Sunny smile

Sunny day, May 23, 2009. I took this photo at 4:50 p.m. The young woman on the right smiles broadly. While I don't know what brought that smile to her face, I have to say that, in general, her smile reflects how all Portlanders feel when the sun returns. A close look makes me think that the young woman on the left has said something which caused the other young woman to break out in that sunny smile.

First visit to Disneyland, Day Two, Post No. 10

Toy Story Soldiers, what a huge surprise!

I read this online about the attraction at Disney's California Adventure:
"Operation: Playtime! With The Green Army Men. Watch the Green Army Man drive around Paradise Pier in their army Jeep, beating their drums and looking for other toys to join their cause. Eventually the jeep stops, the soldiers unpack the rest of their drums and start playing in unison. Sarge picks a few "new recruits" (kids) from the crowd and lets them get in on the act. As Sarge barks out orders, the kids and soldiers respond."



Loud fellow. He must be Sarge!



Giving orders. Yep, he's Sarge.



See what I mean? Loud. Speakers and drums.



After everything was unloaded the performance began. I can't remember much about what was said or sung because their green suits and matching green make-up mesmerized me.
 

I believe that they did have fun and entertained the people who paused to take it all in.



Seems like Sarge told the soldiers that they needed help. But, I really cannot remember for sure. Have you been there in 2014? Do you remember the show?



Sarge must have asked for volunteers to join in the activity. Why else would those kids be raising their hands?



They drew a crowd and I do see some kids dancing around with them. Success!

My Artsy Attempts at Photos of the House Framing Model, 1940, part of the exhibit Old-Growth Architecture: the Art, Craft, and Function of Wood, on display through July 2014 at the Architectural Heritage Center

Two nails, one crooked



Blue ray of light comes through a crack



Warm yellow in the background



Leland, just beyond the focus



Leland, in focus



Leland, in focus and inverted

Do you have a favorite?

House Framing Model, 1940, part of the exhibit Old-Growth Architecture: the Art, Craft, and Function of Wood, on display through July 2014 at the Architectural Heritage Center

From the label: Models like this were used for teaching construction at vocational schools. The "exploded view" of this model allowed instructors to show all phases of the domestic building process, from framing to shingling. Gift from Ken Barker and Jeff Stookey My son Leland took photos of the model, too.



Framing.



Shingling.



Another view.

Tomorrow, my artsy attempts. I need to go back take some more.

Big landscaping changes at my former apartment building

Sometimes I get homesick for the neighborhood where Mama and I lived before she died in January, 2011. So, I drove by when I had a vacation day and a Zipcar on April 14. Was I ever shocked at the changes to the landscaping at our former home, the Presidential Court Apartments in Northwest Portland's Alphabet District!



I took these two photos from the car after pulling to a stop at the curb, ignoring the no parking sign for a moment or two. Our top floor apartment is visible in this photo--we had the entire sort of pale olive-colored section as well as the brick part with the pointed parapet, the entire front section of that top floor from corner to corner. Our bathroom window is the small one at the corner inside corner. The apartment around from us to the right--that's its bathroom window across from ours. Mama's bedroom has the three windows at the corner of the pale olive section of the wall, next to the bathroom. The living room is behind those windows in the brick section.

Here are four photos that I took in May, 2007, looking down from our bathroom window. We had moved into that apartment, perfect for the two of us and our little dachshund Duncan, in October, 2006.



Here's the look that used to be on the right side of the entrance, as you're looking at it from the curb.



This photo shows the landscaping directly beneath our bathroom window, to the left of the entrance.



A street-level view of the landscaping to the right of the entrance.



To the left of the entrance.

Still excited, all these hours later. Can't wait for Tuesday night. Don't know where the game will be because the opponent has not yet been revealed. Those two teams are playing later on today, San Antonio and Dallas.

As I looked through the viewfinder at Nicolas Batum out of bounds, about the throw the ball into play, I calmly said to myself, "It is our turn." As you saw on yesterday's post, Damian Lillard, wearing the letter O, caught the pass beyond the three-point line, turned and let it fly. In a moment in time that none of us who know that We Are Rip City will ever forget, the ball passed through the net, causing it to fly sideways, sort of like all of us Blazers' fans felt, flying every which way with joy. There on the court, the players' motion of joy began with Wesley Matthews, No. 2 in the white uniform. You can't tell it in this version of the photo that I took from the opposite end of the court that LaMarcus Aldridge has turned his head to the left and is looking at Damian Lillard, a great big smile already on his face. (If you click on the photo, you'll go to my Flickr account and can then click on the photo to enlarge it and maybe see that great big ol' smile!) LaMarcus knew that buzzer beater had just sent the Portland Trail Blazers into the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time in 14 years. He's been with the team since 2006-07. The motion of dejection started with everyone in a red uniform, stuck on the court, standing at the bench, a fan in the crowd wearing a team jersey stands behind the Rockets' bench, his hands dejectedly atop his head.



