Commuter Cam 2: Foggy skies and secret signs

I really enjoyed doing the commuter cam thing... enough so that this morning, rather spur of the moment, I grabbed my camera and decided to do it again. There really does seem to be something to bringing my camera to work that forces me to break free of my zombie march, and look at the things that surround me a bit. So, here goes...

This time, instead of doing things in chronological order, I think I'll sort of group things thematically.


As you can see, it was pretty foggy on today's walk into work. I just love images like this, with high-rises disappearing into grey skies. They aren't necessarily unique, but there's still something mysterious about them. I wonder what people are doing up there? And can they see the ground?


Here's another building disappearing into the sky... but for a whole different reason. Construction continues, presumably on schedule, for the building across the street from where I catch the street car.


And, while one building goes up, another comes down. This isn't really the best picture of this building that is being torn down. But, I like how the reflections of the Streetcars lights look on the window. It sort of makes the image more dramatic, and gives it a sense of motion. Whoooosh!

Also, notice the cranes in the background. My friend wasn't lying when he told me that he counted 13 cranes one day while standing in one place; the other day I counted 15!


And here's the inside of the Streetcar. I think it sort of has that 2001 vibe. It's fun how 2001 started out as a futuristic version of the future, then became a retro-version on the future, and is now a retro-version of the past. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but I'll let you try to parse it out.


62 is my lucky number... I hadn't noticed my lucky utility box until today, though.


With all the construction in this area, the street are lined with spraypainted marks like this. But, because I'm the type of guy who collects comic books and used to play rollplaying games, I always like to pretend that these are secret runic marks left by urban wizards locked in some sort of midnight turf war. Awesome or dorky, you make the call.


Someone's living their dream.

Sometimes, while walking across the dock on Lake Union, I see this strange bird. It's some sort of loon or something. Anyhow, I was hoping that it'd be there today for me, and it was! Not only that, it picked a picture perfect place to pose for the camera.


I think I'll pretend its good luck whenever I see this bird on the way to work. He looks lucky. Like the number 62.


Actually, the timbers of the old dock that the bird was perched on are actually pretty cool. Some of them are really rotten, somehow defying gravity and refusing to fall into the lake.



Others, though, are long gone.

Feeling City

So, Sarah and I are going to Austin next week. Since Sarah went to college there, it will be a bit of a homecoming for her; but it will be my first time there. Thinking about that has got me reflecting on all the cities I've visited in my lifetime, and that -in turn- has led to lists.

So, instead of rambling about Lost and X-men like I had originally intended, I've decided to present my Top 10 Cities List! So, without further ado...

10. Hobart, Tasmania - While I enjoyed both Tasmania and New Zealand immensely, I have to admit that their main appeal lies with their spectacular scenery, wonderous terrain and great wines. That said, Hobart managed to win me over with its quaint old-world charm. Even if the hotel we stayed at was.... well... a complete dump, the rest of the city was filled with cute cafes, shops, inviting bars, weekly markets and great walkable streets. It amazing that, while Hobart was possibly the farthest I'd been away from home geographically speaking, it could feel so much like home.

Sarah at the market in Hobart

9. Portland, Oregon - The secret to Portland's charm lies with the fact that it is basically Seattle, without all the development, but with a better public transportation system. Even though Portland is only several hours south of Seattle, I've actually only been there a handful of times. But, each time I've been there it's impressed me in some new way. In fact, on our last visit, Sarah and I agreed that if we ever needed to move to another city, Portland would be on the top of our list.

8. Bangkok, Thailand - Most people seem to hate Bangkok. It's crowded, dirty, noise and imfamous for its horrific traffic. But, I think that might actually be part of the appeal to me. It also probably holds a special place in my heart since it was the first foreign city I ever visited. But, beyond that there is still some appeal to a sprawling chaotic megaopolis like Bangkok. It might be overwelming, but it's unmatched energy and great food also make it entrancing.

7. Cape Town, South Africa - Possibly the most stunning city view I've ever experienced is when Sarah and I took the gondola to the top of Table Mountain and stood looking down at Cape Town spreading out around the bay below us. I always find myself wanting to compare it to San Fransisco, but honestly the similarities are superficial and tangental. But, while South Africa and Cape Town are still struggling with their fair share of problems (racism, violence), there is no denying that Cape Town is one of the most scenic cities in the world.

