The Crown is Tarnished......

While other Tacoma residents in blogworld get kudos for saying nothing but nice things.....there is a person or 2 that must, um, poke your bubble.
Not the White Liberal Olympia Bubble (I'm a greener grad.....Yes, I went to school in Olympia......yeah yeah.....)
But back to me and my dinner with my friends at the Crown Bar and Dining Establishment.
Since I lived in the NorthEnd for almost 25 years and Mark has been around these parts even longer.....we are more than qualified to judge.
We say nice things when they are earned and deserved. We say the truth that others are afraid to say.....what.......why is that?
Don't answer.
The dinner out with my friends is always a delight. Mark and I live in a totally different world than they do. Most of them work in cubicles. Swing a dead cat and you will hit a Big Northwest Company or 2 or 3 or 4 or whatever....and others are actual Teachers who Teach your children so you don't have to.
As soon as I got the e-tation in my inbox, I knew my dinner out was gonna cost me a Cool Dead President or 10 or 100.
And it did. Now I don't mind buying good food/booze around town. I hate cooking at home, but I do like drinking at home and parties at my friends' homes....

First, the Decor is 98% IHOP. What is up with the UGLEEEEE Silver paint on the rocks. It is superbly ugly and made my meal taste yuk.
Second, the food is mostly french fries which were good. But, seriously 10 dollars for a plate of fries?
Third, I don't eat much...Mark often finishes half my food before he feels full (and he's still pretty slim you know)
Not only was there nothing left on my plate (I had the Big Mushroom on the Teeny Bun), But Mark left the place Hungry even after eating appetizers and the Macaroni and Cheese.
Fourth, it was a DELITE to see our former neighbor Heather, as the best waitress in the NorthEnd. (Joan and Rose are the best on the waterfront). Heather is superb as a server. She was sweet. She was efficient. She was never intrusive, yet she was a snappy little mind-reader! Those are skillz, baby!
Fifth, the martinis were great, and the bartendress was a pro! KUDOs!
Sixth, If you are looking for an overpriced Denny's Experience, eat at the Crown.
Seventh, Save your money for Harbor Lights or TwoKoi ....better in every category.
Eighth, no I don't care that everyone is supposed only say nice things. Yummy food is not that hard to produce. I, even I, owned and designed and cooked 99% of the food/beverages at my joint, STEILACOOM FORGE DELI. and I don't even really like cooking.
Ninth, The bathrooms were clean. Laura and I enjoyed them.

Monster Jam, City of Tacoma, Misery

Monster Jam is a series of live events and television show created by Live Nation (formerly Clear Channel Entertainment). The series is sanctioned under the umbrella of the USHRA and takes place primarily in the United States. Although individual event formats can vary greatly based on the "intermission" entertainment, the marque entertainment is always the racing and freestyle competitions by monster trucks.

Am I the only person in Tacoma that knows Clear Channel is putting on the Monster Jam show at the T-Dome? The T-Dome that the City of Tacoma owns? The Clear Channel that the City of Tacoma is wrestling with over billboards? RR ? Word Up !

Ok, I know I live a block from the T-Dome. duh. But every time there's an event the monkeys schlup by and park all over.......and in my parking lot and pee in the lot and smoke pot and drink beer.......

This particular event is ultra-disturbing because: HELLO ! Did or Did Not Al Gore just win the Nobel Prize?
Monster Jam uses up how much oil/gas/ pollution.....and the driving here of all the minivans and SUV's........
There is just no hope for the planet.........no, the planet will go on and on........but humanity and animals and stuff will decline and suffer.........
Oh Well.

Sin-Sational Valentine

I just really love this.....I hope I'm special enough to go !

First Third Thursday ArtWalk of 2008

Was special !
I completely missed Daniel Blue......saw Derek. In fact I doubt I've seen Daniel Blue since his first selling event at Trish's Craptastic Sale back in the day. Daniel Blue is a myth.
The Helm show was making fun of me. And now I know why I haven't been able to find a funky afghan at the Value Village for the last month. Petted Mike in his Sgt Pepper Jacket.
I wanted to see more of what was there but my view was blocked by a gaggle of skinny hipsters...............le sigh
Met Nanette in Cheryl & Alan's basement. Sweet.
Impromtu Gallery renewed my belief in the Art of Redemptive Art.........I had lost it about 30 minutes before......at The Helm........such is life !
I'm still waiting for The Helm to add me as a MySpace friend.
It may be a long wait.

London graffiti wall sells for 208,000 pounds on eBay

So....it is not a given that Graffiti art is Vandalism.....there are actually places on the globe that see the Big Picture.... (<----joke) but that place ain't Tacoma. It could be Tacoma. But don't hold your breath. Too many people here are peeing in their pants.....big scaredy cats. The thing I hate most about Tacoma is its tiny parochial mindset. Have you never been to a Real Big City?
And this link here..right here will take you to RR and his witty colored crayons.


London graffiti wall sells for 208,000 pounds on eBay



LONDON (AFP) — A wall painted on by mysterious British graffiti artist Banksy painted sold for 208,100 pounds (275,750 euros, 407,000 dollars) on Monday, according to the results of an eBay auction.

The painting depicts a classical-looking artist in mostly-grey garb putting the finishing touches on a red large painting of the real artist's name.

It appeared in September on the wall outside a production company's office in Portobello Road, famous for its antiques and curios in Notting Hill, west London.

The sale on the Internet auction site attracted 69 bids, and the buyer now faces the additional charge of moving the work of art and replacing the wall.
__________
__________

And from the other side of the globe:

Our friends in the north

"South African puppets, a light show with lighthouses, and lots and lots of trolls ... Alfred Hickling reports from Stavanger - Europe's other Capital of Culture ....."

