NATION SAYS FAREWELL TO THE LAST OF THE KENNEDY BROTHERS AND TELLS FIRST LADY SHE CAN WEAR SHORTS ON HOLIDAY

SEATTLE

A skyline a good mayor helped to sculpt

Photo by MS(R)M

Hi again, folks. Well, this house joins the nation in mourning the passing of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D) MA. His passing marks the end of what many considered a political dynasty; others, an almost Shakespearean royal family rocked by assassination, scandal, a bit of Prince Machiavelli and more than a hint of Camelot.

In praising the youngest Kennedy brother’s contributions during nearly 50 years in Congress, Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R) Utah cited a list which included a federally funded program for HIV/AIDS victims; health insurance for lower-income children, and tax breaks to fund medical research and development for rare diseases.

"Ted Kennedy was an iconic, larger than life United States Senator whose influence cannot be overstated."

Senator Kennedy, whose sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver passed away last week, was 77 and succumbed to a malignant brain tumor. For a look at the life and times of this remarkable ~ if not often controversial ~ American, please go here.

I was so relieved last week to note that, according to a Today Show poll, 83 percent of those responding approve of the First Lady wearing shorts. The news was greeted by a flood of congratulations to Michelle from a host of world leaders, including those in Ottawa, Dublin, London, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Teheran and Austin, Texas. Many also said that it’s motivated them to take us, the American people, much more seriously for having decided that raging issue so decisively and in such relatively short order.

And without special interest groups. Or lobbyists, unions, picket lines, boycotts, protest marches, media blitzes and talk show barrages. We took a look, as a people, at the serious issues facing us and decided that this one must be dealt with swiftly, efficiently, and in no uncertain terms. We decided that a young woman who looks cool in shorts should be allowed to wear them on holiday. In public. And best of all, we did it together.

Well, here’s one that might have totally slipped under the Weird Radar, if nothing else but for the headline alone. Who needs gasoline if you have old beer? I mean what are we talking about, a garage full of partial empties and six packs with a couple cans we overlooked during the last orgy? This is Seattle. They don’t let you live like that here. It sets a bad example and encourages the wrong kind of people to come here.

But this comes from the Los Angeles Times so I took a look and what they’re talking about is this $10,000 machine that can take any organic waste and convert it to ethanol. It’s apparently just breaking the market and one of the investors in the system’s distributor is former L.A. Laker Shaquille O'Neal. It’s called the MicroFueler and you can visit their website here

The “Classiest Act in Politics” goes this week to Seattle two-term mayor Greg Nickels who finished third in this month’s primary and whose concession speech and press conference were totally lacking in rancor, recrimination or the least bit of ill humor. Greg’s served Seattle well for almost eight years and in citing what he felt were the contributions of his administration, he did not use the first person singular, nor did he limit those achievements to the political sector. It was about what “we” as the citizens of Seattle accomplished together. I hope his successor has Greg’s instinctive understanding of government’s role, as least as we’ve defined it here in our town.

Well, two critter stories this week and the first one is NOT fuzzy. But for anyone who loves watching what they keep discovering in the ocean, this one’s a trip. And again, you have GOT to love whoever writes the headlines. This one’s from the Portland Oregonian, my alma mater, and it’s slugged (newspaper talk for “titled”) “Flamboyant, deep-sea worms discovered off Oregon's coast”.

Okay, the fact that it creeps me out a little to think of someone getting to know a new species of deep sea worm discovered by watching the monitor of a remote controlled submarine 9,000 – 11,000 feet off the coast of Oregon well enough to ascribe personality traits to it, I do have to admire the spirit of discovery.

But a part of me is going to be watching this one real closely. We have tamed stranger species only to end up in the belly of the tiger, as it were. My general rule is that if I can’t meet these folks on their own turf or they on mine, it’s like give my best to the wife and family and have a good life. I do not box with bears, croon with cougars, dive with dolphins, fly with eagles, romp with Republicans or dance with wolves. They’re not that desperate for company and neither, quite yet, am I. Flamboyant worms. Yeah, that’s an image to cuddle up with.

