Oh, yeah

The other good thing about September is the fall leaves and the brisk autumn air and all the other outdoorsy things we're supposed to love about fall.

Give me winter! Or spring! Or summer! Fall rates 4th out of 4 on my Top 4 Seasons List.

The Good Thing About September

Tuesday is going to be a good day. Why? Why should I be excited about the first Tuesday of September? Perhaps because the best show on TV is coming to DVD. Season 2 of Lost, which means I have a full month to catch my dad up to speed before Season 3.

I'm also three discs through Season 2 of Veronica Mars, which is still pretty rocking. My TiVo has had nothing good to record this summer, so we're both looking forward to actually getting some good television again, even if it's going to be without The West Wing.

(Speaking of TV, Carolyn has been let go from the Trump Organization! Yet another good reason not to watch The Apprentice anymore. But even that has got to be better than Race-Based Survivor.)

Callaghan on the Winthrop

Peter Callaghan has been a wonderful advocate for the restoration of the Winthrop Hotel. His article today is once again spot on.

He asks:

What if there were a way for the building to be restored as a gorgeous hotel and public meeting place and create a home for low-income people to keep living in the neighborhood? What if the developers could build low-income housing nearby for the current residents before work on the restoration begins?

I'd take it one step further: build a few housing projects to spread out the low-income housing. It's the concentration of poverty that has been so hard for the Theater District. But if the projects were spread around downtown, we wouldn't just be relocating a problem, we would be removing it altogether.

I also appreciate that Callaghan is seeking to get rid of the dichotomies between those who want to see a hotel and those who want to help low-income residents. Because a first-class hotel can do both.

But why hasn't anyone pointed out that a hotel is a job-creator? Is it possible that jobs at the Winthrop could help more families than housing at the Winthrop? Would turning the Winthrop into a first-class hotel (and the revitalizated businesses it would create around it) provide living wages for the equivalent number of familes it currently houses?

The math might be interesting.

And if we could move the low-income housing assistance to other properties, plus provide the jobs at the Winthrop, we might begin to see real progress.

Web 2.0?

Mark Briggs blog "Online in the South Sound" mentioned my martini today. He writes, "It’s a nice break from the all-too-similar formats I normally run across in my regular blog diet." I could have told him that. Martinis are a nice break from any diet, blog or otherwise.

He also gave Kevin props for helping me out, which Mark says is very Web 2.0. He then linked to the Wikipedia article that defines the term, which was great for me because I had no idea what the heck he was talking about.

Evening Walk Through the Theater District

Is it just me or does it seem impossible that August is over? This month marks four straight years of living in downtown Tacoma. The improvement that has happened in that time has been slow and gradual, but after 4 years, it's been substantial.

The development, though, has been in the Museum District/Union Station area and near the Convention Center. But the Theater district continues to sit empty, especially at night and on weekends. This wasn't always the case. When I moved into the Bostwick in 2002, the Theater District was moving forward at the same pace as the rest of downtown.

But it's stalled.

9th & Broadway, the intersection many people feel is the heart of the city, was practically empty last night on my walk to the Varsity Grill. I saw a million closed storefronts, but all you have open after 7:00 is Tully's (and then not for long), Ravenous, and Subway. In fact, from the Subway at 9th & Broadway, not a single storefront was open at 7:00 until I got to the Varsity Grill, roughly 3 blocks away.

There are signs, though, that it's coming together again. Construction on the Pantages and the retail space across the street should be completed soon. The Matador is moving onto Pacific next to Meconi's. St. Helens will finally be lit! And enough people are moving within walking distance of the District that more restaurants and late hours for shops will hopefully become inevitable. This area is the last real piece of downtown that has missed out so far. But with a little more push, it could become one of the best places to live and hang out.

