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.

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. 

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. 

yucca bowls

outside the front of the ASU Art Museum

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. 

light rail art

several works of art adorn the dorsey/apache 

light rail station, including this saguaro 

skeleton. when a saguaro dies, the flesh

decays leaving a beautiful woody skeleton. 

this rendering looks just like the 

real thing.

countdown to light rail

in just 5 days light rail will begin to transport 

commuters from mesa through tempe to phoenix. as 

typically happens when a new change goes into effect, 

there are cynics and proponents. i am among the 

excited and am hopeful that the train will be so successful 

that north-south extensions will follow in the 

not-so-distant future. until then, i plan to ride from tempe

to downtown phoenix, try out new restaurants, 

go to the phoenix library, catch a suns game - all without 

a thought about where to park. and on the way, 

i'll read a book. 

twas the weekend before christmas...

and all through the parking lot,

not a space was available, 

except in the very back - but that makes it easier to 

remember where you parked!

it was cars galore at arizona mills mall and everywhere 

serendipity

*petsmart, elliot & hardy*

what a happy accident that i was shopping for pet

supplies tonight and found the store overrun with canines

and their leash holders. dachshunds dressed in buns with 

mustard and bulldogs dressed in pink tutus. a halloween 

dog parade. i'm so glad i'm 

in the habit of carrying a camera. 

i'm off to scranton, pa tomorrow for the big annual 

bat conference -   

nasbr (north american society for bat research)

 and may have to post a few postcards from my trip 

to get me through til my return next week. 

warm sky on a friday night

the big arizona sky provides a perfect showcase for our lovely sunsets 

Contour

At the Tempe Lake Marina, among other things the railings are designed to enhance the atmosphere of wave and shore. 

Brain Power

ASU's Interdisciplinary Science and Technology building #1 has labs and work space for various bio engineering disciplines. Behind the soothing lines of the window louvers, scientists are working to develop artificial organs and smart implants - like ones to find and stimulate specific areas of the brain to power robotic arms or alleviate seizures.  

gotta love having a tortoise in the yard

                                   One thing I really like about life in Tempe is that the climate is just right for a desert tortoise. Sonoran desert tortoise are native to Arizona - this guy is adopted, born in captivity - not from the wild. Unfortunately a lot of tortoises get taken from their desert homes - either because well meaning people find them lumbering along and think they need help, or because they are such fabulous creatures that when found people just can't resist taking them home. The result - lots of tortoises available to be adopted. Once in captivity it's not appropriate to take them back to the wild, since they can spread diseases to wild tortoises. They're great pets though. This guy is all business. My other tortoise, Charles Barkley (named before we realized it's a female), is like a dog - she follows us around the yard and loves to have her shell scratched. 

A note about my inconsistent posting this month - since August is a tough month to get out and take photos (hot AND humid!), I am giving myself a bit of a break. Photos will be sporadic for the rest of the month then effective September 1 I will post every single day again. That will also give me an opportunity to get some practice with my new camera (canon 40d, yippee!) and make the switch from pc to a mac. Big changes, looking forward to it!

Don't Get Caught...

...running a red light or speeding in Tempe. Throughout the city and the greater Phoenix area, photo radar "robots" are poised holding radar guns, waiting at intersections to catch light runners. They are also positioned along several streets with posted speed limits of 45 or less. Get flashed by the camera and expect a $165 ticket to arrive in the mail. Although Phoenix ranks as the 2nd safest city in the country to live in as far as natural disasters go, the metro area is the worst in the country for red light running fatalities.

Sunday Browsing

Borders at 7th Street and Mill was my bookstore of choice today. This store has robust travel and literature sections and had just the photography instruction book I was looking for.

A mountain - convenient inspiration

I still remember my first time in Arizona, visiting a friend just after graduating from high school. As I began to think about moving to Phoenix, it was the view of the city from Camelback Mountain that helped seal the deal for me. Only a couple months after, I was driving cross country in my little brown pontiac sunbird with my ferret Charlie.

I'm still inspired by mountain vantages. Here's a view of the Phoenix skyline backlit with a gorgeous sunset (double inspiration!) from Tempe's A mountain.

Meet "the Dude"

The Dude, a year old bearded dragon, sits on the front counter of the Mill Avenue store called "Those Were the Days". The store, full of antiques and used books, is closing after 35 years. It's very sad, it was the last of the older stores on Mill. It's tough to watch things change, but they do. According to the dude's owner, the shop owners want to retire and move on from managing their store. They own their building so it wasn't high rents that pushed them out, just a desire to move on. I'm happy I got to meet the dude and his owner, one of the things I like most about this blog project, striking up conversations with people and lizards to get the Tempe Daily scoop.

Those Were the Days

The antique and used book store known as "Those Were the Days" is going out of business after 35 years on Mill Avenue. It was the best place on Mill for a nostalgia fix.