Burn, Baby, Burn

HURTIN' FOR CERTAIN: KOMO news headline from earlier today: "Smoky 'unhealthy' air is now worst in Seattle this century."

Beijing had better air quality than we did today.

See that purple dot - the one that's not just 'unhealthy, but 'very unhealthy' just south of Seattle and north of Renton? That's us.

My eyes feel like they're inside out, and my persistent cough is coupled with dagger pains in my chest. Fortunately, Christian and the kids are faring better, but it's not good for anyone. Even our poor dogs are a mess.

When a friend on Facebook posted this morning asking, "What can we do other than worrying about it?" I went off to the Google. 

Fortunately, I quickly landed on an answer that would help alleviate our air quality hopefully significantly, easily and cheaply, from the University of Michigan's medical school.

Check out this video (synopsis - get a GOOD furnace filter and put it in front of a box fan):

Fortunately, we have a box fan already, and so we just went to Home depot and bought the best 20x20-inch filter they had in stock. 

Back home, CJ carefully checked its air flow direction marking, and then mounted it on front of our box fan.

 And there you have it - almost instant air filter! So quick, so easy, and I could feel and smell a change immediately. Gosh, I wish we'd done this days ago.

In more unsightly news, I decided to dive into the furnace in our basement to check its filter for the first time since we moved in here. 

Um, yuck. 

 Needless to say, that has been replaced now, too.

In order to escape the heat and smoke, we purposely just wandered around retail establishments today (five in all, I think, says the woman who hates shopping). 

First stop was Walmart. I think we were there an hour and a half. A new record (and one I don't hope to break). 

We entertained ourselves with all sorts of things, including this freaky, rough looking Wookiee mask.
When CJ had it on, Bohemian Rhapsody came on over the PA, believe it or not. That meant some head banging was in order.

For whatever reason, you can't hear the song in the video, you're just going to have to feel it. ;)

We had a loooooooong, luxurious (cheap) lunch at IKEA (I asked the kids how long they thought we could stay there before we got kicked out), then hit Home Depot, Jo-Ann, and Value Village.

Fortunately, the skies are looking a bit better tonight. 

Gee, I'd *love* to be able to open our windows tomorrow. 

Music & Drama

GETTING DRAMATIC: This weekend was busy, busy, busy. After two weeks of drama camp with Seattle Public Theater, Annabelle and her castmates performed a new, original play together three times (Friday evening, a Saturday matinee and a Saturday evening finale).

I just loved the script, by a local writer,  Seayoung Yim. So clever and relevant and contemporary!

Here's what Annabelle has to say about the experience. ...

At the Bathhouse Theater, Seattle Public Theater has a variety of summer acting camps. This year, a select few students were able to participate in these camps for free, including me. The play I began work on was an original script called “Summoning Frankie”, a show about a group of students overthrowing a corrupt official at their underfunded U.S. wizarding school. There was a total of 6 actors, with the script being tailored by the playwright (Ms. Seayoung Yim) to fit our needs.

The course ended up being 2 ½ weeks long, but it felt more like 2 weeks due to a sudden script change 4 days in. Each actor plays at least 2 characters, some up to 5, which makes quick costume changes and different scenes difficult to perform. Most of the time, when not on stage, the actors would either be preparing to go on or helping with costume changes, acting blocks, and props.

My castmates were all great sports and we all enjoyed suggesting story ideas and developing our characters. The performances went smoothly and the few errors that did occur ended up fine. I strongly suggest attending or volunteering with Seattle Theater Group, who helped this production come to life. They have multiple courses for everything from set design to opera, allowing for a wide range of ways you can get involved with the drama programs.

Though that show is over, Annabelle was invited to participate in a (free!) set design mentorship/internship, and so we'll be spending lots of August going to and fro Green Lake. She has a couple of set design sessions under her belt and is really enjoying the experience. 

(SUB) POP GOES THE CONCERT:

Saturday, I went to Bee's plays solo, because Christian was indulging CJ's musical passions. They went to Sub Pop’s 30th Anniversary Party on Alki Beach in West Seattle. There were four stages of live music, pop up record stores, food trucks, and more. 

When I looked at the event's map, complete with 'soft' and 'hard' road closures, I suggested the two take a car with bikes strapped to the back, make their way that way, and park and then bike in the last mile or two. That's just what they did, and it worked out very well for them.

CJ can tell you more about the experience. ...

Sub Pop is a record label from Seattle, WA, best known for having signed multiple "grunge" bands that would become very popular in the early 1990s, such as Nirvana and Soundgarden (and, to a lesser extent, Mudhoney).

