tv, bumbershoot progresses, the henry and the burke

i didn't mean to not post anything yesterday. i was just binging on the first two discs from season two of veronica mars and, you know, kinda' ran out of time? (yeah, yeah. just keep that little "veronica" tidbit to yourself, will you?)

also in tvland, on pr last night, ANGELA FINALLY GOT VOTED OFF!! about damn time too!

and that's all i'll say about that.

today i stopped by the center to get some photos of experimental housing project being installed.







also at the center? i found my evil twin. she was on the ground.



today saw a trip to both the henry and the burke.

the henry



and the burke.



let's start with the henry, shall we?

my main goal in visiting was to see systemic landscapes and skyspace. i wasn't disappointed by either exhibit.

i spent a lot of time watching people from the level above the maya lin exhibit. so, in essence, i was watching people walk under the "water line". (it's the first image on the "systemic landscapes" link above)

prepositional phrases make me laugh.

also at the henry were byron kim's threshold and akio takamori's the laughing monks.

since no pictures were allowed in any galleries, this is the photo that you get.



yes, brochures.

i'm too tired to gush about how awesome everything at the henry was except to mention that i saw my fist kim "belly" painting and, holy hell, why haven't i been to "skyspace" before today!?! so, you know, take my word for it and visit the museum if/when you're in town. (if you live in seattle, you've got 3 more days to view the maya lin installation. you're doing yourself a major disservice if you don't see this.)

since i was in the udistrict, i decided to drop by the burke. i'd never been and this too is surprising to me. (i heartheartheart natural history museums!)

the burke has some AWESOME fossils! seriously, the mammoth is, er, well mammoth! (i have a special place in my dark little heart for mammoths.) and there was one rock with something like, fifteen trilobites inside of it. fifteen!!!

the basement has a permanent exhibit entitled pacific voices. while you walk through the space, you will occasionally hear young japanese schoolchildren chanting "konichiwa!" on the looped video tape.

it's really cute.

but then, when you 'round the corner after the lushootseed exhibit, you will see the most awesome rangda mask. i gasped. really. and then i sat and stared at it for about 10 minutes.

also at the burke was the wildlife photographer of the year. kind of cool. my favorite images (bence máté's "yawning fox" and danny green's "red deer headgear") must be everyone else's favorites as well since they were both available as postcards.



yeah, i'm a sucker for postcards.

i'm also a sucker for naps so i'm off to get some rest. (then maybe i'll get some work done. i've been such a slacker these past two days.)

stuff and things

not much besides work today. but that's not a bad thing. productivity is great!

i will tell you this, however, even when seattle motorists almost run over you, they're polite about it. i had right of way in a crosswalk and this guy (on his mobile, of course) came just a little too close to my feet (and legs, and well, all of me, really) for comfort. so i hit his suv with my envelope (i was headed to the post office) to snap him out of his trance. he rolled down his window and apologized.

i'm still not used to this sort of thing.

speaking of seattle, it was a year ago today that leff and i loaded up the truck and began our five day trek out here.



i'll never move that far in a uhaul again. esp not with four cats in the cab.

right, back to work.

doubletake for reals

so i did it. i went to doubletake. this is the only picture you'll see



since photography was not allowed.

what did i think of the exhibit? well, it was a bit heavy on the impressionists for my tastes. but, considering that it was an exhibit aimed at making as many people as possible happy, that's ok. impressionists are crowd pleasers.

also, paul hayes tucker currated. and, well, the impressionists are his thing.

there was a great kenji yanobe (atomic suit project: desert) and, the real reason for my braving seattle center, gerhard richter's candle.(not exactly the version that i linked to, but it'll give you an idea.) also, my two favorite abex daddies, jasper johns and william de kooning were both represented. (although, sadly, not one of de kooning's women.)

some griping: the pamphlet makes a big deal of talking up "framed vs. unframed". like, some old masters have been reframed in comtemporary ways for the show. which, you know, whatever. but i wish they could've used some nonglare glass on some of the paintings. because, christ, hello? those spots, the ones illuminating the gallery? they reflect. esp on the fischl. and it was exactly the part in which i was interested.

also, if i tell you that i don't want the audio guide, don't keep asking me. i don't like the intrusion of scripted audio in a museum setting.

