10 Protagonists and Their Arch-Nemeses

1. Batman [Detective Comics #27) vs. Joker [Batman #1] (comics): the former wants to impose order to make the world safe; the latter wants to impose chaos to make everyone afraid
2. Encyclopedia Brown [Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective] vs. Bugs Meany [same] (short stories): the former, a young amateur detective, the latter a similary aged bully
3. Dorothy Gale [The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] vs. the Nome King [Ozma of Oz] (novels): the former an unassuming young girl who likes to go on adventures; the latter likes to stay at home and turn everyone into trinkets 
4. The Hulk [Incredible Hulk #1] vs. The Leader [Tales to Astronish#62] (comics): two men altered by gammara rays: the former a scientist turned into a creature of brawn, the latter a janitaor turned into a man of huge intellect?
5. Vic Mackey [The Shield season 1 episode] vs. Kavanagh [The Shield season 5 episode 1] (tv): the former a corrupt cop who sometimes does the right thing, the latter a good cop whose pursuit of Vic sometimes cause him to do the wrong thing
6. Mister Fantastic (Fantastic Four#1) vs. Doctor Doom (Fantastic Four #4) (comics): both brilliant scientists, the former for the betterment of humanity, the latter for personal conquest
7. Number 6 [The Pirisoner: Arrival] vs. Number 2 [The Prisoner: The Chimes of Big Ben] (tv): the forrmer an ex-spy with a strong will who tries not to conform by revealing why he resigned; the latter (one of a number of people going by the name Number 2) willing to go to extreme methods to break Number 6's will to find out why he resigned 
8. Maxwell Smart [Get Smart episode 1] vs. Siegfried [Get Smart episde 33] (tv): two enemy secret agents (both somewhat bumbliong, somewhat competent) who try to kill eachother but who have a certain affection for one another
9. Adam Warlock [Fantastic Four #6 as Him, Marvel Premiere #1 as Warlock] vs. the Magus [Strange Tales #178] (comics): The former an advocate of exercising free will and individual thought, the latter his own future self imposing order
10. Remo Williams [Created, the Destroyer] vs. Nuihc [Union Bust] (novels): Two would-be heirs to the title of Master of Sinanju; the former likes to tease about Sinanju but secretly respects the customs, the other makes use of Sinanju culture even as he disgraces it

My September 12, 2012 Saltspring Island Trip

Today:

• Arrived at the bus stop downtown; realized too late that I forgot to pack a spare memory card and would have to be frugal
• At Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal, two self-serve booths wouldn't accept my debit card so I had to pay by cash at a a teller, as debit wasn't accepted there
• Took the ferry across to Fulford and then a bus to Ganges
• Shopped around a little including Island Star Video
• Went to a pizza place for lunch; the line was moving fast but they the cashier took the people right in front of me somewhere and disappeared; another cashier showed up maybe ten minutes later
• Bought a 10" pizza there; cheap and not bad, but it was pizza that had been on the heat rack the whole time
• Shopped around a little more
• Walked to a lake and swam a while
• Started walking and running back to the ferry terminal
• Found a garage sale en route and bought a Canadian and an American version of Monopoly
• Camera quit on me; efforts to get it to work again have continued to be unsuccessful throughout the day; unless I get get it repaired may have to fork over $600+ to get another of similar quality (for the camera itself plus, since my camera is not longer being made, batteries for whatever the replacemant camera takes
• Got a ride most of the rest of the way to the ferry terminal; long car line-up though so I think the people who gave me the partial lift had to wait two extra hours for a later ferry
• Bought an over-priced but admittedly quite tasty C-Plus at a convenience store
• Took the ferry to Swartz Bay; just before getting off I saw someone I hadn't seen in a while and wrote down my e-mail on a napkin
• Took a bus home

So not a total loss but the camera part ruined any chance of me looking back on this day fondly.

You Know a Joke's Not Working When...

This happened back while I was in University of Victoria residence.

Me to floormate: Hey, did you hear about Juan Loengard, the golfer who got shot in the head?
Floormate: No
Me: His opponent wanted a hole in Juan.
Floormate: And then what happened?

At that point I explained that there was no such person outside the joke. Well, you can't win 'em all as the saying goes.

