(Photo courtesy of the Burke Museum)

Plastic is an inescapable part of everyday life. It’s in the phone, tablet or computer you’re reading this on. The water bottle you lug to the gym is probably plastic. Even the toothbrush you used this morning is made from the ubiquitous material.

It’s a wonderful invention that made many of our modern marvels possible, but it comes at a cost: Plastic is difficult to recycle, doesn’t biodegrade, and contains chemicals that can poison marine life when not properly disposed.

Both sides of that discussion are represented at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture’s latest exhibit, Plastics Unwrapped. The exhibit, which examines the past, present, and future of plastics, runs through May 27; Arts Dawg patrons will get an up-close look at the exhibit, along with remarks from exhibit developer Ruth Pelz, on May 16.

The exhibit starts with the history of plastics and brings to life a piece of pre-World War II Americana by showcasing objects made before plastics took hold in manufacturing. Some of the more puzzling objects on display include a jar coated with pitch to hold water, a hat made from cedar bark, and a rain coat made from sea mammal innards. (Yes, really. “It’s beautiful,” Pelz said.)

From there, “Plastics Unwrapped” uses video, sculpture, text, and more to examine how plastics have taken hold over the past 70 years, how various types of plastics are made, and what happens after we throw them away.

The uglier side of plastics is certainly given its due: One sculpture made from water bottles shows how many are used every second at the University of Washington, and another sculpture shows how many plastic bags are used every quarter-second in the United States. It also explores the challenge of recycling plastics. “You can’t just dump all these plastics together and come out with a water bottle,” Pelz said.

It’s easy to demonize the seedier aspects of plastic; after all, Seattle banned grocery stores from offering plastic bags in July 2012. But the exhibit looks at how plastics helped our culture, especially modern medicine. “You just can’t imagine a glass tube IV,” Pelz said.

The exhibit ends on a hopeful note, offering examples of how companies are altering their practices to use less plastic and sharing with visitors the various ways they can reduce their plastic use. “I hope people will understand that we do have choices to make about how we use plastic, and that they’ll be inspired to use them more responsibly,” Pelz said. “We have to rethink our relationship with plastics.”

If You Go

What: Arts Dawg event in conjunction with “Plastics Unwrapped.” The event includes remarks from exhibit developer Ruth Pelz, a tour of the exhibit, wine, and light appetizers.

Where: Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, 17^th Ave NE and NE 45^th St., Seattle

When: Thursday, May 16, 2013, 6-8 p.m.

Cost: $8.

A traditional night market in Keelung, Taiwan. Photo from “Beef No Guy.”

Night markets are a staple of Taiwanese culture. Popping up as the sun goes down, night markets provide cheap eats, consumer goods and entertainment late into the night all over Taiwan and further abroad. Usually held outdoors, night markets frequently take over busy daytime thoroughfares.

Since 2001, the Taiwanese Student Association has been bringing this slice of Taiwanese culture to campus for one night each year. The TSA’s UW Night Market has grown every year, beginning in the HUB ballroom, then moving to the HUB lawn and then to Red Square. Last year’s market drew over 5,000 attendees to partake in Taiwanese snacks, watch bands and traditional performers, and to play games of chance and skill. People come in from all over the region to attend. Some even drive down from Vancouver, B.C.!

This year’s night market, sponsored in part by the UWAA, promises to be the biggest one yet. I had a chat with Ted Chen, one of the student organizers, and he enthused about the menu (“Over 100 items from 13 vendors!”), the entertainment (two UW alumni, known as “The Fung Brothers,” will share the stage with Filipino-American music phenom Joseph Vincent as special guests), and the games (“You can actually win these!”). The food is a particular point of pride for Chen, who pointed out the traditional night market staples—popcorn chicken, bubble tea and stinky tofu—that will be on offer, as well as harder-to-find Taiwanese specialties like Hakka cuisine, baked pastries and Taiwanese sausages.

The UW Night Market is open to the public. It starts at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 and will close around 10:30. Campus parking is free after noon on Saturdays. The UWAA is proud to be supporting a vibrant campus life; why don’t you stop by and check it out?

