minds at the moment.

The second period featured some excellent set plays and some very fluid end to end action but produced no goals. No Krispy Kreme for us.

Midway through the third, the Bucs took the lead. In the closing minutes, the Lancers responded in kind and tied it once more. Bonus hockey!

Like the three periods before, five minutes of four on four didn't settle the issue. Shootout!

Omaha and Des Moines each scored on their first shots. Omaha reeled off three more goals while the Bucs couldn't find the net. Final score: Omaha 3, Des Moines 2.

Even though the Bucs lost, it was one of the more sustained intensely contested games we'd seen. Two very well matched teams played very hard and it was a treat to get to see them do it.

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Still playing with animation, there's an example behind the hockey picture on this post. Click the photo to go see it. It's not a loop like Twilight's eyes so you only see it happen once; to see it again, hit F5 to refresh the screen.

Animation?

When Eric was here, our discussion of some basic animation ideas and tools set the table for some personal exploration of the topic. If you look really carefully at the cat in the picture, you should see the eyes change from a very light grey to an exaggerated yellow / golden; I made that. Pretty impressive huh? Okay, it's a pretty basic display but it does prove that I can do it; now the question is more should I do this sort of thing. You should expect to see more of this before it goes away. Remember, Eric kinda started me on this path.

The Good Shepherd

Wednesday evening, Linda and I got together for a movie. The movie we saw was about several aspects of an assumed fictional character involved in the building of the Central Intelligence Agency. The movie opens with a grainy video of unspecified origin or context and returns from time to time to show us that mystery unravel. In the mean time, we get to learn about the influences that built Ed Wilson and how he would carry those forward into the CIA. The story includes the effects his career has on his personal and family life as well as the sometimes violent, always intense and questioning profession. The cast is highly recognizable and the stories are fantastic. An excellent movie in my opinion but certainly not for everyone. There are scenes of graphic violence and it is a complicated story so be prepared to focus.

Eric

Tuesday afternoon, Eric arrived to spend the better part of about twenty-four hours with his Dad. We got caught up on what's been going on, what's coming up, and some photography and animation ideas. It was a nice day so we both grabbed our cameras and headed out to see what was happening in Des Moines.

The pagoda along the developing riverwalk caught our eye so we stopped and tried to get a few shots of that striking structure. Right now, the area around is not very pretty but it's going to become the Robert D. Ray Asian Garden. Based on some of the other gardens along the riverwalk, I expect this could become quite attractive in the next couple of years.

We turned downstream and soon found the new skating rink being put to good use. The skaters appeared to range from preschool to nearing retirement age. Families, couples, young adults, and elders were all smoothly making their way around the rink. Holiday music was being played over the speakers loud enough to hear but not so loud that normal conversation was challenged. The curious blue dome things at the far end contain skate rental and snack counters. Around the rink, a layer of spongy black material allows the skaters to walk around with skates on their feet. All in all, an excellent addition to the river area.

We continued our walk around downtown, stopping in to warm up at Java Joe's. Eric shared that some of his friends really hadn't grasped the concept of our skywalks so he got a couple of pictures of that feature of downtown and we proceeded along to the south.

On our way into the downtown area, we'd seen the new science center and wanted to get down to see that new feature. While the majority of the displays are inside, we found the exterior and surrounding grounds to be intriguing as well. They obviously made nice efforts to make the walk to the building a trigger for the curious mind. There are interesting questions and solar system objects and orbits embedded in the concrete. These seats sit on orbit marks in the concrete illustrating an atomic structure. Lots of very good ideas went into this place. It's fun!

We also visited the new library area (it was closed for the holiday) and the Des Moines Art Center. Again, we were pleased to see interesting displays being enjoyed by a few dozen folks on a Tuesday afternoon.

The next morning we enjoyed breakfast at Hy-Vee and played around with some pretty basic animation ideas. I tried some but don't know how to get this site to show them yet. I'll keep working on that.

We got Eric set up to do some web development on his laptop computer and then it was time for him to head home. It was nice to have the day to visit.

Merry Christmas!

I drove by this live nativity a couple of nights ago. It was a nice reminder of the reason for the holiday. I wish each of you a very merry Christmas!

More Lights

This field of suggested trees is another traditional display in Des Moines. When I showed this image to a long time resident, they said "First Federated!" It's a striking image and prominently located at the intersection of two well travelled streets on the north side.

I need to confess an edit on this image; I moved the star about one radius to the right. When I took this shot, I didn't notice that the star, actually located over a building about a block away, would have looked great if I'd lined it up over the tree. Fortunate for me, digital allows this sort of after thought image editing.

