One of these things is not like the others

Baboons And Pigeons Are Capable Of Higher-level Cognition, Behavioral Studies Show

One cognitive capacity that is vital to human intelligence is the ability to determine whether two or more items are the same or different - a skill the famous American psychologist William James called the very "backbone" of our thinking...

A recent study by Wasserman and UI graduate student Dan Brooks found that both pigeons and people can learn same-different discriminations with visual stimuli that never repeat from trial to trial, thus proving that simple memorization cannot explain this cognitive feat.

The study was designed to figure out if baboons and pigeons can play 'one of these things is not like the others'. How would they survive in the wild if they couldn't? We'd have way more extinct species if every-other-animal-but-humans couldn't figure out "same and different" on the fly. Seriously.

P.S. Same-different discriminations, superior self-recognition abilities than toddlers, remarkable adaptation skills, the ability to sense the Earth's magnetic field, and willing to eat absolutely anything...

P.P.S. Holy crap, guys - Pigeons are like the genius love-children of cockroachs and twinkies!

Gil Kerlikowske, Drug Czar

I've been trying to figure out why President Obama :D picked Seattle's own Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be the new drug czar. I love Seattle, but let's be honest: we're a third-tier city at best. Not that policing Seattle is easy as peas, but we're mellow compared to LA or New York. Why not pick someone running a police force in someplace that's a little more...hard core?

Then again, President Obama :D isn't picking out a new king of police, he's appointing a (presumably) progressively-minded person to manage US drug policy.

Ok then - Seattle has plenty of drugs, so Chief Kerlikowske has had plenty of practice. Is he going to make the world a better place for all of us or will is be the same old "war on drugs" as usual? We are the city of Hempfest and needle exchanges. And there's the fact that jaywalking is a higher priority to the SPD than an adult smoking marijuana.

Dominic Holden of The Stranger thinks Kerlikowske's cool, and the PI says that drug-law reformers are cautiously optimistic about him. Our drug-czar-to-be isn't a radical reformer, nor is he terribly vocal on the subject of drug law, but he did let a whole lot of reforms go forward under his watch. Which is probably just what Obama is looking for: quietly and intelligently progressive. Here's hoping it works out that way on the national level.

Groundbreaking at Spring St. P-Patch

Yay! New P-Patch in the CD!

Unacceptable

I was tooling around the Hill news sites when I found a bit on how not all organic foods are created equal on the Cap Hill Times site. It said that both PCC and Whole Foods had lists of unacceptable ingredients, i.e. if one of these ingredients is in a product, they won't stock it. The lists for both sites are huge (but PCC's is more useful, so you should check it out), and it's all stuff you see all the time in processed foods. So creepy.

The birds and the bees

The Sierra Club sent this quiz to me earlier this week: How Green is Your Love Life? That gave me the giggles for a couple of minutes. The quiz itself is pretty tame - I got a 77, which is mostly due to the fact that I take long showers and don't have enough money for a shiny new eco mattress. What about you?

I am such a nerd

I went to the East District Neighborhood Council meeting last night and I had a really good time. Hong and I presented on Unpaving Paradise, I learned all kinds of nifty things about what's going on in local government right now, and I was introduced to the phrase "snap their garters". I believe "snapping someone's garters" means "to forcefully get someone's attention". Good times.

So old it's new again

What's black and white and green all over?

Gregoire gives 56 boards and commissions the axe, wants to cut over 100 more

I found this story thanks to The Seattle Courant. It's great that Gregoire is finding new ways to balance the budget, but after a look at the list of doomed boards and commissions, I'm not so sure how I feel about this move. Out of 192 boards and commissions that will be eliminated, are scheduled to be eliminated on 6/30/2010, or are under review to possibly be eliminated:

• 31 are environmentally oriented
• 39 are for Public Health
• 14 are Special Needs or Disabilities focused
• 18 are focused on Education
• 7 are for Families and/or Children and
• 22 are concerned with Public Safety or Justice (The counts and the headings are my own)

I really don't know what this means for public health or the environment in the State of Washington or any of the other subjects I've listed. Maybe all these commissions are as useless as the governor says they are and they should be cut. If not, we're going to lose a lot of useful information on education, special needs and disabilities, etc. that could have informed decision-makers in Olympia.

Do you have any idea what the consequences will be, if any? Give me a holler in the comments.

Again with the snowglobe

Why do I have this feeling of deja vu? Oh yes, now I remember - it's because I feel like I'm trapped in a giant snowglobe.

Argh, I thought we were done with this! At least it's not sticking...for now.

{Dun dun dun!}

One Union on WC

My One Union Square Green Building Interview is up at WorldChanging Seattle :D

On the Cheap: Green Building Edition

The Wall Street Journal has a great bit in their business section today about how to go green in hard financial times...like right now. The article focuses on improvements that have relatively quick payback and will save money on energy bills over time - the kind of stuff you want to do anyway in the name of good building/home maintenance.

This is exactly the kind of thing Rick Mock, head of facilities for One and Two Union Square, talked about when I interviewed him about the Union Square campus' effort to make LEED certification. I'll give you a heads up when it gets posted on WorldChanging.

The cool thing about both these articles is the emphasis on the affordability and the smart financial sense of green improvements. If you have a bunch of money for capital investment, make big money improvements and replace expensive equipment; if you don't, go for the low-hanging fruit. Focus on what will get you rebates or save you money in the long run so the improvements will pay for themselves (this works out really well for energy efficiency improvements). This is light years ahead of the school of thought that says when times are tough, green is the first thing to go.

Kerfuffle: Transit-Oriented Development

There's been a bit of a kerfuffle about HB 1490, a bill that would require that zoning a half mile around light rail station areas to allow 50 homes per acre. Some say that's far too dense to be livable, and others don't see what the fuss is all about. I have to admit that I'm not sure how to judge what 50 units would look like, or if that's too much density or not.

For me, and the rest of us in doubt of what that much density means, there's a workshop coming up : Andrew Taylor will tell you about it here.

BB assassin: Final Update

And you thought you had weird neighbors.

Stuff like this makes me happy

Currently in development: LEED for cities

The Star Community Index is a set of measures of a city's sustainability, you say? Splendid!

Snowpocalypse Crosses the Pond

Just heard about this today. I think they're on day 5 of the English version of the icy end of days...The Telegraph is calling it "Snow Britain".

The headlines:

Meteorological vacation - Hey, this happened in Seattle too!

The Snow Britain Forecast

Snow thaws Londoner's icy dispositions - Hey, this also happened in Seattle too!

Big News Day on the Hill

It's been a big news day on CHS blog so far - here's the roundup:

Goodbye Chocolate City, Hello New Development

Pike/Pine Conservation Overlay Legislation Update

The Liberation of the Cal Anderson Fountain

Volunteer Park for Pedestrians!

You should visit the next East District Neighborhood Council meeting - Council Pres. Richard Conlin is

B&O on Broadway? Maybe not

Yay! On-street Bike Parking on the Hill!

BB Assassin (aka my crazy neighbor) Update

PSA: Light Rail Updates

More exciting meetings for the Broadway Light Rail Station are coming right up. CHS blog has a full listing of all the tentative dates and times and general agendas. This set of meetings is all about further design details and what's going to be built on top of the station...you know, all the right-on-Broadway prime real estate. These are meetings worth attending.