A panoramo Sarah's brother stitched together of several photos we took on Table Mountain.

6. McLeod Ganj, India - McLeod Ganj was a place that I had to warm to a bit. When we first arrived there, its cramped streets filled with tourists and hippies was a bit of a turn off. But, in the end the city has a way of sneaking up on you. With its quiet moments and misty vistas of guesthouse perched atop of steep green hills, and its forgiving Buddhist backbone, McLeod Ganj ended up being the perfect place for Sarah and I to rest and reorient ourselves in the otherwise overwelming country of India.

...and there's Sarah in McLeod Ganj!

5. Prague, Czech Republic - Prague was the first city in Europe I ever visited, and it still represents Europe to me more than any other city I've visited. With its countless church spires and narrow cobblestoned steets, Prague hits all the perfect notes for just wandering around and enjoying the afternoon. With both cafes and Communist history, and a network of both streetcars and subways, Prague always seemed to have something interesting to do, and a good way to get there.

4. Buenos Aires, Argentina - It's like Paris... but in South America. Yeah, that's sort of a trite observation, and one that also misses some of Buenos Aires unique charm, but I still can't help but make it. Thick with cafe culture and late night parties, Buenos Aires has a charm that manages to be distinctly its own, while also drawing comparisons to a number of cities in Europe. Good wine, great neighborhoods and tons of meat for dinner... just thinking about it makes me want to go back!

3. Leh, India - Leh barely counts as a "city." It's more of a "village," a Buddhist encampment nestled in the Himalayas. A small swath of green surrounded by miles of magnificant brown mountains, and decorated with prayer flags. I don't think a single place we visited on our 7 month journey brings on such quick and fierce reverse-home-sickness as Leh. Its the type of place that just challenges you to wander around, do nothing all day, and be content just contemplating life.

...and Sarah, AGAIN, in Leh!

2. Istanbul, Turkey - At the point that Sarah and I reached Istanbul, we were both feeling burnt out by travelling. We had sort of reached the point were we were tired with the challenges present by changing locations on a day-to-day basis and relearning the basics of life each time. But, Istanbul still managed to win us over. There's something stirring and symbolic about the cities location straddling the Bosphorus, literally with one foot in the west and one in the east, that compels the visitors mind to take romantic flights of fancy (and type sentences like this). Aya Sofya, the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar and the ancient Cisterns, cute cafes, great restaurants and countless otherthings add up to make Istanbul one of the best cities I've ever been fortunate enough to visit.

Istanbul... but no Sarah!

1. Seattle, Washington - I know, it's probably a little cliched to pick my hometown as my favorite city... but it's true. If travelling has taunt me anything, its that while I enjoy seeing wonderous, far-flung locations, I also enjoy coming home at the end to Seattle. Great bars, great restaurants, great coffee shops, stunning views of the Sound, the Cascades, the Olympics and Mt. Rainier, good shops and music scene. Heck, I'd say Seattle was made for me, except its probably more of a matter that I was made for Seattle.

Well, that's my list. Actually, having just finished it, I'm already regretting making it. I mean, just think of all the great places I've visited, but left off of it: Hoi An, Pushkar, Queenstown, Cairo, Veliko Tarnovo, Budapest, Barcelona, Port Antonio, Miami, San Fransisco.

Heck, thinking about it more, I'm sure that Valparaiso definitely should have been on that list.

Drat.

Week in Review: Life ain't just Commuter Cam

The last couple weeks on this blog, I've pretty much been obsessing over the whole Commuter Cam thing, so you might be inclined to believe that I haven't been up to much else.

And, you'd be wrong, punk!

For example, just yesterday Sarah and I flexed our respective democratic muscles, and attended our very first caucus! And, it was hot. Literally. With all the people jammed into the Seattle Labor Temple, things got a bit stuffy. But, beyond that, it was a pretty interesting and impressive experience. Here's sort of a blow-by-blow summery of how things went:

Once there, we went into a large room where there were a number of tables with numbers for each district posted above them. We checked in at our districts table, and they have you declare whether you are for Obama, Hillary or uncommitted. We declared Obama, which we'd both been leaning to recently. After milling around for a bit, a woman got up on the stage, introduced herself to the crowd, had everyone do the Pledge of Allegiance, and explained how things would work.

