the remains of the day

the remains of the day, a photo by Mark Bonica on Flickr.

SOOC.

went out to shoot at sunset last night after dinner.

I love these little black eyed susans. These weeds are growing in a drainage ditch not far from my house. I saw them when I was out running with K. yesterday and wanted to get back out to shoot them.

there is something about their delicate resistance, their unplanned beauty - how they force us to hold "weed" and "beautiful" in our mind simultaneously.

Soccer Saturday

Soccer Saturday, a photo by Mark Bonica on Flickr.

Last soccer game of the season. Not sure what this guy was trying to accomplish, but he did it with gusto!

I'll miss my weekend photo ops - but the kids might swim this summer, so maybe more opportunities coming...

Ferris Wheel - Six Flags/Fiesta Texas

Win a prize every time. That's how I feel about ferris wheels.

Where does the name come from? I looked in Wikipedia - which knows all - and I found some history. But I have to wonder - is it not a derivation of "ferrous" - i.e., an iron wheel?

There is something wonderful about the slow turn of the ferris wheel. it takes you high above the ordinary existence of mere mortals. It turns and takes you down again. Like Boethius's wheel of fortune, or perhaps Pat Sajak's.

it doesn't take much height to get above the noise of the throng. I remember that most profoundly from when I went through jump school. Before the parachute opened, there was nothing but the roar of the wind. But once the chute opened and you'd been jerked out of your fear of being smeared on the ground below, and before you had to worry about making a plf that didn't involve broken bones, there was an intense sense of serenity - of utter quiet - there above the earth, where the men and the ambulances below looked small, like toy models of real men and real ambulances. A few hundred feet of elevation is all it takes to make the common small - to bring it back to its appropriate scale.

"It asks of us a certain height,
So when at times the mob is swayed
To carry praise or blame too far,
We may choose something like a star
To stay our minds on and be staid."
- Robert Frost

wild flowers

I'd been passing patches of these flowers for the last week or so - and had been marking where I wanted to go to try to get some shots.



Seems I was a little late - many have already begun to lose their petals - but still I think I was able to capture a few nice shots.



This shot is "SOOC" or "straight out of the camera" - meaning I did not process it at all in Photo Shop. Not even to crop.



Of course wild flowers grow wherever they grow - there is no organization. These were growing right in the middle of the others. (Are they black-eyed Susans?)



I'm dying to get back to the San Antonio Botanical Gardens now that spring is well under way, and before the heat roasts all the flowers. We'll see!

creative destruction

creative destruction, a photo by Mark Bonica on Flickr.

a little sample of Schumpetarian creative destruction on highway 78.

snapped this picture with my phone cam while I was gassing up on the way home. This video store has been out of business for at least a few months.

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...

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.