Tonight there's going to be a public hearing about University Link (the bit of the Light Rail that includes us) fare structure and pricing. You can see all the details here, and the meeting info is below:

PUBLIC HEARING on Feb. 5, 2009
Noon to 12:30 p.m.
Sound Transit, Union Station, Ruth Fisher Board Room, 401 S. Jackson St. Seattle, WA 98104.

The public’s comments will be presented to the Sound Transit Board in February 2009 for consideration in setting Link’s fare structure and pricing. The Board’s decision is expected in spring 2009.

We want to hear your comments and suggestions! It’s easy:
Attend the public hearing
E-mail us: linkfares@soundtransit.org
Phone: Sarah Lovell, Project Manager, 206-398-5404
Write: Sarah Lovell, Sound Transit Office of Policy and Planning 410 S. Jackson Street. Seattle, WA 98104

On the Cheap: Faire Gallery and Cafe

I go to Faire so often that I forget how awesome the place is. Tasty foods, decent prices, great space, and the owners (Liz and Matt) are really cool. I once asked Matt if my roommate and I could hold a haiku insult slam at the cafe, and his reply was, "Ok, when do you want to do it?" Pure awesome.

Ok, to the penny-pinching point: Faire has some sweet deals on tasty foods and drinks.

• Dollar Americano Mondays - Espresso for $1. Eat that McDonald's.
• The most important meal of the day - 12 oz. latte and breakfast sammich for $5
• Every day there's a combo special and a lovely happy hour
• There are free live music and DJ performances all the time - for a current listing, see the calendar in Faire's window. Also, the Joketellers Union performs on the last(?) Friday of every month. Free and really fuckin' funny.

Conclusion: Yay!

Today is...

Hells yes.

On the Cheap: Roanoake Tavern

I wish I could say that I found this on my own. But, no, this comes straight from the Slog: not only is Wednesday $1 taco night at the Roanoke Tavern, it's also $1 PBR night.

Put on your dress honey, we're going out!

Police blockade: 5th and Union

The police have blocked off 5th (between University and Pike) and Union (between 4th and 6th). Traffic's a mess for a three block radius around the intersection. The police weren't saying anything, but I saw a KOMO 4 van, so let's see what they say....

Holy crap! Larry the Real Change vendor was right! It was a bank robbery! KOMO says someone robbed the 5th and Union WAMU branch. That was at 3:30 - the streets are still blocked off because Mr. Bank Robber left a bag and said it was "a device".

BB assassin

One of my neighbors lost it and has been shooting at passersby with a BB gun.

Native Plant Salvage on WorldChanging Seattle

The King County Native Plant Salvage is so cool WorldChanging Seattle posted up an article about it. (That I wrote! :D) It is so amazing that you should go the salvage event this weekend and save the little native plants from bulldozers so they can go to a new home in a restoration project. Or maybe even your yard.

So goddamned cute

Why is a webcomic about little paper cutouts so damned cute?

Money Shot

Yay, a mock up of my write-in vote! Thanks jseattle!

Write-in Candidate

Capitol Hill currency, after a fashion, has officially debuted on the Capitol Hill Community Council Wiki and CHS blog.

How it works: Cap Hill notes would act as 10% coupons at participating businesses: all a biz would have to do is post a bill in the window to advertise that they accepted the discount. Anyone could reproduce the bills, so local stores and restaurants and organizations could make them to bring business to the Hill.

Simple, local, self-replicating. What more do you need? An iconic image to put on the bill.

CHS blog has put it out for a vote, but I think the options presented are only so-so. So here's my suggestion for a write-in candidate: the Black Sun Sculpture in Volunteer Park. Otherwise known as the Volunteer Park Donut. Added bonus: if you have the right angle on a good day, you can get the Space Needle and the Olympics in the same shot (see above, thank you Traveler-Photo Digital)

The picture above is just to give you an idea of what Black Sun could look like on our Cap Hill notes: elegant, timeless, symbolic of the neighborhood.

Too much time on the internet

You might have noticed an addition to The Longest Blogroll Ever: Sockington's Twitter. Who's Sockington, you ask? The adorable white and grey cat above.

That's right. I'm now following a cat on Twitter. That's what you get when you spend too much time on the Internet.

I can't blame this entirely on the lolcats this time either. My boyfriend discovered Rocketboom's Know Your Meme while he was looking for All Your Base to show his brother. One thing led to another, and now I'm following a cat's updates about how the stairs still don't taste like bacon.

~

About the wonder that is Know Your Meme - Do you know what's even better than looking at persistant viral images and videos on the internet? Watching someone else analyze them for you.

What Earthquake?

This earthquake.

Did it wake any of you guys up? I slept right through it.

Kancho

I can't believe I found this candy. Marketed for Valentine's Day, of all things. What were the marketing people at Lotte thinking? "Hey, nothing says love like a high school student trying to put their fingers in your butt! Right?" Well, this is Seattle...

My guess is that they never read Gaijin Smash, so they have no idea how funny this is. I have to thank them for that - it made my day.

Special Bonus Feature: Kancho Demonstration Video by Naruto



P.S. Why? Why is it so cute?! Is this candy a diabolical scheme by Japanese high school students to deceive Americans into thinking a kancho is a delicious chocolate-filled cookie snack? Can you imagine the horror and betrayal some naive young teacher would feel when they learned the (painful) truth!?

P.P.S. "Would you like a kancho, sensei?" THE HORROR!

The things I learn from watching too many video games

My boyfriend's been playing a lot of Persona 4...watching the main character's little cartoon life is addicting.

There are little pop quizzes that come up as part of the game and they're surprisingly difficult. I've learned all kinds of interesting things from having to Google up the answers to about half the questions. My favoritest random fact so far:

Dawn, or astronomical dawn, is defined as "that time at which there is enough light for objects to be distiguishable and that outdoor activities can commence." Nautical dawn is defined as "that time at which there is just enough sunlight for objects to be distiguishable." (Thanks to the NOAA office in Peachtree, GA for the answer on that one.)

The things we have definitions for. It makes me happy.

Things I saw on The Slog

A roundup's roundup.

• Obamarama: BizCasPrez and Happy He Signed It, Too Bad It Didn't Happen By Itself
• We Proved It With Science: Reading Is Good For You - I've been trying to figure out why TV is so bad for the brain but reading is so good for it. It's common knowledge, I know it from experience, but I couldn't figure out why staring at pictures on a screen was so different than staring at words on a page. Now I know. Thank you, Neuroscience.
• Why so creepy? - Service providers, stop screwing with the Internet!

National Endowment for the Newspapers

I picked this up off of WorldChanging Seattle, though it's originally from The Common Language Project - Fourth Estate Foreclosure: Why we need a National Endowment for Journalism.

All I've been hearing about is how the internet killed the newspaper star. It's true that the inter-tubes are fierce competition in the realm of information delivery. However, while it's easy for bloggers to get the advantage on local issues, it's not as if they have the money to pay for investigative or international journalism. And for some reason, that's what always gets cut first... by, as Mr. Stonehill points out, the newspaper's parent corporation board of directors. Ah, sound business sense at it's finest.

Who knows? Maybe President Obama [:D] will find a little money left over to bolster one of the cornerstones of a modern democracy: high-quality journalism.

