Widescreen 2560 x 1600 desktop wallpaper(s) – Free 8.2 MB ZIP

Yesterday evening I attended my younger siblings Greenlake Crew Awards Banquet held on the south end of Lake Union near the Center for Wooden Boats. Having been a considerable amount of time since my Nikon D80 had seen the light of day, captured public facing photographs, or taken snapshots of something other than various gadgets & toys, I lugged my dSLR along with me to the awards banquet. Not having any more than 10 minutes of free time before the banquet, I wandered around the boatyard for anything that caught my attention. I turned 4 images into widescreen desktop walls at 2560 x 1600 resolution.

Download 8.2 MB (zip): Seattle Wooden Boatyard (widescreen 2560 x 1600)

Video screenshot – Syl & I visit the Seattle Gum Wall at Pike Place Market – View the video (QuickTime required)

For those of you who have never visited Seattle, here’s a little piece of Seattle character which defines this fine city. Having lived in Seattle for over 20 years, I am ashamed to have never seen the "gum wall" until today. The Gum Wall, also known as the Wall of Gum, is a Seattle oddity:

This Gum Wall, also known as the Wall of Gum, is one of the least known (and perhaps the oddest well not quite) attractions of the historic Pike Place Market – known nationally for its fish throwers and as the location of the original Starbucks logo.

It has its beginnings in the early 1990s when theatre patrons waiting in line to buy tickets or attend the theater began placing their gum on the wall. At first people used gum to anchor coins to the wall, but the practice stopped, leaving only the gum on the wall after the coins were taken by some people.

Since then there have been reports of walls of gum created in various communities across the United States. However none of them have gained the fame (actually infamy) of the Gum Wall in Pike Place Market. It continues to grow in popularity and, therefore, in length and width and height.

As the wall has grown, so has the sophistication of the gum art. The next time I visit Seattle I will photograph some of the examples: the Moon Effect, the Art Effect, the Names, the Message, etc. And leave a piece of gum. Or perhaps, more than one piece. A message perhaps?

Germaphobes will surely find themselves rubbing their hands, arms, and faces with Purell hand sanitizer while making their way through Post Alley. For a virtual tour of the Seattle Wall of Gum, check out the VR tour, or, check out this little video clip recorded (QuickTime required or visit YouTube – low resolution) with the Nokia N95. In all honesty, it’s quite disgusting to think of how many different mouths from around the globe each of these pieces of gum originated from.

I have just the fix. Find yourself a sunny beach, a little water, and clear skies. I invite you to kick back and see things from a relaxed point of view.

By the way, does anyone in the Pacific Northwest region think that things – climate wise – are out of wack when the temperature is a smothering 80 degrees when the clock reads 11PM?