The bridge, across Olympia Way near Civic Center circle, has attracted international attention and is now a local landmark. The Nutty Narrows Bridge was built in 1963 by a local builder, the late Amos Peters, to give squirrels a way to cross the busy thoroughfare without getting flattened by passing cars.
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Posted inMusic|Comments Off on Today is the birthday of Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych, who was killed by a chekist (Soviet secret police officer). In 1916 he composed “Shchedryk” or “Carol of the Bells”, based on a Ukrainian folk song.
Ed note: Today Dec 17th is the last day this 30 minute classic will be available for free on your apple device. Just go to the Apple TV+ web site and find the link there.
“A Charlie Brown Christmas” was a one-of-a-kind wonder when it premiered in 1965 and remains so almost 60 years later. Unlike the other jingle-belled baubles that TV throws down the chimney each year, it is melancholy and meditative. The animation is minimalist and subdued, full of grays and wafting snowflakes. I could wrap myself in the Vince Guaraldi jazz score like a quilt.
And then there’s the speech.
Charlie Brown, having Charlie-Browned his way through a disastrous attempt to direct a school pageant and the adoption of the most anemic specimen on a Christmas-tree lot, despairs over the crass materialism of the holiday and pleads for someone to tell him “what Christmas is all about.”
His friend Linus volunteers: He stands on a spotlighted stage and, as the soundtrack goes dead silent, recites a passage from the Gospel of Luke in which a band of angels proclaim the coming of Christ the Lord.
I have known people for whom the speech is a deal breaker. It’s too much Christianity for them, too directly preached. (This is not a “those were different times” thing, either; in 1965, Charles Schulz’s producers were convinced that putting the Bible on TV would be a disaster.) Some objectors are nonbelievers, some are Christian but not devout, some are, like me, Jewish.
I can understand. I do not personally believe that the physical embodiment of God was born in a Bethlehem stable, announced by a choir of the heavenly host, any more than I believe in Santa Claus.
Yet this year, just in time for Hanukkah, I went to Apple TV+ and fired up “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” which is one of my favorite programs ever made — in part precisely because of how frank it is about being Christian. And in part because it’s more Jewish in spirit than you may think.
A little bit about me: My mother was a Jewish immigrant from Morocco. My father was an American Catholic — not very religious, but he took me to church with him. (It was important to my mother, I think, that her children fit in within our very Christian, not-un-Peanuts-like Midwestern town.) At Christmas, we had a tree and a terrifying bobblehead Santa figurine. (continued).
Ed note: Today December 17th is the last day that Apple T V+ is making this classic available for free (see below). Sad that it will no longer be shown on the usual TV networks.
(WHTM)– For the fourth year in a row, this holiday season won’t be the same without a Charlie Brown Christmas on network TV. But you do have some chances to see it, and you don’t have to pay.
Viewers looking for “A Charlie Brown Christmas” won’t find it on ABC or CBS stations once again in 2023. Apple snapped it up, and it will be streaming only on Apple TV+.
In 2020 and 2021, Apple let PBS stations air the show, but no longer.
Don’t want to pay to subscribe to Apple TV? Not wanting to be the Grinch, Apple announced anyone with an iPhone or Apple ID will be able to stream a Charlie Brown Christmas free on Saturday, Dec. 16 and Sunday, Dec. 17. Just go to Apple TV’s website and there will be a link to see the show free.
But from the doesn’t that stink file, the fact Apple’s freebie offer doesn’t help grandma or grandpa who don’t stream, and just watch cable or antenna TV. But you can also buy grandma a DVD of the show: Walmart, Target, and Amazon still offer a Charlie Brown Christmas on DVD for about $10.
And speaking of the Grinch, you can watch the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon on Christmas Day free.
Streaming is the future but some shows are still nice to see the old-fashioned way, on TV.
A year ago, I assigned myself to the Capitol to cover the new House Republican majority, suspecting that this erratic crowd of lawmakers would provide some lively material.
They did not disappoint. What I could not have known then, however, was that this would turn out to be the most ineffective session of Congress in nearly a century — and quite possibly in all of American history.
The year began with chaos and incompetence. It ended with chaos and incompetence. In between were self-created crises and shocking moments of fratricide — interspersed with more chaos and incompetence.
