[races] and [chili] and [fire] oh my!

i'm positive dorothy took her little trip to oz in the spring. first of all there was a tornado, an occurrence normally found during that time, and secondly there's just too much going on around the state in autumn to take a trip like that.

kansas comes alive in the fall.

several major events seem to happen in september and october, and for good reason. we all know the weather in kansas can be unpredictable. winters in kansas, not only bring bone chilling cold, but can start as early october, and last through the better part of march. springtime can bring pleasant temperatures, but it also brings the chance of thunderstorms at a moments notice. also wait too long in spring and you'll find yourself with 100 degree temperatures. these scorchers can last all summer long, up to and including the first part of september. however this is when you reach wichita's weather "sweet spot", the last half of september and the first part of october. the temperatures are in the 70's and 80's and there's usually very little chance of thunderstorms. for this reason you'll find a number of events to participate in. not only is there the state fair, but most every small town around celebrates with some sort of "fall festival". there are car shows, art shows, oktoberfests, and football games to enjoy. wichita itself has several events scheduled in this "sweet spot", the komen race for the cure, and the downtown chili cook-off, perfectly scheduled on the same day. this year, wichita's old-town district, also celebrated it's 20th birthday the same weekend.

it could be the fact every one's excited to be outside without worrying about dehydration, or maybe it's the fact they are aware winter is coming, but everyone seems to be enjoying the great outdoors. for the past few years wichita has provided it's inhabitants with a wonderful weekend full of activities to enjoy with friends and family, and this year was no different.

there really is no place like home.

come fly[in] with me

what is it about airplanes that is so awe inspiring?

yesterday afternoon, a group of friends and i decided to head to benton, kansas to check out the the stearman field fly-in. within seconds of arriving, we were acting like kids running around checking out the airplanes, and mesmerized by "touch and goes".

does it have something to do with growing up in wichita? with our city being the "air capital" of the world, most of us were taught aircraft was the lifeline of our community. is it the idea and feeling of freedom flight creates. no roads, no traffic, just the endless sky? could it be because our state is so "terrain challenged", flight is the only opportunity for us to look down on ourselves in a new perspective?

kansas might not have miles of coastlines, but our state is filled with limitless skies and endless horizons. like a city by a bay, our sky is our ocean. just as people along beaches can spend hours staring out at the sea, we've all grown up staring at the sky, watching clouds pass, storms roll by, sunsets paint the sky, and starry nights appear. airplanes are the vessels of the mid-west allowing us to interact with this ocean of a sky. an ocean, amazing us one night, and terrifying us the next. an ocean providing jobs and fueling our economy. an ocean allowing us to travel anywhere in the world. an ocean, at times making you feel so insignificant, yet giving you such a sense of community.

while visions of [tamale's] danced in their heads

by far one of the best holiday treats and office perks during this season is being invited to the annual christmas lunch put on by a local electric company. every december, they invite anyone they've done business with to their warehouse and prepare a homemade mexican meal for everyone. no exaggeration, it is by FAR the best mexican food i've ever had. chicken with mole' sauce, tamale's, enchilada's, taco's, chile verde, all amazing.

as tasty as this meal is, what makes it great, is the fact it's such a personal gift. in a season filled with countless generic cards and boxes of mixed nuts, this lunch stands out as a real and sincere treat. with this being the third time i've attended the lunch, it is rapidly becoming a beautiful, and tasty, beacon during my christmas season.

gone but [now] not forgotten

the demolishing of a building along north broadway exposed a sign on the side of the adjacent building, and i finally made time to go and photograph it today. needless to say i was thrilled when i pulled into the parking lot. walking along side it was like stepping back in time, which if you've followed this blog long enough, know is a favorite theme of mine. what really captured the feeling for me was the vibrancy of the colors. decades of being encased in a brick time capsule seem to have left it in it's original condition. there's something very romantic about this. a tiny piece of marketing history, tucked into a mortar tight corner and forgotten. stores moved in and out, people walked less and drove more, roads were paved, then widened, families moved from downtown to the suburbs, and "mom & pop's" lost out to big box's. then one day, a wall comes down, and we're reminded of the way things use to be, a simpler time, a time when people were asked to "insist on gold medal soda crackers".

make it [homemade] rain

yesterday, the fire department provided the crowd at the first ever "taste of wichita" some much needed relief from the 104 degree weather. today, it's 82 and rainy. apparently, i need to up-date a little quicker in this state. ahhhhhh kansas!

some like it hot [and outside]

is it just me, or does summertime remind anyone else of the 1930's?