“Indian” (Ben Phillips) offers Lil (Sylvia Kowalski) medicine in the first act of UW Drama’s production of “Once Upon A Time 6X In The West” at the Jones Playhouse Theatre. (UW Daily–Photo by Andrew Tat)

What do a down-on-his-luck American Indian impersonator, beer pong, and “The Wizard of Oz” have in common?

They’re all a part of the theatrical menagerie that is the School of Drama’s “Once Upon a Time 6x in the West,” the latest entry in the Arts Dawg series. Though difficult to follow at times, “Once Upon a Time” provided a memorable experience for both myself and Tara, my date for the evening.

Tara and I met 45 minutes before the pre-show reception, getting to know each other over iced teas at Cafe Solstice. The conversation flowed freely as we discussed our respective careers and the uniqueness of this dating series before heading to the evening’s pre-show reception in Parrington Hall.

Settled in with wine, fruit, cheese and crackers, we listened as “Once Upon a Time” director Jeffrey Fracé explained the genesis of the production and decoded the wildly disparate styles we would encounter. Tara would later say that this discussion helped her understand what to expect and prepared her for the variety of styles throughout the two-and-a-half-hour play.

Fracé and crew adapted an original script, “The Story of Little Horse,” for the production. The resulting story follows Lil, an orphan who’s kidnapped and eventually raised in an Old West brothel; the story culminates on Lil’s 13th birthday, when she’s faced with the choice of embracing the bordello life or escaping for something better.

Then again, that’s like saying “Pulp Fiction” is about a boxer or “The Dark Knight” is about a guy in a bat costume. Throughout the production, “Once Upon a Time” reflected its story through the styles of six iconic stage directors, with each act adopting a look and feel unlike any of the others. The first act, for instance, started with a minimalist stage design inspired by English director Peter Brook, who strove to emphasize the actor’s performance over design elements surrounding the action; the set consisted of roughly a dozen bamboo sticks and little else. The fifth act, meanwhile, paid homage to The Wooster Group, a New York City-based experimental theater company, with video projections, disaffected speech, bright lights, and frenetic choreography.

I had little time to make sense of the action as “Once Upon a Time” hopscotched from one style to the next. The sheer spectacle, extreme variation, and occasional musical numbers sometimes distracted from the story; in fact, the actress portraying Lil (Sylvia Kowalski) broke the fourth wall completely at one point, inviting audience members to play the roles of crucial characters — including herself — before talking about a bike ride she had taken earlier that day.

No matter. The unpredictability made for a memorable performance.

That said, I don’t know that it was an ideal first date; an early rape scene, in particular, would have been cringe-worthy even if I wasn’t inches away from someone I’d met only two hours earlier. To her credit, Tara was a good sport, laughing along with the absurdity of the production and making an excellent point after the cast took its final bow: “Once Upon a Time” gave us plenty to talk about afterward.

Here’s the College Inn in 1928:

And here it is today:

It’s nice to see some things don’t change very much.

When the National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) rolls out the red carpet later this week, the next Spielberg or Ephron might be among the 200+ filmmakers whose works will be screened during the four-day festival.

They just might not be able to drive themselves to the screening, and many won’t be able to network over post-festival beers.

NFFTY, entering its seventh year, spotlights 215 films from around the world – all made by directors 22 and younger. Filmmakers come from as far as Denmark and South Africa, but at least two UW students will showcase their work this week: Andrew Mitrack will screen his film “One Way Single,” and Alexis Lee will show “The Face of Facebook.”

The main attraction is the sheer volume of screenings: Films, grouped by genre, will be shown throughout the weekend at SIFF Cinema Uptown in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, with many of the NFFTY filmmakers taking part in question-and-answer sessions and panel discussions on a variety of film-related topics. “These youth are definitely on the fast track,” said NFFTY Managing Director Lindsey LeDuc, ’04.

“Kid” isn’t always a misnomer, either. Children as young as 8 have created films for the festival, where the average film is about eight minutes long.

But teens and college students also take part. Many college filmmakers submit their thesis or class projects for consideration, LeDuc said.

