Autostitch

JWise Photo of the Day

Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In Burger Shop on Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona

Today, I read about a piece of software called Autostitch and promptly downloaded it. Autostitch automatically and without user intervention pulls together panorama photos.

The above photo is comprised of five individual images taken in portrait mode. On our way to a camping trip on the Colorado River north of Peach Springs in January of 2002, we stopped for a bite to eat at Delgadillo’s Snow Cap Drive-In Burger Shop on Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona. This photo is the inside of the shop. Sadly, tonight, we learned that the founder, Mr. Juan Delgadillo, passed away this past year. His sons are carrying on the business so be sure to get off the I-40 when you are in northern Arizona and head on down old Route 66 to Seligman and check out this great slice of roadside Americana.

The Autostitch software doesn’t always work perfectly, but for the price and ease of use, everyone should give it a try!

Click Here – to view a panorama of Lake Powell, Arizona, made with Autostitch.

Bell Road & 19th Avenue

JWise Photo of the Day

A bicycle seat rotting in the sun on Bell Road and 19th Avenue in a rundown part of Phoenix, Arizona

This photo was the safest to take in a neighborhood, giving way to squalor, without me intruding on someone’s temporary roadside home. I had walked down the block while getting a flat tire replaced, to a branch of my bank to make a deposit, to the only branch I have been to that has bulletproof glass between the tellers and customers. The teller helping me laughed at my apprehension of the people sleeping next door around an abandoned building and told me I should see the Friday night drive-through hookers if I wanted to see a sight – nice.

Lani

JWise Photo of the Day

Caroline Wise and Lani Randall of Rocking Horse Jewelry in Cave Creek, Arizona

This is Lani Randall, a dear friend for more than ten years. This evening, we joined Lani for dinner at a favorite place of hers, The Tonto Bar & Grill in Cave Creek, Arizona. Lani is the lady who supplied Caroline and me with our beautiful Navajo-designed intertwining feather wedding bands. Her company is called Rocking Horse Ranch, and her website can be found at www.indianjewelry.com. Caroline has recently been working on her website, making some improvements and ensuring that Lani’s site stays up to date.

Thanks for everything, Lani – Caroline and I are so very happy to know you.

May Day

JWise Moments

Today is May Day, and more than 5.9 Billion other people on the planet know that, but here in America, May Day means nothing. May 1st is the day of the working class. American workers do not consider themselves working class; if, in fact, they are, they latch onto being middle class, even when poor, unemployed, or disaffected.

This day is celebrated as the day the working class won the struggle for the eight-hour day. While this day was born through labor disputes, the end of slavery, and the Civil War here in America when in 1872 workers won the right to work only eight hours, it is the empowerment of labor that smacks of Communism, and so May Day in the United States is more a Socialist event than a reason for any type of celebration.

Instead, America is waiting for the now more famous Cinco De Mayo or May 5th when it’s time to hit the Mexican restaurants to get drunk like on St Patrick’s Day. The day could just as well be referred to as Margarita Day. That this upcoming Mexican day of observance for the conquest of Mexican forces over the French in a battle on May 5th, 1862, is of no consequence to us party people.

Oh, and St Patrick’s Day, or “Get Smashed While Wearing Green Day,” is a Roman Catholic feast day celebrating Saint Patrick of Ireland who lived from 387 to 461 – what are we drinking for here?

Stacy’s Soul Food

JWise Photo of the Day

Stacy behind the counter at Stacy's soul food restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona

Stacy’s soul food restaurant at 1153 East Jefferson near downtown Phoenix, Arizona is surely deserving of being Phoenix New Times Best of Phoenix winner for 2004. Our first impression will bring us back for many more impressions. The Southern-style vegetables are nothing less than great. I had the fried chicken and it is easily as good as Mrs. White’s, who also has been a winner of Best of Phoenix awards. The peach cobbler was a nice touch to end our meal, but we look forward to the end of summer when we can try the sweet potato pie. Yummy.