New 52 Sales Trends One Year Later

This analysis focusses mainly on the period of Jun-Aug-12 in relation to Jul-Sep-11.
The 1st 6 months are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-52-sales-trends-listed-in-order-of.html
The next 3 months are covered here: http://saneinsanities.blogspot.com/2012/07/new-52-sales-trends-part-2.html
At the one-year mark, people in favour of and opposed to the reboot can find material here to support their positions.  Sales are definitely slipping, often significantly, but overall DC probably
sees this as a golden year for them. In the short and mid term they're definitely healthier than they have been, though it's too soon to tell to what extent if at all they've damaged themselves
in the long term
Listed in order of #1 sales (same as September 2011 order except for Justice League #1)
TITLE	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK	SALES	RANK		Jun%	NOTES
	Jul-11	Jul-11	Aug-11	Aug-11	Sep-11	Sep-11	Jun-12	Jun-12	Jul-12	Jul-12	Aug-12	Aug-12		Sept
Justice League			171,344	1	46,650	43	127,090	4	123,921	5	120,796	4		55.41253	JL #1 came out end of Aug;   sales carried over into Sept
Justice League	43,545	32	42,587	29	46,650	43	127,090	4		5					Row partly repeated to compare with JL of America 59-60
Batman	51,385	22	-	-	188,420	1	130,265	3	127,210	4	125,249	3		66.4733	Jul #712
Action Comics	40,205	41	39,923	38	182,748	2	80,751	13	76,232	10	71,204	11		38.96294	Jul-Aug   #903-904
Green Lantern	86,007	5	-	-	141,682	3	80,615	14	78,708	9	77,187	9		54.47904	Jul #67
Flash					129,260	4	55,681	31	53,674	29	51,779	30		40.05802
Superman	36,646	45	-	-	118,376	5	59,081	29	56,066	28	53,326	29		45.04798	Jul #713
Detective Comics			39,729	37	103,392	6	83,317	11	79,835	8	75,998	10		73.50472	Jul-Aug #880-881
Batman: The Dark Knight					98,389	7	71,671	16	68,632	12	67,084	14		68.18242
Batman and Robin	55,172	20	52,704	18	85,242	10	66,894	22	65,043	15	63,993	16		75.07215	Jul-Aug #25-26
Green Lantern: New Guardians					84,033	11	44,404	42	42,929	39	41,479	44		49.36037
Batgirl	22,619	96	22,695	106	81,489	12	47,050	38	45,004	36	43,804	38		53.75449	Jul-Aug #23-24
Wonder Woman	29,720	59	29,223	60	76,214	13	47,229	37	45,669	33	44,584	35		58.49844	Jul-Aug #613-614
Green Lantern Corps	60,836	10	53,272	16	74,769	14	41,065	41	42,996	38	41,778	43		55.8761	Jul-Aug #62-63
Teen Titans	23,138	91	27,459	68	73,765	15	47,491	36	45,367	34	42,817	39		58.04514	Jul-Aug #99-100
Aquaman					72,272	16	59,288	28	57,675	27	61,210	19		84.69393
Batwoman					72,228	17	41,014	48	38,980	45	38,064	51		52.69978
Red Lanterns					66,546	19	38,005	55	36,462	53	35,070	61		52.70039
Justice League Dark					62,856	20	33,238	68	31,792	67	30,754	76		48.92771
Nightwing					62,717	21	50,585	33	49,124	30	47,484	32		75.71153
Justice League International					61,079	24	31,358	76	29,802	75	28,302	86		46.33671	CANCELLED
Green Arrow	25,568	82	23,883	96	55,512	28	25,769	91	24,646	89	23,126	109		41.65946	Jul-Aug #14-15
Swamp Thing					54,757	29	37,383	57	36,257	55	36,696	56		67.01609
Supergirl	20,001	107	19,764	120	54,052	31	33,309	67	31,879	66	30,420	77		56.27914	Jul-Aug #66-67
Catwoman					53,670	33	37,158	58	35,551	58	34,117	65		63.5681
Red Hood and the Outlaws					50,501	39	37,044	59	35,820	56	34,439	64		68.19469
Birds of Prey	27,102	71	26,043	80	50,466	40	28,457	87	27,389	84	26,587	95		52.68299	Jul-Aug #14-15
Savage Hawkman					50,359	41	16,417	135	15,460	141	14,758	161		29.30559
Superboy	22,102	98	20,563	113	50,047	42	31,358	75	29,677	76	27,518	90		54.98431	Jul-Aug #9-10
Stormwatch					46,397	44	20,592	113	19,678	112	18,531	135		39.94008
Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Men					46,383	45	15,789	138	14,931	145	14,679	162		31.64737
Legion of Super-Heroes	21,788	100	21,373	111	45,362	46	19,963	115	19,421	113	18,907	134		41.68026	Jul-Aug #15-16
Suicide Squad					44,981	47	31,576	74	29,809	74	28,302	85		62.9199
Deathstroke					42,325	54	19,722	117	17,107	127	16,772	144		39.6267
Legion Lost					41,726	56	17,581	127	17,037	128	16,066	149		38.50357
Animal-Man					41,446	57	34,992	62	33,909	60	34,549	62		83.35907
Batwing					41,382	58	20,724	111	20,047	108	18,279	138		44.17138
DC Universe Presents					41,295	60	14,310	150	13,619	154	15,138	156		36.65819
Blue Beetle					40,003	62	14,413	149	13,923	152	13,393	175		33.47999
Captain Atom					39,699	63	11,546	162	11,041	167	10,445	199		26.31049	CANCELLED
All Star Western	10,521	169	10,369	199	39,313	65	25,334	92	23,572	90	22,727	112		57.81039	Jul-Aug Jonah Hex #69-70
Resurrection Man					37,566	71	15,481	142	14,715	146	13,828	170		36.80988	CANCELLED
Demon Knights					37,442	72	19,006	122	18,201	118	17,295	141		46.19144
Frankenstein Agent of Shade					37,396	73	16,377	136	15,635	140	14,745	162		39.42935
Grifter					37,100	75	14,258	151	13,428	156	12,400	178		33.42318
Voodoo					36,271	76	12,928	155	12,120	160	11,328	187		31.23156	CANCELLED
I Vampire					35,715	78	16,517	133	15,734	139	14,788	159		41.40557
COMMENTS
Info derived from The Comic Chronicles; other sites may have different sales figures; rankings listed are for *all* publishers
To keep this list managable Annuals, minis, and titles launched in May 2011 are not covered
Titles that ended in April are covered in passing below but not noted above since no new issues were published since the previous blog post
Flashpoint had already started in July 2011, hence the absense of the previous Flash series
The final issue of Justice League of America and first of Justice League came out the same month, hence the double listing above
Most DC books (particularly Batman related) enjoyed a sales increase with #9 as 6 titles ended and 6 new ones launched; however, sales have gradually gone back down again since
Animal-Man is the only Title to have not lost over 10,000 sales since the relaunch
Green Lantern Corps was the first title to sell below it's August 2011 levels, with #4; #3 sold below July 2011; with #6, Legion of Super-Heroes also dipped below July-Aug figures
Green Arrow dipped below Jul-11 figures with #11 and Aug with #12; Birds of Prey dipped below Aug-11 with #12; it had previously dipped below Jul-Aug with #8 before the #9 boost
Selling at less than 50 % of #1: Action, Flash, Superman, GL: New Guardians, JL Dark, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Stormwatch, Firestorm, Legion titles, Deathstroke, Batwing, DCU Presents,
Blue Beetle, Demon Knights, Frankenstein, Grifter, I Vampire, all cancelled titles
Aquaman currently has the least percentage attrition since #1; all the Bat-titles except Batwing tend to have low attrition as well
Batman is currently DC's highest selling of these titles and Captain Atom the lowest
For percentage of Feb sales over Sept sales, August sales for Justice League#1 were included in Sept sales of same; not a perfect solution but as accurate as we're likely to get
Justice League, Batman are still selling over 100,000 copies
Justice League, Batman, Detective Comics, and All Star Western (Jonah Hex) are still selling more than double their pre-renumbering figures
The #7 issues of Blackhawk and Men of War became the first new 52 titles to dip to 4 digits; Mr. Terrific joined them with #8

