Friday, October 19, 2001

JOHN KATZ ASKS whether the Internet has, in the weeks since 9/11, truly become the new Medium of Record.

(BY THE WAY, will future generations think 911 is the emergency phone number because it's reminiscent of the big disaster date?)

posted by clark 12:50 AM

Thursday, October 18, 2001

THE GORGEOUS FALL PRINT MISC. is now out at some 135 locations in Seattle, and has been mailed to subscribers. Beginning next week, it will also be made available nationally via Last Gasp, the alterna-book distributor and comix publisher soon to enter its 35th year. Ask your local alterna-bookstore to carry MISC as soon as it shows up in LG's catalog.

I'VE STILL HOPE FOR THE MARINERS to pull this series through, even though they respectfully lost Game 1 and are behind by a run in Game 2 as of this writing. Faith and hope, after all, are what we're told we need more of these days, right?

posted by clark 8:05 PM

Tuesday, October 16, 2001

YR. HUMBLE EDITOR was recently awarded the honor of being one of the 18 jurors who selected the "MetropoList 150," the Museum of History and Industry/Seattle Times list of the 150 most influential people in the 150-year history of Seattle and King County.

I'm quite satisfied with the final list, available at this link. There's almost nobody on it I wouldn't have wanted on it.

Nevertheless, there are several names I wrote in which didn't make the final selection. In alphabetical order, they include:

• LYNDA BARRY: South Seattle native and acclaimed cartoonist and author. Her novel Cruddy was set in a fictionalized Rainier Valley.

• STEVEN J. "JESSE" BERNSTEIN: Poet and short-story writer of urban decay and dystopian fantasy.

• TED BUNDY: Clean-cut law student and serial killer.

• DYAN CANNON: West Seattle native who became a movie sex symbol at age 32.

• RAY CHARLES: R&B legend whose career started in Seattle's old Jackson Street jazz scene.

• FRANCES FARMER: West Seattle-born actress with an ill-fated Hollywood career.

• CHET HUNTLEY: UW grad and pioneering network TV news anchorman.

• MARY KAY LETOURNEAU: Middle-school teacher who bore two children by a student, causing much public hand-wringing and analysis.

• MIKE LUKOVICH: Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist and UW Daily grad.

• FLOYD SCHMOE (1895-2000): Seattle Quaker leader, mountaineer, and tireless peace activist.

• LESTER SMITH & DANNY KAYE: Seattle businessman Smith, first on his own and later in partnership with movie star Kaye, ran a string of radio stations (including KJR); they also were the Mariners' original owners.

• DEWEY SORIANO: Was awarded ownership of the 1969 Seattle baseball franchise on the basis of his skill in managing the Pacific Coast League. He didn't have the financial resources to keep the Pilots going, and the team was sold and moved to Milwaukee after one season.

• ICHIRO SUZUKI: Mariners sensation; first Japanese-born "position player" (non-pitcher) in the U.S. Major Leagues.

• EDDIE VEDDER: Singer for the rock band Pearl Jam. The group's dispute with TicketMaster in 1993 presaged many later disputes by artists and fans against the bigtime music industry.

• ANN & NANCY WILSON: Leaders since 1973 of Heart, the first Seattle rock band to attain international prominence. Proved you could be all woman AND all rock.

• TOBIAS WOLFF: Acclaimed author and memoirist (This Boy's Life).

IN ADDITION, here are some names nominated by other people (with the descriptions these anonymous nominators wrote) for whom I voted, but who also failed to make the final cut:

• DICK BALCH: Local Chevrolet dealer and irreverent pitchman for cars (smashed cars with sledgehammer on TV ads).

• OLE BARDAHL: Proprietor of Bardahl, the Ballard-based engine additive company known for its hydroplanes (the Miss. Bardahl) and its giant neon sign.

• SIR THOMAS BEECHAM: A renowned English conductor, Beecham became the director of the tiny Seattle Symphony in 1941. He is remembered most for his quote, "If I were a member of this community, really I should get weary of being looked on as a sort of aesthetic dust-bin."

• PETER BEVIS: Founder and director of the Fremont School of Fine Arts and the Fremont Foundry, established in 1986. An artist who makes molds of road kill, Bevis's work illustrates the recklessness of people in nature. He bought the Kalakala back to Seattle.

