travellin'

a Flash of New
the pure invigorating breeze of travellin'

I'm off.

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'monkery,' the way of life of a tramp. Even the Oxford lads can't figure out where that word came from.

assumption

bringing to consciousness
a forgotten assumption -

real. change.

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'abreaction,' which is a psychiatric term dealing with remembering past traumas - and NOT what happens when you do crunches.

Always cool when you can see Mt. Baker, shimmering in the distance, from West Seattle.

January

January —
a daily victory over
growing temptation

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'gasconade,' to boast or brag.

practice

practice is the courage
To learn day by day

for an artist
Rules close off Vision

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'palaestra/palestra.' Wrestle with it.

flux

one's own experience is an instance...
fear, joy and sorrow...

swirls of the passing flux

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'autopathy,' excessive feeling for oneself. The sketch is an amalgamation of people coming & going in Starbucks over the course of my visit.

novice

novice…

O fond-foolish old man,
ever The learner,
ordinary in his Happy interest in the present —
his goal every day the Art & style
of getting through difficulties

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem|commentary is 'abecedarian.'

Who knows how much longer we'll be able to sketch the Space Needle with its 'galaxy orange' top?

potential

The chief trouble about ‘potential’
lies in the want
of an effective instrument
to be original

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'ping-pong.'

I bet the Oxford lads liked this 1982 citation:  "In an era of Ping-Pong diplomacy, Band-Aid economics, and Scotch-Tape solutions..the maker of dictionaries is too often driven to ingesting Aspirins."

The "historic 1904 Fred Marino building," which houses the Georgetown Arts & Cultural Center is a mystery. The only Fred Marino I can track down was the biggest truck farmer in Seattle... but not until 1915. Hunh.

effort

practice gives rewards

I expect you
to welcome the effort
with a touch of class
. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'marksman.'

patience

an absolute cure all is a
Farfetched Fable
So practice patience to ease pain

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'panacea.' Among the citations, suggested panaceas for all physical ailments include: vodka with salt (Russia), bloodletting (France) and coffee (Starbucks? No, actually 19th century England!)

The sketch was done yesterday morning, as the Tribal Canoes Paddle to Squaxin left from Alki Beach en route to Puyallup.

unusual words

unusual words,
Difficult at the beginning,
Improve the Mind 
and delight solitary thinkers

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is -- finally! -- one I know: 'abstruse.'

Peggy and I went to the new Chihuly Garden & Glass. We were stunned that: (a) the interior exhibits were better than the garden, at least without mature landscaping; (b) they let Peggy in with her stool and let us sit in the corner of the Mille Fiori room and paint; and so, (c) the $15 is well worth it!  Larger sketch and photos on Flickr.

the sun

a law -
in July the sun
is the only concern

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'autonomic,' which in its archaic sense of 'self-governing' or 'independent,' the erstwhile colonists will take as a subtle tip of the cap from Oxford.

Hope your July 4th sparkles!

cathedral

Poems abandoned
to divine mercy,
I drew scenes from life -
the whole world a Cathedral

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'misericord.'

Yes, you knew it had something to do with mercy and compassion, but did you know it was also a shelf on the underside of a seat in a  medieval choir stall which, when turned up, supported a person standing and/or the elaborate, often bawdy, carving of scenes from secular or religious life on said shelf? Ah, THAT is why the tenors are smiling.

a conversation

Life
is a conversation
with unpredictable results,
capricious Dialogues
that affirm love

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'sportively.'

mud flat

under the microscope
a cracked,
sun-dried
mud flat

Starfish

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'reticulate.' Hah! I confused it with an 'articulated,' and couldn't understand the lack of bus references. And so it goes...

Cadillac Hotel

The OED word of the day is 'britten,' which was only used in Old English and the citations are now, therefore, unreadable.

So, for your reading pleasure today I offer this brief history of the Cadillac Hotel (3.2M PDF), which includes some great old photos, courtesy of Historic Seattle - and some rather shocking ones after the 2001 earthquake, when this 1889 Victorian Italianate building nearly got demolished.

playing

playing
is Merely a
demonstration
of Intelligence

it's more sophisticated,
in fact

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'pranky.' Beware of those behaving so today!

a favor

be ready
to move
towards each other;
to grant a favor
to a Friend
is a Blessing

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is
'accede.'

Much fun painting the view from the Chinese Room atop Smith Tower with Peggy today. The gentleman handling the tickets was a real encyclopedia of architectural lore. So I now know I've got a  John Graham, Sr building (Dexter Horton Bank Building, bottom right) and John Jr design (Space Needle) in the same sketch.

a guarantee

in a state
of  uncontrollable
Expectations,
a guarantee
is a comfort
to have at hand

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem| commentary is 'rampage.'

fun

It is all very well
to sneer at February,
but there is much fun
much enlightenment

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is the very Dickensian 'Podsnappery.' You can intuit its meaning without actually knowing that it refers to the insular complacency of John Podsnap. Is there such a thing as attitudinal onomatopoeia?

Another sketch from Fishermen's Terminal, featuring a boat named 'Summer Place,' which was almost what yesterday felt like! Not often calm enough to get such divine reflections.

the Ordinaries

art -
a Staggering
opportunity to prevent
the Ordinaries from
creeping up on a person
unawares

. . . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'obreption.' In case you too were absent the day THAT got explained, it means trying to obtain something by fraud.