Sunday, March 22, 2009
Spring awakening
The top 10 reasons Spring is here in Minnesota.
No. 10:
The guy was too bored to stay home on a 40-degree day, so he rather pretended dead on a frozen lake.
No. 9:
A die hard ice-fishing dude has enough of drilling for nothing.
N0. 8:
Hardcore bikers dare no more to cross the lake this way.
No. 7:
The kite-snowboarder has more fun on splashing water than gliding on snow.
No. 6:
Traffic on Calhoun Parkway in mid-March, anybody?
No. 5:
When people think it's fashionable to wears shorts with down jackets.
No. 4:
" I'm so hot that I've to be half naked on a 40-degree day."
No. 3:
" Son, don't worry, we can get through this icy and snowy trail with only two wheels!"
No. 2:
" Out of my way, folks!"
The no. 1 reason Spring is here in Minnesota:
When somebody said the bubbles could be from a fish in a pool of melting snow on the ground.
Video credit: Me
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Have you ever....
My current job brought me back to Minnesota in the fall of 2003 and the first thing I did in the first October weekend was running around Lake Calhoun once.
Then came winter and I kept my running schedule around Calhoun in a few weekends. It was so peaceful just to watch a white frozen lake. There were times I had the wild thoughts of crossing the lake with my boots on. Well, I chicken out.
Yeap, I was chicken out again in 2005.
I made a breakthrough in 2006. No, I didn't cross the lake, but I had my boots on walking a hundred yards out on Lake Calhoun to watch the Pond Hockey Tournament.
The winter of 2007 was too warm, even some white swans resisted migration and stayed on the open water instead. So it was a no go again.
The winter of 2008? What was my excuse again? I was too busy... what else could be better than that.
How about 2009? Well, you'll find out from the video, it's a mission accomplished, baby!
Then came winter and I kept my running schedule around Calhoun in a few weekends. It was so peaceful just to watch a white frozen lake. There were times I had the wild thoughts of crossing the lake with my boots on. Well, I chicken out.
Yeap, I was chicken out again in 2005.
I made a breakthrough in 2006. No, I didn't cross the lake, but I had my boots on walking a hundred yards out on Lake Calhoun to watch the Pond Hockey Tournament.
The winter of 2007 was too warm, even some white swans resisted migration and stayed on the open water instead. So it was a no go again.
The winter of 2008? What was my excuse again? I was too busy... what else could be better than that.
How about 2009? Well, you'll find out from the video, it's a mission accomplished, baby!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Random Shorts: FEAR NOT!
"What if.... "
I know, I know. Don't worry, I play it safe.
As for the title "Random Shorts," it is jut an experimental short feature from some random video footage and other digital or traditional media to express an idea or a phenomenon, abstract or concrete, or even surreal sometimes. Call it an alternative form of artwork by all means, but the materials will still be locally related.
So come back often to check out new stuff.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The blades meet the ice
Remember how we learned standing up when we were toddlers? We fell.
Remember how we learned walking? We fell too.
How about ice skating? It's no different.
I can't tell you how many times I have fallen on the ice over the years.
I don't take instructions very well, that's my ego. But when I'm so eager to learn something, I try it myself before seeking advice. That's how I got myself into trouble, especially all the bruises from try and error instead of taking classes. I was, hmmmm, probably 35 then. Yeah, I was stupid, but in the end, it pays off.
Kids in Minnesota take on ice when they are three to four years old, and they skate until the age when their legs couldn't handle it anymore, possibly at 60 to 70-some years old. I have seen a 2-year-old boy in hockey outfits playing hockey with his dad. To me, it's almost like an entitlement.
I'm a transplant and I won't be like those who pick up a hockey stick and turn into hockey stars in a pickup game, but my sheer joy to land the blades on ice is no less than their thrills on body-checking while handling a stick. And sometimes I'm daydreaming while on smooth ice, and "bong".....
"STAY OFF MY WAY!" BOOM (crash)! #@&^*!
Remember how we learned walking? We fell too.
How about ice skating? It's no different.
I can't tell you how many times I have fallen on the ice over the years.
I don't take instructions very well, that's my ego. But when I'm so eager to learn something, I try it myself before seeking advice. That's how I got myself into trouble, especially all the bruises from try and error instead of taking classes. I was, hmmmm, probably 35 then. Yeah, I was stupid, but in the end, it pays off.
