Tag Archives: reflections

Welcome this New Year, 2023

Happy New Year all!!

Sorry, I am not truly punctual with this timing. 2022 was a helluva year for me, and some of that is seeping through this fresh 2023 year.

But not alone lately, as my great time felt plentiful yet mixed with others in a flurry of cheers and goofy moments, close around and through social networks. These times are worthwhile, but time management with what’s left to me is difficult.

2023 will be an interesting year for me. A new job starts soon, with a company I worked through the Fall, doing a mix of project management, coding, design, and admin assist duties. Exciting stuff, especially for a management team that truly listens, appreciates practical thinking, and utilizes my best skills while keeping my brain challenged. Unfortunately, not much I can share here. But the work brings back my skills and love for Javascript coding and the use of Adobe InDesign. Much of that will carry into some personal projects that I will delve more into soon.

That ties into a huge side endeavor I’ve been sporadically building, simply titled Stranger Worlds. This is set on a long road with ambitious goals, sharing a love for (and promoting) indie creativity in genre art and literature. I will share more when details, planning, and funding are a bit more solid. I will occasionally do more as Traveling Orion, as I still have exciting adventures and much to tell. And, I do have some exciting adventures to share!

But for now, I am typing with oily fingers while eating the greasiest pizza ever, in the midst of a layover at the San Francisco airport. My laptop has some strange lag issues. Every sentence is a bit sluggish. But, this is my only chance for a while to reach out, before I return to Seattle. Then, I must catch up and move forward with 2023!

I am very excited and will share more soon. In the meantime, I hope 2023 will be a great and exciting year for you too.

– Orion T

Talking about the Star Wars, and where I began

May the Fourth be with you!!!

Though, by the time you read this, the day probably passed for 2022. Still, a positive message brought to you by the peak of pop-culture nerd fandom. This is Star Wars Day, as fans come to recognize as a play on words, being the Fourth exchangeable for the Force. It’s dorky, but whatever. There is much in our world to keep us stressed and sad, and sci-fi escapism is sometimes a necessary distraction, and to sometimes help keep us positive in tough times.

So, today among friends who love and cherish many things Star Wars, we looked back on the best ways the Force full franchise touched our lives. I realized, going through every era of its development, from the original trilogy to the Disney Plus era. Many games, books, fan films in between, I have delved into its extremely extensive lore, digged the memes, can pinpoint and recognize nearly every obscure character from the movies. I love the Star Wars, as George Luca’s vision grown, expanded, giving us much to ponder in our imaginations to further shape and dive into. Star Wars is the work of many, cultivated by its fandom.

Looking back to the beginning of my love for Star Wars, and I would like to share some memories of where it all began for me:

My first Star Wars movie is The Empire Strikes Back. I saw it on VHS as in my earliest Elementary school days at a friend’s house slumber party. Yes, I would have been shocked to learn Vader was Luke’s father in the pivotal moment, if it wasn’t spoiled by every other kid in the room. My love for space reptilian men, started with Bossk.

My first Star Wars toys were some old early Kenner figures from the early 80s. I recall first having Darth Vader, Obi Wan, Han Solo, Artoo, and Pruneface. Eventually, I would find more, and put them into a very used Millennium Falcon, Kenner brand playset with missing parts.

My first Star Wars book was a Return of the Jedi Star Wars storybook. For reasons I best not go into now, I was not able to see Return of the Jedi in theaters when it came out. So, I learned the story with great delight from the children’s text with full pictures. I reread it many times, very thrilled and satisfied at the conclusion. Boba Fett was the coolest, even though he played a small, and very sad part.

My first Star Wars video game was the super awesome video arcade machine with the 3D vector graphics. I loved the steering control, movie realistic sounds, and thrill of blowing up the Death Star three times usually, with one quarter. To this day, it’s still an awesome game!

My first Star Wars movie in theaters was the Special Edition of Episode IV in the movie theaters. Seeing this first, even with the changes, on the big screen felt right.

I would like to write more about Star Wars in good time, as the Force I feel will always be with me. I have much to share on the current stuff, my growing weird love for the prequels, and a lot of obscure stuff. In good time, I will. But for now, may the Star Wars be with you too.

– Orion

Leaving Summer 2020, in wholesome hindsight…

Summer 2020 was a little weird but full of beautiful moments.

I was a bit worried on its end after a week of nasty fires in the Pacific Northwest, bringing darkened skies of smoke and ash throughout. That’s so very 2020, pushing me back into home isolation.

But yet, I felt great times during the season under the troubling, continual circumstances of the year. Such are the pandemic and continual dread for the future of my world, with social unrest and shared economic stress. What does one do, for feeling the necessity of the news, yet not ignore the constant frustration and trouble that the headlines bring?

