Happy Friday.
I embellished some of my pictures from last Sunday with Google’s new Gemini 3 (“Nano Banana Pro”) image editor.
(The Cybertruck in the last picture was real, and not added).
Saturday/ sophisticated humor 🦓
I was not 100% sure if I understood all the subtle humor in this cartoon, and enlisted the Chat GPT chatbot’s help to explain it to me.
The cartoonist is Edward Steed (born 1987), a British cartoonist and illustrator, best known for his work for in The New Yorker magazine.
The humor comes from the contrast: ‘Polite cocktail-party etiquette’ versus ‘Wild-animal behavior’. It’s the absurd mix of manners (“Could you hold my drink?”) with the expectation that something ferocious is about to happen (such as the lion devouring the zebra). The rest of the party acting like all this is totally normal adds to the surreal deadpan comedy.
[From The New Yorker magazine, the Dec 18 & 25, 2017 issue].
Saturday/ don’t stop painting 🦁
It’s time for another safari cartoon.
(That must be Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in the distance, and on the canvas— elevation 19, 341’/ 5,895 m).
From a hardcover book called ‘The Dedini Gallery’, published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York (1961). The cartoon first appeared in The New Yorker magazine in 1959.
Monday/ shades of King George V 👑
I have long been unhappy with my pre-printed Leuchtturm stamp album pages for the first definitive issue of stamps for the Union of South Africa*.
The old pages are in bad shape, with bare-bones headers, and my South African Color Catalogue lists several more shades of the King George V issues, as well as a few with inverted watermarks.
The new page that I created is a difficult assembly and not yet complete, though. The black-and-white images are placeholders.
Will I ever get my grubby hands on one each of the two £1 stamps at the very high end of the set?
I doubt it. The catalog values for perfect specimens of these are US$800 and US$ 1,000 respectively.
*The Union of South Africa was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on May 31, 1910 with the unification of the Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange River Colony.
Sunday/ along Columbia Street ️️🏙️
I took the G Line bus to the waterfront, and walked back up along Columbia Street in downtown Seattle to take a few pictures.
The tallest building in Seattle is on Columbia Street: the 76-story Columbia Center, which rises 937 feet (286 m) and was completed in 1985.
I went back to the waterfront to watch the sun set.
Sunset is now at 4.49 pm.
On the right is the Pacific Building (1971, 22 stories).
This building was originally the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Building (1924), and is now the Northwest Title Insurance Company Building (since 2007).
Clockwise from the top right corner: the Columbia Center (1985), the Seattle Municipal Tower (1990), the F5 Tower (2017), 901 Fifth Avenue (1973), Fourth and Madison Building (2002), DocuSign Tower (1983).
The ferry is the Kaleetan, getting ready to depart for Bainbridge Island.
Saturday/ is it sundown already? 🌇
Daylight saving time here in the United States will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025.
We will set our clocks back by one hour.
From a hardcover book called ‘The Dedini Gallery’, published by Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York (1961). The cartoon first appeared in The New Yorker magazine in 1956.
Tuesday/ the Appalachian Trail 🥾
Here is the other sheet of 2025 stamps that I bought at the post office on Friday.
Issued Feb. 28, 2025
Perf. 11 serpentine die-cut |Self-adhesive |Design: Antonio Alcala |Sheet size: 15 stamps | First-Class Mail®’FOREVER’ stamps (75c) |Engraving: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. | No watermark
[Source: stampworld.com]
From USPS.com: Take a hike from the stresses of modern life with The Appalachian Trail stamps, celebrating the century-old footpath that rambles through unspoiled nature from Maine to Georgia.
The pane of stamps includes a photographic view from each of 14 states through which the trail winds. An additional stamp represents the so-called “green tunnel,” an affectionate nickname for stretches of trail through dense forest.
[From Wikipedia]
Sunday/ the bloody battles of the American Revolution 🎖️
I got these ‘USA forever’ stamps on Friday.
It never costs me just one stamp when I take something to the post office, because I always buy a whole sheet of stamps! 🤗
From Wikipedia:
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war’s outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war. But Washington and the Continental Army’s decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war in the Treaty of Paris two years later, in 1783, in which the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.
Issued Apr. 16, 2025
Perf. 11 serpentine die-cut |Self-adhesive |Design: Derry Noyes (from watercolor paintings by Greg Harlin) |Sheet size: 15 stamps |First-Class Mail® ‘FOREVER’ stamps (75c) | Engraving: Banknote Corporation of America | No watermark
[Source: stampworld.com]
Friday/ a beautiful fall day ☀️
Happy Friday.
It was a beautiful fall day here in Seattle (the high 70°F/ 21°C).
I walked to Volunteer Park late in the afternoon, and took a few pictures of the Black Sun.
