March 29, 2014 - Trip The Light Fantastic

On the shores of Lake Washington, Husky Stadium, with its familiar cantilevered roofs, stands quiet and still on gray, wet night while the calm waters trip the light fantastic.

March 26, 2014 - Sonic Bloom

Dan Corson's "Sonic Bloom", solar powered art installation outside of the Pacific Science Center, was installed in 2012 to commemorates the center's 50th year of discovery.  The 33' high flowers glow during the day and light up in vivid, changing colors at night.  
 



 

March 26, 2014 - Mural Mural on the Ground

The mural of Seattle Center's Mural Amphitheater as reflected in a puddle on the amphitheater's stage.

Paul Horiuchi was commissioned to create a mural for the 1962 World's Fair.  The 17' x 60' work of art, "Seattle Mural" was initially placed over a pool and surrounded by some of the fair's temporary structures.  Mr. Horiuchi's "Seattle Mural" is a collage made of 160 color variations of Venetian glass installed on 54 panels.  The mural design began with pieces of colored paper torn and made into a collage.  It was intended to evoke the natural beauty and colors of the northwest.  It now provides a recognizable backdrop for dozens of public concerts, festivals and gatherings held each year at Seattle Center. If you knew of a band from Seattle, chances are they've played in front of this mural.

{Here is a 50 minute concert Pearl Jam played 8/23/1991, several days before the release of their first album "Ten". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKFzoSWKnzg}

Mr. Horiuchi has a story not that unusual for Japanese Americans of his generation.  He was born and raised in Japan while his father worked for the Union Pacific Railroad in Wyoming.  In 1920, at the age of 16, he got on a boat to the US to join his parents, meet his father and his three younger siblings.  Mr. Horiuchi did well working for the railroad, but when the Japanese employees of the railroad were fired and evicted from company housing following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  As he was outside of the exclusion zone imposed by Executive Order 9066, Mr. Horiuchi wasn't placed in a relocation camp as many Japanese Americans on the West Coast were.  He scraped by supporting his young family with whatever work he could secure.  Things were bad enough that they actually applied to be placed in a relocation camp.  They were denied.

Following the war, Mr. Horiuchi opened an auto body shop in Seattle's International District.  For Mr. Horiuchi, art was a hobby.  His work had been recognized at regional art shows, but in 1950 a financial crisis compelled him to sell some paintings.  He quickly found that that there was a lucrative market for what had been his hobby.  He was able to sell his auto body business and start a new career in art.

March 24, 2014 - Sharing Space

Sharing space in Seattle's skyline today: the Space Needle and a waning crescent moon that is rapidly fading as the Spring sun climbs higher.

March 8, 2014 - Splashing, Soaking, Misting

Heavy rain, wind and the 6800 cubic feet per second volume of water at Snoqualmie Falls create a  heavy mist, at times nearly completely obscuring the 268 foot falls.  While the volume of water may seem high, the water flow was 17000 cubic feet per second less than 48 hours before.

The two power plant located at Snoqualmie Falls generates enough electricity to power 16,000 houses.  The first power plant was completed in 1899 and is located 270 feet below the surface of the river.  It was the world's first completely underground power plant.  The second power plant is located down river from the falls and became operational in 1910.

March 8, 2014 - Trumpeter Swans

 

A group of Trumpeter Swans is watched over by a pair of a Bald Eagles in a sodden field on the banks of the Snoqualmie River outside of Carnation in east King County.

March 4, 2014 - Vicariously Voodoo

It's Fat Tuesday!  I'm not going to any Mardi Gras events, but a coworker returning from chilly Lousiana (39 degrees!) brought a little Mardi Gras to me!  The festive beads came from the oldest Carnival club in Houma, LA - Krewe of Terreanians.  It included one necklace with a real Voodoo doll......complete with instructions!

"step 1. Lie down the voodoo doll on table or hang on the wall
step 2. Close your eyes and concentrate deeply on your victim or enemies at (office, school, exwife, etc) or friend (any person you intend to help)
step 3. White pin is for good luck. Black pin is for evil!
step 4. FOR EXTRA POWER CALL THE VOODOO KING IN NEW ORLEANS TO ORDER YOUR DOUBLE PINS FOR DOUBLE POWER"
In case you were wondering, no contact information for the Voodoo king is provided.

March 1, 2014 - Sign to Go

This restaurant in a Seattle suburb closed last fall.  Apparently the owners retired after 35 years in business.  I was surprised that the restaurant remained a viable concern as long as it did. The old sign and dilapidated building certainly didn't convey any sense of tasty food prepared in a clean kitchen.  I could never bring myself to patronize such a run down looking establishment.  One might look at the sign and find the pre-prefix phone number, the rustic style and the slant-eyed caricature wielding chopsticks as quaint.  Not I.  I've always been bothered by the caricature.  The building is being torn down to make way for something else.  The sign couldn't come down soon enough for me.