• BOB BLACKBURN: Longtime voice of the Seattle Supersonics, from their first season in 1967 until the early 1990s.

• BOBO THE GORILLA: Bobo introduced Seattleites to the great apes and to "exotic" wildlife in general; he taught a whole generation to abandon diabolical "King Kong" images of gorillas. He inspired better zoo husbandry and perhaps paved the way for primate preservation attempts. In his current taxidermied form, his legacy lives on.

• STAN BORESON: Scandinavian musician, comedian, and host of the long-running children's program KING Clubhouse.

• BERKLEY BREATHED: Cartoonist, Bloom Country.

• FRED BROWN: The former Sonic star, who help lead them to their only title in 1979, influenced a generation of ballplayers locally and nationally through his long-distance gunning which inspired the term "From downtown..." now heard in broadcasts everywhere, but is as Seattle--and omnipresent--as "Skid Road."

• HIRAM CHITTENDEN: An officer in the Army Corps of Engineers and one of Seattle's first port commissioners, Chittenden worked to develop the Port of Seattle. He oversaw the construction of the Lake Washington Canal and locks, which now bear his name.

• JOHN CONSIDINE: Considine's "People's Theater" was a Seattle success, which led to his preeminent career as an impresario. He helped pioneer early Edison films and established the famous vaudeville circuit. Considine and his brother Tom were involved in the notorious killing of Seattle's police chief, William L. Meredith.

• LLOYD COONEY: Former KIRO-TV station manager and editorial commentator.

• D.B. COOPER: Infamous airline hijacker (flight from Portland to Seattle) who may or may not have gotten away.

• JACK ENDINO: Recording engineer/producer who made early studio recordings of Nirvana, Soundgarden, the U-Men and other proto-grunge acts.

• JEAN ENERSEN: Television news anchor for KING-TV.

• RANDY FINLEY: Founder of the Seven Gables Theatre chain, which, along with the Seattle International Film Festival, fostered and bolstered Seattle's appetite for fine cinema.

• CHARLES FRYE: Frye was a partner in Frye and Bruhn, Meatpackers. He founded the Frye Museum atop Seattle's First Hill, an institution that is one of Seattle's leading museums today.

• BOB HARDWICK: KVI disc jockey in the 1960s and 1970s, known for wacky on-air antics.

• DENIS HAYS: Director of the Bullitt Foundation; created Earth Day in 1970.

• SAM ISRAEL: A hermit who lived in Eastern Washington, amassed over 500 properties, worth between $100-$200 million at the time of his death (1994). He owned over 30 downtown properties, 14 of which were located in Pioneer Square. Due to his negligence many of his properties were vacated and fell into disrepair. However, the low rent helped spawn a lively artists' scene in Pioneer Square.

• QUINCY JONES: Garfield High School's musical prodigy has more Grammy nominations than anyone else in history. Jones has written film scores, sonatas, and popular music, done arrangements for other artists and performed throughout the world with his own band and orchestra.

• RICK "PEANUT MAN" KAMINSKI: If you attended an event at the Kingdome from the 1970s to the 1990s, you saw Kaminski throwing bags of peanuts to his customers, along with a tennis ball sliced open enough for the patron to place his money inside for the return toss.

• JOHN KEISTER: The quintessential bittersweet Seattleite who remembers how it used to be before so many people moved here, Keister used his position as host of KING -TV's Almost Live! weekly comedy program to poke fun at Kent, Bellevue, Ballard and other Seattle suburbs and neighborhoods.

• NORM LANGILL: Founder of One Reel, producer of Bumbershoot and other cultural events.

• GARY LARSON: creator of The Far Side, a hugely popular cartoon panel. Prior to Larson's retirement in 1995, the cartoon strip appeared in 1,900 daily newspapers in 40 countries, and was translated into 17 languages.

• GYPSY ROSE LEE: West Seattle's Lee, with her sister June Havoc, performed in a kiddy vaudeville act that toured the nation. She parlayed her experience into a famous striptease that was a hit at the Zeigfeld Follies. Her life was portrayed in the musical Gypsy.

• LOGGERS: When white men first came to the Seattle area travel was long and difficult between Seattle and Tacoma. With the arrival of the loggers travel became significantly easier.

