Search Results for 'cU'

[Kayleigh2]

There isn’t an absolute standard of aesthetics of taste in any artistic expression, IMO, but I like CJ’s comment that you can find value in things you might not like personally.

The more someone positions herself as a fashionisa, for instance, the dorkier I generally think she dresses. (A reaction which could be partly my latent contrarianism or a reaction to pretentiousness.) People who are individualistic or quietly classy—those are the people whose fashion sense I like.

I almost never agree with the so-called experts on rock music (Elvis Costello is brilliant? Really?) but I generally agree with movie critics. I think hearing what the experts say–or even non-experts–is interesting and helpful, though, and sometimes I’ll see things differently as a result (like I never thought about the green windows that way before.)

I’m not sure what the best way is to design public projects, because you can’t make everybody happy. But this is a very interesting question.

–Kayleigh, who isn’t a boomer but likes the EMP, possibly because most everybody hates it

[homedk]

I’m so sorry; I know how painful this situation can be… I don’t have a veterinarian that makes house calls to recommend, but do have some words of advice/caution.

When our dog was nearing the end of his life, we also looked for a veterinarian that could come to the house. Our regular veterinarian was quite far away & we wanted to spare our dog the stress of another trip to the vet.

When I made that difficult call (in tears) to a veterinarian that advertised that she specialized in at-home services including euthanasia, I wasn’t prepared for what followed. She questioned me extensively about whether the dog was mine, my motivation for deciding to have him euthanized,& about my veterinarian’s diagnosis & treatment.

She then launched into a monologue about herself & how she was trying to build a full-service business but people like me kept calling her & asking her to put animals down. She complained about how that was so hard on her… showing absolutely no empathy for my situation. I was shocked when I hung up the phone.

We ended up taking our dog for one final trip to his regular vet that day; our vet & his staff were wonderful & we felt good afterwards about our decision. If I was in the same situation now, I would start by talking with my own veterinarian. If he/she couldn’t do a house call, perhaps they could help smooth the process somehow.

Hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you.

[jissy]

Goodgraces — SO SORRY!!!! I just had to put my old girl down in August as well and unfort. I still feel awful in that I waited too long, she just went downhill really fast….. I had an appt. at the vet to get her all checked out and I ended up going in early to put her down b/c she just wasn’t even going to make it until her appt. time that particular day. It seemed she failed in about 2 days.

Anyway, A friend of mine who does pet care once upon a time gave me some resources for a person to come in-home so the pet can go in their own home. I can’t find them at the moment but will drop an email asap to see if I can get them again.

And I agree, the loved and lost thing really isn’t believable on some days!

[wingme]

i couldn’t disagree more with the idea that EMP “is acceptable only because of its location…with other seattle center architure around it for immunization.” in fact, it is widely regarded as an iconic representation of post-modernism. witty, irreverent, colors no longer constrained by color-wheel dynamics. “the incongruity between what is expected and what something really is.” that twenty-year rebellion has boomers written all over it.

[Ganmaof3]

Hello we are starting a Kinship Support Group in the West Seattle Area {High PointArea} and would like to have it posted here on the West Seattle Blog. We’d Love to see it posted as a permanate item on this site.

Are you raising a relative’s child?

Seeking Resources? Support?

Connection’s & Friendship’s?

Kinship & Grandparent

Support Group

Provides a perfect opportunity!

FREE Resources

FREE Support

Free Dinner

Free Child Care with Activities

January 22,2009

{Our regular meet day’s will be every 3rd Thursday of every month}

5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.

We will have a guest speaker from the

Mayor’s office to discuss the Flash Card

and the Senior Gold Card

Please RSVP for Dinner and Childcare

High Point Family Center

6558-35th Ave.S.W.

{Corner of 35th and Holly St}

Contact: Dena Nelson

{206} 923-3266

Debbie Dickson

{206} 926-9370

[JayDee]

A couple of months ago I was looking for what to do with the “fresh” not dried beans I bought at the West Seattle Farmer’s Market when I happened on this random website that has some great recipes and what I refer to as “Food Porn” — Artfully arranged pictures of food with complimentary soft focus. The website is:

http://www.thekitchn.com

It is connected to a magazine called “Apartment Therapy” I think. The website has good recipes, an avid readership, and it endorses “Slow Food” which I know is a WSB foodie favorite. As most food sites do at this time, they have a Thanksgiving angle. I will be making an “Pasta Pan-Fried with Butternut Squash, Fried Sage, and Pine Nuts” for my T-day contribution from the website. I wanted to share this with the other WSB foodies.

