Seattle People Examiner
Showing entries for Category: Seattle
Seattle, let's embrace our inner Seafair
POSTED June 30, 10:48 AM
chip hauaner
Chip Hanauer photo by Stephen Lane 
The secret to understanding the mystery of Seattle's soul is Seafair. Of this we are more certain than ever, even now as the actual existence of Seattle's soul comes into greater and greater question.

You can debate the historic significance of the Ballard Denny's, then watch the backhoe take it down, and we can ponder the psychic demeanor of a city whose already intense population boom is expected to swell another 30 percent by 2025.

But maybe part of the acculturation process for anyone dwelling in Seattle for more than a few years MUST include a recognition of Seattle's traditions, of which there are not many and which are not very pronounced.

With the start of Seafair this week in boomtown Seattle, despite the fact that 400 missed the start of Sunday's marathon, it occurs to me that an archeological dig into this tradition might help us reconcile what Seattle was with what it is becoming. In the process, maybe this reconciliation can help engender a different appreciation of the place -- a perspective that could help attach a psychological rudder to our wayfaring journey ahead.

For instance, once, a long time ago, I personally mocked the significance of the Seafair hydroplane race that takes place annually on Lake Washington. This made legendary hydro drive Chip Hanuaer very mad. It seemed like an archaic and quaint little event to me, an outsider, but Hanauer begged to differ. This week, I would like to explore these issues more, in order to come to some kind of truce -- and higher plane of consciousness, pardon the expression.

The point is, Seattle's past has not been able to bear its weight up against the behemoth present. It is the little left coast outpost that, BOOM, became a world-class city. However, it is my growing suspicion that Seattleites one and all should embrace their inner Seafair this summer, before it's too late.  

 

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Martha Stewart is NOT banned in Seattle
POSTED June 26, 4:52 PM
They banned Martha Stewart in England this week, as if the dowager of decoration was some common criminal trying to gain entry into the UK's iron-tight borders.Oh, right. Stewart IS a convicted criminal -- a notion that some of her fans here in Seattle... Read More
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Tour Deadliest Catch boat in Seattle, if you have the stomach
POSTED June 24, 9:05 AM
You drive over the Ballard Bridge every day and look down at all the hulking fishing boats docked at Fishermen's Terminal and, beside the fact that it's a very visually stirring scene -- a Seattle moment -- you sometimes actually remember that these... Read More
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Seattle poet & musician dispatches posts from Rome
POSTED June 23, 7:49 AM
School is out in Seattle and summer has officially started, which means over the past week, as the city starts to fill with tourists and cruise-hoppers, Seattle's neighborhoods have slowly drained themselves of residents off to vacation in... Read More
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No eBay Bids for Perry Como Hit Song 'Seattle' Memorabilia
POSTED June 13, 10:49 AM
So this morning we get word that eBay has an auction listing for a 1969 album promo for Perry Como's hit record, Seattle. It's up for an opening bid of $4.99 and, sacre bleu, no one has jumped all over this bit of memorabilia.Here's the skinny on... Read More
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Where The Hell Is Matt? Dancing Again in Seattle!
POSTED June 7, 9:35 PM
We caught up today with Matt Harding, dancin' world traveller. Matt is the man of 9 million hits for his YouTube video, Where The Hell is Matt? And this weekend, the Connecticut native who calls Seattle home came home, wrapping up World Tour No. 3.Matt... Read More
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Neighborhood Envy in Seattle Is Now All About Georgetown
POSTED June 3, 10:08 AM
Besides weather, outdoor recreation, coffee, Microsoft and the remote geographic location that feeds a self-satisfied sense of blissful isolation, Seattle is all about its neighborhoods. A lot of us in Seattle define ourselves by what neighborhood... Read More
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Where are all the Seattle writers from Myzip.net?
POSTED May 21, 12:47 PM
As Examiner.com/seattle begins building a community of local experts to deliver news, information and passion about all things Seattle, we've made some interesting discoveries about the local online community. This town is pretty sophisticated when it... Read More
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The Streets Are Alive With a Throng of Cruise Tourists
POSTED May 17, 10:15 AM
The weather is hot and the streets of downtown Seattle are flush with cruise-bound tourists killing a few hours on either side of their watery junkets. In a swift 24-hour turnaround, Seattle went from being a damp & cloudy outpost to a sunny &... Read More
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85% Chance for Deep Quake in Seattle in Next 50 Years
POSTED May 13, 10:29 AM
Our hearts are heavy today for the people of central China. The 7.9 earthquake that has decimated the region and caused tens of thousands of deaths and injuries is a shocking wake-up call for those of us living in Seattle. We "joke" about... Read More
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More Entries (4)

Laura Vecsey
Laura Vecsey is a former sports columnist for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Baltimore Sun. She has lived in Seattle since 1994, which does not qualify her as a resident, according to unwritten rules of local citizenship. She lives in Magnolia, studies at the University of Washington and is the Local Content Director in Seattle for Examiner.com.


Week Around the IstsPhoto of Cody by Dan BergeronTorontoist took a look at Regent Park, a low-income neighborhoodwhose soon-to-be-demolished buildings are beinggraced with huge wheatpastes of the area's displaced residents.(On that note, they also triedto find a legal middle ground for street art.)Phillyist curated their first art exhibition, and posted pictures from its opening.Gothamist was shocked when surveillance footage was released of a Brooklyn hospital's staffers repeatedly ignoring a patient--who had waited there for almost 24 hours--falling to the waiting room floor. After a nurse kicked the patient's feet, it turned out she was dead. Londonist accompanied the world's oldest working steamship as she left her Docklands mooring for the first time in 17 years, heading down the Thames on the first leg of a 150 mile journey to a drydock in Suffolk, where she will receive a major maritime makeover.Bostonist caught Josh Ritter among the partially nude statuary of Symphony Hall and demanded to make his mother some grandbabies. And then there was some sort of 4th of July celebration.SFist was all too happy to add fuel to two fights this week: former SFist contributor Violet Blue vs. Boing Boing, and retired judge/former San Francisco Board of Supervisor Quentin L. Kopp vs. District Attorney Kamala Harris.Shanghaiist researched the background of the Chinese guy who paid US$2.1million to have dinner with Warren Buffett.Seattlest watched and mourned, then discussed how the city should spend the $75 million settlement after an end was reached in the ongoing Sonics trial, ensuring the team's 40 years in Seattle are officially over.LAist found, just after this week's hands-free cell phone law went into effect, another proposed law that is making its way through the petition process: legalization of marijuana for everyone.
2 hrs 55 mins ago (seattlest)

 
 

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