i can't remember exactly when, but for the better part of my life, the summertime has evoked a feeling of that decade for me. now, i'm very aware the 30's were not the best decade in recent history, and my only experience of that time comes from books and film. however, from what i've read and seen, it makes perfect sense why this decade coincides with summer for me. it seems people in the 30's found pleasure in the simple things in life. with the depression effecting most of the country, people rarely went to far, exotic places for vacations. entertainment, rather, was found locally and with a community. also, with technology like the tv yet to be in every single home, people seemed more apt to spend time outside with friends.

all of last week, might as well have taken place in the 1930's for me. i was practically living in a "country time lemonade" commercial. within the course of a week, i was able to enjoy 18 holes of golf, watch a live musical, enjoy a film played outside and under the stars, and even took in a minor league baseball game. with the musical being, "annie" and the movie being "some like it hot", the 30's theme was only magnified.

so if you get a chance in the near future, i recommend having a 1930's week for yourself. slow things down, sit on a porch, grab some lemonade, and enjoy the last fading weeks of summer.

have some benny goodman or glenn miller playing softly in the background for an added effect.

[app]iness

once again my disdain for the camera phone has waned.

i've been extremely impressed with the photos uploaded by my west coast wondering friend ckeech. upon finding out his pictures were taken with his phone, and what [app] he used, i immediately downloaded it. testing it out, i found myself almost pissed at the quality of photos it took....almost. hours of photo-shopping are now condensed into the press of a single button, and a little shaking. being that this weekend turned out to be quite active, with the better part of it spent on the back of a bike, it was a relief not having to schlep around a camera bag, and still capture some eye candy.

the [key] to any acting career

if you've been reading this blog for a while, you may or may not remember some years ago, i had the opportunity to be an extra in an independent film shooting in wichita. you may or may not also remember the story of how i was promoted from just an extra to cashier #2!

well...after years of waiting, the film finally made it's wichita debut the other week! it was the opening movie for the tallgrass film festival held every fall. over the years i've kept in touch with a handful of the other extras. there's something to be said about a group of strangers stuck in a room together with nothing to do for ten hours but play cards...it bonds you. anyway, upon hearing it was showing, we all bought tickets so we could enjoy the film together. while the movie played, we would point out when we saw each other in the background and marvel at ourselves on the big screen. i, of course, anxiously waited for the cashier#2 scene in the hardware store. halfway into the movie, it came. the lead actor walked into the store and approached the cash register. my heart pounded...this was it...my big screen debut! this would be my "brad-pitt-in-thelma-and-louise" moment. i waited for the camera to change angles, wondering the whole time how i would look! i waited...and waited..and waited. the angle never changed. the lead actor tossed some change on the counter, picked up a package off screen, and than walked out.

yup...cashier#2 had been cut.

my big moment had ended up on some editing room floor. as the next scene took place, i was left wondering if my expression had not been right? was my motivation wrong? had i not conveyed the feeling of being a cashier in the early 1900's. did my face not transmit to the audience how important this package was? did my character not further the plot enough? the obvious answer was, no, it did not.

my disappointment didn't last long as i found i had made it into a few background shots, for a total screen time of about half a second. even with minimal face time, the whole experience was worth it. after the film, the director kevin willmott and lead actor wes studi stayed to answer questions before everyone headed to the opening night gala. after the event, my friends and i went out to eat and continued discussing films and future auditions. the night ended with me feeling very full of myself, ready to move to hollywood. as i went to start my truck, trying to figure out how to get ari gold as my agent and who might fill out the rest of my entourage, the key broke off in the ignition, rendering my truck unable to start. i walked home that night, alone, in the dark, with thoughts of my own series quickly vanishing. i called a locksmith the next day. he tinkered around and eventually got the other half of the key out. as i looked at the bill he handed me, which, being on a weekend, was extremely high, the total was a very familiar number.

it was, almost to the dollar, the same amount i had been paid for two days of work as an extra.


this kind of thing never happens to ted danson.

like [ellen] in the movies

last weekend, after years of trying to make it, i finally attended a match of the ict roller girls. now i wasn't in the best of health, but late saturday, as i was starting to come out of my nyQuil induced coma, a friend suggested we watch the ict roller girls take on springfield. thinking a little trip outside my self-quarantined apartment might do some good, i said yes.

if you keep track of the box office, you'd know last week and movie called "whip it" came out. a coming of age story about a girl and the sport of roller derby. i'd like to tell you the whole reason i went was to support the actual home grown, local sport, instead of hollywood, that there's no need to pay to see some fictional commercialized story of the sport, when the real life event is taking place in my own backyard. however, i can't say that, it just happened to be a coincidence.

i sat through the entire match, and didn't understand one moment of it. all i know was there were a bunch of girls, on roller skates, beating the crap out each other, and somehow points went up on the score board. which, if you think about it, is the general plot line of any sport. none the less, it was very entertaining, and it was a blast to photograph.