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. :(

Jammin'

THE HOME SHOWS: Last night an event we've been looking forward to for months finally happened. Seattle-based Pearl Jam played Safeco Field.

It has been five years since the hometown rockers have played a show in the Emerald City. I think it safe to say, it was worth the wait.

There was *so* much hype surrounding this show, I was wary about trying to get to and from the stadium, so we had an elaborate plan in place. At about 3:30 on Wednesday, I dropped CJ off at Christian's work, about a mile or so from the stadium. They walked over to the lightrail station and rode to the show. 

Meanwhile, I had to head north, to the Green Lake neighborhood, to pick Annabelle up from her drama class. We left our car there, and then Kennedy played our "Uber" driver and took us to the west edge of the University of Washington campus. 

We walked a mile across the campus to the light rail station (traffic was so bad, walking the mile was faster than trying to drive it). We then took lightrail right to the stadium. 

There, we met Christian and CJ on the street by the stadium, down where Christian had stashed our getaway car at about 6 a.m. 

In order to avoid paying big bucks for stadium food, I had brought sandwiches for the kids and salads for Christian and me. We were going to take them in and eat for dinner before the show. (Christian even called Safeco Field customer service to make sure the rules about bringing food in were the same for the concert as they were for Mariners' games. He was told that it would be fine. 

Well, that was wrong. When he arrived dinner in tow, he was turned away. Not only that, you could only take something about the size of a postcard into the stadium with you. That meant no purse for me or Annabelle, and no backpack for CJ. 

So, we had to stash our stuff in the car, and sat on the curb near the railroad tracks by the stadium, and ate our dinners there. An added bonus: I didn't have forks for our salads because I was going to get them in the stadium. So we ate the salad with our hands, no dressing.  Whatever. At least it only cost a couple of bucks for dinner. :) That, and we were sitting alongside several homeless people while we ate, and I couldn't help but think we were lucky to have food, period, and that we were going to a concert, which is an outing many can't afford to make.

Outside of Safeco Field, even Junior was dressed for the event.

And speaking of being dressed, CJ had on a shirt we custom-made. He could have sold several of them that night.

Fortunately, the concert was fantastic. Definitely worth all of the trouble.

Below, CJ shares a bit about the experience.

On 8 August 2018, we went to the first of Pearl Jam's Home Shows at Safeco Field, concerts held to raise awareness about the ongoing homelessness crisis in Seattle, as well as raise money to fight the problem. The Home Shows, while partially named such because of their natures as fundraisers, are also named such because Pearl Jam is from Seattle (or rather, Seattle is their home). The concert I attended was their first in Seattle in over five years.

During the concert, Pearl Jam played several obscure "b-sides" (a song included with a single that does not appear on a conventional studio album). For example, according to setlist.fm, Pearl Jam opened with the song "Long Road", which only appeared as a b-side on the single "Merkin Ball" (a collaboration with Neil Young). Pearl Jam also played a number of covers, including a snippet of "Help!" by the Beatles, "Friends" by The White Stripes, "Throw Your Hatred Down" by the aforementioned Neil Young, "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, and "Rockin' in the Free World", also by Neil Young.

Noticeably, Pearl Jam is significantly "heavier" live than in studio, often utilizing faster tempos and louder volumes. One can only wonder how the band will live up to 8 August's concert with the one scheduled for 10 August.

My takeaway from the show is that I have grossly underestimated Pearl Jam's contribution to American music - and mankind, for that matter. 

Pearl Jam often has a fund-raising component in association with their concerts, and for the Seattle shows, they chose to raise money to help with the problem of homelessness. So far, they have raised $11 million during the campaign. That's fantastic.

The Seattle Times' review of the show can be found here: https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/music/photos-pearl-jams-home-shows-rock-for-a-cause-on-night-one-at-seattles-safeco-field/

And Crosscut's review of the show and info about the fund-raising aspect of the event: https://crosscut.com/2018/08/what-pearl-jam-did-last-night-and-seattle?utm_source=crosscut-facebook&utm_medium=social

MOON MUSING: An email from The Museum of Flight today gave us notice of a European Space Agency contest. The topic is investigating the ways that 3D printing could be used to create and run a habitat on the Moon. Specifically, they ask "if you were headed to the Moon, what would you want to 3D print, to turn a lunar base into a place that feels like home? Tell us your idea, to win a chance of actually getting it printed."

The contest closing date is 23 September 2018. It's open to all ages and nationalities, and there will be an adult winner and an under-age-18 winner, chosen by URBAN consortium members and ESA engineers.

Here's a short video about the contest.

Fun and Game

RINGING: Today, after dropping Annabelle off at drama camp, CJ and I were back to our new 'norm' of hiking the three miles or so around Green Lake. 

