Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is one of the most-recognized landmarks in Kansas City. Even those that have never actually made a trip to the museum immediately recognize its neoclassical architecture, and beautifully massive sprawling lawn, located right in the heart of the city.

Commonly referred to simply as “The Nelson,” the museum opened in opened in 1933, funded primarily by the estate of local newspaper publisher William Rockhill Nelson and local schoolteacher Mary Mcaffee Atkins, widow of a local real estate speculator. Designed by local architectural firm Wight and Wight, who also designed the approach to the Liberty Memorial and the Kansas Governor mansion, it is a grand structure in the Beaux-Arts architecture style, modeled on the Cleveland Museum of Art.

It contains many widely recognized classic and contemporary art works from around the world. It includes works by Caravaggio, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, Titian, Rembrandt, Gustave Caillebotte, John Singer Sargent, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Thomas Hart Benton, and George Caleb Bingham, just to name a handful. One of the first places most stop though, at least most school fields trip in memory, the collection of early Western civilization. While not the largest, it does contain some interesting Greek and Roman works.

The museum does distinguish itself from others in the nation with some fantastic collections originating from Asian countries; indeed, hosting one of the best collections of antique Chinese furniture found anywhere in the United States.

Among the works held there are the celebrated group of glazed pottery luohans from Yixian, and a personal favorite, the Guanyin of the Southern Sea from the 11th/12th century. The wood sculpture sits in front of a massive 14th century wall mural, depicting a cosmic Buddha, flanked by two bodhisattvas, and surrounded by figures representing the five planets of traditional Chinese astronomy. The room emanates quiet and peace through ever sense.

A need for culture amidst the sometimes-monotonous homogeneity of the Midwest initiates most visits. Regular events celebrate individual cultures frequently too, such as that of the Chinese New Year. These offer a rare opportunity to not only witness but also participate in music and performances by local talent.

Often times, all areas of the museum were open to exploration during these events, including the Bloch building, which usually requires an admission fee. Added in 2008 While praised by many as an architectural achievement of sorts, it tends to contrast a cold and sterile feeling, against the environment of the original museum. I was look forward to going though, and always find new and interesting things to capture through the lens.

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further reading 

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art - Kansas City

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Time to Google

Screen shot of Time Warner KC “promotional” rates on 10.28.2015

We finally got our chance to ditch Time Warner, in favor of Google, and are so happy to finally be out from underneath their heel. I must admit that the speed Time Warner provided near the end was quite sufficient for our needs, but it was the long-term relationship with the firm that caused the irreconcilable differences.

I wish I had kept a log the entire 20 years or so, having been a customer with them since the introduction of broadband. The most recent example occurred when just a few months ago our bill increased yet again, with them citing “the end of a promotion.” That in itself is not uncommon or terrible. However, this sort of activity had been going on for the entire length of our experience with them. They always provided a bit different “promotion,” of course. Sometimes, it was better. More often than not, we ended up paying more. One can never really get a straight answer out of them about their actual rates, either.

Working with their representative at the time of this recent example, we negotiated another “promotion” to the Ultimate 300 package. She was actually a bit rude about it, when we expressed that it did not really matter, since we were going to switch Google as soon as they came to install sometime in March. Overall though, it was good speed and fairly consistent; that is, if it were not for the other set of usual problems with them and their service.

Already a concern, we were only averaging of 10 Mbps download speed. After the upgrade, we were supposed to be getting up to 300 Mbps. Contacting them again, apparently we did not have the right modem. They shipped a new modem, and we were getting close finally at 100 Mbps. Again, we contacted them. It seems they forgot to pair up the service with what we were paying for. They did whatever magic they do on their end, and we were instantly over 200 Mbps. We only broke that barrier a few times though (see table below).

With Time Warner, it was always this way. On top of all of that, the in between periods were filled with generally poor customer service. They did start to get their act together in the last six months. Customer service and the reliability of their service started to improve. It was too little, too late, for us though. When Google contacted us to install Fiber, we nearly threw a party.

So far, Google Fiber has been fantastic. On install, we clocked at 984 Mbps, and we continue to hover between 900 and 1000 on every check. Time will tell though. It is the ultimate test. Will Google become that same demon? Let’s hope not.