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Tagged With "Center of the Universe"

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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota

GarryRF ·
Did you count the steps up ? Looks like an Olympian task !
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota

Ottoman ·
Hi Garry I never thought of counting the number of steps to the top of Enger Tower for I was too preoccupied with the beautiful scenery; However, thanks to your question I did some internet investigating and discovered that apparently there are 105 steps you must walk to get to the top of Enger Tower (therefore 210 steps in total to get up and down the tower). You really don't need to be an Olympian to get to the top of Enger Tower. Although the number of steps sounds like a lot, and the...
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Re: November 24, 2016: Enger Tower, Duluth, Minnesota

GarryRF ·
Thanks Ottoman. Thanks for the reassurance. I did have a fear of a thousand tourists behind me - pushing to ascend the stairway - and all at the gallop. The intervals are all well spaced and welcomed. That's why older people carry a camera !
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Oct. 27: Paris's Stravinsky Fountain

Former Member ·
Absolutely wonderful. You can almost hear the music and the splashing water. Thanks for the lovely photos.
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Re: And the tallest US building goes to?

Former Member ·
The judges have chosen the "fairest in the land". I would be happy to tour both buildings. The ingenuity of architects and engineers never ceases to impress me. Some buildings that I have particularly enjoyed touring - the World Trade Center and the Rockefeller Center in NY, the dome of St. Peter's in Rome, all of St. Paul's in London, the Reichstag in Berlin and all of the small historical buildings at Greenfield Village, Michigan.
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Re: Aug. 25, 2016: Fargo Walk of Fame, North Dakota

GarryRF ·
Some beautiful street art in there Ottoman ! Outside in the sunshine and open to touch. Living Art.
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Re: October 26, 2017: A Tribute to Tom Petty (1950 - 2017)

Travel Rob ·
A great tribute! I've always liked the songs of Tom Petty but I listened to them differently when I lived in Gainesville, Fl, his home town. Although a cute town with the thriving University of Florida, part of the town feels like they got left out of that success and dream of escaping to places of more opportunity. In his case he used his talents to escape his father. The city is rightfully proud he was able to make it big in California.
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Re: April 24, 2018: Thirsty?

Paul Heymont ·
And not the first time for a toilet as a museum exhibit. The Guggenheim in New York last year had a solid-gold working replica by Maurizio Cattelan, entitled America, that could be used by visitors. And, famously, in 1917, Marcel Duchamp challenged concepts of art and esthetics by exhibiting a 'readymade,' a standard urinal turned on its edge, signed as if by an artist, and labeled... Fountain.
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Re: April 24, 2018: Thirsty?

GarryRF ·
I keep a toilet roll on my work bench. Perfect size for drying WD 40 off my machine parts and grease off my fingers. Everyone who spots it says it's disgusting. Maybe I should call it Bathroom Tissue !
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Re: Comics in Brussels

Paul Heymont ·
As someone who begins the day with newspaper comics followed by 30 or so online....thank you for this look at a place where "comics are serious!" I especially love the outdoor comics; my favorite above is the surprised gentleman leaving his house.
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Re: Comics in Brussels

Travellinn ·
Thanks PHeymont. The large murals are my favorites as well, and it was fun to "hunt" them around the city.
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Re: Comics in Brussels

Mac ·
Hey, great pictures, thanks. I have always loved TinTin and the Belgian comic tradition.
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Re: Comics in Brussels

DrFumblefinger ·
I must admit that this was one of my biggest surprises when visiting Belgium. One thinks of folks in Brussels as people who are obsessed with politics, because it's everywhere around them. I found wonderful, helpful, easy-going folks with a quirky love of their comics. Comics, as Travellinn's piece points out so well, are everywhere and a part of their national fiber. Thanks for sharing this piece!
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Re: National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta (Where Gumbo Was #109)

Travel Rob ·
I took my photos that i posted for WITW 109 from Centennial Olympic Park Dr. What amazed me is where they placed the front of the building.Below is a photo from the Center.
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Re: National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta (Where Gumbo Was #109)

Paul Heymont ·
I was in Atlanta at a convention a couple of years ago, and passed by that site daily...had no idea what they were building behind the fence! Looks like an interesting site...
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Re: Luray, Virginia's Varied Attractions

GarryRF ·
Stark reminder of mans' inhumanity.
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Re: May 18, 2016: World Trade Center near dusk

Samantha ·
We were just there in October and I was amazed at what a great job they did in honor of all those lost lives that tragic day. I was glad to go and pay my respect. Continued blessings to the familes and firends of those lost that day. Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Santiago Chile

Marilyn Jones ·
Brings back lots of memories!!! I enjoyed my visit to Santiago!
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Re: Santiago Chile

