Tommy Lasorda, a Blind Man, and Hulu

Day 219 on the road.

It's sunny outside and I'm having my morning coffee and reading the New York Times wondering if Hillary has a chance to overtake Obama. I watched Obama's speech on race relations and admired his attempt to save himself from the quagmire created by his former pastor. I'm sure Hillary was licking her significantly large chops over the whole thing.

But as a conservative, and a reluctant supporter of John McCain, I'm just enjoying the theater of it all. I must give Obama the credit for being an outstanding speaker. But I must not let the elegance of his oratory pontification overshadow the ugliness of his liberal and radical beliefs.

Enough politics.
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I’m not sure what I’ll do today. I’m thinking about just working on my web site and doing some reading, writing, and hanging out without having to drive anywhere too far…give my car and gas tank a day off. I’ll be here through next week, so there’s no need to be in any hurry to see other things in the area. I’d like to check out WestWorld in Scottsdale. And the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is another area I’d like to see. I’d also like to drive east to Apache Junction.

Tomorrow’s Rangers game is at 6 p.m., so I’ll have the day to kill. I will probably wash clothes at the Laundromat in Scottsdale I’ve used before, then slowly head to Surprise Stadium. I've only got three games left before Spring Training comes to an end next week.
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Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers Moving Spring Training Here Next Year

The Los Angeles Dodgers are establishing a new “Dodgerstown” in Phoenix this week, making plans to permanently move their Spring Training camp to Glendale next year. The team has spent the past 60 years in Vero Beach, Florida. Sighting family concerns, the Dodgers are moving to Arizona. They feel the team’s families and friends will have an easier commute to Arizona than Florida. According to Charles Steinberg, the Dodgers chief marketing officer, “It was so difficult for families to make the trip from Los Angeles (to Florida).” A flight from L.A. is much cheaper to Phoenix, and the drive isn’t that bad, either.

So Glendale, a suburb to the northwest of downtown Phoenix, has another reason to celebrate. They are building a new baseball complex to provide a home for the Dodgers, and it will be completed by next year. They hosted the Super Bowl this year and have already begun to submit an application to get the Super Bowl again the next year it’s available. The city has agreed to spend $500,000 to assure the Super Bowl returns. Glendale is becoming a sports venue powerhouse. Just a few years ago, it was a small town with very little to brag about.

With the popular Dodgers coming to the valley, the Phoenix/Tucson area has more professional baseball training camps than any other place in the country.
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I'm attending an arts festival this weekend: the Fountain Hills Fine Art and Wine Affaire, Avenue of the Fountains, in Fountain Hills. Fountain Hills is located northeast of Scottsdale on the eastern slope of the McDowell Mountains.
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Inspiring Story of the Week: Blind Man Climbs Camelback Mountain

Jeremy Schmidt hiked up Echo Canyon leading to the top of Camelback Mountain last week, and the 27-year old area resident is blind. In less than a month, he went from having 20/20 vision to not being able to spot an eye chart in a doctor’s office. A genetic disease damaged his optic nerves, cutting off the signal from his eyes to his brain.

After two months of trying to deal with the loss of his sight, Jeremy decided he couldn’t just sit around and let his life slip away. Having been an outdoorsman his whole life, he went back to doing those things he enjoyed: horseback riding, hiking, mountain climbing. Last week, his 1.2 mile hike up Echo Canyon along with his father was one step in returning to a normal life.

“I didn’t think my whole life was over,” he said. “Not by far. It just meant it was going be one heck of a challenge.”
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Hulu.com is now up, and it looks great. The site arrives courtesy of NBC and Fox, and it will offer free episodes of shows like Arrested Development and movies like The Jerk. It’s a sign of things to come: television and movies will one day be watched primarily online…or will they? What’s going to happen to the cable companies once the Internet becomes the main portal for delivering entertainment? Will your cable modem one day be obsolete like the 8-track tape and cassette?

Leaving Tucson...but I'll Be Back

Day 215 on the road.

I came back to Tucson for a couple of days to check on my mail and say goodbye to some friends. I've enjoyed my stay here through the Winter, and I can't think of a better spot to wait for Spring while most of the country suffers from bitterly cold temperatures and snow.

