much ado about...not much

On Thursday there were a bunch of suits that gathered at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Among those were the Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President and Vice President of Brand Management Charlotte Jones Anderson, and Xavier Director of Athletics Mike Bobinski (Chair of the Division I NCAA Men's Basketball Committee).

On the agenda: the reveal of the 2014 NCAA Final Four logo.

With it being only the seventh Final Four played in Texas (second in the North Texas region and after a nearly 30 year hiatus), obviously the Big 12 along with close by fans in the Midwest are happy with the news. Said Bobinski: “As we kick off the next 75 years of March Madness, Cowboys Stadium will get to host its first Final Four.”

Yes. I, too, am thrilled with the news of a venue that certainly feels more like home. But that's not what this blog is about....it's about design. Duh. So here it is...the logo.

courtesy: Big12Sports.com

What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Or are you lukewarm like me? The bevels, embossing, and metallic effects of the 'Final Four' are really quite nice. And that's about all I have to say about that. I was very much looking forward to the unveiling but to say the results were disappointing is an understatement.





courtesy: @Big12Conference [twitter]


I am much more impressed with this photo that @Big12Conference tweeted! Of course, who wouldn't be impressed with a 160 foot video screen?

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And for those of you basketball fans out there: you can apply for tickets to the 2014 Men's Final Four through the NCAA's random selection process March 18 - May 31, 2013. Visit www.NCAA.com for more details.

Cowboys Stadium is also the site for the 2013 South Regional, which takes place March 29 and 31. Tickets to those Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games are available by visiting www.NCAA.com/mbbtickets.

looking back

This Dutch windmill in Lawrence, Kansas was photographed between the years of 1890 and 1899.

This is a cyanotype showing the old Dutch windmill, which stood on west Ninth Street in Lawrence, Kansas. Construction on the windmill started July 1, 1863 by A. Plum and G. H. Wilder. Fourteen men were brought from Sweden by Plum to build the windmill. It was destroyed in Quantrill's Raid and rebuilt in 1864.

It was octagon shaped, four stories in height, and the basement had walls of stone six feet thick. The mill had four millstones, two for wheat and two for corn. The capacity of the mill was twenty bushels daily each of flour and meal. With the wind blowing at the rate of twenty-five miles an hour the mill would have eighty horse power. The mill ceased running in July 1885 and a fire destroyed it in 1905.

photo courtesy of  Kansas Historical Society
Item Number: 227455 Call Number: FK2.D4 L.7 *23
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 227455

colorful San Antonio

Thanks so much to everyone who participated via Facebook, twitter, or blogger direct. The location of the photos that I shared in where in the USA? and where in the USA? more hints was San Antonio, Texas. What a beautifully, colorful city.

Congratulations to Amanda Eilders & Amy

for correctly guessing the location!

Here are a few more favorites that didn't get posted for fear of spoiling the game completely.

Mi tierra Cafe & Bakery



Quarry Market

What's a San Antonio post without a mention of the River Walk?

I plan to share more photos along the way and hopefully I'll get even more people to participate.

where in the USA? more hints

So not a single person has guessed the location of previously posted photos/game. Which got me thinking: maybe I made it too hard. Here are a few more pictures from the same location that might help get your guesses coming...



so this definitely narrows down the selection of U.S. cities

too much information?

I feel like I'm giving it away now for sure.

...that's assuming that people are actually reading this. Am I the only one having fun with this game?

where in the USA?

Let's play a game.

I apologize for those of you who hate games but to be honest, I just want to get a little dialogue going and to get a feel for my audience (or if no one at all is reading). So here's how to play: I'll show you some photos and you guess where in the USA the photos were taken by leaving a comment below. Then check back next week for results.

Guess the city, give your feedback on the photos, let me know if the photos make it too easy or too hard, tell me what you want to see from this blog.

I look forward to hearing from you. Someone, please.

honey

I've been on hiatus but I'm back now.

Thanks for checking in.

photography

Photography is a true passion of mine. That said, hours spent devouring an issue of National Geographic is never time 'lost.' The National Geographic photo contest is upon us...the deadline for entries for this year's is November 30.

Photographers of all skill levels (last year more than 16,000 images submitted by photographers from 130 countries) enter photographs in three categories: Nature, People and Places. The photographs are judged on creativity and photographic quality by a panel of experts. There is one first place winner in each category and a grand prize winner as well. Follow this link to see 54 amazing moments as selected from each of the 3 categories. Here are a few of my favorites..




LONE TREE YELLOWSTONE: A solitary tree surviving another harsh winter in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
(Photo and caption by Anita Erdmann/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest)




IS HE STILL THERE?!: One morning while on the Big Island of Hawaii, i exploring my surroundings to see if i could find something to photograph. I almost went back inside when something on this huge palm tree leaf caught my eye. I stayed around and it was this little gecko, startled by my presence he was hidden between the ridges of the leaf. He would pop his head up periodically to check his surroundings, as soon as he saw i was still there he would hide again. We played this game for a while until i got the shot. Holualoa big Island, Hawaii.
(Photo and caption by Lorenzo Menendez/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest)





FLESH AND BONES: In a world where no one understands the importance of nature, all that is left of our nature is just these flesh & bones. Toronto, Canada.
(Photo and caption by Amirhassan Farokhpour/Nature/National Geographic Photo Contest)

 


LOVE OF PARENTS: The emperor penguins fight for survival and to protect their only baby in the frozen Antarctic ice desert. Antarctica: Atka Bay, Weddell Sea.
(Photo and caption by Claus Possberg/National Geographic Photo Contest)




MY OWN LIGHT: Pinki Kundu, a 13 yrs old girl is suffering from a chronic disease & is being treated in Mother Teresa TB Hospital in Kolkata.She is under CAT 1 drug therapy & is doing well.The day I photographed her she was very hopeful mood that she would be returning back to her parent soon. Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
(Photo and caption by Saibal Gupta/People/National Geographic Photo Contest)



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Photo 47 never did load on my computer...did you see it?

Which photo(s) was your favorite?

on my bucket list

Oh how I would LOVE to go to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta — The World's Premier Balloon Event. It's held every year at the start of October. This year marked the 40th year. Check out some of this year's balloons...

In closing, the "Balloonist Prayer"...

May the winds welcome you with softness.
May the sun bless you with its warm hands.
May you fly so high and so well that God
joins you in laughter and sets you gently
back into the loving arms of Mother Earth.

{photo credits include: Paul D deBerjeois, Raymond Watt, Cindy Petrehn, Cindy Hunt, Rex Features, Richard Obregon, John Reece, and Getty Images}