Artist’s Statement:

I am fascinated by the encounter of consciousness embodied–that is to say, the existential platform of self encountering otherness. I am also enchanted by the exploration of “reality” as an embodied relationship between finitude and the transcendental.

My visual art depicts monsters and suffering as a metaphor for the state of despair and suffering that Self encounters as Separated Consciousness (e.g. arising into a body/Separation from Source). Thus, my art also seeks to explore the embodied point of contact between that state of despair/separation and the state of reconciliation: Enlightenment, the Kingdom of God, Relationship to Unconditional Love.

I feel called to producing visual images because they seem to convey deep and subtle relationships–e.g. between objects that are involved in suffering and freedom or relief from that suffering. My spiritual “work” usually evolves into the imagery I am drawing, and I will find myself in agreement with a principle that appears in the work: of reconciliation or aspects of despair, separation, or transcendent love. Teachers and traditions that have been fundamental to the development of my thought and art are Buddhist Foundations: Chogyam Trungpa, Shunryu Suzuki, Christian Foundations: Soren Keirkegaard, Thomas Merton, Other: Hafiz and other Sufi voices, Martin Buber, Early Indian theology, and my Friends!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jocelynskillman/

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The Melon just got wind of a great new music video from Fice, a T-Loc hip hop artist. The video for the song “Two Five Three” features a some shots and props to a lot of great locations (hello MSM deli) and captures the proud spirit of Tacoma well. Look for Fice’s song to become Tacoma’s new unofficial anthem. Take a listen.

On Thursday, June 3^rd, The Pierce County Arts Commission will celebrate its 25^th Anniversary.  Though it may all but be defunded (currently facing a proposed budget for 2011 that will comprise a mere 10% of the funds it received in the year 2000, effectively ending Artist-in-Residence programs in Pierce County Schools and annual community grants to deserving Pierce County non-profits) the commissioners have nevertheless decided to celebrate yet one more year of public funding for the arts – at least in theory, if nothing else.

Therefore, Commission President Bonnie Egbert is organizing an awards ceremony – using funds from the commissioners’ personal bank accounts, to honor some of the individuals and organization that over the past 25 years played a crucial role in the rise of Pierce County’s cultural economy.  Dubbed, The President’s Awards, the recipients include: Pierce County Councilwoman Barbara Gelman (A Founding Member of PCAC), Elida Kirk Lathrop (PCAC’s first president), Arts Downtown (Puyallup’s Outdoor Gallery) and more.

Artists and Arts Advocates who have already RSVPed include: Tacoma Sculptor Larry Anderson (whose works can be seen at places like Slovonia Hall, Fireman’s Park and Union Station), Melanie Kirk Stauffer (Vice Chair Dance Theatre Northwest), Judy White (President of Arts Downtown) and Becky Condra (Chair of Valley Arts United).

The Ceremony will be held at 3602 Pacific Avenue, Suite 200 in Tacoma at 5:30.  We would like to invite any and all interested members of the media to attend this very special occasion.

Last night I received the following email from Historic Tacoma.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation in partnership with American Express has chosen 25 historic properties in the Seattle-Puget Sound area to compete for  $1 million in preservation grants. Of those 25 properties, two are located in Tacoma, the Spanish Steps and westside’s Titlow Park Lodge.  Sites in Pierce County include the Anderson Island Historical Society’s Johnson Farm; the Orting Soldiers Home, Garfield Hall; and Skansie Brothers Net Shed in Gig Harbor.  How can you help assure that these funds come to Tacoma and Pierce County?  You can VOTE!  Just go to www.partnersinpreservation.org where you can vote for one project each day from April 15th through May 12.  Not only can you vote, you can forward this information to friends, family and co-workers or post it on your Facebook page and encourage them to vote.  Not only will your vote inform the overall grant making process, but the top vote recipient is guaranteed to have their project funded; a number of the other 25 properties will receive some level of funding.  You can learn more about the process on the Partners in Preservation Website….Historic Tacoma encourages you to VOTE for funding for these Pierce County projects and to help spread the word by encouraging others to vote too.