Apparently Montana’s decided that collisions between 18-wheelers and grizzly bear, elk, deer, etc. along a 56 mile stretch of highway crossing a very popular migration path can be resolved on the side of interspecies cooperation rather than an apology for big road kill.

Not to mention what happens in a collision between the average grizzly and the occupants of these cute little phone booths on wheels insidious foreign nations have been covertly introducing into this country for some while now.

So human Montanans are building like 43 of these big wildlife crossing tunnels UNDER the highway. There’s some inspirational civil engineering and design going into these. The entire project is slated to be finished before this year’s first snows so if you’d like to see what this one looks like in development, here’s the site.

Well, that’s it for this week folks. We’re making it through this and it’s only a matter of applying what we’re learning now and hanging in just a bit longer. And we’re tough and we can do that, right?

Thanks once again for the ear. Take care, stay well and God Bless. We here at Northstar are honoured by your society.

Rusty

NORTHSTAR RECOMMENDS

To Your Health

If you’d like to know whether your eating habits are either adding years to your life or taking them off, take this RealAge quiz. It will not only score your real age against your health age but give you a program for improvement. I’ve been working this one for about a month now and yep, I feel a lot better.

Want to know how to live to be 100? Try this one.

Other Blogs
The Tomatoman Times – a life commentary blog with the blended stylings of John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, Jack London and Will Rogers. Poignant, at times rancorous but very contemporary and ultimate celebration.

Lords and Ladies of Leisure is sooooo misnamed and it’s an example of the humour with which a Seattle high tech victim deals with the wonderful world of unemployment. Kerri Marshall’s admittedly offbeat sense of humour spices up a blog also rich in practical advice. The comments from her readers are almost as entertaining of she is. If you’ve got a few minutes and want a little perspective on your own hard times, I highly recommend this one.

Media
Vinyl Cafe with Stuart McLean – Live from the smallest record store in North America. Canadian humor, entertainment and commentary at its maple leaf best. Popular on National Public Radio in the States.

Sightline Daily (formerly Tidepool) – The “United Press International/Reuters of the American West/ Updated and informative news shorts with links to the source. Its editors draw from a coverage area which includes Alaska, British Columbia, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Update and informative collected news shorts from those sources. They also put out an excellent weekly environmental edition.

U Got Style is a monthly ezine dedicated to independent films. Fully illustrated, it features hard news, interviews, reviews and a wide variety of other information. It’s also fun to read.

The Vancouver Sun, outstanding source for Canadian and world news.

Online Tools for the Kit
Free People Search – This is an American online White Pages that I found really simple, quick and user friendly. I looked for myself under the several versions of my name and it found them all. It’s also free and doesn’t involve anything to download.

Talent For Hire
Rusty Miller, Freelance Photojournalist -- Yep, a little self-promotion here to help pay for the blog. Take a look at the services offered menu on my writer-for-hire homepage and samples of my digital lens work on my photography website. If you see something you like, email me and we’ll get together on it.

Are you a travel editor looking for colour shots of Seattle? Are you an art dealer looking for new work to carry on consignment? You might enjoy checking out a gallery of my work for sale.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

In the weeks to come, we’re going to create ~ in addition to Northstar Recommends ~ a Northstar General Store in which you, the readers, will have an opportunity to market your own goods and services and, as well, to shop here. We’re going to get real creative with this and whenever possible, we’ll have tried what we’re carrying on the shelves, as it were. We’ll be taking a straight ten percent for this, via Paypal. We’ll also consider barter and trade.

If you’ve got any recommendations of your own and are interested in the General Store, email me and we’ll talk.

NAKED BICYCLE RIDERS, A COOL PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE, AND A BATTLING BRITISH MOTHER TAKING ON 10 DOWNING STREET

Hi again, yahoos and yahoo-ettes. Well, a weird week sort’ve got an early start, due in part to my propensity for spontaneous bus rides and impetuous debarkations. It’s usually pretty tame stuff like the aroma of a good restaurant, the faint strains of a talented street musician, the masts of a schooner moving through the Ship Canal, the kinds of things the inner child in me notices.

