Connoisseurs of irony can delight in the fact that, in famously under-churched Seattle, plenty of apparently extraneous gifts are leaving the stores. They're scenes that have little to do with the true spirit of Christmas.But dedicated ironists might consider, in the spirit of the season, to observe a cease-fire in the culture wars.Today is the winter solstice, the year's shortest day. Today the earth pivots toward the sun and we begin the long march toward summer, an event celebrated by ancient and modern pagans alike. On Sunday Christians will commemorate the birth of Jesus and the star of Bethlehem that declared the good news. On that same day the Jewish world will observe the first day of Hanukkah in memory of the menorah that burned for eight days on a day's worth of oil. All three occasions reflect the sacredness of light and humanity's longing, in the face of mystery, for meaning. To that end we would do well to pause and look back to something that happened in 1914.
Verbena and the Gay City Health Project have agreed to share a new, large space on Capitol Hill that will not only contribute to the continuing success of the organizations, but save up to 60 percent of each organization's operating expenses. It also creates a wellness center for the whole LGBT community for the first time in the Emerald City, ushering Seattle into the company of 26 other US cities with such centers.Verbena began operation as a lesbian cancer screening project. Since 2000 it has been a tenant of the Seattle LGBT Community Center on East Pike between 11th and 12th avenues.Gay City Health Project's initial mission was AIDS prevention. It began providing clinical services in January 2004, but was not able to have its testing space next to its existing Broadway office space just north of Pike.Combining the two services, one dedicated to women and one to men, will create the first lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender wellness center in Seattle. The new LGBT Wellness Center will reside at 517 E. Pike St.
Some Capitol Hill businesses on Broadway are doing all right this holiday-shopping season, but others aren't, per a random sampling of local merchants Dec. 16. With only eight days of shopping left before Christmas (dating from last Friday), even some of the stores doing well weren't racking up sales the way they used to several years ago, owners and staffers say.However, over at Bailey/Coy Books, business is doing well, said bookseller Polly Jirkovsky. "It's definitely one of our busiest times," she said of the holidays. "There's a lot of good stuff out right now, and people are pretty excited," Jirkovsky said of the reissued Narnia series and a new Kurt Vonnegut book, for example. Customers are buying books for all their friends and family," she added.But in a show of support for independents, Jirkovsky said some customers have told her they've spotted books they wanted in chain outfits, but came to Bailey/Coy to buy them. "That's really nice to hear," she smiled.
We begin with the bottom line: If someone is proposing to show you 10 Alfred Hitchcock movies and the list doesn't include "Juno and the Paycock" and "The Skin Game," it's a good offer.Lucid and beguiling, rigorous yet playful, filled with unsettling juxtapositions and rapturously sustained camera movements, Hitchcock's work has everything to instruct the avid student (including most practicing filmmakers) and enthrall the viewer.With only two slightly puzzling exceptions, Seattle Art Museum's winter film series running on the Thursdays between Jan. 12 and March 23, is four-star titles all the way. That means that we get only the peak achievements of Hitchcock's fascinating, pre-Hollywood, 13-year British career.
Greetings always warm when you step into Casuelita's Island Soul, a small gem of a restaurant in the Judkins Park neighborhood just north of I-90 between 23rd Avenue S. and Martin Luther King Jr. Way.James Perry, manager of the restaurant and brother of co-owner Theo Martin, greets everyone who enters with a bright smile. "We want to make a difference. We want to share with our community," said the kinetic Perry who clearly takes pride in the family business. "People don't always know what island cooking is. They often ask, 'Is your food hot and spicy? Will it burn me?'" While soft Caribbean rhythms played in the background, Perry introduced his chef, Bobby Laing. Soft-spoken as Perry is lively, Jamaica-born Laing came to Seattle in 2002 via Indiana. "Indiana was a bit too cold for me" Laing said "and my auntie in Bellevue invited me to come to the Seattle area".
There are many reasons to see "Black Nativity," the most meaningful being its ability to accomplish what our world leaders cannot: to bring people from all walks of life, races and religions together in peace and harmony. Such is the power of Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes' Christmas gift to the world. Intiman's beloved production debuted eight years ago with director Jacqueline Moscou, Pastor Patrinell Wright and a choir of six, Rev. Samuel B. McKinney, four actors and three musicians. Now the multicultural choir numbers 40-plus, its members age 12 to 78, from churches all over Seattle. Ten of the singers are also trained dancers, six of them teenagers. And the band has swelled to a half-dozen. First performed in 1961 near the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, "Black Nativity" unfolds in two parts: the birth of Jesus as seen through the improvisational music and dance tradition of African-American culture, followed by a rousing gospel songfest. Movement is as much as part of this production as music, blending hip-hop, moonwalking and cha-cha with rap, jazz and scat.