12 More Actors Who Have Played More Than One Comic Book Characters

As before I’m not counting characters like Lionel Luthor who were created for a show and later added to the comics

1. Aaron Ashmore: Iceman in X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X3: The Last Stand; Jimmy Olsen on Smallville (note: he played two characters by that name on the show; one is the character from the comics)
2. Kevin Conroy: Batman/Burce Wayne on Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, etc.; Phantom Stranger on Batman: The Brave and the Bold
3. John Glover: Riddler on Batman: The Animated Series; Jason Woodroe in Batman & Robin
4. Michael Ironside: Darkseid on Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League; future Batman on Batman: The Animated Series; Sam Lane on Smallville
5. John Kassir: Crypt Keeper on Tales from the Crypt show and movies; Atom on Justice League of America pilot
6. Michael McKean: 1950s Joker on Batman: The Animated Series; Perry White on Smallville
7. Phill Morris: Vandal Savage on Justice League; Martian Manhunter on Smallville; Jonah Hex on Batman: Brave and the Bold
8. John Wesley Shipp: The Flash on The Flash; Professor Zoom on Batman: The Brave and the Bold
9. J.K. Simmons: J. Jonah Jameson on Spider-Man 1, 2, 3 and on Ultimate Spider-Man; Wade Eiling on Justice League
10. David Odgen Steirs: Martian Manhunter on Justice League pilot; Solovar on Justice League
11. Adam West: Batman on Batman, Legends of the Super-Heroes, Tarzan and the Super 7, etc.; Thomas Wayne on Batman: The Brave and the Bold
12. Efrem Zimbalist Jr: Alfred Pennworth on Batman: The Animates Series, Superman: The Animated Series, etc.; Doctor Octopus on Spider-Man (1990s cartoon); Justin Hammer on Iron Man (1990s cartoon)

12 Actors Who Have Played More than One Comic Book Character

Includes voice acting, but not for different characters in same season of same show, though I do include one case where someone switches their main role in a later season

1. Halle Berry: Storm in X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X3: The Last Stand; Catwoman in Catwoman
2. Jim Carrey: The Mask in The Mask; the Riddler in Batman Forever
3. Chris Evans: Human Torch in Fantastic 4 and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers
4. Mark Hamill: Trickster on The Flash; Joker on Batman: The Animated Series, etc; Hobgoblin in Spider-Man (animated); Gargoyle on The Incredible Hulk (cartoon)
5. Justin Hartley: Aquaman in the Aquaman pilot, Green Arrow  on Smallville
6. Mickey Rourke: Marv in Sin City, Whiplash in Iron Man 2
7. Annette O’Toole: Lana Lang in Superman III, Martha Kent in Smallville
8. Ryan Reynolds: Hannibal King in Blade: Trinity: Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine; Green Lantern in Green Lantern
9. Michael Rosenbaum;: Lex Luthor on Smallville; Flash on Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited
10. Olan Soule: Batman in most seasons of Super Friends; Martin Stein on Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
11. Terence Stamp: General Zod in Superman I-II; Jor-El on Smallville; Stick in Elektra
12. Frank Welker: Iceman and Flash Thompson on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends; Mr. Mxyzptlk and other villains on on Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians; Maleboglia in Spawn (voice only); Ace the Bathound on Batman Beyond and in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

United 93 Retro-Review

Note: United 93, directed by Paul Greengrass should not be confused with the more melodramatic TV movie Flight 93, which aired around the same time that United 93 played in the theatres.

United 93, like Flight 93 is a dramatized account of the hijacked plane (on September 11, 2001) that crashed after after passengers, having lerned of the other hijackings, fought back.  None of the passengers survived,  but an few people not on the plane but involved in this played themselves in the movie.

United 93's strength lies in its focus on the mundane. There is very little music, especially at the beginning, and as the passengers get on the plane, the movie shows them doing the sorts of mundane things that passengers do when they sit down in planes.  The dialogue is kept to a minimum in the earliest scenes on the plane; no one tries to say cool stuff that only characters in a Hollywood movie say. In fact, of all fictional movies I've seen, this one comes the closest to feeling like a documentary, despite not being a mock documentary; no shaky cam to be found.  Rather the viewer feels that they are the proverbial fly observing actual events as they unfold.

