We came across a little forest of flagpoles while exploring Deep Ellum recently.
The poles are in front of the Casa Stellina event space near the intersection of Main and Walton streets. I am not sure whether this qualifies as eccentric landscaping, public art, or just clutter — but it was a very fun backdrop.
I love the art work popping up in the Dallas’ Victory Park and Harwood District neighborhoods.
This 8-foot tall sculpture of a hand giving the peace sign is one of my favorite pieces. The piece is called “Heavy Handed” and is by LA-based artist Nathan Mabry.
Apparently, another name of this gesture is the “victory hand,” which is probably why it makes sense for its placement in Victory Park right in front of a sports arena. ✌️
It’s official — the labradoodle is terrified of the bird sculptures in Deep Ellum. I think it’s something about the curved reflective surface.
After some barking and growling, she eventually got over it, but it was hilarious.
Ingrid the labradoodle and a creepy bird sculpture in Deep Ellum, Dallas.
Michael’s shirt didn’t survive the bowling alley food on Sunday, so we made our way to Union Station after our league finished. We found a suitable (and cheap) replacement shirt at Uniqlo, and then decided to stop at McDonald’s because apparently our diet resolutions don’t apply on weekends.
The Union Station McDonald’s was an unexpectedly strange experience because Kellyanne Conway and her son were sitting at the table next to us.
Classes started and I am already well-acquainted with the law library.
The LL.M. program is going to be challenging, but it’s also a luxury to focus on nothing but tax law for two semesters. My J.D. program felt like a hodgepodge of different topics at times, whereas my LL.M. classes are clearly interrelated and cover much deeper material. We’ll see how I feel in a few weeks.
Buildings along the National Mall in Washington D.C.
Washington D.C. is beautiful and dense. The lack of tall skyscrapers for landmarks makes it difficult to navigate at times. I’ll eventually figure out the grid system.
The streets are very diverse and busy without being crowded. There are tourists with cameras, people wearing suits, baseball jerseys, children running on the subway, and very aggressive panhandlers.
Many areas of town are busy late into the night, but there’s always the looming threat of getting mugged — so I guess it’s like any other large American city, just with more museums than most.
We recently explored the Dallas Design District and ran across a massive Playboy Bunny sign.
This Richard Phillips creation was funded by the magazine and originally installed in Marfa, Texas. The town and Departmenrt of Transportation viewed it as an advertisement and ordered it hauled away.
The 40-foot statue reappeared in 2014 on Riverfront Boulevard in the Design District. Apparently Dallas is less opposed to advertisements than our artsy West Texas counterparts.
I spent summers in Germany growing up, and I love having this building so close because it reminds me a lot of Trier.
I haven’t seen many other comparable cathedrals in the U.S. and the building commands my attention anytime that I venture to that side of downtown St. Paul.
An exterior view of the Cathedral of St. Paul, in Minnesota.
A long-stance view of the Cathedral of St. Paul, in Minnesota.
An exterior view of the Cathedral of St. Paul, in Minnesota.
The interior of the church is on par with anything that I’ve seen in Germany. My mother recently visited and said that it was impressive as the Kölner Dom.
An exterior view of the Cathedral of St. Paul, in Minnesota.
The outside of the cathedral almost looks like a European church, minus the lack of dirt and acid rain stains.
I completely ignored the statue the first few times because I was too busy staring at the church, but one day I stopped to take pictures.
Tader was horrified to hear that I have never been to a museum in Minneapolis so he dragged took me to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I minored in art history in college, so I’m not completely ignorant. I just never got around to going to a museum.
Excuses, right?
Well I finally made it to a museum. The MIA is huge and full of fascinating work. Here are some of my favorites:
