How much will you pay to never burn toast?

From time to time I have posted links to incredible new inventions. Perhaps I am too much of a technocrat and believe technology will fix all our problems. Like the space mirror to keep the Earth from getting to hot. Or the virtual keyboard that projects the keys onto any flat surface. Add to that the Transparent Toaster.

Cool? Yes. Necessary? Well, it depends on how much you like your toast. (It's worth pointing out that the toaster is just in the "concept" stage and does not yet function or is for sale, as they have to make the glass conduct heat without melting. I imagine that the technology used in rear window defrosters may come in handy.)

The Lovely Bones

If you didn't read it, this was a pretty touching book with some very interesting and surprising choices made, from who narrates the book, to its description of the afterlife ... It's quite good and had I had a blog when I read it, I would have put a big recommendation behind it.

Anyway, the reason I mention it is that is being adapted into a film. By the same director who did Lord of the Rings and King Kong. Peter Jackson has proved he can do the big epics with sprawling stories. But little stories about a family?

I suspect he chose this one not only for its quality but for the opportunity for a wide array of special effects needed to tell it. So it will be very interesting to see what he comes up with when it's released next year.

As promised

Here's Joe Kreuser's review of Superman Returns. I was really thinking of not seeing it, since I am far more excited for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." If it's good, I will also see the 2007 film "Pirates of the Caribbean: Yo, Yo, Ho, and A Bottle of Rum."

Ok, so I don't actually know if that is the title. But they filmed the 3nd movie at the same as this one so they'll definitely be releasing it.

The Esplanade

Spent the evening on the Foss Esplanade last night. First, I was at the William Traver Gallery in the Albers Mill to receive a grant for the Grand Cinema from ArtsFund, who doubled our funding from last year! And then it was celebratory drinks (Vanilla Mojitos) and mini Kobe beef burgers on the deck at the Blue Olive. The Esplanade was well used, with people all over. Good to see such a beautiful piece of Tacoma full of its residents.

Broadway Rehab?

Downtown Rumblings
Broadway may be waking up from its slumber. I lived in the Bostwick for just over a year and found that Broadway was just too quiet too often (except when buses came by). Now the Payless Building is being refurbished to house a toy manufacturer for their corporate offices. The Pantages is expanding their lobby space. And the bottom floor of the office building across from the Pantages (the one with the Subway) is totally gutted right now.

Anyone know what's going on? The building has been sitting practically empty for as long as I've lived downtown. I'm glad to see the change.

Paheli

As part of the Grand's Bollywood series, I watched Paheli today (here's the IMDb page). It's a true Bollywood film, filled with bright colors (click on the picture to see it larger), pretty women, and a magical plot. A woman is married and her husband is so engrossed in his business and accounting that the morning after his wedding he sets off to earn his fortune far away, not to return for five years. She is understandably distraught. But when a spirit who fell in love with her beauty at a local well assumes the form of her husband, she is quite willing to let him love her, knowing that he is not her husband.

So there's the plot. It's a long movie, about 2:20, but it was actually a lot of fun and I enjoyed the story. Yes, it's weird. And there's a rather odd camel race in the middle plus a song about how great bracelets are. But it's still pretty good.

I didn't see the other films we've had, but this is the most "pure" Bollywood film I've seen.

Healthy, wealthy, and wise

I'm watching the Charlie Rose interview with Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates. It's a pretty good interview. I particularly liked Buffett, who told FORTUNE Magazine awhile ago, "A very rich person would leave his kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing." Well said, especially from a man who just put his money where his mouth is.

Smart car. Smart company. But 2008?

According to the NYT, DaimlerChrysler is going to bring the smart car to the US in 2008. That long? I think they could make a pretty good killing bringing it out by the end of this year.

It certainly puts GM to shame, who is subsidizing polluters and greenhouse gas pumps (read: Hummers).

In a separate, but even more interesting NYT article, some scientists are looking into ways that we might be able to cool the Earth instead of just cutting greenhouse gas emissions. One of those ways is a big mirror that would float between us and the sun. Interestingly, in the Robinson Mars Trilogy, they created a lens that they used to magnify the sun's rays (to warm Mars) and then invert it later to cool Venus. Science fiction progresses!