The motion of joy. All over the photo from the court to the stands--look at Damian, Wesley and LaMarcus! I love that it looks like the ball has stopped right in front of James Harden, No. 13 in the red uniform. I hope that he has dreamed about this shot repeatedly since Friday night. Not a nightmare, just a continuous, looping, hyper-slow-motion dream that starts when his teammate, No. 25, arrived too late to impact that shot. No. 25 who has disappeared from the area so that he's not in the photo. Seconds earlier, yes, seconds, that same No. 25 had made a basket that put the Rockets ahead by two, a big deal, An even bigger deal, No. 25 made a gigantic mistake leaving point nine seconds on the clock. I want that dream to end with the ball going through the basket and the Rockets frozen in dejection, right before it starts again with Batum inbounding the ball. You may think I'm going overboard here, but know that I'm not. This is a great big deal. How it will go in the second round? No one knows. But, right now, I plan to enjoy this point nine seconds in time over and over and over. And I fully realize that I may have to own the dejection of a different outcome at some point in the future. I will, but right now, I don't care.



Motion of joy, speeding up.



LaMarcus runs in high gear as Wesley skirts the frozen Patrick Beverley. I'm about to miss the action because I appear to have forgotten to turn the camera to the left. My mind, blown.



I'm still concentrating on Wesley and LaMarcus, so that is wasn't until I uploaded the photos that I did noticed No. 12 Dwight Howard begin to walk towards the corner. Later that night, I heard one of the Talkin' Ball local sports guys say on their TV show that not too long before this moment when Dwight had made a basket, he yelled at the crowd as he turned to run down court, "I'm the best player on the floor!" I saw him yelling from where I sit, but of course I'm way up high above the court, so hearing that guy repeat what the now vanquished Rocket had to say thrills me! Oh, look. The ball has bounced from the floor up into the air again, and James Harden still stands, dejected. I like that word. Makes me wonder what jected might mean--happy, joyous? So that when you're dejected, you are far from happy, joyous. See, I wasn't kidding about enjoying this second over and over.



The ball's about to settle there on the floor as the two refs begin to walk to the table to review the shot, to make certain what we Blazermanics already knew, that Damian got the shot off in time, that the Blazers had won the series 4-2. Oh, and see the guy on the Rockets' bench wearing No. 30, his hands cupped around his mouth? He's their rookie who made a last second shot to defeat the Blazers in game three, right here in our building exactly one week before. We lost that game, the first home game in this round one series, in overtime after winning games one and two in Houston. No. 30 was only in the game because the Rockets' No. 25 had fouled out, the same guy who had had no impact on Damian's game-winning three. I remember thinking when the crowd roared at this development, "What if this guy who takes his place does something?" I didn't have a clue who he was, didn't know that he was coming into his sixth-ever NBA game, I just knew that we shouldn't get too excited until the time was out on the clock and that the Blazers had won. So, I owned the dejection on Friday night, a week before I owned the joy.



By the way, No. 6 in the Rockets' uniform is from Portland. Terrance Jones, a Jefferson High School graduate whose team won three straight Oregon class 5A state championships between his sophomore and senior years. He played two years at the University of Kentucky before leaving early for the NBA Draft in 2012. He's been on the Rockets two seasons now. When he was sophomore at Kentucky, the Wildcats won the NCAA Final Four. He's going to be at least a "junior" on the Rockets before that team gets another chance to win the NBA championship.



Finally I moved the camera a bit and managed to get Nicolas Batum hugging Damian around the neck, and the impending arrival of Wesley and LaMarcus.



In the middle of this exuberant group, sort of buried by his joyous teammates, stands Damian Lillard.



There he is, Nicolas still holding on. Wesley holding on. LaMarcus, who said in an after-game interview that he held onto him for at least three minutes. Other Trail Blazers holding on, Earl in the white, Joel in the black and white stripes, Dorell in the gray, and CJ on the left in the same black and white stripes.



