In This City

After falling off the wagon, and allowing the blogosphere to breathe and continue on its merry way, I am sticking my finger on the spinning globe smack on the City of Seattle. Posts have come and gone. Tweets have flittered about. And videos have up and down loaded on the Tube. Sometimes you just need to get you feet back on the street.

In this city, a city known for rain, we have had a hard time shaking the snow. Down on the street, waiting for an eventual red light to become green; a fine resident of this city called down to me: "SNOW?!@?#" I looked around from the intersection and found him on a second floor landing smoking a cigarette and replied, "Yes!" He then spoke to something greater than me, looking out on the city and demanded: "Haven't we had enough?!?!?!"

So, while the snowflakes were of the short lived variety, they still lived for a time in this city: enough to matter to at least one man having a cigarette and someone who tried to capture them with a camera. While they were able to return for a short time, maybe for the last time; they too will be back.

 

In This Digital Video World

With my formative years smack in the middle of the DIY music era; I was fortunate to witness so many fearless musicians give the finger to the bloated music industry. They showed that art was not based on corporate dollars but on the individuals willing to express music in its truest form. While it seems that the current music industry seems to have gotten around this lesson, there are individuals pushing the envelope in video via the internet. It is amazing to me that something like Saturday Night Live could pour more money than the GNP of some countries and add so called "stars" and produce such utter garbage. Then we have the talentless "reality television" shows that have nothing whatsoever to do with reality. What do you watch when corporate "professionals" with untold resources can't even make 2 minutes of entertainment? Enter the world of: YouTube, digital cameras, computers and talented individuals.

In this digital video world, incredibly talented people are writing, directing, filming, acting and publishing their own; not the Loneygirl15 hoax type, but real people, who are really talented! Some are new on the scene such as MBL's Made of Men or the very funny and popular HappySlip. HappySlip is a creative outlet for Christine Gambito's one woman variety show and the world is her audience! She is her own production team doing everything from the scripting, directing, acting, and editing. She occasionally has help, but she not only does the video, but has a musical streak as well.

Where to go from here? HappySlip is preparing to take this one woman act on the road. With that DIY attitude, Gambito has turned to the internet to map out the live tour of her show. You can help bring her to Seattle (or your city) by going to Eventful and demanding her. The truth of the matter is: You don't have to settle for the garbage that is on television in this digital world anymore.

In This Time

"…even though in times this hard, one of these days you'll draw your lucky card." - Peter Case in The Plimsouls

If you don't know Peter Case, you probably should. Case teamed up with Jack Lee and Paul Collins in to form the early new wave band The Nerves in San Francisco. The group's 1976 single, "Hanging on the Telephone", was later recorded by Blondie. When the Nerves disbanded, Case moved to Los Angeles and formed the pop-rock band The Plimsouls in 1980. The Plimsouls found a measure of success when their song "A Million Miles Away" was featured in the movie Valley Girl. On tour in 2003, the Seattle Weekly interviewed Case before his show at the Tractor Tavern.

In this time, a time where a musical career that spans four decades and counting; Case spent the winter successfully recovering at home from double bypass surgery. His doctors have declared him strong and stress that he will be back at work as soon as recovery is complete. However, until then, the question of the cost of his care remains unresolved. Case, a three-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and producer is among the 47 million+ Americans, many of them musicians, who are uninsured. Hidden Love comes to aid of musician Peter Case following his emergency open-heart surgery.

Those of you in the arts know the drill. For those of you who don't know: the overwhelming majority of artists, musicians, craftspeople, etc…often go without luxuries like health insurance. If you have ever enjoyed music, art, crafts, etc…and can help, please consider doing so. It would be a shame if great music never was, because a choice was made by your favorite musician to make widgets instead of music. We would lose not only great music, but have poorly made widgets! Save the widgets, and help a musician. Thanks.

For more information on the Hidden Love Medical Relief Fund or to make a donation, please visit

http://www.hiddenlovemedicalrelief.com/

In This Economy

Sometime after the admission that the economy was in trouble, I couldn't help but notice how everything started coming with the qualifier "In this…" especially when talking about the current economic state. It suddenly became such that we could not consider the future and only could speak of the current instance, situation, predicament, etc…that we are in. This became the theme for this blog. It was simple enough to just blog about whatever was current in the relative instance, situation, predicament.

In this economy, we are stuck where we are and planning for the future seems to be an unaffordable luxury. The Pacific Northwest seems to lag when it comes to the economic trends in the rest of the nation, so it should be no surprise that we too have joined the hard times being seen other places. The hope for the Seattle area is that we don't fall as deep as other places.

While it is fine to write about Seattle coffee, art, food and obnoxious personalities: it couldn't hurt to at least acknowledge that there are former employees from Boeing, Microsoft, Washington Mutual, Starbucks, etc… While we may have a lesser downturn (so far) that means little if you are one of the fore mentioned citizens now looking for work. So, in this blog, the posts labeled "In This Economy" will hopefully have something to look forward to the future for someone. And if you have something to add that will help someone "in this economy" leave a comment or email for them.

The snow from last night is melting fast!

In This Caffè

With a long time addiction to coffee, it was only a matter of time before I landed up in the alleys of the Pacific Northwest, closer to the dealers of my daily fix. Like the odd old lady down the block with too many cats, I have a litter of coffee presses threatening to crowd out the cupboards of even the heaviest coffee cup. Should that occur, I will only need room for heat resistant straws to keep me from hitting rock bottom. Without those straws, I will have to pick up the phone and place that call to Pat O'Day.

In this caffè, the sign says "Caffe Ladro" which apparently was voted the Best Coffeehouse in the 2007 Seattle Weekly Readers Poll. "100% fair trade" you ask? Check. "Organic" you ponder? You betcha. "Shade grown coffee" you demand?!? What else would it be! Lower the drawbridge and proceed. This particular outlet is in the less than hip Eastside above Issaquah. Since the less-than-pierced must also caffeinate, I thought I would join them in an opportunity to sample an alternative to local café, Starbucks and *gasp* a McDonalds Drive-Thru.

I usually find most of the coffee that come the word "Organic" printed more prominently than the word "coffee" on the label, a bit understated to weak. I don't know the reason for this correlation; but it is frequent, yet not absolute. The bike messengers at Portland's Stumptown try to convince you that since they press their plain ol' coffee, and that they don't need to have bolder roasts available. They lie. Since I was in a hurry, I ordered a grande drip and a quiche to go. When I got to my destination; I warmed the quiche, which was fine food fare. But it was not something that would cause me to travel out of my way, like the Manchego and Mushroom Biscuit at "Crema" in Portland. There was other "stuff" that looked promising, but that will be for another time. The drip coffee (I don't know what blend they were brewing this visit) was fine. Again, not something that will haunt me. While the outside of the building was clearly the planned-community-look, the inside was a regular Seattle coffee shop affair, busy with the non-tattooed, non-pierced-citizens of the Eastside. If this scares you, there are also other locations, including Capitol Hill.

In This Afternoon

For some reason the minutes spent away for lunchtime must be identified. Odd that these minutes are counted, but not the minutes spent behind the desk; nevertheless the face of the clock is noticed. Now, the clock in my car is still anticipating the inevitable abandonment of daylight saving time and searching out new radio frequencies is akin to the Millennium Falcon making the jump to light speed. This is where talk radio turns to rant radio and with each lie, the Mouth is moving.

In this afternoon, the Mouth is chanting the refrains of opposition to taxation, semper idem. The Mouth proclaims its opposition in forms small and large. Whether originating in Olympia or that
other Washington. To the benefit of your ferries, your roads, your tired, your hungry or even your puppies from Monroe, draw your conclusions like weapons. The State of Washington is a synonym for a duty laced State of Sodom and Gomorrah. While the Mouth hacks and spits, one has to wonder why it doesn't move out of such a hellhole to where Mouths of the like run free with wind flowing through its teeth?

As the Mouth condemns new plans and stimuli; the Mouth hacks and spits for the required hours. The only rest for the poor, tired, oppressed Mouth is the kind words for its sponsor. The Mouth calmly explains how the time to buy is now; because the plan is offering an incentive and the sponsor is offering a commission. The Mouth is pleased for 30 seconds. Now back to this...

In This Blog…

In 2007, it was estimated that there was more than 70 million blogs and that number would be doubling every six months. If those estimates were correct, the number of blogs in the blogosphere would be about 1.2 trillion. The subject matter ranges from the most professional to the most questionable. Still, with the cyber-genie out of the bottle that number will continue to rise.

In this blog, it is now noted that whatever the actual number is; it is now increased by one. In this blog, there are no self-imposed cyber-fences as to subject matter per se. Yet, there is the observation that we have entered a place in time where individual situation is an accepted perspective that can be given a soapbox in one's bedroom, office or coffee shop; and their voice be heard in an instant around the world and maybe beyond.

On a dining room table, after a cup of coffee from a local café called Starbucks (this is Seattle, you know!), this ship is launched. Consider yourself advised!