MISCmedia for 5/11/01
Rendezvous With Danger?

THE APPARENTLY GOOD NEWS: Belltown's historic Rendezvous diner, bar, and mini-theater will probably be saved from the wrecking ball.

The potenally bad news: It could get ruined anyway, by the longtime practice of taking a great honest space and "restoring" it to a frou-frou "elegance" it was never meant to have.

The current operators' lease ends this next Halloween. Supposedly (and nothing's being officially announced yet), certain folk with certain "hip" credentials will take it over, give the interior a tasteful makeover, and make it a cool hangout spot with cool hangout music.

True, the ol' Rendezvous and its Jewel Box Theater are in disrepair; and the joint's current revenue stream probably isn't enough to pay for the needed fixings.

But I (and lotsa other folk) want it to not become just another outpost of the upscale Monoculture, a glitzy martini bar or the like.

And we certainly don't want the old-age pensioners, Alaska fishermen, and world-weary types who populate its crowded front bar to get kicked out or made to feel unwelcome.

We want the Rendezvous to become a well-kept version of what it is now--a comfy, quietly classy joint, where the artsy types and the salt-O-the-earth of all races and gender-types coexist under the watchful eye and beehive hair of goddess barmaid Dodi.

This all comes as the Belltown Business Association is trying to give the neighborhood a marketable identity. It held a meeting this week on "Branding Belltown." The concept is to use cutesy public art and street signs, according to the group's newsletter, "to maintain the top-of-mind status that Belltown has deservedly acquired over the last few years as the premiere neighborhood in which to live, work, and play. We want tolks to be able to find us and help describe us in a way that we help define."

Of course, when I think of "branding," I think of sloganeering. (I also think of the branding-iron fetish, but that's off-topic.)

And I'm sure you could come up with some slogans for the former artists' haven that are much better than these samples of mine:

• "Belltown: We've kicked out those skanky painters, so you can smell your moo shoo pork better."

• "Belltown: Come reminisce about the vibrant street life that used to be here."

• "Belltown: See the nice little buildings we've preserved as office space for the architects who design the ugly big buildings next to them."

• "Belltown: Make sure you show your platinum card at the front gate."

NEXT: Another entry in "Every Home I've Ever Lived In."

ELSEWHERE:

• Tracking the steady demise of web-based "free stuff" offers....

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS:

• "The arts" as a development scheme.
• In the upscale Monoculture, minorities are as bland as whites.
• Some things I've been up to lately.
• A preview of our forthcoming photo show (opening June 2).
• Saving transit from the transit planners.
• Parts one and two of some reviews of sites who asked to be reviewed here.
• The possibly rose-colored memoirs of a former Seattle Weekly editor.
• Previewing the great Jewish-baseball graphic novel.
• Images signifying nothing.
• A partial defense of fast food.
• An attempt to save a beloved Net radio station.
• Turning off Turn Off TV Week.
• The real problem with delivery dot-coms.
• The Bush regime compared with the novel Underworld.
• A Chant, re: the art of Art Chantry.
• Joey Ramone reaches the ultimate sedation.
• John Keister gets canceled again, apparently.
• Tulipomania redux.
• Parts one, two, three, four, and five of a tour through every home I've lived in.
• Parts one and two of a guest columnist's reminiscences of beer, basements, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.
• Memories of the radio station formerly known as KCMU.
• A special offer on slightly-hurt Losers.

ARCHIVES:

• 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, and 1986-94 columns
• Reviews of literature & art, nonfiction & culture criticism, movies & videos, and music & noise
• Longer articles and essays
• Some slightly weird little fiction pieces
• X-Word crossword puzzles, now with on-screen solving
• Cyber Stuff, links to cool and/or useful sites
• A listing of many Things I Like (and a few things I hate)
• The origin and future of MISCmedia