"Its got ice cubes on it!"

comment left by Mary, with a quote by her grandaughter Jade, when she saw the hail coming down yesterday afternoon:
"Yep we live in Seattle...
When the rain starting pouring this afternoon Jade got a little worried, somethings wrong with the rain! Its got ice cubes on it!"photos by Mary: 1. Jade in her new playhouse, 2. Jade and Nicholas

pouring down rain...

It was pouring down rain this morning, so I decided to try walking in the Mall again. It's been a long time, and I really prefer being outside in the fresh air. Also, I like the sounds of birds chirping more than the Big Band muzak. Oh well. Whine whine...
I've been thinking about getting some decent rain gear anyway, especially since Andrea and I are starting to go hiking again. We're thinking about doing an ocean beach hike this Thursday. Some of my favorite memories are climbing over rocks around points at low tide. And exploring the tidepools, looking at the hermit crabs and starfish...

just sad...

It just makes me sad, how partisan, and how bitter our national politics have become lately. I've always enjoyed the give and take of political discussions, and I've read the newspaper and watched the TV news religiously, but...
I think I'm going to back off a little, take a sabbatical of sorts. At least I'll try. The "Conservatives", or whatever they want to call themselves, have taken the fun out of it.

from the Seattle Times columnist Jerry Large's "Sickly response to health care":

"Even as I jotted the words on my note pad, I braced for the blowback. "Take your social justice crap and shove it Jerry!" That note was left in the online comments section by Maxima in Seattle."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/jerrylarge/2011467801_jdl29.html

a few of the critters I saw during my walk this morning...
I ache to have a good camera...

Doonesbury, from today's Seattle Times

time...

I wish (actually, I'm choosing not to) I wish I could indulge myself here and upload some photos and write write write... But duty calls. Today is supposedly going to be rain-free, and I have to get outside and continue painting.
I'm very pleased that I got out and walked though. The breathing in of the cool morning air, the textures of the treeline silouetted by the rising sun... food for the soul.
I'm also gaining an hour or two by not going to see my mother today (Tuesday and Saturday have been my days). A few siblings and myself have decided to cut our 2 times a week visits to once a week. I'm feeling a little guilty right now, but we're hoping maybe this will get her out of her room and down to the lunchroom more. Even if just for the exercise.

Rush Limbaugh

I remember back in the 90s listening to Rush Limbaugh's radio show, mostly for it's entertainment value. I was a liberal, but just like I enjoy a good chess game, I can enjoy the give and take in political discussions too.
Until...
the health care efforts during the Clinton administration, and the First Lady's active participation. I was honestly surprised and turned off by the increasing venom and almost hatred? coming out of his mouth for Hillary Clinton during those weeks.
It stopped being fun to listen to Rush Limbaugh.
Today's column by the New York Time's columnist Paul Krugman expresses some feelings I've held for a long time...

"Right-wingers gone wild"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2011453247_krugman27.html

a day hike in the rain, yesterday

Our original plan was to hike the Chirico Trail, and watch the paragliders who launch from sites around the 1500' elevation. Driving east through the mist and rain, we decided to do a shorter lake hike on the other side of Tiger Mtn. Really nice, and well maintained trails.

slug tree
lake raindrops

The drizzle encouraged us to head back to Seattle earlier than planned and visit the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum, which recently opened for the season. Super for taking photos. When we weren't being mesmerized by the Japanese-ness of everything, Andrea and I were both clicking away with our cameras. Visiting the garden always reminds me of my time in Ube, and I still have fantasies of taking my family there and showing them around. Ube, the bullet train, Kyoto...?

Japanese Garden
buds blooming

Before I dropped off Andrea, we stopped at Trader Joes and stocked up on all kinds of whole food and healthy goodies.
A good morning excursion...

West Seattle totem pole

"The fortunes of the New Jersey Nets"

"...7-63 and losers of 14 straight at home - sank even lower Monday night when team CEO Brett Yormark got into a shouting match with a fan wearing a grocery bag over his head".
- from the Seattle Times Sports 'Sideline Chatter' column on Wed 24 March.

Waterfront Whale

I walked along the waterfront this morning...