Wednesday/ a Japanese lantern 🏮
Here’s my Japanese lantern that I got at the Ozeki Tokyo Gallery.
The packaging says ‘Gifu* Lantern Project 001’, designed by Yuka Noritake, and ‘Made in Japan’.
*A reference to the city of Gifu in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
The paper is Mino paper, made from the paper mulberry plant that grows in the city of Mino. There is a little LED bulb inside with a switch, that is mounted on a coin cell battery (so the lantern has no cord).
There were at least a dozen more lanterns to choose from in this size and shape, but with artwork such as cherry blossoms, trees or Mt Fuji.
I liked this plain one with no images on, best.
Monday/ postcard from Seoul 🇰🇷
Hey! The postcard I had mailed to Seattle from the top of Seoul tower made it into my mailbox.
Situated at No. 1 Sejong Road in the Jongno District of Seoul, the palace was originally built in 1395 as the palace of the King of Choson. It was listed as a cultural property on Jan. 1, 1963.
Issued Dec. 17, 2021
Perf. 13½ |Design: Ryu Ji-Hyeong |Engraving: Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation |Litho. |No watermark
#3555 500₩ Multicolored |Fruit cluster of bunge (Crataegus pinnatifida)
This tree is also called Chinese hawthorn and is known for its bright red fruit that is used in traditional East Asian medicine and foods (like candies and teas).
500₩ = US$ 0.36
[Source: stampworld.com]
Tuesday/ autumn card 🍂
I deployed my 2 ½ -dimensional card that I had bought at a Japan Post Office in Tokyo, on my dining room table.
Here is an explainer from Google AI Overview:
Lasers are very effective for cutting paper, offering high precision for intricate designs on various paper types, including cardstock and corrugated board. The laser beam vaporizes the paper along the path of the design, resulting in a clean, distortion-free edge without mechanical contact. While the laser’s heat can cause slight browning or charring on the edges, this can be minimized by using appropriate power and speed settings for the specific paper.
Thursday/ Shibuya at night 🌃
Thursday was my last full day here in Tokyo.
In the morning, I ran out to Uniqlo in Ginza to change my size M shirts that I had bought Wednesday night, for size L. (The line at the fitting room was too long yesterday and I took a chance with the size M).
Then I went out to a gallery called Ozeki with beautiful Japanese lantern lamp shades that a YouTuber had recommended. I bought a little round one that is folded flat for packing into a suitcase. (At this point in any overseas trip it is always a question if all the stuff I had bought, would fit in my suitcases.)
And for the evening I made a run out to the Mandarake store (books, cards, collectibles) in Shibyua. At 5.30 ish, it was almost too late. You don’t want to get crushed on the train by the commuters that go home.
At Shibuya Scramble Crossing: lots of crazy people and definitely too many foreigners taking selfies and annoying the locals, I’m sure.
Get out of my way!
Wednesday/ Ginza district 🪭
On Wednesday night I did my mandatory (mandatory for me) walk-about along the main street in Ginza, Tokyo’s luxury shopping district. The street is named Chuo-dori, which translates to ‘Central Street’.
The sign in the first picture says ‘Ginza Block 6’.
Stores on Chuo-dori close at 7 or at 8. The Onitsuka Tiger store (Japanese footwear maker) was filled with sneaker aficionados right until closing time. Look for the storefront with the cool tiger neon sign in the pictures below.
Tuesday/ Shibuya 🏙️
I took the Yamanote line to Shibuya station on Tuesday morning.
My reservation to visit the open air observation on top of the Shibuya Scramble Square Tower had rained out last week, so I wanted to give it another try.
The Tower is the tallest building in the Shibuya district of Tokyo and contains shops, offices, and event spaces in addition to the observation deck on its rooftop. The building and the observation deck opened in November 2019.
All of the windows on the four floors at the bottom form a giant display screen.
It has a 10-ft high glass perimeter and netting. Even so, all backpacks, hats, loose items, have to be stowed in the locker room before you are allowed entry onto the deck. Cameras with straps (like mine) were OK. Yay.
The famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing that the building was named after (four sides with one diagonal) is at the bottom right.
This is the Shibuya Hikarie ShinQs, a high-end, eight-level department store featuring fashion, housewares, dining and gourmet food hall on the ground floor.
To its left is Azabudai Hills (麻布台ヒルズ, Azabudai Hiruzu)— a complex of three skyscrapers from a major new mixed-use urban development completed in 2023. The complex features Japan’s tallest building, shops, restaurants, offices, and the teamLab Borderless digital art museum.
It sits in the middle of the Sky Deck and uses an azimuthal equidistant projection to show how the world extends beyond the horizons seen from the deck. It’s possible to recognize the continent of Australia in there, but the blob at the bottom is actually Africa.