[JayDee]

While the beholder may judge the beauty according to their own tastes, I think we can agree on (perhaps I didn’t take enough art classes) that symmetry is good (A word that always gets me, because it isn’t symmetrical). In a photo or landscape, balance is good, leading the eye to consider different elements, not just placing something at the center of focus. And scientists often refer to elegant theorems, those that are pleasing, going so far to say that elegant theorems are not only pleasing, but even more likely to be correct.

Now going to the other side: The Experience Music “Pustule” (as a boss of mine calls it) is acceptable only because of it’s location near the Fun Forest, with the forgettable Center House and other Seattle Center architecture around it for immunization. I truly wonder how the EMP will age given Gehry’s penchant for designs that function marginally as buildings.

My main complaint about the Seattle skyline is much the same as my compliant about West Seattle architecture: Anyone can do as they please. Riding the Water Taxi, the city skyline looks best at a distance, with some colorful clouds thrown in to distract one from the pedestrian, one-off, just plain ignorant architecture of most buildings that taken as a whole is ugly. Regardless of which individual building one likes, it’s neighbor will be so ugly as to negate any bonus. I wish Seattle had imposed development guidelines as strict as Vancouver B.C.. When you go to Granville Island, the use of green glass in nearly all condos and buildings makes for a harmonious whole, often matching the green of the wind-whipped waters of False Creek. There, closer is better.

I would almost say that there is an absolute that can be enhanced or degraded by what one chooses to drape upon it. It in the best of worlds, a elegant draping is paired with the body to fit it and eternal art is created. My two cents.

[cjboffoli]

I missed the whole sign thing until it was over. But I have to say that as divisive and raw as it was (not to mention a little inappropriate when you consider the original post) there were some pretty interesting things being thrown out there.

Some of it reminded me of a big controversy that played out over in Queen Anne with this ultra modern house that got plopped down in a neighborhood made up almost exclusively of Craftsman style houses. Even before neighbors were quoted in the press that they thought the design of the house looked like an “abortion clinic” you could see that there was a lot more going on there than just a disagreement over aesthetics. Why a discussion of the subject of aesthetics gets as emotional, both there and here, is interesting in and of itself.

In terms of the original post, at least in the realm of architecture I think I recall that 16th century architects used geometry and formulas that related the design and scale of buildings to the human body. Their thinking was that there can be subtle clues in buildings that can make us feel good or bad..

I think artist Wassily Kandinsnky echoed this centuries later when he observed “…it is clear that the choice of object that is one of the elements in the harmony of form must be decided only by a corresponding vibration in the human soul.”

Though aesthetics can be personal, I think that we all might respond to good design in a visceral way that can be a challenge to articulate.

Looking to market forces to define what is successful in terms of design is probably a mistake. A lot of what gets built these days is more about economics than art. There are plenty of badly designed, non aesthetic things that are very successful. Just look at how common suburban sprawl is despite its ugliness.

And Job, I think that even if one doesn’t find the EMP or the Main Library necessarily aesthetically pleasing you can maybe find value in the fact that they take risks and for that reason alone they have tremendous value.

I feel like a lot of what was built in America in the last 60 years or so was done sort of haphazardly. Without a railroad depot that forced us to build everything compactly our landscape exploded in all directions. With things so far apart from one another maybe context wasn’t as important anymore. And the acutely individualistic nature of Americans amps this up even further.

I’ve watched with interest some of the planned developments like Sunrise and Celebration, Florida that have been carefully developed with very structured zoning and building codes, right down to the range of colors homeowners can paint their houses. I find them pleasing but other think they’re too stifling.

[JoB]

MAS..

if unlimited choices were our option.. then beauty is in the eye of the beholder would not be an option in public spaces.

but the truth is that we get very few choices and public opinion on those is most often overlooked in favor of economic factors or the preferences of the largest tenant.

at best.. the public has input on minor design choices which may mean a slight change in some design elements.

As for form following function.. that’s where urban planning and zoning restrictions could make a difference and often don’t.

we don’t even really get to vote with our pocketbooks because many of the new public spaces are essential in some way and we end up visiting them whether we approve of the design or not.

in hindsight.. do we love it?

well.. i am intrigued by the building that houses the downtown library but agree that form does not follow function. It would make a great event space but fails for me as a library. i prefer to visit it online…

but i find that is true of several of the new groundbreaking design buildings that i have visited recently.

And although form does follow function in most of the condos at the base of the bluff on Alki.. i am not so pleased when i walk or drive past them… although they are aesthetically pleasing when viewed at night from downtown.

but that’s an individual opinion… beauty once again in the eye of the beholder.