On the Cheap Green Edition

Every so often, The Environmental Outreach and Stewardship (EOS) Alliance hosts free workshops and brownbags on green topics and issues. The next one is on Solar Power in the Northwest (subtitle: yes, we do technically get sunlight here). The workshops are worth attending, and the EOS Alliance offices aren't very far from the tasty, tasty foods of Georgetown.

OMFGBBQ

Red Dwarf's back on TV! Ok, only for a wrap-up two-part special, but still, Holy Crap!

I heart discounts

The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce is now offering "member-to-member" discounts, allowing businesses that are members of the Chamber to offer discounts to other members. No news on who's offering what, but it should be up on the Chamber's website soon.

P.S. Non-business owners (like myself) can be members of the Chamber of Commerce, too. $75 means free entrance to their events, email updates, and now, discounts at local businesses.

Happy Lunar New Year :)

One of my favorite benefits of living in a multicultural environment: more holidays (It's right behind the expansion of one's cultural horizons and new kinds of tasty food). If you haven't celebrated the Lunar New Year yet, now's your chance. Maybe I'll see you there.

Sun Liquor

It's terrible, but it's true: I have never, ever been inside Sun Liquor. There's no excuse; it's right down the street from me, next to my favoritest donut shop in the whole wide world. I've walked past it many a time, thinking to myself how it looks like a nice place to have a drink. But did I ever stop in to help support this friendly neighborhood business? Nope.

Ganymeda made the place sound so nice I had to write this post to absolve myself of the guilt of never having been there myself. It might even convince me to get my butt over there later this week.

Huggin' Trees

Spent the morning at Earthcorps' Interlaken restoration. Tearing up English ivy and putting down mulch is very satisfying, especially with several dozen other volunteers doing it at the same time. We covered so much ground!

The fruits of our labor:

Before


After


Huggin' trees one restoration site at a time :)

At the corner of

I saw this weeks ago, but only managed to get a cell phone picture of it. Now there is picture plus poem courtesy of hillku.

I was there

I promise I'll post all the pictures I took. Really I will. But after dancing up and down Pike/Pine and then attending the Mercury's Inauguration Ball, I was done for the night.

For now, a video of the proceedings courtesy of yelahneb and CHS blog:


inauguration day victory march from yelahneb on Vimeo.

Inauguration Seattle: Wow

I was planning to go to this anyway, assuming I could find it. Now that I have the specifics, I can tell you all to go too. Vamola is going to have a samba street party on the Pike/Pine corridor near Broadway. And you're invited.

Am I tired? Yes. Do I have other things to do tonight? Yes. Am I going to this Obama-flavored Cap Hill samba-fest anyway? Oh hells yes.

Inauguration Seattle

Jseattle is roaming the Hill visiting inauguration parties and posting to his Obama Inauguration Thread. A bunch of other Hill folks are posting their inaugural comments there too.

Both King 5 and the Seattle Times have bloggers in DC: I couldn't find a good link to King 5's blogonaut, but here's where you can find the ST bloggers.

Inauguration Fun

I got up ridiculously early so I could hit the Paramount's Inauguration Day Party before I went to work. I ended up at the theater at a quarter after seven, figuring that since there were so many parties planned and the Paramount was so big that I would be able to walk right in. Nuh-uh. The line went up Pine, turned down Boren, and then went down Pike for half a block. Holy crap.

I ran into a friend of mine while I was making my way up the line (Bless you, Schteevie!), so I did get to see some of the action on the big screen before I had to put in my punchcard. There was still room on the inside, but it was getting full fast.

And man, was that an enthusiastic crowd. Every time Obama's likeness or name showed up on the screen, there was cheering. Heck, there was cheering when we could see his silhouette right before he came out to the limo to make his way to the Inauguratoin Stage. When Cheney came out of the White House to the limo, there was booing...lots of booing. I think he got booed more than Bush did.

That's what I got to stay to see. At work, we tried to get a live feed so we could show it on a project in our conference room, but that was a no-go. Cuz, you know, everyone and their second cousin was online watching this thing. We finally did get a feed on someone's computer, so I got to see the swearing-in live, then we listened to his speech on the radio. It was so cute when he couldn't remember what to repeat back to the swearing-in guy!

I was so excited that I didn't really hear half of Obama's speech. I'll just have to be a fangirl and listen to the whole thing over again once I get home tonight.

Woohoo!

Happy Obama Day!

And your 44th President is....{drumroll}

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!

Yay! He made it!

Seattle Metblog Meetup @ Oddfellows

Guess what I'm doing tonight?

On the Cheap Part II

When I was writing the first "On the Cheap" post, I completely forgot about all the workshops that the Department of Neighborhoods is putting on this winter. They're all held at Seattle Central Community College (1701 Broadway) in Room 3211 -RSVP Wendy Watson (wendy dot watson at seattle dot gov) if you'd like to attend. The workshops are free and super useful, so reserve your spot before they're all gone

• Shaking the Money Tree (Tonight!)
  The ABC’s of Grassroots Fund Raising
  Learn basic principles of how grassroots organizations can raise money from individuals.
  Wednesday, January 14 6:30–8:30 pm




• People Power - Community Empowerment & Organizing
  Learn how communities can empower and organize themselves to take collective action!
  Wednesday, January 28 6:30–8:30 pm

  
  

• Technology 101 A Building Community, One Website or Blog at a Time!
  Learn to increase your community’s resources & flow of information through a website or blog.
  Wednesday, February 11 6:30–8:30 pm

  
  

• Sharing Our Gifts & Assets - A Model for Community Change
  Share personal & community stories about challenges & opportunities for involvement to improve your community.
  Wednesday, February 25 6:30–8:30 pm

The Dept. of Neighborhoods is also hosting one more Large Projects Fund (aka Neighborhood Matching Fund) Technical Assistance Workshop on January 22nd from 6-7:30pm at Yesler Community Center (917 E Yesler Way). This is an essential class if you, like me, are going to be involved in the Neighborhood Matching Fund application process any time soon.

On the cheap

I'm a big believer in a cheap good time. Seeing that we're in a recession and all, I thought I'd share some of my finds in the hope that everyone can save some money and maybe even keep some local establishments in business.

1. Twice Sold Tales Winter Happy Hour (Harvard and Denny)- Used bookstores are always good times when you have no money - they let you sit around and read forever, and you might just be able to afford the book you got so interested in. Now add cats and a 25% off all books for the last two hours Twice Sold is open (6-8pm Sunday through Thursday, 8-10pm Friday & Saturday). Delightful.

2. Central Basics Program at Madison Market (Madison and 16th) - After getting a lot of feedback from its members, Madison Market decided to start Central Basics: starting this month, the co-op will regularly rotate deeply discounted organic food staples. The only catch is that you need to be a member of the co-op to take advantage of the discount. Considering that lifetime membership is $60, you can pay as you go along in $5 increments, and I just got 89 cent organic beans today, I think it's worth it to sign up.
   

3. Meditation Satsang @ 8 Limbs Yoga (Summit and Pike) - Every Thursday from 8:30 - 9:30pm. From the website:"Satsang means a gathering of people seeking "sat", truth. Join Natasha for meditation, chanting, and lots of bhakti, devotion." Meditation is good for you, learning more about meditation is good for you, meeting nice mellow new people is good for you. Also, it's free.
   

