Much Ado About Something

WINTER WONDERMENT: Thursday morning sparkled plenty. We awoke to a couple of inches of snow. So pretty!

I snapped the photo above at about 7:30 a.m. A few hours later, I saw our neighborhood's Facebook page put out notice of a photo contest, and asked readers to share. I posted the photo above and ended up winning the contest. My 'prize' is the photo is featured as the neighborhood's cover photo for a week.  Not 'get rich' type winnings, but a nice nod.

FANCY PANTS: Thursday night we did something very sophisticated. We went to the opera! :)

A friend helped secure us seats to a full dress rehearsal of Seattle Opera's production of "Beatrice and Benedict" at McGraw Hall, on the Seattle Center campus. 

We had great seats just a few rows from the stage. The sets were impressive, the staging first rate, the acting was on point, and the script and show were entertaining. 

The photo below is from much further away than our seats. I had a coughing fit during the second act and had to step out for awhile, and finally snuck back in to the back row until I was sure it subsided.

The opera is based on Shakespeare's play "Much Ado about Nothing." The program we got at the show noted that in the title, the final word was pronounced 'noting' in Shakespeare's time, and referred to eavesdropping. So it's not truly nothing after all, it's just the kinds of things you might misunderstand if you're eavesdropping!

CJ and Annabelle have a bit to share regarding the show. I'll post CJ's thoughts first. ...

Last night, my family drove through a snowy night near Seattle Center to visit the Seattle Opera's first dress rehearsal. We visited for the Opera's first dress rehearsal of the 1862 play Beatrice & Benedict, written by French playwright Hector Berlioz. Beatrice & Benedict is heavily based off of William Shakespeare's 1599 play Much Ado About Nothing.

The program given to guests at the opera describes the plot as follows:

The titular Benedict and Beatrice are the main characters of the play. Beatrice is "A young woman who hates men (and Benedict most of all)." Similarly, Benedict is "A young soldier who hates women (and Beatrice most of all)." The play was in two acts (with a short intermission), and was two and a half hours long.

For the entirety of the play, there was a large set resembling old Italian buildings on stage. Much of the dialogue was difficult to understand, but thankfully, there was a screen above the stage that often had subtitles of the speech on it.

And Annabelle has this to say. ... 

“Beatrice & Benedict” is the Seattle Opera’s adaption of the classic Shakespeare play Much Ado about Nothing. The story begins when a troop of soldiers returning to the town of Sicily from a successful battle. While a celebration begins, the two titular characters begin to square off on how they would never be married to anyone, and how much they hate the other’s guts. On the other end of the spectrum, Claudio, one of Benedict’s fellow soldiers, falls in love with Hero, Beatrice’s cousin. This angers Don John, the army general Don Pedro’s brother, and he devises a plot to ruin their plans for marriage. Meanwhile,Beatrice and Benedict’s acquaintances plan to make the two realize they’re in love by pretending to gossip and willfully letting them overhear it. Beatrice and Benedict fall for it and each other, but Don John’s plan is about to succeed in splitting apart Claudio and Hero! As the two relationships reverse,there’s only so much time before Claudio and Hero’s wedding is called off! 

The play, while having a bit of spoken dialogue, tells most of its story through song. The songs, however, would be almost unintelligible if it weren’t for the “supertitle” lyrics displayed on a screen at the top of the stage. The acoustics in the theater are horrid, but the Seattle Opera will soon get their own opera house. The play itself was rather entertaining, and the translators did an excellent job with some of the songs that were originally in French. I would recommend the show to anyone who loves Shakespeare and romance, as some of the language and jokes are rather dated. It was a fun experience and I’d be open to seeing the Seattle Opera again, perhaps not in that venue.

Here's the Seattle Opera's trailer for the show. 


There are many more audio and video files about the production on the Seattle Opera's website. And they even have the entire dialogue to the play in a PDF on their site. Cool!

Reviewing

SEEING IS BELIEVING: Wednesday morning, the kids and I spent some time learning about a collection of Depression-era photos called the Osborne Images.

The photos were often taken by forestry students in the 1930s using a 75-pound panoramic camera lugged to a fire lookouts or other scenic perches. 

The images are being revisited by people now as they can offer an important comparative perspective on how things have changed in the last 80 or so years.

For instance, the Seattle Times published an article recently showing a new view of ecological change across the Pacific Northwest, including the dramatic disappearance of glaciers on Mount Rainier. 

One of the photographers who has revisited Osborne Images sites is Wenatchee-based photographer John F. Marshall. For instance, he re-created the same image seen above with modern equipment. You can see that 83 years later, the valley in front of Rainier stretched out bare and empty of ice. 