The criteria that determined how these historical sites were selected for this process is explained here.

Several hours after casting my first vote and I still find myself stuggling with the concept of assigning significance to a historic place based upon the contemporary sentiments of the modern majority.  Granted, that’s not what Partners In Preservation is advocating – all of these sites are already winners for having made it onto the ballot and this election will not, in itself, determine anything beyond a “grant” to the most popular place.  Nevertheless, it would certainly seem absurd if the National Parks Department, in the face of declining revenue, were to hold an online election asking citizens to vote for their favorite national treasure to ensure funding.

Imagine being asked to dissect and then appraise the historical significance of Pearl Harbor relative to Gettysburg. Then again, by offering this very analogy I betray my own message and reveal that in fact I have already placed greater value in Pearl Harbor and Gettysburg as historical landmarks than Tacoma’s Spanish Steps or the 5th Avenue Theatre.  In the end, perhaps I’m really just full of myself, and this whole article is just about me trying to fill space on The Melon.

Still, the fact that after two days of voting only one Pierce County historical site - the Skansie Brothers Net Shed – has climbed its way into a top-ten ranking suggest to me that something about this process is sacrilegious.

1) On North 11th and Cedar there is a stop sign in front of a roundabout. A few blocks North on Cedar there is a second roundabout at a similar four-way intersection without a stop sign. This is ridiculous. This is unnecessary. And this is something the city shouldn’t have to trouble itself with. I propose we ask for permission to chop down said stop sign at North 10th and Cedar and recycle the contents.

2) Despite its relative wealth, Tacoma’s North End has long been blighted by slumlords, particularly around the University of Puget Sound. I have rented several apartments with hallways that stank of cat pee, lacked adequate ventilation, featured uncertain staircases and lacked locks on the doors. I have also stayed in mold-infested homes and even had a landlord who allowed a 40 year old roof to go untreated so that a 4 by 1 foot hole developed in the ceiling which allowed rainwater to leak in from October through January.

In my experience, the people who live in these North End homes/apartments are disproportionately single-parent families, immigrants, seniors and the disabled. They often lack the resources to investigate their rights (which, truth be told, are more limited than most people believe anyway) or are too poor to explore better options.

This issue is incredibly complex and requires multiple actions, but one small step the NENC could take is to allocate funds for a targeted informational pamphlet outlining the basic legal rights of tenants and whatever community/nonprofit resources are available to them when those rights are violated.

3) Tacoma needs a Burgerville. It’s a Northwest fast food chain with locations stretching North from Salem, OR to Centralia, WA. Burgerville uses only local organic ingredients to produce quality seasonal dishes and combo meals at prices that are only slightly higher than McDonalds. Burgerville restaurants are powered exclusively via wind power credits; the bulk of the cups, food wrappers and other non-edible products they produce are mostly recycled or used as compost; and all Burgerville employees are provided with healthcare.

Burgerville was exploring opportunities in the Puget Sound region prior to the crash of 2008.  The NENC could draft a formal endorsement of their business and its future intentions to invest in the region. Mark my words, if we don’t do this, Seattle will.

This just in……

Tacoma Water is developing a new water conservation goal that will affect the types of conservation programs we offer our customers for the next seven years. As part of this process, we want to know what you think about water conservation and the types of programs we should offer.

To gather input we have developed a short online survey. The results of the survey will be used to design a draft conservation goal, which we will present at a public meeting in the spring. Please assist us by taking our survey at www.tacomawater.com/watergoals. Please be advised that the survey will close March 19.

If you would like more information about the water conservation program and our offerings, please contact us at 502-8723 or visit our webpage at http://www.mytpu.org/tacomawater/conserve-water/water-conservation/Default.htm.

Thank you very much for your time.

