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!

Loopy

Another week has come and gone. Our schedule has been kind of crushed by having to be at Green Lake twice a day (midday and 5 p.m.) to drop and pick up Annabelle for a drama camp. 

We've tried to make the most of the disruption by doing things in that part of town that make the trip worthwhile. For instance, CJ and I have done the entire walk around the lake three times this week. 

It's not that far - just three miles - but still, it's definitely not part of our 'normal' routine. 

One big upside is that there are lots of dogs for canine-loving CJ to check out. Today, we saw 38 different dogs during our circle. :)

CJ also found a few blackberries along the way.

We always stop and contemplate the fact the Led Zepplin played for an audience seated in this tiny "aqua theater" back in 1969. Three Dog Night was actually the headliner that day. Led Zep were basically unknowns. 

Check out this concert poster. OMG, Plant, Page and all were just babies!

CULTURED: Our afternoon wasn't just a stroll in the park. We also made a visit to an important new museum in Seattle.

Specifically, the Rubber Chicken Museum. 

It's inside Archie McPhee, one of the bestest stores anywhere. 

The Rubber Chicken Museum is just the back wall of a smallish store in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, but I kid you not, the display was really comprehensive - well, when it comes to the history of the rubber chicken. :)

 We learned about all sorts of rubber chickens, including a supposedly haunted one (below).

 Rubber chickens have great influence 'round the globe. The one below was on the wall of MSNBC at some point, apparently. 

 There is rubber chicken 'fine art.'

 CJ couldn't quite measure up to the World's Largest 'Rubber' Chicken.

I couldn't help but examine the giant chicken. "Papier mache," I predicted to CJ before poking it. 

Yup, definitely not rubber.

Cutesy Cake

BEACHY KEEN: We're busy with a number of projects at MPA, but the top of the 'must do' list yesterday was finishing a birthday cake for a turning-two-year-old.

This is our third project for the nonprofit Birthday Dreams. They're a nonprofit "dedicated to bringing joy, hope and dignity to homeless children with the gift of a birthday party."

Our cakes usually skew older and less cutesy, so this was a bit of a stretch for us.

We used crushed vanilla wafer cookies to make sand. The water is buttercream. 

We used gum paste and fondant to fashion swimsuits for Teddy Grahams. Their towels are marshmallow fondant. Annabelle made some gum paste shells, as well. The beachballs are gumballs covered in gum paste. A few gummy sharks and fish are on the scene, too.

CJ helped with the bulk of the baking (a triple layer chocolate brownie cake), while Annabelle had a big hand in decorating. 

We hope the toddler and her family enjoy the creation. It weighed a ton when we were done! 

Fondant and Drama

CAKE BY THE OCEAN: Another busy day at MPA. We spent a good portion of the day working on our latest donation for Birthday Dreams, a local nonprofit that provides birthday parties for homeless children.

For this particular cake, the parent requested an ocean theme for their toddler. I looked at a few cakes online with a beachy theme for inspiration, and we were off.

I'll post photos of the finished cake tomorrow, but would you believe we spent part of our day today making fondant bathing suits for tiny teddy bear cookies? That's normal, right?

LOOPY: On Monday, Annabelle started a three-week long drama camp with Seattle Public Theater. It will culminate in three public performances at a quaint little theater on the shores of Green Lake.

The play she's involved in is "Summoning Frankie." Per Seattle Public Theater's website, this is what it's about: "Frankie's wizarding life has been completely mapped out. Attend the Academy and follow their parents' picture-perfect plan. However, Frankie is tired, bored with magic, and would rather just watch Netflix. However, when a dark presence begins to take over their world, threatening their friends and everything they hold dear, Frankie and their friends of misfits must finally face their fears to discover that destiny and magic have a way to lead you to surprising destinations."

It's a big commitment for us to drive to Green Lake twice a day for three weeks, but Annabelle was SUPER lucky to get a scholarship to participate through the fabulous TeenTix program, so we couldn't say no to the opportunity.

After dropping Bee off, CJ and I have been enjoying strolls around Green Lake. He's in heaven there, because it's dog walking central! Yesterday it seemed 9 out of 10 people were walking golden retrievers. Today, the German shorthair was the most oft-spotted dog (no pun intended).

CJ ventured into the water for a moment or two yesterday. He reported it not too terribly cold. 

If you look across the lake, you can see a clearing with a brick building. That's the theater where Annabelle is practicing.

Doing the loop takes us about an hour. That's a big chunk of the day, but it seems like time well spent. Hopefully CJ and I can manage it most of the days Annabelle is being dramatic.