This is me.

I took an on-line test today to find out which superhero I am. Apparently I'm Superman, which is great news, because I'm getting a lot of press this week (about my Return), although Ebert didn't like my movie.

I will link to Mr. Joe Kreuser's review of my comeback when it appears, as I assume it will be forthcoming if he can get over his cold. Anyway, which super hero are you?

People I Know

I watched "People I Know" this weekend at the lake while trying to cool down. Haven't heard of it? It stars Al Pacino, Kim Basinger, Richard Schiff (Toby from the West Wing), and Tea Leoni. Still doesn't ring any bells? The film was a "Sundance darling" for a little while but never got a release in theaters. Ebert played it in his Overlooked Film Festival a couple years ago since it contained one of the best Al Pacino performances (and he was good).

But the movie is really not so great, which was a little disappointing. It wasn't all that coherent and couldn't make things work like it wanted to work.

The best moment is in the deleted scenes. The film contained a surreal shot of the World Trade Center at dawn, which then flipped 90 degrees until the World Trade Center was fully contained in the frame, but sideways, and then it fades to Al Pacino's tired face. It worked so well in the movie, especially because it makes you realize later that whenever they talked about "Wall Street" they had dubbed it over "The World Trade Center." In fact the movie set a house of pleasure with opium and prostitutes on the 42nd floor of one of the buildings.

Perhaps it is obvious why the director decided to pull the shot and delete the references. For a movie to be at Sundance just a few months after September 11, the symbol of the WTC had changed dramatically, and no one would have been able to see past its new significance.

Unfortunately, the shot of the World Trade Center rather tied the movie together, would have made the end feel much better, and would have come close to just making the whole thing work. It may not have succeeded but it would have come close.

Too much summer

At some point yesterday the weather went from "great" to "just too damn hot." I'm not sure, though, if that had to do with the actual temperature or the fact that I had to relocate from the Lake to the Grand, which contains far fewer ways to stay cool.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

More temperate, yes, but probably not more lovely ...

Man, I love that place.

The rich get richer

Kinda.

What I mean to say is that the rich charities get richer and then give more away.

Perhaps you've read already that William Buffet pledged about 30 billion dollars to the Gates Foundation. This is notable because he didn't use the money to create his own big charity under his own name, but so respected what the Gates Foundation is doing that he gave it to them.

Actually, this is really notable because it is part of the largest gift ever. Even adjusting for inflation Carnegie gave about $7.6 billion away.

Regarding the Gates Foundation, they were already the largest non-profit in the world. According to their Wikipedia page they have made some stunning gifts, totalling more than $1 billion a year.

If I could just riff on this subject for a section, Bill Gates Grand Challenges in Global Health is one of the best examples of good giving. Gates asked the smartest people in the world what the great challenges were to global health, and then asked if they had any crazy ideas that might fix it. Here's a brief sampling of what they came up with. Invent:

• bananas and sorghum that make their own vitamin A
• chemicals that render mosquitoes unable to smell humans
• drugs that hunt down tuberculosis germs in people who do not even know they are infected
• and vaccines that are mixed into spores or plastics or sugars and can be delivered in glasses of orange juice.

There's more of course, but what Gates was doing was looking for practical solutions to big problems, like how to get vaccines to Africans when they have to be kept cold. Anyway, the foundation, Gates, and now Buffet have done some pretty inspiring things. A big tip of the hat to them.

Three in a row!

Three nights in a row sleeping outside at the lake ... it's been years since I've even spent one night sleeping on the deck.

Living where I do I forget how many stars there are, what dark actually means, and waking up in a sleeping bag at 8:00 in the morning feelin refreshed and ready to tackle the day. I might even have to drag a sleeping bag onto my deck at home tonight and see if sleeping outside works at the cndo, too!

Domed to failure?

I write puns, though few as a bad as that one.