Daniel L. Muir
Water Conservation Supervisor
Tacoma Water
3628 S. 35th Street
Tacoma, WA 98409
253-502-8191

Pecha Kucha Night, devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture, was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

It’s time once again to help The Melon see another great year. The costs of The Melon are very limited, our writers offer their own free time and craft their amazing articles/content out of their passion for doing so. But, like all things, there are some costs to maintaining our space and making sure it is meeting out needs, which is why in this drive we’re hoping to meet our goal of $1000 to update The Melon infrastructure and pay for our maintenance costs. We need your help to keep The Melon fresh. As a Melon Supporter, you’ll be added to our supporters list for FIVE WHOLE YEARS. FIVE! What’s more, is we’ll mention you from time to time as a Supporter who makes our content possible. Imagine your logo or name in one of our videos. Yeah, pretty cool.

While we here at The Melon value our content and contributors greatly, and hope you enjoy what we are able to do for the community, we realize there are those with way more need than us. This is why we’ve decided to donate HALF of the total donations received to the Friends of the Orphans Haiti Earthquake Relief fund in honor of Molly Hightower, a native Tacoman who passed in the recent Haiti Earthquake while working to aid children in need. Read more about her here.

Even if we don’t reach our $1000 goal we will still donate half of it to this fund. So please, for The Melon and for those who really need it, help two great programs strive forward and continue making a difference.

 

It’s here. Time for all the Melonites to walk the purple carpet and take photos in front of the Hummer/GM backdrop for the last time. Your votes have been tabulated, considered, rejected, re-tabulated and accepted to achieve a 82.5% democratic voice in this year’s Golden Melon Awards. Below are the winners. Congrats to everyone and thanks for another great year.

 

Interview of the Year:

 

 

 

The Melon Underground – Ep 01

 

With 6 episodes, The Melon Underground stands as The Melon’s longest running post-KUPS podcast. This episode of TMU featured Tacoma Urbanist, Erik Bjornson and went on to be one of the landmarks in discussion about Tacoma.

 

Melonite of the Year:

 

 

 

Erik Bjornson

 

A one time writer for the Melon, many times guest, Erik Bjornson has become just as ingrained in Tacoma lore as has RR Anderson. Erik Bjornson stands out as a first-class citizen for his public action and honest to goodness Tacoma advocacy. What would Tacoma be without Erik Bjornson? I don’t want to find out.

 

Seedling Award:

Best New Melon Contributor

 

 

John Hathaway – New Takhoman

 

In a lot of ways John Hathaway is the embodiment of Tacoma. Old fashioned, true to himself, gritty and willing to dig through grime to find just what he’s looking for.  When we met John Hathaway in an old dinner, we found him in a 50s gangster hat, dressed in a suit and tie, as if he was about smuggle something. But behind the hat, sharp mustache and focused eyes, John Hathaway is an idealist with a heart. We were pleased to be able to record a podcast with him and help promote the oldest Tacoma comic in existence, The New Takhoman. For his dedication to telling it how it is, and pushing the city to think no matter what, the Seedling Award is far to unimportant an award for John Hathaway. Tacoma should be giving him a medal of honor.

 

Honorable Mention: Erik Connell

 

For the next 30 days I am going on a very strong detox cleanse with the added benefit of losing my winter love handles.  For Christmas my mother gave me “The Raw Divas Menu Planner” that outlines a month of menus, weekly shopping list, and detailed recipes.  Made easy for both a busy and lazy person like me, all I have to do is check the menu for the day and whip up my meal.  I admit that this is not a New Year’s Resolution nor a purely health-based rationale — Chris and I are going on our honeymoon in March to Puerto Rico and I don’t want to be caught dead with fluff on my hips as I stroll the beaches.

Currently I am sipping a modified-version of “Green Revolution Smoothie” — modified in the sense that I can never follow a recipe but always have to improve on it.  My version contains a banana, handful of dandelion greens, black dinosaur kale, raw cashews, pineapple juice and a teaspoon of probiotics.

The premise of body cleansing is based on the Ancient Egyptian and Greek idea of autointoxication, where ingested foods can putrefy and produce toxins that harm the body.  A rather large fight rages in the health communities as to whether detox “diets” improve a body’s system or not, but I’d like to point out some common-sense in the fray of fad vs. beneficial detoxing.

So why go on a cleansing detox diet, heralded as Gen X fad of health hippies who care more about sheik hip living than about balancing their checkbook and living in the real world?

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