Tuesday, February 24, 2009

new buds on the mulberry tree

it's a gorgeous spring day in tempe; spring arrives here 
a bit earlier than in other parts of the U.S.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Saturday, February 21, 2009

good dog

good dog agility club's annual february show
in tempe at benedict park. here is one of the 
hundreds of good dogs who showed up to 
run, jump, and scramble their way 
to ribbons and a good time. 

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

hmmmm

Rodin's "the Thinker" multiplied
another light rail artwork (taken in Phoenix)

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Tempe, Arizona Sunset

last night's sunset, near Priest and the Rio Salado. the
Arizona bloggers have gotten together for a group 
post this month; we plan to do so on the 15th of each 
month. Check out the other great Arizona sunset 
photos here:






Saturday, February 14, 2009

it's a wrap

the NBA All Star games are in Phoenix this weekend. 
at least a couple of our light rail trains are wrapped in 
advertising, an exception that was made to a previous 
decision that the train would not take on these sort 
of promotions and advertising. it doesn't bother me, I'd
rather see a few ads on one or two trains than pay more
to ride as is also being proposed. At any rate, this marks
the half way point for the professional basketball 
season. I am a huge basketball fan, but with all the 
turmoil surrounding our Phoenix Suns team, I'm just
not that into it right now. Not long ago, our team was 
a cohesive, incredibly fun to watch team that many other
teams attempted to emulate. Several upper management knee
 jerk reactions and decisions later, the team is unrecognizable 
and talking about trading one of the best players for 
a bunch of nothing, essentially throwing in the towel. 
I'm as disappointed as the rest of the fans, and our 
GM, Steve Kerr has proven he had no business 
getting his feet wet with an elite team. In their 
peak a couple years back, the Suns were the best show
on sneakers; unfortunately now it looks like those
days are a wrap. 
 

Friday, February 13, 2009

the next level

ASU vs. UCLA, at wells fargo arena, ASU campus;
what a great game last night, the score was often close
with a lot of lead changes; congratulations
to ASU, ranked 18, for their sweep of UCLA. the 
win puts them among the upper echelon teams.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

not for picking

Arizona is a great place to grow citrus, 
our hot summers and cool winters produce
a fuller flavor fruit than those produced
in consistently warm or mild climates.
in fact, our oranges can be so 
sweet, some folks have to go to lengths 
like these to keep people from
taking their pick. 

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

new deal

the Work Projects Administration (wpa) was the 
largest new deal agency. created by a presidential 
order by fdr, funded by congress, and bogged down in the 
senate (starting to sound familiar), the program was 
responsible for a lot of projects and employment (roads,
public buildings, media and literacy, redistributing 
food, clothing, housing). almost every community in 
america has a park, bridge or school constructed by
the agency. a sidewalk in the willo district of phoenix 
has the wpa stamp.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

opportunity

when borders bookstore opened on mill 
avenue back in 2001, there was a fair amount of grumbling
 that it wasn't the right fit for the eclectic downtown area. 
it was too corporate, as were several of the other big name stores 
that opened around that time - the gap, bath and body works,
abercrombie & fitch. the corporatization of mill experiment
hasn't worked - none of these stores have survived the 
economic slump. left behind are empty stores and big 
signs. at first glance this looks like one more 
indication that things are going south, but a closer look 
reveals an opportunity: to fill the empty stores on mill
with the same eclectic mix of stores that made mill such 
an interesting destination, rather than an aspiring mall. 

Monday, February 9, 2009

spring has sprung

lots of trees and flowers are beginning to bloom,
it looks like our nice winter weather has begun the transition 
to extraordinary spring weather

Sunday, February 8, 2009

in case of rain

a rainy day in the phoenix area, but that didn't stop 
folks from getting out and enjoying the second half of the
day which was crisp and beautiful. this little guy
looking stylish in a bright yellow rain coat, was prepared 
for sprinkles. captured at the willo street fair in phoenix 
(an annual event where neighbors of the historic downtown 
phoenix area open their beautiful remodeled 1920s & 30s 
homes to the public).

Saturday, February 7, 2009

red bull convoy

saturday afternoon, downtown mill avenue. a convoy 
of red bull mini coopers gave away energy drinks;
meanwhile, monster energy drink reps were giving 
away cans of energy as well. 

Thursday, February 5, 2009

white church against blue sky

still in scottsdale, but planning to get back to tempe by
the weekend. this is in the same civic center mall area
as the previous two posts. white church against blue
sky on a sunny afternoon. 

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

bullwinkle?

this looks like a fun place to have a drink.
borrowing again from scottsdale, tempe's
 neighbor to the north. located at the civic 
center mall.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

a bit of whimsy

I was at the Scottsdale 11 Tv studio today, next door
to the Civic Center Mall and noticed whimsical
astronauts suspended from a ceiling near the Blue 
Moose pub. 

Monday, February 2, 2009

what time is it?

i keep seeing people dressed like uncle sam and lady
liberty, dancing and waving flags on street corners.
that can only mean one thing...it must be tax time!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

theme day - this way to a beautiful spot

when i lived in the midwest, an afternoon excursion 
included country roads, rolling hills, lots of trees. in
arizona, the desert road winds down into a vast, rocky
landscape and big skies. big cottonwood trees 
are at the end of this path, near the river.  
western arizona, on the way to the bill williams river.