4. The International District - The contrast between Cap Hill, Downtown and the ID is much sharper than between, say, Ballard, Fremont and Wallingford. This means I can get away from the Hill and Downtown (where I spend all my time) without even having to take a bus. Also, cheap food all around - restaurants, produce, you name it. (Kinokuniya doesn't count.) I recommend the Green Leaf on Maynard, Hong Kong Homestyle Barbecue on King, and all the indy markets on Jackson.

5. Volunteer Park Conservatory (Volunteer Park) - It's a very, very nice place to visit on a Seattle winter's day. The conservatory is nice and warm, it's full of lush plants, and now there's even a sound sculpture installed in one of the rooms that sounds like wind chimes.
   

6. Seattle Free School (all over Seattle)- Community members learn new skills and teach others new skills, and money never changes hands. Learn how to keep bees! Learn how to keep chickens! Learn how to keep a straight face while improvising!
7. Williams-Sonoma Complimentary Cooking Classes (U Village and Pacific Place locations) - I stopped by the U Village store during the Snowpocalypse and picked up a flyer listing all kinds of technique and cooking classes that are coming up in January and February. A few examples: Braising Basics, Simple Desserts, Breakfast Essentials, Fabulous Flavors of Slow Cooking. Nom? Nom. Call the location you want to go to in order to RSVP - tiny free classes fill up fast.
   

Almost forgot

I nearly forgot to post this up, which is ridiculous, because I'm the one running event. If my head wasn't attached to my shoulders...

When: Saturday, January 17, 2009 02:00 PM - 01/17/2009 06:00 PM
Where: Faire Gallery and Cafe - 1351 East Olive Way
What: Battle for Wii supremacy at the first annual Wii Sports Tournament! Pizza for all and prizes for the winners. $10 entry fee - all proceeds go to the park-to-be at John and Summit.

unpavingparadise.blogspot.com

Hosted by the Capitol Hill Community Council

Now why would someone go and do that?

I refer to "The Ricin Letters", which a bitter, angry individual sent out to 11 gay bars around the Hill on Tuesday. It was enough of a threat that the CDC and the FBI are involved, but the general sentiment is that if we all watch our drinks, we'll get through this ok. The main threat to the bars was economic - a threat like this on top of the present downtown could keep everyone away, putting our favorite homosexual watering holes into a financial bind.

I am delighted to write that the response on the Hill has been to support the threatened bars and to pity the poor benighted soul who thought writing those threats was a good idea. Of course, there will be a pub crawl this Friday through ten of the eleven bars targeted.

What could be more thoughtful than a community pub crawl? This message from the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce:

The Capitol Hill Community is very concerned about the hostile threats made to 11 gay bars in our neighborhood and we would like to encourage everybody to come together to show their support.

James Kearny of Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church is arranging a prayer walk this Saturday at 9 am (Jan 10) and has invited members of his church as well as members of a couple other churches on the hill and would also like to extend an invitation out members of the Chamber.

Participants will meet at the church steps and split into groups to walk over and pray at the various locations. It should take an hour or so. Pastor Kearny hopes this will help lead us to being a better, safer, more loving neighborhood.

This is the sweetest damn thing I've ever heard. I am absolutely serious when I say thank you, Capitol Hill Presbyterian, for showing your support to one of the pillars of our community - gay bars.

They make night life delightful, relatively safe, and karaoke-filled, and they've been suffering in this economy like the rest of us. It's really nice to hear that there will be spiritual as well as economic support from the community in the face of this latest kick to the nads.

My dance card is full

I am going straight from work to the Capitol Hill Art Walk, where I will talk up the park-to-be at John and Summit and hang out with Kim and her plants at The Copper Vine. From there I'm going over to Cal Anderson Park for the much anticipated Cap Hill Community Council Winter Potluck to eat tasty pie and yet again chat everyone up about the park. Good times.

Tut tut

If I had written this yesterday, I could have titled it "Deluge". Ah, the pain of regret.

I can still talk about how cool everything looked yesterday - I was reminded of the outdoor city scenes in Bladerunner. Sci-fi film noir chic. Wait...does that mean that Seattle is LA from the future?

Per usual, Seattle didn't get the worst of it. Although I think we may have acquired a moat...
I feel terrible for everyone who is being flooded or is about be. I hope this is a clue-in to policymakers that we need a better flood prevention strategy, especially since deluges during the winter are only going to become more common due to climate change. Less development on the floodplain, perhaps?

Everybody walks on the Hill

The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce is having a party tonight celebrating the release of "long anticipated Capitol Hill Walking Map" - 7pm, their place at 10th and Thomas, free for members and $5 for everybody else. Along with the much anticipated walking map, there will be tasty treats and hot drinks.

I hope to wander by this evening, and not just for the free food (yes, I'm a member of the Chamber). I was excited when I found out that Feet First had made walking maps for a bunch of Seattle neighborhoods. My excitement was tempered when I found out that Feet First hadn't made one for the Hill and wasn't going to anytime soon simply because we were so awesome that everybody already knew where all the cool stuff was.

But now, our time has come! We too get a super shiny walking map to peruse and hang with pride in our apartments! Now tourists can escape the the boredom of Downtown and discover the wonder that is Capitol Hill...without having to use their cars!

Starting the New Year off right...

With more terrible jokes from British Christmas Crackers:

Q. How did the human cannonball lose his job?

A. He was fired.

Q. What does the word minimum mean?

A. A very small Mother.

Q. What did the beaver say to the tree?

A. Nice gnawing you.

These are courtesy of my grandma, who humored her weird, weird grandchild and sent me the awful jokes from the crackers she opened on New Year's. Which I have posted just for you, my loyal readers.

I know what I'll be doing on January 21st

I can't believe that there's still money around for new developments, but apparently there is. On January 21st there are two Design Reviews for Cap Hill: a six-story residential+1st floor retail at 1623 Bellevue and at1650 Olive, the development that's supposed to replace the B&O Building (dun dun DUN!).

In the immortal words of JoshMahar: "If you want to help make sure these projects don't suck, be sure to go to the Design Review Meetings"

Wednesday, January 21st

SCCC, Room 4106

6:30pm - 1623 Bellevue Review

8:00pm - 1650 Olive Way Review

New Year's Resolution: Dark Sky Parks

I just saw this great article from WorldChanging Seattle. This would be an excellent idea to implement here. Maybe the folks at the Lighting Design Lab can help the commercial building owners/managers community figure out how to pull it off?

Sadly, I can't do it by myself. So how about it Capitol Hill? City of Seattle? Want to see the stars?

Happy New Year!

Picture courtesy of Brad P and CHS blog. Sadly, I didn't have a camera on me when I got to watch the fireworks from my friend's apartment building roof, so this is the best I can do.

New Year's Resolution: Real Change

Last time I checked, Real Change was still working toward it's big winter fundraising goal of $150K (so...familiar...). Real Change's goals of creating a more humane Seattle, creating more low-income housing, having enough shelters for everyone who's still stuck on the street and so forth are great.

Do you know what I like even better?

Their newspaper.

They write good articles. They cover super-local social justice issues that in other papers are covered briefly, not covered at all, or buried on a back page. And they hire the people they're trying to help to sell the paper.

Therefore, my first New Year's resolution is to keep them in business. Want to help?