In Summer 2018, Sub Pop Records turned 30. To celebrate this occasion, the label held a festival on Alki Beach in West Seattle. Sub Pop set up a page on their website containing information (times that bands would show up, stage locations, etc.) about the show.

My father and I arrived to the show at about 6 P.M. At 6:13, we saw Shabazz Palaces at the Flippity-Flop Stage, staying for a half hour before heading east to the Harsh Realm Stage.

We needed to get food, so we waited for half an hour in line to get into the Christo's on Alki. While waiting, Mudhoney started their set.

After we finished dining at Christo's, we headed west to the Loser Stage to see the night's final act, Father John Misty. Misty played an entertaining set for about an hour, full of folky rock 'n roll.

 While at the festival, CJ, the vinyl collector, made sure to get the four singles pictured below, pressed by Sub Pop and sold via KEXP.

 He can tell you a bit more about them. ...

At the event, there was a stand selling "split singles" (usually 7" vinyl records with songs by different bands on each side.) The singles were available for $7 for one, or $25 for all four. In addition, the singles came with mini-posters that could be put together to make a full poster representing the event. I bought the 4-single bundle, which I later started to play at my house.

Unfortunately, the singles evidently had crappy pressings. Mudhoney/Hot Snakes' single, for example, has noticeable lumps (as well as a "tag" at one part of the record's edge), as well as several skips. Worse yet, it had a surprisingly large scratch, right out the sleeve.

So that was a bit disappointing, to say the least.  

All in all, though, a great experience. I'm so glad they got to go. 

Solar Flare

An illustration of Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Credits: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

SUNSHOT: Saturday night, we stayed up way too late to watch a first-of-a-kind probe, the Parker Solar probe.

Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Ed Whitman

At about half past midnight Saturday/early Sunday morning, it roared off a launch pad at the Space Coast, atop a big ol' Delta IV. Such a mammoth rocket! Love to watch it go!

                Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will be the first-ever mission to "touch" the Sun. The spacecraft, about the size of a small car, will travel directly into the Sun's atmosphere about 4 million miles from our star's surface. Launch is targeted for Aug. 11, 2018.

After watching the video (above), the kids and I talked about *why* NASA would want to study solar winds. I dropped a hint or two and they quickly remembered that some space probes rely on solar winds for travel, and if we know more about solar wind, we could potentially better harness that power.

The mission is named for Eugene Parker, the physicist who first theorized the existence of the solar wind in 1958. Remarkably, it’s the first NASA mission to be named for a living researcher.

Renowned physicist Eugene Parker watches the launch of the spacecraft that bears his name – NASA’s Parker Solar Probe – early in the morning on Aug. 12, 2018, from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Credits: NASA/Glenn Benson

On board the probe: A memory card containing more than 1.1 million names submitted by the public to travel with the spacecraft to the Sun. As you might expect, we here at MPA are on board, at least in name. Can't wait to touch the sun!

'HONEY DO: Last week was all about rock-n-roll for MPA. Wednesday night we went to an EPIC concert by Pearl Jam at Safeco Field. It was three-plus hours along and we were super tired on Thursday, but wanted to keep a promise to CJ that we could go to KEXP (a world-famous radio station, broadcasting from Seattle Center), to see Seattle punk/pre-grunge band Mudhoney talk about their THIRTY years of existence.

Below, CJ will share a bit about it. ... 

In 2018, KEXP-FM, did a series of "Turntable Sessions", featuring interviews with bands associated with the station. On 9 August 2018, KEXP did an interview in their headquarters with Seattle band Mudhoney, composed of lead singer Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner, drummer Dan Peters, and bassist Guy Maddison. During the interview session, the band primarily talked about their early days, in the late 80s (before grunge became a national sensation). Prior to the formation of Mudhoney, Mark Arm and Steve Turner were both members of a band named "Green River" (after the notorious Green River Killer who make local headlines in the mid-80s. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, who would later be in Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam, were also in Green River. Green River put out two EPs and an album prior to disbanding.

During the interview, the band discussed about some of Mudhoney's discography. Steve Turner expressed regret at the fact that he wore shorts on the cover of Mudhoney's self-titled album. The band also mentioned their upcoming (as of the time I'm writing this) album "Digital Garbage", set to release on 28 September 2018.

After the main interview, the band took questions from the audience. I got to ask if the band was aware of "Greta Van Fleet," an up-and-coming band from Michigan that is said to be revitalizing a dormant rock scene in the U.S. Mark Arm was not aware of the band's existence, and half-jokingly inquired if I was in it. Meanwhile, Dan Peters stated he had read a column in a magazine about Greta Van Fleet, and that was the extent of his knowledge about Greta Van Fleet.

Apologies that I don't have a photo of the event to share. My cell phone was behaving badly. :(