"Hate Speech Isn't Debate"

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2011413058_edit23hate.html

Although I disagree with the Tea Party people and I support the Health care bill, I like a good fight, and I think it's sad that a few? pathetic characters in their crowd spat upon and hurled racial epithets at lawmakers yesterday...

get up knucklehead

"Get up knucklehead! You'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're dead".
Something I heard this morning on an audio book while driving. No matter how many times I've heard/read this, I always chuckle...

the black wall

The river can be beautiful, even on a gray day, EXCEPT when it's blocked off by an ugly 4 foot high barrier. I'm so grateful that the river down by us is still open and walkable, and I'm guessing that they're being so aggressive further south along the Southcenter area because of "business" and economic concerns. There are many, many businesses running along the West side of the river there, and any flooding could be catastrophic.
I walked along there anyway this morning, as best I could, because I had some "fix-it" purchases to make at the Home Depot store.



if you climb up and peek over the black wall, you can still see the river in places...

my morning newspaper

I felt a little out of sync this morning when I returned home from taking Inday into work. We got up at 3am, an hour earlier than usual so she could start work at 5am, and the morning newspaper still hadn't arrived. I poured my second cup of coffee, got out my latest library novel to read, and I was getting ready to check my email when I heard his truck.
Our delivery person is getting better and better with his throwing ability, and his aim. He barely slows down and just throws the plastic wrapped paper out through his open rider side window as he drives by. The paper has been landing consistently within a 6 to 8 foot circle area just off the sidewalk leading to our porch. He's good!

Being a technophile, I've been fantasizing about getting a "Kindle" or an "Ipad" thing someday. I wonder how much of my need/enjoyment of reading is the physical experience of turning the pages, the feeling a book or a newspaper in my hands, or
the writing/story itself, where the instant gratification of a 3g/4g? download of the latest novel by a best seller could be at the touch of a button. Wouldn't that be something!

Or maybe it's just a habit, this morning routine of mine, for decades...
from a rooming house mail drop off campus at the UW, to the mimeographed "Americal Newsletter" in Vietnam, to the plunk of the Japan Times through our metal door in Ube, to going out to my front yard this morning after I heard the truck drive by.

Not a very wise choice, but I took this sunset shot with my left hand (not looking) when I was driving north on the Alaskan Way Viaduct yesterday.

UW Huskies 80-78 victory over Marquette

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/huskies/2011383234_umen19.html

"Quincy Pondexter's clutch shot with 1.7 seconds left gave the Washington Huskies a dramatic 80-78 victory over Marquette on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament."


<<<<<<
http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/031810aab.html

Before I got out of bed and left to brew my morning coffee today, I said "good morning..." to Inday. She quietly murmured "yeah huskies!"
Last night, when I left the room to do something - Marquette was making their big run at the beginning of the 2nd half (they went up on UW by 15 points!)- of course the TV was on a different channel when I returned. We watched a crime reality show for awhile, and I asked her if she wanted to check on the score. She said "no", so I quietly pulled my little transistor radio up to my ear, and the score was tied at 74-74. I asked "do you want to check?", and I got another "no". "I'm going to have a heart attack." I chuckled and said "ok". At 7:45?, she turned on the ESPN tickertape and after a few of the regional results, up popped the UW win over Marquette.
You should have seen us fly out of the bedroom and into the front room with the DVR, yelling and high fives! We then watched the 2nd half together! What a game!
cr

a few more graveyard photos

Budweiser grave
discarded flowers
Whatever

garbage bag doggie

A garbage bag discarded by the side of the road, during my walk the other day:

remembering our brother Jim

early morning dark

Walking in the morning really makes me aware of our seasonal changes and I like it, but I'm already missing the early morning dark...

my tree of the day: blossoming Funnel tree

the haunted house

Walking north from our house, on the next street, if you peer into the green hedge on the left side, you'll see what the neighborhood kids have always referred to as "the haunted house".
We stopped and peeked in during our walk today, and we noticed something for the first time. There's a car hiding in the weeds and branches off to the right...

Pacquiao and the Huskies

Yesterday was a good sports day for Inday and me. The UW Huskies won the "Pac-10 men's tournament title and the automatic NCAA tournament bid by beating California 79-75 in Saturday's championship" around 4pm, and we then started a marathon of HBO boxing leading up to the Manny Pacquiao - Joshua Clotty fight. Pacquiao is still the best ever, but it was a little frustrating how Clotty spent most of the fight just protecting himself.
"Freddy Roach, Pacquiao's trainer, was upset by Clottey's negative display. 'World title fights come once in a lifetime. If you don't have the balls to take it, and you just want to survive ... well,' Roach said."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/boxing/article7061451.ece
In Pacquiao's last 6 fights, Clotty is the only opponent to make it to the final bell.
Everyone keeps talking about a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, but Manny doesn't have anything to prove. If he wins the election (he's running for a position in the Philippines congress next month I think), he should just retire as "the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions" (Wikipedia).
ps - but if a fight with Mayweather should happen though, I would be one of the millions to watch it for sure!

Walking and writing

It seems like my walking, and my blog writing here, go hand in hand. If my walking routine falters, my entries here diminish as well. My picture taking too. I've been telling myself "I don't have the time..." with all of my house projects and other responsibilities. Baloney! The other voice says "Make time!"

