So OK...

The new album is out.  There are 14 tracks that you may like.  Yeah, I know, it's something no one will want.  Everybody reads this crummy blog for the squirrels.  And why not?  They eat peanuts, climb trees and do squirrel-things.  But this evening was the release party.  I had an excellent time making this album.  It sounds pretty great.  You can find it here.  But no big deal.   It's just this kind of superior funk album that you may enjoy.  I never really thought I would ever make something funk-oriented, but that's kind of what happened.  There may come a time when this is the only thing you need to listen to, but I won't ever hold you to it.  The thing is that funk isn't what anyone wants.  But it may be a part of your basic needs.  You won't know until you listen to it.  

Your Sunday Squirrel

This is the same guy from a few weeks ago. This photo was after he freaked out, climbed the tree and came back down.  He was really quite calm after that.  Here he is eating a peanut, which squirrels rarely do, as they are so very selective.  Anyhow, enjoy.

Your Sunday Squirrel

It may be a little tough to see, but this guy has a mouthful of grass.  My guess is that he was in the midst of building a nest.  Well, I distracted him with a peanut and he forgot about all things nest-related.

This is him without grass in his mouth.  He hung around long enough for me to take pictures of him with my real camera.

Bye Bye, Dean Transmission

OK, I knew that Dean Transmission was moving from 4th & Blanchard to 7th & Battery.  I just didn't expect them to demolish the building practically around their ears.  I expected them to move, for a few months to go by, for the building to become a graffiti magnet, then demolition.  No indeed.  It happened very quickly.  I took the photo above on Thursday.  There's a crane doing all the destruction.  It was quite something to behold.

By Friday, almost everything had been leveled.  And now they're going to building some kind of 30-story building; rumor has it that it's going to be a hotel/condo blend.  Well, good luck to them.  I hope it's not too ugly.  As for Dean Transmission, I wish them the best.  Back when I had a car, they were my repair place.  They always did a great job, plus they're really nice guys.  And they didn't charge me a huge amount for fairly extensive repairs.

Your Sunday Squirrel

I might finally be getting the hang of this iPhone-thing.  True, the peanut and his front paws are a blur, but overall, it's OK.  I took it yesterday as I was walking back from Lake Union and found myself sans camera.  The only problem with taking photos with the iPhone is that no matter how good they are, they won't ever make it onto the calendar.  The shape is all wrong and even after cropping, it's not sharp enough when you enlarge it.  I mean, this guy is fairly in focus at this size, but totally not when you take him up a size or two.  I think I'll stick with the silver box and its incompetent focus-bot for my squirrel portraiture.  Every so often it takes a real nice picture.  

So Long, Sigs

For years, at the corner of 3rd & Lenora, you'd find Sig's Barbershop.  I went there for around 10 years.  Each time, I'd emerge with a pretty terrible haircut.  The place was run by Sig and his partner, Thor.  Both of them were well over 80 and not entirely unracist.  Sig had a certificate that he would proudly show off to anyone who walked in.  It was a commendation for having voted in every single election for the past 65 years.  Despite his voting record, it would take him forever to give you an awful haircut.  His hands shook, he would get distracted and he'd forget what you wanted.  He also refused to give women and most non-Asian minorities haircuts.  First, Thor passed away (he was pushing 90), then Sig went (probably past 90), but the shop continued.  I have little doubt that they were still not very good.  I had moved on by then.  But now, they've closed up altogether.  I have no idea what would suit that spot besides a barbershop.  Perhaps a tiny, awful diner; I have no idea.  Maybe it will be like Brasa and just sit vacant forever.  Anyhow, so long, Sig's and later incarnations.  You gave me the worst haircuts of my entire life.    

The Case Against Taggers

I like the Popsicle.  It's a very accessible piece of pop art, if you will.  It is so popular that the landscapers for the Darth Vader Building had to redesign the area around it because everybody wants to have their picture fake-licking and hopefully not real-licking it.  You'd think that by now all taggers would know the rules, the first and foremost is: don't tag artwork.  This douchebag probably missed that day at Tagger Academy.  Sure, I would rather that taggers didn't exist at all, because, I mean, it's just visual noise with no redeeming value.  In the past, there have been exactly two guys in and around Beltown who have risen above the amateurish realm of territorial pissing: one painted crude skulls, the other large eyes.  Both have long been out of commission.  So now we're stuck with douches like this; someone who thinks that scrawling his initials on something of value and esteem transfers said qualities to him. (I'm assuming it's a guy, because most douche taggers are.)  Either that, or he's done this solely to brag about it.  "Hey dude, I tagged the Popsicle!" Yeah, it's a pretty empty boast, because who cares?  Well, hopefully it will be gone by now, eradicated and consigned to oblivion as should this douche.  What an idiot.     

Your Sunday Squirrel

This guy was pretty odd.  And very hungry.  When I ran into him, he was perched in this same spot, hanging out and just being a squirrel.  I gave him a few peanuts and he kept returning to his perch.  I think he wanted to keep an eye on me.  Anyhow, he was pleasant enough for a while, then he completely freaked out, ran up the tree, then un-freaked out, came back down and had more peanuts.  Well, I guess with squirrels one should expect at least a little squirrelly behavior.