New Year's Wishes from Seattle

Robert Reich summed up good wishes for the coming year when he said: "I wish you not just a prosperous new year; on that score, 2009 may be something of a bummer. No, I wish you and your kids and grandkids, and Ella, a good and peaceful and generous new year". As we look forward to 2009, let us dream of increased peace in Iraq, common sense and a sense of a common humanity in Israel and its Palestinian neighbours, a Russia and China that put the lives and concerns of their peoples before their political machinations, a Zimbabwe free of the tyranny of Mugabe, a Darfur free of genocide, a Tibet free from China, an Afghanistan free from the Taliban: may all these hopes not be a delusion and pipe dream.

Tumultuous Nature & The After Holiday Malaise

The weather in Seattle and Chicago cannot seem to make up its mind as to season or regional climate zone. After unprecedented snow, ice, thunder, and rain in Seattle, there are now floods and avalanches! Chicago has had record snow in December, but it came, melted, came some more, and then there was freezing rain making the streets like ice rinks, and now thunder, lightning, torrential rain, massive flooding washing away all the above i n 58 degree weather...in December...only to face freezing temperatures in the next few days and tornado watches! Shoppers weren't tempted by record price slashing...blame it on the weather!

A Story for the Season...may we all do the same

An op-ed piece in Sunday's New York Times by Ted Gup and reprinted in Wednesday's Seattle P-I tells a wonderful story about a very thoughtful, generous man.....an example to us all. It does not take much to be of help or service to our fellow humans in need. Extending a hand, giving a hug, sharing some treasure......why be emotionally, financially, or philosophically parsimonious.
One option: give to the Seattle P-I Reader's Care Fund.


Life in the Seattle Lane this holiday week (from the Seattle P-I photo gallery):

Speak Out!

So the Pope declares humanity's existence is imperiled because 10% of humans have a different sexual orientation to the other 90%. Oh please! Thank goodness there are those speaking out against this idiocy.

Today, Desmond Tutu excoriated South Africa's position in the UN vis-a-vis Mugabe and said that South Africa has lost the moral high ground by not condemning the disgraceful behaviour of Mugabe and his supporters. Earlier, Tutu had said that Mugabe should be removed, by force if necessary.

(Infra-) Structural Issues

Here are some of the frustrations endured by the residents of Seattle, compounding our weather caused problems. 1) There are no obvious criteria for which roads get plowed and sanded first, as even arterials are still now, 5 days later, buried under mounds of slush, ice, snow, and soon to be more snow 2) Our transit gurus have not yet figured out that articulated and electric buses do not fare well in heavy snow conditions 3) Instead of adding MORE buses to help citizens get around, they pull buses off routes that had snow problems, but did not add additional service on the snow routes (see this article in The Stranger) 4) The transit website is more than useless in its information on which buses are running at all, let alone late 5) Who knew that there was a strike at a de-icing plant last month that caused three airlines to cancel flights for lack of enough de-icer; and now de-ice tankers are stuck on the other side of the mountain and on rails with ice-stuck switches 6)Sea-Tac airport needs some sort of concierge service to help stranded passengers not only to assist them in getting food and shelter (especially families with small children), but also to help passengers get themselves rebooked...it is not good enough just to let them flounder and overwhelm already stressed out airline personnel 7) And let us finally get that damn coastal radar system so that weather experts can actually see these systems on their final approach!

And to think I could have been here instead!:

Snow is tiresome when you have other things to do....

Check out these photos from the Seattle P-I. For people trying to leave town, attend Nutcracker performances, take holiday walks with family members who live across town, frustration is building. For explanations of this snow phenomenon, be sure to check out Cliff Mass' blog.

Holiday Views of Beautiful Buildings in Seattle

Betty Gimarelli designs beautiful ornaments of historic sites and scenes in Seattle and Portland. Her 2008 ornament for Seattle is the Pioneer Building in Pioneer Square. Check out the collectors box to see all her past designs. Her Seattle ornaments for 2006 and 2007 are also sold as fundraisers for the Dream Project Scholarships at the University of Washington...beautiful family keepsakes for a great cause.

Weather Info for the Pacific Northwest

The best source for weather information around these parts is from Cliff Mass, atmospheric sciences professor at the University of Washington. He has a blog which he updates regularly. So be sure to check it out.

Snowthunder, Snowed In

Seattle and its environs are enduring a series of storms, beginning earlier in the week and expected to continue for days! And the snowthunder and lightning early this morning was amazing! We have had about six inches of snow this morning on Beacon Hill and Snoqualmie Pass has had over 26 inches. Here is a sample of photos taken by Meryl Schenker and other readers of the Seattle P-I.

Finally, the courage to stand up

The Congress Party of the People (COPE) has finally challenged the totalitarian tendencies of the evolved (or is it devolved) ANC. The ANC has been living off its anti-Apartheid glory days. It has become a corrupt, crony-supporting, self-interested group of people who have lost their right to lead a people in dire need of a reformed government who will create opportunities for genuine improvement. See the article in today's NYT.

Exciting Visions From Artists Largely Unseen

The painting below is Self Portrait, 1941, by Frederick C. Flemister. A story on NPR about Art Basel in Miami gave some great information about African-American artists, collected for many years by the black community but not well represented in galleries.




The painting on the right is called Harlem, 1934, by Edward Burra. This piece is included in a book entitled The History of British Art Edited by David Bindman, reviewed in the Weekend FT by Jackie Wullschlager. The book is in three volumes and sounds like it will caste British art in a new, interesting light.

The Hmmmm Factor

A repeat interview on KUOW with Donald Byrd, artistic director of Spectrum Dance Theatre, made me pause. Byrd arrived at Spectrum at the end of 2002, to mixed feelings and views. There are still many who are unable/unwilling to see past the impression that he does not care for the welfare/health of his dancers inorder that he may implement his vision. Barring the veracity of this information, his goals and ideals for what dance can accomplish are very interesting. In talking about his work with Israeli and Palestinian choreographers, he was musing on how dance can get beyond words when dealing with larger issues such as race and injustice, because dance sucks you into the moment/movement and allows you to feel before you can think and react viscerally.

Items in the local paper of interest to me...

You only find stuff like this if you read the local paper of whichever place you are currently visiting,living,working. And you just cannot make up this stuff. I only hope Rahm Emmanuel is not knee-deep in muck and compromising Obama's reputation. The Chicago Tribune is just relishing, with glee, Blagojevich's undoing because he (Blago) wanted to fire the Trib's editorial staff for writing pieces critical of him! Also in today's Chicago Tribune, a story on the first Jewish President (remember the first black president?). And a nice piece in the real estate section on Hyde Park.

Let Us All Salute These Men

A debt of honour no one can deny, let us hope that all these brave heroes, the Tuskegee Airmen, can attend this most significant of inaugurations.

Delicious Politics

It is raining cats and dogs in Chicago and people are wringing their hands with glee as they watch the greedy powerful come under scrutiny. Chicago may tout itself as a wunderkind of action and change, but the only spots this chameleon of a city has not changed are those of corruption, graft, greed, and the desire for more. Up and down the social and political scale "everyone" is either on the take or knows someone who is. It is Shakespearean in proportion and complexity. As an outsider, I love it! So many drama kings and queens. The peanut gallery feeling part of the action: this stuff is better than fiction, or perhaps, will mke great fiction

Snow Leopard Trust

The enterprise discussed below, Kobo H, also supports the Snow Leopard Trust through Snow Leopard Enterprises. What a wonderful effort to encourage economic development in the regions where snow leopards are endangered through poaching. By purchasing from artists in Seattle and elsewhere, you can also support artists and artisans and snow leopards in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Pakistan.

Crumbling From Within

There has been much discussion over the last several years about the age and crumbling of our infrastructure: bridges falling apart, sewer systems and water delivery systems needing replacement, etc. The cost of maintenance, repair, and rebuild is mind boggling, partly due to the fact that most of these systems are underground. Obama reviewed this problem during his Saturday radio address and offered a plan on the scale FDR's WPA as a source of work and investment for America. Check it out on You Tube. The subject was also a feature on Weekend America: the reporter ventured into the storm drains of Columbia, Missouri.
Photo by J.Tarr.

Creative Entrepreneurs

Some beautiful items are to be found at the on-line shopping marketplace Etsy. Two stores featured here are Blythe By Design and Kobo H. Hiromi is the creator of felted bowls and crocheted hats. Heather makes beaded rings, necklaces, and fabulous prints and cards of photographs of her travels in Egypt.

Mumbai and travel

Peter Greenberg (is the travel editor for NBC's Today Show and a contributing editor for Men's Health and Best Life magazine. He's also the travel editor–at–large for AARP and the host of national weekly radio show. His books include "Hotel Secrets from the Travel Detective," "The Traveler's Diet," and "The Complete Travel Detective Bible," among others. His newest book is "Don't Go There: The Travel Detective's Essential Guide to the Must–Miss Places of the World.") was a guest on KUOW's Weekday on 1 December 2008. He said he would travel to Mumbai tomorrow if he were not otherwise booked. Read Suketu Mehta's Maximum City:Bombay Lost and Found and his op-ed piece in the NYT on 28 November 2008.

Zimbabwe.....people are dying.......where is the outrage

The politicians have failed the people of Zimbabwe. The NGO's are hamstrung. Apart from blogging and venting, what is to be done. Mugabe has to go. South Africa must intervene. Mbeki should be ashamed for defending Mugabe because he was a freedom fighter before he became a dictator and strongman. Something must be done.

Seattle Sampling

Those of you lucky enough to live in Seattle are encouraged to support your local artists by shopping at the Seattle Sampling event 5-7 December. The event takes place in 12 studios around the city. Each studio hosts several artists. These are people who create beauty in our lives through sharing their talents. Visit with them; ooh & aah; purchase a gift locally made for a friend & loved one.

Interesting findings in our world

These rock formations in Iceland are described in the travel section in the Seattle Times.


Another interesting story is about an ancient dug-out canoe found in the Black Sea and being studied in Bulgaria.

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Time to Start Christmas Shopping

Greg Mankiw's Blog: Time to Start Christmas Shopping

Another reason to be a civil rights activist

Under the heading of "Huh, I didn't know that", there is a story on NPR about black Iraqis and the discrimination they face. Be sure to click through and read this and be encouraged to keep working toward human rights for all humans. If you can't spend time volunteering/working for human rights groups, send money to organizations involved in this good work. ACLU. Amnesty International. World Organization for Human Rights. Witness.

South Africa under review

In the 20 November 2008 issue of London Review of Books, R.W.Johnson reviews
Cyril Ramaphosa by Anthony Butler;
After the Party: A Personal and Political Journey inside the ANC by Andrew Feinstein;
Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred by Mark Gevisser.
Johnson is an emeritus fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. His new book, South Africa’s Brave New World, will be published by Penguin in the spring. His knowledge, experience, and insight into South Africa's past and present make the reviews as important as the books themselves.

Farming in Sudan

A report on the BBC this morning about land in Sudan that is owned/leased by foreigners, in this case Arabs from the Middle East, raised some interesting issues. In 2004, the UN FAO recommended that global agribusinesses could farm in countries where land was underutilised as a way to feed the hungry in the nations of the businesses....think of this as the farm version of mining or any other resource exploitation/exploration. The foods grown do not remain in the countries where they are grown; workers are not usually from the the "host" country. This is not like coffee or banana plantations. The questions raised include: what are the food benefits to the host country, especially if they already have hunger and employment problems; is this ethical farming; are the farming practices environmentally beneficial to the host nation.

Shame, Shame on Mugabe

News reports on NPR and BBC today highlight the Shame of Southern Africa: Mugabe's indifference to the pain and suffering of the people of Zimbabwe, his infatuation with power, his ruination of the economy is seen in the hands and faces of the women and children. These photographs are of people finding crumbs of food lying in the dirt, digging undigested corn kernels out of cow dung and washing them before cooking. Has Mugabe no shame, no conscience?

Domestic Violence

The cartoonist Sandra Bell-Lundy has just finished a series on domestic abuse. You can see the whole series by going to this link at the Seattle Times or this link at King Features Syndicate website or at Between Friends Blog. If you know a friend who needs help, please be there for her and look up support services through your local United Way or other social service umbrella organisation.

Odds & Ends

Wow , I scooped the NYT on the Obamaland story (see blog entry two days ago)!
Two recent issues of the London Review of Books (LRB) have excellent reads to look forward to devouring. In the 23 October 2008 issue, read David Bromwich's review of The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr. In the same issue, Neal Ascherson reviews Europe between the Oceans: 9000 BC-AD1000 by Barry Cunliffe. And Glyn Maxwell's review of Aleksandar Hemon's new book The Lazarus Project sounds fabulous. In the 6 Novemeber 2006 issue, Colin Kidd reviews two volumes of J.G.A Pocock's Barbarism and Religion and his The Discovery of Islands. Winter's reading list has been set! Subscribing to the LRB for $34/year is well worth every penny...give yourself a wonderful gift.

Humans, & Our History, Never Cease To Be Interesting

While in Chicago, I was listening to WBEZ the NPR station and happened upon a program on the Black Jews of Chicago. It was so informative and enlightening and really makes one re-think, or think, about identity issues and the problems various people face in life.

The Seattle P-I today carries a New York Times article, on how the Chinese government has been trying to suppress DNA research into the genetic origins of ancient mummies, over 3500 years old, found in the Tarim Basin. Some of these people have red hair, other European features, and textiles from Eurasia to the west of China! This information is being used by the Uighurs to support their claims of autonomy from China (even though these mummies predate the Uighurs in this area) and undermines the Chinese meta narrative about homogeneity and the preeminent arrival of the Han people.

Obamaland

Here in Chicago, specifically in Hyde Park, there is the sense that everyone feels that they are the best friends of the Obama family. Everyone talks about their family and family concerns, the newspapers and local TV stations refer to him and the family as more than just local folks made good. Everyone knows where he lives, where he gets coffee, etc. This is understandable in a small town (like Crawford, for instance), but this is a city of 4 million people!

Three Things

Octavia Butler, (see photo right). The Obama campaign's use of the internet. NPR's "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me". These three topics seem unconnected, but, for those with a futurist or, as Doris Lessing calls it, an outer space fiction bent, there are eerie dots to connect. Butler's Patternist series deals with a world where people are connected telepathically to their leader through a web or net-like (neurological) system. It is a highly sophisticated means of communication and control and future leaders need to be able to take over this web from the current leader. As the Obama campaign, and now, administration assesses the need to keep in touch with their constituents through various social networking media, and as more and more people interact through their headsets and receive information directly from their leader on the internet, there is an uncanny similarity to receiving communication from a leader telepathically. The NPR show comes in to play here because the guest today, Tom Brokaw, had a wonderful and humourous insight into the media during the campaign and added some levity to the dark side of information and communication technology.

When It's Raining In Seattle........

Once you've finished all the books mentioned in the post below while curled up in front of the fireplace, here are some more indoor/in town suggestions. The New York Times reports on the latest Google innovation that's even better than SimCity: Exploring Old Rome Without Air (or Time) Travel. If you've been to Rome or Orange, France, or even Pompeii and tried to imagine what these places actually looked like with the buildings filled in, this is the time-spender for you!

After that, if driving to Walla Walla, McMinville, or Napa is out of the question, check out your local urban winery. In Seattle, these can be found in the SoDo area with the featured winery in NYT being Fall Line Winery.

Books to curl up with as the days grow dark earlier

Book prizes have been announced (see lists in the right hand column), holiday reads will be suggested, and gifts purchased. Here is my list of recently reviewed books to add to the stack already awaiting on the living room floor.
*A Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh
*My Father's Paradise: A Son's Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar
*The Wasted Vigil by Nadeem Aslam
*Other Rooms, Other Wonders: Connected Stories by Daniyal Mueenuddin
*To Siberia by Per Petterson
*Carolina Clay: The Life and Legend of the Slave Potter Dave by Leonard Todd
*Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo
*Our Story Begins by Tobias Wolff
*The Imposter by Damon Galgut
*An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy
*The Lazarus Project by Aleksandar Hemon
*The Wild Places by Robert McFarlane
*Origins by Amin Maalouf

Wine Touring in Walla Walla

The winemakers and their friends, families, and staff really want visitors to enjoy themselves. They are unfailingly enthusiastic and optimistic and love to tell you their stories.This year we visited Beresan, Buty, Cayuse Vineyards, Dunham Cellars, Flying Trout, Forgeron Cellars, Otis Kenyon, Sapolil, Spring Valley Vineyard, and SYZYGY. Beresan, Flying Trout, and Otis Kenyon were new to us. We enjoyed hearing how Ashley Trout makes her Malbecs in Argentina and Walla Walla. Debbie Waliser at Beresan was a delightful hostess and the views of and from the farmhouse were very special. Star winemaker Christophe Baron and manager Trevor Dorland are to be congratulated for making the Cayuse barrel tasting event a not-to-be-missed affair, not least because the wines are fabulous and people watching is a most engaging pastime. Dunham Cellars is located in a hanger out at the airport, yet walking into the building you feel as though you have slipped into a place very far away. Marie-Eve Gilla, the winemaker at Forgeron makes such elegant wines and Dave gave us a great tour of the facilities and furthered our understanding of the wine making process. And the folks who bring you Sapolil are definitely into making the most of life...not only are the wines delicious, but the music nights in the tasting room round out the Walla Walla experience. Winemaker Bill Schwerin had better watch out...daughter Abigail makes a fabulous Patina Syrah! Spring Valley Vineyard also has a great family story steeped in Walla Walla history and tasting their good wines while hearing these stories makes for a pleasant half hour. And last but not least, Zach Brettler at SYZYGY is a pleasure to talk with about wine and his wines are a pleasure to drink.

A Walla Walla Weekend

Out in the middle of the semi-desert of Eastern Washington, lies the town of Walla Walla. The desert has been turned into wheat fields, vineyards, a town to service these agrarian activities and with it, an excellent liberal arts college, Whitman College, the great Walla Wall Community College, where future winemakers are trained, and a delightful community of superb restaurants, artists, and musicians.
For more information about the wonderful women winewakers of Walla Walla, see Sunday's Pacific Magazine.

The latest farms......

The word 'farms' used to conjure up images of wheatfields, chickens pecking in the backyard, cows browsing. Then we got tree farms, fish farms (still foodstuff or living things). In recent years, the newest crops are servers and wind farms. The photo on the right is a wind farm near Walla Walla....from a distance they look like the hills have buzz cuts!

The Long Sweep of History

The op-ed piece in the New York Times on Friday, 7 October by Orlando Patterson was moving, both emotionally and intellectually. It places the importance of Obama's win beyond the short-term thrill of the moment,and looks for its origin in the depth of thought and philosophy of the Founding Fathers. If this becomes accepted wisdom, it will further advance the foresight and brilliance of America's first revolutionaries and as importantly, work on the psyche of even the most recalcitrant racists.

Along the Columbia Gorge; finding a surprise in Walla Walla

Driving along the Columbia River on an autumn day is something else! The colours were magnificent; a few wisps of fog at first; the transition from lush conifers and deciduous trees to semi arid desert is startling and wondrous. The Multnomah Falls were flowing with rushed abandon. Closer to Walla Walla, the fog began to close in and provided a powerful feeling of unobtrusive protection.

Much like the Pigs on Parade in Seattle or Cows in Chicago, there are Walla Walla Sweets on parade in Walla Walla (see two of them above)....they are elegant and beautiful.

The Big Story

The big story is not "just" that Barack Obama has been elected the 44th President of the United States of America. The bigger story is that the American People stepped up to the world's needs, the world's desire, America's survival. We, the People, booted out the worst administration in our history. We finally couldn't take it any more. Why it took the collective conscience so long, is beyond comprehension. The fact that we had such an incredible candidate is a bonus beyond belief.
Views from around the media: Nelson Mandela. Financial Times of London. From 'To The Point'...France, England, Pakistan, Israel.
From Salon: The new era of Obama Sherman Alexie, Joan Blades, Robert Dallek, Greil Marcus, Dan Savage and others weigh in on Obama's historic presidential win.

We Did It

Note to friends......

Another reason why I love Starbucks......

Bristol Bay and the Pebble Mine proposal

If you have any interest in saving salmon runs and protecting a beautiful, fragile ecosystem (see the photograph), please check out this website and voice your concerns.

The Horrors of Sex Trafficking

Maiti Nepal is two women rescuing girls from age 8 on up from brothels and sex trafficking in Nepal. The rescued girls make beaded bracelets to support themselves. Crooked Trails of Seattle held a fundraiser at the Eileen Fisher downtown Seattle store last week where the bracelets were sold. Follow these links and support the work these incredible women are doing to rescue girls from a terrible present to give them a future. Please do something.

The Importance of Voting

From today's Weekend America by Julia Alvarez:
"Every Election Day when I get to vote, I cry. I do. I see people I know and people I don't know, old people, young people, parking their cars to claim their one vote, people who disagree with me and people who agree with me. But mostly I see ghosts. People who made this happen for me.

You see, I'm remembering. I'm remembering people from the Dominican Republic, the country we fled in 1960. I am remembering those who could not leave the dictatorship, the tios and tias, uncles and aunts, who wanted me to have this day. Some were freedom fighters, who died trying to win this right for me. Some were just scared, everyday people who lived without ever having had this day for themselves. I owe them my thanks, and I thank them by voting. On this day I get to say what kind of a world I want! I know the price tag of being able to have this right.

When I hear people say they're not going to vote, that it won't make a difference, I think, give it to me! I'll recycle it! I know a bunch of people who can use it. I'll send it to Piti, a Haitian worker in the mountains of the Dominican Republic, who dreams of some day studying in this country; or to Mari, who takes care of my mami and papi back in their homeland and asks me to bring her to the United States every time I visit. Or I'll send it just down the road right here in Vermont to Felipe or Telma or Roberto, Mexican migrant workers who are helping our local Vermont farmers stay on their farms, workers whose own children were born here, children who will one day be able to say what kind of a world they want because their parents thought of them.

I want everyone who can vote to vote. And as they do, I want them to remember that someone back then thought of us. I want us to vote not just for ourselves but for the children of the future, American or not.

The first settlers of this continent believed: "The earth is not given to us by our parents; it is loaned to us by our children." I want us to think about that debt and vote for the candidate who best remembers that promise and that promissory note - what we owe the children of the future: a green, viable, livable earth; a human family at peace, solving our problems together.

Relatives and friends in the Dominican Republic died so I could have this day. Forty-eight years later, in Weybridge, Vermont, a citizen of a whole other country, I get to vote because they thought of me. Now it's my turn. I'll vote thinking of children whose names I don't know and whose nationalities don't matter, but who deserve a future we have to start paying back to them. Someday it will make a difference that we thought of them today."

Copyright 2008 Julia Alvarez.

Doing Something

Here is what a small group of dedicated people in Seattle with a good leader (Gail Savina), good ideas, & organization can do: "seventy 'official' volunteers from seven neighborhoods harvested fruit, & many brought relatives & friends to help. Another 80 people helped via one-time work parties. There were more than 160 different harvest 'events': volunteers went out to pick fruit more than 160 times--at private homes, public parks, schools and commercial properties. The final total is 14,000+ pounds (& still counting!) in seven neighborhoods plus another 4,000 lbs in West Seattle. Out of the 14,000 lbs, there was more than 8,000 lbs of apples and 3,000 lbs of plums.
The fruit was brought to more than 63 different places-- yes, 63! -- including food banks, meals programs, shelters, residential facilities, programs for children and youth, and senior programs. The recipient organizations were based in neighborhoods, not downtown." This is urban farming in action, meeting the needs of hungry families, helpful citizens, and caring neighbours. This can be replicated anywhere. To get more information, email this blog and your queries will be passed on.

Chroniclers of History

Another lion has departed. Es'kia Mphahlele died at the age of 88. A traveler on the long road with Nelson Mandela, he was the literary voice of the ANC. Read Down Second Avenue.


On the topic of good reads: Ferdnand Braudel's Structures of Everyday Life and The Wheels of Commerce are excellent historical overviews of the underpinnings of our economic, political, and public social lives today.