Phil Lane has a vision - one that is complex, expansive and founded in basic humanitarian principles. Though it contains applications in the realm of international politics, it is not meant for politicians; it is meant for the people.Lane - CEO of United Indians of All Tribes Foundation (UIATF), headquartered in Discovery Park's Daybreak Star Cultural Center - is the brains behind "The Fourth Way," a 42-page document that lays out a plan for global peace and prosperity in the 21st century. Broadly populist in nature and ideologically grounded in aboriginal folk wisdom, the document is subtitled, "An Indigenous Contribution for Building Sustainable and Harmonious Prosperity in the Americas." "The Fourth Way" is an urgent cry for unity among indigenous peoples everywhere, with the message that such a collective bonding carries social, spiritual, economic and political implications for a worldwide demographic that largely has existed on the margins of mainstream society.
In the weeks before the Toronto International Film Festival in early September, I deadpanned with all due solemnity to friends and colleagues that "'Borat' will be the linchpin of the festival." I was referring to the feature-film expansion of one of the most outrageous fixtures on HBO, the segment of "Da Ali G Show" that chronicles the passage of an imbecilic, sexist, homophobic, ethnically bigoted and obsessively anti-Semitic video journalist from Kazakhstan through these United States. It never occurred to me that my mock-prediction would come true.At Toronto, Borat ruled. Not only the vehemently improper movie, whose proper title is "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," but Borat himself in the person of the brilliant, fearless, Cambridge-educated - and quite Jewish - Sacha Baron Cohen, who stayed in character (possibly even in his sleep) and showed up for his film's first public screening in a donkey cart pulled by women. That the screening was permanently interrupted 20 minutes in by projector problems seemed only fitting. The replacement screening the next night was mobbed. So were all the shows in the largest reserved-for-press auditorium, and the critics' scorecard on the back page of each day's festival bulletin had "Borat" topping the chart, no matter how many high-profile Hollywood releases and latest works by esoteric cinema masters were also in the running.
According to the census bureau, 45 million Americans - the equivalent of all the residents of California, Oregon and Washington combined - do not have health insurance. The implication of this injustice on the health, finances and emotional well being of our country is staggering. Although many of the uninsured have little control over their predicament there is one worker's organization that can buck this growing trend. The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) represents around 3,500 King County Metro transit operators, many of who do not have adequate health care coverage. The current problem lies with Metro limiting the quantity of four hour assignments, thus restricting the number of drivers eligible for full health care benefits. Part-time drivers who have family, school or other job commitments preventing them from working both mornings and afternoons generally cannot meet the four hour requirement. The approximately 1,000 part-time drivers who do not receive full coverage can opt to pay a portion of their own health insurance premiums. Nonetheless, even with the subsidy, individual coverage can stretch budgets. The out of pocket expense to cover family members is as cost prohibitive as Walmart's phantom insurance.
Hip hop culture has become a rich part of the Rainier Valley Community over the last couple of decades. The urban styles that accompany the hip hop culture are all the rage, and the Rainier Valley has a great selection of clothing, shoes, salons, auto detail shops, recording studios and more to keep you in the know for current styles and trends. Hip hop started in New York in the 1970s but has made its way around the world. It's a very popular culture, not just a fashion or musical genre. According to Webster's Dictionary, the complex hip hop culture includes four elements: Deejaying, rapping, graffiti, and dance. Without the right outfit none of the four elements would be complete. While my friends would not call me a hip hop fashion expert, they did turn me on to some great shops in the Valley that I wanted to share with readers.
Living in South Seattle provides plenty of issues to address. We all know that. It feels like there is always something looming, whether it's the possible red light district or the proposed new waste station or the increase in crime. We know about these issues. We hear about these issues, but what we don't often hear about is the people behind the scenes.Behind every issue we face, there are handfuls of people who are devoting more hours than we can imagine to these topics. I say this from experience because I see the same faces over and over again at meetings. And every time I see a familiar face, I smile and I feel so lucky to have these people working with us and for us.When the Urban Planning Committee held a special hearing about the proposed red light district, the chamber was packed with neighbors. Though I was impressed by what was said, I was in even more awe with who was there. I left that hearing with one image lingering - Amie, standing at the microphone while holding her baby daughter.When the Planning Commission called a special meeting to be held in the wee hours one morning, it was a welcome sign to see Julie in the audience and Craig with his notebook in hand.When an email is sent from Judith saying she is ready to become more involved again, I feel so grateful because I know she's had a heartbreaking year, but I also know we are better off with her speaking out, on our behalf.