New Event Space in town

Earlier this evening Jeff, the manager at the Varsity Grill, gave me a tour of his new event space upstairs from the restaurant (where Jillian's used to have the video games). It's a very attractive space and I can see that it could get real use by businesses and other organizations who are tired of the 4 Off-White Walls that are the standard banquet spaces elsewhere. Good looking bar up there, a nice stage, and great windows, too.

If I could bring up my former Convention & Visitor Bureau roots for a second, I'd throw out there that good event spaces breed good events, and I'm glad to see we're getting a variety of spaces in our urban core.

And a big thanks to Kevin!

Kevin, local blogger at Kevinfreitas.net and Tollefson Plaza Activist, helped me remove that unsightly line from the design. Man thanks to the pro, as my CSS knowledge is ... shall we say ... dwarfed by the gross weight of my utter ignorance of it.

The martini is whole! (Don't know if anyone's noticed yet, but the base of the martini glass is at the bottom of the page. Just for fun).

Retracted

Apparently my rant against the City earlier was either a) effective or b) unnecessary.

They've offered to refund me the money I paid to dump yard waste. Apparently they decided I really don't qualify for the commercial rate. And the City of Tacoma is not unfairly punishing condo owners.

Thanks, Jamie!

Jamie at ThriceAllAmerican.com said that my martini on the left "surpasses all of the local martini bars for the ultimate Tacoma martini." Awesome.

Maybe the new managers of the Blue Olive could offer the swizzle stick with their Vanilla Mojito (my favorite of theirs) when they go to a Greek menu (see Exit133.com and Ed's Diner).

Moonlight in a Martini

Trying out a new look here. For those of you not from Tacoma, my new olive skewer is from the Bridge of Glass in downtown Tacoma.

Now if I could just figure out how to get rid of that stupid white line through the middle of the glass! Even with that, though, I must say that Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Blogger work together surprisingly well.

(If you can't see the new look to the site, hold down your Shift key and press Refresh on your browser.)

Feedback is appreciated! Even if you hate it.

On the other hand ...

At least the City is finally replacing the street lamps on St. Helens. I assume this is part of the LID project that finally passed. It's about time, too, considering that when I moved onto St. Helens in 2003, the street lamps were dark. 3 years later, we'll finally have light!

A few choice words for the City

What gives? I went to the dump yesterday and tried to deposit some refuse, as any good Tacoma resident is allowed to do for free. But apparently I am not fully a resident because I live in a multiple family dwelling.

SayWA?

Here's the deal, as I learned it after a few calls this morning: According to the Tacoma City Ordnance 12.09.130.3 anyone living in a tri-plex or larger must pay the commercial rate to use the dump. This seems to be the provision that they enforce because the next paragraph, 12.09.130.4, says that owners of townhouses and condominiums don't have to pay commercial rates and pay resident rates (ie, nothing).

Unfortunately they don't define what the difference is anywhere but it seems to come down to, "Do you pay garbage in your own name or does someone else?" In my case, the Condo Assocation pays the garbage bill for all four units, which makes me ... commercial?

I don't get the logic. Why single out people who live in condos and apartments? I pay for my garbage through my condo dues, even if my name isn't on the account. For a city that refuses to seek large-scale annexation policies, the only way for us to grow bigger is by growing denser, and that means more condos and apartments. And the residents of those condos and apartments shouldn't have to pay more for services than suburbanites.

The Yardstick

On GritCity yesterday, Cole Cosgrove suggested we start measuring everything from Tacoma (after a NYT article talked about Seattle being just 33 miles north of us). So he proposed this map as part of his idea to make Tacoma the yardstick to everything.



Best. Newspaper. Graphic. Ever.

Sunset on Point Fosdick

Had kebabs and drinks at a high school friend's parents' house out on Point Fosdick tonight. Here's the view just after sunset on what may go down to be the last truly awesome day of summer we're going to have. It's been a pretty nice one, but I'm hoping for an Indian summer that sneaks us into a snowfall come December and a cold and brisk January in the 20s.

