My Bluesky posts

  • Fri, 20:26 Birth Week 1976 Local Landmark # 1: 1600 Seventh Avenue, Seattle, WA
    Opened (as 1600 Bell Plaza): November 22, 1976
    32 floors, 498 ft.
    Nov 1976 dedication ceremony featured then-Governer Dan Evans, and Don Ameche, the actor who portrayed Alexander Graham Bell in the 1939 biographical film about him. Was previously named Pacific Northwest Bell Building (during construction), US West Communications, and Qwest Plaza before shedding any corporate name in favor of 1600 Seventh Avenue after being sold in 2012. Most floors of the building now house Nordstrom offices. https://t.co/TyBfb14JhO
  • Fri, 20:37: Birth Week 1976 Local Landmark #2: Third Place Books, originally PCC Ravenna store, Seattle WA
    Opened (as PCC Ravenna): 1976. Actually the second location of the Ravenna store, which originally opened in 1969, but Third Place Books is in the building that was PCC Ravenna between 1976 and 2001.
    It was basically put out of business by the opening of Whole Foods half a mile to the west, which opened in late 1999 and is still there now. It's been Third Place Books since 2002. It has a cafe in the back of the bookstore upstairs and a pub in the lower level, which used to be PCC storage space. https://t.co/5iEbqfDgAq

i swear, almost there

04232021-04

— छह हज़ार बीस —

I took myself to see I Swear right after work yesterday, and even though it had a very formulaic construction, I really liked it a lot. I was really into it, and felt they did a great job of an empathetic portrayal of a person with Tourette Syndrome. The whole BAFTA controversy is really unfortunate, because I think it rather takes away from how good the film itself actually is.

It's interesting, though, to think about how the film ends, with John Davidson (played by Robert Aramayo) being given a prototype wrist device that helps control tics, in order to give researchers feedback. John walks through a library for the first time, as he's able to control himself and not shout. And yet, the real John Davidson was at the BAFTAs, and some of the racial slurs that he shouted during the ceremony are the basis of said controversy (it's worth noting that no one really blames him for that; the real controversy is why the fuck the slurs were not bleeped out of the BAFTA telecast—this whole thing is a far worse reflection on the BAFTAs than on Davidson himself). Anyway, it only occurred to me now to wonder about this: he must not have had access to this device during the ceremony.

To be fair, the researcher he meets during the movie tells him he can't keep it but he can use it for a few days, so we know he won't be able to use it forever. That scene is set in 2022. It's too bad he couldn't borrow it again for something as significant as the BAFTAs.

— छह हज़ार बीस —

04232023-07

— छह हज़ार बीस —

So anyway, the movie didn't start until 5:15, and I rode my bike over to Pacific Place after work, where I walked around a bit to kill time. The film is a solid 2 hours long, so it must have been around 8:00 when I finally got home, accounting for the solid half-hour of trailers and ads before the movie. I then wrote the review, after which it was already about 9:00.

Shobhit made lentils for dinner and they were unusually tasty. His food is always good; this was even better than usual, especially for lentils which I always like fine but don't tend to get excited about.

We watched this week's episode of Hacks on HBO Max after that. This is their fifth and final season, and I must say I think the writing is weaker this season than it's ever been—but I'm so attached to the characters that I'm still having a great time watching. The performances are still great, after all, and one thing I do actually like about this season is how Deborah and Eva (Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder) are actually good friends rather than constantly butting heads. I like that sort of pivot so at least we're not just watching the same kind of relationship over and over again.

I didn't feel like watching Abbott Elementary after that even though the Hulu/Disney+ subscription ends today; I think it does include today. I went to bed. And now I'm at work, well caught up far better than I could maybe even have hoped. I even ended the day yesterday with zero emails in my inbox! That never happens. There are 16 in my inbox right now as I write this but whatever.

Birth Week officially starts today, actually. I'll have to post again either later tonight or early tomorrow morning. I've got something scheduled every day, even a lunch with Gabriel in Bremerton tomorrow. (I don't have a dedicated thing scheduled with Danielle outside of my party in Olympia on the 2nd, but it may happen yet.) Tonight I kick it all off by meeting with Tracy at the Third Place Books in Ravenna, which used to be the Ravenna PCC, which opened in 1976. So I just need to get through the afternoon ending this work weekend, and then off I go!

— छह हज़ार बीस —

05032024-24

[posted 12:32pm]