One great answer is to reach out, accept the reaching out of peers to make the best of what’s out there. The weather was great most of this season, at least for the Pacific Northwest (sorry friends in California who endured over 100 F). I feel blessed with good friends that shared my hunger for adventure, and that we did.

We shared many weekends all over midwestern Washington in Tacoma, Bellingham, Anacortes, Issaquah, and the Seattle area. We hiked, we ruminated, we explored, we eat, we enjoyed nature and the somewhat the surroundings while being pandemic-minded and safe.

I had a great time throughout but also unplugged much from the social media and pleasures of modern digital technology. But, I am also terribly sorry for not sharing such beautiful experiences in a timely fashion. Much of it was also for me talking, helping, discussing life, and current happenings with friends in between. Personal time was my priority.

But, I will share on memories recent and fresh when I can, especially as the new Fall season sets in. I have the feeling it’s going to be a longer, colder, darker time ahead. With that, more time to share but in a different way.

– Orion T

The above pic is facing Mount Rainier, from the top of Mount Burroughs, taken from one of the many trails from the Sunrise Visitor Center deep within and high above. It’s closed to the majestic peak, the best view I think one can get by hiking after a lengthy two-hour drive deep within the Mount Rainier National Park. The entirety spent with friends, very worthwhile.

Pizza dude’s got 30 seconds…

In isolation, I can use some renewed cheers looking back on my childhood nostalgia. I learned a day too late of 30 years ago marked the cinematic release of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action movie. I was there on that day of the release at the AMC Kabuki 8 Theater in San Francisco, very excited.

I hold my nostalgic love for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, grown from its super-weird, totally out there cartoon of the late 80s (and darker original comic books by creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird). I enjoyed the 1990 from day one, movie backed up by awesome Jim Henson puppetry, outdated jokes and 80s humor, a darker feel matching my brewing angst of city life, and somewhat restrained action scenes…a true experience, that I shall carry with me over 30 years later, into an uncertain present.

There’sThe some great messages in this movie, especially useful now. Social distance when necessary. Choose friendship wisely. The power of family is binding. Get through difficult situations with humor and challenge. Train, and listen to your wise elder (especially if it’s a talking rat). Possess the right thinking…only then can one receive the gifts of strength, knowledge, and peace. Anger clouds the mind, and forgiveness is divine but never pay full price for late pizza!

So, for TMNT fans out there moving forward with current challenges far worse than any Foot Clan now, remember your Turtle Power!

Orion T

Picture above: taken by me of my personally owed movie versions of the Ninja Turtles, released by NECA in 2018. Beautiful sculpts and worth every penny.

Reflecting over what happens for happiness…

Not much happened over the weekend, and that may be a good thing…

That space gave me time to ponder, walk around, talk to people, participate in a project study, meet new friends, learn a little Python coding, fix my laptop, give a good hard look a change in direction, write some short stories which I will someday publish.

Okay, that’s a lot to reflect on. Yet still, not much really happened over the weekend because that was a lot of great moments that’s don’t imply drama, follow-up, expressing of concern of spreading the emotion of some great joy or sadness felt. I just had time to live in some great moments, that just developed with myself, friends, strangers. This was a all mixture of entertainment, study, creativity, sharing, pondering with some light planning. All happened, but passing through in a relaxing, smiling flow.

Oh, never mind. A lot happened, now that I reflect on my writing here.

Orion T

The picture above, I took last Friday night after some heavy rain, at the University of Washington. Here is the Suzallo Library on campus, an amazing building with a Hogwartsesque main reading room. I passed by that buildng last night in the dark, cold lonely night, with an urge to take pictures of the this beautiful observed moment. I really liked this shot, but wish I had a better camera to capture the fine details.

Gloomy reflections in dialation

Enjoy what the sky gives to the ground, especially after the rain.

The picture above is from the basketball courts in Cal Anderson Park, in the Capitol Hill district of central Seattle. The rain hit hard, and the gloom remains. I returned from an eye exam with my eyes freshly dilated. The world to me was a blur for about 2 hours, But walking around, I can still appreciate the beauty in it when given, and here it was…the peace of the day upon an empty space.

I took the picture in blind faith, that all would work out in the right perspective.

– Orion T

I don’t want to grow up…

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Since my childhood, a part of me was always a Toys R’ US kid.

Then, the realities of adulthood will constantly break in to that innocent little world many of us keep inside. It’s a world of cool little action figures, cartoon nostalgia, board games, brick building, weird collectible nonsense. But, we grow up whether we like it or not, and now the best toy store chain ever has been eaten alive by vulture capitalists.

