Chicken Shit Makes You A Winner

You are hollering. Loud. A simple number. 18. Over and over. Your eyes are fixed on a number grid. You are not alone, there are 50 others screaming numbers; just not yours. Some try it with "here, here,...." No, you are not in Las Vegas at a roulette table, you are cramped around a wire cage west of San Antonio, in Big T's Roadhouse and you watch a chicken strut the grid. Finally, relief is here, the chicken sets a wet one on a number and that number wins. Wins, wins big, the whole pot.

That's how you experience "Chicken Shit Bingo." What started out at carnivals under tents, is still played in the country. Also known as "Chicken Drop" it actually has universal appeal, in the Alps furry cows do it on a gridded meadow, they call it "Cow Patty Bingo." But back to the fowl in St. Hedwig, where Big T's draws a big crowd every Sunday.

Whenever the band takes a break people rush to the pool table covered in a randomly numbered and gridded plywood top with a chicken wire cage on top of it. Two dollars gets you in and gives you "your number." And then the protagonist of the afternoon arrives. Shiny feathers, a comb reaching the sky. He knows it's his 15 minutes of fame to make you a loser or a winner.






Normally the 15 minutes get cut short - a mild laxative helps to keep the attention span at bay. Originally brought into Austin by Country musician Dale Watson, the by now worldwide famous Chicken droppings event, started around 2000 in Ginny Kalmbach's bar, "Ginny's Little Longhorn." She retired in 2013, new owner Dale and part of his family took over. Dale also bought Big T's in St. Hedwig. By now Dale left the central Texas area, sold his interest in both bars and moved to Memphis. So I assume there soon will be a "Chicken Shit Bingo" - maybe at Graceland? But the tradition in Austin and St. Hedwig goes on, after church and lunch you spend the afternoon at the bar, having a couple of cold ones and scream your numbers.

And when relief comes, I heard more than one patron shout "shit," not to encourage the barnyard fowl, but realizing that they just lost. 5 won the pot, 18 the sneer. Glad there is another round of playing the next time the band takes a break. Let's get a beer and dance to the band like the dickens to the West Texas Waltz.

Handrail - Light & Shadow

There is beauty in the urban jungle.
Open your eyes, wander and wonder.

This entry to an office complex was next door to where I was living, so strolling by I was immediately taken by the play of Light & Shadow. Even when I shot it, it was clear to me that this will be a Black & White picture.

I also like the dichotomy between the concrete and metal on one side and the tree in the background. Urban minimalism.

Snow At The Ranch

Winter and especially snow are quite rare in Central to South Texas. Yes it can get pretty cold, actually below freezing. But ice-storms are more common than actual snow fall, which only happens about every three to four years. So to see snow on cedar trees is the ultimate winter experience for us.

Strange, To Wander In The Fog

It's that time of the year. Gray in gray is in fashion again. Where are the greens of spring, the dark yellows of summer and the color splotches of fall. All gone. Disappeared and replaced by different shades of nondescript.

People are hiding inside, deserted are the streets. Even the pooch wants to get in as fast as she's done her business and hibernate on the blanket.
Fortunately these days are rare. Fog can and does happen, but often it is just for a couple of days and then either a front from the north cleans it up, or a cloudy, humid and warm front from the Gulf of Mexico pushes it back to where it came from.

From middle school I remembered that famous poem "In The Fog" by literary Nobel prize winner Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962), he was just 28 years old, when he put these famous lines down. As a teenager I was petrified. My first profound experience with existentialism even though Sartre, Camus and Kafka didn't follow till later on paper and me growing up or trying to, in high school.

But despite the forlorn melancholy in these lines, there is also a certain beauty. It's part of life and s ok to be alone, as every individual is to a certain degree at any certain time. It's not about sucking it up buttercup, it's about embracing and enjoying it. It's only through self evaluation, that me as I am, can take control of my life and try to live it meaningfully.

And as far as I know that tree is still standing there...