The mundane aspects might seem dull but they are actually effective. The viewer knows that no one is going to survive, so all the mundane happenings actually serve to heighten the tension. The viewer wants to warn them to get off the plane because they are behaving like real people.  Actual dialogue from cell phone calls, air traffic control room conversations further creates the feeling that this is real and you are watching people heading to their deaths.  You don't get to know a lot about the passengers (unlike Flight 93, their families are not depicted), but that's okay; in real life you rarely learn much about your fellow passengers. Also, in many ways their backgrounds matter very little; it's what they do when presented with a hopeless situation that makes them intersting, not their back story.

They are practically no Hollywood touches., no clichés to undermine the sense of reality; Paul Greengrass has created a near-prefect illusion, an as exact as we're likely going to get account of what happened on that flight and at places that should have been set up to deal with such a crisis. The passengers, while heroic, aren't portryed as martyrs or larger than life people but rather scared people who have figured out they're in a pretty hopless situation and are trying one last ditch attempt stop the highjackers because frankly the alternative is to simply do nothing as the plane hits its target.

You're Choking, I'm Chatting

There was one time at Mt. Elizabeth Secondary School in Kitimat I was sitting down in the hallway eating my lunch.  Nearby was one of the teachers doing a lunchtime patrolling of the halls.  Abruptly something I'm eating got lodged in my throat and I started to choke, and was having trouble breathing. I tried to signal to the teacher but he was having a chat with another student.  For the next little bit (it felt like over a minute but that may have been the panic) I continued to try to signal the teacher while also trying to deal with the food stuck in the throat.  Finally the food got dislodged and fully swallowed and I began to breathe normally again. It was only then, after I had just finished recovering from choking that the teacher approached me to ask if I was okay. Uh...

Chiun: Great Fictional Characters 1

This is the first of an occasional series looking at fictional characters that I particularly like, with special focus on those who may not be household names.

This first look is on Chiun, who first appeared in the novel Created, the Destroyer by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir.  He is a supporting character in most if not all the Destroyer novels, though he only briefly appears in the first book and his “appearances” in the second book are short flashback sequences covering events during and after the first book, Death Check.  It is the third book, Chinese Puzzle where he really comes into his own as a character.

Chiun is an ancient Master of Sinanju and a professional assassin, albeit a protagonist in the Destroyer series. Poverty issues in the Korean village of Sinanju have forced him to accept payment from the United States to train the main character in the Destroyer series, Remo Williams, a government agent/assassin working for a covert organization called CURE. Chiun also works for cure but is unaware (and as long as he gets paid, uninterested in) which organization he works for.  In many ways he is far deadlier than his pupil, he sole disadvantage in combat being his advanced age.

What makes him an interesting character though is his personality.  He is a proud man, demanding respect but having trouble giving it.  He looks down at other races to varying degree: Caucasian people earn him disdain while Chinese people he outright hates. The one aspect of American culture he truly respects is the daytime soap opera.  His prejudices coupled with his martial arts ability sometimes creates serious problems, as he is not above putting people in the hospital if they annoy him, often with permanent injury.

When his judgement is not clouded by his prejudices he is highly intelligence.  He is extremely well versed in the art of the assassination, not just in terms of martial arts (he disdains guns) but also in terms of blending in and seeming harmless (he is also known to use the latter skill to get other people to carry stuff that he is quite capable of carrying himself, by playing up the his frailness).  He also knows a considerable amount about proper diet and actively discourages smoking, alcohol, hamburgers, and other foods and drinks that, while tasty aren’t good for the body (likewise smoking); it should be noted that the first novel came out in 1971, and much of his dietary beliefs have proven increasingly popular in the real world subsequently.

Chiun is never boring because of the complexities of his character. While he often does appalling things, and sometimes his priorites seem a bit off (soap operas being a major priority) but he lives by his code an does not deny when he  is goig things for mainly monetary reasons.

He also plays off Remo quite well, and in many ways they keep himself in check: Chiun makes sure that Remo maintains his diet, doesn’t stand out more than he should, etc, while Remo lectures him on killing or harming people needlessly.  Much of novels’ humour is based on the interplay between the two characters, who have a complex father/son relationship.  Additional humour comes from the ways they sometimes casually discuss ways of dealing with opponents who are hopelessly outmatched by the duo.

Remo is the main character of the series and interesting enough in his own right, and he’s also essential to bringing out a lot of Chiun’s personality. However, Chiun is the more unique and fascinating of the two characters, someone who’s often funny without being aware of that fact (and if you told him he’d likely kill or maim you().

