Encountered recently - I couldn't make any of this up: In the Starbucks on 45th Street a woman came in saying she lived a couple of blocks away and that her car had just been stolen but she needed a cup of coffee first before dealing with the police A group of 4 people were spotted walking down Meridian Ave. N. with a pig on a leash Outside the Wallingford Center, a drunk man sitting on a bench was clutching a…
The image from Oliver Sacks' fantastic book An Anthropologist On Mars has stuck with us since we first read it years ago: a brilliant woman with a PhD in animal science who feels so disconnected, so different from the world around her that she feels as if is an alien observer on a foreign planet. Temple Grandin, the eponymous character in Sacks' book has managed to turn her autism into a tool, a strength. After years of having to carefully study…
Octopus Pie. Oh, we haven't liked a title of one of our posts this much since Inseminating the Elephant. What gives us the right, nay, the honor of entitling a post, "Octopus Pie"? None of other than the visit to Comics Dungeon (250 N. 45th St) of the creator of the Octopus Pie comic strip, Meredith Gran. She'll be kicking off her tour and celebrating the release of the first Octopus Pie collection, "Octopus Pie: THere are No Stars in Brooklyn"…
Anyone who's ever hosted a big party knows how it goes: everybody's all back-slaps and cheers before and during, but when it comes time for clean-up, it's you and the crickets. This year, it's you, Starbucks and the crickets. Hoping to restore our neighborhoods and waterways to cleanly glory following the annual bacchanalia that marks our Independence Day celebration, Starbucks is spearheading an area-wide clean-up. Says their press release: In a follow-up to the Seattle community-supported Family 4th at Lake Union,…
Save the date! Friday, June 18th the Wallingford Community Kitchen holds another Summer Picnic! Yea! Picnic! Rachel Duboff (Thyme to Nourish) describes it for us: We will cook as a community and then enjoy the bounties of our labor by sitting down to share a meal. Participation requires a $5 pre-registration fee to cover the cost of ingredients and the facilities. We ask that anyone who can, donate additional funds to allow those who are facing financial difficulties the chance to…
Good morning to you! It's Wednesday, and that means Farmers Market in Wallingford Center (1815 N 45th St.) from 3 - 7 pm. Between you, we and the wall, we've been a bit disappointed with the selection we've seen thus far this year, but we'll chalk it up to time of year: if you're selling what's in season, you can only sell what's in season, and it's early yet. From a quick glance at the market report, it seems like things…
Before moving to Seattle in 2005, I lived in Charleston, South Carolina (where the Gullah word, kumbaya comes from), where I witnessed the school district's search for -- and eventual selection of -- a new Superintendent for the Charleston South Carolina School District. Her name was Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson. She talked about accountability, and diversity, and improving students' education, all of which Charleston sorely needed. Some of my neighbors did not like her, though. I kept hearing "she's black" or "she's…