Author: Willem

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Friday/ 🇺🇸 USA 2, Australia 0 🇦🇺

Happy Friday.
It was already weekend early this morning, since it is the Juneteenth holiday here in the United States.

Team USA secured a place in the round of 32 with today’s win.

I went down to the The Press Box sports bar at 10.30 am to watch the USA-Australia game with my amigos. There were lots and lots more people out and about by Pioneer Square and around the Stadium compared to the Belgium-Egypt game of Monday.

Andy Yamashita writes for the Seattle Times, about the game:
The Americans, propelled by a sold-out crowd that rattled Seattle Stadium’s press box with every shot, launched themselves into Friday’s game with intensity, deploying their high press almost immediately.
The Australians, in comparison, struggled to get out of first gear.

Australian fans pose for a picture on a ferry, with the Seattle skyline as backdrop. I assume that is a stuffed kangaroo and not a real one!
[Photo from the Seattle Times]
U.S. soccer fans march through Seattle to the match with Australia.
[Photo by Ruth Fremson/The New York Times]

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Thursday/ 🇿🇦 South Africa 1, Czechia 1 🇨🇿

It was an uninspiring and ugly match, but South Africa managed a draw against the Czech Republic (Czechia) today.

Tomorrow is the much anticipated USA-Australia match, right here in Seattle.
There was no flag hoisted on the Space Needle by late afternoon.
Hopefully there will be one tomorrow, to celebrate the USA team and cheer them on.

Mexico has qualified for the next round with their 1-0 win against South Korea today. South Africa and the Czech Republic still has a slim chance to make it out of Group A into the next round.
[Table from The Athletic in the New York Times]
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Wednesday/ Los Cafeteros on top ☕

🇨🇴 Colombia 3,  Uzbekistan 1 🇺🇿

Max Mathews writes for The Athletic in the New York Times:
I was at a bar watchalong in a faux English pub with no other English representation than The Athletic.
When the third goal went in, the place — dominated by Colombian fans — went wild. Bar bell ringing, Latino music on, chants of “Viva Colombia!”
Los Cafeteros* are vociferously supported here in diverse, Hispanic-influenced LA and will be a tough nut to crack for any side facing them at the tournament.

*Los Cafeteros (Spanish for “the coffee growers” or “the coffee makers”) is the famous nickname for the Colombia national football team. It is also used informally to refer to the Colombian people, reflecting the nation’s rich heritage and its status as one of the world’s top coffee producers.
[Google AI Overview]

Daniel Muñoz from Colombia displayed an exquisite touch to direct this ball into the goal. It came flying in high from midfield and he redirected it with his right foot.
[Still from video clip on foxsports.com]
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Tuesday/ flying high 🪽

From today’s Wall Street Journal, reported by Hannah Erin Lang:
SpaceX shares have surged nearly 50% in their first days of trading and left a trail of remorseful traders in their wake: those who sold too early.
After climbing an additional 4.8% in Tuesday’s session to $201.80, SpaceX ended the day as the world’s fifth-largest public company by market cap, surpassing Amazon.
The gains came as SpaceX announced a deal to buy AI-coding startup Cursor for $60 billion.

What do you mean the market is overheated? .. the sun as the almighty dollar, and ‘feathers’ of SpaceX share certificates, $100 bills.
The hippo’s side comment: Feathers don’t make the bird, but without the feathers he is no bird. (From Aesop’s Fables: Fine feathers don’t make fine birds). 
The cartoon probably refers the famous Greek myth and cautionary tale of Icarus and the sun. Icarus’s father, Daedalus, made wings of feathers and wax for Icarus to escape imprisonment. Disregarding his father’s warnings to avoid flying too high, Icarus soared too close to the sun, melting the wax and sending Icarus plummeting into the ocean.
[Cartoon by Dr. Jack (full name Dr. Jack Swanepoel) from South African newspaper Die Burger]
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Monday/ fútbol fever ⚽

I had a little FOMO (fear of missing out) at home this morning, and took the train down to Pioneer Square and Seattle Stadium* nearby just to feel the excitement, and take a few pictures.