and, if i check my bag, could i please be allowed to exit the way that i entered? look, i like frank gehry buildings as much as the next person. but, in my experience, they don't exactly have the most straightforward of layouts. without coffee, i am a very confused person. please don't make me have to navigate modern architechture any more than neccesary when i'm groggy. i might bite your hand.

so, in summation, the exhibit felt more like paul allen's attic than anything else. which, i suppose, is appropriate since it was at emp, which is also known as, well, "paul allen's attic". (ok, i call it paul allen's attic but you should too!)

it's worth the admission esp since your ticket stub will get you half off at the henry. so, hooray for that.

in other center news, bumbershoot prep has started.



i'll be checking back throughout the week because i want to document the building of the experimental housing project. (suttonberesculler's suburbia by the international fountain).

smitten, doubletake

sunday was chock full of nothing. i mean, unless you count breakfast at mecca.

i did catch the rene di rosa episode of smitten last night. i'm so in love with him! he single handedly obtained the largest collection of californian art in the world! WOW!! that's all i can really say! just WOW!!

drop by the di rosa preserve site if you have time. i plan to physically visit the place as soon as possible.

i may do the doubletake thing today. maybe. i think i'd rather go to the frye though since they have a new henry darger exhibit (i wonder if it's the same one that i saw at the chicago cultural center.) and i still have't seen trimpin: klompen. (er, looks like it's the emp thing. the frye is closed on mondays.) expect this to be a somewhat museum heavy week. i go through these phases, you know...

bumbershoot tickets and ranier maria

leff and i spent most of yesterday recovering from sunburn. that's not to say that we didn't leave the house because, well, we did. on the way to breakfast we walked past some sort of art fair that was happening in queen anne. they had balloons to indicate where artists had set up their tables. but it felt really disjointed. there were random people scattered around a two block area. it was strange.

when we returned home, our bumbershoot tickets had arrived. w00t!

j dropped by shortly after the tickets arrived and we headed to easy street for the ranier maria instore. this time we stuck around the drum and bass section



to try and get some decent photos. we got one. sigh...



(photo courtesy of leff)

caithlin de marrais smiles when she sings. i wish that i'd gotten video because it's adorably awesome.

today is leff's last vacation day but i'm not sure what we're going to do. maybe the underground tour? hahaha!

one whale of a post

*groan!* these titles, they are *so* bad!

yesterday leff and i took the victoria clipper to san juan island to watch orcas. this was really, really fun (really!) if terribly exhausting. (please note, i'll try to keep whale photos to a minimum as i know that these sorts of things are only really cool if you happened to be there.)

the day started at 5:30 am. which would have been fine and dandy (after three shots of espresso and a cup of complimentary coffee)if the agency through which i had booked our seats had bothered to notify the clipper that we had, indeed, paid for tickets. (don't evereverever book through grey line, kids.)

and so we were placed on priority standby. and we waited, and waited. but then! *sounds of trumpets* our names were announced! HOORAY!

sadly, all of the seats in the lower decks were taken so we grabbed a bench on the upper deck.



the scenery was gorgeous



but it was very, very windy and, thus, very, very cold. i took many trips to the lower deck to stand next to the hot dog machine since it was the warmest spot on the boat.

about two hours, 45 minutes, one bald eagle and a blue heron later we arrived in friday harbor.





several people disembarked (although i don't for the life of me understand what anyone could do in friday harbor for four hours. more about that later.) and then we were off to see the whales! w00t!

several documented pods of orcas live in the san juan island area. we were lucky enough to witness the jpod as they went through their daily routine of eating, communicating and, you know, whale stuff.

the male separated from the group and leff was able to snap his photo when he surfaced. look!



we followed the pod for about an hour (i could be wrong about the amount of time though. i know there are regulations for how long you're allowed to be near orcas since it's not good to disrupt them.) and then we headed back to friday harbor.

several types of gulls and a bunch of coramonts (??) later, we disembarked. for two hours. which, christ on a bun, is too long to spend in friday harbor.

it's....quaint. but having grown up in a small town i've sorta' had my fill of quaint. so leff and i grabbed a bite at the least touristy looking place we could find and then sat near the dock until time to board. because i sure as hell wasn't getting stuck in friday harbor. it would quaint me to death.

