Got a bunch of pics piled up which I’ve been gradually editing. Dealing with managing maxed out storage on the iPhone and working overtime hours at the Capitol.
Anyway, will be posting randomly.
Here’s one from the Austin Contemporary at Laguna Gloria and the Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Garden. It’s a bronze 1953 Chevy coupe by Terry Allen titled “Road Angel” created in 2016.
It’s very cool to experience it as something you stumble upon in the woods. The headlights and taillights are authentically set in the actual car bezels and dimly lit. Your brain thinks you are seeing an actual abandoned car but when you get closer you get the pleasure of realizing it’s a cast bronze.
Every morning upon leaving for work I pass by this barn. I usually get to take in the sight for a minute while waiting at a stop light. The rising sun hits it at a perfect angle. The photo doesn’t really capture the brilliance of the refraction. It’s a small “stop and smell the roses” kind of thing that just seems to start the day off right.
Visiting Quincy, Illinois today, site of the sixth Lincoln-Douglas debate in 1858. This was the most acrimonious of the seven debates. Douglas was losing his voice from a case of bronchitis. He was also a drinker whereas Lincoln was a teetoalter. Douglas had started off strong in the first debate going on the attack listing seven questions he demanded Lincoln answer. He also sought to isolate the Republican Party as a radical abolitionist offshoot of the Whig party. Douglas engaged in blatant race-baiting throughout the debates playing on racial fears and the views of white superiority of the time. Illinois, while not a slave state was not all that welcoming to black people. The north part of the state was predominantly pro Lincoln and the south pro Douglas. The battleground was in the middle counties. Lincoln adjusted his speeches at each debate to counter Douglas’ arguments and by the last three had effectively narrowed the focus to the most basic argument of all, slavery was a moral wrong.
Another tune from last night’s Glenn Miller Orchestra concert — “Pennsylvania 6-5000” — What’s it about, you might ask. Well, it’s a reference to the direct telephone line (PE6-5000) to what was at one time the largest hotel in the world, the Hotel Pennsylvania across from Penn Station in New York City. It is considered the oldest continuously used telephone number in NYC.
Enjoy, and let me know if you want any more.
Ya know, It’s funny, but I’ve been in a really good mood at work today after happening upon that show last night. Reminded me of all the live Big Bands I saw when I started working at D-land at age 17, and of listening to Chuck Cecil’s radio show “The Swingin’ Years.” This music is totally uplifting to me.