So here's something you don't want to hear

Hissing in your garage after you've parked a car.

It seems some foreign object I picked up on my alley has decided it needed a nice warm rubber front-passenger-side home. Stupid alley.

Another Monday Morning

After a nice 24 hours at the lake, it's back to Tacoma and "real life." And really that's not all so bad, because real life is pretty fun, too.

The Pet Parade

Here's some pics from my first ticket-tape parade. Lots of pets, lots of people, and confetti in the air. Pretty cool stuff is going on downtown!

Hope for America

Sometimes you watch a movie that gives you hope again. Like The Shawshank Redemption. But there's some that make you think, "All right, no matter how lowbrow the culture goes, there's stil hope." Like The Longest Yard in 2005 and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby this year. Hmm. I can practically hear you sputtering your coffee.

How does Ricky Bobby give me hope for America? In its appeal to NASCAR fans and "Middle America" the movie also subtly transforms values, especially regarding the treatment of gays. The villian in the movie is both French and gay, doubly offensive to the race car drivers. But even with that, there is not a single offensive joke about his sexuality. And in fact, the movie ends with Will Ferrell telling him that he won't shake his hand, but he will "do this" and plants a 30 second kiss on his mouth.

The same goes for The Longest Yard last year. High appeal to football crowd. There is one character that is gay and you can't find a single joke about him that is at all mean spirited. When he is caught on tape making out with a guard, the team goes for the cat calls approach rather than bigoted jokes.

So, shine on Ricky Bobby. It's a movie that like that will win the "culture war" in America far more persuasively than Brokeback Mountain. Plus you were very very funny, too.

Someone tell Sam Jackson he's my bro

A parody of a classic U2 song with the new lyrics, Someone tell Sam Jackson he's my bro.

Oneupmanship

In today's Trib, Peter Callaghan tells a bizarre story about a plaque stolen off of Stadium High School 90 years ago. A picture of that plaque with a 2006 News Tribune was submitted to Peter Callaghan anonymously, proving that someone still has the plaque. But who? Callaghan said this:

So here's our offer: Return the tablet and there won't be any questions asked. We'll even throw in two tickets to Stadium's centennial concert featuring Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Exit133.com upped the ante:

Return the tablet via Exit133 (we are honorable folks and will make sure it ends up in the right hands) and we’ll throw in two tickets to any concert at the Emerald Queen (Ted Nugent? Gallagher? Pat Benatar?) plus two very rare Exit133 t-shirts.

In this spirit of this competition to get the mysterious stranger to give someone the plaque, here's the counter-offer to the above offers from erikemery.com:

Give me the plaque. I want it. I'll mount it in my bedroom and look at it every night before I go to bed. It's ... my precious. Bring it to me. We must keep the plaque away from Callaghan of Gondor and Derek the Young! Your journey here will be hazardous. But if you risk it, and bring me The One Plaque, I will reward you handsomely. For example, I might be willing to give you this very pretty ring I found ...

Honesty is the best policy?

The GOP Senate challenger to Maria Cantwell is Mike McGavick, formerly of Safeco (the insurance company, not the field). And he gave an interview today discussing layoffs at Safeco, a DUI (in 1993), his divorce, and his regret about an earlier campaign tactic.

I don't know much about the guy, but he's clearly learned one lesson: the only thing worse than the crime, if you're a politician, is the cover up. The funny thing about that lesson is that few have really tried to see if it's true. So, here's the question. After a tell-all interview will the bad stuff tarnish him or will he emerge as the "truth-teller" who's screwed up a couple times but is "on the right track." Again, I don't know of any politician actually making this a successful tactic, but since this is his first real entrance into politics, he might be able to make it work for him.

Here's the Tribune's short brief.

Critical Line

I'm hard at work volunteering at the Critical Line art gallery on St. Helens right now. Actually, there's not much work except to make sure people don't steal art. But I'd need people first.

It's a pretty awesome looking space, with interesting art. And a great way to fill three hours when you're not working. I recommend it!