In the two weeks before Christmas

It was no one's fault it snowed, and the City can't be expected to be fully prepared for such a ridiculous (1861!) meteorological event. But Mayor Nickels did do a fairly wretched job of dealing with Snowmegeddon...and then proceeded to give himself a passing grade on his handling of the situation.

I think it's time for some satire.

Below is a poem that was posted up in the Seattle PI blog: it showed up in Councilmember Rasmussen's office, no author named.

Twas the night before Christmas, and next to the Sound, not a creature was stirring for all were snowbound.
Greyhound buses quit running, no matter the fare, and mailmen and garbagemen said they just couldn't get there!
The children were sliding Queen Anne Hill on their sleds.
While roofs were collapsing on old peoples' heads.
And Mama in her boots and I in my cap, were stuck in the snow and ice and such crap.
When at the Home Depot there arose such a clatter, I trudged from my car to see what was the matter.
A group of sad souls were waving their cash. They couldn't buy shovels, they sold in a flash!
Tires were spinning and just wouldn't go, and chains lay broken in the dirty old snow.
Then, what to my surprise did my eyes look over and see?
Eight representatives of SDOT,
With a politician so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it was Mayor "Salt Nick."
More rapid than gun bans, his excuses they came, "To save our environment the roads stay the same!"
On Broadway! On Boren! On Yesler and Denny! To clear off these roads would cost such a penny!
Sliding down Thomas and onto a wall.
The buses hung over I-5, ready to fall.
Still, he insisted it wasn't his fault, as the world's greenest mayor he wouldn't use salt.
That stuff's corrosive, could hurt the fish.
But Puget Sound is salt water, you ignorant kish! So snowy Seattle continued to stew, but Mayor "Salt Nick" just hadn't a clue.
While I stood there astonished, on nearby TV sets, I saw the airport was packed, no de-icer for jets.
Since others could get down the roads to the ferry, the city decided to close Denny and Cherry.
An accident closed the I-90 bridge.
And people couldn't drive down Phinney Ridge.
Shovels, and salt had just flown off the shelf. And I laughed when I heard Mayor "Salt Nick", in spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, he tried to convey we had nothing to dread.
Then thumbing his nose at his citizens' plight, he turned to the crowd and exclaimed, "We've done alright."
And then to his SUV refusing to yield, he left to get solar panels installed on Qwest Field.
But I heard him exclaim, as he skidded past me, "Happy Christmas to all. Heck, I give myself a 'B.'"

1861

The ice age we just braved was the longest period of freezing temperatures and snow in Seattle since 1861. Holy crap.

Holly Jolly Christmas

For Life on the Hill's special Christmas post, I've decided that I'll share a little family tradition: really terrible jokes. Every year my mom brings Christmas crackers to Christmas dinner. The little paper hats and prizes are fairly amusing, and pulling the crackers open to make a loud noise is fun. Dry British humor paired with really dumb jokes: priceless.

Q: Why didn't the skeleton go to the Christmas party?
A: Because he had no body to go with.

Q: What do you need to know to be an auctioneer?
A: Lots.

Q: What do you get if you cross a detective with a skeleton?
A: Sherlock Bones

Escape from Seattle

I can't believe it. I caught a flight out of SeaTac this morning. I kid you not.

Mind you, I had to heff my butt down to the bus tunnel with all my baggage because no taxi driver in their right mind was out on the road. Metro drivers, on the other hand, are fuckin' hardcore.

I only had to wait an extra hour for the flight. I swear I got out on one of exactly three flights that left the city today. I was sitting next to two different families who had been stranded at the airport for three days. One woman was in tears because she finally got a chance to go home.

There was jubilation when we took off. There was an ovation when we landed.

My mom got the best Christmas present ever.

Pictures of the Snowpocalypse

Around the Hill at 2am with Blogazar

Flickr: Snow Seattle, December 20, 2008

Flickr: Snow Seattle, December 21, 2008

Snowpocalypse 3: Bring it!

I braved the new ice age and headed with my roommate over to The Mercury, the best little goth club in Seattle. Tonight was the night to go. Not only was it "Snowpocalypse 3: Bring it!", Santarchy came to visit. A dozen goths + a dozen Santas + 80s and industrial music = priceless.

{Pictures forthcoming}

PS I've been rickrolled many a time, but I have never before been buttrolled. Until tonight.

CHS Giving Snowball to the Park

I appreciate that the CHS Giving Snowball 2008 was awarded to the park-to-be at John & Summit/P-Patch Trust for two reasons:

1) When you're raising $150,000, every dollar donated counts.

2) I got to write the title of this blog post.

Buspocalypse

Camera One

Camera Two
I am so happy nobody got hurt when this happened on Friday, especially since at least one of the buses was full of students. How Thomas St. looked like the way to go, I will never understand.

Public Service Announcement

The full version, courtesy of King County and SeaDevi.

The short version, courtesy of hillku.

The names for all this just kill me. The most serious-sounding one is Hanukkah Eve Storm III. Then there's Cap Hill Snow Deathwatch 2008. I prefer "The Snowpocalypse", or even better..."Snowmegeddon".

This is even better than when the news stations freak out in Southern California when it rains. I mean, they have special music and "Storm Watch (present year here)", but nobody gets to stay home and there isn't any weather-induced camaraderie. Also, no sledding.

Kidding aside, stay close to home tonight. I just got in from walking across the Hill - still passable, but it's supposed to get nasty later. It could just be meteorologists having panic attacks, but I prefer to be on the safe side.

{Snowmedgeddon...hee hee hee}

Woohoo, I'm famous :D

Guess who got posted on WorldChanging Seattle again?

The 7 penny snowman

Where there's a will there's a way - as I was heading out for lunch Thursday the folks at EHS Design were putting the finishing touches on the 7 penny snowman. This is the first decent-sized snow person I've seen so far and he was downtown of all places. I figured I should share the niftiness.

Solstice Sunday

The longest night of the year is almost upon us. Since it falls on a Sunday, and there's SNOW, I plan on celebrating. Since I can't have a discreet bonfire and drum circle anywhere closer than Alki, I figured I should look up some parties closer to home.

Shop local - celebrate with the 1300 block of Pine St., 12/21 from 4-7pm

• Bootyland, The Copper Vine & Whimsy invite you to join them for a Solstice evening of cider, cookies & great deals on last minute gifts:
  + Buy 2, Get 1 Free on Holiday Items at Whimsy
  + 10% off Gifts at Bootyland (Offer Valid WITH Other Coupons)
  + 20% off Any Item Purchased as a gift at The Copper Vine.
• My favorite part (besides the cider) - For each customer that mentions Unpaving Paradise when making a purchase, The Copper Vine will donate $5 to the park-to-be at John and Summit!
  

Yule - Public Yule ceremony at Edge of the Circle Books, 12/21 at 7pm

• The Aquarian Tabernacle Church will present a Yule Ritual this Sunday evening at Edge of the Circle Books (701 E. Pike St). This Ritual is open to the general public and the ATC will provide all items needed for the Ritual.

Fiery drama - Winter Solstice Fire Festival at Seattle Center, 12/20 & 21 from 4-9pm

• To quote the website:

The spectacle begins at 4pm with a performance recognizing the Winter Solstice. Orbis and Solaris create a dynamic outdoor performing art installation that weaves together words, movement, music, fire performances and large luminaries to transform the Seattle Center International Fountain into a stunning celestial wonder.

