a weblog of whereabouts & interests, since 2010
The wildfires on the outskirts of Spokane burnt down several hundred structures and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
Surface smoke from all the fires reached the Seattle area today and will hang around through Thursday.
The Blue Angels did fly today, to close out the Seafair Festival weekend.
I had my big digital camera at the ready to take a few pictures from the bedroom upstairs.
The last picture shows all six aircraft in the squad, with the numbers on their tail fins.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels air show was cancelled today, due to dangerous wind conditions. (Wind speeds on Saturday afternoon were about 17-23 mph, with frequent gusts of 28-31 mph.)
The organizers are confident that there will be a show on Sunday and will Saturday tickets for Sunday.
These two pictures are from my after-dinner walk tonight.
‘Seattle Freeze’: Forget making friends — half of Washington residents don’t even want to talk to you
– Headline of a report in The Seattle Times of May 28, 2019 about a survey done by Seattle-based Pemco Insurance, that seems to give credence to the phenomenon known as the Seattle Freeze: Northwesterners’ reputation for making it hard to form new friendships.
Here’s a cute cartoon that was printed in the July issue of The Stranger, Seattle’s alternative newspaper.
(‘Seattle’s Only Newspaper’ says the tagline on their website, but we do have another newspaper called The Seattle Times).
These spectacular lilies, dahlias, peonies, daisies and wildflowers are from the P-patch at 20th Avenue East and Republican Street in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
This morning, a storm brought thunder, lightning, and heavy rain to large parts of downtown Seattle.
The downpour totaled 0.36 inches (9 mm), and brought a sudden end to our 19-day dry spell.
What 1966 also had, as every single human being in the British Isles knows, was Gordon Banks, Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst and the patrician tones of Kenneth Wolstenholme’s narrating the World Cup final at Wembley Stadium between England and West Germany.
“Some people are on the pitch,” Wolstentholme said, his voice rising, with England 3-2 in the lead. “They think it’s all over.” Whomp went Geoff Hurst’s left boot, clumping the ball into the roof of the net in the final minute. “It is now!”
Those two hours are among the 20th century’s most enduring contributions to Britain’s national mythology. Little else comes close, especially for the still-dominant English part of the country. It remains the first and only time England won the World Cup and the mark by which Britain measures itself — not only in soccer but also, in that squishy phrase, its place in world affairs. That moment, alongside the Beatles, Twiggy and miniskirts, Britain told itself perhaps it remained a world-beater after all.
– From Matthew Rose’s guest essay today in the New York Times, titled “England Defeats Itself. Again.” (The byline states ‘Mr. Rose is an Opinion editorial director and a long-suffering England soccer fan’.)
So Argentina and Spain will play for the World Cup on Sunday.
It really looked like England would defeat Argentina today, but no.
England had scored a goal after 55 minutes of play, and then Argentina scored twice, right at the end of regular time (at 85′ and 92′). Oy.
I love this map from Terrible Maps on X.
Alaskans point out in the comments that Anchorage is much closer to the far eastern parts of Russia than Seattle is.
I guess it comes down to one’s definition of a ‘major city’.
The City of Seattle has 823,400— and for the broader Seattle metropolitan area, the population is over 4.15 million.
Anchorage has 290,000 residents and all of Alaska about 738,000.
There were beautiful clouds in the view from 13th Ave E and East Mercer St this morning. The Space Needle dome still has its soccer ball coat on, but maybe not for much longer, now that the World Cup is in its final week.
We have been blessed with mild day temperatures the last week or two here in the city— 72°F (22°C) today.
A heatwave was building again in the Southwest and Great Plains this weekend, and it is going to move eastward from there.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The U.S. men’s national soccer team charged into the World Cup’s round of 16 by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 on Wednesday, but suffered a devastating blow when star striker Folarin Balogun was shown a red card.
– Paul Tenorio, Henry Bushnell and Tom Bogert writing for The Athletic in the New York Times
So that means that the U.S. men’s national team will return to Seattle on Monday Jul. 5 to face Belgium in a round-of-16 match.
One could argue it is one of the biggest sporting events in Seattle’s history.
Recency bias is a cognitive shortcut where our brains heavily favor recent events, making them feel more important, likely, or accurate than older information. Because these memories are the freshest, they disproportionately skew our judgment and decision-making.
-Google AI Overview
June is done, and we are at the halfway mark for 2026.
I was going to remark that it was a cool June, but the data says otherwise!
It was a warmer-than-usual June.
It was time again today for the Greenwood Car Show on on Greenwood Ave N. in Seattle.
Happy Friday and happy Pride Weekend!
Before tonight’s Egypt-Iran match at Lumen Field, the stadium held a moment of silence for the victims of the recent devastating earthquakes in Venezuela.
Later tonight, I headed down to Seattle Center for the post-game drone show. It only featured a few hundred drones and lasted just 12 minutes, but it was still great to watch.
Today was the last of the three warm days for now.
We had 88 °F (31 °C) here in the city— very warm for early summer, but nowhere near the extreme heat that scorches Europe right now.
Paris experienced a high of 106° F (41° C) today with a low of 77° F (25° C) during a record-breaking early summer heat event.
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.
[Photo from the Seattle Times]
[Photo by Ruth Fremson/The New York Times]
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.
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.
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).
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.