Let Go of the Firecracker... Now!

Once while in dorms at Malaspina one of the other tenats in the dorms had fireworks. I can't recall if there was some sort of special opccasion or  if he just happened to have them. I'm thinkin Halloween but  this was back in 1991-92.

Anyway, he lit one of the firecrackers, held it for a moment, and then let go. Litweraly the moent after he let go the firecracker when off. He suffered no injury but I'm pretty sure even half a second longer would have resulted in injury. So if you have firecrackers, one they're lit, TOSS THEM RIGHT AWAY!!!

Dog: Long Time First See

One day in Kitimat I was on a walk with my mom, heading home from the Nechako area I think.  On the way home we see this huge black dog, one of the biggest I'd ever seen.  I had never seen this dog before. And yet it came up to me and gave a loud groan and rubbed against me. It was very surreal, like the dog felt it was being reunited with some dearly loved and missed friend from long ago.  It was very sweet and I was really moved by the dog, but I also felt a little awkward because of what appeared to be a mistaken identity.

If there really was a long lost friend and the dog wasn't just eccentric with every human it took a liking to, then I hope that the dog did get reunited for real with them later on.  The dog clearly had a big heart and I strongly suspect that there was some human who was deeply missed by the good-hearted dog.

12 Implications of Seattle’s Ride Free Zone Ending

This month Seattle’s ending its ride free area, switching over to a strict Pay as You Get On system.  Here are in my mind some of the implications:

1. Busses less likely to be used by tourists on shorter visits
2. Less confusion as to when to pay in the long term
3. Initially some confusion as veteran travellers get used to the new system
4. People will claim (correctly or not) that they hadn’t heard about the new system and try to get on for free for the first couple months
5. Monorail might actually pick up a few new patrons from people who don’t like to walk very far and who used to take the bus most of the way from downtown to Seattle Center
6. Fewer riders below the poverty line
7. For former Pay as You Exit rides, transfers (real or ORCA) not as good for as long because the clock starts sooner
8. No more confusion as to the exact borders of the Ride Free Area
9. Potentially more money coming in to the transit system that can be used to develop new routes including light rail
10. Likely more congestion due to people opting to drive rather than walk
11. Shifts in clientele in businesses as people on their lunch break opt to eat/shop at places in their immediate vicinity
12. Some people becoming more fit as they opt to walk short distances instead of taking the bus

An Oral Story of Thetis Lake

Many years ago at Thetis Lake (View Royal, Greater Victoria) there were teenage girls (or possibly young women in their 20s) in the water. I was sitting at the end of the peninsula-like outcropping Blissfully unaware of how well sound travelled in the water they got into a conversation about giving their boyfriends… a certain sexual act involving blowing (to hint at the term they used) while their boyfriends were driving. Due to the water’s power to carry sound, I heard every word they said without any effort. This talk went on a little bit and then one said, “We’d better be quiet now. We’re getting close to shore.”  I am actually quite proud of the fact that I managed to keep a complete poker face and lot let on that I, and probably others in the area, had heard every word.

How I Beat a Telephone Solicitor

I was looking at photos I took in Quebec and was at a complicated stage of that. The phone range, thus throwing my concentration off, which would have be okay had it been a friend. However, it was a solicitor, so I decided to get a small bit of payback for disrupting my concentration. Here is more or less how the conversation went. I might have the odd word off but the woman’s second bit below is verbatim:

Phone rings
ME: Hello?
UNKNOWN WOMAN: Good evening sir (can't recall the next bit, then:) How are you this evening?
ME: Not very good. I'm always being hassled by all these telephone solicitors. It's very annoying. [Pause, switching to a much sterner voice] Are you one of them?
UNKNOWN WOMEN: Uh, uh...
ME: Please put me on your do not call list.
I hang up

Well, she did ask me how I was doing. It would have been rude not to tell her.  What I’m hoping is that I threw her off long enough that I managed to spare someone else from getting a call who might otherwise have.

Pacific Northwest Trip Summer 2010 Day 12 Friday August 6

LAST UPDATED: October 26, 2025

This is the twelfth and final of a series of posts dealing my seventh trip to Seattle as an adult and second of two trips that year. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification. 