the trip back was *much* better since we snagged a booth on the lower deck. plus, we passed point no point which was mentioned in the daniel handler book that i was reading on the boat.

there were also harbor seals.



and wakes from cruise ships which made the ride a bit roller coastery. i heart roller coasters.

so that was whale watching. all twelve hours of it. and i'm still tired so i'll end this now. today, well, i'm not sure what's up. maybe the primordeal boggy thing in first hill?

reminder: vacation

leff's phone reminded him this morning that we were taking a vacation.



it's our very first proper break since moving to seattle. since we didn't have any plans (both of us like to keep things open ended when possible)leff suggested that we walk around belltown and check out some shops that we'd mentally bookmarked.

first stop after passing the catholic seaman's club,



(snicker, tee hee!)

was federal army and navy surplus. i know what you're thinking, you're thinking "army surplus?!?" but, you know, they're awesome stores. i found a pea coat, some fantastic navy pants, a new bag and a pair of googles that i'm going back for. but not these googles.



there's rocket parking for, uh, your rocket just outside of the store. which is nice because it's hard enough to find parking in this city for a car, let alone a rocket.



since we were on first ave we had to drop into schmancy. it's as compulsory as breathing and twenty times more fun. kristen rask doesn't mind if you take photos of her store (if you ask politely.) (she's so cool!!)) here's a shot of the interior that i took especially for jme and groc.



check out these teeny ice creams! (and the lady that looks like she's thinking "whoooa! ice cream!")



leff and i purchased a string doll gang little prince



and a scarygirl mini.



honestly though, we would buy the whole store if we could.

after admiring some of the munnies that were left from the schmancy sponsored munny show last month, i snapped a shot of another knitta tag



and we were on our way to bed, bath and beyond. (yeah, yeah, i know. just hush, chitterling. we were scoping out storage bins and sheets.) on the way we saw a booger.



i won't bore you with tales from the linen department.

after bb&b we stopped off for a fantastic sammich at the third street deli? the third street cafe? whatever it's called, it's on third ave next to bed bath and beyond and it's quite low key and tasty. i wish that i could remember the name 'cause it's a great spot for a quick lunch.

eating made us kind of sleepy (i had turkey. don't eat tryptophan and run, kids.) but we still managed to stop by the kcts store where i bought a kite. which, i know, is kind of random but there we are.



the lady that runs the store lived in nashville for eight years. it's always kind of cool to meet transplanted tennesseeans. (for new readers, i was born in tn.) we can always laugh at how wonderful it is to be in seattle during the summer instead of suffering through the hell that is considered a season in the southern u.s.

and so ended our day. tomorrow we're taking a boat out to san juan island and doing some whale watching. i'll be sure to post lots of photos of our twelve hour tour. until then, i have to make some banana bread and egg salad for our trip. later, gators!

cupcakes, the monk, linda's

yesterday i FINALLY made d's bday cupcakes.



i took them to the monk, the home of belgian beers in capitol hill.

it's loud at the monk. which makes things like "we want beer" difficult to communicate without resorting to text.



blurry, drunken text.

after the monk, leff, j, t and i went to linda's where they were screening old classroom movies. there was some antidrug movie narrated by sonny bono who looked really high. most effective piece of propaganda EVAR!

have i mentioned that i love linda's? i do. but i hatehatehate that the 8 bus stops running after 11:30. grrrrrrr!! (thanks to j for giving us a ride home.)

i think i'm going back to sleep for a while. it's too early for writing.

HAPPY BDAY, D!!!, mountian goat cheese

i hate the smell of icy hot in the morning. (although, as a rule, i like topical analgesics.)

