To my mind, the best living fiction writer in the world, at least as far as style is concerned, can be found in a down-to-the-wire literary horserace between John Updike and James Salter of these United States, and short-story writers (primarily) John McGahern and William Trevor of Ireland.I can read anything by any of the abovementioned quartet and almost never be disappointed.They are all writers' writers and excellent storytellers. In addition, they consistently display a stylistic excellence you just ain't gonna get from me, or little Stevie King either.But none of that talented quartet is my favorite living writer. That dubious honor belongs to a Welsh gentleman deep into his 70s named Bill James - not the baseball statistician.Let me make it clear at this juncture that I am not usually a big fan of so-called "genre" writers. And I usually also loathe series writing by genre hacks where, for book after book, the same pathetic detective, cowboy or coroner traipses through 150 to 300 pages, dragging his or her quirks (which serve in lieu of a real personality having been developed on the page) over the more and more barren scenes that seem to stretch into infinity at the same time that they stretch the reader's patience.Other than Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, and Chesteron's Father Brown, series sleuths usually live in the shadow of "good" or even consistently interesting writing.
Richard Stilwell has had a long and felicitous relationship with Mozart's "Così fan tutte," the next production in Seattle Opera's 2005-06 season.The baritone debuted in the role of the youthful Guglielmo in "Così fan tutte" at the San Francisco Opera in 1973 and the Metropolitan Opera in 1975 - only a handful of years after starting his opera career when he scored the Fisher Foundation Award at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions.By the time Stilwell made his Seattle Opera debut in 1992 singing the part of the older Don Alfonso in "Così," he was just entering what he call his "mature years" and "switching over from doing Guglielmo." Seattle Opera audiences have now enjoyed Stilwell in several roles, most recently that of the Music Master in Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos."Making the transition musically from Guglielmo to Don Alfonso isn't a stretch, according to Stilwell.
Fremont's Jaden Thrasher, 6, a member of the Wallingford Boys & Girls Club, breaks ground on Woodland Park Zoo's historic, wooden-horse carousel on Feb. 21.
Let us now praise the brave owners of the Hillcrest Market, set to reopen sometime soon (perhaps this month) at Summit Avenue East and East Denny Way.When the old Hillcrest burned in July 2004, insurers deemed it too damaged to be repaired. The old building was unceremoniously bulldozed. It had operated under the Hillcrest name since 1959, but had been selling groceries at least since the 1930s (it was originally a pre-supermarket-era Safeway).That might have been the end of it. The Hillcrest's owners could have cut their losses, sold out and perhaps retired on the proceeds of the real estate. The site's small and awkwardly shaped, but that hasn't stopped the developers of mid-rise condos and luxury apartments elsewhere on the Hill.But instead, the Hillcrest's owners chose to rebuild. It's taken nearly two years. During this time, the land hasn't earned a cent of income, other convenience stores have taken bigger shares of the neighborhood's impulse-shopping business, Fred Meyer and Safeway abandoned their north Broadway locations and independent food marts in other Seattle neighborhoods such as Fremont and Alki died off. The new Hillcrest will have to prove its worth in a changed retail environment.I hope it succeeds.
Nobody agrees about much of anything where graffiti is concerned.Not even the spelling is universal. Researching the subject, you discover the word spelled "grafitti" and "graffiti" on various websites. The American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language quietly says both spellings are wrong: it defines graffito - graffiti isn't even mentioned. Graffito, in Italian, means a scratching; nothing too artistic there. But the word originated with the Latin graphium, to write.Whatever your personal feelings, whether you think graffiti is an art form, a public nuisance or a criminal offense, graffiti - in its many forms - is something we will be living with for quite awhile in urban America.Capitol Hill is typically hit harder than other Seattle neighborhoods. The problem (or opportunity for expression) is keeping two Seattle firms busy removing what some people, predominantly the owners of the buildings affected, see as visual litter, and others, particularly those self-described "writers" see as yet another form of public art, underground division.
That the annual Pride march and rally will move off Capitol Hill this year is a done deal. The festival, which for the past 30 years was centered on Broadway and Volunteer Park, relocates to the Seattle Center over the weekend of June 25. The event's showcase parade will travel along Fourth Avenue instead of Broadway.But the Pride celebration won't exist in a vacuum. While the event won't take place on Capitol Hill this year, a tradition of celebration in the neighborhood is long established. The weekend should still be festive. But to what extent is still to be determined.Last week, a desire to be proactive about the weekend prompted an informal gathering to discuss Pride weekend possibilities. Roughly 15 people attended the Thursday, Feb. 23, gathering at Julia's, most of whom own businesses on Broadway. "We want to come up with things we can do in anticipation of Pride weekend despite the event moving off the Hill," said Charlotte LeFevre, director of the Museum of the Mysteries, who organized the gathering. "We're looking at the fact that there will still be thousands of people coming to the Hill. There will still be a huge crowd up here."
When I am coming down with the flu or a cold, I want soup - hot, steamy, spicy, and delicious, and the research backs me up on this one. The broth keeps us hydrated, the steam helps us breathe and the vegetables help our immune systems fight viruses. This winter I have been searching out soups at restaurants near my home and office in the Rainier Valley. I focused on Southeast Asian restaurants because the food is delicious, I appreciate the adventure of trying foods that I didn't grow up with and I want to know more about my neighbors here in the Valley. So far I have found four Vietnamese restaurants serving pho (pronounced "fuh"), the national soup of Vietnam that features spiced broth usually served with beef, noodles and vegetables. Some of these restaurants also feature a cream puff with your order of pho. If you're not a fan of red meat, there are varieties made with chicken broth and seafood, which is what I tried at Pho Hoa, 4732 Rainier Ave. S., in Columbia City.