Paul Heymont ·
Thanks for the great pictures...and for the info that's going to be my 'guidebook' when we visit in December!
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

arion ·
Thank you, thank you, for this, Dr. F. This is an excellent time (November 11, Remembrance Day tomorrow) to be reminded of the D-Day assault. We were in Normandy in 1994, when they were marking the 50th anniversary of D Day, and one night we were having dinner in a restaurant and struck up a conversation with a young couple. They were a bit rough looking, a couple of Brits who were starting on a tour of France on their motorcycle but they had stopped off in Normandy at the beaches to "pay...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

DrFumblefinger ·
Thanks for your comment, Arion. It's hard not to be moved by D-Day. The vastness of the assault, the staggering loss of life (civilian and military). What most impressed me is that the local people remember. Not French people away from the coast, but those whose relatives went through the assault make a point of teaching their children and grandchildren the price paid to liberate them from the Nazi fascists. The Juno Beach Center, built by the Canadian Beach, really did a great job of...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

Travel Rob ·
Thanks DrFumblefinger, It's been way too many years since I've seen the Normandy beaches. Your photos are very moving .
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

GarryRF ·
My Father received this from Dwight D Eisenhower at the start of D-Day:
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

DrFumblefinger ·
That's an interesting and historic document, GarryRF. Many of those who landed on the D-Day beaches never spoke of this with anyone -- so horrible was the experience, so many wounded and killed among them. I'm curious --did your dad ever share these experiences with you?
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

GarryRF ·
Yes - my Dad and lots of other guys told me their stories! My Dad was in the Royal Navy and was taking landing craft full of soldiers from ship to shore - several times - under heavy fire! A guy I was doing work for had lots of photos and souvenirs on the walls of his house. Medals and maps. Newspaper cuttings and Badges. All in frames. I asked him how much he remembered of D-Day. "Every minute of every hour. Me and my mate had been together since the outbreak of war. Nearly 5 years. We were...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

DrFumblefinger ·
Several vets I know say that the Normandy beach landings as portrayed in the movie "Saving Private Ryan" are the way they remember it. Madness, chaos, noise, death, fear, adrenaline, more fear. And yet they ran into the madness. It takes a type of courage that's hard for us to imagine in the 21st century. Thanks for sharing that story, Garry.
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

GarryRF ·
When I was a little nipper and hadn't started school we would visit family at the weekend. No TV. No money. 1950's -you get the picture. So socialising with Dad's 9 brothers and sisters was as good as it got ! If you mentioned the War in some homes you'd be out the front door quicker than a Rat up a Drain pipe ! Others would tell you tales to make your hair curl. Tails of unbelievable bravery, absurdity and stupidity. The Ladies would tell the tale of how the American and Canadian GI's would...
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Re: A visit to Normandy: exploring the D-Day beaches

Former Member ·
Thank you mr fumblefinger for your poignant description and photos. Our family lost my uncle at Omaha Beach. He was one of those young men caught up in the drama of war who did his best in a very bad situation. Several times during the 1980s and early 1990s, I made my way to northwestern France to visit the D-Day landing sites. At that time, I was struck by three things - the immaculate grounds and air of respect, the gratefulness of the French people and the fact that there were very few...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Nov. 13, 2013: Jeronimos Monastery

Former Member ·
Prince Henry certainly knew how to overnight sailors in style. I have visited this museum and found it just terrific. It is worthwhile for seaman and landlubber alike. The original church on the site was built about 1450 by Prince Henry the Navigator, and became the place where sailors spent the night before leaving on the expeditions that built Portugal’s colonial empire.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 7, 2014: The "Big Edge", Las Vegas, Nevada

GarryRF ·
Some "modern art" leaves me cold but that image is thought provoking and lets the mind wander - as it has yours ! Nice piece DrF !
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 7, 2014: The "Big Edge", Las Vegas, Nevada

Paul Heymont ·
Stunning...and hard to imagine a better place for it. Curious: how big is it? In the close-up I get the impression they could be full-size boats?
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 7, 2014: The "Big Edge", Las Vegas, Nevada

DrFumblefinger ·
Yes, they are all full size boats. Say an average of 4 meters (13 ft) each? Vegas is becoming a great place to see modern art.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Jan. 7, 2014: The "Big Edge", Las Vegas, Nevada

PortMoresby ·
The word "audacious" comes to mind and, I think, appropriately. I think it's always been one of Art's jobs to make the viewer's say "What the hell?", and public art of this scale especially. It makes one want to meet the person whose mind conceived it. Good work, Nancy Rubins. ("crafted" indeed, DrF.)
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Re: John F Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

Paul Heymont ·
It seems impossible that it's over half a century since the first little grapefruit-sized satellites went up, and amazing that a program that seemed to move on constantly has become so dormant...as if personal computer development had rushed forward rapidly...and then stopped at Windows 95! I wonder what this will look like to historians in the distant future...
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Re: John F Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