Anyway, the Trib's Dan Voepel has a good article about the future homes of the Dome District, "Tacoma's Gateway," he calls it. I don't know about that, but it's still a very important feature, seeing that most people who see Tacoma see it from I-5. It's worth noting that almost every project is still in the works--assembling properties or looking for financing--but it's got a lot of potential.

Mason Lake Cell Phone Cam

O to be in the Northwest ... This was at 10:46 this morning at the lake.

RSS

If you have a little bit of web knowledge, you can get an RSS feed on my blog. What does that mean? Well, my blog posts can be delivered to your inbox. Or you can put a bookmark of my blog in your links toolbar and click on it to see a list of posts I've made.

How do you do it? If you're interested, you can get the RSS feed by clicking on the orange broadcast button or copying the link into your inbox application (you'll have to figure that part out for yourself). But it's a good way to see if and when I post.

Someone else always has the same idea

Especially in Hollywood. Here's the description of the new Warner Independent film, Infamous on IMDb:

While researching his book In Cold Blood, writer Truman Capote develops a close relationship with convicted murderers Dick Hickock and Perry Smith.

Saaaaaaay, wait a minute. I saw that movie! It was Capote, which was the best film of last year after King Kong. And Sandra Bullock is going to play Harper Lee? You're putting her up against Catherine Keener? And how did you convince Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Sigourney Weaver, Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, and Isabella Rosselini to be in your film?

Capote will be played by the guy who voiced Doby the House Elf in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. So we know he'll get the voice right.

Everything in Hollywood comes in twos; Volcano and Dante's Peak, Deep Impact and Armageddon. And now, Infamous and Capote.

Stephen Hawking agrees with me

Or at least with someone I said once. Awhile ago. On this blog. We're pretty far off on other things, seeing that he's so much smarter than me.

Hawking says that humans need to colonize space to survive. I suggested awhile ago that it was our moral duty to protect the only conscious life we are aware of in the universe. From the Chicago Tribune:

Humans could have a permanent base on the moon in 20 years and a colony on Mars in the next 40, the British scientist said.

"We won't find anywhere as nice as Earth unless we go to another star system," added Hawking, greeted here Monday with a rock star's welcome. Tickets for his lecture Thursday are sold out.

Hawking said that if humans can avoid killing themselves in the next 100 years, they should have space settlements that can continue without support from Earth.

"It is important for the human race to spread out into space for the survival of the species," Hawking said. "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of."

Immaculate conception or virgin birth?

I do want to point out that everyone--including the guy quoted in the article below--always seems to think that Jesus was the one who was "immaculately conceived" in Mary's womb. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

It is Roman Catholic doctrine that was Mary herself was immaculately conceived. This still means that her parents conceived her as parents have always conceived their children. But she was not stained with Original Sin, and was thus pure to accept God's child later.

This was only defined by the Catholic Church as dogma in 1854. Interestingly, it is one of two instances where papal infallibility comes into play. The other is the Assumption of Mary, which became dogma in 1950. On no other points have popes exercised papal infallibility (though decisions made in councils are also infallible).

This is a good point to remember when we watch what is happening in the Church.

For more on infallibility, visit the Wikipedia page on the subject.

Just in case you plan on giving birth to God ...

... you should probably get insurance.

Like three virgins in the UK. The director of Britishinsurance.com, Simon Burgess, said: "The people were concerned about having sufficient funds if they immaculately conceived. It was for caring and bringing out the Christ."

Uh-huh. The three sisters must have been very worried about being knocked up, considering they had the policy for 6 years before the policy was cancelled.

Should they give birth, the burden of proof was on them to prove that their baby was the Christ child. Were they going to skip the baby across the pond to show he can crawl on water?

Perhaps there is a growing market here. Maybe I should insure my grocery purchases every week, in case I see a vision of Mary in my soup and need to buy more (since I clearly can't have soup that Jesus' mom has appreared in).

Absolutely Awful

I usually refrain from posting on the "Police Beat" news items because I don't think we need a blog to sound like the local news. I'm not saying these things are not awful, but we get enough of them on the news that I just don't like dealing with it here.

But today's story in the Tribune was just awful. In the past six months, three taxi drivers have been assaulted. One was shot, robbed, and blinded; one stabbed by a woman who then stole the cab; and one beaten by two men. Their accounts are horrendous.

