Qwest Field, now called CenturyLink Field

This was bound to happen.  Qwest holds corporate naming rights to the home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders, Qwest Field.  After CenturyLink purchased Qwest this past April, the name change for the Seattle sports facility was expected.  It was announced this past Monday.  The name change became official today, Thursday, 23 June.  It is now called CenturyLink Field.

"Qwest" was such a great name because it was easy to say.  "CenturyLink" is polysyllabic, while the monosyllabic "Qwest" rolled off your tongue with ease.  The name change may be official, but people will find it hard to give up the old name.  People may still end up calling it Qwest Field.

On my way home from work this past Tuesday, I was waiting for the bus near the Qwest Field.  Since I was in the area and knowing that the stadium signs were going to be taken down and replaced soon, I took a few pictures of Qwest Field.

There's Something Growing on Top of Your Head, Jayan

Kids these days.  My great-nephew Jayan was so delighted of the way his hair was "fixed-up" two weekends ago. I propped him up to a mirror several times to look at himself, and each time he would respond with a mischievous grin -- a grin that expressed "look at how cool my hair is."

Anamorphic Cube

Last Saturday while walking around Georgetown, a neighborhood near where I live, I saw a great example of perspective anamorphosis.  "Anamorphic Cube with Yellow Dot" was created with duct tape placed on a building wall, the adjacent lot, and two rectangular plywood boxes.  The two boxes, end to end at a slight angle, and ingenious placement of different shades of duct tape help create an illusion of a giant cube with a yellow dot inside. The 3-D projection appeared realistic when viewed in the proper position.

A Swarm of MiniCoopers

When I purchased my MiniCooper in Germany about three years ago, I thought that it would be a car that would not be as common in Seattle. Not so. The Minis are quite popular in the US to the point where some dealerships' new shipments are already spoken for. I also think they are more popular in Seattle.  I see a lot of them over here.  I notice about 3 or 4 of them regularly around the block I live in.

Two weekends ago, I was driving around Seattle Center area and I came upon three other MiniCoopers next to my Mini while waiting for a green light.

View of Downtown Seattle from Different Vantage Points

Over the long Memorial Day weekend, I had several opportunities to check out downtown Seattle's skyline view and vista from a host of locations:  Along Admiral Way in West Seattle, at a lookout point in a small park at the end of California Avenue in West Seattle, at Alki Beach near Harbor Island, at the Yesler Way I-5 overpass, at SODO, at Gas Works Park, under the I-5 bridge crossing the Ship Canal waterway, and at the Jose Rizal Bridge and Park.

The following are a few photos from these vantage points:

 

 

Balloon Artist

I was a bit of a skeptic at first.  The French poodle looked more like an improperly colored and irregularly joined longanizas (Filipino sausages).  I had great difficulty picturing an orange hummingbird with unevenly sized wings.  I guess if I viewed at a certain angle, I can almost make out the silhouette of the hummingbird.  Okay, it was only her first two attempts of balloon sculpting that day.  It certainly would get better, right?

 

You bet, it got better.  A lot better.   In the end, it made for a fun idling away of the hours as we all waited for the Pacquiao vs. Mosley fight.  It is truly something to keep everyone occupied during family gatherings, especially effective in fighting the lethargy felt after eating big food servings or munching throughout the day.  It has been a running joke about the number of people that dose off during family parties.

Young and old alike enjoyed the creative handiwork of balloon animals and headgears created by Grace.  She was looking for a new hobby.  I think she has found one – the kids enjoyed the items made by Grace.  They would request an animal or a headgear to be created for them, and they got to choose balloon colors.  It also piqued great interest from a few adults, including myself. 

At the end of the party, most of the kids brought their especially made creations by Grace home with them.  Some didn’t, including the older ones.  I found it hard to throw them away during the after party clean-up of the house.  I thought about the time and effort put forth by Grace creating them.  So I just stacked them on my fireplace mantle, and waited for them to gradually lose air and fade away, then throw them away.  I still have a few balloon sculptures left more than two weeks later.