This summer has been really hot. Although we don't have it as rough as the folk on the East Coast, we've felt it here, too. I gauge the temperature by how empty the soda and ice cream shelves are at the grocery store. And this year, even the large food stores are struggling to keep those products on the shelves. For help, I turned to an avid sportsperson and asked how she solves the heat problem; she replied, "Flying Ice Cream!" Now I've heard of flying fish in the Northwest, but never "flying ice cream," so I had to ask for an explanation because this sounded just too much fun to miss.
On Saturday, Aug. 12, Fremont once again welcomes New Belgium's Tour de Fat, an event promoted as "A Ballyhoo of Bikes and Beer." This event returns with great enthusiasm to Seattle after a three-year absence.Taking place under the Aurora Bridge in the Adobe Plaza parking lot, the event starts at 11 a.m. with an "anti-race," as event organizer Chris Wins calls it. This non-competitive bicycle parade will roll east along North 34th Street, then double back on the Burke-Gilman Trail. The rest of the day, Chris said, is given over to "a whole bunch of stuff," including games, bands, vaudeville, juggling, stiltwalkers, costume and dance contests and, of course, beer. Also, an exposition of artistic, experimental and/or recycled bikes designed by "mad scientist" Todd Kundla will be displayed alongside a variety of vintage bicycles.National tour, local benefitsNew Belgium Brewery, makers of Fat Tire beer, will export this road show carnival to 11 cities in 2006. At each one, sales proceeds from T-shirts and beer go to a local nonprofit organization. Our Tour de Fat supports the Bicycle Alliance of Washington (BAW), an advocacy group that works at the state level to keep Washington bike-friendly."This is a little more artistic take on bicycles," Chris noted about the "celebration of all things pedal-powered." Phil Megenhardt declares the event a "great fit" with Fremont. Certainly, the poster, which proclaims, "Costumes encouraged, required and supplied," makes it sound Fremont to its core.
For most 16-year-olds, simply speaking out against intolerance would have been enough. For Khalil Hassam, it wasn't.When a guest speaker from the University of Washington's Muslim Student Union condemned homosexual activity at University Prep last year, Hassam - the school's lone Muslim - hoped to remedy those words of hate, and ever since, he has taught tolerance and social awareness to his peers. To reward his efforts, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) named Hassam as one of the 2006 recipients of its $4,000 Youth Activist Scholarship. The prominent award has been presented to graduating high-school seniors nationwide since 2000."Khalil stood out as a person who had taken a strong stand for civil liberties," said Doug Honig, of the ACLU of Washington. "He has a strong sense of social justice and the importance of tolerance in our society."A selfless attitudeThrough involvement in multiple school organizations including the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), Harassment Prevention and Education Committee and his own group, the Coalition Against Apathy, Hassam made sure that his fellow students were informed and involved with current issues, including race, religion and sexual orientation.
Coffee. When many think of this word, images of Starbucks' famous mermaid come to mind, or perhaps even the earthy tones of Tully's.But for Seattle resident and cafe owner Thucydides "Theo" Asimakopoulos, he prefers to go an alternative route when it comes to coffee.He owns Caffe Neo on Roosevelt Way Northeast, which opened last May. He serves customers with custom coffee drinks, a variety of other beverages and numerous pastries and other tasty snacks.And all have an ethnic flavor - whether it be Italian, Spanish or Greek.Because Asimakopoulos is proudly ethnic.Turning to the stageBorn in Greece, Asimakopoulos moved to Seattle with his family in the 1950s, settling in the Wallingford area. After graduating from Lincoln High School, he attended the University of Washington, graduating in 1982 with a business degree."I was supposed to graduate in 1972 but dropped out. I then realized that I really wanted to get a degree and went back to graduate 10 years later," Asimakopoulos said.While at the UW, he briefly studied philosophy as well as acting, but it was the stage that would end up changing his life. In the mid '80s, he began to seriously study performance at a small acting school in Seattle, and then in 1995, he made the big decision to move to the acting capital of the world: Los Angeles."Everyone who I knew who was studying acting at the studio I was at was moving to L.A. to pursue a serious career, so I decided to do the same," Asimakopoulos said. "But many people didn't believe in me because I was in my 40s when I left. They didn't think I would be able to land any roles."Asimakopoulos proved them wrong, though, and was cast in soap operas, commercials and even a small role in a film with Robert DeNiro.
OK, Bert Stern got there first with the title (for his classic 1959 documentary) ... and anyway, this is evening we're talking about. The Premier Golf and KPLU Jazz BBQ Series at Interbay Golf Center is on Thursdays, 5:30-8:30 p.m. through the end of August.