During Black History Month, African Americans have, for the most part, focused on history and our role in it. I love history, and research on our African past is stimulating and addictive.But as I'm getting older, I begin to realize how little time is spent on the most important subject we can talk about during this month or any month: What does being an African American mean? What is the significance of being an African who is a native of the most powerful nation in the history of the planet?For my next couple of bi-weekly editorials in this newspaper I will explore this question. Black history studies clearly demonstrate that African Americans were, and are, an integral part of America. They also clearly demonstrate that we have primarily reacted to how we have been treated in America and have yet to spell out what kind of America we are seeking.
On March 11, Epiphany Church in Madrona will host its sixth-annual spaghetti-dinner fund-raiser to benefit the YWCA East Cherry transitional housing program. Hosted by Madison Valley's Bill and Karen Forbes, the dinner is one of the many ways Madrona-based Epiphany Church contributes to the program, which focuses on helping families on their way toward independence."Our East Cherry apartments are for clients who have already been through our emergency-housing program [on Boren and Yesler], and transitional housing is the next step for them," said Sarah Ortner, community resource coordinator for the East Cherry YWCA.
Local residents voiced frustration over the situation in New Orleans, discussed ways to turn their anger into positive action, and celebrated the city's culture with jazz and Cajun food at a Hurricane Katrina relief benefit at Columbia City's New Freeway Hall Saturday night. "The news said New Orleans is being rebuilt. We went there three months after Katrina, and we said, 'Where?'" said the co-chair of the Puget Sound Katrina Relief & Reconstruction Committee, Gabriel Prawl, addressing a crowd of more than 100 people.Prawl said that during his visit to Louisiana, rich, white areas were in good shape, while poorer, predominantly African-American neighborhoods were devastated and without power. He accused the government and big business of forcing poor New Orleans residents off of their property and out of public housing in order to build casinos and expensive homes.
Wayne and Priscilla Gray, longtime residents of Magnolia, will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on March 17.The couple was married in 1946 at Priscilla's parent's house in the Mount Baker neighborhood. Their first home was in Riddle, Ore. From there they moved with the family lumber business to Reedsport, Ore., before settling in Magnolia, where they still live in the family home of 55 years.
The Magnolia/Queen Anne District Council is concerned about the process used to determine that Fire Station 20 should be rebuilt in its present location, according to a Feb. 23 letter sent to the Seattle Fire Department and the Seattle City Council.The council, which includes members from more than 25 community, businesses and resident organizations, does not endorse any particular location for a new fire station, according to chairman Matt Fraser. "Rather, our concern is with how the public process appears to have been circumvented on this issue, and thus we are urging the city to slow down and re-engage the neighborhood in their planning and decision-making process," Fraser said by e-mail.He also wrote that the district council was responding to a request for help from Concerned Neighbors of Fire Station 20. It's a group that includes the owners of three homes that would be demolished to make room for a new, enlarged station house that would serve both Magnolia and Queen Anne.
The weather was freezing, but the rhetoric was hot at a Feb. 25 protest of Parks Department policies that drew around 150 people to the south entrance to the Woodland Park Zoo. The protestors had a number of bones to pick with Parks' projects that included the zoo parking garage, concerts in Gas Works Park, plans to cut down 17 trees in Occidental Square Park, installing artificial turf at Loyal Heights Playfield and the installation of a new skateboard park in Woodland Park.The demonstrators came from all over the city, and the common theme was that Seattle Parks and Recreation pays little attention to citizen concerns-no matter what project is involved.
"I think it's a good idea to write about a kid," says Styles W., age 9. "Everything's always about grown-ups."Styles, who's had an exotic journey toward becoming a Queen Anne/Magnolia kid, has a direct, open gaze - and a very cool haircut. It is asymmetrical, and the longer bangs are dyed bright red. "Over Christmas I visited some relatives in Las Vegas," he says. "They own a salon. I got to have my hair done there."When Styles was in Las Vegas, he saw an abandoned blue-and-red bike with a loose chain. He kept his eye on it all day, and when no one had claimed it by nightfall, he took it home. A grownup in his family fixed the chain, and now the bike is his. "I have three bikes now," he says. "One here, that one in Las Vegas and another in Singapore." He inventories other wheels he owns in those places: scooters, in-line skates and healies.Styles was born Nov. 11, 1996, in Singapore. His father Ken is American, and his mother Gillian is Singaporean. Ken, a building consultant, had gone to Singapore to help construct technical buildings for various corporations.When Styles was 1 year old, the family moved to Papua New Guinea, the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. The western half is the largest part of the nation of Indonesia.
Widespread changes are in store for Seattle Public Schools that will include building closures, according to the final recommendation released on Feb. 10 by a special committee charged with solving the district's compounding budget shortfalls."During the course of our analysis and deliberations, we came to see that the district's financial challenges could not be viewed in isolation, but rather were symptoms of broader systemic and organizational issues," said the report issued by the Community Advisory Committee on Investing in Educational Excellence (CACIEE).The 14-person committee, made up of local civic and business leaders, was created last July by Seattle Schools superintendent Raj Manhas in response to public outcry over the district's initial plan to close schools in an effort to cut costs. The district faces a $15-million shortfall this year, a deficit projected to in-crease to $44 million by 2010-2011.