Well, this time that inner adolescent got the rest of me right in the middle of a bicycle race whose contestants were mostly nude, pretty much so or dressed in body paint and a couple layers of devout immodesty. This is Seattle, where it’s legal to go nude in our public parks. I’ve got to say, though, that in 20 years, I’ve never seen a naked person having a picnic or doing the dueling tennis balls bit.

Nope, it took blithely and innocently cruising into the annual Fremont Solstice Festival Parade to give me my first glimpse of Seattle homo sapiens in public buff. If I didn’t love that inner child so much, I’d be tempted to give him a good spanking. I’m an orphan, though, so I’ve learned to be my own parent. That’s kind of like being self-employed and getting mad at the boss. Yep, I’ve got a few issues yet to work out.

That, however, doesn’t stop me from admiring someone who takes on a worthy cause and ramps it to the max. This one involves a British mother with an autistic son whose campaign for more government support for families with kids like hers ended up with a very productive meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Hers is a very empowering personal example and a reminder of what a single dedicated individual can accomplish in this life. Her name is Polly Toomey and if you’d like to learn more about her and her organization, here’s a good place to start.

Someone else who really impressed me this week was President Obama. Because of the decidedly bipartisan nature of this blog’s readership and its internationalism, I try not to lean on politics too much. And since I’m not nearly as good as most journalists at analyzing the national scene, as it were, I’m better off boring you guys with different stuff.

I enjoyed the way the American chief executive interacted with the press Tuesday morning. In my opinion, he articulates his positions with intelligence, candor and perspective. He’s also not afraid to laugh at himself and that’s probably what keeps him taking his job more seriously than he takes himself.

He’s also not afraid to spar with reporters and to remind them of where the boundaries are between his personal/family life and his responsibilities as the leader of a nation of some 307-million people. Above and beyond any political considerations, this president is good theatre and that too, is a quality I’ve come to value in a leader.

Here’s another of those stories from the Old West and I can particularly relate because “this county that refuses to die” is familiar to me. And the ghosts of Captain Jack and a desperate band of Modoc Indians. It’s a land of volcanoes, high desert and soaring forested granite peaks. Settled by those who crossed America in Conestogas, it remains a sparsely inhabited frontier where tradition and ingenuity are now bringing an increasing degree of economic stability to one of the Northwest’s most beleaguered counties.

Further north up the Interstate Five corridor, in Snohomish County, Washington ~ north of Seattle between the Puget Sound and the Canadian border ~ farmers are getting into the tourism business by offering hands on excursions of family-owned dairy and truck operations. With both Seattle and Vancouver, BC to draw from, this agritourism, as they’re calling it, should play well for those who grew up among orchards, hay lofts and milking stools as well as those with a romantic love of same. It’s also an excellent opportunity for sell local produce directly and to acquire same. It looks like another win-win situation to us.

It also provides a nice segue into the first of this week’s critter story. And after you read about this one, I swear by Old MacDonald’s ghost and the Kentucky Colonel that you have never going to look at chickens in quite the same way again. For those of you to whom this would constitute a major dietary event, we advise skipping this one.

We’re talking about a white rooster and a Cornish game hen known to a local community as “Care Chickens” because the woman who owns them takes them to visit residents of the town’s health and rehabilitation center. This is northeastern Montana farming country, so it makes sense. Petting a rooster and a Cornish game hen, I mean. Okay, it seems a little weird but like Grandpa Seamus used to say, “if it’s working, do NOT mess with it.”

And finally, to top off the tank, in a special to ABC News, Opinion writer Lee Dye asked the question, “Wouldn't it be handy if you could write yourself a note in midair and have it safely stored where you could retrieve it later?”

Ummm. No. In the first place, if I could read my own writing, I wouldn’t keyboard everything from a shopping list to another novel in progress. In the second place, how do I know that other people in the vicinity with similar phones couldn’t receive that note? Third, since I’m supposed to be a communications professional, how would I spell and grammar check such a missive?