Look for Vancouver at NW (7, 563 km/ 4,699 mi away), closest to where Seattle is.
I guess my question is: why does Shibuya show 40,030 km away (on the other side of Earth?). If Sapporo is 837 km to the North, should it not show 0 for Shibuya instead?
Monday/ back to Tokyo 🗼
I was out of the bed in my hotel in Seoul shortly after 4 am this morning.
I had to take the first train of the day (5.28 am) on Line 1, from City Hall Station to Seoul Station.
At Seoul Station, I took the 6 am Airport Express train into Incheon International Airport.
(Cost: US$9, with a free bottle of mineral water from Jeju Island thrown in. For me, it’s not really about the cost, though. I just think taking the train is a lot more interesting than taking a taxi.)
The flight out to Tokyo’s far-away Narita Airport was slightly delayed, but went without incident.
On the large screen there was an animation of “The Sleeping Gypsy” (1897) painting by the French Naïve artist Henri Rousseau. (The lion sniffs at the sleeping woman in the painting).
The flight route makes it seem as if the pilot was asleep and said Oops! I better turn south to get to Tokyo.
I bought my ticket (13.14 pm departure) for the Narita Express at the ticket counter with only 8 minutes to go until departure time. I know the way to the platform, so I could do that. The next train is 30 minutes later, and I did not want to wait.
This train has the new livery which was introduced in 2023.
Sunday/ Lotte World Tower 🌐
I could not very well go up Seoul Tower, and leave Lotto World Tower out, right?
So off I went today to Lotto World Tower, even though it was a 40 minute train ride out there.
There is an express double-car elevator that whisks the humans inside up to the 117th floor* in one minute flat. I felt a little vertigo, and my ears popped on the way up. There no view to the outside, just display screens on the sides and ceiling of the car.
*The Seoul Sky observation deck in the Lotte World Tower spans seven floors, from floors 117 to 123.
It opened on May 28, 1986. Built at a cost of US$200 million, it was built to host the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Friday/ around Seoul 🇰🇷
Happy Friday. (I know it has been an awful week for the national psyche in the United States).
Here in the Far East, it was the first day with milder temperatures for me (a high of 28°C/ 83°F in Seoul today).
I walked around the hotel here by Seoul’s City Hall for a bit this morning, and then went out to Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) with the No 2 subway line.
In it is the shrine called Hwangudan (황궁우 / 皇穹宇)— also known as the Wongudan Altar. It was constructed in 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire and renovated from 2015 to 2017.
[Source: Trip Advisor/ Viator]
Tuesday/ more Expo 2025 Osaka 🏯
I walked over to the West Gate today (both days I had entered at the East Gate), where I found Astro Boy.
I also tracked down the Japan Pavilion with its beautiful ‘golden hat’ design. The Golden Surface of the Japan Pavilion was created by the designers Nikken Sekkei. They used an iridescent color shining technology— a technique that involves engraving microgrooves onto the surface, which interact with light to produce a dynamic, multi-colored sheen that changes with the viewing angle.
As the sun was setting, everyone went up to the Grand Ring, to watch the daylight end.
Monday/ at Expo 2025 Osaka 🤗
I made it to Expo 2025 Osaka!
It’s hot and it’s crowded with very, very long lines at most pavilions— the ones that allow you in without a reservation, that is.
Entrance to the top-rated pavilions are pre-allocated by a lottery system. I struck out despite diligently applying, as far out as three months before my visit today.
No matter, once you have made it into the entrance gate (with 180,000 others), you are in a world onto its own, inside the Grand Ring. The Ring is the world’s largest wooden structure, constructed on Yumeshima (夢洲), the artificial island located in Osaka Bay.
The USA pavilion is a structure designed by Trahan Architects with two triangular wings and a raised translucent cube flanking a central plaza. It features video imagery that features the Plains, the mountains and the cities in the US— and hey! Seattle’s Pike Place market made an appearance as well.
I was mesmerized by the installation of shiny cubes called null². The sun bounced off the surfaces, and a low sound was emitted from the structure.
Developed by Yoichi Ochiai, the pavilion’s structure is based on a cubic grid of voxels measuring 2 to 8 m (6 ft to 26 ft) wide. The facade is covered with a membrane that resembles a mirror. [Source: Wikipedia]
Look for a few images (towards the end) beamed out from the enormous high-resolution screen outside the Korea pavilion. The three-story pavilion has a high-resolution screen on its facade that is 27 m (89 ft) wide. The screen displays on a spectacular series of animated images and videos.
South Africa withdrew from Expo 2025 Osaka in late 2024 despite repeated invitations from the Japanese government, citing the country’s ‘financial constraints’.