*Lumen Field’s name for the next few weeks, capacity for 69,391 spectators.

The Belgium vs. Egypt game had already started at noon by the time I got to Pioneer Square. Everyone with tickets was packed inside Seattle Stadium, of course. There was a screen and outdoor watch party in Pioneer Square, and insides ones at all the bars nearby.

From a vantage point outside the stadium, one could see the large jumbotron screen inside, as well as some of the cheering fans.

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Sunday/ toasty ☀️

It was warm outside today, with a high of 88°F (31°C) here in the city.

I went down to Myrtle Edwards Park on Elliott Bay for a few sunset photos.
The park has refreshed landscapes with new lawns, meadows, and trees that flourish in coastal conditions.
It also offers improved access to two beach coves and enhanced pedestrian and bike trails.

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Saturday/ Caturday 😸

The stamp albums from Japan that the proxy buyer Buyee.jp had bought for me, arrived on my doorstep a few days ago.

I will post a few pages from the albums in due course.

2003 Japan: Letter Writing Day (ふみの日  Fumi No Hi )
Issued Jul. 23, 2003
Perf. 13 x 13¼ | Stamp 28 x 37 mm | Printing: Photogravure | No watermark
C1898 50 ¥ | Multicolored | Cat holding letter and camera
[Sources: 2027 Sakura Catalog Of Japanese Stamps, colnect.com]
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Friday/ fear of missing out? 🚀

Happy Friday.
The coverage of SpaceX’s gigantic IPO (initial public offering) on CNBC this morning was wall-to-wall, with hyperbole reaching the moon.
Could orbital data centers running on solar power one day beam information back to Earth using lasers?
Time will tell.

Here is Ron Lieber, writing for the New York Times about missing out on SpaceX’s IPO:

Elon Musk may be about to become a trillionaire.
Many of the people who work for him at SpaceX are about to hit seven-figure jackpots — or more — via the company’s initial public offering.
And individual investors are lining up for a chance to buy shares for the $135 opening price. There are so many of them that some brokerage firms are, in effect, running a lottery for $135 tickets.
Do you have fear of missing out? That’s natural, maybe inevitable. But this is a fine time to remind yourself that you can in fact win if you don’t play this week. JOMO, the joy of missing out, is a reasonable alternative to FOMO.

Lieber goes on to suggest that we revisit our medium- and long-term goals.
You might be surprised to find how many of them you have reached.
He mentions members of his immediate family that had survived cancer, that investing his savings in index funds over many years have paid off, that he has never bought shares in an IPO, and that he still works without boredom or fear of termination.

Illustration for Ron Lieber’s ‘Your Money’ column in the New York Times.
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Thursday/ 🇲🇽 Mexico 2, South Africa 0 🇿🇦

Two amigos and I went down to the Seattle waterfront at noon to check out the watch party for the first World Cup match— Mexico vs. South Africa.

Bafana Bafana* was up against it, playing in the home stadium of the Mexican team, and lost by two goals to nil.

*The South African team’s nickname, meaning ‘the boys, the boys’, from South Africa’s Nguni languages (Zulu and Xhosa).

A summary of the game by Luke Brown from The Athletic in the New York Times.
xG stands for Expected Goals. PPDA stands for Passes Per Defensive Action. It is a modern soccer analytics metric used to measure a team’s pressing intensity and aggressiveness.
The view from the steps next to Seattle Aquarium.
The screens could have been larger, we thought— but maybe the space on Pier 62 did not allow that. To the right of Pier 62 is a barge for more people ,with another screen.
Ferries and sailboats on the water in Elliott Bay.
Washington State’s ferry system celebrates its 75th anniversary this month. The ferry system began operation on June 1, 1951, after the state government acquired routes, vessels, and terminals from the Puget Sound Navigation Company, a private company that had a virtual monopoly on ferries in the region.
A view of the barge by Pier 62 that allowed for another screen and watch party viewing area.
The Cunard Line’s luxury cruise ship, Queen Elizabeth, is at Pier 66 today before setting sail for Ketchikan, Alaska. Launched in 2010 and refreshed in 2025, the ship accommodates up to 2,081 passengers and features a formal ambiance with elegant, Art Deco-inspired decor.
A closer look.
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Wednesday/ inflation: now at 4.2% 💸

Inflation accelerated for a third straight month in May amid a stalemate in negotiations to end a war with Iran that has pushed up energy prices, adding to the burden on already strained consumers.