One of those students was filmmaker Champ Ensminger, ’12. In 2011, he submitted “Tonal,” a six-minute film he’d shot for a filmmaking class. The film followed a young man’s addiction and relationship with sounds. Ensminger, who now lives in Brooklyn, won the Audience Award for Experimental Cinema for the film.

But, for Ensminger and so many filmmakers, the real fun begins after the credits roll. “NFFTY was a good showcase of the work you’ve been doing, but that’s where it starts,” he said. “It has to be a springboard for doing more work.”

And that connection is what’s fueled NFFTY’s growth over the years. The screenings themselves are just part of what NFFTY does; student filmmakers talk shop, draw up plans to collaborate, and see what their peers are doing, creating a unique atmosphere of creativity and inspiration that lives on long after the festival finishes each year. “By attending, you get to see the voice of this generation,” LeDuc said. “It’s really powerful to have these young artists from all over the world come together to show what inspires them.”

If You Go

What: National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), showcasing more than 200 films by directors 22 and younger from around the world

Where: Opening Night Gala: Seattle Cinerama, 2110 4^th Ave., Seattle, Wash.; All other events: SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Avenue North, Seattle, Wash.

When: April 25-28; visit nffty.org for a complete schedule of events.

Cost: Opening Night Gala: $35, $25 for youth, $20 per person in groups of 10 or more; All other events: $11, $10 for youth, $9 per person in groups of 10 or more.

More info: Call 206-905-8400 or visit nffty.org.

“Indian” (Ben Phillips) offers Lil (Sylvia Kowalski) medicine in UW Drama’s Once Upon A Time 6X In The West at the Jones Playhouse Theatre. (UW Daily—Photo by Andrew Tat)

Have you ever wondered what Star Wars would have been like if Martin Scorsese had directed it?  How about Nora Ephron? Once Upon a Time 6x in the West will take you on a similar journey, following a single story through the styles of six iconic visionaries of avant-garde theater.

Once Upon a Time 6x follows the story of Lil, an orphan girl coming of age in the Wild West. Coming at the story from wildly different perspectives, from the stripped down austerity of Peter Brook to the madcap mashups of the Gob Squad, will provide unique insights into the art of storytelling.

Read a review from the UW Daily.

Director Jeffrey Fracé shares insights into his production, and describes the various theatrical styles you’ll see in Once Upon a Time 6x in the West, in an interview with Professor Odai Johnson:

If You Go

What: Once Upon a Time 6x in the West, the latest production from UW Drama. UWAA members can sign up through the Arts Dawg program, which includes a pre-show reception with free wine and appetizers, as well as an exclusive talk with director Jeffrey Fracé.

Where: Jones Playhouse Theatre, 4045 University Way NE. Arts Dawg reception on April 25 in Parrington Hall, UW Campus

When: April 19-28. Arts Dawg performance April 25, 2013. Performance begins at 7:30; reception begins at 6:30

Cost: Regular $18; UWAA members $13 when purchasing online in advance. Prices go up $2 at the door.

The Yoshino cherry trees, which blossom for a week or two every March, symbolize the end of winter, the onset of spring, and countless photo opportunities in the Quad. But it wasn’t always that way.

Here, for example, was the Quad in 1942. Notice anything missing?

The Quad (circa 1942)

Until the early 1960s, the Quad was an open, treeless yard that bore little resemblance to the iconic gathering space of today. The brick paths were almost replaced with asphalt in 1963, but the plan was abandoned in the wake of pressure from student groups.

The Quad as we know it today first took shape in 1964, when UW President Charles Odegaard arranged for the 31 cherry trees to be transplanted from the arboretum to keep them from being bulldozed as part of the State Route 520 construction project. They found a home in the Quad because there was nowhere else to put them, but the trees quickly became a cherished part of campus lore.

Yoshino cherry trees live for 60-100 years; as they grow old and die, the trees are replaced with younger trees grown at a nursery near Mount Vernon.