Kids in Minnesota take on ice when they are three to four years old, and they skate until the age when their legs couldn't handle it anymore, possibly at 60 to 70-some years old. I have seen a 2-year-old boy in hockey outfits playing hockey with his dad. To me, it's almost like an entitlement.
I'm a transplant and I won't be like those who pick up a hockey stick and turn into hockey stars in a pickup game, but my sheer joy to land the blades on ice is no less than their thrills on body-checking while handling a stick. And sometimes I'm daydreaming while on smooth ice, and "bong".....
"STAY OFF MY WAY!" BOOM (crash)! #@&^*!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Fishing lovers
Minnesotans are crazy in fishing. They fish in summer. They fish in winter. They fish when there's a storm. And they fish when their wives are having babies, not really. But who knows, some hardcore fishermen may have an urge to finish their Spring fishing opener before going back to take their wives to hospital for labor.
My point is Minnesotans take fishing seriously, and sometimes at a cost. Just look at the "dumb trucks" fell through the ice and you know those guys, very rare is woman, just don't know what it means by "thin ice."
Don't get me wrong, I like fishing too, but doing it for leisure. The last thing I wanted to try is having my ass sitting above a frozen lake to fish. Skating and playing with hockey stick handling give me some exercises, but sitting down to fish will freeze my ass off, so it's a no no...
Credit: Top, Joey McLeister 2005, Star Tribune. Bottom, Marlin Levison, 2008, Star Tribune
My point is Minnesotans take fishing seriously, and sometimes at a cost. Just look at the "dumb trucks" fell through the ice and you know those guys, very rare is woman, just don't know what it means by "thin ice."
Don't get me wrong, I like fishing too, but doing it for leisure. The last thing I wanted to try is having my ass sitting above a frozen lake to fish. Skating and playing with hockey stick handling give me some exercises, but sitting down to fish will freeze my ass off, so it's a no no...
Credit: Top, Joey McLeister 2005, Star Tribune. Bottom, Marlin Levison, 2008, Star Tribune
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Music on a frozen lake
What would you do on a cold winter day? Hibernate inside your home or kick the snow and find a place to have some fun?
It was the previous Sunday on Lake of Isles where the neighborhood organized a hot cocoa skating day. Sounds good to me. What better than having a hot chocolate with campfire next to the warming house after a good workout on the ice. Not only that, how about some live music that gave the festivity a real kick! Have I mentioned it was a snowy day too? What a winter wonderland!
It was the previous Sunday on Lake of Isles where the neighborhood organized a hot cocoa skating day. Sounds good to me. What better than having a hot chocolate with campfire next to the warming house after a good workout on the ice. Not only that, how about some live music that gave the festivity a real kick! Have I mentioned it was a snowy day too? What a winter wonderland!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Something to brag about
As I hint it in the description below the title, I like winter as well as summer in Minnesota.
Perhaps it's because of the extreme temperatures here that I like to brag about. It's ranging from - 40 F ( exactly - 40 C, not including wind chill factor ) in winter to 100 F ( 37.8 C ) in summer.
Perhaps it was love at the first sight. I still remember vividly how pretty the lakes and the meandering of the Mississippi River were under a setting sun when I flew over Minneapolis and St Paul for college way back twenty years ago.
Perhaps it's the attraction of the well-known stereotypical description of "Minnesota Nice" that fascinates me.
Whatever that is, I just know it's not a blind love. And I intend to use this blog, through the photos and video footages that I take, to make my believe a reality.
Hope you'll enjoy this journey with me.
Perhaps it's because of the extreme temperatures here that I like to brag about. It's ranging from - 40 F ( exactly - 40 C, not including wind chill factor ) in winter to 100 F ( 37.8 C ) in summer.
Perhaps it was love at the first sight. I still remember vividly how pretty the lakes and the meandering of the Mississippi River were under a setting sun when I flew over Minneapolis and St Paul for college way back twenty years ago.
Perhaps it's the attraction of the well-known stereotypical description of "Minnesota Nice" that fascinates me.
Whatever that is, I just know it's not a blind love. And I intend to use this blog, through the photos and video footages that I take, to make my believe a reality.
Hope you'll enjoy this journey with me.
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