Throwback Thursday - Pumpkin Patch

Throwback Thursday, looking back at the Better-Photo years.  Many of these may have been posted here before, but probably not recently.  Hope you enjoy:

Fall of 2003....  Taken on a pumkin picking excursion just outside Grafton, IL...  I've always been especially fond of this one...

Andrew Adams Paints!

We weren't able to stay long enough to see the final product, but we really enjoyed watching Andrew create!  At the Second Annual Opus at the Chez-Marilyn in Alton, IL 

 ----

  ----

 ----

Yum!

Yesterday (Sunday), my wife and I headed up to Alton IL to watch a friend make art...  While there we had to try a local brew.  And it was quite tasty!

Old Bakery Brewery, Alton, IL.

David Cook / Tyler Boone

So; last night (9/24/2016) we went to see David cook at Blueberry Hill over in St. Louis...  We've lived in the St. Louis area over 25 years, and this is the first time I've been to Blueberry Hill, or even the Delmar Loop area.  Only 35 minutes from where we live, but a world away...

My son is a big David Cook fan, starting way back when he was on American Idol (still the only season of AI any of us have paid attention to).  So we have all his albums...  And when we saw he was coming to town, we'll we had to make it happen.  The show was in the Duck Room, a cozy space in the basement that accomodates 340 people.  Note that "accomodate", not seats...  Standing Room Only, which was a bit of a challenge for us old folk....

I didn't realize until mid afternood that there would be a warm-up act:  Tyler Boone.  But thanks to youtube, I had an idea what to expect.  He played just himself and his guitar...  and manned his merchandise table before and after.  We had to pick up a copy of his latest EP:  True Experience.  
He played a good set, about 40 minutes.

David Cook, of course, had his full band. And they played an excellent set.  Not surprisingly, he didn't play anything from his American Idol days...  The music was great, and he (and his band) were clearly having fun.

Between 1976 and 1987 I went to lots of concerts.  But after we had kids, I kind of fell out of the habit.  But over the past 4-5 years, as my son reached his teen years, we've been ramping back up.  And I'm realling enjoying it,

We've seen:  TobyMac/Chris August/Janie Grace,  Weird Al Yankovick, The Piano Guys, Firefall, Boston/BlueOyster Cult...  And we'll be seeing Al Stewart / Gary Wright next month. All good stuff.

Kind Of Blue

From the statue of Mile Davis is Alton Illinois.... The background is a banner that was hanging across the street (the back side of said banner).

"Kind Of Blue" refers (of course) to the ultra classic 1959 album by Miles Davis...  Kind Of Blue
   As Allmusic puts it:  Kind of Blue isn't merely an artistic highlight for Miles Davis, it's an album that towers above its peers, a record generally considered as the definitive jazz album. To be reductive, it's the Citizen Kane of jazz -- an accepted work of greatness that's innovative and entertaining.

Blue tone added using Topaz B&W Filter

Throwback Thursday- Splash Of Autumn

Throwback Thursday, looking back at the Better-Photo years.  Many of these may have been posted here before, but probably not recently.  Hope you enjoy:

Early attempts at effects.  Bot sure, but this may be back in my pre-Photoshop Elements days (andbody remember MGI Photosuite?)...

This was taken during a lunchtime excursion to Silver Lake Park, back when I worked in Highland Illinois.  Early fall, when the leaves were starting to turn.

Triumvirat - Spartacus

 For many years, I’ve had a thing about less known musical artists.  Maybe it is the elitist snob in me…  Or just an appreciation for sounds that are a little less well know.  (Not to imply that I don’t like things that are popular, anybody who has seem my Top 40 posts knows that’s not true).

 

Anyway, I thought I’d start a series on some of the lesser known music in my collection  And for the first entry, I’ll select  a new addition to my collect, but an oldie:  Triumvirat – Spartacus. 

 I’ll rate this one pretty high on the “obscure” scale.  After all, their biography on Allmusic is 8 words” German '70s art rock band à la Focus”   Triumvirat was a progressive rock band, in the spirit of Emerson Lake And Palmer.  A trio (as the name would suggest) very focused on keyboards.