"why the menthol stench of icy hot this tuesday morn?", you might ask if you were trying to sound vaguely 19th century novel-ish. it's stress, puptents. my neck and left shoulder kind of *pinged* on sunday morning and now i can't turn my head to the left.

i'm so old.

today is d's bday! HAPPY BDAY, D!!! i'm going to make some cupcakes for you today but i'm not sure when i'll be able to get them to you. (i'll post photos later so you'll know what they'll look like.)

last night, j, leff and i (we're a trio....of awesomeness. (although i'm not sure who is fancy, who's schmancy and who's pants. (uhm, this link might help clarify what i just wrote.))

let's start that over. last night, j, leff and i went to the mountain goats instore at easy street.



it was crowded. and hot. and i hadn't had enough to drink. and my hoodie smelled like icy hot.

we left early since j and i both kind of have this crowd phobia thing. also because there was more talking than playing of music and i just wasn't in the mood for that sort of thing.

i'm going to cut this entry short because i *really* need some coffee. photos of cupcakes later in the day.

snakes on a plane and one long ass day

ever notice how when you start the day by drinking that the alloted 24 hour time span for, say, "sunday" seems to stretch out to equal something more like 48?

it's got something to do with string theory, i'm sure.

j, leff and i had brunch at linda's yesterday.





holy hell, but the food is great there! (i had the cowgirl taco that had the best soyrizo that i've ever tasted.) and the jukebox rocks. someone played hank williams. i love hank williams songs when i've been drinking on a sunday.

we alternated mimosas with coffee. i don't know about you but when i'm wired and drunk, i tend to drink even more booze and caffeine. which might explain why the table ended up with a round of dewdrivers which are composed of mountain dew and vodka.



yes, a dewdriver. yes, i'd drink it again. but i'm the person who's been mixing vodka and purple slurpees all summer, so, uh, i'm not sure if you want to trust my judgement on this one.

for the record, there's another knitta tag outside of linda's.



i heart knitta.

around this time things get a bit fuzzy. i think we spent a few hours futzing with an external hard drive and, in the process, missed the 1:30 and 4:30 showings of "snakes on a plane". i do remember that we walked to the pirate bar which was closed!!! aaaaargh!

and so we ended up at doc watson's which is more than fine with me. it's one of the mcmenamins bars (it's a small chain of restaurant/bars in the washington/oregon area. i'm sure i've mentioned mcmenamins before. their beer is superb. i, however, had a cherry lemonade. with vodka. are you noticing a pattern here?)

finally, FINALLY at 6ish we arrived at the cinerama. but, of course, we needed coffee. thankfully, top pot is in the same neighborhood.

leff got a raspberry donut.





mmmm! coffee.....mmmmmm! donuts!!! *drooling*

back to the cinerama. after a horrifying encounter with the paris hilton song that was playing in the lobby, we arrived unscathed in the balcony where j looked for "snake" and "plane" songs on his laptop. you know, to set the mood.



he also looked for "internet is a series of tubes" songs but he didn't have any.

right, "snakes on a plane". it wasn't horrible but it wasn't great. i'd see it again if i had had enough to drink. i'd also watch it if the audience was into it. (we had much hissing, "OH!"s and screams and, of course, everyone said the line. you know the one.

oh! before i forget, these motherfuckin' chicken posters have sprung up (schwing!) all over seattle this weekend.



(photo courtesy of j.)

and that brings us to today. if you have an etsycraft entry to post, today is your last day! i can't wait to see the winners!

mono-derailed again

d'oh! looks like the blue train is out of commission for the second time this month. once again, no passengers were harmed (thankfully) but this time we got pictures!











(photos courtesy of leff)

game on and on, sat so far

j and i went to pacsci yesterday for, you guessed it, the game on exhibit. you won't be hearing much more about this from me since it closes on august 31. (i'm sure you're relieved.) anyway, here are three more photos because i think that game cabinets are pretty.







hopefully, those will be the last photos from the exhibit that i'll post. but i'm not promising anything.

j is the reinging king of something. he has a crown in his car.



i'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's the king of cartoons.

sat so far-- a test with a jet lagged kid, the start of ciao, america and not much else. i think i'll go remedy that now.

happy snakes on a plane day

ah, yes. it's august 18th, 2006 which can only mean one of two things: it's either hayfever season or time for "snakes on a plane".

no, i didn't see the movie last night at the cinerama's midnight showing. i'll probably catch it on saturday after i've had a lot to drink.

i am enjoying all of the snakes and, well, planes around the interwebs today. i particularly like etsy's front page selections.



and seattlest has a great review.

did you see the movie last night? i don't care so much about the plot (i mean, i know that already. snakes. on a plane.) but what were people yelling at the screen? do tell in comments, pleasssssssssse.