I like Gabriel Campanario’s artwork, published in today’s Seattle Times.
There is a lot of activity— and all kinds of people— on the Overlook Walk that links downtown Seattle, the Pike Place Market, and the newly revitalized Waterfront Park.
Saturday/ beers and pizza 🍕
Five amigos had beers and pizza at the Olympia Pizza & Spaghetti House III here on Capitol Hill tonight.
My beer is a Radeberger pilsner— served in a branded imperial pint glass (568 ml).
Friday/ pleasant weather ahead 🌞
Happy Friday.
It’s the start of Memorial Day weekend here in the US, the unofficial start of summer.
The weather here in Seattle will be pleasant (72°F /22°C on Saturday), and the ferries plying Puget Sound will be packed.
[Picture by Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times, caption from Seattle Times]
Thursday/ on the green ⛳
Here’s a cartoon from Friday’s South African daily newspaper Die Burger (‘The Citizen’).
‘Would you mind if one of my caddies tried?’
(The caddies are Ernie Els and Retief Goosen— professional South African golfers who were part of the delegation to the White House. )
The sidebar comment in the corner is:
‘It looks as if Cyril stayed out of the rough’.
AGOA stands for the African Growth and Opportunity Act agreement, signed in 2000, which allowed tariff-free exports to the United States for 32 African countries.
On April 2, Trump had slapped a 31 % reciprocal tariff on South Africa (now on the 90-day pause). The USA’s universal 10 % tariff on overseas goods remains in place, also for South Africa.
From aljazeera.com:
While the two countries did not confirm a trade agreement at Wednesday’s meeting, Ramaphosa told reporters afterwards that the discussion was “a great success”. He added that he presented a framework for a trade deal to Trump, and the two agreed to continue having discussions to figure out the specifics of this deal.
Wednesday/ South Africans in the White House 🏛️
I added in some translations for the Afrikaans.
This newspaper, and the BBC’s reporting, says that Ramaphosa ‘survived’ the attacks against him by not fighting it too vociferously, and by staying calm and by making a joke about offering a plane to the US.
P.S. Trump formally (openly, brazenly) accepted the $400 million dollar jet gifted to him from Qatar today*.
Does that make it official that he is the most corrupt president in America’s history— or was he that already, long before this?
*The Foreign Emoluments Clause (Article I, Section 9, Clause 8) states: “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”
Here are the other South Africans that came with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa to the White House today.
John Steenhuisen: South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture, who clarified political affiliations of individuals featured in a video presented by President Trump.
Ernie Els (nickname “The Big Easy”) and Retief Goosen: Professional South African golfers who were part of the delegation and contributed to the discussion during the meeting.
Johann Rupert: A prominent South African businessman who emphasized the broader issue of violence affecting all South Africans and proposed technological solutions to improve safety.
Zingiswa Losi: A trade union leader who stressed that crime in South Africa affects all demographic groups, not just whites.
Here’s Erica L. Green and Zolan Kanno-Youngs writing for the New York Times:
The encounter in some ways echoed the February visit to the Oval Office by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Mr. Zelensky in front of TV cameras, cutting short a visit meant to coordinate a plan for peace.
The meeting with Mr. Ramaphosa on Wednesday was also striking because of the ways in which Mr. Trump dismissed attempts to push back on his fringe claims by those who knew most about them.
Mr. Trump scowled and dismissed Mr. Ramaphosa and his delegates during the meeting, including a Black woman who tried to explain that brutal crimes happen to Black people in the country as well.
By contrast, Mr. Trump joked around and listened attentively as Mr. Els, Mr. Goosen and Johann Rupert, a white South African billionaire, said crime was prevalent across the board in the nation, not just against white farmers.
Mr. Ramaphosa entered the meeting seemingly optimistic about maintaining a cordial conversation with Mr. Trump. He offered olive branches to Mr. Trump, including a book about golf. He complimented Mr. Trump’s décor in the Oval Office.
He even tried to joke with the president, who had become irate when a reporter asked him about a free plane from the Qatari government.
“I am sorry I don’t have a plane to give you,” Mr. Ramaphosa said to Mr. Trump.
“I wish you did,” Mr. Trump replied. “I’d take it. If your country offered the U.S. Air Force a plane, I would take it.”
Mr. Trump seemed more intent on relaying the talking points from leaders of Afrikaner lobbying groups, who have traveled to the United States repeatedly over the years to gather support for their claims of persecution. When one of those groups met with Mr. Trump’s top aides this year, the White House identified them as “civil rights leaders.”
Tuesday/ pink and white 🌼
Here’s a bunch of cute little Santa Barbara daisies from my walk tonight.
Monday/ stamps from Great Britain 🇬🇧
These stamps were on the envelope that landed in my mailbox today, mailed from the suburb of Northwood to the northwest of London.
(The Trump tariffs do not seem to affect my purchases of stamps on Ebay from overseas vendors. These are just envelopes with stamps in, though. I’m not sure what will happen if I order new albums and pages from overseas that come in a proper package).
