A conversation with Seattle
In one long, mesmerizing sequence in Leviathan, the sea is rightside-up, and scores of upside-down gulls course after the boat each time the camera surfaces in a wave trough. You also see tons of net-crushed fish, eyes popped out, squirt from the net into a hold. Continue reading Film Reviews: Leviathan, Night Across the Street, and The Angels’ Share
On Friday, Seattle Symphony musicians showed off their compositional chops at a concert featuring three world premieres by members of the orchestra. A tribute to the classical string quartet tradition, principal oboist Ben Hausmann’s Oboe Quartet No. 2 evokes the style of works by Mozart and Haydn, with just a slight touch of Romanticism. Continue reading At Spectacular “Untitled,” Three Seattle Symphony Musicians Turned Composers
Black Watch is a familiar type of documentary theatre derived from interviews with soldiers of the eponymous regiment. It sprang to life as the must-see hit of the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and has been on a worldwide tour ever since. But much of the show’s popularity stems from simple, highly effective visuals of astonishing beauty. Continue reading Breathtaking “Black Watch” Brings Magic to All-Too-Familiar Tragedy of War
I happened to take an Amtrak train from Seattle last Thursday, the day after King Street Station’s new waiting hall opened, so I wanted to talk more specifically about the impact the renovation has on the traveler. The old room (you could not call it a hall) always felt somehow dingy, with its low ceilings and darkness, whereas the new hall will feel clean, barring negligence. Continue reading A Traveler’s Take on King Street Train Station’s New Look
The Rite is receiving many performances this season, one of them this past weekend by the Auburn Symphony Orchestra at that city’s Performing Arts Center. For this concert, conductor Stewart Kershaw coupled it with Richard Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration, a tone poem on essentially the same theme, composed some 22 years earlier. Continue reading Auburn Symphony’s Springtime “Rite,” With Strauss on the Side
With the deadline for a declaration of candidacy approaching on May 17, Brian Carver, “a 33-year-old Kindle product director at Amazon.com,” has joined Kshama Sawant in the race to oust Richard Conlin, reports The Stranger’s Cienna Madrid. Conlin, who holds a Master’s in political science, was first elected to the Council in 1997, and has since then worked to legalize miniature goats and ban plastic bags at grocery stores. Continue reading ABC Voters (“Anyone But Conlin”) Can Now Choose Between Carver and Sawant
lwestcoat captured a recent sunset during a serene spring evening on a local body of water. And yes, we do notice the full moon…don’t you? Continue reading Glimpses: “Seattle Spring”