2025.11.21. Legendary Children at Seattle Art Museum

11/21, Friday. SAM hosts the 10 year anniversary of Legendary Children. I've attended two of those, both at Paccar Pavilion of the Olympic Sculpture Park. Both colorful and loud, some interesting and outrageous outfits. Never a lot of people, consider the non-binary population in the city.

Today is no different. I arrived late, missed some speeches. Same, because it's a flat venue, if you are not close to the stage, your view is block. Thanks to the stairs in the art museum, I could peek through these hanging clouds. This is the runway at the end of the event.

We were allowed to go see the exhibitions in the museum. I was eager to check out the new exhibition Farm to Table. Highly recommend. Most are on-loan (so come and see it now). Many French painters that I'm not aware of. I especially like Gilbert and his portrait of Les Halles food market and workers (see the photo on right). This painting of a shepard and his sheep with a heavy menacing sky by Jacque is huge, set right at the entrance of this exhibition. I also like this painting of selling rat for food during WWI by Chaillou. A large space is set as a dinning room with plastic fruits and placesets, for you to sit and chat with other visitors. Kinda interesting.

Before entering this special exhibition on the 4th floor, I found this giant wooden wolf. And as usual, I alwasy visit the porcelain room (my favorite space of Seattle Art Museum). Good that today is not busy, and I had it for myself for a few minutes.

Before that, I went to Elliot Bay Books to an author event by Travis Holp on his new book Are You There, Spirit? It’s Me, Travis: Life Lessons from the Other Side. Travis works as a medium between you and your deseased loved ones. His clients book in-person or zoom reading. He's kinda funny and approachable. At the end of book talk, he did reading for 2 audience members. The first one is a bit odd, other than "father" (of 2 sisters), the other signs didn't realize. The 2nd one is a mother of a lady on the 1st row, and everything he said turned out to be correct. I wonder if she's planted. Only about a dozen people in attendance.

2025.11.18. NBR: US-Japan collaboratoin in AI and Quantum

11/18, Tuesday, I went to listen to this panel about US-Japan: Future of AI and Quantum. I liked it so much, that I'm making a note here. The person speaking here in th photeo is the Counsel General of Japan. But he's not the one who's interesting, nor the moderator, but the 3 guests (all ladies) on the panel:

• Kyoko Yoshinaga - Keio University
• Hodan Omaar - Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
• Ulrike Schaede - University of California San Diego

They all have quick mind, and know what they are talking about, listed concrete examples. I'm especially impressed by Hodan Omaar, who's very young. I even asked her a question after the talk. Learned a few things today:

• Japanese ministries are very silo-ed and competitive. It's monumental that METI and MIC have joined hands in publishing its AI guideline, updated frequently.
• soft guideline approach works in societies like Japan, where social norm is follow the lead. Soft policy also combines with a few hard laws. Guidelines can be updated more frequently.
• Japan's startup scene is not as weak as in general perception, according to Ulrike Schaeke. Example is Sakana.ai, founded by ex-Googlers and a lawyer from New York. Interesting choice to launch their startup in Japan.
• Japan has earmarked hundreds of billions $ to its Moonshot program.
• even without the willingness from the US fedral government (who wants dominance), collaboration can happen in the state and company level
  
  After the talk, I chatted with a very interesting guy who's working on CMOS design that would reuse energy. Turns out he's VP of Technology of Vaire, a startup that recycles energy in the gates.

2025.11.16 Arboretum

11/16, inspired by Arthur's comment yesterday, went to see maple colors in the arboretum: the woodland section. Alas, a week or two too late. Most leaves are on the ground. However, it's always nice to walk here, even with a bit of rain. Some camelias are still blooming, so are some azaleas. Saw these interesting ones:

• A golden rain tree, possilbly Koelreuteria elegans with its thousands of triangular seed pods.
• Callicarpa Bodinieri cultivar: var giraldii 'Profusion', with bright purple beads.
• Giant Himalayan Lily (now in seed. Need to come back next June/July to see the flowers.)

Surprised to see a few folks walking in the drizzle.

2025.11.15. Tree Tour + Bulger Party

11/15, Saturday. 2:30-4pm. Volunteer Park Trust hosts a tree tour by the local tree expert Arthur Lee Jacobson. I arrived ~5 minutes late, sweating profusing (walked ~50 min, uphill). Surprised to find ~30 people gathered around the black sun sculpture, and Arthur speaking, in the rain. I made a note of these:

• a tall Himalaya Cedar near the black sun.
• a Western Red Cedar cultivar Zebrina (zebra cedar, not a true cedar).
• a Jeffery Pine,
• a very large poplar with unusually gnarly trunk west (below) the tennis court,
• The world's tallest hawthorn (supposed to be a shrub), behind the amphitheatre. I tasted its tiny red seed: no taste. Later, we walked by a hybrid: Carriere Hawthorn: larger berry, and thick leaf.
• picked up a black walnut under the tree, and it was slimy. The outer layer was disintegrating. Arthur said that it's more flavorful than a regular walnut. But the nut is very hard to crack.
• an English Yew, supposed to have sweet fruit (bigger than our native yew).

I was invited to the Bulger party this year by one of the 3 finishers this year. I arrived around 6pm, already a lot of people, and quite some food containers empty. Since I took the bus, brought a party-size Kettle chips and some roasted delicata squash (cold). Saw a whole box of donuts (untouched). Who brought that?! I only know 4 other people here. Apparently the 3 new Bulger finishers don't know each other, nor other bulgers. Many old geezers knew each other.

The presentation started around 7pm. The recount of the Bulger pioneers. Apparently Bulger came from a misheard bludger (an Aussie term for a loafer, who live off other people's work). What to these folks do after they finished the 100: more lists. Example this top 200 just added a few more. A few people were mentioned, including Patty, who's here. She's 83, and still climbs! One started swimming all backcountry lakes. 2 started flying. Some set-backs. The accident this May. They mentioned Tim, who had climbed 99. One 2024 finisher died this year climbing.

Then the 3 newly minted bulger-finishers each gave a speech. Each signed a helmet. Each gets a t-shirt with their number and order of finish. Most of them gave thanks. Mr #103 had this funny slide of his bulger journey. He actually filled the whole slide with punctured remarks.

At the end, all the bulger-finishers present took the stage and had photo taken. Of course, many didn't come. Many who came are like me, not even working on bulger list, including a baby crawling under chairs back and forth: has potential.

2025.11.14. PNB: The Upper Room

Pacific Northwest Ballet's In the Upper Room features 3 modern pieces.

• Christopher D’Ariano & Amanda Morgan Aftertime (world premier: a couple watching robots dancing).
• Dani Rowe's The Window (a woman watched her neighbors)
• Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room (fast pace)

I especially like the first one. The costums of the robots are fun, their movements are interesting. Quite enjoyable.