“This will go down as … the least productive Congress since the Great Depression,” Rep. Joe Neguse, Democrat of Colorado, observed this week as the Rules Committee marked up plans for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden for imaginary crimes.
Neguse almost certainly understates the case. While it’s true, as HuffPost’s Jonathan Nicholson pointed out, that Congress got even less done in 1931, this is only because it didn’t start its session that year until December. It seems probable that no Congress in American history has spent so much time accomplishing so little as this one.
What do House Republicans have to show the voters for their year in power? A bipartisan debt deal (on which they promptly reneged) to avoid a default crisis that they themselves created. A pair of temporary spending bills (both passed with mostly Democratic votes) to avert a government-shutdown crisis that they themselves created. The ouster of their speaker, nearly a month-long shutdown of the chamber as they sought another, and the expulsion of one of their members, who is now negotiating himself a plea deal.
Among the 22 bills in 2023 that became law as of this week was landmark legislation such as: H.R. 3672, “To designate the clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Indian River, Michigan, as the ‘Pfc. Justin T. Paton Department of Veterans Affairs Clinic.’” Also, H.R. 5110, the “Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act,” which authorizes federal education funds “to purchase or use dangerous weapons” for instruction. (continued)
Medical journals and research have not dealt much with death and dying. The interest has mainly been in literature, art and poetry–and more recently in laws that deal with medical aid in dying. In the last several years there has been a list-serve of medical people (doctors, nurses, lawyers and others) exchanging views, stories and developing best practices both to conform to laws, ethics and human kindness. Finally, there is a medical journal dealing with medical aid in dying. The first issue can be viewed here.
Editor’s note:The Travel Essay is written by our readers about a travel adventure or insight.
The train screeches to a sudden jolting stop.
“What’s happening?” I exclaim. “We’re nowhere near a town!”
Looking out the small window over my narrow bunk, I see only darkness in the Rajasthan desert in India. It’s the middle of the night and we’re passengers on the Palace on Wheels, a luxury train from the days of the maharajas that has been newly outfitted for tourists.
Our two maroon-turbaned cabin boys, Mr. Singh and Mr. Singh, both darkly handsome with narrow black mustaches and very white teeth, stick their heads into our compartment. “It’s OK,” they assure us.
The younger Mr. Singh motions with his flashlight, “Come with me,” he says.
Puzzled, my son and I follow him through several cars to the exit, then out into the night. “But what if the train leaves?” I ask. “Not to worry,” he replies, “I have a torch.” He motions, “Come along!”
I’m uneasy — why have we stopped? Whatever does Mr. Singh want? I wonder if he’s planning to lure us away from the safety of the train and rob us, even though we’re wearing only our coats, and have no valuables.
But Mr. Singh is so insistent. “Follow me,” he says.
We walk along a dirt path into the dark, following his bobbing light. It’s a clear, frigid desert night and the stars are bright above us — we seem very far from civilization. After an anxious 10-minute walk, I spot dim lights ahead. Soon we reach a small cluster of low earthen buildings. Through tiny windows I see the lights of kerosene lamps — evidently there’s no electricity.
We enter the largest building. I’m amazed to see that the floor is packed brown dirt. Over the door is a garish picture of Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god of wisdom and wealth. In the corner, a small fireplace is hung with old iron cooking pots. The room is simple but tidy, with the family’s possessions stacked neatly against the whitewashed walls. A small child in home-sewn garments shyly offers us three brown cigarettes on a large round tin tray. I smile and decline, still puzzled why Mr. Singh has brought us here.
He motions us into the next room, which is brightly lighted with candles and almost filled by a low double bed. Now Mr. Singh is laughing — he motions to the young woman in the bed. She’s tired but smiling and pretty, her long black hair spread over the white pillow. Then we understand. Asleep in the crook of her arm is a tiny, black-haired infant. Mr. Singh smiles proudly. “My son,” he says. “He was born this morning!”
Ed note: If you have a story to tell, please send it along to share!
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Arab-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye recalls a transformative, unexpected occasion of generous acceptance:
Wandering around the Albuquerque Airport Terminal … I heard an announcement: “If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately.”
Well—one pauses these days. Gate A-4 was my own gate. I went there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. “Help,” said the flight service person. “Talk to her.… We told her the flight was going to be late and she did this.”
