Twin City Photos

The headquarters of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota. Chemistry…ahh the pain comes back. One of my worst courses ever. I just didn’t care (and still don’t) for things you can’t stretch, bend, and make into machines that spin real fast like turbine engines. Classes at 8:30 AM are only for those disciplined enough to actually get up no matter what they did the night before.

The colorful billboard in front of the bland building is befitting to the atmosphere found on University campuses, young minds briefly whirling through a staunch institution.

This is the cathedral (or ‘Dom’ in german) located in the old section of Mainz, Germany, near the Rhine river. The Mainzer Dom was built over 1,000 years ago, and expanded througout the centuries to become what it is today. Mainz was heavily bombed during WW2 with over 80% of the city destroyed, and the Dom suffered some collateral damage, but was repaired. Fortunately the allies avoided the direct bombing of historic structures, a common practice by civilized nations even in times of war . Contrast that to the Taliban, who purposely blew up the two largest Buddhist statues in the world, over 1,500 years old, when they came to power. Nough said.

Nature does not need much to put on a great display of colors. A seed in the ground grows up to be a tree, requiring only water, oxygen, nutrients from the soil, and of course sunlight. Contrast that with all the materials and energy humans use to create a building such as the Guthrie Theater. Both are equally pleasing to the eye, and complementary of each other.