Marshall became involved in recreating Osborne Images in 2010, when asked by Richy Harrod Ph.D, fire staff on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, and Paul F. Hessburg Ph.D of the Wenatchee Forestry Sciences Lab, of the Pacific NW Research Station to re-take the panoramas at selected lookout sites in order to get a perspective on landscape change.

You can read and see more about the project on Marshall's website: https://www.wildlandnw.net/osborne-panoramas-historic-and-modern/. It's definitely worth a look!

Also, for The Nature Conservancy in Oregon, Marshall scanned and uploaded more than 1,200 images, now available through an online archive. Check them out here: http://maps.tnc.org/osbornephotos/about.html

More than 3,000 Osborne images,  are stored in the National Archives in Seattle.

IN REVIEW:  Annabelle recently completed reading "The Last Kids on Earth" by Max Brallier. The book is described on the author's website as being "DIARY OF A WIMPY KID MEETS THE WALKING DEAD IN THIS HILARIOUS SERIES FILLED WITH WISECRACKING KIDS, CRAZY GADGETS, AND A LIFETIME SUPPLY OF ZOMBIES AND GIANT-SIZED MONSTERS" (all caps his, not mine).

Here's what Annabelle had to say about it. ...

The Last Kids on Earth is a book by Max Brallier about Jack Sullivan, a teenager in the small town of Wakefield, before it was suddenly overcome with a monster apocalypse 42 days ago in-story. His goal? Find his friends (if they’re alive), complete the “Feats of Apocalyptic Success” (an achievement system he made up), and defeat the huge monster that overlooks Wakefield known only as Blarg. His first run-in with Blarg (which he wins or at least escapes from) is at the local CVS while attempting to retrieve an eyeglass repair kit. He doesn’t wear glasses, he just needs a really teeny tiny screwdriver to repair his Walkie Talkie, the only form of communication he has with his best friend Quint Baker.  After narrowly avoiding the Blarg and being shocked multiple times as he replaces the battery, he makes contact and the two friends construct their home base- a treehouse in Jack’s yard. So begins Jack Sullivan’s journey of ultimate apocalyptic conquest.

The Last Kids on Earth, while rather short, does have its funny moments. The illustrations are well done and the characters feel well-rounded. It turns out that this is a series, though I’ve only read the first book. The book is said to intrigue the 4^th through 6^th grade group, and this seems like a fair suggestion. If you’re into monsters, graphic novels, and comedy, this is the book for you.

The book even has its own trailer, which you can see here. ...


OCEAN HUNTERS: As you may know, CJ and Annabelle have a penchant for vintage video games. Recently, they gave an old 'gem' named Ocean Hunters a shot. 

One night, while visiting the 8-bit Arcade (a local arcade) in Renton, my sister and I noticed a rail shooter (a genre of games that used to be prevalent in arcades) titled The Ocean Hunter. Intrigued, we went to the machine with our cup of quarters, proceeding to sit down and insert our quarters into the cabinet.
Simply put, The Ocean Hunter is a game that revolves around, as its title implies, hunting fictional creatures in bodies of water located in various different places. Strangely, only a few of these bodies of water appear to be oceans, while others are lakes.

In The Ocean Hunter's levels, your objective is to make your way to the end of the levels, where the bosses reside. Between you and the bosses are a fascinating and terrifying variety of deadly enemies, headed straight your way. In the halfway point between the start of the level and the boss, there are often "mini-bosses", foes that, while larger than the standard enemies, are not as formidable as the bosses at the end of the levels.

The Ocean Hunter was originally released in October 1998 (the dated, polygonal graphics make this clear). While rare in most of the world, the game is apparently common at arcades in Singapore.

Overall, beating The Ocean Hunter made for a mediocre half-hour. Anybody with enough quarters could make their way to the end, and once the novelty wears off, the game becomes rather forgettable. I don't know how much money my sister and I spent beating it.

Iconic

ROCK-in IT: On Saturday, we headed to Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPop (formerly EMP, formerly Experience Music Project). The occasion was two-fold: First, we got to see a cousin of mine who was visiting Seattle. Second, we really wanted to see the "Bowie by Mick Rock," an exhibit of iconic photographs from the 1970s. 

I would have loved to be Mick Rock "just for one day" (to steal a line from Bowie's "Heroes"). Above, my cousin and his friend check out my favorite wall in the Mick Rock exhibit. 

Of course, that was just part of what's at MoPop right now. We had to go pay homage to the Jimi (Hendrix) exhibit. ... Below, is a guitar he played at Woodstock.

 We also checked out the Star Trek: Exploring New Worlds exhibit.

 So much, so good there!

We checked out the always awesome Infinite Worlds of Sciece Fiction section.

Nano nano!

 And we tiptoed our way through the "Scared to Death" exhibit. 