Then each district got into a small group, with our district having somewhere around 40 people there. The district head (who, like Sarah, had apparently been fighting a cold all week) then had every one who was for Obama stand on one side of him, everyone for Hillary on the other, and uncommitteds stand in the middle.

There were about 30 Obama people, about 10 Hillary supporters, and a couple uncommitted. Then, each side got to pick one person to get up and give a one minute speech about why people should pick their candidate. After that, we had another 10 minutes to mingle... which basically turned into about half the people swarming the uncommitteds and trying to convince them to join their side. This was possibly the most interesting part, since from where I was standing on the Labor Temple stage, I could watch people jockey for position in front of the one or two undeclared people, the whole time declaring that the people representing the other side were full of crap.

After the 10 minutes were up, the district head asked if the uncommitted had decided, and if anyone wanted to switch sides. One went to Obama, one to Hillary, and one Hillary switched to Obama (I think, it was actually really chaotic).

Our district sends 9 delegates on to the next stage, the Legislative District Caucuses, which is in April. Based on the number of votes, our district is sending 7 pro-Obama delegates, and 2 pro-Hillary delegates.

I'm actually an Alternate Delegate... which is sort of like being Assistant (to the) District Manager.

Here I am, mentally preparing for my duties as Alternate Delegate of the 2795 District.

Anyhow, the whole was really cool actually. It was a lot more hands on than your typical voters booth or mail-in ballot. It was great to see "democracy in action" in sort of an old-fashioned way, and to see the motley crew that makes up Democratic votes in my district... for example the seven foot tall guy in a cowboy hat and duster that literally looked like the love-child of Blade and the Saint of Killers from Preacher.

I mean, imagine him...


...mixed with him.


But, it hasn't all be politics for me over the last couple weeks. I've also recently been diving back into music quite a bit recently too. As I mentioned in my last Week in Review, two weekends ago, Sarah and I went to Easy Street Records on lower Queen Anne to try to sell back some old CDs and get some new ones. In the end, we could only sell back one CD... but ended up picking up about a half dozen.

I've been listening to KEXP off an on at work, and kept noticing when they played music by the Seattle-based hip hop duo, Blue Scholars. I've always been a fan off good hip hop, but having neither grown up in the ghetto nor had an abnormal amount of bling, I often have difficulty finding stuff that I relate to. But, the Blue Scholars music instantly grabbed me with the regular name dropping of Seattle landmarks and locales. Their latest CD, Biyani, features a ton of smart and interesting rap songs, including a surprisingly effective song about the WTO riots.

(For a sample of their music, check out the remix of their song "Inkwell" where they rap over Modest Mouse's "Float On" on their website.)

In addition to picking up Biyani, we also got Vetiver's self-titled album. We actually initially bought a copy of this for my brother for Christmas, but after giving it a listen realized we wanted a copy for ourselves too. Vetiver falls into the rough catagory of "freak folk" that I generally have problems with. But, as a band they seem to have dialed back the weirdness and created something understanded and wonderful.

Also, we picked up Magnetic Fields latest, Distortion, and Chad VanGaalen's two CDs. We've been fixated on Magnetic Field's 69 Love Songs for some time now, so it's of little surprise that we've rapidly warmed to the feedback fuzz of the new album, and both of Chad's albums were ones I enjoyed when I had my Rhapsody subscription and which I'm happy to have finally gotten copies of four our CD rack.

Also, last week, we caught the Decemberists live at the Moore Theater. The Decemberist are a band that I've been slow in warming to. I think that there earlier music was just a little too, um, pirate sea chanty (if that's possible!) for my tastes. But, with their most recent album, Crane Wife, I've rally taken a shining to them (even putting Crane Wife on my http://generaladmission.blogspot.com/2006/12/top-20-of-2006.html>Top 20 of 2006 list). There live show was actually really entertaining and surprisingly funny, with the lead singer making wisecracks between each song (something few musicians can actually do well). Toward the end, the show got a little to jammy for my tastes, but still a great show and the best I've seen in over a year... though, then again, it was the only show I think I've seen in the last year or so.

The Decemberists: Making songs about double suicides fun for everyone!