Now just watch. Thanks to those researchers at Duke University and their "PhonePoint Pen", the next big rage will be air writing. Could be a boon to the air entertainment industry. Air guitars have been popular for quite awhile. If this triple-P threat could annotate music, I’ll bet it would catch on with air composers. And think about aspiring writers who never learned to type. In 20 years, they’ll be awarding a Pulitzer Prize for Air Literature. The applications of this new technology stagger the imagination. Where (oh where) is Grandpa Seamus when we need him now, eh? Sigh.

And on that note, folks, it’s been a pleasure and thanks once again for the ear. Take care, stay well and God Bless.

Rusty

P.S. Since next week’s both Canada Day (July 1) and American Independence Day and picnics are real popular, we thought we’d turn you on to a source of dynamite potato salad recipes. Cooking’s a hobby in this house and this is perhaps the best website we’ve found yet. It’s called cooking.com.

THANKS TO DIGITAL TELEVISION, I GOT TO WATCH BONNIE HUNT CALL TONY DANZA A RAT BASTARD

Bonnie Hunt

Hi again, yahoos and yahoo-ettes. Well, technology can certainly be a wonderful thing, can’t it? In anticipation of this conversion to all digital on Friday, I cranked up the late birthday present I got from my brother Denny and lo and behold, I got to tune in Channel 5.2 in time to hear Bonnie Hunt call Tony Danza a rat bastard. Somehow that makes it all worth while. (Sigh) Ain’t life in America grand, folks?

Actually, with all due respect, I wasn’t the least bit shocked, nor would I have been in regular broadcast mode. I’m a fan of the Bonnie Hunt Show and I may be one of the few who don’t remember her from any other ‘role’.

As the star of the Bonnie Hunt Show, she comes across very real to me. I like it that she’s a former nurse from the Midwest and continues to fight for cancer patients in a way now equally as appropriate.

I love that her production company is named after her mother and father and that her mom continues to be a mainstay of Bonnie’s professional life. In short, despite her celebrity, she comes across pretty much like the girls I grew up with. She’s working class Chicago Southside Irish and, as far as I’m concerned? That’s just about as Middle America as it gets off the farm.

She’s a nice looking lass and I’ve considered experiencing some of the films and television productions Ms. Hunt’s been involved with. I’m sure I’d be impressed. My friends are. But I think for now, I’ll forgo that. I can get Hollywood with an ease that is altogether too tempting, believe me. Good neighbors are not, at least in my experience, so easy to find.

Well, if this column had a GOOD NEWS - BAD NEWS DEPARTMENT, these next two would surely fall under that. On one hand, the unemployment rate is going up. On the other hand, in my home state of Washington, they’re predicting that this Recession is coming to an end.

It seems to me that the economic landscape is still changing and while I appreciate the wisdom, generosity, and humanitarian enlightenment of these economic stimulus packages, I’m still looking for sustainable examples and they keep coming from weird places all over the four countries this blog seems to reach week after week. (You people have the patience of saints).

In Eugene, Oregon, they’ve discovered that if citizens increased its bicycle usage to half that of Amsterdam, “the city would enjoy more than $212 million a year in local economic stimulus, an analysis of traffic cost data shows.”

As far as relevant statistics, the article was pretty much a washout. I couldn’t find out how many people in either Amsterdam or Eugene are currently using bicycles. What I appreciated was the breakdown on why bicycles are “greener” than fossil-fueled transportation. It’s a good solid argument for anyone seeking to implement those kinds of changes in either their own life or in the lives of their community.

There’s also an outfit in Idaho which is recycling bottles and providing incarcerated women with a second chance. As most of you know probably better than I do, hard times produce desperate behavior when feeding and providing for one’s own are concerned and that’s the approach the Idaho Department of Corrections Chief admits is working. According to this article in Boise Weekly Overall, Idaho's prison chief is supportive of more workforce training for inmates.

"They are working their way back out," said Brent Reinke, director of IDOC.

I can remember a time when the only fit labour for the imprisoned was breaking rocks, building roads and making license plates. I’ve never seen a low recidivism rate behind that either. It’s encouraging to see another example of the system breaking stereotype and getting the drift that we’re all in this together. Those who can return to society deserve the chance. Those who cannot deserve the chance, nonetheless, to contribute. Staying where their flaws can’t hurt anyone but at least paying for their keep.