A Friends of Green Lake study conducted earlier this fall has found that the lake's level of milfoil has not significantly increased or decreased since last year.This information will help the Seattle Parks and Recreation assess progress and plan for the future for dealing with the continuing water-quality and safety issues at Green Lake. One solution, another problemLocal resident Karen Schurr start-ed the Friends of Green Lake (FOGL) group in 2002 in response to the lake closures due to toxic algae. She and other community members successfully lobbied the city to fund an algae treatment for Green Lake."It was well overdue," Schurr said of the alum treatment, which was finally completed in 2004. "It's easy for these things to be forgotten; we've seen [the algae problem] get forgotten and ignored."The treatment involves the introduction of the common substance aluminum, or alum, into the lake. The alum then binds to phosphorus, an element that causes algae blooms, and together, they sink to the bottom of the lake. The treatment generally lasts several years. But another problem arises as a result: Without the algae the water is clearer, allowing more sunlight in, which in turn allows milfoil in the lake to photosynthesize and prosper.
The University District is in danger of losing its farmers market - not to mention other programs that use the University Heights Community Center. The University District Farmers Market has taken place every Saturday for years on the premises of the vintage, wooden building, currently a surplus property of Seattle Public Schools. However, due to a financial crisis within the school district, University Heights and the district's other surplus properties may soon be subject to rising rent costs, which would essentially force the tenants of University Heights to be evicted.On Nov. 2, community members and stakeholders concerned about the future of University Heights met at the center to discuss options for keeping the building. University Heights' current lease expires Nov. 8, 2008, which provides the center with an opportunity that has not arisen before: the chance for the city to either purchase the center, or to make sure the center can be assured a 100-year lease with below-market rate rents.
November at The Burke Museum is proving to be an exciting time for the museum. Two exhibits - Vanished Kingdoms: The Wulsin Photographs of Tibet, China and Mongolia, 1921-1925, and Sacred Portraits from Tibet - serve up visual delights for the viewer. Taken together, these exhibits give an insightful window into the recent past of one of the most inaccessible regions of the planet. And both exhibits have the active participation and approval of Tibetan religious and community leaders in Seattle. Pioneering coupleIn Sacred Portraits from Tibet, a large display of thangkas festoon the walls with brilliant color and dazzling content. The large, delicately painted Tibetan religious paintings, (thangkas) typically feature portraits of arhats (Buddhist saints) and important lamas (Buddhist teachers). These paintings on fabric made between the 17th and early 20th centuries demonstrate not only the rich iconography of Tibetan Buddhist tradition, but the exquisite painterly hand in portraiture and illustration. The exhibition Vanished Kingdoms: The Wulsin Photographs of Tibet, China and Mongolia, 1921-1925 features 39 compelling color images of rare, hand-colored lanternslides taken by young American explorers Janet E. and Frederick R. Wulsin Jr. Janet was one of the first American women explorers to reach western China, Inner Mongolia and Tibet. Together, they produced this series of unique photographs of the Ta'er, Labuleng and Zhuoni lamaseries, religious ceremonies and landscapes they encountered during their expedition for the National Geographic Society in 1923.
Started in August, Capitol Hill's latest artwalk takes place on the second Tuesday of the month. The "2Tue" was created by the merchants of the Pike-Pine corridor "to let people know that we have various shops here, not just bars and restaurants," said Amy Ellsworth, who runs Stitches, a yarn and sewing shop at 711 E. Pike St.Ellsworth began putting art on her walls last summer "to brighten up the walls." She was approached by her retail neighbor, Audrey McManus from Babeland, about creating an artwalk event. Despite the vast number of artists and art venues on Capitoll Hill, the neighborhood has lacked an artwalk. Several recent efforts at creating one simply did not take hold. "We wanted to do something for the community," said McManus, who is the marketing-education coordinator for long-established feminist sex toy shop. "And it draws people to this area. The first couple of artwalks were pretty much the regulars from the neighborhood, but at the last one, I was hearing from people who said that they came here just for the artwalk."With Babeland's contribution of performance art, the Capitol Hill artwalk appropriately has an edgier, more adult vibe than artwalks in Pioneer Square or Ballard.
Weren't you pleased to get your mail today, nothing but Christmas catalogues and pleas from one or two charities? Not a political message in the stack. My poor knuckles are down to the bone, scraped and torn in my efforts to remove much too much mail in much too small a box.I had letters from Bill Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barak Obama, urges from California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and warm greetings from Maria Cantwell and Jim McDermott and John Kerry and 43rd District candidate Jamie Pedersen and several senators and representatives whose names I didn't even recognize, as well as hearing from a few of their mothers. There were days when I didn't have the strength to carry the mail upstairs.How many old forests were sacrificed for this election? What letter carriers have permanent back injuries from delivering the mail? What recycle bins have reached their capacity and overflowed? I think the day after election should be designated No Mail Day in honor of those who delivered and received the mountains of exhortations they have survived.
