A rough difficult road

When you take a turn onto divorce road, you should be ready for a bumpy ride. Its full of potholes, hazards, and scattered pieces of sharp debris. Its a nasty ride thats for sure. Oh sure, you hit a nice patch of road every now and then. The trees clear out, you put the roof down, the birds are chirping.....for a brief moment, its a great day. Just then, outta nowhere, bam! Where did that oil slick come from! You slam into something. My God, where did that come from. Pedestrians are screaming at you. Hey, it wasn't my fault....what happened to the smooth road? Defensive driving......keep focused.....that's all you can do. You can't control the other drivers, only yourself. So keep your eyes on the road up ahead, WAY up ahead, there is bound to be a clearing. I'm sure there is. I know there are much better days ahead. I just wish I had a better map!

Dock along La Boca

Shortly after Eric and I arrived at this location in Buenos Aires called "LaBoca", we were asking each other what the big deal is. They seem to showcase this area as a must see when in Buenos Aires. Colorful...yes. Must see, well, not so much. I guess we just hit it at the wrong time of the day. That ship off to the right looked like it was dying a very slow death right in the harbour.

As we headed further up the seawall, we were kind of in exploration mode. Two American tourists wandering cluelessly in an unknown area.....with DSLR cameras. I find thats usually the best way to explore. Well, a few minutes later, the police showed up. There was alot of hand waving, pointing, and shouting in spanish, I think it was spanish. I am not sure what they were saying, but I am pretty sure it was something like "get out of this area with your expensive cameras you idiots....don't you know how unsafe it is here!" At least thats what I think they were saying. Guess I will never know.

St Mary's Basilica

The interiors of this Basilica and St. Pauls rivaled just about anything I have ever seen in Europe. What really made them a score for me was the lack of tourists and their apparent openness to tripod toters like myself. Enjoy :)

If your interested in more, here is some info from Wikipedia.....

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The Basilica of Saint Mary was the first basilica established in the United States of America, honored by Pope Pius XI in 1926. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Basilica of Saint Mary is the Co-Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.[2]

Recognized as one of the finest examples of Beaux-Arts architecture in the country, the Basilica of Saint Mary was constructed between 1907 and 1915 to the design of celebrated Franco-American architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray. Dominating its own city block on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, the Basilica of Saint Mary is a grand architectural landmark housing a bustling and lively urban community.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

In 1991 the old copper roof was replaced with a newer one to stop the water damage and leaks that were occurring. Restoration work on the exterior and damaged plaster within the church is ongoing.

 Since 1995, the site has been host to the Basilica Block Party weekend music festival. Proceeds have gone toward repairing the aging structure and assisting the needs of poor families in the area. Furthermore, DeLaSalle High School uses the church for its commencement ceremonies every spring.

Field

There are times when I know exactly what I am going to blog and then there are times like now. When I am not on an event, traveling, or ranting about something absurd, I have a file of images that I pull from. This one got chosen tonight. Not sure why, I just kinda like it. As far as the story....well....I have none. I can't even remember where I took it. Its definitely somewhere in Florida, perhaps in Everglades National Park. And as far as what I did to get this look, well, I can't remember that either. Wow Mike, incredible bucket of information here.....geeezzz!

Hope you like it anyway!

Minneapolis

This post finds me back in good ole Florida. Its been a really cool 2 weeks and once again, I feel pretty fortunate have been a part......be it a small part....of history. Now that the conventions are over, we can all look forward to an interesting 2 months in this race to the finish line.

On a totally different note...Ike, I don't like Ike! Hurricane Ike that is. Lets hope this beast stays well south of us. I'm betting Cuba gets worked! We'll see.......

Texas Honky Tonk

Here are a few shots from Tuesdays event. The performers were Cowboy Troy, John Rich, and Gretchen Wilson. If I knew I was gonna get a chance to take these, I would have brought a better lense, but these came out pretty good anyway. Enjoy!

Mega Audio console

When Gretchen Wilsons crew loaded this piece of work into the venue, I was told that it was a $ 300,000 audio console. Let me see....audio console or a house....hmmm, let me think about that for a minute. I'm going for the house!

Central Lutheran Church

I had a little free time to explore this Church the other day here in Minneapolis. Its rare indeed that a photographer is greeted with open arms as he barges into a church with a tripod. Not only was I welcomed, but I was given a pretty detailed description of this incredible sanctuary and its history. Below is a little bit of info from their website.

Central’s neo-gothic sanctuary is the focal point of its facilities. Completed in 1928, the sanctuary is a combination of English and French gothic designs, laid out in the shape of a cross. Its inspiring worship space has a seating capacity of 2500. The altar is solid Colfax sandstone; the pulpit and lectern are oak, carved with scriptural symbols. A wedding chapel and baptismal chapel are located on either side of the main chancel. The soaring interior, rising to more than 65 feet, is enhanced with large stained glass windows of a patterned design similar to those of Westminster Abbey. Each of the smaller main floor windows represents a country in which the Reformation was prominent, beginning with Germany at the front right. The exterior of the building is constructed of Indiana limestone, surmounted by a slender spire of copper and crowned with a brass cross. The education wing was added to the original structure in 1952, the parish house in 1957, the South Commons in 1980 and the bell tower in 2006.

Minneapolis Skyline

The skyline of Minneapolis is an incredible mix of contemporary glass, steel, and granite structures. I had a little time yesterday to trek around a bit and capture a few images of the city. After checking out the news today, its nice to be here instead of St Paul. It seems like some of the demonstrations are getting a little out of hand!

Although this convention is getting off to a very non conventional start (pardon the pun), I think it might get back on track. The hurricane seemed to be a lighter event than origionally predicted. The Atlantic, however, is looking a little scary now though!

Our event tonight was a success. I had hoped to get a few pics of Le Ann Rimes intimate performance, but I somehow ended up backstage without my camera as her performance started. With the crowd that was there, I was really happy to have my space!

One last thing, I am watching the hurricane wrap up footage from today. Those reporters getting blown around are absolutely hilarious, but Geraldo Rivera? What an idiot!!!

First night - Pink Party

Well, this celebration is quickly loosing its focus, The Republican National Convention is currently in "re-plan and watch the hurricane" mode. The general consensus seems to be that a party atmosphere would be extremely inappropriate if there is significant damage in the Gulf. It obviously looks like devastation is inevitable at this point.

Last nights party went on as planned. A pink theme for some very special guests. As it stands now, we are still on track to load in tomorrows event at 6AM. It looks like the evening might be reformatted as a sort of relief fundraiser of sorts. This week is going to evolve day by day as the effects of the storm are about to unfold over the next few hours!