The Happy Movie Trilogy

If I were going to package the box set of The Happy Movie Trilogy, it would be as follows:

• Field of Dreams, to make me remember there is adventure and things happening outside myself and outside my understanding of the world.
• City Slickers, to make me remember that life is only boring if you make it boring.
• Groundhog's Day, to make me remember that really living through a day is important whether it's your last or one of many thousand and that the best way to get through the day is being generous with your time.

And since I'm the Hollywood producer-type, and always looking for a buck, I would probably market the Happy Movie Trilogy 2, which would be slightly subpar to the original but still not bad:

• Moonstruck, to make me remember true romance.
• The Royal Tenenbaums, to make me remember that there is always hope and joy in creativity, no matter how hard the subject.
• Wonder Boys, to make me remember that ... well, that people can still make damn good movies.
  

I think that's a pretty good list. Though the first one is my clear favorite.

A Modest Proposal

The Tribune had an article yesterday with some info on The Commencement's potential default on their property overlooking Ruston Way. (Hat tip Exit133.com) This begs the question, was it the scale of the project that was trouble, was it the high price of the condos (near a million). Or maybe they just spent way too much money on billboards all over Tacoma for a project not yet built.

So what do you do with the land now? Here's a radical idea: Cheney Stadium II. Move the Tacoma Rainiers to the shore of Commencement Bay in a beautiful new stadium with water views and one of the best Mount Rainier views around. Think AT&T Park in San Francisco. Or better yet, the classic: Candlestick. We could have a better park than Safeco for much cheaper, just by choosing a better location.

Moving the Rainiers out of their Central Tacoma to the waterfront would help sell tickets and bring even more life to the waterfront. Not to mention: you don't have to build condos over an environmental cleanup site. Many may not be willing to move over a former smelter, but plenty wouldn't mind going to a baseball game there.

Worried about traffic? What better reason to connect the Dome's garage with Ruston via light rail. Heck, even use the Burlington Northern line and run a rail shuttle up and down the tracks before and after games.

It's got my vote!

The Truth is ...

Stranger Than Fiction. This looks like a very funny movie with a good premise. Emma Thompson, Will Ferrell, Dustin Hoffman, and Queen Latifa. Fun cast, and definitely funny.

Feeling (More) Groovy

Still sick, but on the mend. I've got no deeds to do, so I'm going out now to go watch the flowers grow on a lamp post.

Hack. Cough.

Being sick is really really really crappy.

Laid up all day. Probably no blogging today. Lo siento.

Aaaaarrrrrgggggh.

My flight is something like an hour or so late. Stupid inclement weather outside of Memphis. To pass the time, here's a picture I took looking over the Mall of America's Lego Store.


And this picture is, no fooling, a Fox News Channel store at the MSP airport. SayWA? How did Fox News get into the outlet store thing? Apparently Rupert Murdoch thinks this is the way to go, since we now have Fox Sports Grills and Fox News Channel stores. What's next, Mr. Murdoch?

Signs

This has truly got to be a unique McDonald's sign. It's on I-35, right at Lakeville. The McStop? I've never seen another one like it, but it's been around since at least 1998 when I started going to Carleton.

Other signs I don't have pictures of: "Buy a condo, get a car" in front of a very empty-looking condo project. And, my personal favorite: "Meat Raffle, Fridays" outside a bar in Cannon Falls.

Some random images from Carleton

My freshman year dorm, and home this weekend.


View from my window.


Nourse Hall.

Homecoming?

In many ways venturing back to Carleton feels like a homecoming, or a re-grounding, or a renewal of ideals and beliefs and challenges.

Planning the reunion is fun, but the real draw is just being back with old friends and old acquaintances. It's the first time I've been back with students from ' 02(there are about 25 of us here) rather than visiting alone or with some close friends. Although it is a little disconcerting to live in a dorm again, especially since I'm on 6th Watson, an identical floor to 4th Watson where I lived freshman year, and am one door down from my old corner room. I have half a mind to go buy some good posters, a fan, and a houseplant and make it a real dorm room.

