Sunny Days/Rainly Days

 

"How can you understand something is really beautiful? Very simple: When that thing comes out of your life, you start desperately waiting for it to come back! And autumn's beauty is such a beauty!"

 

~Mehmet Murat ildan

 

I'm stressed out. I just am. So, how about I don't yammer on about how I feel. How about just leaves. Just leaves.

 

~Carly

Stockton, California

November 18th 2020

Morris Chapel

"'Truly, Autumn is my season," the scarlet breast chortled. "Spring and Summer and Winter all begin with such late letters! But Autumn and Fall, I have loved best, because they are best to love.'"

~Catherynne M. Valentine

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland

 In A Ship Of Her Own Making 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I visited the ground of the University of the Pacific this past weekend, and was treated to some amazingly beautiful architecture. All the buildings are unique in their own way, but this beautiful chapel is definitely at the top of my list! There were no buildings I didn't enjoy, and to be honest I would be hard pressed to chose just one, but this one comes close to being a favorite. It has an amazing vibe in person, my photos don't do it justice at all! Morris Chapel, I think I will dropping by to photography you a lot more often!

#47 Leaf Of The Day

November 8th 2019

Cull Canyon

LG Stylo 5

~Mood: Happy

~Me  :)

Art About Town: Stockton UOTP (Tribute To Student Life)

"Tribute To Student Life"

By Helen Betz

University Of The Pacific

Stockton, California

November 3rd 2019

 

"It's not that you were memorable,

but you had the quality of eternal details

like faded graffiti, abandoned newspapers, or a few smudged notes,

almost an offbeat line,scribbled as if by mistake 

amid the frenzy of Bliss Street."

~Zeina Hashem Beck

To Live In Autumn

Faye Spanos Concert Hall

Last Sunday, Alan and I took a walk on the campus of the University Of The Pacific. It is a really beautiful college, with old brick buildings, dating back to the mid 1800's. As I have mentioned in previous posts, the exterior of the, Faye Spanos Concert Hall, was used in the film, "Indian Jones, And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark." A fact of which makes me very happy and downright proud of Stockton! I think it's the coolest damn thought that Indiana Jones could have once taught school here, but I also know that the real name of the college he taught at was Medford college. Sigh. Still the concert building is one of the lovlies buildings on campus, and it deserved to be in the movie. But I digress. This post is about some really great public art that I came across, while checking out the lovely grounds of the university.

I photographed the sculpture from a couple different perspectives, then I sat down on a nearby bench to rest for a while, and just enjoy the beautiful, warm autumn sun. I thought about all the history of the college, and some of it's famous alumni. Janet Leigh. Jamie Lee Curtis. Dave Brubeck. Former mayor of San Francisco George Moscone. Chris Issak. Alex Spanos and Darren McGavin, and that's just to name a few. Politics, entertainment, Business... so many different amazing folks walked this campus, and I feel completely at home here now, in my new town, as I discover all the new facts about those who came to Stockton before me. It took me a little over four years to make an effort, but discovering new art has helped me have some peace of mind, and feel at home. I'm finally home, and I have art to thank for it.

University Of The Pacific

Stockton, California

November 3rd 2019

Nikon

#44 Leaf Of The Day

November 5th 2019

Photographed November 3rd 2019

University Of The Pacific

Stockton California

Nikon

I will be posting additional photos of the university this week. It had too many lovely brick buildings, to put them all in one post! Stockton has such a wonderful mix of architecture, and I think I might do a comprehensive look at the different historical buildings and their styles. So, don't forget to check back!

~Mood: Happy

~Me  :)

Autumn Adventures

"Plunge boldly into the thick of life,

 and seize it where you will, it is always interesting."

~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I moved to Stockton, California, in 2015. It wasn't by choice. I have never been a fan of the Central Valley, with it's miles and miles of farm land, and heat, but thrust into the valley I was nonetheless!  The Bay Area has Karl the Fog to cool things down, but the Central Valley has nothing but dust, cows and heat. So moving here made me a little depressed to say the least. I am coming out of it, and beginning to feel the roots take hold, but God I miss my former home! The Bay Area has everything you want, within a 20 minute drive. Stockton has plenty right here in town, but it's not... well... terribly exciting! It's definitely come a long way since I moved here in 2015, and especially since Mayor Michael Tubbs was elected in 2016, but it's the Central Valley, and at the end of the day, it is what it is. Farmland. Miles and miles of farmland.

