Category: olyblogosphere (Page 3 of 12)

1. Alec Clayton does a critic’s choice, but its more just him pointing out what he liked. Because he really did miss a lot this year.

2. A nice end of summer ramble by Maria Mudd.

3. People sure do like those Mima Mounds. Boy. Or seem they’re weird. They’re not weird. They just are. Glacial erratics, those are cool.

4. My new favorite Olympia blog is running a poll. Take it!

1. The Olympia’s Plinth Project from OlySketcher.

2. Bees from that Amicus blog.

3. Our best local food blogger was out. Back in now? I dunno, she showed us a pi pie though. That was cute:

Besides, we’ve all dropped out of life at some point during the
course of it, but no one likes to admit to that. I could brag about
finishing my Master’s degree; I could tell you stories about the US
healthcare systems and a crazy neurologist that would make you want to
emigrate to a cold, dark Scandinavian country; I could say that I was
running out of recipes, which would be entirely true; I could just
pretend it didn’t happen like I do with some of the jobs I leave off my
resume, but I think I’m just going to admit to it. I dropped out. I gave
out. I burned out.

 4. A small piece of Olympia music scene, RVIVR playing Party Queen at the Flophouse from Campfire Island.

1. From Olympia WA (via olynews), the Rainbow Bridge. I wish I knew where this was. I can’t place it.

2. Also from Olympia WA, a blog post about LBA Woods, and balanced:

So yes, Olympia could purchase the properties, but we wouldn’t even have
a park. We’d have another project on add to our ever increasing to do
list. I’m not outright saying Olympia shouldn’t try to purchase the
properties, but Olympia already has a lot of unfinished projects. It’s
important to consider what else we could do with that money. And before
die-hard park fanatics demand my head on a plate for suggesting that
Olympia shouldn’t save the LBA Woods, in the future I’ll write a piece
about potential compromises and other reason why I’m torn on the
subject.

This is the Olympia blog I’ve been waiting for.

3. “It’s like they put an amusement park in the middle of downtown.” YDHWM covers LakeFair and other parks of fun. The only thing you’ll need to help you remember LakeFair.

4. Cedar Waxwings is a pretty cool name for a bird:

That is why I was surprised once again to notice something intriguing happening there: a whole flock of birds flitting on and off the wood pile. What was going on? From far away, these birds looked rosy in color, so I thought at first they might be finches. But in checking them out through binoculars, I discovered they were cedar waxwings, and they were “hawking” – catching food on the wing.

1. It isn’t just LakeFair that makes us tick. There were some great things at Pride too.

2. Ken obviously let’s people write without using their real names. This particular post seems to toe the line of acting like a kid in civil discourse. And, reminds us that the entire isthmus planning group is a poorly held public secret.

3. I usually like local blog talking about local things, but one other will do. This time a local blog talks about cultural appropriation.

Camille:

I should note here that the original poster found it useful to say something to the tune of “most Africans are doing it wrong”. If anyone is doing it “right”, I’d say it’s them. His whole rant was … startling. Now, I am not disparaging this young man at all. He was speaking most vehemently based on the information he had. There is a lot of misinformation out there on the internet and I can’t fault him for falling prey to some of it In fact, I remain strangely unemotional
about the whole exchange. But it did set me to thinking…

Should I be angry that someone from a culture other than my own is telling me about my culture in authoritative ways? I am not. I am … simply pondering a world in which this happens so regularly that we can’t even recognise it.
 

4. Who can just take away a park from members of our community, who just happen to be homeless?

1. Maria shows us why she shops at the farmers market.

2. Though Vi titles the shot as falls, she correctly identifies the subject in the cutline as the Deschutes River dam at the falls park. Honest, its an old dam.

3. I could link to a lot of what Mojourner writes. This piece is awesome though:

Entire towns that thrived into the 1940s have been swallowed by our
temperate jungle. You might realize you are approaching one when you
find yourself on a causeway, smaller trees in your path and a slit of
sky above, as in the first photo. This path used to be a road, or if
flat and not so curvey, a railroad. Rails and ties are gone, because
like the towns, timber railroads flowed and ebbed; when the trees were
cut, the rails were lifted and sent elsewhere to haul out another
forest.

4. Speaking of lost places, Washington Our Home writes about the Sunset Beach Hotel:

However – being a nineteenth-century sailor – I probably would have been
quickly distracted by the sounds of laughter and gaiety spilling out of
the hotel’s saloon. Weekend revelers from Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia
must have been imbibing their spirits for several hours by the time I
strolled into the parlor, and I’d immediately feel underdressed. Piano
music and cigar and cigarette smoke would fill my senses as I
self-consciously approached the bar for a nightcap.