I'll try to remember to post some cell phone pics; there are plenty of pics worth taking.

Who knew?

I was skeptical after the final preview, but I gotta say it: Snakes on a Plane totally delivers. It's a fabulous B-movie with zero pretensions and a whole bunch of snakes on a plane. The movie was a great summer movie. Thumbs up all the way!

Cloudy, but still nice

Minnesota always feels like home, although so does Tacoma and Washington. Go figure. But it's good to be back. I'm especially looking forward to getting to Northfield tomorrow for some 5-year reunion planning. I'm even going to be staying in the dorms, which is going to be a big flashback.

Will try to post as I can. Happy Thursday!

Off to the Great Midwest

I'll be in Minneapolis by this afternoon! I'll see everyone on the other side of my flight, which will be delightfully liquid-free.

Charon and Ceres get promoted

The International Astronomical Union proposed a new definition for planets. Essentially, they have to be a) heavy enough that gravity smooths out their irregular shape into something close to a sphere and b) not a satellite of a planet. It seems like a reasonable definition.

But the definition would immediately bring three new planets into our solar system, as pictured above: Ceres, the largest asteroid we've found; Charon, long been considered Pluto's moon; and 2003 UB313, the first "Trans-Neptunian Object" that is bigger than Pluto. Its discoverer, Michael Brown, calls it Xena.

The new standards may eventually allow for the qualification of another 12 planets (that we've discovered so far) and could make way for many more as we find them in the Kuiper Belt. To make this a little more manageable, the IAU is proposing that the small planets be called either Plutons (if they are icy and in the Kuiper Belt) and dwarf planets, like the really big asteroids. So we'd end up with 8 Just Plain Planets in our solar system and a whole slew of dwarf planets and Plutons.

I can live with that.

The Coke Side of Life

First, let me say that "The Coke Side of Life" is a stupid slogan. I say, stick with "Always Coca Cola." Always. That said, this commercial up above is a good send up of Grand Theft Auto. I applaud it. For those of you who don't know much about Grand Theft Auto, you go around an incredibly detailed and interactive city and earn lots of money and avoid the cops. If you run out of money, you go and beat up an innocent bystander and take their wallet or their car. It's a tough game to stomach. I gave up playing when my dad and I were testing it out after he got it for Christmas a few years ago. I decided that I never wanted to have to say, "Dad, go beat up the hooker, she's got more money than the taxi driver" again. Put that one on the top of the list of things you never want to say to a parent.

In case you can't tell ...

I am growing very fond of my camera phone. It makes blogging a little more interesting, I think. The photo quality isn't great (although it's certainly not bad either) but it adds a little perspective and allows me more freedom in posting.

Like I did in June in Pasadena, I'll try to snap some pictures in Minnesota when I'm there this weekend.

Boot Up

I've seen this car around Tacoma a few times. It's not as interesting as the car with the giant missile on its roof (more info on that on GritCity here). But it's still kinda cool.

(you can make out the floppy disks and license plate a little better if you click on the picture)

"Bible Stories for Agnostics"

I went to TAG's staged reading earlier today and watched a very short collection of 5 linked plays, starting with A is for Apple, going through C is for Cain, and ending with E is for Enoch. It was an interesting piece of theater; not my favorite and with some big problems, but a lot of those could be fixed.

I like the program, though, and I appreciate what they are doing for theater and Northwest playwrights.