I stooped to put my arm around the woman and spoke to her haltingly. “Shu-dow-a, Shu-bid-uck Habibti? Stani schway, Min fadlick, Shu-bit-se-wee?” The minute she heard any words she knew, however poorly used, she stopped crying. She thought the flight had been cancelled entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for major medical treatment.… I said, “No, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just later, who is picking you up? Let’s call him.”
We called her son and I spoke with him in English. I told him I would stay with his mother … and would ride next to her.… She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and found out of course they had ten shared friends. Then I thought … why not call some Palestinian poets I know and let them chat with her? This all took up about two hours.
She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life, patting my knee, answering questions. She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—and was offering them to all the women at the gate. To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the mom from California, the lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same powdered sugar. And smiling. There is no better cookie.
And then the airline broke out free beverages … and two little girls from our flight ran around serving us all apple juice and they were covered with powdered sugar, too. And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing, with green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere.
And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought, this is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in that gate—once the crying of confusion stopped—seemed apprehensive about any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women, too. This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.
Hyperkyphosis often causes neck and back pain and headaches. It can lead to breathing and digestive issues. And when your head and shoulders round forward, your body’s center of gravity shifts, which can increase the risk of a fall.
Health issues, posture problems
The thoracic spine — 12 vertebrae in the upper and midback — usually has a gentle curve like a backward C. “Hyperkyphosis is an excessive curvature of the thoracic spine,” says Wendy Katzman, a professor emeritus of physical therapy and rehabilitation science at the University of California at San Francisco.
Osteoporosis-related compression fractures, degenerative disk disease and spinal deformities may contribute to worsening kyphosis, but poor posture may be a key factor. With age, we generally lose flexibility and strength, which makes a proper posture more difficult.
Our use of technology may be making posture worse. Outside of work, 46 percent of adults in the United States spend five to six hours a day looking at their cellphones, and 11 percent do so for seven or more hours. “Computers and texting encourage a forward head position and make it harder to maintain good posture,” says Lynne Hughes, an associate professor of physical therapy at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
The result: Back muscles may weaken and become chronically stretched, Katzman says, while chest and abdominal muscles and ligaments in the spine shorten. Joints can also stiffen, and over time it can become harder to straighten the spine.
Get yourself straighter
From a side view, good posture means the ear is in line with the shoulder, hip, knee and ankle, and the spine has gentle curves. To help you to maintain (or get back to) a more upright posture:
Take breaks. If you’re spending time in a forward or rounded position, get up for a minute or two every 30 to 60 minutes. “Do some shoulder circles, shoulder squeezes or chin tucks, pulling your chin toward your spine,” Hughes says.
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Use devices the right way. Looking down at screens “puts an increased load on the neck, which stresses muscles and ligaments of the neck,” says Kavita Trivedi, associate medical director of the Multidisciplinary Spine Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Position devices at eye level.
Practice straighter posture. One option: Stand with your head, shoulders, upper back, buttocks and heels (if you can) against a wall, and imagine a cord attached to the top of your head, gently pulling you upward. Hold for 30 seconds, relax and repeat three times daily.
Or try this: Lie on your back on the floor or on a firm bed for 20 minutes a day with a rolled towel or pool noodle between your shoulder blades. (Place pillows under your head if you can’t lie flat.)
Build a stronger back and abs. “If you don’t have strength and endurance, you slowly slip back down into poor posture,” Hughes says. Aim to do two or three strength workouts a week.
Take care of your bones. Vertebral fractures from osteoporosis cause the vertebrae to collapse, pitching your posture forward. Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking and lifting weights, and adequate amounts of bone-building nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin D and magnesium, can help reinforce bones.
Know when to get more help. You may want to go to a physical therapist if you’re not seeing improvements after regularly practicing the strategies above for six to eight weeks. A PT can provide specific exercises for your degree of curvature and do manual therapies for tight joints and muscles.
If you’re experiencing pain or numbness, or a rounded posture interferes with your ability to do daily tasks, see your doctor, who can determine whether an underlying condition like a vertebral fracture or spinal stenosis is at issue. For osteoporosis, your doctor may recommend medication to reduce the risk of fractures.