Erik Hansen, editor of this newspaper, received an upset phone call last week from an out-of-state relative of one of the four young men killed in the Sept. 30 car accident on Rainier Avenue South. She'd read the story on our website: Too much gory detail left in the story, she maintained.Who could blame her? She spoke from the unimaginable depths of anguish, and yet what ended up in print reflected only a tiny shard of the horror.Eyewitnesses figure the black BMW entered the 9500 block on a Saturday evening going between 80-100 mph. The debris field extended more than a block.The 100 or so people who gathered around the crash know how little of what they saw made its way into the daily newspaper accounts. Reticence in such matters is the journalistic standard.Erik and I talked about this, and we felt more of the accident's horror needed to be conveyed to our readers. Our account, it seemed to us, shouldn't be totally sanitized in the name of business-as-usual. People need to know what excessive speed can do to the human anatomy. If one person got the message about cars and speed it would be worth it.
Community members gathered for the reopening festivities of the Seattle Public Library Douglass-Truth Branch on Oct. 14. Closed in the spring of 2005 for renovations, the expanded branch at 2300 E. Yesler Way is the 21st project completed under the 1998 voter-approved "Libraries for All" program. Library service in the Central District dates back to 1914 when the Henry L. Yesler Memorial Library was opened. It was the first Seattle branch not financed by the famous philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Over the years, the demographics of the neighborhood changed and the library served foreign-born immigrants, Jews and people of Japanese and Filipino descent. After World War II, the library began serving an increasing number of African American residents. In 1975 the branch was renamed the Douglass-Truth Branch, after former slaves and abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth.
A red tide of violence has engulfed the Rainier Valley for the past two and a half weeks, leaving seven people dead and eight seriously injured. The bloodshed started with a double shooting on Thursday, Sept. 21 when two cars came to a stop next to one another at the intersection of 51st Avenue South and Rainier Avenue South. Angry words were exchanged between two men driving a white, late-model Honda Prelude and the occupant, or occupants, of a dark gray 1990s Cadillac sedan. Soon, gunfire erupted from the Caddy, and both cars took off. Moments later the Honda crashed to a stop near South Director Street: the driver, 26-year-old Jared Leroy Lee, was dead from a gunshot wound to the back and his passenger, also 26, was hospitalized with bullet holes in his abdomen.Seattle Police Department representative Rich Pruitt noted "no known motive or connection to gang fighting" when speaking of the incident. Police representative Sean Whitcomb added that the department has yet to arrest a suspect in the murder/assault."We're vigorously investigating," Whitcomb asserted.Suspicious deathOnly two days after the fatal shooting on Rainier Avenue, another man was found dead after a disturbance a couple drew in some witnesses and spiraled out of control. According to Whitcomb, Ro Chham, age 34, was fighting with his girlfriend around noon at her Rainier Avenue South apartment when 36-year-old Toeur Cheth intervened.The woman told investigating officers that Chham punched Cheth several times in the chest, but no weapon was involved. She also said that her enraged boyfriend punched her in the mouth before leaving the scene. The woman said Cheth went to bed around 10 p.m., but when she tried to wake him shortly before 2 p.m. he was unresponsive.The woman dialed 911, and Seattle Fire Department officials arrived, performing CPR. Their efforts were deemed futile, and Cheth was declared dead with apparent bruising to his chest and neck.
I'm a news junky.With my wife, I watch CNN for at least 2 to 3 hours a night. My start page on the Internet has the names of various news outlets from around the world.I'm also signed up for a number of national news sources, generally newspapers, that send me newsletters they believe to be of burning importance, accompanied of course by pitches from their advertisers.I start my day, after breakfast, immersing myself in all manner of death and destruction, dastardly deeds, political intrigue and bizarre behavior imaginable. By the time I'm done perusing the virtual newspaper, I'm ready for two fingers of Grappa d'Oro, but I look up and see it's only 11:30 a.m. I have to wait a half-hour before popping the cork; after all, I'm not uncivilized.I think this mental self-flagellation is like the beating-your-head-against-the-wall joke; it feels so good when you stop.Vacillating between my natural Irish euphoric idiocy and the news-induced clinical depression is the price I pay for being addicted to news.
Seattle Opera opens its 2006-07 season with Gioacchino Rossini's fun-filled farce "The Italian Girl in Algiers." This hilarious comic opera features the adventures of a madcap Italian woman and her escape from an Algerian Harem. The whimsical comedy was first produced by Santa Fe Opera; after that it was the San Fransisco Opera opener where it received rave reviews. "The Italian Girl in Algiers" is a first for Seattle Opera. Though I am familiar with the music, I can't do my usual nostalgia bit and indulge in fond memories of past Seattle opera productions-there weren't any. Although the original storybook production is from Santa Fe Opera, we can expect a few added magical surprises under the expert stage direction of Chris Alexandra (voted artist of the year for two consecutive years by Seattle Opera).Written by the 21-year-old Rossini and premièred on May 22, 1813, "The Italian Girl in Algiers" is the original "Rossini romp." Isabella must rescue her beloved Lindoro (enslaved in Algiers), on whom Bey Mustafa is about to fob off an unwanted wife. The opera is filled with great singing and fast-paced arias and ensembles, and the Act I finale is unforgettable."It's all about Isabella," says General Director Speight Jenkins. Of Stephanie Blythe, Opera News says, "Imagine a Fricka with the agility of a Cecilia Bartoli and the thrust of a Marilyn Horne; throw in a comic stage presence without a false move, and you're closer to imagining Blythe's Isabella."
