Another Fine Job by Ponchaveli

Yesterday, while the temperature was still under 100 degrees F., venturing out was done in a abbreviated version. There were several projects that I wanted to check to see how they have changed. It never fails. There is always a discovery that turns up as a serendipitous event. For years, I have well discovered the old biblical saying that where the Lord closes one window, He opens another. In this case, it was shoe stores. One popular shoe store near Love Field closed and yesterday, I discovered on a walk-about a very nice shoe store that I have missed somehow. And, who happened to be celebrating their two year anniversary in business. They liked the printed canvas.  I even found one print pattern on one of their shoes that I have on the canvas low cuts.

Then, as I have done for 16-years, I either walk or drive down one Deep Ellum street and this street really is a named alley. My first trip down that street (alley) was when I was doing the research for the Fortune 100 for a Deep Ellum Foundation grant. This garage door was open and the sound of voices was coming at me. As it turned out, I'm standing in the owners living room by accident. Since then, I have discovered it is a loft and a photo studio. Yesterday, as I turned onto the alley, I saw the man sitting in the alley in a chair with camera on his lap. A photo shoot was going on and the assist personnel were changing models. Work is work and while it might have been observed for a while longer on foot, I was in the car and did not want to distract. It's kind of like shooting and some wiseguy goes by on the street and blows his horn to distract or break your concentration. I didn't want to be that guy with the horn if you understand the thought here.

On the crossover from Deep Ellum to downtown, I wanted to see Jackson street as it comes out on Harwood. The news that DART might be running the new rail line underground rather than down the middle of Jackson Street had me curious. First Presbyterian Church is a beautiful architectural domed feat and it is also a very active church with Dallas' homeless. So, it makes sense to run the train subway-style rather than on-grade right through the First Presbyterian campus. The two Masonic Temples on the opposite corner agree.

I drove Jackson (which to me is more of an alley than a street) down to Lamar and then took Commerce Street across the Trinity to a place that is a source of colorful art. Some would call tags or graffiti. It's also a noted place for photographers. It is somewhat common property for shooting but there is a respectfulness between artist and photographers. That's the part I like best. It's old school respect that my grandfathers knew as a deal with a handshake. While there, a guy told me about an artist (who he did not know by name) that was just about to finish a mural of Mohammad Ali nearby. In a flash, I was on my way to check it out. I had been waiting for the so-called "break out" when someone would do a large scale mural of Ali. This was the photo call so to speak. I was stunned. Not only was the mural a living tribute, the artist, Ponchaveli, was still there. I was able to get some shots and with a signed release, submitted the image to a world-wide live feed. The image is up an running as I write this.

There is so much going on in Dallas. Things are happening all over the Metroplex. Every one is chomping at the bit to get the first shots of the "THE STAR" the new home of the Cowboys in Frisco. Friday was the last day at Valley Ranch, the home for the past 31-years. For those of you that don't know..... that's the office or where the players go to work every day. The AT&T Stadium is where the games are played. Two seperate venues. I'm more interested with what is going to happen to the old place in Valley Ranch.

Now that hot weather has set in..... it's up early in the cool of the day now and I'll be shooting with morning sun rather than mid afternoon over my shoulders. The change will show up in the images. However, I am still having focus issues with the camera at the present time. I need to call support and talk to them again about the issues, but, until then I work around it the best that I can.

The old Pythian Temple in Deep Ellum--if ever there was a building that needed to be restored to its days of grandeur, this is it! The ball room is on the 5th floor.

The barrier between downtown and Deep Ellum appears to be coming down. The real question is when? The view looks west into downtown on Elm street.

If you want to see the full image, go to my home page, click on the far right tab, scroll down to the button "alamy", click it on and either click on the dallaspaparazzo above the search box or type in Ali mural in Dallas, but for the next 24-30 hours check the live news feed first.