DrFumblefinger ·
Thanks for the comment, PHeymont. Yes, it did seem thinks were working at warp speed in the 1960s, slowed down after that and have mostly come to a halt now. But there are still the great unmanned probes being launched (eg. Mars Rover), and the new Orion project promises to be quite exciting -- at least in its potential. It might be what takes man to Mars. I'd be happy just for a return to the moon. See how modern technology has changed the process of getting there.
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Re: John F Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

GarryRF ·
I always thought that when rockets were fired from the launch pad, there were clouds of smoke to accompany it. I learned, on the tour, that a few seconds before launch a million gallons of water were released onto the launch pad to stop the heat of the rockets from melting the concrete base. So it was just creating some steam !
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Re: John F Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida

DrFumblefinger ·
The water serves mostly as a sound buffer (those huge rockets are really loud!). But the massive flooding of water actually does dissipate some of the heat as well. I was really fascinated by this place, GarryRF!
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Re: Giant Saturn V Rocket, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

vivie ·
Wow! Impressive!! looks like a great place to visit.
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Re: Visiting John Steinbeck country. 2) Salinas: the National Steinbeck Center

Travel Rob ·
DrFumblefinger- A wonderful presentation on the the National Steinbeck Center.I felt like I went along! It really seems that the Center does a excellent job of informing us on the life of John Steinbeck!
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Re: Visiting John Steinbeck country. 2) Salinas: the National Steinbeck Center

DrFumblefinger ·
If you don't like Steinbeck, you'd still learn a lot about the man and this period of American history. If you're as fond of him as I am, it's an absolute treat to visit this place, TravelRob!
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, Aug. 17, 2014: Manhattan Distortion

DrFumblefinger ·
Looks almost like a reflection in a pool of water.
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Re: Wallace, Idaho: From mining town to "Center of the Universe"

Paul Heymont ·
Wish I'd had THAT manhole cover for the blog we had here on Gumbo! And you got my heart with the bus...same model was my school bus at Fort Leavenworth in the 50s...
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Re: Wallace, Idaho: From mining town to "Center of the Universe"

PortMoresby ·
Wallace reminds me of all my favorite places in the western US although I'd never heard of it before. I guess it's the look of an era rather than a particular place, when civilization arrived, paid for by the mines. Shacks replaced by wood replaced by stone & brick, a similar story all over the West. And amazing that so many survive. Thanks, DrF.
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Re: Wallace, Idaho: From mining town to "Center of the Universe"

DrFumblefinger ·
Wallace is a very neat town to visit, very recommended stop along the I-90 freeway. Perfect place to walk around for a half day or day and take in the ambience of small town America. As you say, Port Moresby, there's a repeatable charm to how these towns grew up.
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Re: Wallace, Idaho: From mining town to "Center of the Universe"

Former Member ·
Nice bus, i would like to take a trip on it
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Re: Wallace, Idaho: From mining town to "Center of the Universe"

IslandMan ·
I love visiting old, small towns. There can be so much to see and it looks like Wallace has a lot of interesting history. The Bordello museum sounds fascinating and classic buses are a favorite of mine too. Thanks for taking us there DrF.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 18, 2014: Lower Manhattan's New Skyline

DrFumblefinger ·
It is truly a remarkable and unique skyline. I think Gehry's new building is brilliant. While some of his other buildings seem a little precious, I tend to enjoy his style. But this one's a stand out.
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 18, 2014: Lower Manhattan's New Skyline

PortMoresby ·
I've said it here before and I'll say it again, I love Gehry's buildings. Whether one is a fan of all of them, or not, it's an amazing thing to perceive such seemingly static materials used in such a visually malleable way. Almost reverting to a tribal sensibility when fabric was the stuff of shelter, the most exciting tent wins. I'm surprised more of his influence hasn't been expressed by others. Or in domestic architecture. Maybe some day. Or maybe they have and I just haven't seen them...
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Re: Gumbo's Pic of the Day, May 18, 2014: Lower Manhattan's New Skyline

Jonathan L ·
You may have noticed that NYC has 2 areas of very tall buildings - The Battery/Financial District and Midtown, separated by an large area where building height is limited. This was not just due to zoning. The reason is geological. The bedrock is very close to the surface in Midtown and Battery so there is support for very tall buildings. However, From 34th street down to Canal the bedrock is much deeper and the ground is more sandy/gravely, so it was unsafe to build tall buildings in area.
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Re: Manhattan from the Other Shore

IslandMan ·
excellent article and collection of pictures, PH. The Manhattan skyline is always fascinating to look at and the history of it is equally interesting
 
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