Or - The Greatest (Almost) Story Ever Told...
I finally did it...it was finally released by Canon and we found it quite by accident at the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila.
What is it? It's the new Canon Powershot SX60. I had thought it wasn't to be released until around the 24th of October. I wasn't able to get any news about the release on the Internet and so I was just fishing and thought I'd stop at Tall's Cameras in the Mall and ask them about when it would be released.
We strolled in to the store and I asked them, not expecting much really, if they knew when the SX60 would be in the store and, to my great surprise, he said it already was.
I was caught flat-footed. At a loss for words. Fortunately, he was salesman enough to ask if I wanted to see it and, of course, I did. Badly.
Long story just a bit shorter, he let me play with the demo and within 20 minutes we were walking out of the store and I was carrying a bag with the camera in it. Hahahaha, one born every minute, right, Mr. Barnum!?!
It's a beautiful and powerful camera...a Point 'N Shoot (PNS) but, it is a PNS with an attitude. They call this level camera a bridge camera...one that spans the gap between the simple, inexpensive and easy-to-use PNS to the more complicated, more expensive and more complex DSLR. It's got a viewfinder and a whole lot more.
Anyway, today was my inaugural Photo Safari and so Carol and I headed out to Seattle to see what we could see. But before we left, I had Carol take this picture of me and my camera. Hmmmm, I do like the sound of that.
And I returned the favor by taking a few pictures of her.
Hahahaha, I caught her laughing.
But she sobered up and gave me a proper pose.
My Little Chickadee...
These are the boldest and brassiest of birds. Of all the wild birds at our feeders, they will let you get closest before they take off. They're always the first to come back to the feeders, too. They're tough to get a picture of, though, as they zoom in for a bite and then, in a second or two, they take flight again.
One of our pigeons. We've got quite a crew that come and visit.
B&W Alert!!
When we come out they all scatter and some head for the telephone lines and some for the top of the house.
Random Shots...
I noticed, as I was shooting the picture above, that there was a fingernail moon rising to the west and got this grab shot. Not real great, I had a real long zoom and I was hand-holding the camera. And it coulda gotten a lot closer!! Hahaha, love the new camera!!
Looking towards the intersection of Kenyon and Renton Avenue. The Victory Grocery is on the right. It took about half an hour to make the 13-minute walk to the Link Station at Othello with this new camera.
Mainly because we stopped and I shot pictures of just about everything along the sidewalk. I'll be honest with you and tell you that, at the end of the day, I had taken 697 pictures. To be real honest, I somehow got into the habit of taking just about every picture twice...don't ask, I don't know.
But even dividing by two that is still around 400 pictures. Hahaha, I love the new camera and I just used it to shoot here and there and, really, everywhere.
I shot dandelions...
and leaves...
And more leaves...with water drops on them...
And loads of clover...
And I could never pass up a sunflower without stopping to take its picture.
Several times.
B&W Alert!!
And I got a wee bit artsy-fartsy as we walked along.
The Golden Sands
It's a grand name for a...not so grand apartment building. Carol said this picture makes it look a lot better than it really is.
She's right. It does.
We walked up Renton to MLK and had to pass the MLK Wood Shed. This dump has been abandoned for the past few years and the slimy worms that got at that house on MLK probably did this one as well.
I told you I was taking pictures of nearly everything we saw along the way. And I did. Carol spotted Angel, her white pigeon.
One of these things is not like the other...
MLK Reflected Window Selfie!!
We stopped to take our picture in the window of the Station at Othello Apartments. To the left is some public artwork commissioned by the Seattle Transit Authority. You can see that, like almost all the artwork along the Link line, it highlights our American culture.
You'll see some more distinctly American art in the next picture.
This was taken on the corner of Othello and MLK, right across from the Link Station. This and a lot of other artwork was bought and paid for by the good folks that run the Link.
You can see how uniquely American this piece is. It really does represent the American People.
SoundTransit
Reflected Window Selfie!!
I took a whole bunch of pictures of us in the train heading south. I was trying to catch us in the windows as the train pulled out of the station. I spared you all the others, and they're some very good ones, too. You just get this one to enjoy.
