Caught on Camera

This awesome tech blog called Gizmodo posted an article with some hilarious pics from Google Maps Street View. I was inspired to find some on my own.  I found some scary, some weird, some funny, and some just plain strange pictures.  Click "LinkBack" in the caption above the picture to link back to the original posting.  To view the original Gizmodo article click here.

1. This creature under the water is being called Nessie, you know, the Loch Ness Monster.  I'm personally going to guess, giant squid. LinkBack

2. This is super sweet.  It's always a good thing when the fire department has enough free time on their hands to climb a tree and rescue a kitten.  That means nothing is burning down at least. LinkBack

3. Oops, I guess they missed one. This just sucks. LinkBack

4. Ummm, yeah. Better to have a horse's head than a horse's... "Linkback" recently broke.  Sorry about that.   

5. Is that a bum napping in the street? Nope it's a Aussie that's had one too many.  Dude, next time, sleep it off on the couch. LinkBack

6. Wow, someone has too much free time on their hands.  And I'm a little concerned about their obsession with Santa.  LinkBack

7. There's nothing dynamically new about this type of "freeway art," but I really like it. LinkBack

8. Let's Play. LinkBack

9. An alien invasion in Germany, oh no!  Oops, someone put the glass over the lens without checking. LinkBack

10. Water gun fight blown way out of proportion on the web.  I can see that that gun is plastic.  People just love drama. LinkBack

11. Artists put on a show for the Google street cam van. Say that five times fast. LinkBack

12. This is the scariest shot I found.  Can you imagine being out for a walk that day and happening upon this scene?  Yikes. LinkBack

13. I know a long day of shopping always makes me tired enough to wish I could crawl home instead of walk.  Wait a minute, he forgot his bags. LinkBack

14.  I really hope she said yes. LinkBack

15. Flash back. LinkBack

16. Hey buddy, you're double parked.  LinkBack

Earthquake

Alaska residents have a chance to help the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program map out the activity, damage, and range of Alaska's earthquakes.   Click on the following link, Earthquake Report, and fill out the form.  It only takes a minute and a half. The extra information can halp them give rescue groups the knowledge they needs to plan and train for true disasters in the future.

Art Around the Country

When I requested photos of artwork by local artists, I was not specific enough. I am so happy about that fact. Instead of presenting art by the local artists of Alaska and Nevada only. I get to present to you the local artwork of artists from Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, New York, New Mexico, and Nevada. Some of these pictures came without explanation, so they won't be captioned. But I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did.

To the left is a hand painted post card, artist and photographer unknown, but we know that the title is, "A Mining History," And that you can purchase them in Seward Alaska.

Above: Northern Lights in Ice

This is only a small look at the huge ice sculpture extravaganza that Fairbanks, AK hosts yearly. They have entire streets full of homes with beautiful ice sculptures in front of their homes and in their yards. I plan to visit this winter if I can manage.

Above is a beautiful photograph that illustrates the true beauty of Alaska. The photo was taken by Art Wolfe, but the exact location is unknown to us.

To the left is a picture drawn by an unknown artist in Homer, Alaska. It is of a blad eagle wheeling in the sky which is a common enough sight to see in Alaska.

Above: Fishing boats, tuboats, small barges and even a couple yachts, from all around the Pacific Ocean, Join together off of the coast of Hawaii to create this aerial shot in an attempt to create awareness of the bad ocean conditions.

Cinco De Mayo, NY, NY

Lewis Tardy, Cicago, IL

Above: A Ginger Hart postcard. Scanned and submited from New Mexico.

To the right is a huge handcrafted garden in glass. This ceiling is featured in the Bellagio Hotel above the reception desk.

Above: The Las Vegas Strip

I know that it's cliche, but I really hoped that someone would submit one of these photos. See, for a "local" or "former local" such as myself. Aerial photographs of the strip are like our own personal puzzel. It changes on such a regular basis that looking at the strip is a challenge to figure out when the photo was taken. So come on locals, I've got a challenge for you... In the comment box I want you to leave me a year, guess if you have to... When was it taken?

Above: Rock art in Gold Butte, Nevada

If you look closely you can see petroglyphs on the wall in the bottom left corner. We used to love taking the kids out rock climbing and finding petroglyphs on a wall.



1st Snow Day this School Year

How much snow does it take to close down the schools in Anchorage? It must be an awful lot, because this is Alaska, man! 

Above and Below: It takes about this much.

Of course what really got school canceled was a combination of the ice under the snow, the fact that the plows and scrapers hadn't gotten a chance to get ahead of it yet and the wind, which was just making everything worse. You can see how effective the wind has been lately, by how little snow is on the branches in the distance. But it's not stopping us from enjoying the world out there.

At first I was was less than excited that I would have 4 kids in my house all day long, but then I realized that I could just take them out of it.  We took turns sledding in front of the house.  This particular activity usually ends in bumps and bruises for me, but not today.  Then we walked to the school to try to iceskate, but the rink wasn't anywhere close to smooth, so we hitched a ride to Cheney Lake and just walked around throwing snowballs at each other. 