My introduction to Triumvirat came through one of my friends (Rob Posner – RIP) with the Spartacus album.  I don’t remember if the album was his, or belonged to one of his brothers, but I remember listening to it at his house when I was around 15 years old.  At some point through high school / college, I had forgotten about them.  Then it took a while for me to remember their name (“you know, that prog-rock band with a mouse in a light bulb on the record cover…  Tri-something”). I think I found them through an internet site on greatest prog rock bands of all time.  And not long ago, I decided to look for a listen on the internet.  And then a buy!  Other than remembering the band name, it is all so much easier than it was in the 70’s and 80’s!

So, bottom line:  If you like ELP, you’ll probably like Triumvirate.  In fact, lots of Spartacus sounds (to me) like ELP music sung by Peter Gabriel!  And that’s not a bad thing.  Good Stuff!

Allmusic review here : 

So, check it out:

Throwback Thursday - Sunset, Edwardsville, IL

Throwback Thursday, looking back at the Better-Photo years.  Many of these may have been posted here before, but probably not recently.  Hope you enjoy:

Another WAY back, probably 2004.  When my younger daughter was in high school and doing color guard.  Taken during band camp before the start of the school year.

209 / 211

Just a little something I saw while cruising around one lunchtime.  I liked the "compare and contrast" aspect of this.  The 2 doors are the same, yet different.... 

Additional Parking...

So last night (Saturday) we went to a wedding reception at Mills Apple Farm, in Marine, IL.  Naturally, I found a little time to wander around,and found a few interesting images.  This was in a disused area, not part of the action...  of course.  But it's the kind of thing that catches my eye.

Ves Fatigue Every-Where

So, yesterday my wife needed me to make a lunchtime run to Belleville, to pick up some baking supplies.  While there, I took some time to wander (in car) around some of the side streets.  I found several interesting sports, but this was my favorite...

Another spot on the same wall is (or will shortly be) over at Happenstance...

Throwback Thursday - Jacksonville Beach

Throwback Thursday, looking back at the Better-Photo years.  Many of these may have been posted here before, but probably not recently.  Hope you enjoy:

From a business trip to Jacksonville Florida, back in the early 2000's...  We were driving back to teh Jacksonville airport from a conference in Ponte Vedra (IIRC), and stopped to see the ocean.  I spotted this gentleman fishing, seen through the posts of a washed-away peir.

Again, from my oh-so-humble Kodak DC210 digital camera...

Beautiful Sunday - Grafton, IL

From the Outlook Point  scenic overlook above Pere Marquette Lodge

- - -

From the Eagle Roost scenic overlook

- - -

From the parking lot of Aerie's Winery, Grafton...

- - -

Sailboat along the Mississippi, between Alton and Grafton

Fin Inn... Again!

There's a restaurant in Grafton, IL called the Fin Inn...  Looking at the internet, it's been there 35 years.  One of those local landmarks, a fun place with Fishtanks at your table.  We used to go there occasionally when the kids were younger, but it's prbably been at least a dozen years since the last time.

Anyway, we were making an excursion up to Pere Marquette yesterday, and decided to have lunch there.  Still seems pretty popular, still a fun spot.

Top post is the fish at our table, just an iPhone snap.  And below is the exterior, coutesy of my wife...

SOOC - Schon Park

SOOC = Straight Of Of Camera...  meaning no post processing.  No crop, not burn and dodge, nothing.  And it is something that you will rarely see from me.  Really really rarely...

But here's an example, straightv from my iPhone.  Just something I shot to IM to my wife, to let her know where I was.  I rather liked it, so I posted to Facebook.  And now, here.

Of course, looking at it on my computer screen, I'm not sure I can resist tweaking.

Must....  resist....   must...  resist...

Ok, just a quick tweak (operative word = "quick")

Throwback Thursday - North To Alaska

Throwback Thursday, looking back at the Better-Photo years.  Many of these may have been posted here before, but probably not recently.  Hope you enjoy:

Near Saxman, Alaska.  Just a bit south of Ketchikan.  From a business trip back in early 2002, IIRC.   We finished up a little early and drove down the coast for a little sightseeing.  This is from my first digital camera, the Kodak DC210.

Alaska is one on many places that I've been to only on business, and would like to vistit in tourist mode.