Friday Night Lights

Late yesterday, there was moisture in the air and, learning from a photo Linda caught on a rainy evening, I thought there could be some great images of Christmas lights reflecting off of wet surfaces. Unfortunately, by the time I got out to take the shots, things were dry again. Oh well... I hope you enjoy the collage of images I did collect last evening.

I started in downtown Des Moines and moved west along Grand Avenue. The westernmost image was a the West Des Moines File and EMS center #17 on Railroad. The fire station does a great job of decorating their dog statues for various significant dates ranging from the traditional holidays to back to school shopping season.

Yes, there is an image of Santa's sleigh being pulled by pink flamingoes. It certainly deserves some mention and inclusion in this year's collection.

Gingerbread House

We found this gem in the Beaverdale neighborhood, long an area with great holiday lights. Several blocks of very nicely decorated homes line the streets east and west of the Beaver and north of Hickman. Ashby Avenue is the most completely decorated stretch in the area.

Christmas Lights

Like the first display, this home has been an annual sign of the season for as long as I can remember. Located on a busy street south of downtown, it's something of a landmark to southside travellers.

Pizza and a movie? Not this week...

Monday night, I got a call from Joel that he'd be tending to finals Tuesday evening so our normal Tuesday night activities would have to be deferred for a week. What to do...

After work Tuesday, I stopped by that field of corn that I'd photographed a few weeks back; the one with the snow on the ears. Most of the corn is harvested now. A couple of stands of a few dozen stalks makes me wonder if the ground was to wet or the harvester has a soft spot for wildlife. In any event, the clear skies and sunshine allowed me to get a followup to the snowy corn shot now that the harvest has come to it's end.

I went home, unloaded the photos, and was tending to home tasks when Linda called; dinner at J. Benjamin's sounded good to both of us. This cozy little neighborhood restaurant has been a presence on the corner of Merle Hay and Franklin for as long as I can remember. Linda had recently been there and wanted me to try the artichoke dip. We did, and it was great! Hunger addressed, we set out for the second portion of our outting: lights.

Linda had saved the section from the paper that listed some of the more impressive displays around central Iowa and we were near a few. The first one we headed for was one that I remembered having seen in years past. While not a display that I could see in my yard, it's still quite a show.

One of things that made this location memorable for me was having passed it in daylight several years ago. You can't really see them in my photo but there are four pair of reindeer led by one with a red nose rising sharply into the sky. In daylight, they rise up off of the yard on a pair of steel rails, a sight that catches my eye when I pass.

I have a few other shots of other locations that I'll try to remember to post each day now until Christmas.

Doubt

Saturday night, Linda and I visted the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines to see a play we knew very little about but had heard highly praised. By the time we settled into our seats, we still knew little more than the name of the play and that a primary member of the cast had received a Tony award for her performance.

The play, Doubt, was interesting on many levels. The four characters we see are all unified in their objective but are often in strongly conflicting positions on how to achieve it.

"What do you do when you're not sure?" Father Flynn asks the audience in the opening line of this play, setting the stage for a story of suspicion and moral certainty.

Set in a northeastern Catholic school in the sixties, there are plenty of moral issues that come into play. The main issue has to do with a young nuns observation of a young black boy after visiting the Father. When she is coaxed to share her observations with Sister Aloysius, the principal of the school, wheels are set in motion that crescendo to the climactic confrontation and its resolution. According to the author, the play doesn't finish with the final scene; the nearly mandatory questions and conversation that follow finish the play.

Poker night

Friday night, Jeff, Bill, and I joined up and drove over to Ern's for an evening of Texas Hold 'em. The cards were there from time to time and I finished third in the first game of the evening.

We reset the chips and tried again. This time, Bill played host to Lady Luck and recovered from two serious hits on his chip stack to win. It was a nice ride back home.

Sweet movie

Tuesday evening, Joel had a holiday get-together to attend so Linda joined me for a movie. Having recently seen the noteworthy Bobby at the Fleur Cinema & Café a few nights earlier, it seemed worthwhile to see what was showing at another interesting theatre, the Varsity.

Sweet Land, featured at the Drake area theatre, looked interesting in the schedule and more than lived up to our expectations. Simple, beautiful, credible, and engaging, this movie told the tale of Inge, a mail-order bride from Germany by way of Norway, and the response of the Minnesota community to her arrival a bit too soon after World War I. As she learns about midwestern America, the community learns about itself as it confronts its initial judgements.

