truk Rambles - Read truk's Blog! RSS Feed Blast from the Past - truk and kath in Istanbul, 1997 2010-02-04 18:33:02 I'm wrapping up a personal project of digitizing all of my photos, mostly going back to scanning the negatives, and in these dark days of winter, I thought I would share a few of the better ones that I've come across. The photo above was taken on our honeymoon in August 1997, while we were in Istanbul. I think it is the Ayasofya Mosque behind us, and beyond that, the Bosphorus Strait. (Click on the photo for a higher resolution version.) View more truk blog entries The Love Shack Is a Little Old Place 2010-02-03 18:06:50 It is now pretty easy to pick out our house from space. My mom tipped me off to this. The satellite imagery in Google Maps for my neighborhood was updated sometime in the past few weeks. For the longest time, we only had images from 2004, and now, they appear to be updated to early-2007. Slightly before that time, I had to do some roof repairs on a flat area of my roof. I had a bit of extra tar when I was through, so I put it to use to beam some goodwill to space. I was hoping that the various satellites would pick it up, and now, finally, my favorite mapping site has caught up. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we had our roof redone a year or so after this image was made, so our next roof pic is likely to be more boring. Click here to check it out on Google Maps View more truk blog entries The NY Times Discovers Indie Memphis 2010-01-28 18:44:01 I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but the NY Times has an article on their site that basically hits most of the cool spots around midtown Memphis. http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/travel/31next.html Some choice quotes from the article: The Cove has "a New Orleans style and a nautical theme, with a mast extending over the bar, peeling paint (there’s a lot of peeling paint in Memphis), ragged booths (ditto) and kitschy murals of sailors. The menu includes oysters and Cafe du Monde coffee; movies along the lines of "Brazil" play in lieu of sports." "To flip through the bins of seven-inches at Shangri-La or Goner Records is to feel the weight of Southern, which is to say American, musical history, gospel to blues to soul." Ernestine & Hazel's was "once a dry goods store, for decades it operated openly as a brothel on the second floor; the namesake owners were first cousins whose husbands were cozy with the muckety-mucks at Stax and the local law enforcement, according to legend." "Indie Memphis has its own community icons, chief among them Shirley Williams, who has been serving drinks at the Lamplighter bar for nearly 40 years. The Lamp, as locals call it, is another Midtown dive. Opened since 1932, it is the city’s oldest continuously operating bar and has lately found its grungy slice of fame as the site of music videos for the likes of Cat Power." "'We’re the real deal,' Archie Turner said as he packed up his keyboard at 4 a.m. at Wild Bill's, a dive bar, barbecue spot and soul joint that is one of the area’s most belovedly ragged destinations." Damn. I think they pretty much nailed it. Does anyone else have some suggestions for spots they missed? View more truk blog entries The Rambling Continues: Read All truk Blog Entries Here

What is truk.com? It covers the travels and thoughts of truk, this guy that lives in Midtown Memphis. More questions? Contact me... 2009 - Still in Memphis January Sydney and New South Wales (pics) May Douglas Visit July Italy (Amalfi Coast with text | Capri | Herculaneum | Southern Tuscany with text | Florence with text | Northern Tuscany | Rome | Vatican) 2008 - Still in Memphis April Visiting Jeff and Katy May Spain and Morocco with Dave and Christina (Segovia | Casa | Central, Northern Spain | Picos de Europa | Bilbao and San Sebastian | La Roija Region | Madrid | Marrakech | Fez | Southern Spain) October Memphis Walk South December Sydney (pics) 2007 - Memphis February Snowboarding in Tahoe May Memorial Day at the Parker's Lakehouse June Larry and Michelle's Wedding on Shelter Island, NY July Hawaii (Oahu | Big Island (plus kayaking at Captain Cook) | Kauai text 1 and text 2 | Hawaii (Mostly Budget) Accommodation Review) 2006 - Memphis January Las Vegas April Jacob Born July Douglas Visit in Rhode Island September Iowa Visit October Urban Wolf River Trip November and December Costa Rica (Volcan Arenal | Monteverde | Montezuma | Uvita | Porto Jimenez | Corcovado | Aerial Photos) 2005 - Memphis January New Years at Dave and Christina's May Kath's PhD Graduation from Duke University June Kath's PhD Graduation Party at the Shack-Up Inn December New Zealand and Australia (Tahiti and Wellington | Marlborough and Kaikoura | Abel Tasman and the West | Manapouri and Milford Sound | The Catlins | Dunedin and Christchurch | Sydney) 2004 - Memphis January Jeni's Baby Shower | Birth of Emmett February Snowboarding in Park City May Memorial Day at the Parker's Lakehouse July Yucatan Movie [QT 7] (Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Merida, Celestun) | Paris October Visiting the Douglas's in Boston 2003 - Memphis January New Years February Aaron's Snowboarding Bachelor Party June Jaymie's Bachelor Party October Dave & Christina Wedding Shower September Dave's Bachelor Party October Dave & Christina's Wedding 2002 - Australia - Memphis January Tasmania - Port Arthur [1st] | Tasmania - East Coast [2nd] April Queensland [1st to 15th] June Sydney Opera House [11th] | Broken Hill [15th] | South Australia [20th] | Western Australia [26th] July Darwin, Litchfield, Katherine Gorge [16th] | Arnham Land [19th] | Kakadu National Park September Prague Wedding Reception, People, More People, Buildings | Croatia Mainland, Vis November Kath's Surprise Birthday Party | Thanksgiving December Christmas 2001 - Australia September Peyton's Baptism [2nd] | Apartment [9th] | Cliffwalk [18th] | Footy Final [23rd] October Koori Knockout [1st] | Vigoro [20th] | North Sydney Beaches [30th] November Sports Awards [9th] December Tasmania - Cataract Gorge [30th] | Tasmania - Cradle Mountain [30th] | Tasmania - West and South [31st] 1999 - Southern Africa Cape Town | Garden Route | Jo'berg | Victoria Falls | Stellenbosch 1998 - Peru Lima | Huancayo | Ayacucho | Cuzco | Machu Picchu/Puno | Lake Titicaca | La Paz | Arequipa | Colca Canyon | Nazca/Pisco/Lima 1997 - Prague, Greece, Turkey Prague | Cesky Krumlov | Romania | Alexandropolis | Samothraki | Ruins | Prague 1996 - Australia Sydney 1995 - Asia, Silk Route Turkmenistan | Kyrgyzstan | Kashi/Urumqi | Iron Rooster | Beijing | Great Wall | Hong Kong | Philippines 1994-1995 - Prague Other Trips - Greers Ferry Lake (2001) Arkansas Expats A collection of friends Peebo.net Jeff Parker's blog Knurd.com Stephen Espy's blog Issafly Brad Sim's blog Jim's Astrophotography Page My uncle's cool collection of pics from around the galaxy truk.com truk and kath's website The Tackle Box by Matt The Adventures of Pete Big Bear Follow the adventures of Pete Big Bear while he roams around the US Crotchfish A witty (and true) look at all things library, political, and trivial. A Foolish Consistency CinemaApprentice's blog; great advice on movies and books From a Place Near a River Lady Di is online and loving it Dave and Christina Dave and Christina are building their own house! Life Beyond Expection Kath's CF blog dodo.com Travel Community Place to meet other travelers and post your travel stories Jethro Williams Travel Blog A man from England, working his way around the world