Hahahahahaha...
We finally made it downtown. That was one of the longest times it ever took to cover the half-mile to the Link. But we had a good time taking pictures!!
Here's a view of Westlake Park along 4th Avenue. They turned off the water in the waterfall for the winter. I guess that makes sense. This park is always full of food trucks and people.
Looking south along 4th Avenue. The Park is to our left and we're walking towards the Chase Bank.
And, on this bright and sunny Great American Pacific Northwest Day, the gainfully employed (?) were out and about at 1310 in the afternoon of a Work-Day Thursday hotly engaged in a rousing game of giant chess.
B&W Alert!!
A detail of the Fine Fellows playing chess. That's such a cool thing, that giant chess set.
A young couple lounging away the afternoon. Ah, lazy wonderful days lolling about in the sun.
Parking Lot Mirror
Reflected Mirror Selfie!!
We turned to walk up Pike towards the market and saw the sun hiding behind this building. It was pretty striking and...
...Carol even spotted a rainbow there. You can just see a bit of the rainbow there just to the left of the building and also just above the right-hand corner as well.
Not much, but if you squint your eyes and use your imagination, you can see the rainbow, too.
Same building with reflections on it. There are quite a few buildings here in the Emerald City that you can get some great reflections on.
But, back to earth...a street scene on Pike just a bit above the Public Market.
And the Market itself...The Farmer's Market. The thing that I am most pleased about this picture is that I got the Farmer's Market sign when it was all lit up.
We crossed the street just across from the Corner Market.
Here's a picture of the Corner Market taken in 1917. They've taken down all the billboards around the top of the building. I kinda think they added something to the whole building.
See that little pergola near the lower left-hand corner of the picture? That's an information kiosk now and that's about where we were standing when I took the picture above. Now, see that drive to the left of the pergola going down below the market? That's where we're headed with the next picture.
Here's that drive now. Hahaha, I know this is ridiculous, but I prefer the way the drive looked in 1917 to this.
It's a colorful collection of...Oh, I don't know. Posters?
And some politics. Remember, this is the city that elected that Socialist idiot, Kshama Sawant, to the City Council.
They hate the money but they sure don't hesitate using taxes to take it from us.
Now, I'd read about this thing recently and I was fixing to visit it but, to be honest, I thought it was a good distance from where we were. Imagine my surprise when we walked down the driveway and turned left and saw this.
The Gum Wall!!
Hahaha, it was icky and disgusting and fun and novel and so this one quickly lined herself up for another Victory picture!!
Hahaha, I offered her $20 to kiss the wall and she refused. I'm sure I don't know why.
The Alley is by the box office of the Market Theater and the tradition began around 1993 when patrons of the theater stuck gum to the wall and placed coins in the gum blobs. Why? Who knows, it's Seattle fer cryin' out loud. Theater workers scraped the gum away twice but eventually gave up after market officials deemed the gum wall a tourist attraction around 1999. Some people even create small works of art out of the gum...some use it to propose marriage.
It is a big tourist attraction. It was named one of the top 5 germiest tourist attractions in 2009, second only to the Blarney Stone.
Everything gets gummed in this alley.
They even put it on the window sills and let it dribble down. Uh, ugh?
And here's the wedding proposal...we've seen one marriage proposal using a banner towed by an airplane and now one using chewed gum.
Will you marry me, Nikki!?!
Ah, love!! Ain't it sweet!?!
A gum decorated wall anchor.
And, this is enough of used gum.
We walked out towards the Sound and saw this restaurant built on a span between the buildings. It's got a glass ceiling and is open towards the Sound. Pretty neat, eh?
We walked into the first lower level of the Market and passed this mural celebrating Market Memories.
Hmmmm, I wonder if they change the prices shown for the fruit and veggies.
Just to the left as we came into the building, we saw the Golden Age Collectibles. Really, who wouldn't want to go in there!?!
Hahaha, I shoulda got some RetireMints.
I should have also gotten some after the rapture mints...For those of us who aren't going anywhere.
And then I saw these!!