Sports Wrap 2006-12-12

NFL
Chicago Bears 42, St. Louis Rams 27

USHL Hockey
Des Moines Buccaneers 5, Chicago Steel 1
Des Moines Buccaneers 6, Omaha Lancers 4

Monday Night Poker and Football

The gang got together for another evening of Texas Hold'em during a Bears monday night game. Last time, it was an exciting odd win by the Bears in Arizona. This time, the Monsters of the Midway played well and outran the St. Louis Rams to victory. Chicago rookie sensation Devon Hester showed an amazing knack for finding his way through kick coverage to score... twice!

My play was not as sharp but I did score some nice hands from time to time. The Rams and I were knocked out at about the same time; nice consolation to see the Bears address their turnover problem.

Joel Strikes Again!

Yes... I've once more fallen prey to one of the links on Joel's Blog. This time, he listed the OfficeMax Elf Yourself site and I went for it. If you'd like to see my elven dance moves (and very limited but repetative speaking) click here. What would we do without the internet?? ; )

Doh! I guess you need to have a fairly current version of FlashViewer installed to actually see it. Sorry if you're not able to see it. Just envision me in a green elf jacket and hat and red and white striped tights... okay... don't do that. It's someone else in a green elf jacket and hat and red and white striped tights but has my face. Now, they / I dance around and, in elfishly high and speedy voice say "Merry Christmas! ... Where's my pants?!" (I wasn't sure how it would work out and didn't think of anything more fitting that than at the time.) Now you too can enjoy ... er... at least experience my elvish dance.

RFK

Friday night, Linda and I visited the Fleur Cinema on the south side to see the movie Bobby. I expect you'll be hearing more about this film in the months to come.

The story is not so much about Bobby Kennedy as it is about the time as told through the lives of many people who worked for or visited the Amabassador Hotel that day. Issues of race, civil rights, Viet Nam, and a challenged economy are illustrated through the strengths and frailties of the characters. Many of the people had their own personal reasons to hope that the message Bobby was sharing would take hold in their respective corners of the world.

The closing shots roll by as a voice recording of a speech that Bobby gave is played. The link says Cleveland but I think the movie credits were from Indianapolis. Reading the text, many of the words and message are the same. In any event, they still carry weight today.

Wassail!

Thursday evening, Linda and I braved the cold and sat down with a couple hundred hardy folk to enjoy the Johnston High School Concert Choir's Madrigal Dinner. A combination of dinner, theatre, and concert, these productions help set me in a holiday mood.

As is the tradition, we were announced with trumpet fanfare and then escorted to our table. We were located at the second table from the front and middle in our "row;" neither on the central aisle nor the aisle along the wall. Our views of nearly everything were very good. I was quite pleased with our spot but wished they allowed photography.

When full, our table of eight included a family of four, two retired ladies, and us. The two ladies arrived shortly after us; both Iowa Girls, they, like Linda, had never been to a madrigal dinner before and were looking forward to the experience. The mother and younger son in the family of four arrived next; her husband was going to be working another hour and he would be bringing their older son.

Right on time, the lights dimmed and a hush fell quickly over the room. The trumpet sounded and we all waited for the announcement that the King and honored guests were entering; instead, it was another couple, a bit embarassed to be so "honored." As they were seated, the Court Jester lead the procession of singers in great medieval costumes into the hall; the performance had begun.

The jester had a good time teasing the king's attache of protocol about nearly anything he said but we soon learned there were murmurs of dragons in the area. The attache, not convinced had sent forth messengers to the surrounding kingdoms to inquire whether there was truth in these rumors. Word returned that one of the kingdoms was no more... not good news.

As luck would have it, the Fraduchi brothers, travelling peddlers, were being escorted into the hall by the king's guards at that moment. Quickly sizing up the market, they shared that they were known throughout the land as the only real option for dragon insurance. From time to time throughout the remainder of the show, the Fraduchi brothers, the jester, and the attache negotiated the terms of their policy. In the end, the scheming Fraduchi's were exposed and the kingdom preserved.

Our dinner included a small glass of wassail (mulled apple cider), a small lettuce salad, a variety of dinner rolls, a full chicken breast, rice pilaf, carrots, and a pudding of some sort; the pudding was flaming before it was served at our tables. Served in courses throughout the performance, it was a very suitable meal. The only objection I heard was that the pudding was not a bread pudding and that it was a bit dry.

The music was generally familiar but I was pleased to hear some new pieces. The voices were good, as expected. One duet by two girls from the servers was particularly noteworthy. Most of those honored at the King's Table had good voices, a few were very good. The candlelight recessional gave us a few moments to linger in the soft glow before bundling up to head back home. It was a nice time to set apart, to have a little celebration.