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The $1.3-billion North Tower project, planned at the corner of Marion Street and Minor Avenue at Swedish Health’s First Hill campus, has been in the works since 2015. The acute care facility, combined with a second outpatient and imaging building with offices, would double the footprint of the campus from 1.5 million to 3.15 million square feet.
The 12-story building, which is being designed by Perkins&Will, is poised for completion in Fall 2027. Inside, plans call for a 31-room emergency department and eight rooms for behavioral healthcare. It will initially debut with 72 beds, with 108 more planned.
Future location of the North TowerGoogle Maps
Other members of the project team for the North Tower include general contractor Mortenson, HVAC contractor MacDonald-Miller Facilities Solutions, and VECA Electric & Technologies.
Swedish health will later seek a development partner for the aforementioned second project – called Block 95 – which would consist of 900,000 square feet of space at the northeast corner of Boren Avenue and Cherry Street.
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Well, I made it. I am 100 years old today. I wake up every morning grateful to be alive.
Reaching my own personal centennial is cause for a bit of reflection on my first century — and on what the next century will bring for the people and country I love. To be honest, I’m a bit worried that I may be in better shape than our democracy is.
I was deeply troubled by the attack on Congress on Jan. 6, 2021 — by supporters of former President Donald Trump attempting to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Those concerns have only grown with every revelation about just how far Mr. Trump was willing to go to stay in office after being rejected by voters — and about his ongoing efforts to install loyalists in positions with the power to sway future elections.
I don’t take the threat of authoritarianism lightly. As a young man, I dropped out of college when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. I flew more than 50 missions in a B-17 bomber to defeat fascism consuming Europe. I am a flag-waving believer in truth, justice and the American way, and I don’t understand how so many people who call themselves patriots can support efforts to undermine our democracy and our Constitution. It is alarming.
At the same time, I have been moved by the courage of the handful of conservative Republican lawmakers, lawyers and former White House staffers who resisted Mr. Trump’s bullying. They give me hope that Americans can find unexpected common ground with friends and family whose politics differ but who are not willing to sacrifice core democratic principles.
Encouraging that kind of conversation was a goal of mine when we began broadcasting “All in the Family” in 1971. The kinds of topics Archie Bunker and his family argued about — issues that were dividing Americans from one another, such as racism, feminism, homosexuality, the Vietnam War and Watergate — were certainly being talked about in homes and families. They just weren’t being acknowledged on television. (continued)
For all his faults, Archie loved his country and he loved his family, even when they called him out on his ignorance and bigotries. If Archie had been around 50 years later, he probably would have watched Fox News. He probably would have been a Trump voter. But I think that the sight of the American flag being used to attack Capitol Police would have sickened him. I hope that the resolve shown by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and their commitment to exposing the truth, would have won his respect.
It is remarkable to consider that television — the medium for which I am most well-known — did not even exist when I was born, in 1922. The internet came along decades later, and then social media. We have seen that each of these technologies can be put to destructive use — spreading lies, sowing hatred and creating the conditions for authoritarianism to take root. But that is not the whole story. Innovative technologies create new ways for us to express ourselves, and, I hope, will allow humanity to learn more about itself and better understand one another’s ideas, failures and achievements. These technologies have also been used to create connection, community and platforms for the kind of ideological sparring that might have drawn Archie to a keyboard.I can only imagine the creative and constructive possibilities that technological innovation might offer us in solving some of our most intractable problems.
I often feel disheartened by the direction that our politics, courts and culture are taking. But I do not lose faith in our country or its future. I remind myself how far we have come. I think of the brilliantly creative people I have had the pleasure to work with in entertainment and politics, and at People for the American Way, a progressive group I co-founded to defend our freedoms and build a country in which all people benefit from the blessings of liberty. Those encounters renew my belief that Americans will find ways to build solidarity on behalf of our values, our country and our fragile planet.
Those closest to me know that I try to stay forward-focused. Two of my favorite words are “over” and “next.” It’s an attitude that has served me well through a long life of ups and downs, along with a deeply felt appreciation for the absurdity of the human condition.
Reaching this birthday with my health and wits mostly intact is a privilege. Approaching it with loving family, friends and creative collaborators to share my days has filled me with a gratitude I can hardly express.
This is our century, dear reader, yours and mine. Let us encourage one another with visions of a shared future. And let us bring all the grit and openheartedness and creative spirit we can muster to gather together and build that future.
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