Jim Stahr has a Different Year

The day after our arrival in New Orleans we went to the Museum of Art (NOMA). I'm not going to bore you with pictures of the art there. It was fascinating and beautiful. Go to their website to see legal pictures of it. The outdoor Sculpture Garden should not be missed when you visit. We had to be chased out at closing. (4:45!) NOMA is the centerpiece of City Park, which quite reminded me of King's park in Perth, Australia. Somehow these park leave their respective cities behind. It is a very different feeling than most city parks. The city surrounds Central Park and Bryant Park in New York City and impart an urban feel to them. Not so with City Park, Not so for New Orleans' City Park. We walked over a small hill and found scenes that seemed very natural despite being well manicured. This is the difference. As large as Central Park is the common Red-tailed Hawk is rare enough that they attract crowds. Imagine a pelican flying through it! I have posted all the

Before I start recounting my New Orleans trip I want to mention an old venue that is under new ownership. Willimantic's "Winners at the Lucky Frog" was recently purchased by the owner of Fred's Brickhouse. I visited during an open mic (who me?) before all the ovens were installed, but some of the Brickhouse' staff was there.   John Rousey pulled MC duty, and these guys played host band, each are fixtures in the Willi music scene each in different bands. They warmed us up with some blues then started going through the sign up list.  I was pleased to see  Curtis Brand  there. Who wouldn't want to listen to folksy tunes about being older than dirt, peeing off small boats, and lamenting the death of bees.  Barrelhouse Bill showed up to blow some harp.  Must be a thing, both these guys played harp and wore black flatcaps. Another trio did some sweet harmonies, and the song selection went all over the place, I think Curtis and I were the only ones doi

Communication majors everywhere! I attended a rally that was aimed at stopping the Connecticut Board of Regents voting in a 5.1% tuition increase. The issue truly does not affect my wallet in the least, tuition for veterans in this state is free. But let's agree on what community colleges provide: the last educational hope of a marginalized population. This would include unemployed folks (such as myself) looking to gain new skills, minorities, and people that have difficulty learning. In fact, the brag on the Regent's web site is that 60% of students are women and 37% are minorities. We help the marginalized! As I was listening to students comments, made by an angry constituency attempting to dialog with the regents I realized no one was listening. I decided to add my voice. While waiting to reach the microphone the Chair noted that it was not a question and answer time, but a time for students to express there concerns and report on the schools. Of course the unio

 I'm back to classes and keeping up with the work.  Seems mundane right now, and I need to write other thoughts. Called one of my professors on a bad grade - turned out he stapled my paper to an extra credit assignment. Two emails from him suggest he doubted I had turned it in, but he did search three times by his own account. Mistakes happen. Early Thursday morning I first heard about Barry Bailey. The drunk was waiting for his ride to work. He let me know that an internationally renown artist resided here; the professor was going to save the world as he had before. Before he could tell me any more, his ride arrived. Later, Barry himself let us know he was having an open house Saturday while putting beer in his fridge. Saturday after the five hour session of  jumping jacks New Orleans calls a parade I wanted nothing but a nap. I told the wife and kids I needed salad for dinner, left for the shotgun and simply sat. I should have made that salad. Just as I was leaving for th

I did say I was having a different year. Howsabout a trip to New Orleans? Most of the first day was spent on a plane. I dislike that, took no pictures, and did my best to sleep through it. Note I say dislike - it is a hassle and you meet homogeneous people on planes. Good boring people trying to get to their excitement. I would rather drive and meet folks on the road (even if they are closer to their work-a-day existence), but time marches on and I have class tomorrow and the dog hates kennels and the boy needs direction blah blah blah normal little man. I want to get to my excitement too. My daughter drove the rental. I dog licked the air with my camera - these are not technically good shots. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome looks tiny from the highway.  But a quick crop shows that one doesn't quite see the whole structure, and the monochromatic view makes distance difficult to judge. This place holds 73,000 people during a Saints game! Facility Specification Here. One can se

I've been wondering about all this low light level photography I've been doing and how well it is performing against using the built in flash. I've been setting the ISO to 6400 and am rather impressed at the low amount of noise. I recently came on this odd light situation and realized it might be THE time that a flash was needed. A darkened room on a bright day with a door open. I like both pictures for different reasons. The first, without flash, captures the atmosphere at the moment. It is what it is, a darkened bar in the day with a few people listening to an impromptu band that appeared on a Sunday afternoon open mic. Good stuff, and the shadows convey both the joy of this moment, as well as the intimacy of the crowd and the lack of anyone else there. The second does not hint that this is anything other than a crowd shot of people dancing in a bar.    The second photo, with flash, might seem at first as though the door was shut. Look closely and the shado

 Another day another open mic errr mike. Whatever. This is at The Acoustic Brew in Voluntown. They only sell beer and coffee, but one may bring their own chow. It was a small crowd, probably due to the nice weather. Sunday afternoons are best for gardening and hiking, but this was nice, and stepping out to the smoking area out back I managed to sight a Perigrine or a Cooper's Hawk.  The folks had some talent to show though. And the few from Webster, that didn't want to play, had a great time and joined in with shake eggs provide at the bar! Impromptu bands were formed, and a great feeling of camaraderie had me smiling all the way home. Worth the trip, and I was home in time for dinner. Could have made it to the Stomping Grounds that night if the wife had lost a filling.

Started right at 7 o'clock, once Noelle's film crew was set up. Another Wednesday, another open mic. This was Russ's first comedic feature act. Well, the first intentional one. Usually these open mics seem to attract such a family crowd, and this was no exception. A low turnout due to impending weather let us wrap things up early, but not before some family shots of "Just" Frank's supporters. My wife grabbed the camera and got evidence! Papa Joe finished his set once Frank started harping at him. Then it was Joann's time to harp. Lots of adoring fans in the crowd. We'll assume the little one didn't understand all the jokes. Frank howled to the end. Batgirl in her cave.   The audience was such a doll. Family always seems to be a theme at these Russ's gatherings.

The wife and I finally decided to take the ugly beautiful chair to Family Upholstery. While there sizing up options and listening to the craftsman explain in excruciating detail how he had to rip apart each component of the chair and rebuild it, my wife's phone does that annoying default ringtone. The daughter had called to see if mom would join her for lunch at a new eatery she was trying. Just Breakfast and Things, a stones throw away (for a really good stone thrower) from our oxymoronic chair. Seems we had driven south, and our daughter north to the same crossroads. The grandchild, as usual showed her concern with my camera. I was able to smooth this over and eventually coaxed smiles from her.We had a grand time, even though our lunch was eaten right before leaving the house. There's always room for good french fries. Granddaughter was chipper right to the end of the meal. As she was going to the car, I could tell a good nap was scheduled for the trip home.