So yep, if those who predict this Recession is coming to an end are seeing things like this and counting them important, I’d say we’ve reason for guarded optimism. What’s cool about this and perhaps a little frightening is that for perhaps the first time ~ President Obama and Congressional generosity notwithstanding ~ it’s still up to us.

I remember this totally outstanding commercial on television with these big hands coming down and enfolding a house and family. I’m thinking we’ve learned not to depend so much on Allstate and a bit more on ourselves?

And finally, occasionally I come across a website so cool I just can’t help passing it along. If this column had a CUTTING THE STRESS DEPARTMENT, this would certainly fall into it. The medical community has known for years that mental exercise ~ including and especially crossword puzzles, brain teasers, etc. ~ keeps the brain healthy and can postpone and sometimes prevent the onset of Alzheimer's. Do yourself and those who love you a favor and check this out. Arcamax.com.

Until next time, then, eh? Take care, stay well and God Bless. We’ll see you next week, if not before. And thanks for the ear.

Rusty

WHEN POLITICIANS ACT LIKE QUARRELING CHILDREN

Hi again, folks, from the Bastion on the Sound. In response to several of you who have asked for my reaction to President Obama’s Monday address to the world and press conference following, he continues to live up to my expectations. He’s assuming personal responsibility for the problems he’s having building consensus for the economic stimulus package he’s proposed. He also reminded us that he’s already told us he’ll make mistakes occasionally.

While that thought doesn’t exactly inspire me to bluegrass and The Happy Dance, I appreciate his candor. He’s a human being governing a nation of same and I expect no more or less of him than I do myself or anyone else. He’s got a job to do and I sincerely believe he’s doing the best he can. I’m a little less than impressed with the Republican Party for continuing to play "politics" at a time when the constituency needs THEM to attend to the task at hand, restoring the national economy and contributing to the fiscal healing of the global community. In other words, knock it off and FOCUS.

Closer to home, our own elected officials are moving swiftly. While waiting for our share of the above-cited federal economic recovery package, Washington governor Christine Gregoire is streamlining state government by eliminating more than 150 state boards and commissions and closing 25 Department of Licensing offices. She estimates that the latter measure would save approximately $2.6-million over the next two years. For the full story, click here.

Seattle’s mayor Greg Nickels, apparently taking his lead from Olympia, is working on a capital improvements plan which is expected to create 6,464 jobs and cost an estimated $223,758,774. It covers everything from AMTRAK to low income housing, energy, streets and roads, and the hiring an additional nine officers for the Seattle Police Department. For a breakdown, click here For an overview on what other American cities are doing, click here.

(For those interested in a quick but dynamic overview of what our region, including British Columbia and California are doing, I strong recommend the Sightline Daily. It gathers news from the print media, large and small, and presents it with the lead and a link to the rest of the story. I’m learning a great deal and it’s having a real effect in countering what seems like an overwhelming amount of negative coverage by the other media sources I consult each morning.)

To our north, Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has promised more relief in addition to the $40-billion slated for economic recovery over the next two years. He's proposing this should the global community's fiscal problems continue to impact this nation of 36 million.

Harper, a Conservative, is having some of the same problems with opposition party members of his government that have thus far plagued President Obama and has sent the same message to all concerned. He invited the leader of the Liberals to "do something he never did in the pre-budget period, which is actually provide some economic policy suggestions to Parliament." For more on this, click here.

It appears American elected officials are not the only ones prone to putting party politics before the welfare of the constituencies they were elected to serve. Both our nations, I believe, are fortunate to have chief executives who are not afraid to take a firm but measured hand in insuring the integrity of the true national agenda.

Well, that’s it for this week. Keep the faith, folks. Granted, times are tough now, but as long as we pull together, communicate and continue to love one another, we’ll get through this. Whether you’re American, British, Canadian, French, Irish, or Scots, you live in a nation of heroes. And heroes don’t give up, do they?