The Longest Day

June 21 is great, but I prefer the shortest day because I rather like looking forward to elongating days than shortening ones.

But still: the first day of summer is always welcome. Especially when plans call for a golf lesson and a trip to a BBQ shack in Olympia with the grandparents.

Never bet against Stephen King

Wow.

Stephen King was so on the money when it came to Veronica Mars. This show was truly awesome. Was it as good as Lost? No, but it was still awesome. How I had missed this show? Check it out on DVD if you want some good television. I'm waiting for Season Two in August.

They also have a rocking good theme song from the Dandy Warhols.

Chihuly at 3:00 am. If you want.

I've got a big bag of kudos for the Tacoma Art Museum.

They've come up with a cool program to get you out and about with Chihuly. They've organized the "Ear for Art" Chihuly Cell Phone Walking Tour. The next time you're in the museum district, try calling 888.411.4220. You'll get Chihuly describing his work, pointing you between the different public and private buildings that have his glass.

Their recent brochure says the tour "is available around the clock and includes twelve separate stops, each with multiple options to hear more about Chihuly's series, lighting details and more, and to play games."

Games? Cool.

Again, 888.411.4220 the next time you're at UWT.

The Brown Cocaine

When I visited my dentist last week, he told me that between pop and coffee, I should choose coffee every time (since I don't put sugar in the coffee). I've been trying to take his advice. But this ad nearly drives me back to pop.

It's a Folgers commercial with a bunch of weird creepy hippie angels singing a little ditty called "Happy Morning" to poor defenseless people just trying to get out bed. And what's a coffee commercial doing trying to remind us of our own mortality? And what's with the Prince Valiant hair? And why are all the angels voyeurs?

Dude, that's messed up.

If Yogi liked RAM instead of Pic-i-nick baskets ...

... he might look something like this.

In case you're wondering, someone crafted a USB flash drive around a small teddy bear. You can see more pics of this wonderful new invention here.

Finally, Build-A-Bear has actually created something that is useful.

Is it true? Can it be possible?

Yes, I believe I have achieved what I previously thought was impossible. My new TiVo has a built-in DVD player to replace my aged and broken DVD/VCR combo. But the amazing thing is that my TiVo remote operates as a universal remote and is by far the easiest I've ever had. My remote controls my TiVo, my DVD player, my TV power, my stereo system's power and volume, and the cable channel changer. Not only that, but it does it without switching inputs or other difficult features.

It. Does. Everything. Truly. No foolin'. I have one remote for everything. Everything.

One remote to rule them all,
one remote to bind them,
one remote to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.

It is clearly the remote of Mordor.

Toro, Toro, Toro

Downtown Rumblings: If there are any public signs worth paying attention to, it's got to be the Public Notices for Liquor Licenses. Down at 711 Pacific (next to Meconi's), there is a liquor license posted for a bar or club called The Matador. I think that's a fabulous name, so I already have high hopes. (Talk about judging a book by its cover, huh?)

It's in an emerging neighborhood for nightlife and one of the most neighborhood-y feeling stretches of downtown Tacoma, thanks to its towering chestnut trees (I think). I'll be there to report when it opens!

By the way ...

Have I mentioned that I love having a cell-phone camera? It takes blogging to a whole new level!

The Dogtor is in

At the end of my alley, the Metropolitan Vetrinary Hospital opened its doors a few months ago in the old Rainier Pacific Bank building. I'm guessing this plate belongs to the vet.

Made me laugh on my way to work.

One for you, Nineteen for me

Since I just watched the Beatles' movie, their song Tax Man comes to mind (it's on Revolver, actually).

If you drive a car-car I'll tax the street
If you try to sit-sit I'll tax your seat
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat
If you take a walk I'll tax your feet

I posted earlier this week declaring that I was pleased that I-747 was struck down because capping property taxes at 1% seemed "ridiculously low." I was challenged on this and an interesting question came about. What did I-747 try to accomplish exactly? It appears that I-747 sought to keep regular property taxes from going up more than 1%. So if I paid $10,000 in property taxes in 2005, I-747 would make sure I would pay no more than $10,100 the next year. Ridiculously low. I maintain my position on that.