I'm leaving Tucson on Tuesday morning and won't be back for a few months. My plan is return in October to once again spend the Winter here. I love the area, and I especially like Scottsdale and the Phoenician valley. Tucson lacks the shopping and sophistication of Scottsdale, but I still enjoy being here. If I had a choice, Scottsdale wins hands down. But Tucson is smaller, has less traffic headaches (except for the construction woes), and seems to be a bit more intimate. It's cheaper to live in Tucson, I think, based on gas prices and motel rates I experienced in both places.

On Tuesday I'll make it to Surprise for a Rangers game and will remain in the area until the end of March. Then I'll be driving north to Prescott. From there, my plan is to spend some days in the Grand Canyon area. I'm not sure what April weather is like along the Colorado River in northern Arizona. It still may be a little cool. So my plans depend a lot on the weather--I don't want to run into any April snows at the higher elevations.

Scottsdale Arts Festival and Old Town Galleries

It's Monday morning and I'm trying to update by blog, though Blogger is having "upload issues", but I think I have finally finished adding the photos. They were uploaded to Photobucket instead of Blogger, so they may appear larger than usual (not a bad thing).

Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday, with the weather absolutely perfect. I had breakfast and coffee at the Plantation Coffee shop and most of the people were talking about doing something outside. It was definitely not a day to stay indoors.

Luckily I had plans to attend the Scottsdale Art Festival in Old Town Scottsdale. The festival is over 30 years old, and hundreds of artists from around the country were going to be there. I parked easily enough in the Arts District. The Arts District contains numerous blocks of art galleries in Old Town, all near Main Street. To the east of Scottsdale Ave. on Main Street, near the city offices and the Performing Arts Center, the festival was underway.

The corner of Main Street and Scottsdale Ave. in the heart of Old Town.

The Ancient Arts Gallery in the Arts District. Very cool statues out front.

Looking east on Main Street, the Arts District. Both sides of the street are lined with fine art galleries.

I saw this bronze sculpture in a display window. God bless America.

As you walked toward the Festival in the city plaza, you could window shop for fine art. Many of the galleries were open, though most were closed since it was a Sunday. I don't know why an art gallery would be closed during the Festival, even on a Sunday.

The plaza near the Scottsdale City Offices.

I entered the Arts Festival here, and paid my $7 for a ticket.

The Festival had two live performance stages. This one was near the Food Court, so many were eating lunch and listening to the live bands.

This particular group was playing music from around the world using all kinds of weird instruments from Greece, Egypt, and the Middle East.

After I took the above shot, I had to go the Men's Room for some relief. I asked a security guard for directions to the nearest bathroom and she told me the Performing Arts Center was the best place. So I walked there in a semi-rush, if you get my meaning.

As luck would have it, the Men's Room inside the Performing Arts Center was hard to access due to a live performance of "Audio Ballerinas" which had just begun when I arrived.

If you'll notice, the Men's Room is to the right of the small tree, in the above photo. The performers of this "artistic performance" by four cute girls were in mid-stride making there way through the foyer toward the exit doors leading outside. I asked the guy next to me, "How can we go to the bathroom when it's center stage in some act?" He laughed, and cringed, because we both had to "go".

To be honest, the performance was really cool. An artist (can't remember his name) came up with this artistic "dance" where four girls slowly walk a path from upstairs, then through the foyer, then outside into the crowd. The girls were wearing a contraption around their waist that produced a weird king of monotone music, like something you would hear from the soundtrack of the movie "Blade Runners". They each had a rake on their shoulder, too.

Once they cleared the Men's Room, I finally made it inside. Since the girls were walking very, very slowly, one step at a time, in rhythm to the music, I returned just in time to see them continue their "dance" outside. They dropped their rakes on the concrete, and began to drag them in rhythm. I noticed that the rake was actually wired to their waist, and producing a very loud "screeching" sound as they dragged it along the sidewalk.

Notice the wires running from the rake, the speakers around the waist.

Once outside, they continued their slow pace into the crowd. Watching the reactions of the people to the strange performance and music was entertaining. Some laughed, some were in awe, some covered their ears. I was just thinking, "This is really cool." Each performer was in perfect unison with the others, each had no expression on their face.

When I left the Festival, I visited some of the "tourist" shops along the way back to the Arts District.

Rangers Lose (Again) and The District Marketplace

The Texas Rangers once again found themselves behind early after giving up six runs in four innings today. So far the Ranger pitching staff seems to be struggling. But this is nothing new, unfortunately.

