Archive for the 'seattle' Category

[Yet Another Election Post. Sorry.]

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008
yet-another-election-post-sorry

As we all know, I vote absentee, but I find it comforting to take my ballot to the closest poll to my office and slide it into the secure box.

If I can get a sticker, so much the better.

i voted

Today at lunch, after spending a bit of the morning figuring out the last few items, I took it on over to the local community center. There was no line, though things were a little busier than they have been in prior elections.

I slipped my ballot into the box, asked the lovely poll worker for my sticker, and headed off to get lunch. On my way out I was stopped by a gentleman, likely a newer citizen. He wanted to make sure he knew which people on the ballot were Democrats, so I showed him in the pamphlet, and found an endorsement sheet for this district.

It was kind of awesome.

My sticker says “farewell to polls” because this is the last election in King County before it switches over to 100% vote by mail. I’m kind of sad about that.

Go Obama! Go Gregoire! Go Mass Transit! And NO NO NO on Prop 8.

[Standing on the corner, waiting for a bus]

Saturday, August 30th, 2008
standing-on-the-corner-waiting-for-a-bus

I have had a ridiculously busy August. I had dear friends visit, I went to Canada, I knitted a LOT (Ravelympics! Go Team Junkie!) & I worked even more (hello, beginning of event season). I only went to one movie. Please contain your shock. I also only went to one concert, but I’m sneaking in a second on Sunday (the Satellite Riders, an Old 97s ‘cover band’. You’d swear you’re watching the real thing, or so I hear. *cough*)

I do have a whole whack of pictures to edit and upload and spam you with. Next week, maybe. Until then, allow me to vent about a fellow bus patron on Friday night: (more…)

[Back on the road to good enough]

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
back-on-the-road-to-good-enough

The most interesting thing I’ve done lately is see music. The weekend before last I was up in Vancouver for the folk festival. I got in free because I have a friend who works on the main stage as a sign language interpreter. It is basically awesome.

(Follow me after the jump for Vancouver Folk, the Glitter meet-up, ZooTunes, and more. Image-heavy; click through to embiggen) (more…)

[Hold me up until the sunrise]

Thursday, June 26th, 2008
hold-me-up-until-the-sunrise

I got back from the east coast and was promptly devoured by the film festival. Sorry! I saw 22 movies, and they’re all discussed in these four letterboxed posts.

It ended on the 15th, so let’s see what I did since then after the jump. (more…)

[Now the mountains rise from ocean to sky]

Monday, March 10th, 2008
now-the-mountains-rise-from-ocean-to-sky

After a movie Saturday morning, I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and walk around Seattle a bit. I started in Pioneer Square, walked down the waterfront, and took the “Waterfront Street Car” back up to the International District.

More photos than anyone cares to see after the jump. Plus maybe a little history. (more…)

[On the south side of Seattle where the days grow gray and dark]

Thursday, March 6th, 2008
on-the-south-side-of-seattle-where-the-days-grow-gray-and-dark

Tonight I went to see Tracy Grammer at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Thingamabobber, which was a good move on my part, even though it is in West Seattle, more or less, which might as well be a different country.

She was the second in a new series; Ellis Paul is going to be there next month, and my excitement regarding this cannot be textually rendered. The only way I could be more excited is if Vance Gilbert was coming with him. (Confidential to Vance: Seriously. Seattle. I know you know where it is. What is the deal?)

Tracy was lovely. She grows every time I see her. I saw her a few times with Dave of course, and at least once with Jim Henry after Dave passed. This is a solo tour, and it suits her. I just wish the audience had been more responsive. Oh Seattle. People who know Seattle audiences, take that experience and apply it to an audience where I easily was the youngest person (at least until you got to fourth graders). Dead silence huge portions of the time. I cheered into silence for Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and for Richard Shindell, and when she got to Townes Van Zandt, who merits the applause of those two combined and then some, I gave up and clapped quietly to myself. They got me, those passive fuckers.

She mentioned Townes because she closed with “Pancho & Lefty”, a song I am perhaps a little obsessed with. On the bus home I listened to Gillian Welch & David Rawlings covering it at a show that’s now ten years old. I thought of how much I love seeing them play, their awkward happy little banter & the way Gillian bobs when she plays guitar, and how they haven’t come to Seattle in ages. I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to see them, no lie. Speaking of artists I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to see, Tom Waits is planning a summer tour. Dear Tom. I saw you in 1999. That was way too long ago.

I need to be better about seeing live music, but it’s hard. Film takes over my life. Movies are easier to go to alone. There’s a lot of artists I’d like to see, but I’m uncomfortable going alone to late-night, hard-drinking bar shows. I try not to live in fear, but it would also be fucking stupid of me to, say, go to Gogol Bordello in SoDo. Or the Paperboys on St. Patrick’s Day. So it goes. But tonight was Tracy, next month is Ellis, and there’s the Winterpills in there somewhere. And the beat goes on.

…I seriously cannot believe I don’t have an “art saves me” icon on this account. What was I thinking?