Then I quickly moved the camera to get a shot of the confetti. I love to see that stuff come flying out of the ceiling 'cause it means one thing, victory!



An exciting time for everyone, except the Rockets.



Once the refs reviewed the shot, Mark Mason announced that it stands: Blazers win! Blazers win!

This  Merriam-Webster definition applies only to the Rockets at this time:

de·ject·ed adjective - sad because of failure, loss, etc. / cast down in spirits / depressed

I will admit it, if and when I become dejected because a game doesn't go our way. However, not even the unknowingness of the upcoming series shall weaken my joy at being a season ticket holder and a fan of the Portland Trail Blazers.

This. Last night. Shock and awe, y'all. Right here in Rip City. Trail Blazers shocked the Rockets and awed their fans.

Point nine seconds left on the game clock. The Rockets had just scored to go ahead by two. Batum inbounded to Lillard who managed the first amazing thing to happen as the point nine seconds ticked off. He got wide open, caught the pass, took the three-point shot.



After the ball left his fingertips, it continued on its trajectory to the basket. That's when the second amazing thing happened. It didn't matter that the point nine seconds had ticked off the clock because the ball had left his hands before time had run out. Score! Blazers win! Blazers win! Blazers win! Blazers win! That's four wins for us, two for them. It's a great day to be a Blazer! Round Two, the conference semi-finals, begin for the Portland Trail Blazers next week. We won't know who our opponent will be until tomorrow after Game 7 for the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks. Either way, here's how I see it, one Texas team down, one to go.

This. Tonight.

Game Six. Starts at 7:30 p.m., Portland Trail Blazer time! We're up 3-2 in the best of seven First Round Series. A win takes us into Round Two, the Conference Semi-Finals. Go, Blazers! Beat the Rockets!

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day: Squares

Square grid, made of some sort of wire, covers this window. Inside, a small basketball court. At least I think it's small--I didn't put my face up to the window to check. I needed to get my Zipcar back to its home parking spot on time. This is my photo for City Daily Photo's Theme Day: Squares. I took it on April 18 at 8:18 p.m., purely a coincidence, both those 18s. Seconds before I took the photo, that man had been taking shots at a basket out of sight to the left. I altered this photo with HDR at Befunky dot com.  Click here to see Theme Day posts from around the world.

Blazer fans arrive early evening Sunday, before game four, first round NBA playoffs. The Moda Center, home of my Portland Trail Blazers!

Yes, I consider this team mine. And I'll wager each fan does much the same in whatever sport or sports that they love to watch. We went on to win game four, in overtime by three points. That was the third overtime game in the four played up until that point. It's a best of seven series--the Trail Blazers have it 3-1 right now. Game five is in Houston tonight. Go, Blazers!

Lillard, Damian Lillard that is, is our point guard. Rookie of the year last season, All Star this season. He's a treat to watch play and a treat to listen to his interviews--he's a well-spoken young man who knows that in the end, it's the entire team, not just him, that makes things. By the way, when he's introduced, Mark Mason says, ". . . wearing the letter O, Damian Lillard!" I love it!

First visit to Disneyland, Day Two, Post No. 9

Phineas and Ferb's crew leads children of all ages in a rousing dance routine during the Rockin' Rollin' Dance Party. This little boy excelled at following most every step, arm swing, fist pump that this young lady threw his way. I couldn't take my eyes off him and the fun he was having!

Found on the Internet:

Party on Wheels

Phineas and Ferb, from the Disney Channel Original Series, have taken an ordinary, everyday car, added a panoply of dance party paraphernalia—and transformed it into Phineas and Ferb's Mobile Party Mobile, also known as the "A-Little-Too-Young-To-Drive-O-Matic.”

They pilot their invention around with their friends, and when they reach the middle of the Paradise Pier Parade Route… well, that’s when the party really gets started!

Like I said, he kept up with her for the long, long song.

Portland Trail Blazers' unique way to involve the fans in our first home play-off game since 2011. Total fun!

Friday night, as tip-off time approached, the Moda Center filled with red-light-LED-sticks. Each who entered accepted one from the greeters and heard this instruction, "When they tell you to, pull this tab out and turn it on!" All 20,302 of us did! While the Blazers lost the game to the Rockets, the standings were 2-1 for us, in the best of seven series. I've typed this post on Sunday night after the 4th game in the series. We won, in overtime! We won! We're now ahead in the series 3-1. The next game is Wednesday night in Houston. Go, Blazers!