But after that, the state can still ask for "an additional dollar amount calculated by multiplying the increase in assessed value in that district resulting from new construction, improvements to property, [etc]." So if I paid $10,000 in property taxes in 2005, the state could add 1% plus count in all the added value on my house. I agree that this is a bad deal, especially with double digit housing price increases.

But I still don't like the idea of an initiative that limits assessed value to combat this problem. A cap on assessed value means that if houses increase in value 10% every year, while their assessed value only goes up 5% (let's say), a disconnect begins to happen. A house could sell for $1,000,000, but it's only "assessed" at $600,000. Now someone rich enough to afford a million dollar home is paying taxes on the property as if it were about half that. You could probably throw in an amendment that taxes re-adjust with every sale, but then no one would want to sell.

So what if property taxes were capped at 2% annually (slightly below the annual cost of living adjustment); and rather than creating an initiative that limits assessed value, why don't we allow assessed value to be factored in to property taxes at the time of a sale or every five years? (This way there is no incentive to keep a home just to avoid paying higher taxes when you purchase a new home). If we adjust property taxes to assessed value every five years, property owners won't face dramatic upswings in their assessed value every year or with every big housing price book. Their taxes go up 2% a year, and then re-set after five years before going up 2% a year again.

So if I paid $10,000 in 2005 on my house, I'd pay $10,200 the next year, $10,404 in 2007, $10,612 in 2008, $10,824 in 2009, and $11,040 in 2010. Let's say that over that 5 year period my house went up 30% in value. So in 2011, I would pay $13,000 in taxes (the original value in 2005 x 130%). It's 17% more than the year before, but the jump only hit me once instead of with every housing boom; presumably my own income has gone up, too; and if I'm on a fixed income I've built equity in the house in those 5 years that I could borrow against. Plus I know that the next year (2012) I owe just $260 more ($13,260), and in 2013 it will be $13,525.

I don't know how this would all actually work, but I think it would be a pretty fair way to keep taxes out of the chaos of the housing market, protecting owners from big booms, and also making sure that cities are getting their relative share of the wealth being re-distributed with every home sale.

If you wanted to make the idea even safer, you could make your 5 year adjustment based on the average of the assessed value over the 5 year period, which would keep each increase a little less painful.

Thoughts anyone? I especially want to hear from you if you know more about property taxes than I do. Mine are capped since I took advantage of the 10 year property tax abatement for living in downtown Tacoma. Come 2013 some one new is going to have to pay the piper because I'm not staying around for that tax increase. :)

Self-Portrait

I figured I'd update my profile for the first time and include a cell-phone self-portrait. I'll include it in this post as well. If you don't recognize it, the sloping stones and the mirrors behind the reflection are from TAM's central courtyard.

I'm sure there's some hidden meaning about technology obscuring people's faces, and that this blog--while revealing the ephemera of my daily life and reading material--still masks my true self behind the barrier of the inhuman and mechanistic Internet.

Or maybe it's just a cool snapshot.

On my continuing education

For a variety of reasons, my Masters at the University of Washington, Tacoma, is on hold. One reason is that the classes I want to take are not necessarily available. My focus has been Urban Studies, but it appears the chances of me completing the IAS program with a strong Urban Studies concentration are not likely. So I've been considering what to do.

My trip to to the Monterey Bay Aquarium kind of made things click. There are many reasons I am interested in cities, but one of the most important is that cities use energy more efficiently, force people to be healthier, and interact with their environment more than sprawling suburbs. In short, cities are very good for the environment as a whole--though frequently not their immediate environment. It's as if city dwellers are saying, we'll pollute and destroy this one small patch of the earth so the rest of it can remain pristine.

Anyway, the real beauty of Monterey Bay and the life in its aquariums pushed me toward going back and--if I can't complete an Urban Studies concentration--I'll look for classes in environmental studies. And then I'll get to make a movie about what I find out. :)

An Inconvenient Powerpoint Presentation

I watched a little bit of Al Gore's presentation before we opened it at the Grand. It was actually better than I thought and also a little bit more ridiculous than I thought.

