FROST PARK: J.P. MOTHERSBAUGH

J.P. Mothersbaugh by Troy's Work Table.

A few days ago, I learned that J.P. Patches was officially retiring from public appearances. He's been off-the-air for thirty years, but still goes out in full clown makeup and regalia, oftentimes with his sidekick Gertrude in tow, to meet fans at various local events.

J.P. is one of the iconic figures of my "early" years, ending his show when I was in junior high and becoming rather acquainted with the music and antics of Devo. Therefore, it seemed natural to meld visual elements of J.P. Patches with another iconic figure from this transitional stage of life, Mark Mothersbaugh, lead singer of Devo.

J.P. Patches in Devo energy dome and a pair of Mark Mothersbaugh's trademark eyeglasses becomes J.P. Mothersbaugh—alternate universe clown, artist, musician, provocateur—for this week's Frost Park Chalk Off Challenge.

WHITE RIVER DISC GOLF COURSE

Discraft Stalker driver on White River DGC hole #2.

Troy's Work Table and the family head out for a morning round of disc golf at their favorite local course, White River. TWT is one with the disc, one with the basket. He ties his score for best game ever, 58 (+4), although this is his best game ever. He is extremely relaxed yet focused. His throws, for the most part, go were they need to go. The river tumbles along, birds fill the forest with song, the sun is out, The Child runs ahead while The Wife and TWT chat and hike and throw. In the moment, this is paradise.

CLOUDS

Summer clouds drift over Puyallup, bringing humidity to days that are finally hot. These are the summer days we've been dreaming of. These are the summer days that once defied us.

EASTON CAMPING

Late-morning sunlight upon the Yakima River near our camp. 08/21/2011, Yakima River, Easton, Washington.

EASTON CAMPING

Tent on the riverbank. 08/20/2011, Yakima River, Easton, Washington.

EASTON CAMPING

We have campfire. 08/19/2011, Yakima River, Easton, Washington.

TACOMA RAINIERS

Last night (08/17/2011) at Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma Rainiers, 2; Oklahoma Storm Chasers, 4.

OCTOPUS

Octopus on wall mural, Sixth Avenue, Tacoma, Washington, 08/10/2011.

MOUNT ST. HELENS

Mount St. Helens, as viewed from Johnston Ridge Observatory, 07/26/2011.

JAPANESE GREEN TEA IPA

Japanese Green Tea IPA, an India Pale Ale by Stone Brewing Company, in collaboration with Baird Brewing Company and Ishii Brewing Company.

12 ounce bottle served in a mini snifter.

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I really enjoy a good cup of green tea. I also really enjoy a good IPA. Therefore, as soon as I saw the name of this beer, I was hooked.

I assumed that it was going to either be a great ale or a disaster. Considering that it came from Stone Brewing, I was fairly certain it would be the former.

It was.

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The body was a clear orange with no discernible head on the pour. Carbonation was almost non-existent. Some large flexible and flaky particulates were floating around in the bottom of the bottle.

The initial smells were of pine resin and orange rind. The initial flavors were light pine needles, green tea, and a spicy finish. The green tea emerged again to linger for a long time. I could easily catch faint hints of it on my tongue ten minutes later.

The mouthfeel was medium.

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As it warmed, more green tea made itself present and blended even better with the standard bitterness of the IPA. Caramel creeped in on both nose and tongue. A mild alcohol burn appeared, which made sense since the alcohol by volume is 9.2% (or three to four times that of most macrobrews). In other words, it got better and more complex and more intense. In some sense, it also got conversely more subtle. It became yin to its own yang (or in to its own yo, since we are talking a Japanese ale rather than Chinese).

Toward the end, the flavor would waffle between green tea leaves and hop leaves, as though alternate universes threatened to engulf their siblings, and then stabilize again, as though no waffling had occurred. Very peculiar and yet welcome.

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At the beginning, I wrote it my notes that it was "very good." By the end of the bottle, I scratched that out and replaced it with "excellent." This is a must-have IPA.

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And, as the bottle states: "Profits benefit Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami Relief Fund." Amen.

FROST PARK: QUEEQUEG

Another Frost Park Chalk Off is under my belt. I conjured up my vision of Queequeg from Melville's masterpiece, Moby-Dick.

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Queequeg by Troy's Work Table.

An introduction to Queequeg:
I was all eagerness to see his face, but he kept it averted for some time while employed in unlacing the bag's mouth. This accomplished, however, he turned round—when, good heavens! what a sight! Such a face! It was of a dark purplish, yellow color, here and there stuck over with large, blackish looking squares. Yes, it's just as I thought, he's a terrible bedfellow; he's been in a fight, got dreadfully cut, and here he is, just from the surgeon. But at that moment he chanced to turn his face so towards the light, that I plainly saw they could not be sticking-plasters at all, those black squares on his cheeks. they were stains of some sort or other. At first I knew not what to make of this; but soon an inkling of the truth occurred to me. I remembered a story of a white man—a whaleman too—who, falling among the cannibals, had been tattooed by them.
—from Chapter III, "The Spouter-Inn," Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

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Queequeg (detail, Yojo) by Troy's Work Table.

An introduction to Yojo:
Remembering the embalmed head, at first I almost thought that this black manikin was a real baby preserved in some similar manner. But seeing that it was not at all limber, and that it glistened a good deal like polished ebony, I concluded that it must be nothing but a wooden idol, which indeed it proved to be.
—from Chapter III, "The Spouter-Inn," Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.

STREET ART

I saw this: duct tape street art, sidewalk of Sixth Avenue, Tacoma.