Meet'n'Greet

Friday evening, I went to an event sponsored by 

the local newspaper, The Indianapolis Star, to

meet and chat with the staff photographers. 

It was interesting to hear how they 

were meeting the challenges involved

in adapting themselves to working with new

electronic media, both the advantages 

and disadvantages. While the days may be gone 

that required photographers to carry heavy camera 

bodies, lenses, lighting equipment and film, they now tote 

camera bodies, lighting and sound equipment, 

as well as laptop computers; their job description

has expanded just has the advent of the electronic

media has entered our daily lives. 

The guitarist's name is Robert Coleman. He provided

background music for the evening. I tried to find some

YouTube videos for him, but there were none.

He sort of sounded like Wes Montgomery

and played an Ibanez guitar.

Memorial

Shown above is the lighted Star of Destiny 

hanging from the center of the Shrine Room in the 

Indiana War Memorial. The Memorial forms the centerpiece

of the five-city-block Indiana War Memorial Plaza, and 

was designed and constructed to commemorate the 

men from Indiana who served during World War I.

The memorial was built as part of an agreement made 

in 1919 by the City of Indianapolis with the recently

formed American Legion, in order that the Legion

would establish their national headquarters in the city.

The national headquarters, the Auxiliary building 

and Cenotaph Square lie at the north end of the Plaza, 

with the Central Library just across the street.

To the south lies University Park with the Birch E. Bayh

Federal Court House just across the street. In 1994, the entire plaza

was designated as a National Historic Landmark District.

Construction on the Memorial was started in 1926

with dedication ceremonies in 1933. Over the years, 

financial resources slowed the construction and it was

still incomplete at the time of its dedication.

In addition to the Shrine Room, the building also 

houses the Pershing Auditorium,

 offices, meeting rooms and a museum

showing artifacts from conflicts dating from 

WW I, including Vietnam and 9-11.

One of the doors on the main entrance on the north side

of the Memorial, which opens into a foyer taking a 

visitor to the Pershing Auditorium, shown below.

Above the Pershing Auditorium is the 

Shrine Room, which was designed to allow

the visitor to consider the meaning of service.

While there is an elevator, the room can be approached

by a staircase, which is people-friendly with appropriately 

scaled steps and landings. 

The Shrine Room with its design and subdued lighting, 

is a quiet place for contemplation for one's role as a citizen 

of the world, to think over our relationships with 

the community at large, and to the sacrifices made by others

in service to ideals too often invoked by those whose

intentions are less honorable than the words they mouth.  

Concrete Ideas

On my way Wednesday to meet some friends for lunch,

I just about fell into this bit of sidewalk work. 

Damn, I love it when the concrete contractors do all the 

drawing for me, leaving wonderful compositions

like this, just waiting to be photographed.  

The sidewalks are formed of subtle shades of gray, 

with marks, textures and patterns set off by 

formed aluminum and black rubber accents.

The workmen had made an entire series of drawings

in the sidewalk, of which I was able to capture a few. 

I fairly danced the rest of the way to lunch; 

whoda thought concrete finishers were artistic geniuses?  

Cold Slaw

Okay, so it's kale. I know, I know, but to me it's cabbage, 

a gas producing, fibrous staple used by landscape

gardeners everywhere to fill space until spring.

Finally though, the downtown cabbage patches

became attractive as they held snow among their leaves. 

The snow sparkled like crystal in the sunlight,

making jewels of the common cabbage. 

Overnight the cabbages had been turned into 

a jewelry display -- rows of sparkling brooches

laid in a row -- uncommon cabbage. 

No Semi Parking

No semi-parking, huh?

That's right.

What about if I just did it a quarter of the way?

Nope.

Well, 'semi' is halfway, right? What if I went three-quarters of the way?

Uhh ... uh-uh. Don' think so.

There's plenty of room here. Not a vehicle in this whole lot. 

What if I parked ALL the way?

Tain't gonna work, son, not even if you

just wanna roll through real slow.

So just take your bicycle and put it in the rack

at the front entrance.

It's Over, It's Over! It's O-o-o-ver!*

I woke up early with the intention of seeing 

what the sunrise would look like on New Year's Day.

However, there was no sun. The morning was gray, not a

 promising start to the promise of a new beginning.

I waited to go out a bit later and was greeted by a 

lighter shade of gray.

A couple blocks over, the deflated Frosty 

lay on his lawn, demoted from his role 

as beloved Christmas character, back down 

to a wadded nylon lawn ornament, 

awaiting his return to a shelf in the garage.

The wind gusted to fifty miles per hour. 

The trees brushed back and forth 

against the gray canvas sky, roiling

the clouds like a Winslow Homer storm.

The streetlights at Twenty-fifth Street and 

Parkwood Drive signaled to an empty 

intersection, while the parking lot at the 

shopping center spoke to people's

reluctance to meet the new day of the New Year.

* With apologies to Roy Orbison --

Theme Day: Photo of the Year 2011

In November, as this portion of the world was leaning 

towards winter, the weather was indecisive. 

Days of mild temperatures had the roses convinced

 it was their time to bloom and the bushes were laden with

pink flowers and buds. Overnight, the temperatures dropped, 

leaving the plants covered with frosty lace.

As I walked to my workplace, I saw the roses edged with ice.

For me, their beauty hadn't died, but instead

had their lines enhanced and colors intensified by the 

coating of frost. Can sensuality ever be cold?

The roses smolder in their icy coats.

The theme for this New Year's day is Photo of the Year 2011.

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