FROM SNOWBOUND SEATTLE

My Street

Seattle, Washington

Day 1

"The Storm of 2008"

Photo by Merritt Scott Miller

Well, hello again, from snowbound Seattle. It’s been real fun here the last week or so and I imagine a lot of you in other parts of the States, in Canada, the U.K., France and California can relate to that.

It doesn’t snow here that often and this is the most ambitious I’ve seen in the 18 years I’ve been here. There were two memorable ones before that but they were single storm occasions. We’ve been slammed by three so far and snow’s expected until Saturday.

We’re built on seven hills, two lakes and a bay. To our backs are the Cascade Mountains. To the west, across Elliot Bay and our portion of the Puget Sound, there are the Olympic Mountains of the peninsula of the same name. Beyond them lies the vast and mighty North Pacific. North and south, along the I-5 corridor, which runs from the Canadian Border to the Mexican, there is the Fraser River Valley of British Columbia, a funnel for the Chinooks which barrel in from the Arctic. To the south, the mighty Columbia River and then Oregon beyond.

I was partly raised in high mountain snow country and I’ve spent several winters deep in the Cascades, once in a rough timber and plywood shack with a corrugated tin roof and a Fraser potbelly stove for heat. No electricity, running water or telephone. Two Coleman lanterns and a Coleman stove for backup. An am/fm radio for company and the nearest town, Canyonville (pop. 500) about an hour away. I had a 1984 VW Bug and I worked as a ranch hand.

I’m no stranger to this kind of weather and I admire those who can adapt to it as well as my neighbors have. Something happened the other day that made me laugh and admire them both.

Our local NBC affiliate, KING5 (link) showed a predawn clip of a Seattle Police cruiser, with chains, make two unsuccessful attempts to drive up one of our seven hills. I admired the dedication involved but then I got to thinking. (Yep, you’re way ahead of me.) Burglars watch television too. And some of them come from places way colder than this.

Nope, the crime wave never happened, which tells me that even a burglar wouldn’t go out in weather like this. I’m from a family line that produced a couple of them and that is saying something. Trust me on this, folks.

It’s hit us hard, too. In some ways, but not in all. Our emergency services were prepared for this and I’ve got nothing but the highest of praise for them, my dig at the Seattle Police Department notwithstanding.

I live across a ship canal from Seattle, in the University (of Washington) District. Our mercantile establishment has not shut down and though we may not be able to drive to a mall or to one of the prestigious department stores downtown, we can still make a good Christmas and now we have another reason for cutting back besides being either laid off, let go or worried about our jobs. We can blame it on the weather. And knowing us, we probably will.

As of this writing, Sea-Tac Airport is closed, stranding thousands of people. Considering the weather where the majority of these flights come from or connect to, that’s not such a bad thing. Those folks in that airliner in Denver were very, very, very lucky. Nothing’s flying in and out of Seattle but nothing’s crashing and burning either.

Our buses still run, though not always on schedule. But it’s better than a couple of storms past when they ran on the freeway during a blizzard and then had to pull off finally and give passengers a choice between walking to a place where they could be picked up or waiting in a cold bus.

Nobody’s going to lose their job for not showing up to work or being late. We’re host to more than several international corporate operations here, a dozen reputable colleges and universities, some of the finest medical research and hospital care facilities in the world. Those who work at these places know how important it is to be there. Those who employ them know how important it is not to lose them. Adjustments are made.

It’s likely that before this is all over, this will also be our state’s Katrina, when it’s taken into consideration the massive flooding we experienced behind torrential rains in October and November. But I doubt it will be publicized as such and I would be very surprised if Governor Christine appeals to the federal government for help.

Despite all the industrialization Boeing and the Second World War, and Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft have brought to Seattle, we still haven’t been a city long enough to acquire the sophistication of New York, the Dixie charm of Atlanta, the totally rowdy and go for it attitude of Dallas-Ft. Worth, the dedication to the heartland of Chicago, the gritty glitz and glamour of Los Angeles and the "what box do you want me to think beyond now?" attitude of San Francisco.

We are, however, a small megalopolis which has more to teach about "community" than it has to learn. I suspect most of you can profoundly relate to that.

Take care, stay well and God Bless.

Rusty