Hahaha, I got these when I was a kid. Not this brand, but candy cigarettes. I also remember when doctors were used for cigarette advertising. Hell, I still remember when they HAD cigarette advertising.
These would be the ones for me now!!
I included these just because...they made me laugh.
In different flavors, too.
From the ridiculous to the super heroic.
Superman!!
The greatest SuperHero of them all!!
And a pretty good runner-up, Batman.
Ohhh, the Green Goblin!!
And The Joker!!
What store would be complete without a giant blow-up Wolverine figure hanging from the ceiling.
Oh, yeah!! Archie's Funhouse!!
Only $4.99, too!!
They had loads of stuff in there. A nice way to spend the afternoon. But we had other fish to fry so we headed out.
Past these two great heroes of the cinema and television...John Wayne and Sheldon. Oh, and Princess Leia.
Looking up the hallway towards the ramp up to the main floor of the Market.
They knew how to put a shop together back then!! This whole thing was sorta put together as they went along but they did a good job...it's still standing.
It's Seattle and they are not above some Hokum to earn a dollar or two. Actually, this is kind of mild when you consider the People's Republic of Fremont. Now those folks are waaaaay out there!!
One of Seattle's most famous attractions...The World Famous Giant Shoe Museum!!
And Carol...Scores!!
The World's Largest Collection of Giant Shoes!! Wow!!
I don't know who buys these things...I've seen them for sale in a number of different places but I've never seen them outside of a store environment. Regardless, they're extremely photogenic and I will, because I am weak and not very original, continue to take pictures of them each and every chance I get.
Ain't these cool? Little matryoshka dolls. They're also known as Russian nesting dolls or babushka dolls. They're a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other.
The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo.
Traditionally, the outer layer is a woman dressed in a saran, a long and shapeless traditional Russian peasant jumper dress. The figures insides may be of either gender; the smallest, innermost doll is typically a baby turned from a single piece of wood. Much of the artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be very elaborate. The dolls often follow a theme; the themes vary, from fairy tale characters to Soviet leaders.
Over to the side on the left, they have a Bart Simpson doll, a Bugs Bunny doll and a John Lennon doll among others.
There's a lot of junk for sale here. Including these Kitty Cat Piggy Banks.
For $25!?!
Seriously!?!
Carol tells me you can buy these in Chinese restaurants and they're for good fortune. I didn't know.
Pike Place Market!! What a place!! Crowded, busy, fun, different and always hopping.
Across the street from the Market is the Silver, Okum Bldg, built in 1910. The Seagull is a recent addition. I like the juxtaposition of old and new here.
Clothes, flowers, magnets, art, photos, jewelry, shirts, ceramics, glass...all kinds of touristy stuff for sale here.
And...the flowers.
Honestly? It's like shooting fish in the proverbial barrel.
They've made them into beautiful arrangements already.
I just have to point...and shoot.
Sometimes I feel guilty about how easy it is to get what I consider great pictures. Then I laugh and forget about it and take some more pictures.
Yeah, I'm that guy.
Oh, they also sell all kinds of honey spices and other food delights from the Great Pacific American Northwest.
And then there's Elliott Bay and the Puget Sound...just outside the windows.
Hahaha, even ancient Viking Runes...read from right to left, please.
Runes are the letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets, which were used to write various Germanic languages before the adoption of the Latin alphabet. The Scandinavian variants are also known as futhark or fupark, from the first six letters of their alphabet.
Now, why'd you want one is beyond me. It's kinda like getting the Chinese symbols for soup tattooed on your body...beyond my ken.
And look at these!! Cigar Box Banjos!!
Hahaha, you can get anything at this Market!!
In the 1840s, they started shipping cigars in smaller, more portable, boxes. Prior to then, they were shipped in crates. They've got some trace evidence of cigar box instruments from the 1840s to the 1860s. The earliest proof of a cigar box instrument is an etching from 1876 showing some Civil War Soldiers playing a cigar box fiddle.
In addition, plans for a cigar box banjo were published, in 1884, by Daniel Carter Beard who helped co-found the Boy Scouts of America. The plans showed a step-by-step description for making a playable 5-string fretless banjo from a cigar box.