The Hill has been home to many world-renowned artists over the years, including John Cage, Mark Tobey and Morris Graves. Moving to the current generation, three Hill artists are cutting a brilliant swath through the lethargic Seattle art scene. The trio known as SuttonBeresCuller, [SBC] are firmly rooted in the Capitol Hill creative community. John Sutton, Ben Beres and Zac Culler met at Cornish College of the Arts in the late '90s. As students of David Nechak and Cris Bruch in the sculpture department, they were thrown together at a critical time in the history of the College. In the incubator of an art school, they were exposed to the history of Modernism in both Europe and the Americas. They are as familiar with Futurism, Surrealism, Cubism, Constructivism, Dadaism, and the singular genius of Marcel Duchamp as any museum curator. By embracing the lessons learned from the avant-gardes, their work emerges with a true chorus of visual voices. Each artist of the trio works on his own projects. What makes this group of artists special is in their ability to work as an ensemble. Art is not a competition. When three artists can collectively raise their voices in perfect visual harmony, we are all the better for it. The trio of Sutton, Culler and Beres achieve this end with grace, dignity, humor and great aplomb.
Traffic congestion is a quality of life issue that we all deal with on a daily basis. The Central Puget Sound region is projected to grow by 1.2 million people in the next 25 years, so if we want to improve present conditions and plan for the future, we need to act now. Fortunately, there are several actions Seattleites can take to improve our mobility options.First, voters made a smart choice and took a great step toward improving our transportation system by approving Proposition 2, known as Transit Now, on Nov. 7. At a modest annual cost of $25 per household, Transit Now will help Metro Transit keep pace with population and employment growth by increasing our bus service 20 percent over the next 10 years. Transit Now will also increase King County's fleet of hybrid buses, increase Access service for elderly and disabled riders, and allow for new partnerships with cities and employers.Seattle voters will benefit from new "RapidRide" Bus Rapid Transit corridors between Ballard and the south downtown stadium area, West Seattle and Downtown Seattle, and Shoreline and Downtown Seattle. We will also see increased frequency on bus routes serving Capitol Hill, Northgate, the University District, South Lake Union, Queen Anne, Downtown Seattle and better connections for routes serving Sound Transit's Link light rail stations at Mt. Baker, Othello, and Rainier Beach.Thanks to voters' passage of Transit Now, we'll start seeing more buses on the streets in February 2007.
A history lesson: On Nov. 30, 1999, up to 70,000 people jammed downtown Seattle streets and shut down the opening day of meetings of the World Trade Organization ministerial. Organized labor, environmentalists, human rights advocates, peace activists and many others gathered to protest, in essence, corporate control of democracy. While many Seattleites - thanks to media and especially TV coverage - remember mostly the actions of a few dozen vandals and the police, the protest reverberated around the world and inspired millions.Fast forward: On March 7, 2003, the media issue came back to Seattle in the form of a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hearing on a proposal to further deregulate ownership of television and radio broadcast licenses. The movement for media democracy was in its infancy, but the focus was similar to the anti-WTO protests: concern over democracy being trumped by rules written in the interest of a small handful of very large corporations - in this case, the ones that control much of the news and culture Americans consume.Hundreds packed a University of Washington auditorium that day. All but a handful opposed deregulation. The three Republican members of the five-person commission did not attend and, later, passed their deregulation package despite written testimony in opposition by millions of Americans. But an appeals court overturned the FCC ruling, and if it hadn't, Congress, bowing to public pressure, might well have done so instead.
The last in a series of three public meetings about the design and funding for the Counterbalance Park: An Urban Oasis provided some good news Nov. 15.Located at the corner of Queen Anne Avenue North and Roy Street, the Murase Associates and Iola Alessandrini design has been run by the mayor's office, the Parks Department and his own internal review, said Scott Murase, the son of Bob Murase, who died shortly before the plan was first released. "And everyone has praised this as an appropriate design for the location," he added.The interior of the park will be covered in crushed granite, while the current plan calls for the edges to be covered in ironwood planks, giving the edges the feeling of someone's front porch, Murase said.There was some concern about the cost and maintenance of the ironwood, as well as how difficult it is to work with the wood. But using paving stones for the edges is still on the table, said Keith Biever, chair of the parks committee for the Uptown Alliance, a neighborhood planning group that has spearheaded the project.
Avoid the headaches, hassles and chain-store "itis" of mall-to-mall gift shopping this year. Instead, save precious minutes and your sanity by staying close to home.Magnolia Village merchants have hundreds of unique gift ideas from which to choose. In a few blocks you'll find presents for tots, teens and in-betweens. When you need ideas for difficult-to-buy-for parents or for spouses for whom you "don't have a clue," pop in for helpful suggestions and advice from friendly shop owners and their staff.The convenience of neighborhood shopping also is tough to beat when you need to stock up on gifts for hostesses, teachers and unexpected guests. A stroll through the village business center will offer a plenitude of options. Here are just a few gift suggestions from Village merchants.