Definitely will declare over my limit. Hope that if I'm honest even if I have to pay duty that I don't have to sit in the "penalty box"

Roommates this eve were three people from London, ON. One arrived back around 2 and started snoring before I could get to sleep. Finally did manage some more sleep but then the rest stumbled in around 4 and turned on a very loud fan. Since I was awake anyway, thought I'd send this of before heading out.

[NOW: I stayed at City Hostel Seattle. Google says it's temporarily closed but given that it's been closed since 2020, it's likely permanent.]

 
And I'm off...to Victoria!

[NOW: The above was written in the morning; the rest I wrote in the evening.]

I headed down to an overhead walkway taking me across to the waterfront, then made good time getting to the ferry terminal.  Unlike on the way there, there were no bus cancellations so I was able to take my traditional route getting back.

[NOW: The overhead walkway may have been the Bell Street Bridge but I don’t recall for sure.]

I took the earlier of two possible early morning ferries to Bainbridge (had breakfast on the ferry), then took a bus to Poulsbo, where after resting a bit I walked around a bit.  As I knew would happen due to scheduling, the next bus on my route arrived after the next bus from the ferry arrived (taking the earlier ferry is merely insurance/a chance to see Poulsbo a bit longer/a means to get started sooner). This next bus went to Port Townsend but to make my connection to Sequim I got off before the town proper.  During the bus to Sequim, in which I used a daypass from the previous bus, my favourite camera finally began working again.

[NOW: The ferry was a Washington State Ferries ferry. The bus to Poulsbo was the 90 Kitsap Transit.  The next bus, where I got off at Four Corners, was the 7 Jefferson Transit. The bus to Sequim was the 8 Jefferson Transit. In Poulsbo I got off at Poulsbo Transfer Center and walked around Poulsbo Village, but that\s no longer possible because buses now connect instead at North Viking Transit Center. I likely switched to the bus to Sequim at the four Corners area, which now has a Park & Ride]

I started alphabetizing my DVDs in Sequim for a few reasons: useful later, helps make more room in my bags, and something to kill time because I had to much stuff to want to walk around.  After the bus from Sequim to Port Angeles I found a place off to the side to finish the alphabetizing.  I think it did make my bags feel marginally lighter.  I had lunch at Dairy Queen, then took the Victoria Express to Victoria.  It used to cost more than the Coho but now it's cheaper.  Plus it's faster and in the noon period leaves sooner.

[NOW: The bus to Port Angeles was the 30 Commuter, Clallam Transit. That Dairy Queen is now closed. The Victoria Express ferry has been turned into a tour boat and no longer goes to Victoria.]

I fully expected to be delayed at Customs because of the amount I was declaring but that didn't happen.  Definitely have more of a sense now as to how far you can go over your limit if you've been away a while.

When I got home my answering machine had a message from someone who wanted to be buzzed in on the previous Saturday and kept saying "Hello? Hello?" over and over.

But the BC government had the last word.  I opened up an envelope from them and found a cheque for zero dollars and zero cents.

Pacific Northwest Trip Summer 2010 Day 11 Thursday August 5

LAST UPDATED: October 26, 2025

This is the eleventh of a series of posts dealing my seventh trip to Seattle as an adult and second of two trips that year. I’ve made minor corrections to these reports. Also, I’ve added additional thoughts with the hindsight of two years later or to add further clarification.  
 

Unless I have a serious case of insomnia tomorrow, this will be the last of the morning editions, though there will be an evening edition tonight and probably a mid-afternoon finale tomorrow.

[NOW: I actually did end up doing a morning report which will be included in the final part of this trip series.]

Nothing really significant to report from last night. Today should be a relatively quiet day, the goal being for the day to be transit free, though that depends on if I opt to go to West Seattle again.  Most likely though after breakfast I'll just walk to Capitol Hill and back and then wander downtown and vicinity.

[NOW: The above was written in the morning; the rest I wrote in the evening. I stayed at City Hostel Seattle. Google says it's temporarily closed but given that it's been closed since 2020, it's likely permanent.]

First off I forgot to mention, in my room last night someone complained to someone else about having to get up at *8*! Wonder how they'd feel about my getting up at 5 tomorrow?

In the morning I walked to Pike Place Market inc. the newsstand, got batteries at Walgreen's, returned to the hostel, then back downtown.