Merry Christmas
Issued Nov. 2, 2004
Perf. 14½x14 | Design: Raymond Briggs | Engraving: De La Rue | No Watermark
2238 BPD1 1st Class | Multicolored | Santa with red suit looking at sunset
25th Anniversary of Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
Issued Aug. 12, 1981
Perf. 14 | Pair of stamps with gutter | Design: P. Sharland | Phosphorized paper | Litho. | No Watermark
1163 638 18p Greenish yellow, magenta, pale new blue, black, cobalt & gold | Woman at pottery wheel (“Skills”)
Folklore
Issued Feb. 6, 1981
Perf. 15×14 | Design: F. Wegner | Phosphorized paper | Litho. | No Watermark
1144 620 18p Dull ultramarine, lemon, lake-brown, bright green, black & gold | Morris dancers ‘A Merry May’
British Wildlife
Issued Oct. 5, 1977
Perf. 14×15 | Design: P. Oxenham | ‘All-over’ phosphor | Litho. | No Watermark
1043 522 9p Reddish-brown, grey-black, pale lemon, bright turquoise-blue, bright magenta & gold | Badger (Meles meles)
Millennium Stamps— Life and Earth
Issued Apr. 4, 2000
Perf. 14¼x14½ | Design: Post office artists | Engraving: De La Rue | No Watermark
1837 BBX 2nd Class | Multicolored | Ecos Nature Park, Ballymena, Northern Ireland
[Sources: Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue Part 1 Volume 1 British Commonwealth 1998, stampword.com]
Sunday/ Carlos wins in Rome 🎾
Congrats to Carlos Alcaraz (22, 🇪🇸), winning the Italian Open today, against his old nemesis and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner (23, 🇮🇹).
The score was 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
Here’s Matthew Futterman writing for The Athletic:
In one sense, this was one of the most predictable outcomes of the season. Sinner entered the tournament coming off a three-month anti-doping ban. Alcaraz, the Roland Garros champion who grew up on the red clay of Spain, had won the Monte Carlo Masters, reached the final in Barcelona, and then taken the Madrid Open off to nurse an injury. He came to Rome ready and rested, while Sinner arrived understandably not match tough enough to live with the player with whom he has split the last five Grand Slams.
Still, over the past 10 days, Sinner had played some of the most scintillating tennis of his life in front of an Italian crowd that wrapped him in their arms and powered him to a frightening level. He met the newly elected Pope Leo XIV one day. The next, he played what was statistically the best match of this season and the last on the ATP Tour, in annihilating Casper Ruud 6-0, 6-1.
[Posted on X @alcarchive]
Alcaraz uses a semi-western grip, which is a popular grip on both the men’s and women’s tours— but one which I was not taught as a junior tennis player.
We used the “greet the tennis racket” grip (the continental grip), which is a fundamental grip also used for serves, volleys, and overheads.
[All stills made from a video clip by the TennisTV streaming channel]
Saturday/ a battery of Teslas ⚡
A battery of Teslas filled up the driveway, while their owners walked down the two blocks to Elysian Fields Brewery for burgers and beers tonight.
Friday/ just fixing the antenna 📶
Happy Friday.
I bought a few 1960s magazines at the Friends store in the Seattle Public Library for a dollar each on Monday.
This cartoon is from The Saturday Evening Post of Sept. 9, 1967.
(That would be the Empire State Building. It opened on May 1, 1931).
Thursday/ a postcard from Japan 🇯🇵
These days, stamps from Japan is one of my favorite searches on EBay.
I couldn’t resist this beautiful postcard and stamp from 1921 that was offered for just a few dollars.
Issued Apr. 20, 1921
Perf. 13 x 13½ | Uncoated paper | Engraved
164 A47 3 sen violet-brown Ministry of Communications Building, Tokyo
____________
Translation of the Japanese text on the postage stamp:
At the top 貳拾五年紀念奉祝 (Nijūgo-nen Kinen Hōshuku) – “50th Year Commemorative Celebration”
At the bottom 日本郵便 (Nihon Yūbin) – “Japan Post”
三銭 (San sen) – “3 Sen” (Sen is a sub-unit of the yen, used until 1953. Following World War II, the yen lost much of its pre-war value as Japan faced a debt crisis and hyperinflation)
Bottom right: 大日本帝國政府印刷局製造 (Dai Nippon Teikoku Seifu Insatsu-kyoku Seizō) – “Manufactured by the Printing Bureau of the Government of the Empire of Japan”
[Sources: stampworld.com, Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue 2017, Vol. 4, Chat GPT]
Wednesday/ a story with a long tail 🐁
From capenature.co.za:
One of the Western Cape’s most mysterious mammals, the Boosmansbos long-tailed forest shrew (Myosorex longicaudatus boosmani), has made a reappearance, 46 years after it was last recorded!