• DARRLY MACDONALD: Co-founder of the Seattle International Film Festival and purveyor of Seattle's now firmly-established reputation as a city of cinematic connoisseurs.

• HELENE MADISON: When 19-year-old Madison returned to Seattle with three gold medals in swimming from the 1932 Olympic games, the city raised a celebration, including a ticker tape parade. Two pools in Seattle are named after Madison.

• VIC MEYERS: Seattle jazz-band leader who ran for mayor in 1930 on the whim of some practical jokesters at the Seattle Times. He was eager to lend himself to the joke, and Times reporters wrote him up throughout the "campaign." After losing the election, he won the election for the lieutenant governor of the state.

• LORENZO MILAM: Founder of KRAB radio in 1962. KRAB was among the earliest community radio stations in the country. It was one of the voices and centers of the counterculture in the 1960s and 1970s.

• SIR MIX-A-LOT (Anthony Ray): Seattle's first national rap star, who hit it big with his "Posse on Broadway" single.

• DAVE NIEHAUS: He has been delivering colorful descriptions of Mariner baseball since the team was established in 1977. His enormous contribution to Mariner baseball was recognized when he was asked to throw out the ceremonial first pitch in the inaugural game in Safeco Field.

• MARNI NIXON: Broadway singer. Among her famous roles was singing for Audrey Hepburn in [the film version of] My Fair Lady.

• BILL NYE: Seattle star (and former Almost Live! character) on PBS's Bill Nye The Science Guy, seen by millions of kids nationwide.

• PAT O'DAY: High profile disc jockey on KJR radio through the '60s. The first disc jockey in Seattle to really start playing rock 'n roll, an action for which he earned 37 percent of the radio audience.

• JOHN OKADA (1923-1971): Author of No-No Boy, winner of the National Book Award, a novel that explores the return home to Seattle of an interned Nisei Japanese, who refused to forswear allegiance to the emperor of Japan and to fight in uniform for the United States when those questions were posed in the internment camp.

• JIM OWENS: UW football coach. Took team to three Rose Bowls

• MARTIN PANG: Started the 1995 fire in the Mary Pang qarehouse downtown. Four firemen died while subduing the blaze. In his confession, Pang said he started the fire to relieve his parents the burden of running the facility.

• BRUCE PAVITT & JONATHAN PONEMAN: Co-founders of Sub Pop, Seattle record label that originally signed Nirvana, Soundgarden and other grunge acts.

• ANGELO PELLEGRINI: Italian immigrant who settled with his family in Southwest Washington; made his mark as a UW English professor and food and wine expert. He wrote many books and gave talks on Italian culture.

• GEORGE POCOCK: Designer and builder of racing shells, including those used by 1936 gold medal US Olympic Team. Also designed the hull of Boeing's first commercial plane.

• THE PROSTITUTES OF THE 1800s: The main reason many men originally came to the Seattle area.

• DIXY LEE RAY: Washington's first female governor. The idiosyncratic Ray was at the helm when Mt. St. Helens erupted.

• LARRY REID: Early director of COCA (Center on Contemporary Art).

• ROSIE THE RIVETER: Popular symbol during WWII of women entering the blue-collar work force in order to keep up industrial production to support the war effort; believed to be based on women in Boeing's work force.

• BILL "THE BEERMAN" SCOTT: Kingdome concession employee who became the defacto yell king for the Mariners, Sonics, Sounders and Seahawks (when all played under the same concrete roof).

• RUBEN SIERRA: Founder of the "multi-cultural-before-its-time" Group Theatre.

• JEFF SMITH (FRUGAL GOURMET): Author and chef who popularized good cooking for a mass audience.

• DICK SPADY: Founder, with two partners, of Dick's Drive In, which opened in Wallingford in 1954.

• ELBRIDGE A. STUART: Created the Carnation Co., which initially focused on evaporated milk. Stuart developed a dairy farm near Tolt, which was renamed Carnation. In 1926 Carnation entered the fresh milk and ice cream business. The firm [now merged into Nestle] was known for its slogan "Milk from Contented Cows."

• CONRAD UNO: Egg Studios owner/producer who recorded and/or released records by up and coming Seattle acts in the 1980s and 1990s, including the Young Fresh Fellows, Posies, and Presidents of the United States of America.