Im Nebel Seltsam, im Nebel zu wandern! Einsam ist jeder Busch und Stein, Kein Baum sieht den anderen, Jeder ist allein. Voll von Freunden war mir die Welt, Als noch mein Leben licht war; Nun, da der Nebel fällt, Ist keiner mehr sichtbar. Wahrlich, keiner ist weise, Der nicht das Dunkel kennt, Das unentrinnbar und leise Von allem ihn trennt. Seltsam, im Nebel zu wandern! Leben ist Einsamsein. Kein Mensch kennt den andern, Jeder ist allein.

In the Fog Strange, to wander in the fog. Each bush and stone exists alone, No tree sees the other, Each is alone. My world was full of friends When my life was filled with light, Now as the fog descends None is still to be seen. Truly there is no wise man Who does not know the dark Which quietly and ineluctably  Separates him from everything else. Strange, to wander in the fog, To live is to be alone. No man knows the next man, Each is alone.

Sources: Image (Hesse by Jorma Komulainen, Creative Commons), Poem: Hermann Hesse

Big Tex Says Howdy Y'All

Big Tex, the greeter at the State Fair of Texas in all its glory. After its predecessor burnt down in 2012, a new, bigger and taller Big Tex was built at a cost of $ 500'000. 55 feet (16.7m) tall, a chest that spans 33 3/4 ft (10.3m), with hands the size of 5 1/2 ft (1.7m) and a boot-size of US 96 (Euro 129) - if my calculation is right, there isn't an official shoe size converter for that size of shoe, sorry cowboy boot with a height of 12 ft (3.6m). BTW, he wears top notch Lucchese boots, and his cloth are made by Dickies. The pants won't fit into a commercial washer, they weigh 100 lbs (45.4kg) and normally last three seasons, before they have to be exchanged. He is so famous, that even the website for the State Fair of Texas simply uses bigtex.com as their URL.

Can't wait till next year to go say "Howdy" to Big Tex again.

Sources: bigtex.com

Nobody Too Small To Blow A Horn

I discovered this little feller last weekend at the State Fair of Texas. Obviously he had won this shiny metal toy trumpet and had to check it out right at the Fair. Not having any mutes (cup, harmon, plunger) with him, he just stuck his hand into the bell to alter his sound. While the sound it produces is not the same as a professional trumpet, he doesn't seem to care. I hope he soon gets a real trumpet in some years I ran again into him and he's playing with an orchestra or leading his own band, as a famous jazz musician.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

All the sailboats are still out. Everyone is still enjoying the breeze on this lazy Sunday afternoon on White Rock Lake in Dallas. Right before the storm moves in again.

The Big Illusion .

"To me, beauty is the wonder of wonders. It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances." (Oscar Wilde - The Picture of Dorian Gray -1891)

A great provoking (and in the summary of the book sarcastic) paradox of Wilde, but spoken at a point where Dorian needs be sold in to believing in the never ending beauty and youth by Lord Henry.

So have we as a society arrived at the point (roughly 125 years after that quote) where commerce plays the role of Lord Henry on a daily basis and tries to seduce us, into the false world of artificial appearances while denying the community, the reality of the true life cycle.

Well if we can stay "Forever 21." Unfortunately working long term on three times 21, I have not met anybody, that got stuck at that age. I don't want to be 21 anymore. I would miss all my highs and lows, all my successes and failures - that so lovely frame our lives. And I hope there will be more highs and lows to come for a long time - even so it's not indefinite.









Sources: "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (Oscar Wilde).
These two shots and others of mine are available for publication  through a photo agency, Dispatch Press Images, DPI. The pictures are also featured in my ClickASnap portfolio and in my Niume blog.

Beat The Drum Slowly

Pow Wow - Austin 2014

Pow Wows are the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships, and making new ones.  This is a time method to renew Native American culture and preserve the rich heritage of American Indians.

A drum circle is as important as the singers and dancers to pass on the traditions; nt only to Native American people, but to everybody who likes to attend a Pow Wow. It's more than an educational experience, it's very spiritual and may open some hearts and minds.

So if you want to go on the Pow Wow trail or just visit one in your town or find the closest to where your are at, visit www.powwows.com

Sources: www.powwows.com
This shot as well as others are available for publication through the photo agency, Dispatch Press Images, DPI. This photo can also be found in my ClickASnap portfolio or in my Niume Blog.

