Kansas vs. Missouri

If yesterday's basketball game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Missouri Tigers is the last for awhile, the teams picked a great note to end on. I'm a Jayhawk. I was born in Kansas. My parents are from Kansas. My grandparents are from Kansas. Kansas is in my blood. So naturally, I blame Missouri for wrecking the rivalry and bolting to the SEC. I support Kansas' decision to decline Missouri's invitation to continue to play each year. Still, I would be lying if I said I won't miss the rivalry. The games are great. The gloating when the Jayhawks win is fun. But more than anything, I'll miss what these games mean to my family.

I realized it more than ever as I sat on my couch (more like paced around my living room) in Austin, Texas watching a game being played 700 miles to the north. My dad and I kept a running text conversation as the game progressed. My brother and I, who both suffered as Jayhawk fans attending high school in Missouri, did the same towards the end of the game. I used more "!!!!!!" in texts to him than ever before in my life. I thought of my uncle who was flying back to Kansas City from Orlando and would miss the entire game. I read a tweet from my cousin, studying abroad in Spain, who had watched the game on a pirated feed from a McDonald's in Portugal. I read tweets from my cousin-in-law in Oklahoma City who, though already a Kansas fan before entering the family, has caught the same Jayhawk fever the rest of my family enjoys. Literally, from across the country and around the globe my family was tuned into this game. And that is what I will miss - the connection to my family over a silly basketball game. Watching KU overcome a 19 point deficit to win yesterday, knowing my family was tuned in as well, made the geography that separates us seem not quite so vast. I'm blessed with a tight knit family, but KU-MU makes us tighter. And now that I live in Texas, I'll miss that extra bit of connection more than ever.

- Joel

PS - Here's a good article about the rivalry written by Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski.

Allen Fieldhouse

I came across this video about the "Allen Fieldhouse Experience." As a diehard fan of the Kansas Jayhawks, it got me pretty excited. If you like the music in the video, check out the band Alcove in the widget below.

- Joel

Happy Birthday Kansas

BORN: January 29, 1861

Bike Across Kansas

© Jake Stangel

I'm off to participate in the Bike Across Kansas. For the next 8 days, I'll be traversing the great state of Kansas, riding my bike from the Colorado border to the Missouri border.

See you next week.

- Joel

Maps

I've been thinking a lot about maps as art lately. An old school map of my home state (framed of course) would make a great addition to my wall.

- Joel

BBQ

Oklahoma Joe's © Joel Thomason

I stood in line for 45 minutes with my cousin Brad tonight waiting for the incomparable Oklahoma Joe's BBQ. The Z-Man Sandwich and fries were well worth the wait. No barbeque place on earth rivals Oklahoma Joe's. Anthony Bourdain, of Travel Channel fame, even put it on his list of 13 Places to Eat Before You Die. The list features restaurants located around the globe. It's nice to see Kansas City get recognized for what it does better than anyone - barbeque.

- Joel

No Vacancy

No Vacancy © Joel Thomason

Another great Thanksgiving is complete (though our family's celebration will continue through the weekend). We have grown considerably over the years. This year 34 people squeezed around 3 large tables to eat 2 turkeys (or was it 3?), 15 pounds of potatoes, and a cornucopia of other traditional favorites. As I write this, I am in the basement making myself comfortable on an air mattress while most of those 34 family members snuggle into various nooks and crannies around the house. There is literally no vacancy, hence the blog title and the excuse to post another photograph from my trip to the prairie.

- Joel

Tallgrass Prairie

Chamber of Commerce © Joel Thomason

It's early Thanksgiving morning. I'm having trouble falling asleep on the air mattress in my basement, so I thought I'd post a few recently developed photographs from my trip to the Kansas Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. See more at my Flickr page.

- Joel

School House © Joel Thomason

Photographer of the Day

Panhandle II © Mark Feiden

Mark Feiden. I have noticed various photographs of the Kansas prairie hanging on the walls in the building where I work. This week I finally stopped to find out who shot all of the photos. It turns out it is Mark Feiden. I'm a sucker for photographs of the prairie. Technically, the photograph above was taken in the Texas panhandle, but it was the largest image I could find online.

- Joel

The 50 States Project

Girl With A Dollar Bill © Larry Schwarm (Kansas)

No, I'm not talking about Sufjan Stevens' red-white-and-blue inspired musical endeavor. I stumbled across The 50 States Project, a collection of 50 photographers (one from each state in the Union) assigned to capture fingerprints of their State while staying true to their style. Photographers involved in the project, which runs through the end of this year, are given a new assignment every two months. By December 31, the project website will have 300 photographs showcasing the majesty and diversity of the American people and landscape. Check it out. I've only just begun to look through these photos, but I added a few of my favorites below.

- Joel

Ice Fishing Hut on Devils Lake, North Dakota © Dan Koeck (North Dakota)

White Sands National Monument © Jesse Chehak (New Mexico)

Victoria and her dogs, Coldfoot, Alaska © Ben Huff (Alaska)

On the Way

© Joel Thomason

As I've said, last weekend I moved my stuff from Dallas to Kansas City. It was the second time making the 560 mile drive in the past two months. Maybe it's because my roots are in Kansas, or maybe it's because I genuinely appreciate the beauty of the vast expanse that is Kansas, but I love the plains. Here are two shots from the front seat as I trekked back in October.

- Joel

© Joel Thomason