So goes the final end of Toys R’ Us retail stores over the weekend, in the United States (In Canada, I hear some will remain open), an excited place for kids since 1957. No more rows of tall aisles of childish joy, filled with colorful products with silly gimmicks meant to amuse and sometimes educate. There was odd feeling of privacy one can feel, in browsing the shelves of the large spaces of Toys R’ Us. The connection to that customer service, smiling and sometimes sharing in the simple joy of new toy product trends, is treasured. We can gawk and admire the great craftsmanship of classic Saturday morning commercialism. So much, left to memories now…

I brought myself to the Bellevue, Washington location last week to pay my final respects to the great toy store era now gone. I couldn’t bring myself to take pictures of the stripped down walls of a once great world of Geoffrey Giraffe. So, I share the pic above of a time earlier this year of a better time for such nostalgic joy.

I recently discovered this fun video of Toy’s R Us ads over the years of its long life. Here, exhibits a showing of the variety and odd ways the store helped develop our youth and still appeals to our inner child…

Forward, I move on to more growing up. Yet, I think I will always be a Toys R Us kid.

– Orion T

Reflecting on Star Trek: The Next Generation, 30th Anniversary…

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30 years ago on this day, Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered with its two-part pilot episode, “Encounter At Farpoint.” And ever since, the show has had a profound effect on my journey through life.

I was lucky enough to catch it on its premiere night, not quite as eager in the beginning. But something drew me, being a mixed cast of characters on a big starship, seeking out new life, new civilizations, and boldly going…. On this new starship, the NCC-1701 Enterprise D, held an android seeking humanity in itself, a mighty alien warrior eager for new challenges, a blind engineer expanding his self in science and technological advancement, a ship doctor balancing her work with the challenges of single motherhood, a ship counselor with empathic abilities often not very helpful, a charming first officer, and a captain who seeks the peaceful, diplomatic, humanitarian solutions to every problem.

This would go on for seven years, and four movies. Star Trek: The Next Generation became a show I grew up with, identifying with much of the crew on their journeys and moral dilemmas. To me, the show was about finding self in seeing what’s out there. For the crew and the journey, establishing humanity’s place in the Alpha Quadrant as a member of the Federation; ever-exploring and spreading peace along the way while interacting with new alien species. Each crew member had an ongoing quest to reaffirm their place on the bridge as an individual and team. Through them as inspiration and admiration, I often dealt better with relatable challenges in school, social explorations, and direction in life.

So, I love Star Trek: The Next Generation. Here are my top five favorite episodes in no particular order:

  • Darmok – Picard is trapped on a planet with an alien with a very complex language system. The challenge puts Picard’s communication skills to a great test, with the solution being finding common ground and learning about each other.
  • Q Who – The omnipotent Q throws the Enterprise into a distant uncharted space, where they meet the Borg. The experience is a lesson in humility for humanity, with new and iconic challenges to come.
  • Yesterday’s Enterprise – An awesome episode with much of everything packed in; time travel, an alternate reality, epic ship on ship battles, revealing history connecting the classic series with the new, crew members put in new roles, moral dilemmas, high stakes.
  • Chain of Command Part II – a gut-wrenching episode where Picard is held prisoner and tortured, physically and mentally. The acting between Picard and his Cardassian captor is intense, with an unforgettable ending. How many lights are there?
  • “The Offspring” – Data creates an android daughter for him, in a continual effort to be “human.” This raises dilemmas and challenges on multiple levels, in a new role he must take on as a father and protector. A mix of emotions results with twists and turns, leaving me as a viewer feeling sad in the end for a fictional character whose existence didn’t last.

Overall, I love Star Trek: The Next Generation for what it was to myself, and what it gave to its growing audience – a vision of the future for a possible destiny in the stars, where the exploring and bonding with the universe and ourselves will never stop. With that, I best recall that epic last line of Captain Picard from its very first episode, that still remains a most important marker for us all…

– Orion T

Picture of Today 11/28/16, Seasonal Greetings…

Just the late night here, of the first Monday of the holiday shopping season, after the Black Friday and Cyber Monday. All is quiet for the line tree standing in Westlake Center in Downtown Seattle. There shall be more busy days ahead, of dazzling lights and people scurrying about, shopping for gifts and getting into the spirit. I might be asleep, procrastinating through much of it…


– Orion T

Goodbye Spring…

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And finally the curtain closes, and the end of another long season is at hand…

What a memorable play thus far! Allow for a brief intermission, while we ponder the events of the past few months. Presidential primaries, transgender bathroom debate, tragic deaths, overhyped movies, unpredictable weather, TV season finales, the rise of VR tech, adult coloring books being a thing, and much more.

There is much to leave behind, as we look to the next act of this 2016 theater. I am on the edge of my seat!!

– Orion T

(Picture of above is from yesterday, from Edmonds (an hour north of Seattle), overlooking the Puget Sound waters.)

Picture of Today 1/1/2016, New World, this 2016

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Today, I looked to a whole new world for this New Year..