1. This is a local blog, but not a local topic. Actually, its a pretty universal topic, but one that specifically refers to the D-Day anniversary. Mathias writes about history, and how we grow from it. Wonderful stuff.

2. Didn’t you want to watch a 22 minute mini-documentary about SPSCC Basketball? You sure did. Its actually not too bad.

3. And, if that wasn’t enough, a 30-minute web video on this season in Watershed Park.

4. Via Thad at Olyblog, the Olympia Food Co-op opens up about the entire not buying stuff from Israel topic. Which is like all of one product? Olive oil, right? 

Part 1: Overview
Part 2: Boycott FAQ
Part 3: Lawsuit FAQ

5.  And, from the Olympia flickr pool: Historic Alleyway.

1. Along the Shores of Puget Sound by “Bees, Birds and Butterflies.” I have a different opinion about the SEAA, but overall, good post right here.

2. This isn’t a very interesting blog post, but this is a very interesting blog. Or, it could be, if it grew beyond the one post. Homelessness is a big deal here in Olympia. It is nice to see someone putting the effort in to cover like this.

3. A local teacher tells us not everyone needs a four year degree. That’s a very true thing. Not everyone needs a cup of coffee, but everyone does need to wake up. Everyone needs to find something true for their lives, it just isn’t always with a mortarboard.

4. I’ll admit, Shipwreck Beads and crafting in general is something I don’t get. But, Jill of All Trades gets both things, so in recognition of her passion and skill, here’s a link to a mystery to me.

5. My god. I never knew this. One of the garbage cans down at the falls park is a mother-loving Olympia can.  When did this happen?

1. A white girl remembers Billy Frank Jr.

2. Elaine keeps as up to date on the goings-on in her garden.

3. I’ve been to the top of the capitol twice, at least.

4. Robert brings us up to date with his life.

5. Mojourner on Perpetuating Frank.

1. Recycled Art at Arts Walk? You want to know more? Ruby Reusable has the scoop! Big Surprise? Not really.

2. Despite the rain and short procession, everyone hit the procession. Its like a post-modern Olympia homecoming. Mojourner was kind enough to post up some shots here.

  

The Procession was considerably shorter than it has been previously.
Whether this is due to there being fewer species than in years past or
the failure of negotiations between Eli (the core organizer behind the
Procession) and the City of Olympia administration is uncertain. Eli
refused to place the City’s logo on any/all posters for the
procession–insisting the event would remain non-commercial as always.
The City’s administrators, in turn, withdrew the normal annual funding
they’d previously contributed, drew a procedural distinction between the
Procession and Art Walk, even though the former draws far more people
downtown by an order of one or two magnitudes, and now mandates the
organizers go through the City’s expensive cumbersome permit process,
unlike what’s the consideration given Art Walk by the municipality. In
short, the reduced funding and additional expense placed on the
organizers has created a shortfall. The workshop space, utilities,
supplies, and high permit fees now imposed by the City have set some
high hurdles to be cleared. It’s not at all certain they can be.

Eli has given almost 20 years to the Procession. He feels it’s time
for him to hang it up after two decades though he doesn’t appear to have
groomed a successor.

Olympia may come to regret its passing. In fact, Eli is counting on
just that to bridge the impasse. The benefits the business community and
the municipality derive from the Procession are obvious despite the
extra expense of police overtime and street cleanup.

1. Zach Mandeville is the reason why I read Olympia (or Tumwater) blogs:

Tumwater is not kind to you when you’re feeling down.  It’s at a low
point these days with a lot of empty houses, empty buildings, and
snobby, eye contact avoiding state workers walking their lunch break
rounds.  But it’s also bright May.  The Japanese maple on the corner of
Hazelhurst has burnished to a beautiful red.  All the enterprising
businesses and retired neighbors cut their grass this morning, so
there’s these outpost colonies of summer every few blocks.  On the
corner of Lee street a man had cut his grass and was now throwing a ball
for his adorable lab puppy.  A few paces down was the disheveled,
cinderblock house where, every day that I pass by it, I see a man
sitting in the middle of the living room with his head in his hands. 
Then I passed the insurance company, with grass freshly cut and again
the deep full scent of summer.    I felt like I was in a Sci Fi
setpiece, adrift in a busted ship moving from oxygen tank to oxygen
tank, or maybe a deep ocean fish moving from sea vent to sea vent.

 2. Eastside Urban Farm blog has their own signs of spring.

3. Mathias at Everyday Olympia has something nice to say, apparently new shops are springing forth downtown. We may save Olympia yet.

4. The Sky Like A Scallop Shell is a blog I’ve only recently followed. Prepare yourself to be spooked.