I will see it, I'm sure, because during the brief segment I saw some pretty good science stuff. I'm not saying it's earth-shaking drama, but it didn't seem bad.

Thomas Friedman on the attack

Apparently after Thomas Friedman's last article about how GM was hurting America, GM responded on the GM corporate blog defending their marketing gimick of capping gas at $1.99. Thomas Friedman skewers them, I gotta say. If you have a NYT subscription, you can get his article here. Here's he final paragraph:

I'm not a car expert, so let me leave the last word to Automotive News, the industry's top trade magazine. Its June 5 editorial said: "General Motors' promotion that reimburses some buyers for gasoline purchases is ill-advised for an automaker that is trying to burnish its green image. The program should be dropped, not expanded. ... It's simply a subsidy for vehicles that burn a lot of gasoline. And it's one more example of G.M.'s tone deafness on environmental issues. ... Yes, G.M. can make vehicles that are as fuel efficient as anybody else's. But it acts as though its future depends on gas guzzlers."

The Things They Carried

I finished this wonderful book while in Palo Alto.

It's a very personal account of the Vietnam war from Tim O'Brien, who at times seems simply pull each short story out of his memories. There are some beautiful stories in here, alternatively funny and ghostly. It is no wonder it's listed as one of the best books of the last 25 years in the NYT book survey.

My interest in the Vietnam War has never been that high, but this is more than just war stories.

Big thumbs up. And big thanks to Angela for the book. I can tell which stories you read in college by which passages are underlined.

Posts

Sure, I was gone for a few days, but my posts these last few days have been less frequent than it seemed like I was doing before. The truth is, I haven't had a lot to say and work's been full of stuff to be doing. So those enjoyable short breaks where I browse the Internet and write a little summary are less regular. I think I've used this past year of blogging to get a better sense of what I want to write about:

Tacoma. The topic has grown larger on my blog, thanks in part to my discovery of the TNT's on-line editor's blog, Exit133, and a couple other local blogs. Those have helped me feel like I'm in a community of bloggers reporting and discussing the local scene.

Reviews. I greatly appreciate a medium to talk about recent films, books, and TV shows.

Technology and space. I can't help but follow along with technology news, especially when it comes to space and Mars. I still check in on the two little rover dudes on Mars, because they're traversing terrain I would very much like to see some day.

The Issues. This has less and less to do with US policy than it used to. Frankly, I kind of grew tired of putting my own little spin on big complex issues. Read Thomas Friedman, read Andrew Sullivan, and you'll have a pretty good idea of where my head is going. What I found I'm doing more often is posting surprises, when people or politicans do something surprisingly good or surprisingly bad. I'll try to focus on the good side of things and to people whom I respect. You'll still hear me hammering away about free speech, gas tax, annexation, cities, and a few other hot button issues. But I'll try to stick in those waters as much as I can.

Catholicism. I am still eager to post articles and information about the church, which I still think of as "my church" although it feels 'in name only' sometimes.

Comedy. Videos, pictures, The Onion.

Travel.

Friends, especially those with blogs that I can link to.

So I'm still all over the board. But I think that's a pretty good narrowing of my topics.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated

Tomorrow evening I'm leading a discussion on censorship and self-censorship in Hollywood at the Grand at 6:00. If you're a Tacoma local, you should drop on by!

Good Twin

As in Jason Kubel.

I watched Joe's Twins beat the Red Sox in the bottom of the 12th with a walk-off grand slam to win from behind. None too shabby, I'd say.

And Doyle's is just about the most perfect place to watch a game like that. Congrats to my Minnesota Readers.

Tall Ships in 2008

The massive festival will be organized by a Seattle company called One Reel, who won out over Tacoma Events Commission. TEC produced the 2005 festival and won the "Port of the Year Award" from the American Sail Training Association for how well it went.

