Posts
3 hours ago
Showing posts with label raleigh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raleigh. Show all posts
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Friday, April 08, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
Thematic Photographic 82: "2009 - The Year that Was" v.6.0 - Grief and Loss, Domestic Violence Awareness Month and City Plaza
The final quarter and change of 2009 was a tough time for a lot of people. Thematic Photographic's progenitor Carmi lost his father suddenly in September, a blow that staggered him and his family. Around that same time the Mimi, Queen of Memes and Peace Globes was struggling with watching her own father battle the illness that gripped him to the last. I couldn't make a trip to Ontario to visit with the Levy family, much as I would have liked to. But Mimi is (more or less) local, and I spent an afternoon with her at Wesley Long Hospital where I got this shot of an empty waiting room. Loss is an unfortunate part of life as we know it, but as a very wise blogger Akelamalu once wrote, "one's life, no matter how brief, is never wasted if we remember". And so it's in remembrance not only of these two, but of all the others we lost during 2009 that I present this photo.October also brought another kind of remembrance with it, a remembrance of those who struggle with - and sometimes perish in - the grip of domestic violence. If you were reading this blog at pretty much any time during the month of October, you know (if you didn't know before) that October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. You're also doubtless aware of the blog project I've gotten involved in with Maggie Dammit known as Violence UnSilenced. But during October, I was privileged to witness and record a couple of events above and beyond that work. The first was a silent march in downtown Raleigh in memory of Jammie Street, a murdered mother of three who was allegedly shot to death by her estranged boyfriend. As powerful as that event was, however, it had nothing on the play "Speaking Without Tongues" a play by and for survivors produced by the Durham-based Hidden Voices. I was able to document both of these events for you here, and it's fitting to revisit them as part of a "Year in Review" series, because they certainly both impacted me deeply.But not all of the latter days of 2009 were so grim. the Powers That Be of my fair city seem to think that we need strive to be on par with other major urban centers -- specifically New York City. and it's not that I object to urban renewal as a concept, or even that I object to the city's efforts to clean up the city core. I think these are laudable efforts on a lot of levels, most notably in containing urban sprawl. But in the process of "going vertical" I think perhaps the mayor and the city council are taking their eyes off the ball sometimes. Mr. Mayor, distinguished council members, honored guests: I submit to you that there is and ever shall be but one New York City, and it is neither necessary nor advisable to try to create another one here in our hometown. Growth, when it is properly managed, is good. But let's grow the things that make Raleigh what it is, not try to mutate it into something it isn't. Okay, soapbox mode is now off. I've shown you the area of Fayetteville Street where the "old" Civic Center used to be (if anything built 30 years ago can be called "old") and I've recently learned a couple of additional things about it. First, it has a real official name: "City Plaza". I"m going to go out on a limb and speculate that this is an extension of the naming convention that gave us "City Market". And in a recent My World Tuesday I touched on one of the elements of "Winterfest" -- the outdoor skating rink you don't see in this photo. That rink opened on the first night of Winterfest 2009 (December 4) in an "opening ceremony" that culminated with the lighting of this rather substantial Christmas tree. I forget now exactly how tall it is, but I do remember hearing that it held 10,000 lights -- over a mile's worth. I just hope they're the energy efficient LED variety, because I don't even like to think about the amount of electricity required to keep that outdoor rink frozen in this climate.
Stumble This!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
The World in Black & White: 12.23.2009
"Yates Mill Dam"
Raleigh, NC - December 2008 (Click to embiggen)
To see more from the WBW Community of Bloggers, visit The World in Black & White
Stumble This!
Monday, November 30, 2009
The World in Black & White: 11.30.2009
"Deafening Silence"
Raleigh, NC - October 2009 (Click to embiggen)
To see more from the WBW Community of Bloggers, visit The World in Black & White
Stumble This!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Eighteen Percent Gray #5
"Time On My Hands"
Raleigh, NC - June 2009 (Click to embiggen)
Stumble This!
Friday, November 20, 2009
The World in Black & White: 11.20.2009
"Adopt A Building"
Raleigh, NC - October 2008 ((Click to embiggen)
To see more from the WBW Community of Bloggers, visit The World in Black & White
Stumble This!
Monday, November 16, 2009
The World in Black & White: 11.16.2009
"Ongoing Project"
Raleigh, NC - October 2008(Click to embiggen)
To see more from the WBW Community of Bloggers, visit The World in Black & White
Stumble This!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The World in Black & White: 11.14.2009
"Brick and Iron"
Raleigh, NC - May 2009 (Click to embiggen)
To see more from the WBW Community of Bloggers, visit The World in Black & White
Stumble This!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Thematic Photographic 73: "Leaves" v.7.0 - Hosta la Vista Baby
On the way from my parking deck to my office I have to pass by the Albemarle Building which has in front of it a collection of rather impressive raised beds kept planted with seasonal bulbs and/or perennial plants that pretty well keep going all year long. There's nearly always something growing and or blooming in there, and this past May I happened to catch these rather impressive hostas doing their best rain barrel impression. And since I couldn't resist closing out the "Leaves" theme with "hosta la vista baby", here they are for you to enjoy all these months later.
Stumble This!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Photo Hunt #44: "Electric"
"Power Substation"
Raleigh, NC - November 2008 (Click to embiggen)
Next Week's Challenge: "Upside-Down"
Stumble This!
Friday, September 04, 2009
Photo Hunt #43: "Orange"
"1942 Ford Delivery Van"
Raleigh, NC - March 2009 (Click to embiggen)
Next Week's Challenge: "Electric"
Stumble This!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Sepia Scenes #44: "Shaw University"
"Shaw University"
Raleigh, NC - December 2008 (Click to embiggen)
Founded in 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU* school in the American South. The universities main campus is located directly across Wilmington Street from the Progress Energy Center, but its College of Adult Professional Education campuses are spread across the entire state.Shaw is one of the institutions engaged in Partnership for the Elimination of Health Disparities for minorities (another HBCU school in Raleigh, St, Augustines College, is also a member of the partnership) and has won grants from both UNC-Chapel Hill and Johns Hopkins to expand its research capabilities. It has also received a grant from the National Science Foundation to support its Nanoscience and Nanotechnology programs. The university also became the first American post-secondary school to create a foreign exchange program with universities in the People's Republic of China since 1978, establishing agreements with Northwestern University for Nationalities of the (People's Republic of China) and Xian University of Science and Technology.*HBCU: Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a White House Initiative established by President Jimmy Carter in 1980.
Stumble This!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Sepia Scenes #43: "Old Money"
"Old Money"
Raleigh, NC - December 2008 (Click to embiggen)
Just down the block from the Progress Energy Center I showed you last week is one of Raleigh's tallest buildings. The Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T to the locals) building has always been among the city's tallest, but it hasn't always been this building.In my youth, the BB&T building was located several blocks to the north and could be seen from just about anywhere in town that had any view of the downtown area at all. As the city grew, so did the buildings and when construction on the (then) new Civic Center and the attendant hotels that came with it, BB&T found its building beginning to shrink by comparison. so they built this newer, bigger, tower at the south end of what was then Fayetteville Street Mall (now once again Fayetteville Street) where it anchors one end of the "downtown backbone". It may not be the tallest building in the city any longer though as both Wachovia and RBC Bank have newer buildings further north that rival this one.
Stumble This!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
