tuesday on a friday

earlier this week, on tuesday night just before 10, one

of the rubber bladders of tempe's town lake dam

broke; as quickly as a billion gallons of water could flow

through the gap - surprising not long at all - the lake

drained leaving a strange sight that tempe-ans have

not seen in the 10 years since the lake was created and filled.

luckily, no one was boating or recreating at that hour and

there were no injuries.

lots of attention is centered on the future at the lake and

the current situation - smell (which I didn't find to be that bad);

the potential for mosquitoes to breed in the abundant

puddles and pools of standing water; and quite a lot

of dead fish; this morning, tuesday the alligator was

a star attraction, having been brought in to eat of few of

the dead fish, and she seemed happy to oblige.

red

these smilin' fellas in their bright red shrine club cars

were a part of the NAMI (national alliance on mental

illness) walk around tempe lake last weekend

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

street talent

dana smith, a regular at the tempe art festival for

many years, performs his own blend of fun: tricks, jokes,

juggles and balancing balls on the street.

kettle corn by the handful

there was plenty to see and plenty to eat

during the tempe art festival last weekend.

spring plant sale

the desert botanical garden had its annual spring

plant sale over the weekend. the weather was perfect and

I found a couple desert marigold plants that will look

great under my palo brea tree.

balloon toss

big headed blow up sponge bob and south park dolls,

homer simpson in a life saver, panda bears, a green

gorilla, bart simpson - all worthy goals.

carnival weather

the original ferris wheel was designed and constructed

by george washington gale ferris for the 1893 world's

columbian exposition in chicago, illinois. the wheel

pictured here was part of a parking lot carnival at the

arizona mills mall.

2.4/112/26.2

at the ironman race yesterday. participants swam

2.4 miles across tempe lake, biked 112 miles and

topped it off with a marathon. what an

accomplishment!

fabulous fall

fall has arrived in tempe, what a relief.

for the next 7 months tempeans and phoenicians alike will

be outside attending festivals and other outdoor events

enjoying the great weather. last friday we were

treated to an outdoor ballet on the south shore of

tempe lake. this weekend oktoberfest is in full force.

and me, I'm outside with my camera once more.

fireworks on the fourth of July

Delicious

the food smells were fantastic at the aloha festival; I had 

a hard time containing myself as I looked down at 

this delicious sight.

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. 

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. 

 

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. 

little boys and trains

tempe's light rail celebration included a farmer's market 

(planned to be a permanent tempe fixture beginning in 

April), displays of hohokam pottery found along the

 rail site, chronology of light 

rail planning and construction, and miniature trains 

like this one, chugging around a fanciful carnival. 

light rail celebrations

the cover band known as "the chris parker project"

played in the parking lot across from the new 

tempe transportation center yesterday while 

people drank hot chocolate, ate brats, and walked

to the light rail station at veterans way/college avenue.

they sounded great!

sneak peak

*mill avenue*

sneaking a peak over the shoulder of an artist

at the art festival. the colors in 

his painting are true to the colors of Arizona 

sunsets - vibrant.

festival of the arts

*Fall Festival of the Arts, Mill Ave*

for 40 years, tempe has hosted a festival

of the arts, usually the first weekend 

in december on mill avenue. so many unique 

arts and crafts, jewelry, photos, curios, 

paintings, tchotchkes, trinkets for the 

wall and garden. it was a gorgeous day 

and thousands came to shop and look around. 

fantasy of lights opening night parade

*mill avenue*

from tonight through the end of december, mill 

avenue will be lined with christmas lights. tonight's 

festivities included a parade complete with santa

claus, tree lighting, a concert, and fireworks over

"A" mountain. thousands of people lined

 mill avenue to enjoy the festivities. 

the nature of glass

*desert botanical garden*

chihuly: the nature of glass exhibit just opened this

week. the exhibit includes 15 fantastic compilations 

of blown glass. each piece is a magnificent creation 

of color and light. this piece is getting a wash to 

clear away mesquite leaflets.