[Photo by Cliff Dorse, posted on capenature.co.za]
First described in 1979 by scientist Nico Dippenaar, the shrew was recognised as a unique subspecies, geographically isolated from its relatives by the Gouritz Valley. Its limited known range, combined with forest habitat loss and climate change, led to it being listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2016.
[Photo from capenature.co.za]
Previous attempts to catch the elusive shrew using standard rodent live traps had been unsuccessful, and it was hoped that a new method – pitfall traps – would be more rewarding. But getting all the necessary gear up to the remote wilderness area, with no vehicle access, was a challenge.
Fortunately for the team, Helihack came to the rescue. This initiative is focused on safeguarding the protected area from invasive alien pines, using helicopters to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. In partnership with CapeNature, Helihack has already made huge strides in addressing this threat to the World Heritage Site. The team were airlifted to a wilderness campsite and then hiked down to set 76 pitfall traps across various habitats.
Each trap was prepared with bedding, shelter, and the occasional earthworm. At first, the traps yielded nothing—but one of the final traps revealed a small mammal with a 6 cm tail, unmistakably the long-lost Boosmansbos long-tailed forest shrew. Weighing just 13.7 grams, it was measured, photographed, and released unharmed into its forest habitat.
[Photo from capenature.co.za]
Tuesday/ inside the new Y⚡
I tagged along for a test drive in a new Tesla Model Y today.
Check out the lavender LED accent stripe that runs around the dashboard and windows. It can be set to any color, or to white, or turned off altogether).
The materials used for the dashboard and inside are mostly not top-notch, but seems good enough. Everything fancy costs extra money, right?
The FSD is getting better and better and performed well at intersections. Things can still get complicated when trying to get the car to pick a parking space in a parking lot, or when a vague destination is given to the car, such as just to go to a large shopping mall.
The drive mode stalk on the right of the steering wheel was taken out, and the console is now used to engage Park or Drive or Reverse. (The turn signal stalk is still there, on the left of the steering wheel.)
Our car does not use gas and oil – Yay!
Monday/ downtown Seattle 🏢
I had lunch at the Washington Athletic Club in downtown today, and took these pictures.
I had worked inside it on occasion— once upon a time, and years ago now. The American Eagle clothing store that used to be in the domed structure on the corner is long gone.
This used to be the Nike store in downtown Seattle (formerly NikeTown), on 6th Ave and Pike St. It closed down permanently in January 2023.
It is open to Washington Athletic Club members only, and I was invited by a member of the club 🤗.
The Skinner building was built in 1926 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. I love the detail on the frames above the entrance.
It is a 21-story office tower built in the 1970s and fully renovated by international architect and tenant Gensler in 2012. Is this an example of brutalist architecture*? I wondered.
*Brutalist architecture is a style known for its use of raw concrete, bold geometric forms, and functional design, often characterized by a rough, unadorned aesthetic.
That’s the Park Place building from the previous picture, in the reflection.
Sunday/ Mother’s Day 💐
Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms!
Saturday/ 30 days gone ⌛
“It’s really not at all clear what it is we should do”
– Fed Chair Jay Powell explaining at a news conference this week why the Federal Reserve Board decided to keep interest rates steady (instead of cutting them)
We are 30 days into the 90 day-hold that was announced by Trump for the (ridiculous) reciprocal tariffs on April 9. Now he ‘might’ lower the rate from 145% to 80%.
And what were the tariffs before all of this insanity?
Average US tariffs on Chinese exports now stand at 124.1 percent. These tariffs are more than 40 times higher than before the US-China tariff war began in 2018 and are already 6 times higher than the average US tariff on China of 20.8 percent when the second Trump administration began on January 20, 2025.
[Source: Peterson Institute for International Economics]
Friday/ the woodpeckers visit 🪵
Happy Friday.
Mr. and Mrs. Woodpecker* came by today.
They were looking for ants in the cracks between the cement pavers on the sidewalk.
*They are northern flickers (Colaptes auratus)
Thursday/ the new Pope ⛪
VATICAN CITY — Habemus Papam! The world’s 1.4 billion Catholics have a new leader — Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first American-born pope.
Prevost, 69, is originally from Chicago and has chosen the papal name Leo XIV. He was most recently the head of the dicastery responsible for the appointment of bishops and the archbishop emeritus of Chiclayo, Peru.
– Senior Reporter Alexander Smith writing for NBC News
[Still image from NBC News]
At the time in 2018, Robert Prevost was bishop of Chiclayo, a city in Peru. He became an archbishop in January 2023, and a few months later pope Francis made him a cardinal.
Wednesday/ irises 💜
I found these bearded irises on my walk tonight.
Similar-looking ones online are called ‘Stepping Out’, and that may be what this white-and-purple variety is called.
Tuesday/ felt like summer 🌳
It felt like summer today.
The high was near the record for this day on the calendar:
78°F (26°C) today, and the record is 81°F (27°C) recorded on May 6, 1957.
There will be cooler weather again for the rest of the week.