Chipotle Abodo Hot Sause

Dallaspaparazzo Chipotle Adobo Hot Sauce by sam6372
Look at Zazzle Hot Sauce 

More from LBJ Express and High 5

Here's three more on the LBJ at the High 5 and on the LBJ Express Project which is 35E  at the LBJ.

Downtown Carrollton at Beltline with 35E NB. This is were the train tracks cume into Carrollton from Irving on the way to Frisco and north and the crossing of the old Cotton belt tracks running toward Grapevine and Ft. Worth.

The Express Lanes are Tolls and subterrain lanes,but open top.

 

 

The slight blue of grey in the sky or on the road way is the camera picking up the chain link fence that was shot through.

Reminds me of the Movie,"A River Runs Through It" but this river is toll lanes down below!

Added Pictures from the High 5

There will be forthcoming several post with three pictures each of the Dallas High 5 and the LBJ IH-35 Project.  Keep watching right here.

Not bad for a high volumn service road, you think?

Moving toward ground zero of the high 5

The big green pilings are the 5th tier--110 feet above grade. Accourding to some articles, this has now passed LA's 5-tier by 10 feet! Everything IS bigger in Texas.

The Massai Culture Right Here In Dallas

Generally, there is a plethora of places from which ideals can be drawn. My ideal well has always been full and seldom sees a drought. Those moments of inspiration do come from that thought well so to speak. They always have. Mom, was creative like that and mine comes from here side of the family tree. Today, opening the door and stepping outside after all the rain and flooding, big puffy billowing clouds against a blue sky awaited me. In just that instant, my thoughts raced ahead of my shooting list to the Dallas High 5.

Dallas High 5
For one, the High 5 is a very unusual forest of concrete pilings that stretches out beyond the project itself and travels west for about 11-miles to another massive interchange of roadways at LBJ Freeway and IH-35E. Of course, the High 5 was built first in 2001 to unstress the high volume of traffic on the LBJ and U.S. Highway 75, Central Expressway.The ground zero point was the old tight-wound traditional 1950s cloverleaf. Then, boom! This giant piling came jetting out the center of that clover leaf and the High 5 was born for Dallas traffic commuters. To this day, my GPS can pinpoint that actual piling and in my head, the vision of  all that came after it is like a Red Box movie.

My first stop was in the mid cross over in front of Texas Instrument's North Campus complex. There is an office complex there where generally Saturdays will find very light use of the parking lot and having inquired with security a long way back if using one of the  out-of-the-way parking spaces would be okay. So, the word was, yes, and then the security guy added, if you need to use it sometime in the future, the area were you described would be okay unless there was a fire or police emergency in the building. Thanking him, I filed that away until today.

Meeting the Maasai Grill people
Moving on, down to the heart of the High 5. Ground Zero..The Center of the Mix. Or, as has been noted at the Starbucks from time-to-time, where the Red Light Camera winks way to much at LBJ and Coit Road. So just before getting to that intersection, a new sign grabbed my attention. Pulling into the parking lot and going inside, I ask a gentleman if I could park there for about 15 minutes or so. Explaining that I needed to take a few pictures of the High 5 and just don't have anyplace to park. He said yes and after wards, I went back inside to thank him and showed him a few pictures of his business that I had taken. It was the high point of my the day.

 He and the lady behind the counter  are native Kenyan people. They are Maasai people. They are Maasai culture. Mom taught me about cloth years ago and I have long admired the color of the cloth that the Maasai people wear.  The restaurant, bar and lounges name was inspired from the Maasai people. Their culture is current and up-to-date. The Tribe in Kenya are well known and associated with Kenya and Northern Tanzania. They are known in the Ngorongoro Crater of Tanzania for more than 150 years as cattle hearding people. It is to the ancestorial Tribe as my Genesis 1:1 beginning is to me.

The menu will feature authentic Kenyan Food, music and dance.