Farmland all the way to Sacramento.

Farmland.

But Stockton does have a couple other unique things going for it. It is not only home to the wonderful Bob Hope Theater, but it has a lot of California history to it, and it is also the hometown of Stan Lee's The Fantastic Four! But what's even cooler than that, it's the home of Indiana Jones! Now, the Fantastic Four being residents of Stockton is non-disputed history, and with the passing of Stan Lee a couple days ago, I thought it would be fitting to do an upcoming post about his tribute to my city, but lets keep things a little more lighthearted in the mean time, shall we?

While the Wiki for Raider's Of The Lost Ark  states Dr. Jones, works as a professor of Archeology at Marshall College, the exterior of the college shown in the movies was shot at the University of the Pacific, right here in Stockton! And in the very first movie of the Indiana Jones franchise, Dr. Jones is seen leaving for his quest to find the ark, from an airport that takes him on his flight path, directly under the Golden Gate Bridge. Therefore, there is only one conclusion that can be arrived at, Marshall College, is a cute nickname for the University of the Pacific, that just never caught on!

Dr. Henry (Indy) Jones jr, hails from Stockton, California!

Now, I ask you, how fucking cool is that?

It's the one exciting thing the Bay Area can't claim

Indiana Jones!

And there you have it!

:)

I admit, I posted a similar musing about this a couple years ago, but still, it's worth repeating every once in a while, especially since we seem to be fighting Nazi's again! By the way, has PUNCH A NAZI DAY come around yet? God, I love that holiday! Just kidding!

Actually... NO, NOT KIDDING! ;)

 #54 Leaf Of The Day

November 14th 2018

Photographed October 21st

Cull Canyon California

~Mood: Happy
~Me

Off To The Movies... #1. Raiders Of The Lost Ark

"What makes movies magical is not that incredible things happen in them. Incredible things happen in real life.

 No, what makes movies magical is they end right after the incredible thing happens."

~Matteson Perry

When I lived in the Bay Area, I liked to grab my camera and visit the locations of where movies, set in the area, were filmed. It was fun to feel like I was kinda stepping into the worlds of the characters I loved to watch on film. I did a few posts around those photo jaunt adventures, but I didn't really have a specific name for that series, so I am starting over with that project and it's official name will be Off To The Movies. 

I am starting my new series off with one of my very favorite movies, Raiders Of The Lost Ark. While only a small part of the movie was shot in Stockton, a simple cameo if you will, did feature one of the most beautiful buildings in town, Faye Spanos Concert Hall, on the grounds of the University of the Pacific, was used as the outside of the college Dr. Indiana Jones taught at! And if you pay close attention to that scene, and the one where he leaves to begin his adventure, you will see he flies out of what I think might be the Oakland Airport, and right over of the Golden Gate Bridge! So, one could maybe deduce that Indiana Jones was from my new hometown, Stockton! LOL.

While doing some research into that film, I found out that Spanos Concert Hall was also featured in the Robin Williams film, Flubber! It's such a pretty building, I can see why film makers would feature it. It's in California, but it kind of reminds me of the some of the buildings on the campases of Harvard and Princeton! Making it economical, and yet versatile to setting a tone. So it sets a certain vibe, and filming the buildings on the campus during certain times of the year, like autumn, gives it an especially warm and beautiful feel!

I began photographing movie locations because of how many films had been set in San Francisco. Foul Play. Basic Instinct. Vertigo. And many, many others! So, I thought that our move to the Central Valley was going to make that endeavor really difficult, but to my delight I found that there have been many films shot right here in the Stockton, and the small towns nearby! Among them Cool Hand Luke, American Graffiti, and The Candidate! Recently, when I was visiting El Dorado County, I picked up a visitor's guide, which detailed over 20 different filming locations as well, so I think it's going to be a blast to hunt them all down with my camera!

Stay Tuned!

Leaf Of The Day

November 6th 2016

Mood: Happy

~Me :)