It was another beautiful day at Surprise Stadium, with very little wind, 74 degrees, and bright sunny skies. Below are some pictures from today's game.


Ian Kensler, Michael Young, and ? taking a pre-game walk. The Homerun Party Deck behind them is a "bar and buffet" place for postgame tomfoolery. They usually have a live band on hand, plus plenty of suds.

One of the numerous photogs who are here to cover the games. I think he dropped his hotdog or something.

A young Rangers fan trying to ponder the question, "Why can't we ever find some pitching for this team?" Answer: Tom Hicks is a tightwad.

A Hippie and his companion singing the National Anthem. How groovy.

Either the National Anthem is being played...or, they are watching highlights from last year on the Jumbotron.

"Look, Daddy, the Padres just hit another homerun."

The scoreboard says it all. The Rangers scored some runs late (five), but it was too little too late. Kevin Mench's 3-run homer wasn't enough. Final score: Padres 9, Rangers 5.

This guy gets the "Dumbest Hat Award" for 2008 Spring Training. I think he let his love of baseball go to his head.

After the game I drove back east via Loop 101 and stopped off at a nice outdoor shopping mall, The District at Desert Ridge.

I'm at my "office", it's a Thursday night, and the place is a little strange tonight.

Just across the room from me is a group of people with Middle-Eastern accents discussing a new church they are starting--an evangelical church, not a Muslim one. It's a reminder of the "melting pot" our country is known for, and has renewed my faith in freedom. God bless America (hand over your heart, please).

Then, a woman approached a man drinking his latte and gave him a small button that said, "Accept Your Success." She tells the guy, "I'm with a group that believes to have true success you just have to believe in yourself. Tonight, our members were given the challenge to see how many buttons we can sell. Do you have a dollar? The button is free, but we are trying to sell them for a dollar." The guy sheepishly reached into his pocket. "Sure, I'll give you a buck." If she had approached me I would have said, "I'll give you two dollars if you'll go away and leave me in peace." She ignored me, however, because I quickly put on my headphones in order to send the messsage, "Leave me alone."

Just a recap of yesterday. I spent most the morning and early afternoon at the Fine Arts Expo (where you can hang out with artists while they work on stuff and you can basically bore them to death with questions like, "How do you make that shadow on the horse's head look so real?) I then drove further north to Carefree and the neighboring community of Cave Creek. At Cave Creek, a new western-themed retail and office development is almost completed. They call it "Stagecoach Village" and the development seeks to mimic an old western town.

So far, the only offices currently in use belong to real estate agents. A ReMax residential office is open, although I saw some agents still unloading their wagons and it appeared they were still moving in.

According to the newspaper, it will be another six to nine months before all of the offices and retail spaces are occcupied. It's a beautiful setting among the foothills of Black Mountain.

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That was yesterday. Today, my plan was to take a walking tour of Arizona State University, home of the Sun Devils. I spent about three hours on campus and in the area retail shops nearby.



Sun Devil Stadium is just a couple of blocks north of the main campus.


College Ave. Marketplace (above) is located between Sun Devil Stadium and the main campus further south. The mountain with an "A" on it is in the background. The University of Arizona in Tucson also has an "A" mountain. Why do colleges in Arizona feel the need to place big ugly letter A's on nearby mountains?

The best place to go shopping and have lunch is the Mill Avenue District just to the west of the campus. I found all kinds of places to eat, drink, buy stuff, and just hang out. (Photos below.)

I took the above shot of ASU head football coach Dennis Erickson, his face plastered on banners around the area. He's smiling because he makes over $2 million a year.

I took the photo above from the second floor of an old bookstore that specialized in out-of-date and collectible books like you find in most garage sales. They were going out of business (big surprise since there is a Border's Bookstore just down the street). The owner said I could rent the 1900 square foot retail space for $24 a foot. I told her, "I think I'll just buy these books." I found a drawing book published in the 1950's teaching how to sketch protraits, and a Civil War book of Mathew Brady's photographs.

Photos from my walking tour of the ASU campus:

The palm trees above are called Mexican Fan Palms (Washingtonia robusta). They come from Mexico and are very popular in Arizona for landscaping. The one drawback: they grow so tall you can't trim them without a very tall ladder.