Perusing the daily newspapers a couple of weeks back, my eyes could not avoid the pictures of the aftermath of a fatal car crash Saturday night, Sept. 30, in South Seattle. Four young men, driving at speeds approaching 100 miles an hour, died when their car flipped and skidded more than a block.My mind was dragged (unwillingly) back to my sophomore year in high school, when our entire class was bused to an auto wrecking yard in central Cincinnati to view the wreckage of a classmate's car.He, too, had been driving at high speed, lost control of the car and was fatally injured.The priests, good old-fashioned hell-and-brimstone Franciscans, were practical religious folk. Instead of a long lecture-which they (rightly, I believe) thought would be ignored-they offered us a view of our possible future if we drove recklessly and too fast.I would like to say that their grisly show-and-tell worked. Nevertheless, three more of my classmates died the same way before we graduated, and one, a pretty good friend, died alone in his car late one night the summer after we young, working-class tyros almost unanimously entered the working world.I was just lucky, I guess. I didn't drive very fast, a combination of fear and an old beater car that wouldn't travel comfortably above 75. But I rode with friends who buried the needle at 120 more than once.
I've always thought of myself as a cat lover. Even as a kid, I was crazy about my cat.So when Nancy Rudolph, of Peninsula Friends of Animals, called me to ask if she could take my photograph - my nude photograph - for the 2007 Charity Cat Calendar, a project that supports their nonprofit, no-kill shelter located in Port Angeles, I agreed. After all, "Calendar Girls" is a favorite movie of mine. And any project willing to put real women up for viewing, naked or otherwise, ranks way up there with me and is always a welcome contrast to what takes place in the advertising world where models' bums are no bigger than mine was at birth.But it was more than that. All aflutter with flattery, not only did I want to believe the sensationally sincere lie that my 40-something-year-old body could be considered "calendar material" (although of course that helps), I thought it would be a bit of spicy fun. I suppose I'll always be an ex-Catholic girl raring to sin a little, a perennial time lag between now and that monumental day when I truly feel like an adult.You know how sometimes, naked in the bathroom, you pose in front of the mirror, take a look, take another look, and maybe do a little booty dance while trying to capture someone fun in the looking glass? Well, as the photo shoot drew nearer, I began looking a little too closely, trying to see myself as others would see me (OK, thighs a little dimply ... butt ... well ... ditto), attempting to lessen the chagrin by imploring myself to stand proud. Proud! Humph.How many of us naturally have the body image so public a display of nudity requires? Maybe it's another ex-Catholic thing that embarrassment and nakedness are inherently entwined.
Caffè Fiorè - fiore, Italian for blossom or flower - at Third West and West Galer virtually bloomed Oct. 2 with the artist's reception and opening of the Anne Baum-gartner Collage Exhibit, "Sing," which runs through Nov. 1. Each of the individually and intuitively designed pieces brightens and greatly enhances the painted walls and woodwork and enlightens Caffè Fiorè patrons with collaged colors and carefully chosen words, drawings, numerals, phrases or small found objects that spark and inspire thought and long, repeated contemplations. You will want to return at least several times to let these restfully stimulating beauties stir and reveal new reflections and considerations. I suggested to Caffè Fiorè that they keep on permanent display at least three or four of these collages for customers to enjoy and revisit over their cups of brew and tasty treats.Baumgartner prefaces her exhibit by quoting artist Marc Chagall: "If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing."In Baumgartner's own words: "These pieces come from deep down and I tried - sometimes successfully - to bypass my head.
For the past year, news of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's plans to build its headquarters across from the Seattle Center has evoked excitement, curiosity and a little bit of trepidation in the community. Although most of us are aware of the global mission of the Gates Foundation, some are wondering, "What's in it for us?" and "How will this major construction project and influx of new people affect our daily lives?"As a Queen Anne resident, I believe there are many benefits for our neighborhood. What better way to utilize some fallow space at the Seattle Center than to have an internationally focused foundation rooted there? According to Lisa Matchette, spokesperson for the Gates Foundation, "The Seattle Center, with its focus on the international community and roots in the 1962 World's Fair, is a good match with the foundation and our commitment to the global community through our mission and work."There are outright financial benefits for our neighborhood, too.
Washington Women In Need (WWIN), a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance to low-income women in the state of Washington, last week announced its new executive director, Deborah Cushing of Magnolia."The board of directors and I are pleased to welcome Deborah Cushing as our new executive director," said Robin Carey, WWIN board president. "Deborah has a special heart for helping women and their families, and she brings a wealth of experience in running a community service organization such as WWIN."We are thrilled with her commitment to helping women in need," she added. Cushing has served in community service programs throughout her life, and has volunteered for many organizations benefiting women and families, including the Northwest Children's Fund and the Children's Alliance.