When jeans were jeans

Barry Schwartz calls it "The Paradox of Choice." I had to read pieces of it in some of my previous classes at UWT, and his argument is intriguing: by asking consumers to make more and more choices in our daily live we lose perspective on which choices are important and which are not. So we could spend hours deciding between kind of jeans (slim fit, baggy, extra baggy, easy fit, relaxed fit? Stonewashed, acid-washed, distressed? Faded, regular, dark, black?) and lose great parts of our day. Schwartz writes in his prologue:

The jeans I bought turned out just fine, but it occcurred to me that buying a pair of jeans should not be a daylong project. By creating all these options, the store undoubtedly had done a favor for customers with varied tastes and body types. However, by vastly expanding the range of choices, they also created a new problem that needed to be solved. Before these options were available, a buyer like myself had to settle for an imperfect fit, but at least purchasing jeans was a five-minute affair. Now it was a complex decision in which I was forced to invest time, energy, and no small amount of self-doubt, anxiety, and dread.

I had a hard time with some of his arguments, but the more I look around I start to see that Schwartz might have a point. I came to this conclusion that he might have a good point when I saw the display of Goldfish crackers at the grocery store tonight. Here were my options: Goldfish, Giant Goldfish, Colored Goldfish, Color Changing Goldfish, Goldfish Crisps, Goldfish Party Mix, and Goldfish Sandwich Snackers.

Uh huh. Cause I need that many goldfish options.

(By the way, I confirmed the kinds of goldfish on the most needlessly complex website www.meetfinn.com. Not only does the world not need to choose between kinds of goldfish crackers, but we certainly don't need to waste time watching cartoon goldfish swim around on the web. Now perhaps if we spent that time doing something more constructive like watching hamsters dance--remember that way back in 1998?--we'd be doing much better.)

Critical Line

The non-profit art gallery in downtown Tacoma, Critical Line, has its second show running. They have some interesting pieces, including some beautiful photography.

The picture below is of my dad enjoying one of the art pieces in the windows earlier today.

Lord of War

Last year Nicholas Cage had a couple sleeper films: The Weather Man, which was not a good film, but not a bad one either. He also had Lord of War, which, as it turns out, was a really wonderful film.

Nicholas Cage plays a self-made arms smuggler who eventually is so good he can supply arms to almost every major conflict in the world. There are some fun moments where he cheats the ATF and some big laughs throughout. But the movie is cynical, cynical, cynical, and perhaps rightly so.

There's a message in the movie, no doubt, but it is also just good filmmaking with a very strong story. Good supporting cast too, especially Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, and the actor who plays the Liberian President. I highly recommend the film.

No more liquids?

What the heck?

I know what article I'm going to find in tomorrow's paper:

NEW YORK, NY: In a recent study by the FAA and Homeland Security, people are the most significant cause of terrorism on the airlines. Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff said today, "The link between terrorist threats and people is undeniable. We're not saying that all people are terrorists, but all terrorists are people."

In his announcement earlier today, Chertoff announced that along with handguns, boxcutters, and all liquids, passengers themselves would be restricted from air travel. Passengers who have purchased tickets may still send their checked baggage, but will not be able to board. Airlines are expected to find alterate means of transportation for their passengers other than putting them on airplanes.

In unrelated news, shares of Greyhound Worldwide tripled with record volume.

Urban Affairs

Downtown Rumblings:

I should point out that my first entry here is actually is the Stadium District, but I continue to maintain that Stadium is now the north end of Downtown and is a neighborhood of downtown primarily. That said, they have a new wine bar that I visited this week. Tacoma Wine Merchants has opened a small wine bar in the space next door. The salami plate was excellent and the wine was too. It's now the closest wine bar to my place, though I will continue to enjoy Cafe Divino, Vin Grotto, and Pour at Four as well.

Second, UWT just announced an expansion of their campus along Pacific. They now own the building next to the Harmon that contains artist lofts, as well as three retail spaces on Pacific (including Cutters Point and Urban Xchange). They will leave the building as-is for the time being.

Damage Control

Let's pretend that you run Ford or G.M. Things are getting tough. Some people call you unpatriotic. Others think you are woefully out of touch with what Americans want and need.

You have some choices here.