[WSB]

Since this discussion so far has only taken place in the forum, I wanted to post this here. I noted in a recent e-waste recycling thread that Union Gospel Mission has a recycling event under way this weekend (see our Events calendar). A forum member posted concerns about the provider. I put out an inquiry – and got this letter back from the provider. Just for you to consider, if you are thinking about the Union Gospel e-recycling event:

>>Dear Editor of the West Seattle Blog,

I wanted to introduce myself, my name is Daniel Huh and I am the marketing

director for EWC Group.

I am writing this email to let you know that we as an electronic recycler,

are very aware of the rampant unethical downstream that many e-waste

recyclers have in the United States. I wanted to reassure you that we are

not one of those companies.

Our company keeps a very transparent policy as to where our end products go,

whether refurbished for reuse or broken down to make new electronic

products, we diligently strive to move forward in an environmentally sound

and ethical manner. We keep meticulous paperwork (which can be provided at

anytime) as to end user information. We are working very closely with the

Basel Action Network (We are currently on the waiting list to be approved),

the state of Washington’s environmental protection organizations, as well as

local private environmental auditing companies.

The EWC Group team always has “downstream due diligence” in mind.

I read a few mixed posts on the West Seattle Blog and wanted to reassure

your readers and bloggers that we are really here to do some good for the

community and the environment.

Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have any questions or concerns

regarding our practices and downstream, or just to chat about what we do at

our company.

Thank You again for putting us up on your site.

Best Regards,

Daniel J Huh | EWC Group

[MAS]

The problem with beauty “being in the eye of the beholder” is that we are often forced to make decisions on a community basis (note just about every WSB entry regarding new developments – most recently the Admiral Safeway) about what is beautiful and what is not. If it’s all just about what _I_ like, and there is no societal or community influences, we can never expect to agree on something like what kind of buildings we would like to see here.

For example, I don’t like the EMP downtown, and I think that the new downtown public library is a version of the EMP that someone put creases into. (another example of this would be the AMC Pacer and the AMC Gremlin, virtually the same design choices.) I would be willing to forgive the library design if they had at least made it a functional library though with decent acoustic damping and intelligent arrangement of resources. In some circles both of these are considered aesthetic triumphs, and they won design competitions. Does that mean that most of the residents of Seattle think these are beautiful buildings? Unlike the library, the EMP actually functions pretty well for it’s intended task, so as an engineer I quell my dislike of the form and settle for function.

[JoB]

JenV.. i agree.. that blows me away too.

i think i still have a black and white drawing of a grove of trees.. trunks only.. by one of disney’s first artists.

people keep asking me why i keep it. i love it. something about those trunks is incredibly real to me… perhaps more real than reality.

MAS

i suspect high” art is determined by the most forceful opinion among experts… and i am not so sure i agree with them much of the time.

And it is clear that there are vast differences among the public when it comes to aesthetics.. otherwise we would all own the same art.. and furniture and clothing and…

as it is even our choices are dictated by availability first.. what some group of buyers decides will be available for us this season… and that is likely decided again by the buyer with the most forceful opinions:)

and secondly by the market… what succeeds is replaced in the market.. what fails is not.

that’s true even for crafters as their choice of available materials is as limited by buyers as any other commodity.

I don’t think i could define my set of aesthetic parameters.. it’s all about how something makes me feel.. and that is also dependent upon the environment and my attitude that day.

I think that if you asked 100 of us to rate any piece of art on a scale of one to ten on several parameters that it is unlikely two of them would give the same score on all parameters… but that a majority of totals would cluster in one 10 or 20 point range.

I think that would be an interesting experiment.. especially if you had one group of 100 of mixed ages and ethnic or economic backgrounds and control groups of a hundred each of single ethnic or economic backgrounds and single age groups.

I suspect you would get a tighter cluster of totals from people with similar backgrounds.. the tightest likely from those of a similar age group and a similar ethnic or economic group… and i suspect economics would be more telling than ethnic background.

We are all the sum of our experiences.. and i suspect we form our basic likes and dislikes pretty early and then adapt them to our changing environments as we age… with the most honest evaluations appearing as we age and lose concern about the approval of our peer groups.

I am often amazed when something i think totally lacking in any aesthetic appeal catches the public eye and becomes the latest in a long line of fads.

it’s too bad that occurs so often in buildings :( they take a long time to go away…

this was probably more answer than you wanted MAS.. and to the wrong question:) … but there you go.. when it comes to aesthetics i think even the discussion is subject to interpretation.