Just look at all the footprints. Here in Alaska, it doesn't matter what excuse "they" give us to take a day off, chances are we're leaving the house and having some fun with it. I bet you could have heard children laughing and snowballs landing before you got into the city limits. Aside from half the children that reside in Anchorage being outside having fun, it seems at least half the dogs were out to. I've never seen so many people walking dogs at the same time before. And the outfits on some of those dogs could be called torture.

I think there were at least 10 adults and 30 children.  Hardly any of us knew each other well, but it didn't matter.  Half of us were from the same neighborhood and the rest just kept joining us from the neighborhood around the lake.  By the time we were all done piling back into the cars that came, we were freezing cold, soaking wet and laughing constantly.  What an awesome day.

It's a shame that The Jazz Band concert was canceled, though.

I Miss the Public Library

Above: The Rainbow Library Main Entrance

The most surprising memories I have of Las Vegas have nothing to do with the nightlife. They are of our Sundays together at the Rainbow Library.  The kids would go off into the Young People's Library to look for Leapfrog products and kids movies. Then they'd get to pick 3 books each from literally thousands of books as simple as board books all the way up to children's chapter books.  Mario and I would go pick up whatever had come in off of our request list.  This was our scheduled time together.

Books and media were far from the only thinkgs available, though.  Louis and I used to go in for arts and crafts lessons.  Every time we learned how to make something new, we would come home with supplies to make more or a book with variances in it.  Then there were things for the younger kids.  Dance time on Tuesday mornings... Story telling on Tuesdays after lunch... Storybook reading on Thursday mornings... Oh and then whole family activities in the ampitheatre were hosted virtually every Friday and Saturday. We would go see family movies on summer nights, sitting on our blankets or laying out on our pillows, sharing soda and pocorn with the families sitting around us.  We attended dances featuring lessons in folk dacncing from around the world, plays concerts, etc.

We have libraries in Anchorage, but they are, well, they're just boring is what they really are.  They are not well stocked with adult or children's literature.  The location that I've visited the most often has only 4 computers to give time out on, no schedule or hold sytem and a very poor printing policy.  There are at least 4 elementary schools, one middle school and one highschool within walking distance of this library.  How are all of the kids with no computer, and/or no internet and/or no printer at home supposed to get schoolwork and projects done at the library as their teachers suggest when random neighbor number 4 won't stop playing solitaire and tween 2 is engossed in Selena/Justin arcticles?

They also lack the interest in young people and art that the ones in Vegas had.  No one would expect such dedication in Las Vegas.  The money is all supposed to be rerouted back to the strip to entice more tourists to come in and spend more.  The vicious circle is never ending and greedy.  While in Anchorage the money never leaves to begin with.  We all support each other.  It is the difference between the anonymous fast paced lifestyle of Vegas and the close knit community feeling in Anchorage.

Yet here the libraries seem forgotten.  It's hard to understand considering the thousands of dollars that are funnelled into the schools and the playgrounds and the children's programs on a monthly basis.  Nicholas Begich Jr. is the benefactor of the Begich Middle School, which my son attends.  This place is beautiful and the programs are incredible. Why aren't they trying to incorporate these into the library system? It is dry, boring and dull.  It should be a place that families come together to participate in programs and children go on sunless days to waste away a few hours. 

Above: "Raven Song," a sculpture of a raven engraved with phrases in languages representing the diversity of students attending Begich Middle School

I have no true interests in the politics of the world, but I don know who has spent money building the newest and most technologically advanced highschool in Anchorage, as well as the newest middle school with the most diverse curriculum in the Pacific West Coast. Hopefully, when the Senator returns to Anchorage we can encourage him to take notice of the libraries.  It seems that in Anchorage, when the Begich family gets together, things get done.

Here and There

Above:  Packing up my life to transport it 4000 miles away

Welcome to my corner of the world.  I currently live in Anchorage, Alaska, but for eighteen years I lived in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Vegas is an ever changing city and Anchorage seems more steady, but they have things in common as well.  I both miss Las Vegas and love Anchorage.  So I will be sharing with you my memories, my adventures, my happiness and my sadness.

I have a family of 4.  An 8 year old daughter a 12 year old son and an incredibly supportive and loyal husband (who often drives me nuts anyway).  We moved here to secure the financial state of our lives, and I'm happy here because of the weather changes, the community feeling and the art, among many other reasons.

Above: I have no idea if that is the United States or Canada below me as I fly on to my new life. But the flight is very excititing, as I have no idea what awaits me in The Last Frontier.

At first it may take a few posts to establish some continuity, but with patience and hard work I plan to turn this blog into an amazing, carefree and fun site to learn about places, people and their passions. We'll have guest contributers from time to time.  Photography and PSP contests will run on a regular basis.  Slowly but surely we are building up partnerships with different sites and companies in both Nevada and Alaska.  I am very excited for all of you to join me on this trip.

Our true launch date will be January 7th 2012. On that day we will feature some local photography from both states.  Then one week later we will announe the winner of the sigge competition being run on http://pimpinpspers.forumotion.com/  .

If you would like to enter your photography for a chance to be posted on launch, feel free to email me.

 desertbutterfly@mail.com

Above: In Anchorage, Alaska, Glenn Highway at L St appears to drop right off into the Cook Inlet.