Hahaha, the BSA is everywhere, man!!
Now we're sorta partial to Rubber Duckies. We have a couple in our place but these little fellows...I just don't know. They're all different colors of the same theme of Rubber Ducky and they're selling them for...$35!!
Wha...!?!?!
Cute, but not that cute!!
Then, because it was such a gloriously beautiful and cool afternoon, we joined all the other tourists and Valued Homeless at the Victor Steinbrueck Park next to the Market.
Vic was a Seattle architect who was instrumental in preserving the Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square.
Thanks, Vic!!
See the unicycle in the bottom right side? The guy, you can just see his right foot, juggles knives and pins while riding the unicycle. He was on a break right then.
Looking north over the park towards the Emerald City.
And, of course, the obligatory picture of a Seattle Ferry.
And looking southeast. There's always a lot of activity here. A popular place for Seattle's Valued Homeless and the Street Artists.
See the totem poles there, on the right? These were designed by Victor, himself.
The Pike Place Market Pergola...built in 1910. Back then they had a real thing for pergolas. I guess it's understandable given the occasional rain they have here in the Emerald City.
Along Pike Place they have, in addition to the world's first Starbucks, one of the largest hot dogs this side of the Mississippi. Mmmmmm, makes me hungry. Yelp gives them just three stars. Hmmmmm.
As we were strolling along up Pike Place, we spotted this European Starling and her buddy out scavenging some food. This was a first for us, to see this Starling so close.
And a quick turn brought us back into the Market. There's the Athenian where Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner ate in the movie, Sleepless in Seattle!!
Sometimes I forget that this is a Farmer's Market...that is what it originally was and all the tourist glitz is just an add-on. There's still a couple of stalls there selling fruit and veggies.
And exotic food. Ah, the temptations...they're often and they're soooo tempting!!
But the original market was also a Fish Market, too. And here's one of the more famous of them.
And they are, they really are World Famous. People come from near and far to see this act.
They always have a crowd when someone buys a fish and they start yelling and then throw it back and forth a couple times.
Whoa!! I got it!! Mine!!
They are real showmen, these guys, and they know how to milk an audience. Sometimes they even throw a foam fish into the audience.
We left the Market and were walking down First Avenue when I spotted this in a store window. I don't know if it's traditional Indian art or not...it sells, evidently, and bottom-line, it's all about the Benjamins, right?
From Native Art to this stuff. Yowsers!!
Annnnd, back to the ordinary but hardly banal stores around the Market.
Goooooo, 'Hawks!!
There's the SAM.
Quick test, how many of you can tell me what the acronym, SAM, stands for? Ready? Go!!
Right now they're featuring Pop Departures...
In the 60s, art for the first time embraced the brash world of commercial culture, advertising and mass media - images of shiny newness, youth and seduction. Pop art electrified artists, audiences and critics alike. It changed our understanding of art and the ripple effects of its seismic shift are still felt today. Pop Departures presents the bold visions of American Pop artists and includes the work of icons like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana and Claes Oldenburg.
Wha...!?!
(Answer to the question above: SAM = Seattle Art Museum)
Here's one of my favorite buildings...The Emerald Building.
The windows always look great.
First Avenue
Reflected Window Selfie!!
And with all the glass, the reflected sun on other, older buildings, is fun.
Here's the Emerald Building again. BTW, Emerald Building is just my name for this structure. I don't know what it is really called. Someday I'll have to find out, I guess.
I do like them reflected window images...like this one.
Yet Another First Avenue
Reflected Window Selfie!!
Looking up Seneca. You sometimes forget that Seattle, like Rome, is a hilly little burg. They even had so many hills that early on, the city leveled a couple of them, Denny's Hill, and moved the dirt out into the bay.
They called it The Denny Regrade Project and they actually removed Denny Hill, one of the proverbial Seven Hills of Seattle. It was named after the Denny Family who were among the city's earliest white inhabitants. Started in 1897, the hill was sluiced into Elliott Bay. In 1929-30, they removed the final pieces of the hill using steam shovels.
They were merciless back then. In the way? Yer outta here!!
Another detail of a reflected window.
Cuz I like 'em, that's why!!