We were there three hours and it wasn't nearly enough time. We didn't even get to see the special Jim Henson exhibit. :( Good thing we bought a membership. We'll be back soon. 

GROUNDED: Yesterday, the kids finally got around to planting our living Christmas tree. It wasn't just any tree. Dubbed "Rocket Boy," this unique little tree had a story to tell. You can read more about it below. 

First up, CJ's version. ...

My name is Abies Koreana. Today, a strange group of humans dug a hole in their yard and set me down, creating a new residence for me. Let me tell you my story:
It all started down in Kent, a peaceful town. I was accompanied by a variety of different trees, few of them from my ancestral location, Korea. I do not recall much else of my brief time at the Kent nursery, though, as humans quickly arrived to take me to their house.
After arrival at their house, I remained in my little black pot for months. Later in December (the month that the humans brought me to their house), the humans put a bizarre collection of figures on my branches. The humans referred to these figures as "ornaments", and had me carry them for several days. During this time, I witnessed red, blue, yellow, and green lights all across the living room.
Come mid-February, and the humans began digging a hole in the corner of their yard. Eventually, they began carrying me to the hole, and finally removed me from my pot. Soon after, the humans piled dirt around me, thus installing me as part of their garden.
My hopes and dreams are to grow into a fixture of the yard, maybe someday attracting new potential homeowners.

And Annabelle had this account. ...

I am an Abies Koreana, commonly known as a “Korean Fir”. I started as a seed, which usually flies down from a pinecone, but was instead planted directly on a farm. Before long, I was put in a small, cramped pot, which didn’t allow my roots to grow very much. The pot was shipped off to Kent Eastville Nursery, where I stood in a back corner waiting to be chosen. My roots grew to one edge of the pot, wishing I had more room so I could grow bigger and stronger. Near Christmas time, I was finally tipped onto a cart and rolled into a Honda CR-V, on my way to my new home in Skyway. While I lay sideways in the car, most of the dirt was tipped out of my pot and all over the seats. My branches were pressed up against the ceiling and the walls. It was a very, very uncomfortable ride.
Once I arrive, I’m dubbed “Rocket Boy” and I stand on a small table in the living room. Covered in colorful lights and science fiction ornaments that weigh me down, nearly tipping me over as I’m covered with a red, green, and orange tree skirt. I stay there for a while, watching multiple people weave in and out of the house as the actual owners are on vacation. After December, my pot is moved outside into the cold backyard. I stand in the corner for what feels like months and months even though it’s just two. Today, I was finally transferred into the soil in a shady corner of the yard. I watched the people struggle to dig through rocks, fabric, and mud just to have a spot for me to live forever. I was finally settled into that spot today, having my burlap bag cut and my roots free to grow. I can’t wait to see how tall I’ll be! 

Beauty Abounds

  An illustration of Jupiter's Clouds.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Kevin Gill

GLORIOUS JUPITER: Earlier this week, I have marveled at Jupiter, shining so big and brightly in the early morning sky. 

Today, we marveled at the latest photos NASA's Juno space probe has returned from our gigantic neighbor. Flying at around 130,000 miles per hour, the orbiter snapped these photos of Jupiter's clouds on February 7. The raw data images were received back on Earth on Valentine's Day. Interestingly, the photos we see online "rarely come from NASA, though: The data gets posted to a special website where a community of science and art enthusiasts can take the black-and-white files and tweak them into stunning color pictures, which they upload back to the site," reports International Space Academy.

The photo below is another one of the latest images. Is it wrong that when I saw it, my first thought was, "I'd love to do that in buttercream. ..."

SPARKLE PLENTY: We continue to spend some time volunteering at a transitional home for women. Though it's home to about 35 women, its looks more like an institution than a home. So, we're doing little things here and there to try to change that. 

They have to use payphones to call friends and family and potential employers. They are scattered throughout the facility and are super dated.

So, we decided to have a little fun with them by adding a designer vinyl wrap to their outsides.

We use contrasting washi tape as trim, and added pencil cups and little cork boards for notes, complete with custom made button-topped thumb tacks.

A friend donated a nice little desk or book case lamp to the cause. It had good bones, but Annabelle and I decided to give it some bling.  

We added about 50 cents' worth of ribbon, and used our Cricut machine to make some lettering. The lamp literally sparkles now. :)

MORNING STROLL: We started the day tuned in to NASA TV to see some of today's spacewalk.

NASA Photo: NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei's “space-selfie” during U.S. EVA-47, the first spacewalk of 2018.

This morning's six-hour space walk was the second one in 2018. Vande Hei and Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai completed work upgrading the robotic Canadarm2. They also shuffled the locations of the two old latching end effectors (LEEs) that were replaced on earlier spacewalks.