It was 90 plus this afternoon, so the trail wasn't very busy. And unlike last week, when we saw 38 dogs during a lap, this go-round we only saw 17. 

We managed to beat the heat, and CJ grabbed a few blackberries along the way.

This evening, when it was time to pick Annabelle up, CJ and Christian had their trunks on and enjoyed cooling off in the lake. Annabelle and a friend did, likewise. Splashing around in the water was FAR superior to sitting in rush hour traffic!

In the photo below, in the far, far distance, you can see CJ making his way down the high dive steps. For the first time, he bravely did the low and medium dive boards, but the big one was a bit more than he wanted to take on today. No big deal, especially since it's basically the first time he's been swimming this summer. I'll bet he'd go off it next visit. :)

WE'RE JAMMIN': This week is a big one for the Seattle music scene. Grunge gods Pearl Jam are playing two shows at Safeco Field, Wednesday and Friday this week. We're going to the Aug. 8 show. 

The buzz for these shows has been ENORMOUS. They are being staged as a huge fund raiser to help alleviate the "homeless" crisis.  I personally have so much I could say about that topic (it's really not just a homelessness issue, it's a mental health and drug addiction funding issue, for starters), but I'll skip that for now.

Anyway, CJ and I decided to drop by the 'merch' tent for the shows today, in the shadow of Safeco.

Um, BIG mistake. There was a half-block width serpentine line that waved back and forth six times outside of the actual merch tent, and then another four times inside.

CJ and I spent 45 minutes to get through two of the 10 layers of wait and tapped out. (Did I mention it was 90 plus, we were standing on asphalt with no shade and no water and no bathrooms?)

Um, yeah, I don't need any $40 t-shirt that badly.

GAMING: This weekend, we hit a handful of garage sales and picked up a number of new-to-us games. One is a card game called Guillotine. 

Just as an aside, this card game is from Wizards of the Coast, which has its headquarters not far from our house!

Anyway, this game is super fun. Easy to learn, engaging to play, attractive artwork, and I won tonight, which means it's an excellent game. ;)

Familiar Favorites

TRUE BLUE: This weekend was Seafair in Seattle. That means parades, pirates, hydroplane races, and the Blue Angels!

We live right between Boeing Field, where they land and take off, and Lake Washington, where they perform their air show. So we get to see and hear them four or so days each summer.  

Saturday afternoon, we drove up over our hill to the lake side to get a good spot to view parts of their aerobatics. 

It's always a thrill to see them!

WARS OUTDOORS: Saturday evening, we had a birthday party in the park. We met G&G, R&J, K&A and had a picnic dinner of sushi and tons of other snacks. Then the big show was Hello Earth Productions staging the first/original Star Wars move in its entirety.

The characterizations, the cast, the props the sets ... it was all SO good!

Above and below is our friend Shaina, playing Darth Vader. How many kids can say that Darth Vader is their former babysitter? CJ and Annabelle can. :)

These are the droids you're looking for!

The R2 on rollerskates was such a good idea. And a slide whistle was her voice. So clever!

This same theater troupe has staged Star Trek in the park for the past few summers. They always do such a great job with nontraditional casting.  For instance, the (female) actor playing Luke this year was Captain Kirk in previous summers. Also, the scene below is Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, but the traditional genders are swapped.

It all works, wonderfully.

Following is CJ's (super abbreviated) summary of the show.

Since 2010, Hello Earth Productions has annually held free-attendance plays in Dr. Blanche Lavizzo Park, located in southeast Seattle. For every production except the most recent one, the plays were adaptions of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes (for example: Space Seed, The Devil in the Dark, etc.)

This year's production was a full-length adaption of the 1977 blockbuster Star Wars (later titled A New Hope), which sprouted an international media franchise and became a staple of Western pop-culture.  I attended the 4 August 2018 performance of Wars Outdoors (Hello Earth's name for their production of A New Hope), which packed the seats of the auditorium full. Wars Outdoors featured the entirety of A New Hope's plot, complete with the climactic destruction of the Death Star.

Considering that Wars Outdoors is a relatively low-budget production funded by donations, as well as being held outdoors, Hello Earth had to get creative with some of the props. Prior to the start of the play, attendees were encouraged to go down to the stage, grab a piece of paper, crumple it up, and then throw the scrunched paper at the stage at a certain point in the play. A large gray balloon was used to represent the Death Star, and was popped to represent the destruction of the space station.

Loved their 'chess' pieces! Sometimes you need to let the Wookiee win!

Luke and his light saber.

Using the Force!

The Death Star plans (on what looks suspiciously like a Dollar Tree shower curtain).

I just loved their interpretation of the X Wing fighter!

Red Squadron, ready to take on the Death Star!