There are all the events that I know about. If my faithful readers know of any other nifty solstice celebrations, tell me in the comments so I can post it up.

If you didn't get a chance to go sledding...

I was lucky enough to run into some friendly neighbors with toboggans on Little Olive. (Thanks guys! You made my snow day!) However, I realize not everyone got that chance. Now you can, at least virtually - ride along with jseattle as he risks life and limb riding down the Aloha sledding run.

Thundersnow Day

Thanks to jseattle for this photo of Aloha as an idyllic sled run.

For more pretty, pretty Thundersnow pics, head on over to CHS blog.

Help, I'm trapped in a giant snowglobe

The view from the 10th floor of the One Union Square Building is crazy. Snow is flying in all directions as far as the eye can see. If we have an earthquake, I will know we are trapped in a giant snowglobe. Wait...there was thunder last night....SNOWGLOBE!

CHCC Holiday Potluck - Snow Cancellation

Sadly, the Capitol Hill Community Council Holiday Potluck will not be tonight because Parks's is keeping certain facilities (like the Cal Anderson Shelterhouse) closed due to snow. It looks like it will be rescheduled to January 8th, same bat time, same bat...place.

What you should do tomorrow

1. Play in the snow!
2. Go to Vino Verite's free wine tasting - it starts at six. Have a glass of wine and then...
3. Run over to the Capitol Hill Community Council's delicious holiday potluck! It's from 7-9pm at the Cal Anderson Shelterhouse. There will be tasty cider, a little gas fireplace all aglow, and the friendly and informative Capitol Hill Community Council.
   Because I'm sure someone will ask: The Shelterhouse is the cute little bungalow right across from the bathrooms, right next to the brightly lit soccer field. The closest street is 10th.

Again with the Viaduct

The Times and the PI have written about it, WorldChanging Seattle has written about, hell, I've even written about it. But time to decide what we're going to do about the Alaskan Way Viaduct, so I will sit down to my keyboard once more.

The surface/transit option may not be shiny, Frank Chopp and Christine Gregoire and Greg Nickels may not be fond of it, but it's effective, relatively inexpensive, and sustainable. It's also quicker to build and we'll get our waterfront back when the project's done.

This post is a little late, considering that the viaduct project team's public meeting was last night at Town Hall. However, we can still all make Cary Moon and Julie Parrett's day by writing to Ron Sims, Christine Gregoire, and Greg Nickels and telling them how important it is that they endorse the surface/transit option to replace the Viaduct. The People's Waterfront Coalition's form letter as well as the contact info of the aforementioned public officials is below. If you want more resources, just click around this post.

PS If you completely disagree with my opinions on the matter, you should write to Gregoire and Sims and Nickels too. If you think the surface/transit idea is crap, write to your public representatives! The most important thing is that the people who make this decision hear from those who will be most affected.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Governor Gregoire, County Executive Sims, and Mayor Nickels,

As you prepare to select a preferred alternative for viaduct replacement, I am taking this opportunity to express my views.

I believe the surface / transit / I-5 option is the best choice for future Seattle for three reasons.
1. Transportation experts at the three Departments of Transportation have concluded that surface / transit / I-5 will effectively move people and freight where they need to go, both locally and regionally.
2. Surface / transit / I-5 is the least cost approach, important in these tough economic times.
3. Surface / transit / I-5 provides the greatest long-term benefits to our community, economy, and environment. Reconnecting Seattle to the water, providing new public space downtown, improving transit and regional mobility, and creating new opportunities for economic development together can create a prosperous future Seattle less dependent on cars.

It would be a terrible shame to waste this opportunity by erecting a barrier between Seattle and the water for another 100 years.

It is time to head in a new direction with transportation investments. We need a solution that is pragmatic from an economic standpoint, responsible from an environmental standpoint, and constructive of the future city we want Seattle to become. This will be the legacy you leave to future generations. Please select the surface / transit/ I-5 option.

Thank you for your leadership on this difficult and important decision.

Contact Information

Mayor Greg Nickels
600 4th Ave, 7th floor
PO Box 94749
Seattle, WA 98124
206-684-4000
http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/contact.htm

King County Executive Ron Sims
701 5th Ave Ste 3210
Seattle, WA 98104
206-296-4040
email: exec.sims@kingcounty.gov

Governor Christine Gregoire
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504
360-902-4111
http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/default.asp

Geek of the Week: Raspberries

I've always wondered why making farting noises was called "blowing raspberries". Now I know, thanks to my wonderful boyfriend and the glory that is Wikipedia.

The term originated in Cockney rhyming slang; terms are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and using the first word of that expression to replace the original word. Example: When entering a dangerous area, watch out for barney. Barney comes from Barney Rubble, which rhymes with trouble - watch out for trouble.

So where did "raspberry" come from? Raspberry comes from raspberry tarts, which rhymes with...you guessed it, farts.

22 Doors: Lemon Conjunction

I found out about 22 Doors upcoming all-staff art show when me and the housemates were up there for brunch this Sunday

(We braved ice and snow for their delicious breakfast foods!)

Our waitperson, Mandy, just happens to be the 22 Doors curator so she could tell us all about the amazingness that is Lemon Conjunction. Apparently, "the whole staff is pretty artistic in some way" (Mandy is a painter and printmaker herself), so it just made sense to put together a show of their work.

Lemon Conjunction
22 Doors Presents: Our Staff Show
Showing 12/15/08 - 1/15/09

Opening Reception:
Wednesday, Dec. 16th, 6-9pm

Art by:
Eli
Will
Elmer
Mandilla



Trivia Question: What does Lemon Conjunction mean?

Answer: Nothing. Mandy said she was having trouble getting her colleagues to come up with a theme, so she asked two people to give her a word each.

More weekend fun

Two events are coming up this weekend that I really want to attend: Rainbow Natural Remedies' tasty snacks workshop and a lecture at Edge of the Circle Book on the historical use of runes. (Rainbow's workshop is actually called "Herbal Holiday Balls", but I like my title better.)

Rainbow's snack class is this Saturday from 1-3pm and is absolutely free. "Rune-Magic in the Eddas and the Sagas" is on Sunday from 1-4pm and is $5 at the door - email irisgately(at)vib.org to reserve a spot.

CHS Giving Snowball 2008

Jseattle of CHS fame just started a community collaboration fundraiser. Throw in some money by clicking on the widget (which takes you to paypal), then make a comment on the thread to vote on where the money goes. Nonprofit with the most votes gets the money. I have no money, but I still managed to donate twenty-five bucks. If I can do it, you can do it. Get clicking - the fundraising ends on Dec. 19th.

Capitol Hill Light Rail Station Construction Update Meeting

Nifty things learned from the CHLRSCUM:

• There will be surface activity on the site 24/7 to support tunnel construction. 40-60 workers will be on site during any given shift. Pro: The site will be continuously occupied, eliminating the public safety issue of a nocturnally abandoned jobsite. Con: Noise issues at night. Sound Transit said they'd limit the use of vehicles during night shifts, but they haven't come up with a detailed noise abatement plan yet.

• Where will all the construction workers park? ST says they have a potential parking site on First Hill, and the workers will be shuttled to work from there.
  