So here's the question, why did the TEC lose? Clearly there were behind-the-scenes problems, though it's hard to find any discussion of those in print. The recent Trib opinion piece simply says:

The decision to bypass TEC, headed by former Tacoma City Councilman Doug Miller, was not unexpected to many who were privy to TEC’s management of the 2005 festival. That management has been described as chaotic; indeed, much of the 2005 event’s success could be attributed to the hard work and selflessness of scores of volunteers.

That's not too detailed, I must say, but we'll let that be for now. Here's what's interesting about the Tribune editorial. They argue:

But the Tall Ships Festival is a huge, regional event that deserves the very best management possible. One Reel has greater resources and access to big-name sponsors. Trouble lining up such sponsors was among the criticisms of TEC’s management.

Tacoma isn’t so provincial – or it shouldn’t be – that only Tacoma firms should be considered for such a job. Would the same people criticizing selection of a Seattle firm to manage the festival support the exclusion of Tacoma companies from competing for Seattle business?

But I don't know that this is right frame to look at the question.

Sure, a Seattle company should be able to compete for contracts in Tacoma. But our civic events and artistic enterprises? A Seattle group will run Tacoma Tall Ships 2008. A Bellevue group had to save the day with TAG. A few Seattle groups were major contenders for running the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts.

Even though they were unsuccessful, it certainly shows a trend that is not ideal: our biggest symbols of arts, culture, and community are not homegrown. Perhaps this says more about the willingness of Tacoma residents or businesses to support these organizations, or perhaps it speaks to mismanagement of the organizations, but clearly there is a problem somewhere.

I am not averse to a successful Seattle non-profit running Tall Ships, just as I respected the Bellevue theater for saving TAG's bacon. Either is not that big of a deal; but both is a little worrisome. Is this a trend? Or just a few isolated incidences. I hope it's not a trend.

747 Grounded

Initiative 747 was possibly repealed today in court. According to the Trib:

Initiative 747 claimed that it would change the limit on property tax increases from 2 percent a year to 1 percent a year by amending Initiative 722, which had been passed earlier, Judge Mary Roberts said. In reality, she said, I-722 had already been declared invalid.

?The voters were incorrectly led to believe they were voting to amend I-722,? Roberts said. ?The voters were misled as to the nature and content of the law to be amended, and the effect of the amendment upon it. The (state) constitution forbids this."

I don't know about the legalities or the sublteties of the law, but what I do know is that limiting property tax increases to 1% a year when property values went up 11% this year in Pierce County is a bad idea. I'm all right with a cap, but 1% seems ridiculously low. It's no wonder our cities are going broke.

Lots of Screaming Beatles Fans

I watched A Hard Day's Night on the plane to San Jose this weekend. It's a rather fun movie, as toe-tapping movies go. The music if--of course--superb--with a few songs I didn't really recognize even.

The plot is just an excuse to hear the Beatles, but that's not all bad. Paul McCartney's Grandpa (guessing he's an actor) is the most fun part of the movie' storyline. And the Beatles themselves are of course pretty funny and witty and all that.

The film certainly captures the screaming Beatles fans incredibly well; so well I felt bad for everyone involved. A Hard Day's Night has a certain background that puts it close to Ray and Walk The Line, where you realize that the life of a worldwide music icon ... sucks. And that's not what I really wanted from the Beatles.

I think I'd choose Help! over A Hard Day's Night, as that film was so bizarre and so absolutely deadpan silly that it's far more fun. In Help!, Ringo gets a ring stuck on his finger and he can't get it off. And you really can't ask for anything more.

Bad Twin

I finished Bad Twin yesterday, a book that is marketed as the last novel of Gary Troup, who died on Oceanic Flight 815. I would call this book "in the world of Lost". There are no Lost characters, really. There is not a single direct allusion to the island itself.

The closest the book gets is a hard look into the Widmore family (a name which Lost devotees say shows up on the island a lot, though I have failed to notice it). There are a few passing allusions to the philosopher John Locke, to "the numbers," to islands in general, to themes of forgiveness and redemption (Lost's central recurring theme), to the motif of the child with the difficult, dangerous, or unloving parent (witness Jack, Kate, Locke, Sawyer, and Sun to name a few).