The Consumer Price Index rose 4.2 percent in May from a year earlier, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday, a sharp rise from the 2.4 percent annual increase before the conflict started in February and the fastest pace since April 2023. Over the course of the month, overall prices jumped 0.5 percent.

-Lydia DePillis reporting for the New York Times

Officially at 4.2%, inflation is A LOT HIGHER for you if you fill up your car’s tank frequently  (+40% for all types of gasoline), buy lots of meat at the grocery store (+7.6%), or fruits & vegetables (+6.1%), travel by air (+27%) or use a lot of electricity (+5.9%).
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Tuesday/ the ‘ceasefire’ 🔥

It is Day 102 of the war with Iran (the war that is not a war, right?).
More than two months have passed since Trump’s announcement of a  ceasefire.

We’ve been hearing every few days that the two sides are close to a deal .. but besides the Strait of Hormuz, there is the issue of Iran’s nuclear program and the spillover skirmishes and strikes elsewhere in the Middle East.

We’ve also been hearing that the price of oil may hit $150 per barrel ‘soon’, but instead it has stuck to a price ranging from $80 to $100.

Economists talk of ‘demand destruction’: if the world learns how to get by with 15 million fewer barrels of oil per day, the price of oil may not go up by much more.  (The world consumes about 103 million barrels of petroleum and liquid fuels every day). 

Reporting from the New York Times about the sea drones that rescued the two pilots from the helicopter that was shot down.  The sea drones are officially ‘Task Force 59 unmanned surface vessels’. 
The U.S. Army AH-64 Apache helicopter was struck and brought down by an Iranian Shahed one-way attack drone while patrolling international waters off the coast of Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz.
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Monday/ the aliens among us 👽

The San Antonio Spurs earned their first win of the NBA Finals, claiming a 115-111 victory over the New York Knicks in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
So far, the road team has won all three games in the series.
New York still leads the series 2-1 with Game 4 scheduled for Wednesday.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 32 points, while Stephon Castle had 23.
Jalen Brunson paced the Knicks with 32 points, and OG Anunoby had 28.
– Daniel Shirley, reporting for The Athletic in the New York Times

The San Antonio Spurs star player Victor Wembanyama (22 yo) stands 7’4″ tall and wears size 20.5 (55) shoes.

He grew up in the western suburbs of Paris, France, and honed his skills in the French basketball system, playing for teams like Nanterre 92 and Metropolitans 92, before being selected first overall in the 2023 NBA Draft.

His nicknames are ‘Wemby’ and ‘The Alien’.

These screen shots are from ABC Network’s broadcast of tonight’s game.

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Sunday/ let’s play ⚽

LET’S PLAY SEA ’26 is the campaign developed by Visit Seattle, to market and celebrate the FIFA World Cup 26™ games that will be played in Seattle.

Seattle Center (by the Space Needle) will be one of the anchor locations for Seattle’s fan celebrations.  There will be music, art, culture, and opportunities for fans to gather and engage around the tournament.

Closer to Seattle Stadium*, the street blocks in Pioneer Square will be transformed into a free pedestrian-only fan zone for the World Cup matches, with large screens, stages and beer gardens.

Here are a few pictures I took today around the Amazon spheres in downtown.

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Friday/ it’s almost time ⚽

Happy Friday.
It is almost time for the World Cup.
The June 11 opener game will be Mexico 🇲🇽 vs. South Africa 🇿🇦 in Mexico City.

Seattle will host 6 games in total, and the first two are—
June 15: Belgium 🇧🇪 vs. Egypt 🇪🇬 (12:00 p.m. PT)
June 19: USA 🇺🇸 vs. Australia 🇦🇺 (12:00 p.m. PT)

The dome of the Space Needle has been painted in the white and black hexagons of a soccer ball. Fun fact:  A standard, classic soccer ball has 20 hexagons.

