You better move those cars. The Ballard Regiment is thinking about putting some artillery on the corner of Ballard Avenue and Vernon Place.
Locate Cannon
Hawaiian Reprise: Pu'u 'O'o Venting into Ocean
The cupboard is bare, folks; there are no new pictures of Ballard to put here, so we return to Hawaii for a picture of the Pu'u 'O'o lava vent on the Big Island. The Park Service doesn't let you get very close to the action. They're worried about noxious fumes asphyxiating what's left of your lungs after microscopic shards of airborne volcanic glass cut them to shreds. It's not all tropical paradise over there in Hawaii.
Friday Cat: Thanksgiving
photo by Ballard Avenue
The mat's kind of scratchy but it's warmer than the concrete porch. For that we give thanks, Lord. Amen.
Mike's Chili Parlor
Located at the northeast end of the Ballard Bridge, Mike's Chili Parlor has served as the Gateway To Ballard for decades. Mike's is definitely Old Ballard. It's not trendy, it's not a hipster hangout. It's just a chili joint. And the beer is cold, too.
Friday Cat: It's Dangerous on 34th
photo by Ballard Avenue
It's tough being a cat on 34th Avenue NW. All day long people walk their dogs up 34th to go to the park. A cat just can't relax.
Self Portrait
E-mails pour in asking, "So what do you look like?" Well, if you ever see this foot around Ballard next summer, you'll know who puts this site together.
Dead End (Or Is It?)
A philosophical quandry to start your week with. There are some deep thinkers on NW 69th Street.
Ballard Bros. Burgers
Another business with "Ballard" in its name. The Ballard Bros. have been slinging burgers at community festivals for years. Recently they decided to settle down at this space along 15th Avenue NW. And after your burger (or perhaps a cajun blackened salmon fillet sandwich) you can get your nails done at Jenny's.
'Tis the Last Daisy of Summer
'Tis the last daisy of summer
and since we're not Sir John
this will be all the sappy rhyme you get
before we're up and gone...
'Tis the Last Rose of Summer
'Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming all alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flower of her kindred,
No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.
I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them;
'Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead.
So soon may I follow
When friendships decay,
And from love's shining circle
The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone?
--Sir John Stevenson, 1761-1833
Auto Show: Lego Volvo
Not being cursed with penile inadequacy compensation needs, we find the Lego Volvo to be more our type of car. More precisely, we think it a Volvo covered with Legos, but as you can see, they didn't let us get too close to it.
Auto Show: PICD
You don't have to be a Freudian to know that a Hummer is just another Penile Inadequacy Compensation Device.
Auto Show
photo by Ballard Avenue
We loves us some auto show around here. There's nothing better than kicking a bunch of tires, slamming a bunch of doors, and smelling all those free hydrocarbons floating around the interior of all those shiny new cars. So we went to the auto show where you can do all that without the loving attention of a salesperson.
The cars are grouped by maker and it's interesting to see who's hot and who's not. This year hybrids are hot. Trucks are not. High-fiving white guys from downtown accounting firms all gather around the BMWs. 20-something Asian kids go straight for the Hondas and Acuras. Computer geeky types were hanging around the Volvos and Saabs. There were always lots of people in the Buick area but it was in the center of the hall. They were all going somewhere else.
Volkswagen was hot. Mercury, believe it or not, was hot. Mitsubishi and Kia were not. There was a lonely Kia Optima sedan over in the far corner of the hall. It's a nice but plain little sedan. It seemed so sad and lonely that we went over, sat in it and beeped the horn. The horn didn't work. The battery cable must have been removed. But we tried.
Sunset
photo by Ballard Avenue
This isn't today's sunset. Today's sunset was gray from horizon to horizon. During this sunset, a couple weeks ago, low-flying clouds were racing under the high clouds. The sun was just setting behind the Olympic Mountains, which explains why the low clouds are dark while the high clouds still reflect the sunlight.
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