Independent Bookstore Day: Ada’s Technical Books
The term "technical books" makes it sound like there are a bunch of stuffed shirts walking around with large impenetrable tomes, but Ada’s caters to far more accessible scientific, science fiction, and fantasy books. When you browse the shelves, you find that science is a broad category covering the hard sciences like biology and chemistry, the soft sciences like psychology and sociology, and the scientific arts like cooking and architecture.
Independent Bookstore Day: Elliott Bay Book Co.
Elliott Bay is a go-to spot for me. It helps that it is near my home, but it is much more than solely convenience based. The layout and the books they spotlight really draw me in, no matter what the genre is. I find myself gravitating towards genres I’m usually not interested in due to the enticing books they have on display. The staff are helpful without being overbearing, and the attached cafe serves as a nice incentive to stay a bit longer, order food, and relax with a good book.
Well Behaved Women (and Co) Revitalize Urgency for Sexual Health and Freedom
On a Friday night in Capitol Hill, a crowd of eager theater-goers entered through the unassuming front doors of Seattle Open Arts Place to watch the debut of a new theater company. Well Behaved Women and Co were putting on their inaugural production, In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play).
Iconic Convos: The Wall of Death
Nicole Bearden (NB): If you end up in the U District, on the Burke-Gilman Trail, you might run across our next guest, one of Seattle’s oddest icons: The Wall of Death. I appreciate you taking time to speak with us today. I must say, your appearance is pretty intimidating, Wall, not to mention your name. What has your experience on the Burke-Gilman been like?
Dacha Theatre Lifts Emma to 21st Century Winsome Joy
So naturally, when Dacha Theatre, who so often defies the status quo of theatre, took on Kate Hamill’s Emma, they began the show by having audience members pluck up the women’s etiquette guide pages—which had been left on every seat—and shred them, stating they were throwing etiquette out the door.
Audience members held onto these shreds and threw them when cued. The pieces fluttered down as white confetti upon the jubilant opening wedding scene of Mrs. Weston (Kayla Walker), and Mr. Weston (Van Lang Pham).
Max’s Musings: e. e. cummings
Poet e. e. cummings has always reigned supreme as the king of breaking the standards of typical poetry. Offering the chance to explore one’s self and creativity by any means necessary, poetry is heightened and enlightened by cummings ability to go against what is expected as “normal” poetry.
Rainier Documentary Captures Turning Point in Seattle’s Culture
The film, Rainier: A Beer Odyssey, is ostensibly about the series of Rainier ads that changed Seattle's diet for beer. Really, though, the film is about Seattle and how the next generation of creatives brought their own way of thinking to advertising. They were scrappy, resourceful, and determined not to sell a product, but to create short films that featured a product in a way that made people feel the urge to buy it.
Living Waling Waling: Acuña’s Runway Nurtures Filipino Intersectionality
Heidi Grace Acuña presents Living Waling Waling, a fashion event celebrating the matriarchal power of the orchid. Amassing more than twenty artists across mediums in the total production of this show, expect upcycled fashion, eclectic dance performance, and a side of Filipino bites. Heidi Grace Acuña is a multi-disciplinary artist who sublimes their sense of disconnect to explore topics of identity, culture, gender, and home. Acuña has a background in sculpture with a permanent piece at North Seattle College. Since the 2019 pandemic they have expanded their craft into other mediums like fashion.
Iconic Convos: Hat ‘n Boots
On my way back from my short hiatus, I ran into our next Iconic Convos interviewees, Hat n’ Boots at Oxbow Park in Georgetown. At 22-feet high (Boots) and 44-feet wide (Hat), these two are hard to ignore.
![The Divided Line: Bastian [Part 1]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65456cf1d440cc19dd37c744/1744752732271-LW2O9R5F6CU8I3WGDMBV/Bastian%252B1.jpg)
The Divided Line: Bastian [Part 1]
It began slowly—the plague, the greed, the riots. Revolutionaries rose up behind symbols, murals, and songs, while the masses were fed machinery and religion. In the wake of the destruction, politicians deemed art a dangerous thing—a worthless thing—and the masses agreed. They took away the paint, the books, and the instruments. But they could not wholly silence the artists. These are the stories they left behind.
Sound Cinema: The Varsity (and its Blues)
The Varsity Theater in the heart of the U District has been in operation since 1940. In 1985 the theater added two screens to make it a triplex that shows a mix of independent, blockbuster, and special engagement showings. It is operated by Far and Away Entertainment, a local company that owns and operates several movie theaters across Seattle and the Puget Sound.
Closing Highlights from SJFF’s Pearl Festival
The Seattle Jewish Film Festival (SJFF) wrapped another exciting series of films this year for their Pearl Anniversary (30 years). Here are some select highlights that screened in-person and streamed virtually and how you can see some of them:
Glimpsing Development Through a Bar’s POV: Marcie’s is a Local Treat
Director John Helde hosted the Marcie’s world premiere in a packed, sold out crowd at Northwest Film Forum. Marcie’s follows a scrappy bartender, played by Jenn Ruzumna, who is a few payments away from fully owning the good ol’ local Ed’s Tavern—a long-held dream reached by one struggling payment at a time. But a rich, ambitious man enters and tries to persuade Ed into selling the restaurant before Marcie can finish her payments.
A Beginner’s Guide to Local Birdwatching
Birdwatching used to be the go-to hobby for outdoorsy folks with a lot of free time, usually in addition to hiking or backpacking, but now the birdwatching phenomenon seems to have spread far and wide. People who aren’t usually big nature fans are heading outside to join in on the hunt for Virginia Rails and Great Horned Owls, even with little experience or interest in other nature hobbies. So what is it about birds that seems to have drawn in so many people? And why now? And how do you escape the dreaded birdwatching FOMO?
Banh Mi: Officially Cravable at These Seattle Spots
Many of the sandwiches on these “best of” Seattle lists were one or two cities removed. Going to Lynnwood for a good sandwich is fine for some people, but it is not feasible or practical for the majority of us in the city. So, when coming up with my own roundup, I stuck to a few rules. The first was that this was a list of terrific Seattle banh mi, and so should stay within city boundaries.
Parker’s Pages: Windfall
Windfall takes us on an incredible journey, from Oregon to the North Dakota prairie, and from the present all the way back to the early 1900s. But even with these leaps through place and time, Bolstad keeps us rooted. She delivers both fact and imagination in her distinct journalistic style, helping us follow her line of inquiry into her family’s past.
Fancy Plants Grows Creative Community in U District
Nitroy launched Fancy Plants in fall of 2022. Located on the Ave at the intersection between the University and Ravenna neighborhoods, Fancy Plants is a multipurpose shop where Nitroy hopes to create a welcoming environment for plant carers of all experience levels. Acknowledging that “plants are living things, so they can be really overwhelming emotionally,” Nitroy says that her goal with the store is “trying to make growing plants less stressful and more joyful.”
Max’s Musings: Plumly
A Millennium Reflection, which was foraged from a multitude of Seattle poets and photographers, brings people together for a common cause and common love. Published in 1999, it is a love letter from its residents to their city. The collection, a celestial tribute, deeply reflects on the beauty and resilience of Seattle alongside where it started, how far it has come, and where it still plans to go. Through poems and photographs, the city of Seattle is brought to life again.