• GORDON VICKERY: Driving force in getting Medic One in the Fire Department. Many thousands of lives have been saved because of this.

• BURKE WALKER: Founder of the Empty Space Theatre.

• BOB WALSH: Seattle entrepreneur behind the Goodwill Games (1990) and attempts to bring the Olympic Games to Seattle.

• ROB WELLER: Former UW Husky yell king and Entertainment Tonight host credited with creation of the circular, undulating group cheer known as "The Wave."

• BILL YEEND: Longtime host (25 years) of KIRO radio's number-one rated morning news program.

• MARION ANTHONY ZIONCHECK: Born in Austria, Zioncheck attended the UW. After passing the state bar exam he won a seat in Congress. His mental deterioration and suicide (leaping from the Arctic Building in Seattle) were national stories.

(This article's permanent link.)

posted by clark 12:38 PM

JAMES CARROLL WRITES: " What if the catastrophe of Sept. 11 resulted, over the long term, in recognitions and initiatives that made America--and the world--a far better place... A turning point at which the main mode of resolving world conflict shifted away from the culture of war and toward the culture of law."

posted by clark 9:38 AM

Monday, October 15, 2001

MARINERS WIN DIVISION SERIES AFTER ALL: What was I possibly thinking, for doubting The Best Team Ever after one rout loss on Saturday? Our doodz played their kind of game (pitching, defense, hit-and-run, manufactured runs) and steadily, systematically, sent Cleveland home.

At the time of the Ms' victory, there was a chance that the AL Championship Series might very well have pitted Seattle against the Oakland A's. I was psyched for an I-5 Series, for the chance to show those NoCal snobs that, no, Seattle isn't some hick cowtown.

But no. It'll be a Mariners/Yankees ALCS for the second consecutive year. With any luck (and with our much stronger lineup and their aging staff), it won't be a repeat of the '00 series, which the Ms essentially threw away on the tired arm of relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes (who has more than redeemed himself thus far this year).

Of course, this matchup also means us Mariner fans are in the unenviable position of wishing to deny the citizens of New York City the spirit-lift they could so dearly use these days. I say to that: New Yorkers are a tough and resiliant lot, as has been so elequently proven these past five weeks. They're bouncing back from something infinitely worse than a lost pennant. They'll easily be able to bounce back from a Mariners win.

Another note: All four remaining playoff teams have seven-letter hometown names (Seattle, New York, Arizona, Atlanta). And the NL finalists both start and end with the same name. Somebody who follows baseball superstitions might be able to come up with an intriguing comment on this coincidence. I can't.

posted by clark 6:08 PM

THE LA TIMES calls our old pal Aaron Brown "someone known for his thoughtfulness and composure... the steadiest man on television."

posted by clark 11:56 AM

RECENT EDITORIAL CARTOONS to the contrary, Francis Fukayama still insists we haven't gone beyond "the end of history."

posted by clark 10:49 AM

Sunday, October 14, 2001

MARINERS EVEN THE DIVISION SERIES 2-2: And a glorious payback game it was indeed, with the Ms not getting to Cleveland until the seven inning but then slaying 'em. Game 5 now happens in Seatle Monday afternoon. I like our chances in it. Really.

posted by clark 4:07 PM

METROPOLIST !50, the Museum of History and Industry/Seattle Times list of the 150 most influential people in Seattle-King County history, is now up at this link. As attentive readers of this site know, I was on the jury that picked the final selection. Some of my picks, however, didn't make the final cut. I'll post some of those names here soon. I promise.

posted by clark 4:00 PM

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT AMERICA: As promised a couple weeks back, here is my preliminary list of some of what I love about this nation of ours. Thanks for your emailed suggestions; more are quite welcome.)

• Corn dogs, and the proud people who make and serve them.

• 217 cable channels, at least 10 of which are showing the same dumb movie at any given time.

• Upbeat/consensual pornos in every known fetish.

• Urban intersections with a Starbucks on every corner.

• Suburban intersections with a 7-Eleven on every corner.

• September issues of Vogue thicker than the models.

• Fabulous babes coast to coast, many of whom have powerful careers.

