two-fingered end-of-the-school-year fun...astronomers in L.A....a Uruguayan's tower

           

A student of mine was having finger-art fun--and I just had to take a couple of photos.

The left might just elicit a 'huh?'...but cross those fingers, and drama ensues...

(Gracias, David!)

Just another week with kids-in-the-classroom...

Now, a scene that's been 'stuck' in my iPhone for about a year and a half:

(drama-filter and center-focus vignette)

In the hills above Los Angeles, near the Hollywood sign, Kepler, Galileo and Copernicus look out over the city of 'stars'...Dominating the lawn in front of Griffith Observatory, this Astronomers Monument dates from the 1930's; the Depression-era Public Works of Art Projects gave work to artists and beautified public spaces. (Nearby is another piece of statuary: a bust of James Dean--the "Rebel Without a Cause" monument, commemorating the film in which Griffith Observatory played a large role.) There's no better place in L.A. from which to see the city lights at night...or to look up at real stars through the free public telescopes in the observatory itself.

And a bit of architectural contrast from Seoul:

One of the most distinctive buildings in central Seoul is the 33-story Jongno Tower, a triangular glass and steel tower topped with an oval floating above seven stories of emptiness.

Across the street is the traditionally reconstructed "Bo-shin-gahk" belfry, housing a large bronze bell. During the Joseon dynasty, the bell would be rung 33 times every morning, (symbolizing the 33 heavens of Buddhism), to open the city's gates. At dusk, the bell would be rung 28 times (linked to the locations of constellations) to signal the shutting of the city's gates.The original bell is now in the National Museum, but a reproduction still hangs here, and every December 31st, it's struck 33 times to ring in the New Year.

Here's the original iPhone shot--the colorful underside of the Bell Pavilion's roof was in almost total darkness. Using the selective control point, I was able to bring out the colorfully painted eaves...

(More about the architect--Uruguayan Rafael Viñoly--and his design:

http://www.rvapc.com/works/341-samsung-jong-ro-tower)