Then, again, today we found ourselves at the West Seattle Easy Street, and buying a couple more CDs. The first of those, Vampire Weekend's self-titled debut, is the type of album that has so much internet buzz and such a cheap price ($7!) that I found myself buying it without ever really having listened to. And, I'm glad I did. Sonicly, it seems to live somewhere between New Pornographers and the Strokes. About halfway through the first listen, I found myself musing, that it's almost the musical equivalant of a Wes Anderson film: Whimsical and effortless seeming, with a quirky Eastcoast private school vibe, and a fair share of both effective and affected moments. Good stuff that proves how easy it should be for the music industry to produce pop music that isn't, well, stupid.

We also picked up Mano Chau's Clandestino. We mainly icked this up because of our experiences in Vietnam. While there, Sarah and I took a motorcycle tour of the central highlands. During our tour, my driver, Dao, was constantly playing Manu Chau's "Bongo Bong" on his cellphone. And, as a result, that song will be forever linked with our journeys there, so when Sarah noticed the CD in the store, we had to have it. It's probably a little affected to come back from travelling and suddenly start listening to something like Manu Chau, but it's a great song with wonderful memories attached, so we don't care.


Thanks Dao!

(OK, this entry has already run out of control, so I'm going to end it here. Hopefully, later this week, I can do another entry detailing everything from my recent comic purchases to our surrent obessesion with the 3rd Season of Lost... no one tell us what happens in the 4th Season!)

A commute from across the pond

When Sarah White posted her Commute Cam entry she became the first person to take the Commuter Cam Challenge international! Sarah's actually a Full Time Mum, so she doesn't have a traditional commute, but since her husband and son, Callum, and her recently moved to a new neighborhood, she had a novel idea: Use the Commuter Cam Challenge as an opportunity to explore her neighborhood.

So, after Callum was finally ready to head out, the two of them made a trip down to the neighborhood sweet shop, photographing anything noteworthy they came across.

Probably my favorite picture. "Danger of Death." Awesome. I actually really like seeing signs from other countries and sort of miss it being back home.

And look! A red double decker bus! So very, very British!



Anyhow, well done, Sarah! If there is anyone else out there doing the Commuter Cam project... be sure to let me know!

Other Commutes

A week ago, I proposed the Commuter Cam Challenge, and two days later I posted photos from my commute. But, even more excitingly, several friends and fellow bloggers took me up on the challenge also. So, let's take a look at their entries!

First up is this entry by fellow Bad Genious (sic) Liana. Liana actually doesn't have a commute, so what did she do? She grabbed her camera and rode along with her always dependable husband, Dan! This also seemed to work nicely because it solved the problem of how to drive and take pictures at the same time.

Also, you have to admire Liana's dedication since apparently she almost starved to death during the drive.

Probably my favorite picture from Liana's entry. The "I 'Heart' to Fart" bumpersticker is classy.

The next person to post a Commuter Cam entry was my friend and ex-coworker Austin. Impressively, Austin actually went so far as to set up a webpage specifically for his entry. Also, because I used to work at RealNetworks, and because I used to live in Greenwood his entry was a bit of a walk down memory lane for me. Entertainingly, the coffee shop that he stops at is, like, two blocks from my apartment and I go passed it every day on the way to work, we almost literally walk right passed each other.

I really like this image from Austin's photos. Austin photographed his commute on the same day as me, but it looks like Greenwood got more snow than downtown.

Next up is another Bad Genious: Betsy! I thought that Betsy's entry was pretty cool. Betsy runs in marathons and other less long races, so it's not surprising that a lot of things (ranging from the bridge's she drives across to tattoo parlors) remind her of running.

You'll just have to check out her entry to find out why this tattoo parlor reminds her of running.

Also, Betsy pulled double duty on the commuter challenge and took her camera with her on two commutes to show both the standard commute, and the "take Jackson to school" commute. Bravo!

And last up is my friend and ex-roommate, Ambika. Ambika's in the early stages of her 365 Project where she plans to take at least one picture a day for the entire year. So, she nicely dovetailed the two projects and had her daily picture be a photo from her commute.

If you have a moment, its definitely worth checking out the other photos in the series. I'm jealous that she's doing such a cool and ambitious project!

Well, that's it so far with other people's commutes. If anyone else is interest, and photographs their commute to work, be sure to let me know!