So yesterday was the first "Soccer Saturday" of the Spring season. I think this was my favorite capture of the day. That's some serious vertical lift - he should be playing basketball!
A few other random shots...
Sunday, February 27, 2011
vertical lift
Yay! Soccer season has started and the kids are playing again.
So yesterday was the first "Soccer Saturday" of the Spring season. I think this was my favorite capture of the day. That's some serious vertical lift - he should be playing basketball!
A few other random shots...
So yesterday was the first "Soccer Saturday" of the Spring season. I think this was my favorite capture of the day. That's some serious vertical lift - he should be playing basketball!
A few other random shots...
Silo Restaurant and Bar
Also late in writing this experience up - but I'm totally excited about Silo!
When my friend C. was promoted last week, she took a group of us out to lunch at Silo on Broadway (across the street from Tong's Thai).
Finding the door to Silo was a bit of a challenge - my friend F. and I wandered around three sides of the building, broke in through a picket fence, fought a minotaur, and captured the golden fleece before we discovered the front door was actually in the back. It was an inauspicious start. Entering through the door, you come to an elevator. This is odd, but gives a little anticipation. When the doors open, you immediately see that the quest was probably going to be worthwhile. A clean, modern interior with a view back into the kitchen, wine bottles racked along the wall, uniformed waiters scooting from table to table - and you think, "This is going to cost some coin."
The food and service were excellent. And in fact, it does not cost all that much coin given the quality of the cuisine and the experience.
I ordered the grilled chicken B.L.T. “A” - grilled chicken breast, applewood bacon, vineripe tomato, guacamole, pepper jack cheese & chipotle mayo - served with a side of kettle fried chips and fresh fruit. It was one of the best chicken sandwiches I've ever had. And for $9, it was a steal. Given that I can barely eat at Panera for under $10, I'd take Silo any day of the week.
Looking at the menu, I can't wait to take Kandie there for a nice dinner. Particularly their "Pre Fixe" menu looks promising.
I'll definitely be going back to Silo, and you should, too. Thanks C. for introducing me.
When my friend C. was promoted last week, she took a group of us out to lunch at Silo on Broadway (across the street from Tong's Thai).
Finding the door to Silo was a bit of a challenge - my friend F. and I wandered around three sides of the building, broke in through a picket fence, fought a minotaur, and captured the golden fleece before we discovered the front door was actually in the back. It was an inauspicious start. Entering through the door, you come to an elevator. This is odd, but gives a little anticipation. When the doors open, you immediately see that the quest was probably going to be worthwhile. A clean, modern interior with a view back into the kitchen, wine bottles racked along the wall, uniformed waiters scooting from table to table - and you think, "This is going to cost some coin."
The food and service were excellent. And in fact, it does not cost all that much coin given the quality of the cuisine and the experience.
I ordered the grilled chicken B.L.T. “A” - grilled chicken breast, applewood bacon, vineripe tomato, guacamole, pepper jack cheese & chipotle mayo - served with a side of kettle fried chips and fresh fruit. It was one of the best chicken sandwiches I've ever had. And for $9, it was a steal. Given that I can barely eat at Panera for under $10, I'd take Silo any day of the week.
Looking at the menu, I can't wait to take Kandie there for a nice dinner. Particularly their "Pre Fixe" menu looks promising.
I'll definitely be going back to Silo, and you should, too. Thanks C. for introducing me.
Tong's Thai
Had lunch with Kandie at Tong's Thai last week (yes, I'm catching up) on Broadway. She'd eaten there once before with her friend, and had been talking about it ever since.
Let's begin with this - it's never good to go into a situation with elevated expectations.
Going in, I could see that they had a very cool patio which I could definitely see hanging out on in slightly warmer weather. But we ate in the main dining room, which was not ostentatiously Asian in a strip mall Chinese food restaurant kind of way, but not exactly clean and modern either. I'll say it wasn't excessively gaudy, but you weren't going to mistake the culture of the restaurant you were in. The wait staff was pleasant and appropriately attentive.
I confess to this, too - that it was one of those days when I wasn't feeling adventurous, so I ordered my old favorite - Pad Thai. And this is where things start to go wrong.
What I was served was a nice noodle dish with a mix of chicken, shrimp, and tofu, with crushed peanuts. With a gingery, sweet sauce that tasted as if it were made with a brown sugar base. Outwardly this dish looked enough like the Pad Thais I have eaten on innumerable occasions and even made myself a few times, but it tasted nothing like them.
Kandie said that it wasn't the same as when she had eaten there before, so I'll take this as a bad day for all.
