2 Things Challenge - Noise and Peace

Visual Noise – "The Shed Barbeque" in Ocean Springs, MS. You haven't had barbeque till you've eaten at The Shed ya'll!



Jackson Lounging in Chocolate Mint

Katrina Memorial

Part of the Katrina Memorial which is dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It is located on the Town Green along Hwy. 90 in Biloxi, MS. ABC's "Extreme Makeover" crew, which helped create it, held an opening ceremony Feb. 15, 2006. The memorial consists of a glass case (part of which can be seen here) which is made up of a collage of various items from destroyed buildings. The other part of the memorial is a tiled wave wall standing 12' high which represents the water which surged in at the Green during the storm. Many places had much higher surge levels... some of Waveland's witnesses to the surge reported 40 to 50 foot surges as some rode out the storm high up in pine trees.

Links:
Katrina Memorial Pictures
Biloxi - Photo Galleries

Self Portrait with Love of My Life

Front Beach in Ocean Springs, MS

IN KATRINA'S WAKE

For this week's 2 Things Challenge, I couldn't help but think of how important numbers and letters became in the wake of Katrina's massive destruction. Letters were used as code and spray painted on structures that had been searched. Part of the code signified whether or not there was loss of life.

Letters and numbers were also used to send a message to express profound feelings and emotions about a person's property and loss. Still ever present are the heartbreaking reminders of what we have lost.


This little house was located just off of the beach in the downtown area of Bay St. Louis, MS.
Please Respect Our Loss


Message to State Farm - Beach Blvd., Bay St. Louis


Located on the beach in Bay St. Louis, The Fire Dog Saloon was once a thriving place to enjoy excellent food, fun, and friends. This sign, however, speaks to the fact that people get to the point of having to give up hope of rebuilding. Pieces of culture die off bit by bit as recovery drags out.
Fire Dog Saloon - Bay St. Louis, Feb. 2008

Life Among Ruin in 2008 - Waveland, MS Sunset

Sunset on Oak Blvd.

Two years and 7 months after Katrina, the ruined environment remains an all-too-real part of Katrina's legacy of destruction – a reminder that permeates one's view of the landscape.

However, varied plant life continues its struggle to live and grow amid the starkness and the tangles of thousands of dead and dying trees. Residents, such as my brave friends on Oak Blvd. (whose yard and sunset view are pictured here) have vowed to rebuild. Life is indeed present.


February Sky.


Life Among Ruin.

Sun and Shadow - Snow Daze in Oxford

Two Cans

Paint cans (used to hold down a blue tarp which covers up some maintenance supplies for the apartments) provided me with a different kind of snowy subject matter. We received our 1" of snow overnight on March 7th. The morning of the 8th. was a veritable little wonderland for me as it has not snowed here this much in about 3 years. The last "big" snow we had, which was about 6", was in 1998.

Semi-Gloss


Early Morning


You can see more snow images from around my yard at my garagillentine blog.

SHIFTING PARADIGMS - Old/New 2 Things Challenge

Old Phone - iPhone.

Saying that the iPhone replaces the old phone is not saying all that there is to be said. The iPhone is much more than a phone. It is an amazing piece of technology. . . a really cool little computer in your hand. It's better than anything I've ever had! It's a camera, a phone, the internet anywhere you wanna surf, it's Google – whatever, whenever, wherever and it's weather and maps if you're lost or just want to find a store in a city that you're visiting. It's also an iPod - music and video. It's all of this and more.



Desktops - Old and New.
The old Underwood is one I picked up some years ago for $25.00. It works, but what a chore just to get some of that old skool typewriter font on the paper. Much easier on the Mac! I just don't see how we functioned before Steve Jobs, Leonard Kleinrock, J.C.R. Licklider, Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf, and Radia Perlman came along and made life so fantastical! I love my iPhone, my iMac, my MacBook, and especially my old G3 Mac - still chuggin right along with it's old friends Epson Stylus Photo 1200 printer and UMAX Astra 2400S scanner.


Music - Old Skool/New Skool.

My old Panasonic Boom Box took me to school and to many an art class in the 90s. Couldn't have survived without it. It served me well, too at home. At night I would put a cassette in on the Auto Reverse side and let the thing put me to sleep. Many a night it played all night long. I've often wondered how many revolutions those little wheels inside actually made in those years of use. It still plays, but the auto reverse gave out. But, it's almost to the point that one can ask, "What is a cassette?" The iPhone's iPod fills all of my musical listening needs! And it's so small! Who knew. . .