May 2015 - Olympia Time

Imagine a different Olympia, without the capitol

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

When I think about my little kick about the metonymy of Olympia, I usually eventually think about how much of Olympia’s identity is really tied up with state government. The legislature, the governor lives here and a lot of the people you know have some connection to state government. But, what if it wasn’t like…

Just some blog links. No theme here folks (Olyblogosphere for May 25, 2015)

Posted on May 25, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

1. The West Side pollinator pub crawl is a lot less exciting than it should be. But, if you’re into that sort of thing, I mean, it seems like it would be okay. 2. Janine points out that sometimes people straight up buy time on local websites. And, as a reminder, I write (and get…

Downtown Olympia in context

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

One of the things that strikes me about the dialogue about downtown is how the people with different perspectives about it seem to talk past each other. One side seems to discount anyone’s fears about being downtown. The other side discounts the other’s want of a vibrant, real and therefore not necessarily clean and refined…

Olympia needs a lot of things in regards to history and knowing itself

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

If I was invited to the historic meeting of historians, I think I would’ve had something to say. And, this is it: we do need a lot of things in terms of communicating and preserving our history here. And, a museum would do a lot of things. But, I’m not sure it’s the biggest problem…

A US Open Cup blowout and a dream of one big league around here

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

I was on hand for about 65 minutes of the 5-2 blowout of FC Tacoma 253 by the much better organized Kitsap Pumas. Enough about the US Open Cup being the real US Open. What I want to talk about is the one big league. I sat in the back of the stands at Mt….

Local Treasures (Olyblogosphere for May 11, 2015)

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

1. Man, you want to talk about local treasures? Your Daily Hour With Me is a local treasure. 2. David Raffin is pretty awesome. For a local treasure. I really like his books. But, I didn’t notice recently he’s been upping the post count on his blog. And, this is a recent one. 3. Common…

When was the last gray wolf shot in Thurston County?

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

Wolves are on their way back in Western Washington. At one point in our past, wolves roamed the place we now call home. Certainly Thurston County was on the edge of where these big dogs roamed, but obviously there were some that roamed down the Black Hills from the Olympics. The last wolf pair was…

Quick survey of a possible book: Cascadia Rising, how the far corner of the United States is actually taking over America (in response to Dixie Rising)

Posted on May 4, 2015 by Emmett O'Connell

I should probably buckle down and read Dixie Rising, which seems to be a pretty interesting book. If only because it struck me as a political artifact of the pre-9/11 political writing in America. That stuff that wanted to drag the new Republicanism against the New Leftism, Clinton vs. Gingrich, that kind of stuff that…