I pan to go back eventually to give Tong's a second shot, but I can't say I was pleased with this first visit.
Let's begin with this - it's never good to go into a situation with elevated expectations.
Going in, I could see that they had a very cool patio which I could definitely see hanging out on in slightly warmer weather. But we ate in the main dining room, which was not ostentatiously Asian in a strip mall Chinese food restaurant kind of way, but not exactly clean and modern either. I'll say it wasn't excessively gaudy, but you weren't going to mistake the culture of the restaurant you were in. The wait staff was pleasant and appropriately attentive.
I confess to this, too - that it was one of those days when I wasn't feeling adventurous, so I ordered my old favorite - Pad Thai. And this is where things start to go wrong.
What I was served was a nice noodle dish with a mix of chicken, shrimp, and tofu, with crushed peanuts. With a gingery, sweet sauce that tasted as if it were made with a brown sugar base. Outwardly this dish looked enough like the Pad Thais I have eaten on innumerable occasions and even made myself a few times, but it tasted nothing like them.
Kandie said that it wasn't the same as when she had eaten there before, so I'll take this as a bad day for all.
I pan to go back eventually to give Tong's a second shot, but I can't say I was pleased with this first visit.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Cure - Woodlawn Theater
Kandie and I went to the Woodlawn Theater to see "The Cure: The Vampire Musical" this evening. After my rip on "Spiderman: Turn off the Fiasco" the other day, one might wonder why I don't feel the same about vampire musicals. Answer: I dunno. I guess because this was a generic vampire story, not particularly about a well developed vampire character. But I digress...
The Woodlawn Theater is in an older building and there is some obvious wear, but I think all in all it has been well maintained. It's a small, intimate venue, without being too small.
The plot of "The Cure" is the usual boy meets vampire-girl, boy and vampire-girl fall in love, bad things happen, how can we be together - we're so different, etc. A sort of Romeo and Juliet. The vampires are portrayed sensually and sexually, which seems to fit the tradition going back to Stoker. The plot was weak, but it's a musical, so that doesn't kill the show.
Generally the music and performances were good. The first act musically was not that exciting to me, though I did think the final songs were quite good - "Forever Burn" and "Too Late" - not sure where one left off and the other began, but they were quite good. Oh - and "Til Now" with Carlee (Alex) and Wright (Sasha) - very good. Actually, the songs between Carlee and Wright were probably the performance high lights of the show for me.
I thought the second act was stronger - with "How We Die", "Hunger/One Minute More", and "New Religion" standing out.
Flying scenes are always fun - but they brought me in mind of what I said about Spiderman. Not really necessary. At least no one got hurt.
One thing I do have to say is that I thought the sound was poorly engineered. It was quite loud - which makes me sound old - but I thought it really distorted the voices of the performers when they were singing - and made their voices sound weaker than they probably were. I'm certainly no sound engineer, but that bothered me throughout.
Much of the lyrics could have been stronger. It's a show about vampires and family and love and all that - but the words didn't move me much. When the performers were on, the lyrics didn't get in the way - much. But they didn't do much to move the show. For example, Carmack as Rypien did a good job of seeming angry and pugnacious, but his lines didn't help him much.
Overall, we enjoyed the show and would recommend it.
The Woodlawn Theater is in an older building and there is some obvious wear, but I think all in all it has been well maintained. It's a small, intimate venue, without being too small.
The plot of "The Cure" is the usual boy meets vampire-girl, boy and vampire-girl fall in love, bad things happen, how can we be together - we're so different, etc. A sort of Romeo and Juliet. The vampires are portrayed sensually and sexually, which seems to fit the tradition going back to Stoker. The plot was weak, but it's a musical, so that doesn't kill the show.
Generally the music and performances were good. The first act musically was not that exciting to me, though I did think the final songs were quite good - "Forever Burn" and "Too Late" - not sure where one left off and the other began, but they were quite good. Oh - and "Til Now" with Carlee (Alex) and Wright (Sasha) - very good. Actually, the songs between Carlee and Wright were probably the performance high lights of the show for me.
I thought the second act was stronger - with "How We Die", "Hunger/One Minute More", and "New Religion" standing out.
Flying scenes are always fun - but they brought me in mind of what I said about Spiderman. Not really necessary. At least no one got hurt.
One thing I do have to say is that I thought the sound was poorly engineered. It was quite loud - which makes me sound old - but I thought it really distorted the voices of the performers when they were singing - and made their voices sound weaker than they probably were. I'm certainly no sound engineer, but that bothered me throughout.