This of the older buildings, this is an example of Richardsonian Romanesque Architecture. I swear, someday I gotta take a class in Acrchitecture 101...either that or find a book titled, Architecture for Dummies.
Just a street scene in Seattle. Like the potted plants on the side of the wall, there.
Busy city. Always. And, there, on the right, Seattle's Finest doing some work.
Bikers Uber Alles!!
So, if having dedicated bikers riding around wasn't dangerous enough, let's provide a bunch of Rent-A-Bikes and let the brain-dead amateurs join in the fun!!
They just introduced these to the area. Rent-A-Bikes.
Not a good idea (see the above picture) on these busy streets and crowded sidewalks. But, you know, Kshama Sawant wants what Kshama Sawant wants and to Hell with anybody who doesn't agree with her and her minions. Oh, to be fair, she's not alone in this folly, there are loads of elected City Idiots pushing the biker agenda here. She's just the one I like to poke at the most.
Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
I know, there's been a load of possible candidates for this category but I've been too lazy to go through all the Fooherall of labeling them. But this one definitely qualifies for the Artsy-Fartsy category. The squad car was responding to a minor fender-bender...imagine that? Even the cars bump into each other now and then on these busy streets.
So we ducked into the Covenant for a quick picker-upper.
And there's the results of the fender-bender. The front end of this mini was decidedly different than it was when they began their trip today.
Behind the bar at the Covenant.
And refreshed and relaxed, we were ready to venture out onto the mean streets of the city again. Look at ALL those trees!! Oh, we're still on first Avenue and getting close to Pioneer Square...and the end of this opus.
Ah, so many bars...so little time. Easy Joe's Bar on First Avenue.
Artsy-Fartsy B&W Alert!!
Brick walls always look good in a B&W.
Magic Mouse Toy Store
Reflected Window Selfie!!
Some of the great architecture around Pioneer Square.
B&W Artsy-Fartsy Alert!!
The Merchant's Cafe...Seattle's Oldest Restaurant. They've got some great Tiffany Lamps in there.
That building on the right...it's like a flatiron building but the end is too wide. Regardless, it's a great building and...it's empty. At least they've boarded it up to protect it from the scum and slime that infect every city. Still, I'd renovate it and live there if I had the money.
Hahaha, if I had the money!!
Smith Tower
Reflected Window Selfie!!
So I say we can't keep doing all these Window Selfies and Carol says, We can shoot all we want. You don't have to put them into the Blog. And I agree. But when I see them I include them. Hahaha, it's an illness...a compulsion!!
Walking uphill towards the Pioneer Square Link Station. There's the entrance to the Link on the right hand side...just barely. The light blue structure.
And here it is in all its glory. Can you see the figures in the fence going off either side?
They compliment the ones in the gate that stand on either side of the main entrance.
Grab shot of Carol...she is obviously amused at one of my many, witty and entertaining comments on the world around us...obviously.
And our gift from the City. When we went to the Fair at Othello Park, they gave us these two passes and we've used them well.
I've walked by this sign so many times and I've seen it but I haven't noticed it. Today I finally took notice and finally got a picture of it.
Reflected Garage Mirror Selfie!!
Along the sidewalk by the garage for The Station at Othello Apartments. Hahaha, we're so predictable, ain't we!?!
And a small flower...sitting pretty much alone alongside on the sidewalk on the way home.
Heere comes the Sun...Here comes the Sun, and I say it's all right...
Hahaha, someone was smoking some Wacky Weed when they made this Object d'Art.
So we made it back and we'll end on the same note, sorta, that we started on. With some Artsy-Fartsy B&W pictures of the pigeons round the area.
The birds...are watching. Always watching.
We had a great day and I know this will not come as a surprise, but I really do love this new camera. Hahahaha, it is Kick-Butt!!
And I got these 697 shots ALL on one battery!!
More importantly to you, Dear Reader, I was able to winnow those 697 shots down to these approximately 140 immensely delightful, entertaining and informative pictures.
Hahahaha, you can count on some LOOOONG Blogs from now on with this new camera!!
Oh, man, life is soooo good!!
Hooah!!
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