• Boys happily puking into bushes at Florida Spring Break.

• Dr. Seuss, Mary Engelbreit, Charles Schulz, James Thurber, R. Crumb, Chris Ware, and Dan Clowes.

• Fudge-banana swirl ice cream.

• Dodge Darts.

• The Internet, MP3s, chat rooms, multi-user dungeons, and QuickTime movies.

• Jack Benny, Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Looney Tunes, and Corey Feldman.

• The gum that goes squirt.

• Novelty stores with chocolate nipples and penis candles.

• The sports-book room at the Cal-Neva casino in Reno.

• The films of Russ Meyer and John Waters.

• The long lonesome highway, and the proud truckers and tourists who traverse it every day.

• Ann-Margaret, Betty Page, Mae West, Willa Cather, Beverly Cleary, Ella Grasso, Susan B. Anthony, Marilyn Chambers, and Jessamyn West.

• Sleazy detective magazines, "true crime" books, film noir.

• The Brooklyn Bridge, the Gateway Arch, the Brown Derby, and the Corn Palace.

• Anyone can grow up to become a corrupt politician or a sneak-thief business executive.

• Summer in Anchorage, winter in Honolulu, autumn in New England, and spring in Seattle.

• Old Faithful, the Mammoth Caves, Monument Valley, and the Trees of Mystery.

• Dollywood, Opryland, Wisconsin Dells, Wall Drug, Enchanted Village, and the Bible theme parks of Florida.

• All-you-can-eat buffets and bottomless cups of coffee.

• BBQ beef, Cajun catfish, smoked salmon, chicken nuggets, and pork rinds.

• Potato chips, ice cream cones, Hostess Sno-Balls, and non-dairy creamer.

• Crossword puzzles.

• Gene Rayburn, Betty White, Garry Moore, Bill Cullen, and Charles Nelson Reilly.

• David Letterman, Johnny Carson, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart, Fred Allen, Ricki Lake, Sandy Hill, and Rosie O'Donnell.

• Indie motels with fantastical neon signs.

• Butter-Lite flavor microwave popcorn.

• No-fault divorce.

• Retractable-roof stadia.

• Millions of assorted cults (religious, celebrity, musical, medical, investment, etc. etc.).

• Muddy Waters, Ethel Waters, and Barbara Walters.

• Bix Beiderbecke, Dizzy Gillespie, the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Wayne Horvitz, and Raymond Scott.

• Julie London, Vikki Carr, the Andrews Sisters, the Mills Brothers, Motown, Phil Spector, the Ventures, the Ramones, the B-52s, and the Young Fresh Fellows.

• Wine bars, sports bars, pickup bars, pickup trucks, monster trucks, semi rigs, and fork lifts.

• Aaron Copland, Henry Partch, Charles Ives, Frank Zappa, and the Residents.

• Johnny Cash, Bob Wills, Tammy Wynette, Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy, Tex Ritter, Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Buck Owens, Kitty Wells, and Homer & Jethro.

• Pulp magazines, bodice-ripper paperbacks, and $100 collector's editions of Walden.

• The Big Mouth Billy Bass, the Kitchen Magician, the Pocket Fisherman, and the George Forman Grilling Machine.

• Lou Piniella, "Louie Louie," Louis Prima, Louis Jordan, Joe Louis, Tina Louise, and Louise Bourgeois.

• Miss America, Miss December, miscagenation, and Ms. magazine.

• Simon & Schuster, Simon & Garfunkel, and Simon & Simon.

• Folks from all the rest of the world are here.

• Quite a lot of the things I love about other countries are here too.

(This article's permanent link.)

posted by clark 3:16 PM

SEASONAL ADJUSTMENT: My ex-Floridian neighbor across the hall, who is wont to ring my doorbell at assorted hours for assorted reasons, rang early Thursday morning.

"Do you KNOW what it is outside?" she proclaimed with baited breath.

"It's AUTUMN!!

"Do you KNOW how long it's been since I experienced autumn? Fifteen YEARS! The air is so crisp and biting. It's not hot. The leaves are becoming beautiful. It's amazing. You've got to appreciate it."

And I hope you appreciate it as well.

posted by clark 11:42 AM

ARCHIVES:

• Past weblog entries.
• 2002, 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.