pride and commerce

everyone in the valley is excited for the cardinals to 

play in the superbowl tomorrow. folks wearing red, lots

of them sporting cardinals jerseys, flags streaming

from cars, and vendors on street corners. it's fun. 

i hope the oregon zoo orangutan's know their stuff,

Oregon Zoo Orangutans Pick Cardinals

i hope the cardinals win.

do it yourself

coin operated car wash near ASU

dog sign

posted near 5th Street and Roosevelt

saguaro awry

Saguaro cacti are often illustrated with two 

arms, in a "stick 'em up" pose; but 

actually they are rarely symmetrical. in fact, 

sometimes saguaros grow in odd, fanned out

 shapes like this one, also called a crested

saguaro. it isn't known whether this results

from a genetic mutation or whether the crest

 is the result of environmental damage like 

lightning or a freeze; but crested saguaros 

are rare.

middle eastern cuisine

not far to the west of Haji Babas is the Cafe Istanbul

and Market. I haven't eaten there, but it looks like 

a good place, with a few seats outside. The parking lot is 

also a park and ride spot for the light rail, for riders 

who get on at the Dorsey station. 

mom and pop thrift

Gracie's Thrift, located on Apache Boulevard, is a 

non-profit store run by Grace Community Church.

Even thrift stores are dominated by "chains" like

Goodwill and Savers, so it's nice to have a place like 

Gracie's. Sameness is boring and bland; I prefer 

unique stores with one-of-a-kind names.  

along the apache trail

Apache Boulevard, also known as Apache Trail, was a 

former highway connecting Phoenix with Globe and 

Superior to the east. All along Apache Boulevard are

the sort of businesses - service stations, restaurants, and

motels like this pastel pink one - that one would expect 

would spring up along a busy highway. Then in the 

60's and 70's, new highways were built, and Apache became

 just another street with an eclectic mix of roadside businesses. 

Now that Apache hosts several miles of the light rail, it will be

 interesting to watch how the revitalization of the street 

as it becomes an important travel corridor once again.

ASU School of Music building

beans and olives

beans and olives and lots of baklava to choose from 

at Haji Babas. 

word of mouth

one of my favorite places to eat in tempe is

haji baba's. this middle-eastern restaurant, located on 

Apache Drive between Rural and McClintock, was founded in 1981

and also has a little store with a huge selection of mediterranean, 

persian, indian, middle-eastern and european foods. it is 

a simple little place in an old strip mall, the kind that only 

attract a "word of mouth" crowd. since i'm heading out

to the field tomorrow, i'll schedule a post from inside 

the store for tomorrow.

commander in chief

i first featured this photo last november 10, but

wanting to feature Barack Obama today, and being a bit 

short on photos, i'm featuring it again. today our new 

president was inaugurated. it was a day when millions were

present in washington d.c., and millions upon millions 

more were glued to their televisions and internet feeds.

my favorite part was seeing barack and michelle 

walk down pennsylvania avenue. and the 

happiness and optimism that was prevalent today was 

a pretty good part too. sorry for the several day absence;

after a bit of a break i'm back. 

park it here

yesterday's featured transportation center has a bike

station where commuters can get their 

bicycles repaired while at work. the station

 is secure and even has showers so 

you can freshen up before hopping on the train!

tempe transportation center

at the base of "a" mountain, the new tempe tranportation

center is a light rail and tempe orbit circulator 

stop; also the building was constructed with a variety of

green strategies. for water conservation, there are low flow

water fixtures, use of greywater, rainwater harvesting, and my 

personal favorite: a green vegetated roof.

the Z

Z Gallery is one of my favorite stores. They 

have the latest in contemporary furnishings. 

connections

another view of a light rail sculpture

i first posted on december 26. the bronze

hands are meant to depict light rail connections - connecting

us with other neighborhoods and cultures. new york artist

Suikang Zhao sculpted the work.

what we do in the winter

i know there are a lot of people out there who enjoy

the snow and the cold, but me, i'm a fan of our 

70 degree winter days where you have your choice

to wear a sweatshirt in the shade or short sleeves in the

sun. 

yucca bowls

outside the front of the ASU Art Museum

ASU Art Museum

a backside view of the ASU Art Museum, a 

beautiful building and always with free admission.

the current exhibition (through January 25) is 

recent works created by the art faculty at ASU's

Herberger College School of Art, with various

media being shown (painting, photography, 

drawing, sculpture, fiber and ceramics, and 

research by art history professors).

Parts for a Unicycle

what happens to these?

Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium

Gammage Auditorium, located on ASU's 

main campus near Mill and Apache, is 

considered to be the last public commission of 

architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It opened in 1964

with the Philadelphia Orchestra and currently is 

host to the Broadway musical, The Lion King, which

I saw tonight. Wow. Fantastic. 

blue collar chic?

i don't believe i've ever tried a cup of dunkin' donuts 

coffee. i'm not sure if it's the bright pink and orange

colors or perhaps the emphasis on "donut" in the name,

but i've instinctively avoided their coffee, assuming it 

wouldn't be on par with a local independent like gold bar or 

else the reliably consistent starbucks. but 

one thing is sure, dunkin' donuts has updated its

look (added lots of people running with styrofoam

coffee cups) and is working to transform from the company whose

spokesman's line was "time to make the doughnuts" to

something more coffee-centric.  this new store 

opened on mill avenue a few months ago. 

rainy days and sundays

in stark contrast to yesterday's pleasant skies and warm sun, 

today was overcast with light rains and cool enough for a 

light jacket or sweater. we're starting to make a little 

headway on our battle against a long drought. 

having a pleasant, distinct flavor

"tasty" mosaic at dorsey station

interesting characters

i ventured into phoenix by train tonight, excited to attend 

my first, "first friday" event. first friday is an art walk

held in downtown phoenix on the first friday of each 

month. thousands were out touring galleries, studios,

 cafes, coffee shops and pubs. the vibe was fantastic; 

the artwork, wide-ranging; musicians played in the streets 

and on porches, and there were more than a few

interesting characters out and about.

happy new year!

"the sun"

my favorite photo from 2008,  

taken at the desert botanical garden. 

hope your 2009 is as festive and bright as this 

chihuly glass sculpture!

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