MORE SIGNAGE

My friend Dimitri lives in this apartment building. Directions: On 15th, just past 55th, the one with the Viking Ship. Over the years I've passed this building countless times and wondered, "What were they thinking?" But, eventually the quirky ugly stuff becomes endearing. I love this bulding now, not just because of the signage...
But also because the building falls so far short of it's modernist yearnings that it's kind of like Charlie Brown's christmas tree... you gotta love it, poor thing.




Another example of great signage - the sign and the object are the same thing:

BUMPERS

I don't know why I love this picture so much, I just do. I like the contrast of the rough wood with the glassy-ness of the water, the reflected light, the semi-gnarly bumpers...

THE STORY BEHIND THE PICTURE

I was cutting through Greenlake last weekend to catch a bus home and I had my camera in my hand - it was a spectacular day and I was really liking the light through the trees and the view of the far shore. As I walked to the edge of the lake and snapped this picture, the kid in the lower right corner stepped into frame. He had been walking on the path with his friend and they were tossing a ball back and forth. The kid you see had tossed the ball behind him and it went into the lake. A disagreement ensued. The kid who missed the ball thought the kid who threw it should go into the lake. The kid who threw it thought the kid who missed it should do the wading.

I didn't stick around to see who went in, but, I have an opinion. I think the kid who tossed it should get his feet wet. He threw the ball blind and the trajectory went right into the water - the catcher never had a chance.

Anyway, I dig the picture. I thought about cropping the kid out, but then it's just another picture of Greenlake. I wonder what story I can make up about this kid the next time...

CHESS LESSON

Seattle parks are such a great place for people watching. I watched these two playing at the giant chess board at the Bobby Morris Playfield a couple of weeks ago. Well they weren't really playing, he was teaching her. It became obvious fairly soon that this was a chance encounter - they didn't know each other.

NEW FLYER

I've been looking at signage lately. There are signs everywhere, little tiny messages, giant billboards, but we have a unique capacity to filter most of it out. I remember seeing a photo of La Cienega Blvd. in L.A. - it was taken near the 10 freeway and looking east up to West Hollywood. Practically all that was visible were signs. Hundreds of them. This was shocking because I worked and lived right off of La Cienega, and drove up and down it at least twice a day, and yet I never saw the signs. It was like I had blinders on the whole time - and I did, because when we are looking for something in particular, we have a tunnel vision that edits out all the junk that doesn't pertain. If we were just hanging out, looking at the view from the vantage point of the photographer, we would probably let our eyes rest on the most pleasing part of the scenery - this hills in the background, or a particularly large building, and still not see the signs.

Anyway - the signs are everywhere, even this little gem, which I had never seen before even though it is on all the newer buses in the Metro sysem, and I ride the Metro buses every day.

BLUE PROW

One of the things I like about living near the water is all the water para-phanalia. Boats and all the boaty things. I also like that I can walk down to the water and out onto a dock and loiter about, listening to the slosh of water against hulls or jettys. I love being on the water. I love the crafts that ply the water. Once again, it's about going somewhere, but doing it in such a relaxing way. Often, on a nice day, I'll catch a ferry to Bainbridge, just to be on the water. When I get there, sometimes I just stay on the boat for the ride back. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

THE BRIDGE

Seattle has water everywhere and bridges to cross the water. These are the struts of the Aurora Bridge - Big, picturesque, tempting, dangerous. I don't know which is bigger, the Aurora Bridge or the Ship Canal Bridge over which travels I-5... Aurora is definitely prettier. I practically hold my breath when crossing this bridge - it has 6 lanes of 2-way traffic with a yellow painted line between them, and a long drop to the water. It's amazing that there aren't more accidents here. It is also the bridge favored by jumpers. Seattle has a high suicide rate and bridges to accomodate - not really a good combination.

I took this picture on a Wednesday evening in mid-July around 7PM when I found myself wandering around the ship canal waterfront in Fremont. Not a bad place to be on a July evening. I've discovered that wandering around Seattle with my camera in my hand (not in my backpack) reveals visual riches, unexpected and delightful.

RAPID TRANSIT

Going to school at Seattle Central everyday, I can keep an eye on our Rapid Transit progress. Across the street there are several blocks in transition - the old buildings have been torn down and the earth is being moved - all in preparation for the Capitol Hill train station. I can also take pictures of heavy equipment - big bonus for me.

Gaining Entry

In my many travels I have been known to take an inordinant number of pictures of doors. Doors fascinate me, especially when I'm in a foriegn country - they are mysterious. Where do they lead? What's inside? When traveling, we are always outsiders, there's no escaping it. It's often frustrating to be a tourist, because what I really want to know is what everyday life is like in any particular place, and we can never know that unless we live there... and even if we live there, we may always be considered outsiders, we may never know what is beyond the doors.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

A storm rolled in last night and now Seattle is rattling with the rolling thunder. The flash lightning takes us all by surprize. It is raining, therefore Broadway, and other streets are wet. I'm sitting in Chocolati on 45th and looking out at the wet July evening. Coffee. Oatmeal-raisen cookie. Tom Waits singing "Blue Valentine". Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.