This past Saturday, Tucsonans held a huge party for the earth. Thousands came to Downtown to celebrate La Vida Verde. The festivities included tasty solar-cooked meals like this stew… Our furred and feathered friends also got into the act. Meet Hopi, the career-changing Harris Hawk… Hopi is a two-year-old male that came into the Forever…
This past weekend, I went to Homecoming at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. A mandatory part of this experience is football Saturday. Game day preparations start many hours before kickoff. Tailgate partiers arrrive in fully equiped RVs and set up camp near Michigan Stadium. And did I mention that flying the Block M…
You might think that, since this is a design and photography blog, I was an art major in college. And you would be wrong. My college major was economics. (Bachelor of Arts, University of Michigan, 1979.) It was one of those "on a whim" things. I had an good professor for an intro economics course…
Today is National Park(ing) Day in Tucson and other cities. It’s an an opportunity to celebrate parks in cities and promote the need for more parks by creating temporary public parks in public parking spaces. Tucson’s insta-parks were created by a wide variety of public and private entities. City High School set up an outdoor…
Here in Tucson, we have an ample supply of sunshine. Which means that we can harness that natural energy and put it to good use. I’m part of a small group called The Solar Society. It’s made up of people who want to develop and build devices that use solar power for home use. Examples…
This past Saturday, the Phoenix Mars Mission’s Science Operations Center had an open house. Being a space geek of many years standing, I couldn’t stay away from that one. As of Saturday, the Phoenix Mars Mission was up to Sol 88 — that’s mission-speak for the 88th day on the Martian surface. The plucky little…
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Tucson Lobos have basketball practice at the Northwest Center. The Tucson Lobos are Tucson’s only community-based wheelchair basketball program. They strongly believe that if you use a wheelchair, or if you’re missing a limb, you can still play sports. The Lobos play against teams in the western U.S. and northern…
This past Tuesday, communities all over the United States gathered for National Night Out Against Crime and Drugs. Tucson’s festivities included a get-together at the Northwest Center in Mansfield Park. Severe thunderstorms kept attendance below the usual triple digits. They also forced the cancellation of several other NNO events. Weather notwithstanding, we enjoyed some high-quality…
A few days after I moved to Tucson, I heard that my neighborhood was having a July 4th parade. Being the new kid in town, I was curious to see what a parade in 100-degree heat would be like. So, I ventured over to the corner of Camden Street and Palo Verde Boulevard to see…
March 2019 update: The photos associated with this post are now part of my Tucson Event Photography website. They are linked in the text. This is a continuation of my previous post on the Summer Solstice celebration at the Arizona State Museum. The festivities included a Tucson-based group of fire dancers called Flam Chen. Here…
March 2019 update: The photos associated with this post are now part of my Tucson Event Photography website. They are linked in the text. Saturday was the longest day of the year. So, how did we Tucsonans celebrate the Summer Solstice? With an outdoor festival, of course! The triple-digit temperatures didn’t stop thousands of people…
Last week, a neighbor came over to alert me that she and her roommates were having a Saturday night house party. With live bands. "What kind of music?" I asked. "Punk rock," she replied. Now, that brought back some memories of house parties back in my early twenties. Back when this punk thing was just…
Yesterday afternoon was a tense time on the University of Arizona campus. The UA-led Phoenix Mars mission was nearing a significant milestone: The end of its 10-month journey to the Red Planet. I was among the hundreds of people who converged on the UA Mall to watch NASA TV coverage of the landing on the…
This past Sunday, I stopped by the Main Library in Downtown Tucson. Just a week ago, the library plaza had been filled with artists and their admirers. The occasion was the 3rd Annual Tucson Madonnari Chalk Art Festival. Even though the crowds have departed, the chalk art remains…
"Diamond" Jim Hewitt is a musician, music producer, and web applications developer from Oracle, Arizona. He periodically sends e-mails announcing upcoming gigs. The last one included a promo of his Tucson Folk Festival appearance, and it ended with admonition, "Be there or be trapezoidal!" How could I refuse an invitation like that? Jim was playing…
This past Saturday, chalk artists and onlookers turned the Main Library’s Jacome Plaza into an open air gallery. The occasion was the 3rd Annual Tucson Madonnari Chalk Art Festival. Skilled artists and their apprentices painted large, contemporary and traditional style murals in chalk… While the artists painted, Orquestra la Unica played salsa… and the University…
This past weekend provided a visual feast for those who see the bicycle as art. From Tucson’s Bicycle Swap Meet and Alley Cat Bike Scavenger hunt, we have…
Tucson’s Bike Fest 2008 ended this past Sunday. The final event was a scavenger hunt for a good cause. And it started and ended at one of our coolest two-wheeled places, BICAS… The 5th annual Alley Cat Bike Scavenger Hunt was a fundraiser for El Grupo Youth Cycling, and it attracted 134 riders. The cycling…
Yesterday was a total bicycle day in Downtown Tucson. The day started with the El Bike Swap de Tucson on Fourth Avenue. It’s one of the largest bicycle swap meets in the country… The swap’s a good place for some great deals on bicycles, bike parts, and tools… And it wouldn’t be a Tucson event…
If you’re into fluttering insects, the Desert Botanical Garden’s Butterfly Pavilion is the place to be. Located in southeast Phoenix, the Pavilion is quite the draw for photographers, including my friend and mentor, Judy Vorfeld: Judy and I visited the Butterfly Pavilion this past Saturday. You can catch the Butterfly Pavilion exhibit between March 1…
Yesterday was cold, windy, and rainy. Despite the not-so-perfect weather, the annual St. Patrick’s Parade wound its way through Downtown Tucson. The Seven Pipers Society helped lead the way… Since this was a Tucson parade, it had to include some industrial-strength weirdness. The Mashed Potato Queens were more than happy to oblige… This puppy found…