And Then There Was the Ballard SeafoodFest

Seems to suddenly be the season of the street fair. Because today’s venture to the Ballard God-knows-what-they-call-this fair was, I think, our fourth in the last six weekends. We went there thinking we might see Sig Hansen from The Deadliest Catch — didn’t happen.

The closest I got to Sig.

But we did see a dummy signed by his brother Edgar. That and other pics here.

Reese had no particular interest in leaving . . .

although I trust it wasn’t because of the gay pot lamp:

Only in Seattle.

New Poll Shows 97% of Americans Favor Legalization of Online Gambling

Found this interesting tidbit on a Google search. According to a report on iGaming.com, a recent USA Today poll found that 97% of Americans favor legalizing online gambling.

Ninety-seven percent.

Meanwhile, online gambling in Washington is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, about what the average child molester receives.

As we wait for a Washington appellate court to decide the fate of Betcha.com, we can only hope that the judges will give popular opinion at least some consideration.

Reese Hits the Aquarium

Reese and family made it to the Seattle Aquarium today. A few of better pics:

Reese with the parental units.

Reese playing with the fish . . . sort of.

Rated R at the aquarium.

Gettin' away with an Ivar's freedom fry.

The Eleventh Annual Greenspan is in the Books

The eleventh annual Greenspan is history. The World Team prevailed 19 1/2 — 16 1/2, their first win since before 9/11. That’s September 11, 2001 — seven years ago.

A few pics (the rest being here):

Sturtevant, me, Waldner, Deandre, and Benezra.

World Captain Greg Cheever in the World's victory celebration.

Me handing the cup over to the champagne-soaked Worlds.

Congrats due to the World Team. They outplayed us from start to finish. We did, however, outdress them. While the Seattle Team sported smart high-end shirts from Greg Norman and Tiger Woods . . .

the Worlds appeared to have picked their uni’s in the dark:

Their Saturday whites from Antigua featured scales on the back and had players dubbing themselves “Team Sockeye.”

Whose bright idea was it to put scales on the back of a shirt?

As bad as they were, they may have been eclipsed by Sunday’s disco brown bubble jobs:

Part Native American totem pole, part '70's wallpaper.

Not sure what the thinking was there, but either one has to go down among the ugliest uniforms in sports history.

Jonathan Runs a 5K — In the Buck!

Jonathan ran the 2008 Bare Buns Fun Run this morning.

Proof of the crime.

For those not in the know, the BBFR is a “clothing optional” escapade.

Jon opted against the clothes.

Gotta give the guy his props. Runnin’ in the buck — he has bigger you-know-whats that me.

“The Lather Effect” Proves an Exception to My Movie-Renting Rules

Back after a week without my PC.

I try to make it a rule of movie renting not to rent movies where I have never not heard of both the stars and the movie. Occasionally there is an exception — Cloverfield comes to mind — but usually these are good rules to live by. When I have heard of neither the stars nor the movie, I usually stay away.

But this week I made an exception, and I was pleasantly surprised. We rented The Lather Effect largely based on the box’s promise — “A Big Chill for Generation X.” Have to say — pretty good flick. I won’t bore my three readers with the details — there are already enough movie reviews online and all of them do a better job than I would ever do — but I’ll just say it made for an enjoyable watch. Killer soundtrack, too, althou

Reese, Rhonda and Jon Attend Tamir’s First B-Day

Tamir and Reese playing in the pool.

Tamir turned one a few days ago. Mom Kari smartly scheduled her b-day celebration on a Tuesday to keep it low maintenance (I’ll file that idea for Reese’s No. 2.) I wasn’t able to attend, but more pics are available here.

The Jenkins Family Hits the Wallingford Kiddie Parade

Rhonda and Reese posing for the camera.

Can’t wait until next year’s version of this doozer. More photos here.

A Must Read: “In Harm’s Way”

A word to the three or so people who may ever lay eyes on this blog outside our family: you ought to pick up a copy of Doug Stanton’s “In Harm’s Way: The Sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis and the Extraordinary Story of Its Survivors.”

If there's more compelling and better written non-fiction out there, please lemme know.

I buzzed through it in about two days — just couldn’t put it down. Best non-fiction book I’ve read in years (if not ever). Only regret is that I’ve finished it, and nothing else is likely to measure up anytime soon.

Reese and Grant’s First Ever Fourth of July Parade

The “Smiths” and the Jenkins’s attended the Edmonds Fourth of July parade earlier today. (The “Smiths” are neither an ’80’s band nor the actual name of our friends but, at the request of “Mr. Smith,” we’ve changed their last names to protect their identities.) It was the first parade for both Reese and “Grant Smith” who, all of ten days old, hasn’t been out partying much yet. A few pics:

Rhonda, Nick, Reese and Jonathan

Reese waving the team colors.

Us and the Smiths.

BMW motorcycles -- nice to see our tax dollars hard at work.

Stormtroopers -- I wasn't expecting to see the Washington State Gambling Commission.

The Jenny Craig Marching Band Before Team.

Mama Smith and ten-day old Grant.

Reese and Grant after a hard day out.