Adventures of a Discoverer

A week ago I got a chance to watch a concert of a music genre I hadn't heard before: Hardcore Punk. Most people have heard about Punk all the way from the 70's, with Sex Pistols and the Ramones. From that original genre later came Hardcore Punk: more independent bands, outside of the commercial mainstream, with politically confrontational lyrics and a really, really loud sound. One good example of that sound is  Refused , a Swedish hardcore punk band formed in 1991 that has been touring the world. Lucky for me, they were giving a concert at The Showbox  in downtown Seattle, and I managed to get a ticket. I was really curious about them, and they did not disappoint! To say that you go watch a hardcore punk concert would be incorrect: it's more like that you are attacked by ear blasting sound with incredibly intense lights and other effects, such as lots and lots of smoke and quick changes in the music tempo, to keep you on your toes all the time. I've been to Heavy Metal...

NOTE: this is not  any kind of political commentary. I'm not commenting in favor or against any side here. I just saw something that matches the historical moment we're living, and as such I wanted to take pictures of it, to be a witness to History. If you're making any inference about any political preferences here, you're doing it wrong. Yesterday I was walking in Capitol Hill, a neighborhood close to downtown Seattle, and just as I was passing by the  Seattle Central College , I saw that a protest was just starting. Being a curious person, I wanted to see more of it and also take pictures of it, so that could serve as being a witness to History as it happens. It was pretty clear that the protest was against the current War in Gaza and the US role in it. I found it interesting to see how the mechanics of the whole thing worked: first, all the participants gathered in the front lawn of the Seattle Central College. Then, at a given time, some cars that were participat...

Last week for the first time I watched a movie at the Historical Admiral Theater , a Seattle landmark listed on the National Register of Historical Places. It's truly incredible that such an old movie theater is still in activity! It opened in 1919 , showing black-and-white movies, and already with a maritime motif. In 1942 it was remodeled and renamed "Admiral Theater" and kept on showing movies for the next decades. In the late 80's, though, the building was abandoned and it was about to be demolished when the Historical Society of Seattle bought it and renovated it, reopening as a fully functioning movie theater again in 1992, but still keeping the original architecture and decorations. And it is still open to this day! Last Sunday I finally paid it a visit, to watch  Mickey 17 , which sounded like an interesting choice: a Science Fiction movie centuries in the future in one of the oldest movie theaters in Seattle. I can report that the Admiral is a perfectly fine ...