Since the holidays are a time of good cheer, the two of us decided to take a break from our usual focus on city hall and instead look to our communities where real leadership is always found. When civic awards are passed out, it is usually people who do essential charity work who are recognized. Such accolades are of course deserved, but what about people whose efforts are aimed at redefining the structures of power that give rise to the need for charity in the first place? Here are five citizens of Seattle who are willing to challenge the status quo and who give their time and energy to work for economic justice and democratic participation in our neighborhoods:
Connoisseurs of irony can delight in the fact that, in famously under-churched Seattle, plenty of apparently extraneous gifts are leaving the stores. They're scenes that have little to do with the true spirit of Christmas.But dedicated ironists might consider, in the spirit of the season, look at our culture wars and then partake in a cease-fire.Today is the winter solstice, the year's shortest day. Today the earth pivots toward the sun and we begin the long march toward summer, an event celebrated by ancient and modern pagans alike. On Sunday Christians will commemorate the birth of Jesus and the star of Bethlehem that declared the good news. On the same day the Jewish world will observe the first day of Hanukkah in memory of the menorah that burned for eight days on a day's worth of oil. All three occasions reflect the sacredness of light and humanity's longing, in the face of mystery, for meaning. To that end we would do well to pause and look back to something that happened in 1914.
The Taj Mahal concert at Jazz Alley a couple of days before Thanksgiving seemed like a great idea to Seward Park resident Chris Beahler, until she exited the popular Belltown venue only to find her car gone. Having already had her inconspicuous 1990 Saturn stolen just two years prior, Beahler assumed it was nabbed, so imagine her surprise when she found that in fact the car had been impounded! Furthermore, the police insisted she stay put until they could talk to her in person, to which, she replied, "I am an old woman, its dark and cold and I don't want to hang out here." She laughed while recounting this and added, "I felt very old that night!"
King Plaza shopping center near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and South Othello Street sits directly in front of the future Othello light rail station. The parking lot would normally be packed at this time of year, but these days there are lots of empty spaces. Tammy's Bakery still abounds with colorful, decorated cakes as well as every imaginable Asian delight from spring rolls to bubble teas, but the customer queues aren't as long in front of the counter this year. Irresistible aromas still waft through the doorway of Seattle Chinese Herbs across the street, but not as many people open the door these days. In fact, there are several vacant storefronts in this popular commercial complex previously filled to the gills.Looking out over his balcony upstairs office, Jaime Garcia of the Community Development Fund (CDF) views the cause of this decline: bulldozers the size of dinosaurs crawl about and gobble up the streets. A maze of huge concrete barriers and a chaotic network of yellow tape render access to the parking lot and sidewalks formidable, if not impossible.
Whatever your special holiday, the holiday season can cause stress in young children. Children respond to stress in their own ways: crying, tantrums, clinging, excessive energy, temporary regression such as thumb sucking and many other manifestations.We can't eliminate all holiday stress, but we can teach healthy ways to deal with stressful situations.
Ideally, the holidays are a joyous and festive time spent with family and friends. For many older adults, however, this time of year brings reminders of change and loss and is anything but merry.During the holidays, some older adults reflect more on the absence of family and feel that traditional reunions or events are meaningless without those loved ones. Unrealistic expectations play a major role in holiday stressors as well. Late-life depression affects more than 6 million Americans, most of them women, but only 10 percent of people ever get treated, according to The Society for Women's Health Research. Holiday depression and the post-Jan. 1 letdown afflicts many more.
Sidewalks buckled by overgrown tree roots are a common sight all over Seattle, but for Magnolia resident Sylvia Cummings, a tree-buckled bit of concrete on a Queen Anne sidewalk proved to be hazardous to her health.Three years ago, she allegedly tripped on a damaged sidewalk on Boston Street near Queen Anne Avenue and landed on her face. The fall shattered an eye socket and left her with permanent nerve damage, said her lawyer, Tim Callahan, who is suing both the city and the abutting property owner for damages.
To be a fan is to believe in something, and to believe is to have faith.Faith can't be willed. It simply is. And it's often found where you least expect it.Like all true believers, a Magnolia native who calls himself Durandy has faith in something greater than himself. It has charted the course of his life, his work, his passion. The source of his inspiration is a band, the band so big its name is spoken twice: Duran Duran. "Most fans are content to collect autographs, or to go see the band as often as possible," Durandy, also known as Andrew Golub, says. "But there is a deeper level of fandom that not many people can say they belong to. This is the space I occupy. It's not about chasing autographs, not about just collecting. It's about taking Duran Duran's legacy to a whole new level."
For more than 20 years, British Hour Radio presented special pre-Christmas programs culminating with Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas message on Christmas Day. The seasonal shows were in keeping with the station's format of news, nostalgia, history, humor and the words and music of the British Isles.The words, music and nostalgia part was easy, a matter of drawing on English Christmas customs, music and carols, songs and stories down the ages, from its origins, through medieval and Victorian traditions and right up to the present. History and humor? No problem, with the help of Stanley Holloway (of "My Fair Lady" fame) and his humorous monologues on the exploits of Sam Small and his Christmas pudding, all in Lancashire accents, and Tom Lehrer's satirical "Ode to Christmas"