  
• Demolition will start in January 2009. Tunneling and excavation will take place from January 2010 until December 2012. During tunneling and excavation, Denny and parts of Nagle will be closed to traffic. Sidewalks will remain open except for a few short term closures.
  
  
• One side effect of the tunneling and excavation activity are the large empty trucks coming to the site and large dirt filled trucks leaving the site. They will be coming up Olive and down Denny ever few minutes for three years. Pedestrian safety issues (the need for more crosswalks on Denny and Olive) were noted, but have not been resolved. I'm still waiting for a reply back from the SDOT's bike and pedestrian group on the matter - last time I checked they were still doing research.
  
  
• Sound Transit says that the project's financing is secure. Apparently, the only side effect they will see from the bad economy is more competitive bidding from contractors.
  
  
• Someone besides me brought up the issue of tree removal on the light rail station site. ST confirmed that 73 trees are to be removed from the site in the course of demolition. NRC Environmental, ST's demolition contractor for the project, is working with Big Trees, Inc. to identify and remove trees that can be relocated to new homes. Since trees will be evaluated when the demolition contractor needs to work around them, ST doesn't presently have any information about the number of trees that will be salvaged. Stay tuned for updates.
  
  

Sidenote: I got interviewed by KUOW about the community's response to tree removal and construction-related pedestrian safety issues. Super awesome!

A festive evening

Last night's 12th Ave holiday walk was the most fun and effective marketing campaign I have ever participated in. I had a great time and now I want to hang out on 12th more often. Thanks to whoever thought it up and put in the time to make a really nice event.

Hollow Earth Radio

Wowzers. These people are great. They literally record their radio shows in the basement of someone's house in Ballard.

From the DIY lookin' pamphlet I found in the literature stand at Kaladi Coffee/Gay City:

HOLLOW EARTH RADIO is the Pacific Northwest's freeform online radio station that provides a forum for underrepresented music, sounds, and perspectives. When you "tune in" to H.E.R. online, you can listen to a slew of local artists, new and old music usually ignored by other media, live recordings of house shows you may attended, interviews of favorite and unknown artists where earnest questions are asked, mountains of found sound and field recordings, and a lot more you never thought you'd hear on a radio broadcast.

They are not fuckin' kidding. This thing is crazy and aurally addictive.

Attn: Frank Chopp

Dear Frank Chopp:

Viaduct Update: Surface/Transit is Cheaper

Please listen to us. It's the people of Seattle: you know, the ones who live right next to the Alaskan Way Viaduct. We want a surface option to replace the Viaduct. It will support the traffic flow we need it to support, it will shorten the period of time that downtown Seattle is a giant traffic snarl, and it will be cheaper.

Our economy is in a shambles and we needed rebuild the Viaduct ten years ago. We can't afford to wait, but we'll hardly be able to afford to build the replacement. Do you realize how important it is that there's a viable option for the viaduct that hugely less expensive than the others? Do you realize how much we'll need those hundreds of millions of dollars for other important city and state services, like public transportation, education, housing aid, parks, public libraries, and infrastructure maintenance?

So, please, work with us on this one. We know how important giant freeway malls are to you, but now is not the time and our waterfront is not the place.

Go Local!

Don't forget - tomorrow (today?) is the last day of Seattle City Stimulus. There are a lot of really good sales, so if you haven't yet finished your Christmas shopping (like me), now's your chance.

22 Doors

My boyfriend and I recently found ourselves a new favorite breakfast spot on the Hill. 22 Doors has been up on 15th Ave for a few years now, but I'd never been in since I tend to stay closer to home for bar food and brunch. Last Saturday my sweetie pie and I found ourselves wandering around in search of breakfast food - our first choice only did brunch on Sundays and the Coastal Kitchen was packed to the gills, as usual. 22 Doors was a block away, had tasty looking foods, and lo and behold - there were open tables.

We went back again this weekend because it was so good and so not crowded. Collectively, my significant other and I have had the cowboy beans, mushroom omelet, breakfast sandwich and the cheesy biscuit. All of them were great except for the breakfast sandwich, which was only so-so. Do you know which one was the best? The cheesy biscuit. I kid you not. I was expecting Velveeta with a name like that, but the creamy cheddar sauce is amazing and made with real cheddar.

The coffee is good, the wait people are quick and friendly, and the atmosphere is hip yet inviting. They even have a lovely open air courtyard for the summer and a little gas fireplace for the rest of the year.

The coolest thing about the decor is that a lot of it is salvaged. Their weirdly retro chandeliers are from a Red Lion Hotel and the booths are from a Chinese restaurant (nobody seemed to know which one). The bar is made up of the 22 doors the place is named after. They're all mahogany, and they came from one of the redecorations of the Camlin. It's irritating to think some dumbass would want to get rid of amazing doors like that, but I'm happy they found such a good home.

Straight from the horse's mouth

I can't believe its already December. Sparkly lights season is upon us, and Christmas and New Year's are just around the corner. Among the plethora of community events the holidays bring is the Sound Transit Construction Preparation Meeting for the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station. Not terribly festive, but since construction on the Cap Hill Light Rail Station will be going on for years, I figure it's best to be prepared. The meeting's next Wednesday, December 3rd from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at Seattle Central, Room 1110. If you don't make it, don't worry too much: this meeting is the first of many.

Speaking of demolition on the station site - turns out that Sound Transit's demolition contractor is looking into salvaging trees on the light rail station site all by itself. The contractor is working with Big Trees Inc. to evaluate the trees on the site and see if any are good candidates for moving to a new home. It looks like Big Trees only takes trees that are up to 30ft. tall, so that still means plenty of wood will be coming out of that site. Benches for John and Summit anyone?

Info meetings, tree salvages - next, signalized crosswalks on Olive and Denny? The bike and pedestrian arm of SDOT is still looking into it, so...maybe sometime next year. Hopefully before all those giant construction trucks show up.

Straight from the bulletin boards

The event-a-thon continues...well, actually begins this Saturday. For some reason December 6th is just jam-packed with holidays festivities. Here's the best from the posters and fliers:

The bulletin board bonanza starts out with the Holiday Health Fair at the Union Center for Healing (2100 E Union) from 11am - 4pm.

Why you should go: The Union Center for Healing is all cool and alternative and holistic, and I think they'll also be giving away free herbal tea.

South Park Arts is having the 'Art for Under $100' sale from 4-10pm down at the Old Fire House (8201 10th Ave S).

Why you should go: Affordable original art, tasty foods, and two art raffles an hour. Also, local gift shopping just in time for the holidays.


The Annie Bonny (the best little vintage store on Olive) is hosting the 'Bald Man Show' opening reception from 6-9pm.

Why you should go: Now we will finally get to meet the man who has been putting these funny little stickers up all over town.

And so begins the holiday event marathon...

I usually try to avoid most of the holiday event-a-thon, but the 12th Ave. festivities as well as the Seattle City Stimulus are all about supporting small local businesses, so I think I'll end up attending both.

December 10th - Day Without A Gay

I saw a sign for this on Broadway, and I couldn't resist looking it up and seeing what it was about. This is what DayWithoutAGay.org says about itself:

This page was started by a couple of concerned homos but is really just a liaison to organizations that know what they're doing. Your volunteer work will help mobilize existing non-profits so that we're ready to fight even harder moving forward for a better Gay America.