Much of the lyrics could have been stronger. It's a show about vampires and family and love and all that - but the words didn't move me much. When the performers were on, the lyrics didn't get in the way - much. But they didn't do much to move the show. For example, Carmack as Rypien did a good job of seeming angry and pugnacious, but his lines didn't help him much.
Overall, we enjoyed the show and would recommend it.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Train!
Train played the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo this past Friday night. Kandie and I stayed and thoroughly enjoyed the concert.
The band put on a high-energy, family-friendly show. At one point Monohan brought a group of young girls up out of the audience, gave them all t-shirts, and dubbed them "The Trainettes" and had them sing the chorus to one of the songs.
Here's a recording of "Hey Soul Sister":
I suppose this is a violation of copyright, but I don't think anyone is going to listen to my recording instead of buying an MP3.
I really enjoyed Train - I'm definitely more of a fan now than I was.
The band put on a high-energy, family-friendly show. At one point Monohan brought a group of young girls up out of the audience, gave them all t-shirts, and dubbed them "The Trainettes" and had them sing the chorus to one of the songs.
Here's a recording of "Hey Soul Sister":
I suppose this is a violation of copyright, but I don't think anyone is going to listen to my recording instead of buying an MP3.
I really enjoyed Train - I'm definitely more of a fan now than I was.
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo
We went to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo on Friday night. We saw the radio, then stayed to see Train in concert. I'll post some shots and thoughts about Train in the next post.
It's been years since I went to a rodeo.
People do crazy stuff for glory.
I really liked the bull riding, but the broncos were cool, too.
Ladies were in the game a bit, too. But I have to bet there are ladies who would like to do some bull riding or bronc riding. Nonetheless, the barrel racing is impressive.
Technical skills were impressive, too.
I find this quasi-legitimate - putting 4-7 year old kids on sheep and letting them get knocked off.
The rodeo was fun. As usual, it is much like many skill-based events - we were able to appreciate only the most surface level aspects of the event. These cowboys were all far more skilled at their respective tasks than I will ever be (or have any interest in being). I haven't developed the knowledge capital to truly appreciate the show of skill being presented. The announcers occasionally tried to provide guidance on what to look for as the riders came out of the chutes on the backs of the bulls or angry horses, but to tell the difference between a 78 point ride and an 85 point ride was far beyond us. Instead we appreciated only the most raw violence displayed, rather than the artistry and elegance. So many things in life are like this - it draws out the point from me every time how much more full a life is when it is lived through the lens of knowledge.
It's been years since I went to a rodeo.
People do crazy stuff for glory.
I really liked the bull riding, but the broncos were cool, too.
Ladies were in the game a bit, too. But I have to bet there are ladies who would like to do some bull riding or bronc riding. Nonetheless, the barrel racing is impressive.
Technical skills were impressive, too.
I find this quasi-legitimate - putting 4-7 year old kids on sheep and letting them get knocked off.
The rodeo was fun. As usual, it is much like many skill-based events - we were able to appreciate only the most surface level aspects of the event. These cowboys were all far more skilled at their respective tasks than I will ever be (or have any interest in being). I haven't developed the knowledge capital to truly appreciate the show of skill being presented. The announcers occasionally tried to provide guidance on what to look for as the riders came out of the chutes on the backs of the bulls or angry horses, but to tell the difference between a 78 point ride and an 85 point ride was far beyond us. Instead we appreciated only the most raw violence displayed, rather than the artistry and elegance. So many things in life are like this - it draws out the point from me every time how much more full a life is when it is lived through the lens of knowledge.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Chocolate Day
Chocolate Day at the San Antonio Botanical Garden. Oh, it was good!
We learned about how chocolate is grown and it's history in the west.
It was our first time in the Gardens - everything is pretty much dead right now, especially after the cold snap we've had - but it looks like it's a beautiful place when it's in bloom.
We learned about how chocolate is grown and it's history in the west.
It was our first time in the Gardens - everything is pretty much dead right now, especially after the cold snap we've had - but it looks like it's a beautiful place when it's in bloom.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Alfonso's
Went out shooting this evening. This shop is not far from where we live - but off the main road. We stumbled upon it the other night and I immediately made a mental note that it needed to be shot. I loved all the colors - red, yellow, green - and the shiny rims.
Here's a black and white version which Kandie actually liked better:
Friday, February 4, 2011
Snowpocalypse - Texas Style!
School canceled, the city shut down. Check out all that snow!
The kids are loving it. What the heck - if they get this much snow every few years, it's worth a day of slowing down.
I am worried about my palms, tho. I don't think they like all this cold, and I'm sure they don't like the snow.
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