[Zenguy]

Jen, they are beautiful and it is all in how you look at things.

I have often thought about “what is art?” and for me it has to have some sort of composition. For example a solid white canvas I would not consider art unless there was some sort of composition in the brush strokes. A toilet sitting in the middle an art museum too is questionable.

But I would never judge someone else for liking something I do not. Variety is the spice of life!

[RainyDay1235]

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”

[JenV]

not to sound cheesy, but “the heart wants what it wants” – I happen to find urban decay and industry beautiful, while others find it a blight. I would never try to change anyone’s mind, I just know that I have different taste than many others around me. this is an example of an artist/photographer who just blows me away:

http://www.artificialdaylight.com/

[MAS]

Just got word of the discussion of the now infamous “Sign Theft” thread, and wanted to start a real discussion about one of the concepts floating around in the posts.

As the spouse of someone with advanced degrees in art and art history I hear from time to time that my taste in art is terrible, though art which I create is generally well liked, even by my spouse – not just my Mom.

Are the aesthetics of something an absolute, which we can judge using some sort of useful scale, or is there more opinion involved than measurement? If there is opinion involved, is popular opinion enough to determine what is beautiful and what is not, or are there guidelines that must be used which enforce some sort of standards to beauty?

I’m posing these questions without any real agenda other than to hear what folks have to say. To me it seems that just being popular isn’t enough – or reality television should be considered high art, along with fart jokes and faking emails from your boss. On the other hand, I don’t care for the idea that some set of rules should govern our ideas of beauty or ugliness.

PLEASE don’t refer to the sign theft thread except to cite examples of how folks critique art and beauty. I’m with the moderator on that topic, it’s done.

[inactive]

Your Highland Park and Riverview neighbors need you! They want to throw down some good times while talking about the present and future needs of the Greenbelt Gateway to West Seattle – Highland Park and Riverview. If you are not sure if you are within the boundaries of those areas, come on down anyway.

On Monday, Nov. 24th the regular 7 PM meeting of the Highland Park Action Committee will be an important one for you and your neighbors. The agenda is copied below for you to have a look see. Even though this meeting might seem boring or unpleasant, be assured these are a group of friendly, positive, neighbors who REALLY want to get things done, and actually do get things done. But, they want to get their good times on as well.

Highland Park and Riverview need more uniquely talented, or motivated, or caring, or funny, wonderful folks to step up. But, first, sit down and eat with everyone! You are out there, reading this and wondering if it is worth it to show up. Well, if you care about your own, as well as others’ families, homes, schools, safety and community health, you belong at this meeting. If you like to be social, you belong at this meeting. If you have strong opinions about our communities, you belong at this meeting. If you’ve got a great casserole dish or appetizer recipe, YOU BELONG AT THIS MEETING! ;)

These current times demand that each of us, as citizens and neighbors, stretch ourselves and our families a little further than we are use to. It is fairly certain that times will be more challenging, but when goods folks step outside their comfort zone and join with their neighbors with good intention? Well, that is a good thing and remarkable things can happen. We strengthen ourselves and each other by sharing our unique abilities and gifts.

But, to do this, people have to at least connect with each other. So, come to this meeting and just observe, or share, or follow or lead if you are inspired.

This meeting is a potluck, but you don’t have to bring anything – but you! You and whomever you care to bring with you. Many are young, many older and a few in betweeners!

Introduce yourselves to friendly, fun-loving group of your neighbors who manage to put their heads together to find solutions to neighborhood challenges.

If you cannot make Monday but might attend a potluck down the road, and want to be included in all future mailings about the issues and events, please write to info@highlandpk.net and ask that you be put on the regular mailing list.

Thanks for taking the time to read all of this. Here’s the agenda copied from the recent notice for Monday’s meeting, fyi:

Top Five Reasons Why You Should Attend the Meeting:

1. Pot Luck dinner! We will now start our meetings with pot luck food and fun with your neighbors.

Bring a dish or some snacks, if you can. No worries! BYOB!

2. We need your good ideas. We are still dedicated to improving our community and keeping it safe but we also want to meet our neighbors

and have some fun. Bring your ideas for improving our meetings. Special guests, outings, poker night, you decide.

3. Big news about the proposed jail that the City of Seattle want’s to build in our backyard! Come and learn the new facts about what the city is

planning and what we can do about it.

4. Election time is here. It’s time again to elect our 4 executive officers. Come and meet the candidates or throw your hat into the ring!

5. Meet your neighbors, feel a little civic pride and learn something new about Highland Park. This is the last meeting of 2008!