I like this idea: GLBTQs and friends call in "gay" and spend the day volunteering for GLBTQ-supporting nonprofits. This gives gay the connotation of socially conscious and socially indispensable, it channels frustration and anger toward constructive work, and it reminds everyone that denying the right to marry to homosexual couples is pissing a lot of good people off. Eat that, homophobes.

Your Park Needs YOU

On the heels of Michelle Eggers well-timed Seattle City Stimulus article on the CHS blog, I decided to write on of my own: Capitol Hill (Park) Stimulus. Sadly, there was a major economic downtown right after we the community learned that without $158K, all we'd get at John and Summit would be a lawn. So we're (well, Parks is) still short $158K. And like I said in my article, we need everyone's help to raise it.

What does that mean? Well, if you have money, donate some - you can find a paypal link at the "Friends of" site for John and Summit, Unpaving Paradise. If you have friends and acquaintances, tell them about the John and Summit dilemma and see if they can pitch in. If you (or your friends) have time, volunteer. We can always use help planning fundraising events, putting up posters, getting the word out, etc. Just bug me and the other UP volunteers at unpaving.paradise@gmail.com and we'll get you in the loop.

If you have none of these things, I feel bad for you and hope that you can at least get some friends very soon.

Happy Thanksgiving from Rick Astley

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performed the world's largest and most amazing rickroll in the history of humankind today. Just wanted to share this little bit of zeitgeist with you all.


P.S. I picked this particular video because 1) the sound is decent and 2) it's hilarious to listen to the guys in the background have massive nerdgasms. Thank you to Speedskater 114 and his super nerdy friends.

Sucks to your asthmar

I was just looking at the front page of the local section in the Times, minding my own business, and then Danny Westneat has to go and remind me that some people are still high on the viaduct.

Damnit, Frank Chopp! I left Southern California because all we had were malls and freeways. Now you want to make a mile-long-elevated-mall-freeway sandwich right on the waterfront. Even Southern California has enough sense not to put those two together!

{Just putting two things together does not make it better! This is not like a pancake wrapped around a sausage link - it is not delicious!}

The other viaduct options are not bitter pills! I long for the sweet relief of a waterfront boulevard. Beautiful views, a rejuvenated waterfront...and heck, for me, less car traffic just means a break for my belabored asthmatic lungs.

Apparently, though, it doesn't matter what I (or the the City Council) thinks - Frank Chopp wants a FreeMallWay, whether we like it or not.

Almost forgot

I got another early Christmas present this past week: One Union Square (the building I work in) is going for LEED platinum certification. Woohoo! I knew that One Union Square had a green reputation; now I know why.

So excited!

What a crazy week

It's been tons of community fun all week...hell, it's been that way for the past two weeks. Between planning for everything, I haven't had time to do anything, including write for this blargh. Here's this (last) week's highlights:

• I was lucky enough to attend this year's Opus Prize Awards Ceremony, which was hosted by Seattle University. The professor who was kind enough to get me a ticket said that this event would be "mind-blowing" - she was absolutely right. These are the best of the best of faith-based humanitarian entrepreneurs, each of them incredibly loving people doing amazing things despite horrifying circumstances. I hope I'll have some time around Thanksgiving to write more about this year's finalists.

• Thursday brought more news on Sound Transit's plans to remove trees from the Capitol Hill Light Rail Station site. From what I've been hearing through the Capitol Hill Community Council, the tree removal count just keeps getting higher and higher - starting with "only one or two" trees this September, the numbers have gone up over time to reach a final count of about seventy trees that will be destroyed when demolition starts on the station site at the end of November/ beginning of December.
  

  A number of community groups have been pursuing this issue over the past several months, asking ST if the removals are necessary, and if so, if the trees could be transplanted to other locations. No real answers have been given so far, except that the removals are necessary and that tree transplanting is costly and survival is not guaranteed. The CHCC Open Space Committee is sending out a letter requesting that Sound Transit look more carefully at transplantation as an option, especially in light of the Mayor's initiative to save Seattle's canopy cover. Stay tuned...

• This was actually last week, but it was super nifty - drinks with WorldChanging Seattle! I got to meet my fellow Seattle bloggers and the amazing Julia Levitt, editor of WC. The short story is that WC wants us all to write at least twice a month. Oh boy. Now to find the time to do it...
  

• Speaking of bloggers - Seattlest hosted a little shindig at Grey this last Monday so that central Seattle bloggers could actually meet each other. I only caught the very end of it, but I still had a great time. I couldn't help thinking of Terry Pratchett's theory of L space - if enough people who are nexuses of local knowledge and information gather at the same location, will we too begin to bend space and time? B space?
  

Haiku at 2am

I love the long and
lonely sound of trains at night:
coming closer, gone.

Fair Warning

It's winter, which means that the sun goes away and I get all thoughtful and contemplative. That means I think (and write) about the metaphysical, philosophical, spiritual and (gasp!) religious. Just thought I'd give everyone fair warning - like anything else in the blog, you can skip over it if you think it's boring.

{I was thinking about these topics, and wondered to myself. "Will they fit within the rubric of 'green/geek/Seattle'?" The answer is, unsurprisingly, "Hells yes." I'm a theology/philosophy/metaphysics fangirl, so that can all fall into geek. Also, most anything I do or think about is going to be connected back to green and/or Seattle anyway. Heh heh heh.}

"We Catholics use every part of the Jesus"

Friday's Tip of the Hat/Wag of the Finger on The Colbert Report made me so happy. I love The Colbert Report anyway, but when he makes super-nerdy Catholic theology jokes at the same time... "We Catholics use every part of the Jesus" ...yeah, that just makes my day. Also day-making: environmental pollution is a now cardinal sin. For reals. Not kidding. I'm so excited! Yeah, I know it happened months ago. I'm still so excited!

More nerdy goodness: Jane Austen baseball. English high society in the 1800s explained through the analogy of the American pastime? Hells yes.

And finally: collectible Spiderman comics = Barack Obama bait.

It's a good time to be a nerd.

Now that I've gotten everything else I wanted for Christmas

After all the Obamarama, I want to reflect a moment on all the other liberal-pinko-commie wins that happened on election night. We have levies for everything, Washingtonians now have the right to physician-assisted suicide, Dino Rossi didn't become governor, and Dems now have the majority in Congress. I still feel like I got my Christmas presents early.

Now I think I'd like to ask for one more thing this holiday season: a new mayor. I haven't been fond of Mayor Nickels ever since he backed the tunnel option to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct. And then there's been all this "I haven't met a developer I didn't like" business. But Greg Nickels' recent comments on Nickelsville brought things to a whole new level.

Nickelsville may have started as a statement, but it quickly became a statement inhabited by a self-organized tent community peopled by the houseless. The city's made Nickelsville move several times, but those bright pink tents are here to stay. At least until they bring in the cops adain ... or we solve our lack-of-housing-for-the-poor problem.

Nickels reply to all this: Nickelsville is clearly peopled by homelessness advocates, not actual people who have no homes. Damn. I mean, City Council's figured it out. Why can't you?

The interview where Mayor Nickels makes his out of touch statements on Nickelsville can be found here.

Ed Jackson

A friend of mine found an article on Ed Jackson in the PI: a little more insight into a tragic end.

Election: A Moment in History

You have got to see this: Obama Grabs Headlines