The Menu
On the menu is samosas, chapatti's goat meat, ugali, pilau and much more are offered. They are located on the north side of the west bound service road between SB Central at LBJ and WB service road at Coit. The address is 8059 LBJ Freeway. Go enjoy  authentic Kenyan Maasai food.

Link to a history and culture
Maasai Tribe Information

This family was so nice. They will enjoy greeting you to sample their Kenyan culture

The rock garden greets you as you make your way to the door.

See that truck in the Express lane? The restaurant is immediately on the left on the service road WB. 8059 LBJ at Coit

That pole is pointing to 8059.

Remembering Memorial Day, Everyone

Stars and Stripes

Traditional Decoration Day

Remembering Our Troops This Memorial Day

Another Parallel Universe Everyday

A few months back, while talking to a couple of bike riders, each of us discovered the importance of changing up the daily routine from time to time. It is more easy than not, to get locked into a regular routine and end up doing yourself  more strain than help. Each of us, had reversed our routines of travel and discovered how much the world around us had changed. Each of us were astonished how easily this had happened.

This past week, my travel route was flipped and not only going the reverse route, using a parallel street that was never used on the old route was used in the new. What a discovery that revealed. Whole new landmarks had appeared. Overnight, it seemed to have happened. Yet, it was going on all the time in that parallel universe only a street over from my regular travel route.

Another interesting thing  that can be a benefit is not to always be in a rush. This past week, I started keeping track of the times that someone blows a horn just as soon as the green light changes. From this experiment, my take-away is this: People have grown more and more impatient and show more frustration in travel. Generally, they are also on their cell phone  to wit: their stress seems to be coming from that added piece of electronics that  drivers rest their head upon while driving. On my return trip home, while sitting in traffic and watching an extra long left-turn lane  turn in front of me, out of fourteen cars, eleven were on their cell phones. Eleven! It was like watching a bee hive swarm.

When arriving home, immediately, the folding chair went into my trunk. This summer, instead of my normal house routine of leisure coffee  on the porch, the trusty walking stick and camera case was moved closer to the door. My pledge to myself is to get out early in the morning for my cardio walks, find a cool shady spot at the lake to eat a light lunch, and stay away from those horn-blowing, yoga fakes that want you to believe they are in control of everything. Sure sounds like it at a red light.

Having said that, finally, Fifteen years ago, A CEO from a Fortune 100 hired and then commissioned me to do research on the downtown area for potential growth and development. For six months every day during that time talking to business owners, and generally observing patterns ended with the company presenting a grant to the Deep Ellum Foundation. Now, fifteen years hence, everything that I saw, found,discovered and foretold that got Deep Ellum that grant, has come to pass and is still coming to pass with the pounding of pneumatic nail guns, cement truck and bobcat maneuver.

 The Farmers Market has been re-designed and re-configured, re-constructed, re-arranged and even up-scaled. It has re-focused  from the days of the old open-air sheds to just one now. The other three are now under construction for high density living. What once was an area for potted plants, trees and shrub sales is now a new building with the name Mudhen Meats and Greens. A visitor wearing a Detroit T-shirt and I were quick to note that the name was Mudhen and not MUD HENS. Only someone who lived in the lower  Great Lakes and were Tiger Fans would know that the Mud Hens is the minor league farm team in Toledo, Ohio, for the Detroit Tigers major league baseball team. Then, it hit me. Oh, NO! my baseball hero, Ian Kinsler from the Rangers is now playing in Detroit and if he ever failed to meet his numbers, he could be sent to the minors and that would make him a MUD HEN! And he could be playing in Fifth Third Field some day.  Funny how life continues to be a circle. Enjoy the images. In fact, there are so many I am thinking about putting an additional slide show on the web page. It might take a couple of weeks to get things rearranged and set up, but it's worth watching for under the Writing tab.

Mud Hens and Fifth Third Field

Looking at the far east end of downtown from the Farmer's Market.

Where the main shed once was is now high-density living in the making.

Remade, the only outdoor shed that remains. This is where the water melon cornor was  for years.