Highland Park Action Committee monthly meeting

Monday, November 24th at 7:00

at the Highland Park Improvement Club building

1116 SW Holden

[margoodc]

Premier West Seattle Retirement Community seeking “Temporary Full Time enthusiastic Housekeeper. Ability to multi-task and provide excellent customer service to our senior population and their familie. Must have strong verbal communication skills and attention to detail. Come join our team!

To apply, email resume to mgoodchild@thekenney.org, or fax to 206-935-8339, or apply in person at 7125 Fauntleroy Way SW Seattle, WA 98136-2008. Visit our website at thekenney.org

[mellaw6565]

Kewl – thanks for the heads up:)

[RainyDay1235]

FYI – Two Homeward Pet initiatives. Homeward Pet is the only King County no-kill shelter. They have ties in West Seattle, but are based in Woodinville…

1. Calendars are on sale. My husband took many of these photos and the calendars are great quality. All proceeds go towards their 2009 LOW-COST SPAY & NEUTER program: https://homewardpet.ejoinme.org/MyPages/2009CalendarHomewardPetAdoptionCenter/tabid/116780/Default.aspx

2. Going to the Space Needle this holiday season? If you buy tix online, enter code TFA14 and $5 will go towards HP. If they send the most people to the Space Needle they can win $25K!

:)

[JanS]

Mellaw..thanks for the nice thoughts about Pam. She works so hard at this, her passion…so, yes, if you can help her out, please do. She’s one of those unsung heroes in our community.

[Ken]

I guess I did not see the previous mention of dsl problems, but in the future, I can often diagnose and determine whether a problem is in the customer portion of the line or in the part qwest is responsible for.

I also have long experience getting past front line customer service folks to those who can actually work on the connection.

My own issues with qwest are intermittent and I have traced them to congestion issues with my ISP. That network has evolved far beyond the one my team built but I can still locate the points of packet loss with a fair degree of confidence.

Ideally every DSL connection needs to be a “home run” from the telco demark (NID, The box outside the house) to eliminate possible interference from other phones and devices on the incoming line. Electrical length of the qwest portion of the line can also be degraded by something as simple as the length of the line, I had one friend on Queen Ann Hill who had a phone line exactly the length of the frequency of broadcast signal of a nearby radio tower. I cut off 3 feet and the problems went away.

Your mileage may vary

[WSB]

I have deleted the previous comments because as it turns out, there was a typo in the OP that I was asked to help fix, so two previous comments related to that have now been deleted.

I also request that inquiries or comments on job postings please be sent directly to the post’er. Jobs are here because it’s the best place at the moment to have people directly post them, not to open them as discussions. Thanks.

[Aim]

When we were burglarized two years ago, our upstairs neighbor happened upon the scene almost immediately (we think he scared them away when he came down the stairs) He noticed the broken window, and tested the door. When it was unlocked, he came in to be sure we weren’t inside, injured or worse. Once he found that we weren’t home, he found all of our cats except one, took them to his apartment so they’d be safe and secure, and called me at work to tell me to come home immediately.

The burglars had completely destroyed much of our home, going so far as to tear up books and stomp apart bookshelves when they found that we didn’t have any valuables. When all the police reports, etc were done my partner began to clean up (and look for our very-well-hidden kitty!) He needed to be alone for a bit to work through his anger. Our neighbor took me upstairs and fed me vodka and valium until I was calm.

Thank god for good neighbors. We are so very lucky here. Many people would have pretended not to see the broken window, or would have assumed we already knew about it, and just gone about their day. It takes a special kind of person to care about their neighbors and go above and beyond by securing our most valuable “possessions” – the cats – even before calling us.

THAT is why we live in West Seattle. Neighbors like that are the rule, not the exception, here. I am very thankful to be able to live in this community.

[lola68]

Express Credit Union, a small community development credit union in Seattle’s SODO district whose mission is to provide fair and affordable financial services to the low and moderate income communities of King County is currently searching for an English/Spanish speaking Loan Clerk/Member Svc. Rep.

Qualified applicants must have a minimum 2 years prior lending and collections experience. Must be able to multi-task, be a team player in a small office environment, have a valid credit life and disability insurance license (or get one within 90 days of employment) and be fluent in both English and Spanish. Must be able to be bonded by CUNA. High school diploma or its equivalent and credit check required. Prior credit union experience a plus! Working hours: Mon-Fri

9am-3pm. Starting salary: $15 hr.

Please submit resume with references by 12/5/08 to: Express Credit Union, PO Box 94286, Seattle, WA 98124 ATTN: Norma or email to expresscu@qwestoffice.net