"...... There's a danger that in a society where everyone is middle class, there will also be a certain insularity and a reticence to submit to new ideas."

Oh Dear !!

Graffiti Art in Tacoma ? What Do We Know ?

Let's begin here:
Beautiful Angle:

I sent out this:

Hello Art People,

I may be pre-freaking out abit, but, some of you may know I asked for Tacoma folks to come out and paint my walls...and they did ! I had a bonafide artist (as opposed to Folks!) do the upper wall. His name is Tam, and it looks like graffiti but it is not of course. It is Art. My question is: May I count on some support from the community if I get slapped with a citation for "gang graffiti"? Funny thing is ....in our spare time, we paint out real gang graffiti in the block, and we were gonna paint out Tam's work within a few days anyway......since it's not everyone's cuppa Tea...heck it's not even really my cuppa Tea....but I am an Art - Supporter !

Tressie

funkoma vintage

306 E. 26th

Tacoma



I got these:

I think it

should be ok though, since up on 6th Ave. Tower lanes
bowling ally got a real graffiti artist to do a mural
on the side of their building. It is definitely
graffiti styling and it has been there for several
months now, so I am assuming the police can't ticket
legitimate art, or it would be gone by now.
-------------and another ----------------------------------------------
If you commissioned the artwork, then it is not graffiti. I had this discussion with the authorities earlier this year when I spray painted some of my own *** ******** stencils on my garage. They cannot inhibit your freedom of speech or expression. If they did, you could easily take your case to the Civil Liberties Union and/or the media.
It was interesting because graffiti had been on our garage for over a year; it wasn't gang related. We tired of it and decided *** would be a good addition. Shortly after *** went up, we received a graffiti needs to be removed notice. I discussed the complaint with someone in city hall, and, while it was okay to have the *** up, they would appreciate it if we removed the other graffiti, which we did. My conclusion was that someone found *** offensive and reported us because the other graffiti had been up for well over a year. That said, I'm thinking about putting up a big ** symbol on the garage to see if someone reports that.

Anyway, I appreciate people who support graffiti art. There are many talented graffiti artists out there, who have made places more beautiful, interesting, and challenging.


_______________
Well, there is a vast difference between Graffiti and Graffiti Art. One is vandalism and one is art. The one that is art has to be asked for or at least tolerated by the owner of the canvas. If a property owner does not remove the art, then it is art and is protected by the constitution. Also, then, the owner may remove it. There is no law yet on who owns the art once it is created on a wall,for instance. Could an artist bring a suit against an owner and win? Not likely, but maybe. Once art is bought or received as a gift it belongs to the new owner not the creator.

Our little controversy in Tacoma and the Broadway Art Garages is a Perfect Example of the stupidity of Tacoma. (not everyone in Tacoma is stupid, of course)
Did Riley know he didn't have to paint out everything? Maybe he didn't want to bother with it. I do know Riley to be a fine person, and even tho he is as rich as Midas, he is a reasonable person (considering he is a landlord !!)<-- joke.
I don't believe for one Minute that TPD suddenly got all art critic and filed a complaint with the City on a graffiti code violation. But it sure illustrates (get it) what is Wrong with Tacoma.
This town now has no flippin' Clue what is art. No clue about was is an "Urban Experience". The condos and the yuppies want to live in Disneyland and is the City far too willing to recreate Tacoma in the mold of WaltDisney? Well,yes.
I think those of us who think about art (what separates art from craft is the Strong Emotion that art makes you feel) is when the City decided NOT to choose Warhol to put a design on the Tacoma Dome.....and chose those insipid stupid diamond things.

This:

Not This:

So Tacoma if you want art, REAL ART, you are so on your own.
Do not look to the City for anything that is real.
The City of Tacoma and the phony arbiters of art (snicker) HATE YOU .

The Train The Train !

Another point.......and an example.
The London Times printed this today about biodiesel. When Mark and I were at Evergreen we became interested in biodiesel and so he made it and we drove biodiesel cars...you may remember my car especially......the brown Mercedes with the bowling lady hood ornament........Well.......as I pointed out a while back.....biodiesel is a stop-gap measure and should be abandoned as a fuel source.

While they have the potential to help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, biofuels will devastate forests and other habitats unless controlled, scientists said.

The Royal Society report of a 14-month inquiry was published as the European Union announced that its targets for biofuels are to be re-examined because of fears of their impact on the environment. Stavros Dimas, its Environment Commissioner, said that the environmental consequences of boosting biofuel production and the effects on poor communities were bigger than originally thought. from the London Times

The Example: Mark, John and I walked out of our penthouse on Sunday night, we said:
Peeweh !!
There was a stinky gray pall hanging over the neighborhood. Ghost of Old Tacoma? No. A train had just rumbled by, which is fine. But and it's a Big But, it was Diesel in the Air. That's what I'm saying.
Now I know, boy do I know, that the Dome District is the unwanted red-headed stepchild of The Downtown Renaissance......
(do we get a Festival in our end.....No ! There is ZERO City of Tacoma promotion of our district...there are NO Fairs, Events or clean-ups comparable to um, First Night or Taste of Tacoma.....nothing.)

but, diesel is a dying technology. I'm sure the Light Rail Hobo Train laughs at the big trains as they stink by, while Light Rail skips lightly thru town.....(wow, that's poetry!)
And diesel can't be replaced by biodiesel.....tho smelling like French Fries is cool, it is not sustainable.