Deja vu all over again

After a couple of weeks of cribbage and holidays and Wisconsin Burgers, Joel and I finally got back to Tuesday night pizza and a movie. As is also our tradition, we cruised around between pizza movie. This time of year, that means looking at Christmas lights. Our favorite example of what NOT to do appears to have gotten the message and has limited his decoration to a tasteful wreath at the front door. In the past, there were SO many light flickering and chasing over his house, shrubs, and delivery truck that it was disorienting. I don't know if there's now a woman in his life, the neighborhood petitioned him to cease and desist, or the electric bill was just too high; whatever the reason, it's the end of an era.

Our movie selection was Deja Vu, an interesting sci-fi action techno-thriller chick flick starring Denzel Washington. Set in post Katrina New Orleans, the story revolves around the investigation of another, smaller catastrophic event leading to loss of life. Denzel Washington plays an insightful local agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. His familiarity with the locale and proven record in investigation links him into a very special surveillance group with some pretty sophisticated hardware. The rest of the story develops the characters well as it touches on some of boundaries imposed on surveillance and consequences that can arise then those boundaries are crossed. It was a very interesting, entertaining, and generally difficult to predict story.

I also got to try out the Tuesday Night B.Y.O.B. offering at the theatre. For fifty cents, they will fill a bucket (or other container) you bring, hence the Bring Your Own Bucket title. I brought a Tupperware type plastic container of about a gallon capacity and was set of for the evening. Yes... that means a gallon of popcorn AFTER half a pizza. Do not try this yourself. I've done adequate stretching and conditioning over the years to be able to perform at this level. You may need to start off with something smaller... like a handful of popcorn after a sandwich at home. Gradually add another handful and, one day, you too MAY be able to consume mass quantities like me. Please consult your physician before engaging in such consumption.

All in all, another fun night.

Hey, hey, what do you say? Let's go Bucs!

Linda and I returned to the Madhouse on Hickman, 95KGGO Arena, to see if the Buccaneers could get back on the winning track. Last weekend, they lost both of their games ... at home. Friday night, the Bucs were hosting the Chicago Steel, a team who's struggled to get wins this year. That said, we saw the Steel make the eastern division leading Waterloo Black Hawks work hard to get a 2-1 win.

Tonight, for the first time, we were seated behind the goal in the north end of the arena. New to the 95KGGO arena, we've tried to see games from varying locations both for my camera angles and to get a sense of where the "best" fans are found. Tonight, the camera angles were both excellent and yet somewhat obstructed. To protect the fans, hockey arenas hang a net above the glass behind the goal; nice for safety, not really a photographic plus. Being behind the goal, you get a much more upclose view of action at your end of the ice. It was fun! This location also afforded the opportunity for a Greg sighting.

Co-worker, Cornhusker, and Darlington trip co-pilot, Greg has been a long time supporter of the Buccaneers. He and Troy, another 'husker I believe, have long been season ticket holders and now have seats along the glass in the north end. Each time I've been to a game, I've tried to see just where they were located but never succeeded; tonight, I saw him. At the end of the first period, I went down in front to say hello and let him know that I'd seen him and wanted to take a picture. As I took the shot, he asked if he'd be on the blog. Greg, I've tried every way I know how but the image just won't stick. Sorry!

The family seated behind us were very much fans of the game and the Bucs. They were often shouting out various calls for the consideration of the officials and coaching for the players. The most vocal sounded like the father and daughter but neither Linda nor I really wanted to turn around to confirm.

Between periods, a local custom motorcycle shop brings one of their recent creation to the arena to award a "Radical" shot. The shot is from the blue line at a goal blocked by a panel with a hole cut out in the center at the bottom. I've not seen many people even hit the panel much less come near the hole... until tonight. Tonight, we saw a shot catch an edge and get the puck up on its side and roll right to the center of the hole. The hole is cut so that only a sliding puck would go through, not a rolling puck. So close...

Much like the game in Waterloo, the first ten minutes passed without much interruption from either goal or penalty. The closing minutes were largely spent with the Bucs working around the Steel goal but finishing the period tied at zero. The second period featured goals by team leaders Palushaj and Read. In the third period, the Bucs went on a run and scored four goals in less than ten minutes; the house was a-rockin'. The final score of 7-1 put the Bucs back on track, provided the fans with half a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts (for scoring six goals and winning) and, thanks to a short-handed goal, a complete section was awarded burritos at a local Mexican restaurant.

The Bucs also announced that their next home game will include the annual Teddy Bear Toss. Fans will have the opportunity to bring a teddy bear to the game and, after the Bucs first goal, throw it on the ice. The bears will then be distributed to local charities. A nice little promo, I think.