Pictures from the Seattle Times, courtesy of the Space Needle.

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Thursday/ buttercups 🏵️

These gorgeous flowers are from the P-Patch at East Republican St and 20th Avenue E here on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

They are of the genus Ranunculus— commonly known as Persian buttercups (Ranunculus asiaticus).

 

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Wednesday/ air mail from Japan 🇯🇵

Check out the air mail envelope that contained my purchases of Japanese stamps from a seller in Asaka, Japan (in the Tokyo metro area).

He wrote my name and address in perfect print— something I absolutely cannot do with Japanese characters!

.

2015 Japan: Fauna, Flora and National Parks Definitives
Issued Feb. 2, 2015
Perf. 13 x 13¼ | Stamp 22 mm x 26 mm | Printing: Photogravure | No watermark
3791 A3351 10 ¥ | Multicolored | Japanese crested ibis (Nipponia nippon)
[Sources: colnect.com, 2021 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue Vol. 4A]
2026 Japan: Invitation to Stamp Collecting III : Ukiyo-e
Issued Mar. 11, 2026
Perf. 16½ | Design: Maho Shimada | Stamp 50 mm x 35 mm | Printing: Offset Lithography | Printer: Toppan Edge Co., Ltd. (Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.) | No watermark
JP 2026.03.11-01c 500 ¥ | Multicolored | Woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige “Arashiyama in Full Blossoms: Famous Places of Kyoto”
[Sources: colnect.com, Google Gemini Flash]

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Tuesday 🌆

The daylight hours are still stretching longer, and we have reached the first 9:00 p.m. sunset of the year here in Seattle.
There were soft pastel colors in the sky tonight, as the daylight dwindled.
I am standing on the corner of East Thomas St and 13th Avenue East and using a 4x telephoto lens.
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Monday/ here’s June 👱‍♀️

Francesca Forquet reports for the New York Times from Palm Springs, California:
When Marilyn Monroe sang “I Wanna Be Loved by You,” she would have never expected that one day, 1,037 people would gather beneath her giant statue in downtown Palm Springs to dress as her in celebration of her 100th birthday.
In doing so, they set a Guinness World Record in the very place where her career began. Palm Springs — whose identity is inextricably linked with the star — likes to claim Marilyn Monroe, born Norma Jeane Mortensen, and the feeling was mutual.
“This was always her escape,” said Mariah Pryor, a Palm Springs resident who was carrying a Marilyn-themed handbag she once rescued from a lost-and-found box.

Picture by Francesca Forquet for The New York Times
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Sunday/ on the way to Lake Union ⛵

I took the No 8 bus to Westlake Avenue and walked up along Lake Union, hoping to still catch Mark Zuckerberg’s megayacht there.
Alas, she was gone.
Someone there told me she was out in the open waters of Elliott Bay.

Checking out the Boeing 747 fuselage ‘public art’ installed between the apartment towers of 1200 Stewart Street. (I’m still on the No 8 bus).
A new eight-story banner installation designed by Seattle artist Ernesto Ybarra on the east façade of the 9th & Thomas building in South Lake Union. It is called ‘The Hostess’, and celebrates Seattle’s role as a host city for the World Cup soccer matches this summer.
Once upon a time many years ago, I brought my 1996 Toyota Camry to this building at 400 Westlake Ave for new tires.
The Firestone Auto Supply & Service Store building was constructed in 1929 with concrete and terra cotta details in the art deco style.
The façade was kept when a new 15-story commercial tower was built on the property.
Nearby is the 2021 artwork by Patti Warashina called ‘Dreamer’.
It was sculpted with aluminum and painted in geometric patterns.
This corner of South Lake Union’s waters is for rowers and kayakers. That’s the MOHAI building in the background (Museum of History and Industry).
The Marina Mart building is still there. Constructed in the early 1940s, it has deep ties to Seattle’s maritime heritage. It has transitioned from an industrial maritime site into a major dining and recreation hub.
With Memorial Day behind us, sailing season is now officially open.
There was a light breeze around and lots of sunshine🌞.