America's City (Part 5)

Day 5 of our romp through Dallas! 

 

Dallas has a thriving arts community with amazing murals and art installations scattered throughout the city. Here are just a few: 

 

 

 

 

Depending on which corner of the Dallas neighborhood you find yourself on you might catch a different chapter of the story of giant robot, The Traveling Man, be it his birth, his stroll or his rest. 

 

The three large installations in the neighborhood are the work of artist Brad Oldham who created the figures in order to replace a previous bunch of murals that were once seen as the welcoming symbol of the neighborhood. Once the murals had to be taken down due to construction of a light rail system, The Traveling Man statues were born. Each of the figures is built of polished metal sheets held together with rivets, all meant to evoke the railway history of the neighborhood of Deep Ellum.  

 

Moving from one statue to another the story of the Traveling Man proceeds from birth to life. The first statue, called Awakening, features just a portion of the Traveling Man’s head and one of his clamps emerging from a pit of gravel as one of his songbird pals looks on. According to the story devised by the planners of the robot mascot The Traveling Man began life as a regular locomotive buried beneath an elm tree, but when a splash of gin was spilled on the roots of the tree, the weird folktale transformer emerged from the ground. 

 

Continuing down Good Latimer Street, you next find the huge robot reclining against a piece of debris salvaged from one of Deep Ellum’s old rail tunnels. This time The Traveling Man is represented in full with a smile and a guitar as he sits with his legs leisurely crossed in a piece known as Waiting on the Train.    

 

Finally The Traveling Man lives up to his name in the last, and tallest piece of the three. In Walking Tall The Traveling Man is seen taking a jaunty stroll with his avian sidekicks on his arm and around his feet. 

 

The Traveling Man, in all of his forms, are located not far from the Deep Ellum light rail station making him the ambassador for the area, reminding visitors and locals alike not only of the neighborhood’s history with trains but also its more recent history as a cradle for the arts.

Good Latimer between Swiss Ave. and Miranda
Dallas, Texas, 75204

 

@thetravelingtacos
The Blue Walkway
Location:  Dallas Museum of Art



 

 

@agirlfromtx
Dallas Love Mural
Location:  The Great American Hero in Oak Lawn

 



@agirlfromtx
Love Equation Mural
Location:  Pier 247 in Bishop Arts District

 

@christenstrang

Bishop Arts Wings

Location:  Bishop Avenue and Melba Street Intersection

 

@adventureswithasha

Rise Above Mural
Location:  Trinity Groves Restaurants
 

 

@nickievu

West Village Color Blocked
Location:  Parking lot behind LOFT in Uptown

 

@twinkiiex3

Good Morning Dallas
Location:  Dallas Contemporary near Design District

 

@agirlfromtx

Like to Know it Hearts
Location:  Standard Pour in Uptown

 

@kaseygoedeker

I love Tacos So Much
Location:  Urban Taco in Uptown

https://www.visitdallas.com/things-to-do/dallas-now/2017/06/deep-ellums-most-instaworthy-murals.html 

Some of my Favorite Things

I'm not terribly tech savy -- I have a phone, it works, I'm happy.  I have a tablet, it works, I'm happy.  Same thing with my car -- as long as it has 4-wheels, brakes, a radio and A/C, I'm good.  But today I thought I'd share some of my favorite apps / websites / social media accounts. 

First up is the Best of Nextdoor account on Twitter (@bestofnextdoor).  If you are not already on Twitter, get an account NOW.  Then, immediately start following this account.  And get ready to pee your pants from laughing so hard.  This Twitter parody account highlights some of the stupidest, moronic, idiotic stuff posted on the Nextdoor app (which is supposed to be a helpful on-line neighborhood community).  The Nextdoor app is often described often as "Twitter for old people."  My personal favorite is when an innocent post goes horribly wrong and people clap back with:  THIS.  IS.  NOT.  A.  DATING. SITE.

Texas heat is no joke.  I've always drank (drunk??) lots of water throughout the day but thanks to the Drink Water Reminder app I realized I wasn't drinking as much as I should be.  This is a very easy app to use.  Decide what measurements you'll be using (lbs./fluid oz. or kgs), enter your weight, sign up for reminders and you're pretty much good to go!  Keep track of your intake and hydrate away! 

My new favorite Pinterest account was actually brought to my attention by Coach.  Not surprisingly, it's also a parody account called "My Imaginary Well Dressed Toddler."  This account is the brainchild of Tiffany Beveridge, an Australian writer and blogger.  Her imaginary well dressed daughter, "Quinoa," is the coolest kid on the internet.  Why Quinoa?  Beveridge has said "it struck her funny that a grain had become trendy.  Like, so trendy somebody was probably going to name their kid Quinoa."  Quinoa also has very hip friends:  Ridley (he only eats free range chick nuggets), Twerk (the kid's philosophy?  "No shirt, no shoes, no drama, no high fructose corn syrup.").  She's in a coffeehouse band called "Smashed Cucumber" with her friends Rhapsody and Periwinkle.  Her friends Chevron, Eleven, Adderall, Pantone, Atlas, Pabst, Garamond, Hollandaise, and Vinaigrette make occasional appearances, too. 

Coach can fall asleep any where, any time.  I, on the other hand, have difficulty.  If a hot bath with plenty of lavender Epsom salt doesn't work, I use the Relax Melodies app for meditation, white noise, sounds of nature, Gregorian chants and yoga music. 









One of KJ's favorite Instagram accounts is @thebucketlistfamily.  If you haven't met the genetically blessed, absolutely adorable, incredibly photogenic, Gee Family yet, you can check them out at:  http://www.thebucketlistfamily.com/

I'm inspired and awed by @humansofny Instagram account.  The account highlights people interviewed on the streets of New York. You never know what kind of battle people are fighting. 

Do you like wine?  Do you sometimes get intimidated or confused at the liquor store?  Red?  White?  Rose?  Are screw tops tacky?  Never know which wine to bring to the dinner party?  Delectable is the app for you!  This app has label recognition which allows you to easily pull up ratings, reviews and tasting notes.  You can also keep a wine journal and follow top sommeliers, vinters and those in the know.  I also use this app if Relax Melodies doesn't get the job done.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

What's App?

 

This www.AlabamaWomenBloggers.com link-up couldn't come at a better time!  As mentioned in a previous post I recently graded to a Samsung Optimus G (still love saying the word "Optimus!").  I've got the basics on my phone:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, FourSquare, GetGlue, (I am a total sucker for those stickers!),  Pinterest, Etsy, Tumblr, IMDB (I'm always looking up movie quotes, who was the name of that guy who played so and so in that movie?), Wanelo (still not sure what this one is all about but KJ made me download it), etc.  I'm definitely going to check out some of the apps the other ladies have posted about!