Not so much West Vancouver BC, the city pictured above beneath what I think is Cypress Mountian. The perspective is afar using a 300mm zoom lens giving a sort of optical trick. The vision, is from Stanley Park in Vancouver BC, Canada; while passing through on a long five hour walk around and through the large wooded area.

Pictures will be later, of which there are many.

But today, this picture is a good representation of why I am here. This place being part of a spontaneous trip outside of Seattle; the city I live and now working excessively in. While I have a lot less time for far-out adventures, it’s important to remember the crazy new worlds that are still within a day’s drive or bus ride on the road. 

I know absolutely nothing about this huge city outside of the samewhat familiar perimeters of Central Vancouver. Is it the same or different? How are the people? Are there cool, unique small shops I can browse through and find fantastic treasure? Are there exclusive cultures or secret societies, to which I can break into? How about the food? New friends maybe? 

Not that the place is of any particular fascination, right now. It bears about the same as North Vancouver, a similar land to the east if there. There’s also the rest of Canada. Someday, I wish as I am very curious and life is short. I just want to start this new year right with the reminder and push of what I should strive for; tending to my thrill of discovery and adventuring.

2016, looking forward to what is “over there.”

Golden Noir Nights in Rain City..

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Sometimes, I feel like a bystander in the first chapter of some long mystery. Especially, when the rain happens through the night.

The rain does this sometimes, because nights like this are best described in long opening descriptions, establishing mood and environment. I love this kind of rain, not dense or rough enough to have myself rushing to the next bus; but to casually stroll through and let the wetness sink in (and take pictures). The wet sprinkles are enough to appreciate my surroundings, and think of what has not changed since the noir days of old fashioned city life. This being, how we all become a part of our environments, yet don’t know it. The rain in this city can places between between reflections, making new shadows of us dwelling through. We are all getting by, to become new stories or develop that next chapter.

Just be careful out there.

Shots above and below are of the Westlake Center area of Downtown Seattle; a place that is best in after hours, and in the rain. Also, I really like these shots. I will be coming more of this in the near future.

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Thoughts of Today 12/31/14, Goodbye 2014

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2014 was a crazy year, and anything but mundane and boring.

The past year was happy for me at least. However, with a lot of other emotions thrown in. Every year, one must take the good with the bad. I lost a lot, including an organ, and a wonderful friend to an underestimated mental illness. I also gained a lot, including some fantastic video/audio producing skills and new friends; including a person of great inspiration worked for, who fought off life-threatening cancer..twice. I didn’t travel as much, though I have seen some incredible sights around this great Emerald City. I read some great books (lots of comics, ask me for recommendations), and watched some great movies (Nightcrawler, Guardians of the Galaxy, Birdman, Under the Skin, Black Mirror Christmas). I was guest host on a podcast (Junk Food Dinner), and experimented with audio journalism (not the best results however). I learned that I can quit sodas and deep-fried foods (and avoided such for 99% of the year). I also learned how awesome ice cream and waffles taste on a late sleepless night, and the joy of crazy cloud formations and epic sunsets. I spent great time with old friends I haven’t seen in many years, of who I missed much. I also broke my favorite camera, which I have attempted and failed to fix (may have to give and buy a new body for it..sigh). But at least I put some great pictures before that.

Also, the world around me changed. 3-D printing has jumped very far ahead, where we can now print objects in space orbit. We also landed a machine on a comet traveling 55,000 kilometers per hour. Some US states legalized marijuana and gay marriage. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge raised more than 88 million dollars, through fantastically viral Internet social networking. Robin Williams passed away, much too soon and very tragically. Multiple police brutality incidents and accusations of such lead to some riots and civil unrest. Far off, there are escalating conflicts with heavy casualties worldwide; most notably in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, the Central African Republic. Also, the Ebola virus took some major headlines, as doctors and nurses personally handling the spread are this year’s greatest heroes to me. There was much good and bad, of which we will not forget.

Well 2014, all has been fun and everything else interesting.. My eyes are still open.

There is a little left, of which I will spend in a local café writing and organizing. Later I will be on the roof of my Seattle apartment, awaiting the fireworks close by at that Space Needle. To all: have a great and safe New Year’s Eve, and a 2015 run full of great experiences.

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Picture of a Double Moon

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Looking forward to that Blood Moon lunar eclipse tonight, if only no overcast and I can stay awake until 3:30.

Yesterday night, was another interesting events..double Moons!! It’s quite an rare sight for one to notice. One just needs to be at the right place at the right time, with the right angle of the Moon hitting through two angles off the corner of a glass building. And then. one would need to notice within three walking steps, head pointing in a very specific direction while moving slightly upwards. Then run home, and get a longer lens. Come back and hope the sight is still there.

It was, and now here it is..