Macefied Music Festival celebrated its debut on October 5, 2013. We were there as part of my 24-Hour Comics Day exploration of Ballard, Washington.
What would Edith Macefield have to say about all the big changes in the once mellow neighborhood of Ballard? That’s what I’d like to know.
Some things take time to fully understand.
Filed under Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Edith Macefield, Macefield Music Festival, Music, Seattle, Urbanization
Editor’s Note: Any serious conversation on urban planning will include the thoughts of activist Jane Jacobs. She was a champion of urban spaces at a human scale and of the preservation of older buildings in a community. Just in terms of practicality, it was the older buildings that had intrinsic value. It was their presumably lower rents, that allowed for risk-taking ventures with limited funds.
When is gentrification too much of a good thing? Something to consider as Ballard continues to grow. Will there always be room for those things with the original sense of Ballard?
Filed under Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics
Gloria Swanson photograph by Edward Steichen, 1924
“Where have all the heroes gone?” asked Sherman. He asked this plainly and earnestly, without even a hint of irony. He looked to be about 16-years-old and not remarkable at first glance, just a kid. He wore a cardigan sweater, had messy hair, a well-worn t-shirt, jeans, and Converse high tops. Maybe a geek but not a proud geek.
Filed under Commentary, Creative Living, Culture, Essays, Facebook, Henry Chamberlain, Heroes, Hollywood, Internet, Media, movies, Silent Movies, Social Media, Superheroes, writing
Editor’s Note: Marshall McLuhan is gaining ground, much like Nikola Tesla, as a hero from the past speaking for today. He would certainly have something to say about the hotspot that is today’s Ballard, a far cry from the sleepy little hamlet that it once was. McLuhan was sensitive to such things as the character and identity of a place.
Has Ballard lost something? Well, it’s always been under development, that’s one way of looking at it. Consider the last panel in this comic. You see what was once a grand old fire station. It was converted into one of Ballard’s leading restaurants, The Hi-Life, long before the arrival of all the other new hotspots that make up the new Ballard. It’s certainly a great place and enhances the whole area. All you have to do is try their famously good fried chicken to know they belong right where they are.
Filed under 24 Hour Comics, Ballard, Ballard Comics, Comics, Commentary, Edith Macefield, Henry Chamberlain, Humor, pop culture, Satire, Seattle, Webcomics
And so it begins, a look at Ballard, the cutting edge scene for foodies and hipsters in the midst of a mellow blue-collar world. We begin with a 24-hour adventure in search of the very soul of Ballard.
Photo by Zachariah Bryan, Ballard News-Tribune
Yours truly made the local paper, The Ballard News-Tribune. The story was published online this week (which you can read here) and the print edition of Westside Weekly came out today, Friday, October 11, 2013.
A Night at the Sorrento and Other Stories
Lost Cat: Fremont’s Grey is Missing.
Easter turned out to be a very nice day. I’ve just walked around my Seattle neighborhood of Fremont to surmise the current situation, take the pulse of the zeitgeist, and just get some fresh air. There’s a flyer I’ve seen a number of times and I thought I’d share it with you. Apparently, there’s this neighborhood cat, Grey, who loves to take strolls and just wander about. But he keeps getting picked up by well-intentioned people who turn him in to the local shelter! I had friends who were constantly compelled to pick up neighborhood pets they were certain they were lost only to find out that these pets were simply doing their own thing, not lost at all. Anyhow, as the above flyer makes clear, Grey, and his owner, have been dealing with this for quite some time and so a flyer went up pleading with people to just leave well enough alone. Here his Grey’s message in its entirety:
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Filed under Cats, Essays, Portlandia, Seattle
Tagged as Cat, Cats, coen brothers, Commentary, Dogs, Easter, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Lifestyle, Lists, Memoir, Pets, Pop Culture, Portlandia, Seattle, society, Writing