Treasured

GOLDMINE:  We ran many an errand today. We dropped off a sizable donation of fabric for the Refugee Women's Sewing Program at Hillside Church in Kent (https://worldreliefseattle.org/sewing), and dropped off a couple of dozen brand new Mariners lunch boxes for students in need at Kent Elementary. Afterward, we hit up the "BinWill" (a Goodwill where things are sold by the pound), in hopes of finding some vinyl albums for CJ, a new and avid collector. 

We dove into the bins, hopes high. CJ didn't find anything he was initially interested in, but I found things he should be interested in. We came home with a half dozen 'new' albums, most notably I, Robot from Alan Parsons Project.

CJ played it when we got home, and instantly fell in love. Here's his review. ... 

Way back in 1950, famed science fiction author Isaac Asimov's novel, I, Robot, was published, and soon after became a renowned classic. The novel takes the form of an extended interview with robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin concerning robots with intelligence.

27 years later, British progressive rock (prog-rock) band The Alan Parsons Project released their album I Robot, named after Asimov's novel. I Robot, a concept album, revolves around many of the same themes featured in its namesake novel.
I Robot opens with a track of the same name, a six-minute long electronic instrumental. After the instrumental ends, the song I Wouldn't Want to Be Like You (probably the most well known song from the album) begins playing, featuring iconic British pop singer Lenny Zakatek as a guest vocalist.

As a whole, I Robot, as is to be expected with most any prog-rock album post-1973, has heavy Floydian influence. I Robot came out in the same year as Pink Floyd's iconic album Animals, also a concept album.

In the end, I Robot makes for a very interesting listening experience.

What CJ didn't know at the time of listening to it - Pink Floyd didn't influence Alan Parsons. Rather, it was the other way around. One Mr. Alan Parsons was the producer of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." 

I, Robot is a PHENOMENAL album. A treasure acquired for a dollar today. 

FINALLY, IT ADDS UP: We spent our morning doing Algebra, and were thrilled we actually finally maybe totally get the latest concept Khan Academy is trying to teach us. We failed hard and often the first go-round, but by talking it through and working things as a group, we nailed dimensional analysis this go round. Yay for us!

DUNKIRK: We've seen the 'blockbuster' movie, and we visited the site itself in France back in September. During World War II it was a war torn spot, but what a beautiful spot it was when we visited.

Thanks to a friend's social media post today, I learned there's a new PBS documentary about Dunkirk. 

We will definitely check it out!

Heart to Heart

HANDS ON: This afternoon, we four made two dozen hand warmers. Ingredients? Baby socks, rice, rubber bands. Simple! They will go to help people who suffer from sickle cell anemia.

HEARTS APLENTY: There are so, SO many awesome space-related Valentines to share. I super love these Mars- based ones. So many Red Planet hearts!

COLLECTIONS: The whole family pitched in to help Annabelle craft her Valentine's Day 'box.' She used a licorice container, an oatmeal container, a dollar store red bowl, construction paper, gaffer tape and more to craft a piranha plant from the Super Mario game series. 

It was a big hit and she received many a cute, crafty Valentine in return.

ALL-AMERICAN TRAGEDY: Another day, another school shooting.

They're all awful. AWFUL. And this one is especially awful. Because if you live in America, you get to 'rank' school shooting by the body count, and this one was big and bad. 

It's not OK. It's not normal. #ThoughtsandPrayers aren't going to change things.

It's waaaaaaaaay past time for meaningful gun safety legislation. 

Another Adventure

BARN PARK: Sunday, more sunny skies came our way, despite a forecast for rain. Wanting to seize the sunshine, we took another walk along another new-to-us trail.

For a few months now, we've been driving by a small-looking roadside park with a covered area that looks like a barn. Sunday, we finally visited.

I'll let Annabelle tell you a bit more about our Sunday stroll. ...

Codiga Park is a partially restored wetland on the Duwamish River in Tukwila. The park used to be a dairy farm owned by the Codiga family, but has since been returned to its former wetland state. The park is home to many types of birds including Eagles and Great Blue Herons, one of which we saw during our visit. The park has a small mud flat area right next to the river which would be ideal for picnicking or fishing, being directly in the sunlight although a little squishy.

The mudflats Annabelle described are right across from a big BECU office building, just west of Interstate 5. 

After we wound our way through Codiga Park, we continued westward, toward the Tukwila Community Center and another waterside trail. Annabelle continues. ...  

When we took a walk in this area, we came across a U.S. armed forces memorial that was dedicated to both active and retired veterans. The memorial was a small pentagon-shaped pillar with a wrought iron “fence” around one side. There were gorgeous plants along the sides, including what looked to be a short, beautiful, bright yellow-green tree.

All in all, a great little excursion, a nice water front walk, and so close to home!

VALENTINE-Y: I just love these nerdy NASA Valentines from NASA's OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission