Scarlett Letters

It's been busy days around chez scarlettina. Planning for this past weekend actually started months ago when garyomaha told me that he and elusivem were going to be in Seattle for a visit. We made some plans--and then suddenly davidlevine was available for a visit the self same weekend. And so began the social whirlwind that this weekend became.

David arrived on Friday night. Saturday we spent the afternoon at the Fremont Solstice Parade, which David hadn't attended since his Clarion West sojourn in Seattle. The parade has exploded since then both in terms of attendance and the scope of the event itself. The day was sunny and warm, and we arrived early to secure a good spot in the shade. It was, as always, raucous, political, joyful. I think my favorite entries in the pageant-cum-party were the stilt walkers, the giant preying mantis puppet, the portrayal of a spouting oil rig surrounded by kayaktivists, the giant bigfoot on the Cascadia Now float, the sharknado (a tornado festooned with blow-up sharks and air sleeve sharks) and, of course, the naked bicyclists. We had to leave before the parade's end, however, because we had plans for the evening with Gary and M.

I haven't seen Gary and M since JayWake, and this was a much better circumstance overall for a visit. We met them, along with their friends Don and Clark and (forgive me) a woman whose name I've forgotten, for dinner at the 5 Spot at the top of Queen Anne. It was lovely seeing them; I was so delighted. It was a nice chance to catch up before we headed down the hill for the evening's entertainment: a concert by the Seattle Men's Chorus, a program of music by Queen.

I've never seen SMC before. They're sort of a musical institution in Seattle and it seems ridiculous that I've waited this long to see them. A couple of the men who sang with SLGC sing with them now. Between the program and a chance to see those folks and, of course, the company, I was very much looking forward to the evening. Its also one of the last shows to be directed by the chorus' long-time, well-respected director Dennis Coleman. And they put on quite a show, with a guest actor/singer who strongly resembled Freddie Mercury singing lead on a couple of numbers, some excellent soloists (stronger, I thought, than their guest Freddie) and some terrific vocal arrangements. I've sung Queen in concert; I know how hard some of the music actually is on examination, so I had a great appreciation for what the chorus was doing, and they did it very well indeed. We had a marvelous time, and I think many people, like myself, left the hall bouncing and singing.

Sunday was a much quieter, more low-key day, and very much what the doctor ordered. In the morning, David and I met the usual suspects for writing at Ballard Coffee Works. We had lunch at The Market Arms and then spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Ballard, strolling around the locks and just soaking up the sun. A bagpipe band was performing on the green. A classic car show was being held with a parade of absolutely gorgeous classic cars. Down by the locks, two seals dipped in and out of the water trolling for salmon smolt; a heron looked on, dipping for smolt as they passed by. We saw salmon swimming through the fish ladder, and watched as the gates of the locks opened and closed for pleasure craft navigating the passage.

The evening was quiet, pleasant. We watched the second episode of "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell," which I've been quite enjoying. David took off yesterday morning.

Lovely weekend. Pleasant. Full of good people, good things. The coming week promises more goodness. We shall see.

I've been doing this commute for a little over a year now, and I've gotten familiar with the people patterns of my walk from 9th and Stewart to 3rd and Pine. On these walks, I'll typically see the following:

The cellist playing awesome classical music at the entrance to Pacific Place mall, where the acoustics can't be beat. Either him or the earnest singer-songwriter with his guitar, alternately playing his own music and classic, familiar covers.

The steel drum player hammering out calypso or reggae, accompanied by a back-up audio track.

The twenty-something canvassers looking for signatures and trying their charming best to stop passers-by.

The Women in Black who, every Thursday, stand vigil in Westlake Park to distribute their flyers in solidarity with war victims, the missing, the distressed, women in trouble all over the world.

The drug traffickers, pot smokers, and street artists on the block between 4th and 3rd who will leave you alone if you leave them alone.

The one or two crazy homeless people who hang out by the bus stop on 3rd.

It's like getting to know the traffic patterns on 520: once you've done it a while, it becomes the thing you just do without thinking about it overmuch.

I've been out and about with the camera a bit lately, and fairly pleased with some of the results. Both last weekend and this weekend, I took mini-trips with friends to take pictures.

Last weekend, I spent some time with CS at the Volunteer Park Conservatory and the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery (Seattle's Civil War-era cemetery), the former a favorite destination of mine, the latter one I'd never been to before. The weather was stellar for walking and shooting, and I got some lovely photographs that day, several of which I'm quite proud. We ended the day with a fine meal at Matador in Ballard--excellent company and delicious food.

Yesterday, I was off with a gang of the usual suspects, CS, and his 8-year-old daughter S to walk on the Alaskan Way Viaduct. For those of you not local to Seattle, the viaduct is an elevated, double-decker roadway that runs along Seattle's western waterfront. It was damaged during the 2001 Nisqually Earthquake and, since then, the city has debated endlessly about its fate. The decision was finally made to dismantle it for safety reasons, and to replace it with an underground tunnel. I'll not debate the merits of this decision here, but simply say that the loss of the viaduct will adversely affect Seattle's traffic patterns. It will also deprive us of some of the most wonderful views of downtown, West Seattle, and the Olympic Mountain Range available in the region. Yesterday, the city opened the viaduct to pedestrians for the first and only time in a sort of farewell celebration. It was a typical Pacific Northwestern autumn day, though perhaps darker and wetter than we've had in a while--the rain was a fine, constant shower, the clouds low and dark gray--thwarting hopes for clear photographs of views from the top. I'm sure that photographers more gifted and skilled than I got lovely, moody images nevertheless. The pictures I took are not art by any stretch, but they are my souvenirs of a roadway I have used regularly during my time in Seattle and which I will miss. (Note: The last five photographs in the set were not taken yesterday but during past drives.) ironymaiden took some wonderful pictures, and e_bourne took some nice shots with her iPhone. CS took a couple of striking images, too.

I'm going to miss the viaduct. I know that a lot of people consider it an eyesore and a wall between downtown and the waterfront but, as I said above, the views from the upper deck were wonderful. I always loved coming home after a long trip and looking down the city's canyons as I passed by, seeing skyscrapers from a good ten stories up in a way not possible anywhere else. Seeing sunsets from the viaduct was marvelous as well. And having used the viaduct as a primary route to the homes of e_bourne and markbourne, and ladyjestocost and bedii regularly, I've developed a fondness for it because of my associations with them, some of my longest, dearest friends locally. Lastly, the viaduct is one of the things that distinguishes Seattle from many other cities. As we walked, varina8 remarked that the last time she returned from a trip, she felt as though the city was becoming a generic urban area, losing its character slowly as a result of gentrification and the loss of historic, distinctive architecture. As I consider how the Capitol Hill neighborhood has changed over my years here, I see her point, even though a great many historic structures have been registered and will be saved from the axe. This particular loss I feel somewhat more keenly than for any one particular building because its looming presence is one of the defining features of the waterfront and because I've used it so regularly. I suspect, based on the turn-out yesterday, the number of people who took souvenir chunks of viaduct rubble, and the farewell grafitti, that I'm not the only one who feels that way. The city posted a farewell banner on the viaduct for yesterday's event. I couldn't have said it any better myself.

ETA: Pictures and video of the start of demolition. It actually hurts me to watch the walls being destroyed. ::sigh:: And here's a video of how the southern bypass will look during the demolition of that first mile of road. Pretty cool. And you can get a sense of what the views of town are like from the viaduct. With thanks to e_bourne for the links.


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Things I want to post about:
-- Last weekend's photo excursion
-- The book I'm nearly finished with (when I'm finished with it)
-- The interview/dinner I enjoyed with some of the women from Weight Watchers last weekend
-- The coming dismantling and replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct
-- Other stuff I'm sure I've forgotten

Note to self:
-- Make an icon for posts about photography

This morning on the Queen Anne neighborhood blog, they're asking "What makes Queen Anne special?" And honestly, my answer was: not much. The main drag, Queen Anne Ave, is undergoing the same kind of neighborhood homogenization that so many other Seattle neighborhoods are going through--look-alike apartment buildings and townhome construction.

As for neighborhood personality, three things come to mind for me: money, families, dogs. I've never felt like the neighborhood had a personality and culture of its own, not like Ballard, Fremont, Capitol Hill (though it's undergoing a major homogenization itself), or the U District. And while the top of Queen Anne Hill has useful businesses and a couple of great neighborhood stalwarts (mostly coffee places), any personality it does have is really concentrated on the west side, Lower Queen Anne. Given its age and proximity to Seattle Center and downtown, I'd bet that it's one of the next neighborhoods to get that new, anonymous look.

Just the idea that the Chamber of Commerce has to ask what makes the neighborhood special is a sign that the neighborhood's got an identity problem. It's mostly an affluent residential area. The homes and gardens are lovely--maybe that's something to try to promote. But really, that appeals to only a certain demographic.

Oh wait. Maybe that's the point.

I have to thank dianora2 for her delightful post tonight, which was filled with linky goodness and much pop culture squeeage. If you don't feel like clicking over there, here are a couple of the bits she shared most pleasing to me:

Milky Way galaxy 'tastes of raspberries': Raspberries and rum, apparently. See? If the religious right wanted to prove there's a God, they'd totally tell everyone that the universe tastes sweet and will make you a little tipsy. That's my kinda God right there. ::grin::

Can I ever love The X Files again?: A fan ponders whether or not the disastrous series finale and the most recent movie have forever poisoned the waters. I know exactly how he feels. Every now and then I pop an early-series X Files DVD into the player and feel that warm, lovely paranoia that Chris Carter created so well. It hurts to think about what came later.

The season finale of "Chuck" tonight made me happy as a clam. I recognized what was going on in the final sequence so that when Chuck uttered his last lines, I scared the cat with my outburst of laughter. I hope the series is renewed for next season. It's just terrific.

In other news, it appears that Seattle is about to be invaded by penguins. I have already written for an application and notified a number of artists of my acquaintance. Yes, I wish to be a penguin...or at least create a penguin to represent me.

On the subject of my little revolution of one, I wrote to the Fremont Universe blog, to Joel Connelly, and have mentioned it to several folks. A number of people have linked to the idea, mentioning it in their LJs. I also mentioned it on Facebook. With few exceptions, people seem to dig the idea. The question is: How to get businesses to buy into the idea. It has already been suggested that local business won't be willing to cut into its already razor-thin profit margin. Honestly, I'm not all that concerned about the short term. Local businesses who remember that my money--what little I have--is still legal tender even if I have less than usual will continue to get my enthusiastic business at full price when I return to work. Those who don't are likely to see less of me.

Spent the afternoon with brumbjorn and selinker enjoying the Pacific Science Center's exhibit on GPS technology and geocaching (using Entertainment Book coupons to help keep it affordable). It actually mimics the experience of geocaching very well and is a great deal of fun. It's a little text-heavy for this sort of interactive thing, but it's still entertaining. We spent some truly quality time in the butterfly house. (As brumbjorn said, if you go in there in a bad mood, there's no way you can leave without feeling better.) I smashed some coins (and am ready for trading!). We had lunch at T.S. McHugh's and then headed out.

Lots of walking, talking and catching up. I must sleep now, for I am beat.

The NY Times is currently featuring an article about the neighborhoods I live between, Fremont and Ballard. I live within walking distance of Fremont and spend quite a bit of time there. (My neighborhood is technically part of Queen Anne Hill, but I live on what's called "the back side," and it's far more Fremont than it is Queen Anne.) Some of my closest local friends live in Ballard. As soon as I saw the picture at the top of the article, I recognized it as the Ballard Sunday Market. Couldn't mistake it for anywhere else.

And, reading the article, you'll see some of the reasons I stay in Seattle.