Night Shift

A lone security guard at the end of the lobby, guarding an office building. As I love to document work in BW pictures I am really taken with the colors in this one. The almost complimentary colors are working wonders for this shot. And the "cold" outside fights the "warm" inside, but there is a guard denying access. There is something Kafkaesque in this shot. 

The BW on the other hand is more to reality in some certain ways: unarmed guards make minimum wage and do mostly "observe & report" duties. It just shows the job at what it is, a simple job. 

Both these shots are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images, a photo agency. They are also featured in my ClickASnap portfolio.

Flush It Out

In rural areas, public services have to come and flush culverts. Their job is to clean them with high pressure washers from debris and trash to reduce flooding, when it storms, so the rain water can drain away. One of the public sector jobs, where your tax money is at work to guarantee a safer community.

This shot and others are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images.

From The Ashes

Six years ago, in March 2010, the Phoenix rose out of the ashes and became a bar again.

Originally built in 1871 the building housed several bars and saloons as well as several department stores, especially after prohibition put a temporary end to the bar business in 1918.

According to their own history chapter on their Phoenix Saloon website, one of the owners, William Gebhardt invented chili powder on these premises. Supposedly it was also the first saloon in Texas that offered service to women. At that time a revolutionary thing as most women weren't allowed to attend bars, saloons and honky tonks for their own pleasure and could only meet men in dancehalls. "Hell's Half Acre" in Fort Worth with its establishments and bordellos only catered to men, who came through the area on their cattle drives on the Chisholm Trail. Originally a war term, where the most bloodied and dismembered bodies were, it became an expression for the devil's sins and temptations.

Beautifully restored, an old original brick wall was exposed, the venue now offers libations and serves Chili, which was featured in one of the cooking shows on TV. Besides offering a lively nightlife as a bar with music during the week and on weekends, you may also encounter some haunted spirits that are alleged to be meandering in the 145 year old building.

Sources: thephoenixsaloon.com
This shot and others are available for publication at Dispatch Press Images.

New Ten Gallon Hat

Getting a new hat is a ritual - not only the size matters, but the shape, the wideness of the brim, the height of the crown.

Did you know that a ten gallon hat is big enough to hold ten gallons of water for your horse, is nothing but a myth.

It's a word mix-up. As so many things cowboy (vaquero), its origin is Spanish. Galón means braid translated to English and a huge hat with a big crown can adorn more than one braid. So if it's a ten braided hat - it's a ten galón hat. Developed from the Sombrero (literally shadow giver), hats with a big brim to cover neck and part of the face are common for horsemen in sunny climates and came to the Southwestern US states via Mexico.
But the whole hat wearing thing can even be traced back into Asia, where the Mongolian horsemen were the first ones to wear something that years later evolved into a cowboy hat.
Popularized in the US during the 20's and 30's with the B movies and the protagonista, the singing cowboys wearing cowboy hats, they became a cultural phenomenon, that emerges and re-emerges to the "general" consumer in cycles like every fashion thing does.
Only the people that still work out there in the sun, look at it as relief from the sun and mostly as a needed utensil.

This shot and others are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images, a photo agency.

Made It Clean

"I told you, I made the shot, clean. No I did not touch the four ball on the way to the hole." The statement is imagined but it goes well with image. That said I feel comfortable and love to shoot in bars, there is something special about it.

And the only way to improve your aim and your shooting in pool, is HAMB - Hit a Million Balls. That said, I'm up to play next.

This and other shots of mine are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images.

Around White Rock Lake - Dallas

With cooler temperatures in the 80's (around 30C), after the sweltering summer heat, people are starting to come out again and to enjoy a leisurely Sunday. Biking around "White Rock Lake" in Dallas. The trail around the lake is 9.33 miles (15km) long and also serves for the White Rock Marathon, a qualifier for the more famous Boston race.

If not biking, you can stroll along the lake and find a variety of flora and fauna to explore. Basically a water reservoir in the middle of the metroplex this place also offers casual fun, not just on Sundays.

This and other shots of mine are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images.

MOB Ties? Jack Ruby Ate Here! - Campisi's In Dallas

Sinatra and the rat pack on the jukebox. Jack Ruby ate here the night before John F. Kennedy was shot. It's dark and it's rumored to be a MOB hangout of old. Great-great granddaughter Amber appeared as a Playboy centerfold.

