Thursday, September 29, 2005

Farm House Renovation

For what seems like 15 years...oh, wait it has been 15 years, my family has been renovating and remodeling our 125 year old farm house in Iowa. This is an areal view of our property. For a partial, but extensive photo historyof the project, check out this ongoing photo essay here: http://www.stoakes.com/underconstruction.

The good news is that in the last few months, extensive progress has been made and we should have a new kitchen and bathroom by Christmas. Mom will be happy!

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

The Lightning Field



Do yourself a favor. Check out Walter De Maria's Lightning Field Web site. Get out your calendar. Plan a trip to Southwestern New Mexico and spend a few days in awe. Just don't tell too many other people about this special place. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

The Bathroom Graffiti Project



Who thinks the face drawn here is Woody or God? Take a look at the BETA launch of The Bathroom Graffiti Project and tell your friends to do the same! Go to www.GraffitiProject.com for all the fun...

Other ways, you can help:

1) Submit your pictures of Bathroom Graffiti
2) Email your friends about the project
3) Join the BGP Sniper Team

Find out more at www.GraffitiProject.com.

Enjoy...

Friday, September 09, 2005

33 Legends

In my mind, these are the greats. My 25 favorite (famous) legends. Although I only know these iconic figures through their work, their writings, film footage, and images of them, these are the characters who make me dream, the thinkers who make me think, and the names that immediately come to mind when I hear the word legend:

(This list is not in order...)

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Jack Kerouac
Bob Dylan
Steve McQueen
Chief Seattle
Mark Twain
JD Salinger
Federico Fellini
Noam Chomsky
Winston Churchill
The Marx Brothers (especially Harpo and Groucho)
Stanley Kubrick
Thomas Edison
Johnny Cash
Sun Tzu
Albert Einstein
Hercules
Andy Warhol
Galileo
Henry Cartier Bresson
Frank Lloyd Wright
Helmut Newton
Frank Gehry
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Bukowski
Phillip Johnson
Martin Luther King Jr.
Siddhartha
George Orwell
Ayn Rand and her character Howard Roark

Who are your favorites? Post here...

Thursday, September 08, 2005

The Delta Queen


Just a few week's ago, I had planned to post a recommendation note about the Delta Queen Steamboat Co. and its Mississippi cruises that run up and down the river every week. These beautiful ships are the only remaining traditional paddleboats that still run from New Orleans to St. Paul through America's Heartland. They are grand old ships and offer the perfect way to discover small-town America in style. Although I have not yet had the good fortune to take one of their river cruises, I have dreamed of doing so ever since reading Huck Finn. So after a recent dinner discussion about the river trips with my friend and world traveler Prof. Gerry Powers, I figured by posting it on my own blog, it would remind me to actually book a trip into my schedule.

That was three weeks ago.

Makes one realize just how quickly things change. And how big things impact little things. Only a few weeks later, the company, their employees and the waterway they call home were hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Sadly, the boats are docked and all future trips have been cancelled at least through this year.

Like the communities along the gulf, the Mississippi is strong. The Delta Queen will be back. I look forward to supporting the great Delta Queen just as soon as it is up and running again.