[We’ll make our homes on the water]

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008
well-make-our-homes-on-the-water

The last week of January, the Decemberists played two shows at the Moore. I had bought tickets to their cancelled “The Long and Short of It” tour, so there was no question I’d catch both of these. I was up in the balcony for both shows, which is probably best as I had brought a cold back from London and wasn’t anywhere near the top of my game. The first night was a lot of fun, but the second was awesome.

First, the opener was much better. The Butchers & the Builders, who had a great energy and mad percussion action. See the toy drums, etc, at the front of the stage? They got handed out to the audience. I whipped out my camera at first for the totally busker-esque drum kit.

1.31 the builders and the butchers

Then the Decemberists were just on, with a set that included the two songs I most wanted & thus least expected to hear - “The Soldiering Life” & “Sons & Daughters”.

1.31 colin conducts the audience & 1.31 decemberists

Yay!

In other seafaring news, I did a little damage over at Etsy recently, getting magnets & a necklace on the theme.

etsy loot

And finally, totally not sailor related at all, click through this photo to see my set of photos from International New Year, aka the Work Event That Prevented Me From Caucusing.

2.09 lunar new year lion dance 3

…I really am going at this completely backwards, aren’t I? Eventually I swear I will post stuff from England, for the one person who hasn’t prowled through my Flickr already.

[Yes We Can]

Monday, February 18th, 2008
yes-we-can

On February 9th, the Washington State Democratic Party held its caucuses. The turnout was amazing. I didn’t get to participate because I was working; we had our annual International New Year that day. It happened to be at a community center, which was possibly a little overbooked.

2.09 just a few things going on

They officially expected 100-200 people for 8 precincts. They got easily 600. I spent the vast majority of the afternoon directing traffic. “The bathrooms are that way, the gym is around the corner, no, this isn’t a caucus in this room.” Caucus participants lined up all the way down the street, took over our event spaces, moved precincts outside, and cast longing looks at the multipurpose room we were still using for our party. I got to see most of the caucus because one precinct was caucusing in the lobby in front of our room. It was energizing to see the turnout, the passion, and the process. It was exciting to watch so many people there, involved in politics and their neighborhood and the party. It was, basically, a hell of a thing to see.It still sucked.

See, the Washington Democrats choose their delegates exclusively via caucus, in spite of the fact that the State holds a primary for both parties. The Republicans caucus too, but they use both the caucus and the primary to choose delegates. If you’re a Dem, though, and you can’t take three hours on a Saturday afternoon, you’re out of luck. If you’re working, if you can’t stand up for that long, if you’re uncomfortable declaring your vote out loud and having to deal with someone trying to talk you out of it, if you didn’t understand that the primary is meaningless, if you’re out of the country, if your English isn’t that good, well, you’re out of luck. You can cast your ballot on February 19th, but it’s just a beauty pageant. A popularity contest.

I vote absentee. I’ve spent a lot of time in the past month thinking what I might do with my ballot. It has people on it who aren’t even running anymore. Should I do something strategic with it? Will it even be counted since it’s absentee? Hard to say. I decided in the end to not play games. It might be a popularity contest, but that’s no reason to not win it. I was sad to be denied the opportunity to stand up for my candidate earlier this month, and so I’m taking the chance now, no matter how meaningless it may be. I have the opportunity I’ve never had, to cast a vote for someone I was proud to support. I’m taking it. I’m casting my vote for Barack Obama.

vote obama

The caucus may have been a powerful, energizing thing for us at this time. But with its record turnout it didn’t come close to the numbers a primary would have. I could look around the room, in a neighborhood I serve daily, and see quite clearly that only a limited demographic was there. I saw lots of people I work with. I saw no one who we serve. Even though I’m happy my guy won, it wasn’t representative. I hope the party puts due consideration into this in the next four years.

[We travel without seatbelts on]

Thursday, December 27th, 2007
we-travel-without-seatbelts-on

(Why, there you are, blog!)

I got eaten by the holidays. This is my busiest time at work, so much so that I can’t take the time to visit family for Christmas. I suspect they had a better time that way anyway, particularly as at this point in December I am super-cranky from being tired.

I took a break from working mid-month to attend our first Posada celebration. The families had been working hard in the weeks leading up to it, making decorations, like these angel centerpieces…

12.11 more posada angels

…and some pretty amazing pinatas, including Dora the Explorer.


12.14 more pinatas & 12.14 dora pinata

Then it was back to holiday business. We run an adopt-a-family program as well as a gift closet. This year we served 200 children between the two programs.

12.19 one family & 12.19 gift closet

After the jump, more holidays, a little Seattle, and a side of knitting.

(more…)

[Scent of pine trees in the air, never knew a day so fair]

Monday, December 3rd, 2007
scent-of-pine-trees-in-the-air-never-knew-a-day-so-fair

The 500 block of Pine (at Belmont) is being demolished for condos, and so yesterday after the craft fair I wandered up to take some pictures.

pine0001

Left to right - Pony (formerly Cha-Cha), Bimbo’s, and Bus Stop. Lots more after the jump. Click through to Flickr to enlarge.

(more…)