It's a perfectly fine detective story and there are a few inside jokes. But I wish it had a little bit more to do with the actual show.

And of course ...

The Golden Gate Bridge. Named after the waterway, not the color the bridge, which is more red than gold.

The Palace of Fine Arts

This is the Palace of Fine Arts. It's in a lot of movies. Better pictures can be found on Wikipedia's page.

Cell Phone Records

Seemed like a good idea to record my recent adventures in the Bay Area. Above is AT&T Field, which used to be SBC field before they were bought out, which used to be Pac Bell Field, before they were bought out.

Cake and eat it too

Probably no Cake today. Yesterday we watched the Giants lose to the Pirates (Bonds sat the game out, likely because he was having trouble getting his helmet on) and then followed the Scenic Drive signs around San Francisco, through Fisherman's Wharf, up to the Presidio and Golden Gate Park and then out to the Ocean Beaches. We'll probably end up in Monterey and Cannery Row this afternoon.

Morning for Palo Alto

We'll be venturing north for the Giants/Pirates game today and Cake is playing tonight in Sonoma and tomorrow in Golden Gate Park, so I'm guessing we'll see them at least once as well.

Awesome!

The Freshmaker

Awhile ago, I highly suggest watching what two guys could do flipping quarters into a glass. I guarantee it's one of the most crazy videos on the Internet. But here's two guys that have topped even that.

Apparently Mentos and Diet Coke react with each other to make a Diet Coke fountain. Fine and dandy. Well, imagine you had 100 2-liter bottles of Diet Coke and 523 Mentos. What could you do with that? Perhaps you would choose to re-create the Bellagio Fountain Show? No fooling, this video is crazy and even better then the quarter flippers (though not by much). These videos are a must to entertain yourself while I'm off in Cali.

Promise me you'll watch them.

The Triangle Townhomes

Got a tour of the model unit for the Triangle Townhomes today. These are pretty cool units, I feel, though they have gotten a bad rap for awhile. Exit133 is pretty critical of his recent visit, plus from his earlier visit last year. Much of what he says is true.

But it's a fascinating project and will likely gain appreciation over the years. Why? Because there is a very specialized niche market for their condos. Condos at $300K are going unsold while $600 and $700K condos in the Triangle are being snapped up. By the time the current owners are ready to sell (not counting the investment seller or two who was looking for the flip) that niche market will be even larger.

So what's the niche? Rich. Young (no more than 45 I'd say, because any older than that and you'd have to really start wondering what the stairs will feel like in 10 years). Transplants (preferably someone who always dreamed of living in a town home or a brownstone in New York but could never afford it there but can here). And artistic (three of the units have studios and private gardens) plus they all ooze style. Throw in the Grand across the street, great views, and then the stunning rooftop deck and you have quite a package.

I spent most of the time on the deck today, admiring the feel. It's worth almost any price. Mark said that he was aiming for the feel of living on a houseboat, and it certainly felt like it. 3 stories up, the cascade of decks are now covered with palms, gardens, barbeques, and a real sense of community. My condo is much better priced, has two secure and easily accessible parking spots, a view, and so much storage I still open cupboards to find them bare. But I don't see my neighbors. Since I returned from Torino I've seen the folks in Unit C no more than three times and the folks in A or B ... not once. That was February, and now it's June.

So the community feel of the Triangle Townhomes is certainly a draw. And the deck is that selling point. I wouldn't be surprised if they finish the Parade of Homes this weekend with a few more sales under their belt.

The Coolest Theater Ever (that's not the Grand)

Found an incredible website: The Cinetopia, in Vancouver, WA. Restaurant, wine bar, "Living Room Theaters," a curated gallery, and all the other fixings--like lasagna at the concessions stand. Looks like a cool place for a movie. If I had to forcast, 20 years from now there will be two kinds of cinema. 1) the Cinetopia, where film is only one part of the entire experience, and it's like going to a movie in a Las Vegas Casino. And 2) the non-profit art-house theater. It's the same thing that has happened to stage theater; Broadway musicals and the non-profit are about all that remain.