I did have a nice 30-40 minute walk yesterday morning. I walked over to brother JR's house after dropping off the Cobalt in Burien for a trailer hitch installation. The rain decided to take a break, the sun came out, and the wide sidewalks and little traffic made for a very pleasant walk. A really nice day.

"Yield to Peds". That's me. I'm a Ped>>

With my old pickup in auto heaven, I needed something that would give me more independence. With a trailer hitch now, I can rent a trailer for 24 hours for 20 bucks, and make trips to the dump, etc, whenever I want to. If there's a good sale on one if those small utility trailers again, I might even buy my own. We still have at least another year and 3 months here anyway.

I received a text from Andrea just after writing this, and she joined me for a good walk along the Green River. We stopped at the local Starbucks before walking back home.

"Noises Off" play

Went to see the "Noises Off" play last night at Bellevue Community College, with niece Britanny in the role of Belinda Blair. Fun fun fun! It reminded me how much I've missed going to live theatre productions. Brit and the rest of the cast were super, the action and dialogue fast, and I liked the revolving set between the different acts.
I know you say "Break a leg!" before a production. What does one say after a play..?


I googled the image, from a different college production, but BCC's set is similar.

across the street from the Seattle Art Museum...when we were waiting for the museum to open last Thursday

Today's "Doonesbury", by Garry Trudeau, from the Seattle Times:

Published on March 10, 2010

taxes

I know I've always been a liberal, but when I find myself being BOMBARDED by print, TV and radio ads against the Tax initiatives being talked about in Olympia right now, I think:
Geez, the HUGE amount of money they're spending fighting this...it makes me want to vote FOR it if I'm given the opportunity.
I don't watch much TV, but I do read the paper and I have my radio on when I'm driving - maybe you people could invest a little bit of that ad money and help fix the problems?
Just a thought.

Pacquiao-Clotty fight this Saturday

Instead of standing in one place for several hours like we did at the Muckleshoot Casino for Pacquiao's last fight against Miguel Cotto, we're ordering it for home this Saturday. We're excited because this might be Pacquiao's last fight if he wins the election (he's running for office), and he's just plain the best ever!
Joshua Clottey is a former Welterweight champion from Ghana who mixes it up, has a similar record to Manny, and he's 8 years younger.
We invited a few people over, and although she couldn't come, one of my sister's responded: "Darn, I have to miss guys fighting hitting each other in the face. hahahaha just teasing..." I'm not as much a fan of boxing as I was in my younger years, but watching Manny Pacquiao's rise to become the first boxer in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight divisions has been amazing.

"Miguel Cotto getting knocked down after a strong uppercut from Pacquiao" - Wikipedia

Korean film production in Seattle

There was an interesting article in yesterday's Times - "Seattle gets a leading role in Korean film 'Late Autumn' ".
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011285408_koreanfilm08m.html

"...in its portrayal of the city, the movie... nurtured its own affair with Seattle.
Instead of obvious landmarks, the director and production crew chose Ballard's Tractor Tavern for a music scene, filmed at boutique Horseshoe down the street and used the looming Fremont Troll as a backdrop. Kings Inn on Fifth Avenue makes an appearance.

Production designer Seong Hie Ryu was drawn to historic Ballard Avenue.
"It's an old street," she said. "It's got a sense of ... humanity in it."

With more than 40 locations, the production has shuttled its cast and crew from Whidbey Island to a bus terminal in Tacoma and a prison in Monroe."

BORAM ENTERTAINMENT INC.
Tang Wei is featured in the love story "Late Autumn."

Because it's seen through the eyes of a "foreigner", unlike "Sleepless in Seattle' for example, I'm looking forward to how it portrays our city. Also, it was filmed in English.

no people

My brother pointed out something to me the other day about my photos. In general, he told me that they're nice, but there aren't any people. No people.
True. I've always been a little shy, and/or I've always been overly concerned about personal space and privacy? There are many times when I see a person and I think to myself "that would be a good shot", but I don't take a picture. Maybe I should start practicing a kind of "stealth" photography, or use a telephoto when I upgrade to a (much) better camera. There are a whole bunch of things I think I could do with a better camera! My percentages of getting better shots would increase for sure.

That being said, the wind was causing these wonderful ripple patterns on the river this morning.

scientology

A memory popped into my head when I read an article today by the NY Time's Laurie Goodstein, about some 'Scientology defectors' -
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/us/07scientology.html

Back in the 80s?, I was walking along a downtown Seattle sidewalk when I was approached by an attractive young woman who asked me if I wanted to hear about a wonderful new religion or something. I can't remember her exact words, but ignoring my little red flags saying 'no!', I followed her into a building where I was handed off to a young man who sat me down and started telling me about L. Ron Hubbard, etc, etc. He got to the part of his routine where he wanted me to buy Hubbard's latest book, and I said "no, thank you" and I got up to leave.
He immediately said "I feel like I've let you down".
I responded "No, don't feel bad. You haven't let me down. I just don't want to buy your book.", and I left.

