A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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I really hate these kinds of “weekend update” types of posts, and only do them as a last resort. I feel that little blurbs about my day-to-day activities are best left to Twitter, Facebook and the like, where I would deeper explorations here.
Regardless, the last week of July is always a nightmare, and I haven’t had much of a chance to catch my breath, much less write a long blog post. Here, then are a few things that have happened recently, for those that might be remotely interested…
Got lots to write about, but I’ve been too busy to blog lately. I’m hoping to take today to catch up on several posts. These may seem a bit out of sync as to when they actually occurred, but that’s tough. Anyway, here are a few teasers and spoilers of things to come… Kayaking Took … Read More “Teasers and Spoilers” »
It seems like every weekend this spring has been a busy one, with kayaking, family visits, festivals, and performances. This one was no different. In addition to our outing Friday night to Northampton Wines, this was the weekend for Artisphere and Chip’s Big Pig Gig. I started Saturday morning by heading downtown. My first stop … Read More “Busy Spring Weekend” »
This has been one of those weeks when momentous occasions have come so fast a furious that I haven’t had time to blog about them. Each deserved its own post, but before I could put thoughts to ether, something else huge would come along. There was everything from national to international events, local and family events, the chance to slow down for a minute or two, and the chance to drive really, really fast around a track in expensive cars. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to short-change all of these and just give each a few blurb sentences, if for no other reason than to mark their passing.
A Birth
So, Obama finally released his long form birth certificate. Big deal. This issue was already over when the short form was released, as was legally required. As expected, some have already started denouncing this certificate as fake. My response? These people have brought serious charges, and now the burden of proof is on them. If you think it’s fake, then you’re more than welcome to visit Hawaii (at your expense) to prove your case.
This “birther” issue is nonsense. It’s a distraction. If you disagree with Obama’s policies, that’s one thing. But to continue this conspiracy makes you an idiot, plain and simple – no argument allowed. (And, no, I won’t allow any blog comments in argument.) Funny thing, though. These same “birthers” are probably the same ones that wanted to revoke that requirement so that Arnold Schwarzenegger could run a few years ago. This argument would be for naught if that had passed.
Easter was much, much later this year. We had our district’s spring break back at the end of March, but Greenville held fast and had theirs during Holy Week. It seemed a bit strange to have Easter come and go and not get any time off. Even so, I got a chance to do some photography and spend some time with family.
Saturday we spend doing household chores – installing new light fixtures, installing a new AC in the basement, etc. Saturday afternoon/evening Chip called and wanted me to join his family at Haywood Mall’s Spring Carnival. He had just purchased a new DSLR and wanted to give it a test run. The bright lights and garish colors of a carnival always make for fun photography, so I headed on over.
Little Olivia was mesmerized by all of the colors. It was a bit of sensory overload for an 18-month old, even with her mother and one set of grandparents there to keep things in check. She managed to ride the carousel not once, but twice…
A couple of weeks ago this nice little letter from Paul Wickenseimer, Clerk of Court for Greenville County, arrived in my mailbox…
Yep, a jury summons. I was to start my round of civic duty April 4. I just completed it, and it was an interesting, yet unfulfilling experience.
Today marks the eighth year I’ve been blogging in some fashion or other. I never thought I’d keep at it for so long, but here were are in 2011 and I’m still writing. In 2003 blogs were fairly rare, and most people had never even heard the term. I had seen a couple of blogs, … Read More “Eight Years of Blogging” »
It’s been a busy week, and I haven’t had much time for blogging. I’ve got a few projects underway, and I hope to write about those shortly. In the meantime, here’s a quick weekend update…
Friday night:
One of Laura’s friends from grad school at UC Riverside has a goal – to visit every state in the United States. Carolyn had two left on her list, Idaho and South Carolina. Her friend from Germany, Christian, has accompanied her on this quest, so she met him in Charleston, toured there for a day, then headed to Greenville for a visit with Laura.
We picked up Carolyn and Christian and headed down to River Place. We knew that there was a TEDx event at the Peace Center, and that evening there was supposed to be something called the Greenville Xperience in the amphitheater, so we wanted to get parked early. We wandered around the Falls Park area, walking over the Liberty Bridge and enjoying a warm spring evening, as did half of Greenville, it seems.
At one point I spotted to kayakers launching above the falls, and I knew what was about to happen. I took off at a run with my camera, but was not in time to see the first boat go over the falls. I did, however, catch the second one.
Usually by this time in February I’ve been on several photo treks and have lots of of interesting places to write about. This year is a bit different. We did take a trip to Asheville and Biltmore, but we’ve had yucky weather and illness get in the way, too. Therefore, I haven’t felt too inspired … Read More “Winter Doldrums” »
All the weather forecasters were predicting it – a whole bunch of snow late Sunday night into Monday with significant accumulations. It was certainly cold enough. Laura and I did our regular trek to the grocery store on Sunday, and, of course, certain sections were seriously depleted in anticipation of the storm.
It stayed sunny for most of Sunday. I was a bit surprised when our district called off school so early, but I guess they were taking the forecasts seriously. They turned out to be correct. Monday morning we awoke to a blanket of snow covering everything.