Misc Mississippi Fall 2008

Here is the final batch of photos from our recent trip to St. Louis by way of Quincy, Illinois and Hannibal Missouri. Additional images available at flickr. Also worth noting, Sheryl took all but the 4th photo on this page; between the two of us, we do generate a few photos when traveling.

These first two show the high water mark when the Mississippi River flooded in June 2008. This is just a few miles northeast of Quincy.

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These shots are taken from Riverview Park in Hannibal. It quite lived up to its name with wonderful expansive views of the mighty Mississippi.

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The next photo is an old building in Hannibal, and the last image is taken from a scenic overlook a few miles south of Hannibal, looking south.

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Most folks, when they think about World War I, tend to recall images of black and white battlefields. It’s natural, as old b&w photos and movies are all any of us have seen of WW1.

Until now.

Der Spiegel has published an online article and photo gallery of heretofore unseen color images from the Great War. Fascinating stuff.

Here’s a link to the WW1 article, and another for the WW1 photo gallery.

As fascinating as the WW1 photos are, they are still scenes of sadness and of devastated lives.

In the decade prior to the war, back in 1907, an Italian film-maker had happier thoughts in mind when he created a short film titled Butterflys. The original masters of the film were thought to be long gone, but recently a fairly pristine copy was found.

Set to a new piece of music composed in 2008, Butterflys is an interesting piece for the first 4 minutes or so.

However, the final two minutes are quite unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The muted but still rich colors of this hand-tinted film seem to come to life in the beautiful finale. Click on the image below to view the video.

For your viewing pleasure, a few photos from northeast of Lindsborg taken yesterday around sunset (larger versions on flicker):

This is for my dad, Sheryl’s dad, Uncle Bernard, my brother Steven and his daughter, my cousin Jerry, my nephew Josh, my friend (and best man!) George, plus all of the other veterans I know (or don’t know for that matter).

From one vet to another, Thank You.

Your service and sacrifice for our country will never be forgotten.

Yes we did.