I remember that exchange every single time I see the names Tom Cruise, et al...

the words of an artist

Alan and Marilyn Bergman, the amazing lyricists for hundreds of films, etc, were on the CBS Sunday Morning show today. "The Windmills of Your Mind", "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", "Yellow Bird", "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?", "The Way We Were"...the list goes on and on...
Loving Art in all it's forms, I was taken by some words (about words) that Alan Bergman used to describe their work:

"Those words have to sit on the notes just right".

yeh, sure...

**Note - I really need to edit/peruse these entries better. I didn't notice until this morning (Mon, 8 Mar) that I had left out the first part of this when I posted it Saturday: "gold diamonds jewelry and watches" - an advertisement I hear on the radio. These things are just sitting around collecting dust..."turn them into money". I wish...

This is my watch. I bought it during one of our trips around 11/12 years ago. Very little money, and I didn't even have to replace the battery for what seemed like years! Comfortable, cheap, and tough.

"Turn them into money".

Yeh, sure...

the craftsperson in me

There are times when I am so busy that I want cut back on my meditation times, or skip my walking, even when I'm only talking about 20 or 40 minute spurts. These are the very things one needs to do, to give balance to their day. Like sleep, you need to make time. Sometimes, when there's a nervous, exciting energy happening, with the more enjoyable projects, it's difficult to fall asleep. That's when I have to pull out all of the tricks - no tv at night, not even reading a good book, and when my body and mind signals me that sleep is possible, brush my teeth, wash my face, and fall into bed. Asleep in 5 minutes. I remember when I was up on Lopez Island, and I made myself get into bed by 11am because I was dog tired, but only because I was excited about getting up at 7am again, so I could get back to work... Even though I'm burned out with all of these remodeling/getting the house ready to sell things, the craftsperson in me is happy...

from this morning's "short" walk

sunrise jet stream

more blue purple mountains

Galleries, the LRT, "Half the Sky"...

Attending a local 'Half the Sky Live' showing last night with Inday was a good way to end yesterday for me.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/movies/2011226611_halfthesky02.html?syndication=rss
As part of International Women's Day, it was inspired by the book 'Half the Sky,' "to draw attention to efforts to end the oppression of women worldwide." Really, really good.

Early morning - rode the LRT downtown with brother-in-law Bob and brother Mike, had coffee, banana bread and good conversation at a Tully's below the Seattle Art Museum, and then went through the SAM for the First Thursday (free). Bob and I have been doing different museums, etc, on First Thursdays (of each month) for awhile now, and it's a tradition that will hopefully continue for a long time.

Walked up to the Westlake Mall and the 12pm ceremony welcoming back local Olympics atheletes (including JR Celski who got 2 bronzes in Speedskating, and Silver medalist Karen Thatcher for Women's Hockey). Fun, happy crowd, and the sun came out just in time...

Back home on the LRT in time for driving duties, and then off to the "C Art Gallery" just off of Rainer by Dearborn, for the "A Room Full of Sisters" show reception. Daughter Andrea joined me. A small gallery with some very good artists, including sister-in-law Lita. The old refrain, "if I had money"...if I did, I would be a collector (of art) for sure, and I could see myself wandering through small shops and galleries, just enjoying..., making discoveries, supporting artists, sharing...
http://www.cartgallery.net/Artist.asp?ArtistID=16588&Akey=9A679CJP

Back home (again), and then off to the 'Half the Sky Live' event. The original live event happened last month in NY, and yesterday's showings were held simultaneously in hundreds? of theaters nationwide for International Women's Day. A very, very good cause, beneficial for all of us, men included... The world-premiere of 'Woinshet' documentary is a "work in progress" as Marisa Tomei introduced it. Powerful.
http://www.halftheskymovement.org/

Driving home across Beacon Hill around dusk, between the C Gallery visit and the Half the Sky event, I had to stop and take the following shots:





I've gotten into the habit of having my camera with me at all times.

YouTube hockey kid

from Dwight Perry's "Sideline Chatter" column in today's Seattle Times:

Portland, Maine, kid hockey player Oliver Wahlstrom, 9, as quoted by SI.com, on whether he'd consider autograph requests after his trick-shot goal became a YouTube sensation: "I don't know. I'm still printing."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sidelinechatter/2011237470_chat03.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TxGVSw6Ayw

Sunday at Mary's

running children...
Sepia Jade