Welcome to the rt tulley photography blogIt features photos, text, and poetry.April 9Baseball at the Box
I am thankful for baseball at the "Box", ie, LSU baseball at Alex Box Stadium. I used to play a little baseball as a kid and some intramural softball in college and some post college and I really enjoyed it. But I wasn't that much a baseball fan until LSU began doing really well nationally and making it to Omaha for the College World Series, sometime in the mid 1980s. Now I love listening to the games on the radio, watching them on TV, and occassionally going to the games. The new Alex Box Stadium is just an amazing place for a college baseball game. It can seat 10,150 fans and it was nearly filled to capacity last Saturday night. LSU has led the nation in attendance for the past 14 years straight according to the LSU Sports web site. LSU has won six national championships to date, from 1991-2009.
There is something about LSU baseball fans that I find really special. They are not as vicious against opponents as they are in football, although they can make it difficult for opposing players. But they appreciate good baseball and, although they want the Tigers to win, they are not hesitant to cheer the visiting team for making good plays or playing a good game, even at LSU's expense. They tailgate before baseball just as they do for football and are happy to share their food with opposing fans or players. When LSU wins a NCAA Regional or Super Regional, they have the team parade around the perimeter inside the stadium receiving and giving high fives from the fans. This "victory lap" is a tradition at LSU. To show how great the fans are, they encouraged to take a victory lap of their own and were accomadated when Stony Brook beat LSU in 2011's Super Regional at the Box to the cheers of LSU fans who appreciated a job well done. Of the experience, Frankie Vanderka, Stony Brook's winning pitcher, said "These fans here...they are some of the best fans around. You would think they might be hasty after we won but every single one of them told us 'go win it all, we're going to be there cheering you on' so I've got to pay my respects to them. They made this time a great experience for us." I find that just amazing and it is what true sportmanship is all about.
baseball at the box
it’s baseball at the box this place it really rocks dapper in their sunday gold nearly every ticket sold fans get to stompin’ their feet the tigers put on the heat victory laps and high fives to the college world series where we thrive. ©rt tulley April 8Flags
I am thankful for flags. Flags are a pretty piece of cloth with a design and/or words on them. In and of themselves they are not extraordinary. However, it is what they represent that is so meaningful. For that reason, I enjoy flags. The way they dance in tune with the breeze is fun and adds character to a still life piece of material.
This photo was taken on the levee in Baton Rouge at LSU. I like this spot because the flags there represent the four places I love the most - Baton Rouge, LSU, the USA, and the state of Louisiana.
I'm am also adding a rather shaky amateur video I took so that you know the powerful winds that were blowing on the day I took it.
flags
sheldon cooper told us all we wanted to know in the big bang theory in his youtube video “sheldon cooper presents fun with flags” it was extremely funny and contained a lot of gags but i wondered how far away was the farthest flag from America could it be a foreign land or places like greenland or antartica no there’s farther ones still they sit on the moon and will be there until forever i guess but there are no less than two farther than even those on voyagers 1 and 2 which are moving outside the solar system further with each passing day heading toward the milky way so if by all rights it is known we have portable galaxy flags telling all aliens they are not entirely alone the usa flag stands for freedom and even aliens don’t have it so hard for if they want to join in they can apply for green cards. © rt tulley April 7The Moon
I am thankful for the moon. I enjoy watching it run through its different phases and enjoy a good lunar eclipse.
There are several interesting facts about the moon. The first is the great accomplishment of man in landing and walking on its surface, an achievement which has been used since to show man's ability to achieve a goal for which he puts all his efforts and resources into. This happened during my lifetime and I remember it well on July 21, 1969. Analysis of rocks from the Apollo landings showed that the isotopic composition of the lunar surface was identical from that of Earth and different from other bodies in our solar system, showing that it is likely that the moon and Earth have a common origin, likely perhaps that the moon broke off from the earth. The moon is responsible for the tides, solar eclipses, and is a significant subject in the arts, including poetry, music, literature, and visual and performing art. It represents madness as depicted by the words lunacy and lunatic, which include the Latin word luna for moon in their derivation. It also is a chief theme of love stories and poetry.
Selene was the Greek Goddess of the Moon. Her Roman equivalent was Luna. It is interesting that my graduate research involved an element called selenium, so named after Selene, or moon. In large amounts it is toxic, but in small quantities it has many beneficial effects in biochemistry, including acting as an antioxidant and as a reducer of heavy metal toxicity. I studied its relationship to blood pressure, which it was theorized to lower.
This photo was the result of a phone call from a friend telling me I needed to photograph the moon that night because it was beautiful. A nice cloud cover was lit up by the full moon as seen through these trees. I think it has a kind of ghostly appearance.
the moon in june
the moon in june is the spooner’s great boon. © rt tulley April 6Repair
I am thankful for repair. I suppose everyone or everything eventually develops chinks in their armor and need repair. Repair is a sign of wear and tear or age, and with that experience.
This photograph was taken of one of the building facades at LSU. I always thought that the repairs should be done in a tan color to match the side of the wall, but the white lines make for a better photo to illustrate the repair. I like this photo because of the multitude of cracks and the pattern of the repaired cracks on the wall. Those lines almost look like a roadmap, needed to get to a destination. So it is with repair-it is necessary to keep us or things in prime working order and get us to our destination.
cracks
i’ve got cracks in my wall cracks in my brick cracks all around cracks growing thick cracks everywhere i go cracks can be such a pain but the cracks that worry me most are the cracks in my brain. © rt tulley April 5Comfort
I am thankful for comfort. Not comfort that means you lie around all day long, doing nothing, but rather, comfort that lets you relax every once in a while so that your life is not consumed by work and stress. Comfort enough to really enjoy life.
This photo is of white clover (Trifolium repens). I liked the way that the stems are long and are reaching up high. The reason I connected clover with comfort is the old saying "in clover", which means living a life of comfort and prosperity. This probably came from the fact that cattle fatten up by eating clover all day long. Clover is considered by some to be an unacceptable weed, but it has a positive function for lawns by fixing nitrogen and reducing weed growth. The Trifolium in the scientific name refers to the three leaves that clover grows. The shamrock in Irish lore is a Trifolium. According to St. Patrick, the leaves of a shamrock represent the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The four leaf clover is considered lucky primarily because of its rarity (1:10,000). The leaves of the four leaf clover are said to represent faith, hope, love, and luck. Honeybees and bumblebees pollinate clover, so clover has a beneficial effect.
ode to a four leaf clover
hello mister clover i see you’ve kind of taken over my front yard this day time to get out the mower cut down your unwinsome blooms and make the bees a little mad but to see the grass again that would not be entirely bad so as i cut and roll the mower along i spy a four leafed clover now i’m singing a new song with that luck i will succeed be healthy and happy rich and not in want or need but just when i try to stop to get that self drive off it keeps on going and cuts that four leafer off. © rt tulley |