First, you can continue to subsidize gasoline at $1.99/gallon as GM is doing in a few states, in an effort to encourage people to buy gas guzzling cars.

Second, you can look to the East and say, "So what that Toyota crushed everyone in JD Powers' Reliability Ratings this week? People don't care about reliability. They want to look cool." Which is about the only thing you can say. Toyota's Lexus brand reported only 136 problems per hundred vehicles this year. Toyota, 179 problems. Ford, 224. Hummer, 307 problems! Which is still better than Land Rover's 438 problems/100 vehicles.

Third, you can pretend like the gas prices aren't skyrocketing and instead beef up your muscle car offerings with new versions of classic guzzlers like a Dodge Challenger, Ford Camaro, and a souped up Mustang. This works well with option 2.

And finally, if you want to get really bold, go after the Happy Meal. McDonalds is putting toy Hummers in every Happy Meal. From the Times:

With enough visits to McDonald’s, children will be able to collect eight different Hummers in a variety of colors, including two versions of the H1, the original and most monstrous member of the Hummer family, which General Motors stopped making in June.

The promotion runs until the end of August and is aimed at young boys. Girls can choose to get Polly Pocket fashion dolls in their Happy Meals instead.

Not surprisingly, environmental groups are appalled.

Me too. If Detroit wants to continue making cars for Americans they're going to have to do a 180 degree turn because in 20 years no one is going to want to buy from them if they are so out of touch.

Hedwig

I'm plowing through films right now with about one a day, which is kinda fun. I watched Hedwig and the Angry Inch and I was impressed with the films visuals, story, and music.

It's a glam-rock musical and the plot is ... unusual: Hansel, who grew up in East Berlin, falls in love with an American GI who wants to marry him. Unfortunately, this means Hansel will have to get an operation to become a woman so he can get married, but the operation is botched and Hansel is left with "an angry inch." Later the GI dumps Hansel-turned-Hedwig in Kansas, who then becomes a brilliant song writer in the US only to have to work ripped off by Tommy Gnosis, who loved Hedwig until he learned the truth and ran out.

Having said all that, the plot is not really important. The music, the costumes, the characters (as opposed to their role in the plot) are what matter, and the movie gets each count right. As soon as the movie came out in 2000, a lot of people predicted it would become the new Rocky Horrow. 6 years later it's looking more and more likely it can do it.

Cool Pic

Speaking of the Winthrop ...

I found the above picture on-line a few years ago; it's a picture touting how technologically advanced the Winthrop Hotel is. Look, Ma, phones in every room! The phones were assembled for the picture before being installed in the guest rooms.

(click the picture for a better look at it)

Winthrop available again?

In an interesting post on the Downtown BIA blog, Paul Ellis describes a biting city council committee meeting yesterday where the proposed developers of the Winthrop Hotel had allowed their agreement with the current owner to expire, thus removing themselves from the project (or landing themselves in a better bargaining position).

Then there's this:

The drama of that revelation was temporarily overshadowed by incendiary verbal exchanges between downtown merchants and at least one Councilmember as discussion on the Miller Amendment ensued. Several merchants expressed the opinion that the concentration of large low-income projects in the vicinity of 9th & Broadway is a blight and leads to civic disorder. Councilmember Tom Stenger characterized their opinions as "bigoted".

Unfortunately for Tom, the merchants are right on. The problem is the concentration of low-income housing, and arguing that it needs to be de-centralized is not bigoted. I lived at 9th and Broadway for a year and looked out at the Winthrop from my windows in the Bostwick. Watching the building for a year at all hours of the day made things pretty clear: the building is holding back the revitalization of the Theater District.

The building desperately needs to be restored to either a hotel or condos, and the low-income units spread around Tacoma's urban core. If you find a developer willing to do both, treat them well, because you're probably visiting with Tacoma's Angel.

