Week 20

Again I was able to take the picture on the right day at the right time.

Just down the street, less than a block south of where I stand to take these pictures,  is the old Columbia Photo building.  A building which has recently been sold and remodeled.  Columbia College purchased the building and Columbia Photo moved into a new facility on 9th street.  It was hard to get to because downtown parking is so congested but I did go there more often than I did the old store. Which is odd since I worked so close.   Anyway, last time I went I purchased a pretty nice padded back pack for my Nikon digital SLRs.  Well, it did not help as much as I would have hoped and Columbia Photo is going out of business.  Another landmark gone, and another local business disappearing taking jobs with it.  Somehow I do not think that is progress.  The bad economy, the new internet marketplace, shifting consumer interest, the global marketplace, and shifting whole industries away from our shores continues to shape the way we live.

I am not sure that cheaper tires, clothing, and shoes is worth it.  So, this picture is dedicated to Columbia Photo which had valiantly sailed through the treacherous waters of a stormy market place from film, to the first auto focus cameras, computers, video, and finally the digital revolution in photography that allows any idiot with enough money to take technically correct but aesthetically lacking photographs with utter impunity. You will be missed.  The irony that this picture was taken with the very technology that eventually caused the demise of that once proud flagship of local entrepreneurship has not gone unnoticed.

You do not appreciate what you had until it is gone.  That is a sad truism about human nature.

Week 19

Last night I started thinking about how I am going to deal with the monotony of the weather which is often an issue in Missouri.  When I started this project it was during a dramatic seasonal change but that is the exception rather than the rule with the weather here.  After awhile even I get tired of my own complaining. So, with that in mind I will focus on the positive side of things in future postings while keeping the option open for the occasional kvetching.

We live in a wonderful world full of wonderful things.  Out of all the things that we, humans, have contributed there are two things that stand out in my mind:  institutions of higher learning and libraries.  Those two innovations make up for a lot of sins and mischief that we have otherwise perpetrated on ourself as well as the earth.  So, it is a double privilege to be involved intimately with an institution of higher learning on a professional level, and to be able to experience the campus where I work in all kinds of weather.  Visiting a college campus always infuses me with a sense of hope if only I remember to notice! Sometimes I forget to pay attention to that.

This past week while attending a funeral the snow was coming down.  In that utterly sad occasion the snow provided a poetic backdrop as the falling flakes forced me to look up into heaven. In a word it was beautiful despite the sadness of the occasion.  The change and variation we have in weather here is a blessing.  Lets count it as such.

Here is the picture for this week:

Week 18

Weird weather.  Lots of snow flurries, even continuing up until today, for about a week.  I do not recall ever having that kind of continuous light snow for so many consecutive days.  This week we had some snow and briefly some VERY slick driving conditions.

Students are weary of winter and it is good that we have about two weeks left until March.

I managed to take this picture on time and on the right day. This time I used a bit of a different angle and  you can see the flags which are blowing in an easterly direction.  That seems to be the prevailing wind for most days since I started this project.  Will it shift as we move through spring, then summer, and then fall which is when I started this project?  I am looking forward to finding out.

I like this picture.  It is a bit haunting with those well defined shadows and for some reason the word that comes to mind when viewing this picture of the front campus is "stately."

Week 17

First of all this picture is a day late and an hour early - I took it on Thursday at 2 p.m.  I was not able to locate the camera on time Wednesday morning and had to go out the door without it.

The picture for this week has two unique features.  People and the flag!  Usually the Columbia College flag is at the left side of the picture, just out of sight, and the wind is blowing in a direction so that we cannot see it.  This week the wind was blowing the flag so that it is visible in the picture.  I did not notice it until after I got home and prepared to upload it.  If you look at the other pictures you can see the base of the flag pole in the lower left hand corner, but never the flag itself.  I will have to consult the prevailing wind for Columbia but no doubt it is not ordinarily one that is in a westerly direction.  Also there are people in the shot! For the first time in 17 weeks there are people outside involved in some kind of science activity.  So that is another pleasant change. Two firsts in one week and strange that it took so long for them to show up.

As I finish this it is snowing.  A determined snow that will probably bring some accumulation.  However, this week has otherwise been exactly as depicted in this picture with very little variation in temperature.  Cold and gray with some days a little warmer than others but still with that overcast sky.  Cheerless.