[NOW: First and Pike News is now closed.]

I visited the general area that I was in at the Convention Center during the Emerald City ComiCon, well, at least the area open to the public. I walked to Freeway Park (water fountains still not turned on), then walked to Capitol Hill. I tried the mystery pop machine, pressing the top mystery button. It was Dr. Pepper, with an Iron Man design. Iron Man looked sad, probably because his face was on a can of Dr. Pepper.

[NOW: The centre was Washington State Convention at the time and is now the Seattle Convention Center. The Mystery Soda Machine has disappeared; its Facebook page indicates it was vandalized.]

There were a couple periods where I had to walk around randomly a bit because neither camera was working and walking around sometimes help. Broadway News became online only as of July 31 but I bought some DVDs at Broadway Market Video after a visit to Rite Aid. The radio had a man singing about how he loved some woman, which was ironic thing to be playing in the gay district. I then visited Gruv. I passed the Jimi Hendrix state en route to the new location of Everyday Music, which was right beside the new location of Elliott Bay Book Company. Everyday Music still has a decent selection of things though I didn't buy anything. Elliot Bay is very spacious, but I miss the used section that the old heritage site had.

[NOW: Broadway Market Video moved nearby to Broadway and dropped the “Market” from the name before closing. Everyday Music moved yet again, across the street from the above location, being closing, though the downtown Portland branch remains.]

I walked to the Capitol Hill version of Twice Sold Tales (found 2 of the 3 cats) and bought some comics and DVDs at Half Price Books. I walked back downtown, visiting Barnes & Noble, passed the fountain across from Borders (also still not on any time I visited), then visited Zanadu Comics, Swerve, and Pike Place Market (Lionheart Books, Holy Cow Records). I walked to Macy’s and took some pics from the 6th story Skybridge connecting the store to the parking lot across the street

[NOW: The First Hill Half Price Books, Pacific Place's Barnes & Noble, Swerve, and Macy's have closed. Borders is now defunct.]

I walked to the sports motif McDonald's Across from Seattle Center, walked to the International Fountain, and, surprise!, more or less switched off as of 1:30. I relaxed there for a couple hours. n The only reason I walked away at all during the first couple of hours is my favourite camera called it quits (it may still turn on tomorrow but hasn't since worked) and my main backup camera was giving me trouble, so I twice walked to the air conditioned Center House to get the camera to turn on. During this time and later times I actually cooled off in the fountain (I dressed in a t-shirt for this eventuality). A lot of people wore swim suits one but I'm pretty sure one lady used her bra has makeshift swimsuit top. Sometimes the camera would only take pics after long pauses and sometimes there would be a blue tint in the upper right corner. Usually the two went hand in hand, but there was a period where I had the tint but it was taking pics reasonably punctually.

[NOW: That McDonald's eliminated the sports balls during a renovation before closing. Center House is now the Seattle Armory. Both cameras called it a day in August 2010.]

I walked to Silver Platters and when I left the tint problem was gone. I spent more time at the fountain, grabbed a dinner from Orange Julius, then still more time relaxing at the fountain. I finally left the fountain a little after 6, feeling a bit sad that it will be a long time possibly before I get to see my favourite place again. I visited, in the Queen Anne area, Abraxus Books, Easy Street Records, Mercer St Books, and Underdawg Records (this time no dogs present), then walked to Olympic Sculpture Park, taking a pic of a sculpture I'd overlooked a few days earlier, the tire with blue hair.

[NOW: That Silver Platters has moved to 1st Ave S. Orange Julius has been evicted from the Seattle Center Armory. Abraxus Books, Queen Anne's Easy Street Records, and Underdawg Records are also now gone. The above sculpture is actually Typewriter Eraser: Scale X.]

The controversial man boy statue was the reverse of last visit: the man was visible, but the boy was not due to fountain water. The ampersand is still missing sadly. Hope it's being repaired and not stolen. I then returned early because I have to get up earlier tomorrow and also want some last minute pics of the hostel, plus, sigh, I guess I better find out how much I have to declare tomorrow.

[NOW: The man boy statue is Father & Son. The sculpture with the ampersand (which is back) is Lock & Loss.]

Just tried the nicer old camera one more time. Still has the zoom error.

[NOW: Again, both cameras called it a day in August 2010.]