Love & Wisdom
Publisher’s Note: The Lost Art of Civility
How to bring back respectful discourse
Can a city be too “woke”? That’s a provocative question. If we root the term to its original definition from early 1900s to 1950s African American culture, “woke” is an adjective generally defined as “being alert to racial prejudice and discrimination.” Beginning about 10 years ago, it came to also encompass a broader awareness of…
Aging Well Really Is The Best Revenge
We can all learn something from the late Tina Turner
I’m bothered by the term “aging gracefully,” whatever that means. I think a better phrase is “aging dynamically,” being your vital, wisest self, a carefully-curated product of living and learning over many years. I know. I am not trying to be Sally Sunshine here and overlook the harsher aspects of being in the third and…
Where Innovation Meets Education
Seattle Girls School empowers girls to change the world
An innovative experiment at a small school in Seattle’s Central District may hold the key to the future of education. The Seattle Girls School serves students that identify as female or gender nonconforming. Rather than abiding by a traditional grading system for every assignment, students at the private middle school get letter grades only at…
The Grind Of A Grudge
MOVING PAST ANGER AND LETTING GO OF TOXIC ENERGY
I was watching a Seahawks practice when the man I’d shunned for three years offered me an apology. “I’m sorry,” said Dave Mahler. You might know him as Softy. He hosts the afternoon sports-talk show at KJR 93.3 FM. “I was wrong, and I shouldn’t have said what I did.” He then offered me his…
Live, Laugh, Bomb
A ROOKIE TRIES STAND-UP COMEDY, WITH MIXED RESULTS
As with many Tinder dates, things didn’t go quite as I expected. For example, I didn’t intend to have multiple guys I’d matched with in the same place, at the same time. Especially when that place was a comedy open mic that was going to be my first and possibly only attempt at stand-up. After…
Letter to Seattle: Bank Statement
YWCA opens door to financial career
This is a letter from Tameka Siplin, a program graduate at YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish, the region’s oldest and largest nonprofit organization focused on the needs of women; providing services and advocacy to support stable homes and economic advancement; reduce violence and improve health; and promote racial equity and social justice. Dear YWCA…
Fitness and Friendship
Couch potato finds camaraderie in running clubs
I never thought I would be the type of person to join a running club. Picture a subpar physique lacking in muscle and mental fortitude, throw in an admittedly too-long stint of smoking cigarettes, and add an aversion to hills as the cherry on top. However, when I moved to Seattle, I quickly learned it…
Clarity: Defeating Depression
Seeking help is a starting point, not the finish line
I was 20 years old and in my second year at the University of Washington when I stumbled into a rut. It was summer. I was the only one left in an apartment I’d rented with three other guys that school year. Everybody else had gone home, but I was taking classes and became something…
The Good News About Size
It's true: it really doesn't matter
Well, let’s suppose, just for a moment, that bigger is better. I say “just for a moment” because I don’t actually think there are any data to support the idea that bigger penises are more talented, satisfying or even more handsome. They are, however, culturally admired and many men, and some women, fetishize size and…
Dr. AI? Not So Fast
Health systems across the state are grappling with how to use AI
For more than a year, Kaiser Permanente has been using artificial intelligence chatbots to help patients navigate care options. Leaders at UW Medicine are working to understand how AI applies to both clinical care and medical research. Overlake Medical Center is integrating AI into many of its business practices. ChatGPT and Midjourney have garnered headlines…
Discovering Taylor Swift
A mosh-pit era music fan attends the Taylor Swift concert and finds a culture of kindness in Seattle
The takeover was complete. King County Council named July 18th-25th Taylor Swift Week, “for serving as a positive role model for women and girls,” the proclamation read. She would become the first artist to play Lumen Field two nights in a row. I said to myself: that’s cool, with a shrug. I was not a Taylor…
The Magicians of Memory
Could Alzheimer's be cured here? Maybe, right now, that's not the point
For Joel Loiacono, it’s personal. His mother died of Alzheimer’s disease. His father-in-law and several aunts and uncles battled dementia. As regional director for Eastern Washington and North Idaho of the Washington state chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Loiacono has spent the past 26 years working to reduce risk, promote early detection, and offer resources…
Summer of Swipe
A newly divorced mom recounts her first attempts at online dating
“Persians love white girls,” he said before kissing my clavicle. His assertion took me by surprise. The whole situation did. I couldn’t have imagined I’d be necking with a 28-year-old, part-time DJ as a 36-year-old all-the-time mom. How did I get here? A few months before, a wild Saturday night might have involved a babysitter…
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