Things to Do Downtown

Three interesting events for the next seven days:

1. The World Trade Center Tacoma will host a discussion and "de-brief" from their recent goodwill mission to Mali. Should be interesting to hear what's going on in Timbuktu (which is actually in Mali, which I only mention because lots of people seem to think it falls into the same category as Never Never Land and Narnia). That's Thursday at 7:00 at the UWT Auditorium.
   
2. MetroParks, Tacoma Art Museum, and the Museum of Glass are putting on the Showcase Tacoma/Chihuly in Tacoma event in the Museum District. That will definitely be worth checking out. Expect thousands upon thousands. No foolin.
3. And Monday, Tacoma Actors Guild will do their second stage reading of a play in the rehearsal hall. Here is the site with the information, although it still shows July's info. 7:30 curtain, though. If there were a curtain that is.
   

Suspicious Minds

Elvis was right. We can't go on together ... and all that.

I watched Hitchcock's Suspicion this evening, the first movie he did with Cary Grant. I can't say that I would highly recommend the film, and it is certain a good many steps below Rebecca, Strangers on a Train, and Notorious (his three best movies that most people haven't seen).

Cary Grant is very good and he has a sharper edge in this film than in most. Joan Fontaine plays essentially the same part she played in Rebecca, where she is torn by her love for her husband and concern over his inscrutable actions.

There are some fun stylistic touches. A round window throws huge shadows across the entryway and makes it look like Joan Fontaine is caught like a fly in a spider's web. And a glass of milk possibly containing poison is lit from within (from a lightbulb, apparently) so that it glows as it is carried down the dark hallway.

I can't say I'm a huge fan, but--let's face it--the man knows how to direct, and he can throw in suspense whenever he wants. Good fun.

The Glacial Effect

(click on picture to make it bigger)

The Puyallup River is discharging glacial run-off into Commencement Bay, as it apparently does every year around this time. I really liked this photo (published in today's Tribune) of what it looks like from the air. It's a welcome change from the brown and muddy stuff the river usually discharges.

Soren's Article

I forgot that some of my readers are out of town and might be interested to see Soren's article that appeared in Saturday's paper. So if you didn't, there it is. And now I'm off to the Post Office.

Short Break

I took a blogging respite this weekend, but I should be blogging away again in full form by tomorrow. Thanks to my long-time readers who have been patient. See you tomorrow!

Statement

To the members, patrons, and volunteers of the Grand Cinema,

It is with a sad heart that I must announce my immediate departure from the Grand. I have served at the theater for two and a half years as its Managing Director and I am incredibly thankful for the friendships I have made while talking movies and sharing the best popcorn in Tacoma.

I am proud that during my time at the Grand I was able to introduce new and exciting film opportunities, special educational programs, and strong gains in our fundraising in order to support our rapid growth. In just two short years the Grand has become more of a regional theater, drawing regular patrons from all over the Sound with unique programs unavailable elsewhere. But we have also become, almost paradoxically, more of a community-based theater that partners with a variety of local organizations, shows off Tacoma filmmakers, and brings the community together through the art of film.

In short, this job was great fun for me. Working at the Grand was the dream job I had hoped it would be when I first applied.

I am saddened that my time at the Grand was cut short after some substantive differences of opinion with the Board of Directors. Everyone on the Board is behind the Grand 100% and, like me, wants what is best for the organization. That we reached separate conclusions on how to achieve those goals and could not resolve the differences is a shame, and is indicative of the complexity of the challenges facing the cinema.

The Grand will need your support through this transition and the coming years. In a time of uncertainty in the broader film industry, the importance for the Grand to secure a permanent home becomes even greater. The theater has some great opportunities ahead, and I wish the Grand only the best as it pushes forward.

As for me, I don’t plan to go too far, and I have a few ideas up my sleeve for some cool projects. You’ll likely see me in the audience of the Grand every so often, too, as it still remains the best place to watch a film in Tacoma.

Thank you again for a wonderful time at the movies.

Erik Hanberg