There’s so much of me that just wishes I could fast forward to the last week of January, that’s when I feel like I’m back into the swing of things. All of college football is finished, the new president and congress are sworn in, and the city/neighbors/businesses should have all Christmas decorations taken down.
I did a lot with the family during the break. One of the highlights was visiting Reunion Tower. There’s a Wolf Gang Puck fine dining restaurant at the top, but if you go during “regular” hours there’s a more casual restaurant open. Once you order your food, you sit at a table and the floor rotates which allows you to sit in one spot and view all of Dallas. There’s also telescopes and interactive screens to toy around with. You have to pay for the ride up (unless you are fine dining) which cost us about $50 for the family, and the meal itself was about $40.
For ten bucks, you can get a dessert which resembles the structure.
This is the view of Dealey Plaza without my zoom lens.
But here’s Oswald’s perch from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository
I also toyed around with the tilt-shift option.
This is my attempt at an artsy-fartsy photo.
I haven’t really appreciated the architectural design of the new Parkland Hospital until I was up high. It looks like the top half is above water and the bottom half is a reflection on the surface
I caught Dallas Police doing some sort of exercise.
I also took the family to Pinstack, which is like Dave and Busters but with a bowling alley.
BoyGeeding is expressing bowling frustrations.
WifeGeeding and DaughterGeeding felt a bit adventourous.
WifeGeeding and I hardly ever have a date night, but I did take her to see La La Land. Here are some spoiler free thoughts:
Even though I didn’t spot one light saber, high-speed chase, or any explosions (but I did get up to use the restroom once, so I may have missed it), it was still fun to watch. It’s a beautiful homage to the old movie musicals, and if you like that sort of thing, then you’ll have an appreciation for it.
I expect Emma Stone to win an Oscar for her performance, but I couldn’t help but think that Anna Kendrick would have been perfectly cast.
I give Ryan Gossling’s singing a B-, but ladies aren’t gonna care about his singing.
WifeGeeding bought the soundtrack the very next morning and it plays almost nonstop, and when it’s not playing, she hums it all day long. As an experiment for two days, I gave her ten one-dollar bills. I told her she must give me a dollar each time she is caught humming the soundtrack. She owe’s me twenty-three dollars.
I only watched a few minutes of college football, but I did catch the few minutes of Keith Jackson in the broadcast booth at the Rose Bowl. He didn’t sound that great, but then again, he’s eighty-eight.
Keith Jackson definitely goes in my top ten list of all-time great Keiths.
Speaking of the Rose Bowl:
Pete Souza was the official White House photographer from 1983 to 1989 during Ronald Reagan’s presidency and all through Obama’s. It’s been following him on Twitter because several news organizations have provided a list of his favorite photos, and he’s replied stating he never selected those as his favorites. He recently released his year in photographs for 2016. I can’t even call myself an amateur photographer, but I do have an appreciation for it, especially trying to get a unique angle or perspective to frame a shot others might never see, so I always look forward to this list and the short story he writes up for every picture. For instance, here are his thoughts behind that Prince George photo:
“Originally it was unclear whether I would be permitted to photograph the President meeting Prince George. But the night before, our advance team called and said they had gotten word from Kensington Palace that they would allow me access to make candid photographs during their visit. Afterwards, this photograph garnered the most attention but at the time all I could think was how the table at right was hindering my ability to be at the optimum angle for this moment.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
And this photo caught my attention. “When Stevie Wonder stopped by for a visit, the President described many of the items in the Oval Office including the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
I think a story/book/movie/television show in which the official White House photographer is kidnapped by terrorists would be interesting. That person overhears and sees a lot of sensitive information while blending in the background, or at least a fictionalized version I’m thinking about would be. This person also wouldn’t be well guarded at night when leaving for home, so capturing him or her would be easy. Or maybe not captured, but forced to act as a spy because they are threatening to harm his family.
Best photo of Reunion Tower at the start of the new year I’ve seen. I know there was no local broadcast of the event, but I’m surprised I haven’t seen any video of the fireworks. I always wondered why they haven’t done that before, especially since the Seattle Space Needle shoot off fireworks at the start of the new year. But then I found out the new general manager of Reunion Tower previous position was that of the general manager at the Space Needle. That’s a very specific or unique position, I guess her next job will be in Toronto or San Antonio.
Tilt shift is fun, but (IMO) is really most effective from a height. Reunion Tower (and the view of Dealey Plaza/Old Red) is a perfect spot, and I have some tilt-shift photos of the same stuff from our trip up there, too.
I love the WH photographer's annual review, too. This year's post made me wonder if the Trump administration is going to allow the same level of access as previous administrations. Trump isn't nearly as photogenic as Obama, so it will be interesting to see if the photographer can humanize him in the way these photos humanize Obama.
Tilt shift is fun, but (IMO) is really most effective from a height. Reunion Tower (and the view of Dealey Plaza/Old Red) is a perfect spot, and I have some tilt-shift photos of the same stuff from our trip up there, too.
I love the WH photographer's annual review, too. This year's post made me wonder if the Trump administration is going to allow the same level of access as previous administrations. Trump isn't nearly as photogenic as Obama, so it will be interesting to see if the photographer can humanize him in the way these photos humanize Obama.
Your artsy-fartsy pic looks like part of Colbert's opening. Nice job.