Yes, you are at Campisi's Egyptian Restaurant in Dallas.

I tried to give this place a dark look, as in "film noir" to enhance the mystery of Campisi's Egyptian Restaurant on Mockingbird.

For a full article (including a food review) about Campisi's please visit my other more food & travel oriented blog "Where In The Hell Is Carlton, Texas?"
This and other shots of mine are available for publication through Dispatch Press Images.

72 - Gettin' Ready

This cowgirl is getting ready outside of the Fort Worth Coliseum (the first indoor rodeo arena) to Barrel Race, while an earlier contest is leaving head down.

Goal is to ride in the fastest time around three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern. When they enter the arena, they are at full speed, "attacking" the first barrel, circle it, hitting the other barrels (2 & 3) and then gallop as fast as possible back to the starting line.

The riders pay an entry-fee and according to the number of contestants riding, the winning money is either won alone or split up to place four, if there are a huge number of riders. The rodeo, which also features cowboy events as bull and bare bronc riding and roping takes place every Friday and Saturday in the Stockyards of Fort Worth. Not all events take place on the same day, for more information check out their official Website, Stockyardsrodeo.com.

Sources: barrelhorseworld.com, stockyardsrodeo.com
This shot and other photography of mine are available through Dispatch Press Images for publication.

Donald Lee - Fort Worth Drover

While strolling through the stockyards in Fort Worth, I ran into drover Donald Lee. Dressed in vintage looking western outfits, he helps twice daily (11:30am and 4pm) to drive a herd of longhorn cattle through East Exchange Avenue. Easy job, somebody may perceive quite quickly, well not that fast.

Besides riding out there in everything from ice and snow to 110 (43C) degree weather, there is also the upkeep (like shoveling manure) of the horse, the stable, the cattle herd and the pens. And if this is not enough, like all the other drovers, they are also ambassadors, spreading goodwill about the old traditions, the history of the cattle drives and why they disappeared as well as educating kids about the daily life and chores, like branding.

The big cattle drives are long gone, their heyday being between 1860 - 1890. The only cattle being auctioned off these days is by satellite video conference. So go out, visit the Stockyards in Fort Worth and learn something from the past. For more information visit the Visitor Center online or in person.

He also rides in his spare time, below you can see him and Molly, a paint.

Sources: Branding Picture & Video courtesy of Donald Lee, http://www.fortworthstockyards.org/, Fortworth.com
This shot and other photography of mine are available through Dispatch Press Images for publication.

Lone Prairie

The vast skies, the meager grass of winter and a "herd" of cows mingled together against the far horizon. The lone prairies, a sight you may see quite often, travelling through the Lonestar state.

Oh carry me back to the lone prairie
Where the coyotes howl and the wind blows free
And when I die you can bury me
Neath the western skies on the lone prairie

I'm a roving cowboy far away from home
Far from the prairie where I used to roam
Where the doggies wander and the wind blows free
Thought my heart is yonder on the lone prairie

Oh carry me back to the lone prairie...



This shot and other photography of mine are available through Dispatch Press Images for publication.

Howdy Y'All

Close to Lyndon B. Johnson's birth place Stonewall, is a small ghost town called Albert. Once a town with a post office (1877 - 86) it's now unincorporated. You may have heard the name of Albert because in 2007 it was up for sale on eBay, according to a CBS/AP article it wasn't the first town for sale on the internet bidding site. 

According to the towns own website it was originally called Martinsburg but changed name to Albert, when "Albert Luckenbach" (aka August Engel) and his sister Minnie (or Sophie) sold the general store in Luckenbach and moved in 1892 20 miles east to Martinsburg and renamed the town Albert. The renovated dancehall, a new watering hole and pecan and peach trees were bought in 2009 by Easley family who still run the town. 

The dancehall still holds concerts and dances and the watering hole is open Wednesdays through Sundays and also offers on a smaller scale live music entertainment. 

Friendly people and y'all are greeted with a fine "Howdy Y'All"  

This shot and other photography of mine are available through Dispatch Press Images for publication.

Sources: CBS/AP, AlbertTexas.com