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6/20/17: ALL ALONG THE (NEW) WATCHTOWER
Jun 20th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

MISCmedia MAIL’s not the first to note that the police slaying of Charleena Lyles came the day after the dedication of Jimi Hendrix Park. In other topics: some Wall Streeters think Amazon/Whole Foods means trouble for Costco; little to no progress toward a state budget; and the sudden revival of Tonya Harding media mania.

THE NAKED TRUTH IS OUT THERE
Jun 18th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

solstice 2017 j stormtrooper and cleopatra

The Fremont Solstice Parade, even more than last year, was essentially an anticlimactic epilogue to the hundreds of body-paint bicyclists.

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solstice 2017 cc oil derrick
Even the arrival this year of “The Resistance,” a single overriding topic of protest in all its branches and aspects and sub-topics, as the right wing sleaze machine takes near complete control and rushes out an all-fronts attack against literally every good thing in our society (from government aid programs to social civility itself), failed to bring out more volunteer street-theater performers, marchers, musicians, etc.

solstice 2017 aa butt kicking
Last year, there was talk that parade organizers would crack down on the nudes in hopes of attracting more participants in the parade itself, participants who might not want to be part of the same spectacle as all the poons and peens on public pubic display.

solstice 2017 y gold

That didn’t happen. But the underlying issue remains.

The parade could fade out and die along with the original hippie generation out from which its aesthetic was formed.

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solstice 2017 z blackface

Oh, and the parade got “trolled” by an entrant who showed up with a seven-foot costume puppet of a stereotype black “mammy” figure in a rasta hat.

According to some social-media commenters, the (apparently white) guy who performed in the costume was asked to leave the parade’s Friday-evening prep session. He then crashed the Saturday-afternoon event after it had already started, before again being shooed away.

Still, the Solstice Parade’s organizers have managed for almost three decades to keep motor vehicles, corporations, politicians, and even written signs out of the spectacle. But this thing looked just enough like a regular Solstice giant mascot costume that the guy got to strut it down a large segment of the parade route.

(After all, hippie graphic aesthetics used to include plenty of one-dimensional “ethnic characterizations.”)

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Also troublesome for the parade’s future, it can’t store its floats and costumes in a city-owned warehouse space any more. (Slog) (PI.com)

 

6/16/17: THE BODY PAINT BODY POLITIC
Jun 15th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

Friday’s MISCmedia MAIL ponders the Fremont Solstice Parade’s meaning in a year when just about every public act has political import. Also: a beloved fabric-arts store closes; the co-owner of Seattle’s coolest hardware store dies; alt-right dorks come to Evergreen; and a strange floating mega-balloon appears on the Tacoma waterfront.

6/15/17: RETURN OF THE WALKING ED
Jun 15th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

Is Ed Murray’s legal peril over, or just on hiatus? MISCmedia MAIL also discusses the real (and predictable) spark behind the Evergreen State turmoil; more hollowing-out at Boeing; alleged coded racism in a newspaper column; and a big “Tax the Rich” turnout.

6/13/17: STRUTTIN’ IT
Jun 13th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

Tuesday’s MISCmedia MAIL reveals the latest Seattle fashion icon (and, frankly, we haven’t had many), and it may be a surprise to a lot of you. Plus: The Space Needle’s extreme makeover; the first official steps toward a city income tax; the state budget crisis getting ever-closer to breakdown; and locals remembering the Pulse shootings.

6/12/17: OUT OF (BAT-)TIME
Jun 12th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

MISCmedia MAIL remembers the great Adam West, the local guy who became an icon of ’60s “camp” culture by playing it completely “straight.” We also honor the pro-Muslim counter-demonstrators; tick down the days toward a state-govt. shutdown; and mourn F.X. McRory’s.

6/8/17: ON WITH THE SHOW, THIS IS IT!
Jun 7th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

MISCmedia MAIL today discusses the mayor’s big (albeit still tentative) arena deal; attempts to reach common ground with local Muslims and/or Republicans; non-techbro reasons for the housing crisis; and the Mariners’ comeback all the way to .500! But these are all minor stories compared to the big event of the day, our own spectacular b-day party for both the newsletter and for myself, 6:30 p.m. tonight at the tenacious Two Bells in bountiful Belltown.

6/7/17: THE LAST REEL?
Jun 6th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

Wednesday’s MISCmedia MAIL doesn’t know any more than you about the sudden closure of the classic Guild 45th and Seven Gables cinemas. We do know a little about another police-brutality settlement; the International District’s “upzone” moving forward; what white liberals don’t “get” about the whole Evergreen State College to-do; and our big, boistrous birthday party (tomorrow, Thursday 6/8/17, at the tony Two Bells!).

6/5/17: THIS AIN’T NO PORTLANDIA
Jun 5th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

The alt-right rally scheduled for Portland before last week’s slayings took place, as did several counter-protests, as did arrests and seized weapons and pepper spray. Also in Monday’s MISCmedia MAIL: Anschutz doesn’t want to rebuild KeyArena after all; Dale Chihuly admits to emotional issues but denies cheating an associate; a legendary local bar will be reborn; and a proposed high-rise with a rooftop dome.

6/2/17: GREENERS SO WHITE
Jun 2nd, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

The unspecified “clear threat” reported by Evergreen State College brass is, at least partly, the fallout from a heated email exchange about race and the limits of white “progressivism.” Your weekend MISCmedia MAIL also mentions local officials refusing to go backwards on climate change; another reason why encampment sweeps put people in danger; a guy who says he can build affordable housing units at half price; and a guy who wants to break up Amazon.

6/1/17: BRING ‘EM
May 31st, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

I think Seattle’s still a great tourist destination. Come for the fish throwing; stay for the political resistance organizing! Other stuff in our month-dawning MISCmedia MAIL includes more reaction to the outrage in Portland; why this year’s homeless count can’t really be compared to last year’s; a black author cancels her Seattle trip after death threats; and Folklife lives!

5/31/17: NOT SO ‘CRUDDY’
May 31st, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

Wednesday’s MISCmedia MAIL starts with a great honor for one of my fave cartoonist/novelist/playwrights. It goes on to mention the “dirty” aspect of cleaning up Lake Washington; big-big plans for the UW; the apparent end to one of our era’s most famous couples; and five years after the Cafe Racer slayings (so many senseless slayings ago).

5/30/17: AMERICA AT ITS WORST, AND ITS BEST
May 29th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

Memorial Day weekend came close to home, as we remember two people who gave their lives defending America’s highest values—here in the Northwest, at the weekend’s start. Tuesday’s MISCmedia MAIL also has words on B.C.’s new (and much less oil-industry-friendly) government; another dead whale washed ashore; and an “aurora” in Seattle that’s not an old U.S. highway.

5/26/17: DOWN THE PIKE
May 26th, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

In your big holiday-weekend MISCmedia MAIL: The Pike Place Market’s new part, or at least part of that new part, is now open; Folklife’s last hurrah?; the White House hates rail transit and old people getting jobs; Nike’s overseas labor policies are back in the news; and gazillions of weekend activity listings.

5/23/17: POLICING THE POLICE
May 22nd, 2017 by Clark Humphrey

After more than four years, we’re close to a permanent police-oversight system. MISCmedia MAIL today also discusses the potential hypocrisy of taxing pop in Latte Land; rapid rehousing’s potential shortcomings; a Seahawk’s feud with a Seattle Times writer; and a word for Manchester (by the sea).

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