Janine Terrano on hiring in Tacoma.
We have found that it is far easier to move people to Tacoma than it is to convince people to drive from Bellevue to Tacoma. Part of it is there’s still this notion that Tacoma doesn’t have all it needs to have in terms of lifestyle. But when we move people from out of state, they find that it does. It’s a perception, not reality. via thenewstribune.com I found this interesting, coming from a local tech company. The rest of the Q&A has good stuff too.
“Master and Commander”
I do like a good sea story, and so I picked up Patrick O'Brian's "Master and Commander," the first in a series about Captain Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, ship's doctor and naturalist. I really enjoyed the movie from a few years ago (adapted from a later book, but with elements from many of them), and the book was pretty good too. It was a pretty slow read, however. It's only 40 years old, but it feels like it was written at the time it's set (late 1700s during the Napoleonic wars). I don't mind it, but it is dense. Read more…
The Winthrop revisited
So about 18 months ago Shelterforce magazine (the journal of the National Housing Institute, based out of New Jersey) commissioned me to write about the Winthrop. I was only too happy to do so, and jumped into the project, interviewing people all over Tacoma including residents of the Winthrop, the mayor, Prium CEO Ansara, Michael Mirra of the THA, etc. I also called on my own experience attending the early-morning meetings in 2006 when Quiqq was trying to make something happen. Unfortunately, it was bumped a few times. But it finally went live! You can read it here on their Read more…
“Up in the Air” and “Mr. Fox”
I really liked this film. There's a lot of great stuff here. George Clooney is a Cary Grant. He's just good. He's as himself as much as he is whatever character he's inhabiting, but it works. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xIUtRrTlgo?wmode=transparent] "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" was also good, but not nearly so much. It was cute, and there's a certain joy of creativity that comes with Wes Anderson's better films. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you already knew going in to it that you liked his movies.
I love it when fortune cookies are spookily accurate.
Late lunch at the Happy Dragon today, and got this in my cookie. An hour later found a check from a client from an invoice I sent Tuesday. Pleasant surprise indeed! Thanks, Predictive Cookie.
Charlie McManus at City Club
I really enjoyed hearing from Charlie McManus last night, owner of the Primo Grill. He touched on his own history as a chef, but is talk mostly covered recent culinary history and the movement toward local foods in recent years. He talked about some of the difficulties of the local food movement (ie, it’s easier in California than here because of the range of available food in seasons) and also advocated for “local” over “organic.” (“I’d rather have non-organic local food than organic food from China.”) Great speaker and a good topic. Next up: Lunch on December 16, where Sal Read more…
“The signs they carried” in the Volcano
“At that point, I told him he needed to move away from my daughter and give her space (especially since she was on the curb at one of the busiest intersections in Tacoma). He began to argue, and I cut him off saying, ‘Move away from my daughter.’ He did.” One car passenger threw a beverage, hitting an approve-71 volunteer. Other passers-by shouted “Death to all you faggots!” and “We should get the KKK here!” This wasn’t Birmingham in ’63 or Selma in ’65. This was Tacoma in 2009, over by the Red Robin. via weeklyvolcano.com An interesting article about Read more…
^