Wordless Wednesday - Woody's Corner Bar

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Ruby Tuesday - Chevrolet Malibu

Here is a nice new Chevrolet Malibu.  I like the smooth styling.  All the new cars seem to have done a major shift in styling.  Gone forever is the boxy shape to be replaced with flowing lines.  Very attractive I think.  I suppose not everyone will agree.

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The Brady Arts District - 100 Block of East Brady

This is my first post since last Tuesday.  Tulsa had a big storm that hit midtown with 75 mile per hour winds.  I had a few limbs broken out of several trees, others suffered much worse damage when large trees were uprooted and fell across houses causing terrific damage.  The worse part of this was that our power was out from Tuesday until Friday night.  We don't realize how dependent we are on electricity until we have to do without it.  If we don't plug it in or stick batteries in it it is either food or furniture.  Anyway that's my excuse for being a no-show.

The 100 block of East Brady has become quite an attraction in downtown Tulsa. The 2 story brick building that managed to escape urban renewal has been turned into a block long center for the arts known as the Brady Arts District.  Tulsa has two major Art Museums and I think it is neat to see them working together for the benefit of the community.

The East end houses the Henry Zarrow Center for Art and and Education. It is a part of Gilcrease Museum and will provide space for special displays and opportunities for local artists. For more information look HERE.

The Philbrook Museum of Art has likewise established Philbrook Downtown. With 30,000 square feet dedicated to modern, contemporary, and Native American art, For more information see HERE.

108 Contemporary showcases fine contemporary craft in glass, paper, ceramics, fiber, metals, mixed media and wood. In addition, the community will find a wider range of contemporary craft forms such as installation, performance and video components, all forms complementing the re-energized Brady Arts District. For more information see HERE .

The Woody Guthrie Center is dedicated to celebrating Woody's life and legacy and educating a new generation about his important role in American history. Woody traveled the same road as the thousands of disenfranchised families from Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas whose farms had blown away during the dust bowl days of the 1930s. His music told their story. For more about Woody see HERE.

Woody said this about his music: "I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim too ugly or too this or too that. Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard traveling.
I am out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood. I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built. I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work."

The best way to know Woody Guthrie is to listen to his music. Look at a set of  Youtube videos of the ten best known of his songs sung by Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg, Ry Cooder, Bruce Springsteen, the Grateful Dead, and Woody himself.  Click the link HERE and listen for awhile. When you are in Tulsa, visit these centers with a short walk down the 100 block of East Brady. You will be glad you did.

Ruby Tuesday - Cadillac ATS

Not your father's Cadillac.

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Macro Monday - White Viburnum

This white viburnum is planted just outside the deck that runs along the north side of my house.  It sits next to a lilac bush but they don't seem to bloom at the same time.  Both are beautiful.

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Black & White Reflections - Fireworks After the Ballgame

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Skywatch Friday - Empty Threat

The skies threatened rain but none fell.

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Thursday Challenge - Abundance

An abundance of valuables is stored in the vault of the Bank of Oklahoma at 320 S. Boston in downtown Tulsa.

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Wednesday Doors - 1st Street Loft

The 1st Street Loft at 310 East First Street is one of many old buildings being repurposed as living spaces in downtown Tulsa.

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Ruby Tuesday - Red Red Rose

Winner's Circle, a climbing version of the Knockout Rose.

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Macro Monday - Big Green Frog

I have a big green frog that lives on my deck.  Not the kind of frog that croaks and eats bugs but one that opens wide and holds plants.  This year it is home to a red portulaca.

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Black and White Reflections - Paddleboat Bar

From our trip to Branson.

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Skywatch Friday - Big Cumulus Cloud

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Thursday Challenge - Machines

The engine of the Branson Scenic Railway is an EMD F9.  It is a 1,750 horsepower (1,300 kW) Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1953 and May 1960 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors (EMD) and General Motors Diesel (GMD).  It is kept in spotless condition and is an impressive machine indeed.

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Wordless Wednesday - Brothers

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Ruby Tuesday - Red Mustang Convertible

Please Santa, bring me one of these.  I have been very good.

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Macro Monday - Green Bottle Fly

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Black & White Reflections - Tulsa Skyline at Dusk

Sue and I enjoyed a baseball game Friday night between the Tulsa Drillers and the San Antonio Missions. We like to sit on the third base side of Driller stadium which gives a terrific view of the Tulsa skyline  from the north.  The late summer sun makes strong shadows and reflections which are as interesting to me as the ball game.

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Skywatch Friday - Fireworks at the Canebrake

Sue and I drove over to Wagoner for a nice dinner and fireworks at the Canebrake Restaurant on Lake Fort Gibson.  The food was great then ice cream sundaes and the traditional fireworks display.  Duke MacBoagin and his group were there and provided some patriotic music as a background to the display.  It was really a nice evening.

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Thursday Challenge - Art

Lots of things qualify as "Art".  Every year Tulsa has an Indian Arts and Crafts Show as part of an all-tribe Powwow.  All sorts of beautiful things are offered to include paintings, silver jewelry, bead work and all sorts of neat stuff.  My personal favorite was the ceramic horned lizard, or as we used to say when I was a kid, the "horny toad".   This one was a bit more than life size and a very handsome fellow.

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Wordless Wednesdays - Midtown Doors

I like red doors.

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Ruby Tuesday - Dianthus

There is a 10 inch strip of soil along the outside of my driveway which provides an ideal space for several varieties of dianthus, a humble cousin of the carnation.  They bloom from spring to fall, hold up well in summer heat, and with a little help are winter hardy.

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Macro Monday - Red Portulaca

Portulaca is a vigorous plant.  By summer's end it will be quite large and hang over the edge of the pot.  The succulent leaves help it stand up to our hot dry summers.  They come in a variety of colors, this one is  "Tequila Cherry".

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