Walk through the Quad this week or next — when the blossoms are near full bloom — and you’ll see a stunning display of pink clouds delicate petals. But don’t take our word for it; see for yourself in this photo, which was taken in 2013 near the location of the photo above:

The Quad in 2013 (Photo by Greg Flanders)

Two student groups hosted the Voice of UW, a talent competition, earlier this year.

When the “The Voice of China” – a Chinese off-shoot of the popular NBC reality talent show “The Voice” – debuted in 2012, some UW students saw the chance to showcase the talent on campus. That led members of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association and Taiwanese Overseas Student Association to create the Voice of UW, a month-long singing competition that culminated in a final competition in Kane Hall earlier this year. It  was one of several student-run events the UWAA is sponsoring this year. “We’re proud of our sponsorship,” said UWAA Executive Director Paul Rucker, ’95, ’02. “It’s part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the student experience.”

Sixty students initially signed up for the Voice of UW competition; following the format of the TV show, they performed Chinese pop songs before four judges whose backs were turned. Sixteen students were invited to take part in the second round, which consisted of duets. The top eight finishers then competed in the final competition, which took place on Feb. 16 before 600 students in Kane Hall.

Vera Tao, a member of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association and one of the event organizers, said the Voice of UW created a sense of camaraderie between the audience and singers. “It’s not just a singing competition,” she said. “It’s more like a performance.”

All eight participants received $50; other prizes included coupons to EnKore Karaoke and iPod Shuffles. The winner, Jingyi Fan, also won a set of headphones. More than the prizes, though, the Voice of UW gave students a chance to have fun and share their talent in front of peers, Tao said. “Some of them, it’s the first time in their life singing in front of a lot of people.”

About 80 nursing students attended the Nursing Career Fair to get the inside track on careers earlier this year.

For roughly 80 nursing students, January’s Nursing Career Fair wasn’t just about finding a job in tough economic times; it was a key step on the path to a post-college career.

The annual event, which took place on Jan. 26, 2013 at UW Seattle’s South Campus Center, brought together nearly a dozen regional recruiters and employers, including Kindred Hospital, the UW Medical Center, and Harborview Medical Center. The UWAA sponsored the career fair. “We were proud to be part of such an exciting event,” said UWAA Executive Director Paul Rucker, ’95, ’02. “It’s great to see so many students getting a jumpstart on their careers.”

Those 10 employers offered advice for those seeking positions or residencies, responded to concerns about the job search process, and gave insight on the day-to-day workings of a hospital. “They were very open to questions and to give advice, and that brought down the barriers,” said Alina Palanchuk, president of the UW Professional Organization of Nursing Students and one of the event organizers.

Palanchuk, who will graduate in June with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, came to the event with some trepidation. “I wasn’t sure how to start looking for jobs,” she admitted.

So she found it refreshing to talk with employers about finding a job in pediatrics. They explained what skills and attributes are important for pediatric nurses, and encouraged her to talk to a manager about her aspirations. The one-on-one connections gave Palanchuk confidence and hope for the post-college career search. “That’s what the focus is on, and that’s the biggest concern for nursing students,” she said.

John Castle

Every year, Creating a Company, as the course is dubbed, becomes less a class than a crash course in entrepreneurship. Groups of eager students team up, form a company, apply for a $1,000-$2,000 loan from the Foster School of Business, and spend the next few months hawking their product or service to the wider world.

Past companies have sold goods ranging from Husky apparel to glass jars of cake mix; other companies have launched art galleries and driven students to the mountain passes for a day on the slopes. (Read below for photos and memories of some of the course’s most memorable products.)

At the heart of it all is lecturer John Castle, who has taught the class for the past 12 years – and who will retire at year’s end.

In 2001, Castle had stepped down as CEO from Cantametrix, a music software company he helped found, when a neighbor and former UW professor approached him about inheriting the Creating a Company course. With more than 40 years of business acumen, Castle didn’t lack experience: Before joining the UW, he had served as CEO of Hamilton-Thorn, a medical electronics and diagnostics company; cofounded Seragen, a biotechnology company; and was a partner in Washington Biotechnology Funding, a seed venture capital fund specializing in medical technologies.

Since then, he’s drawn on that extensive experience as would-be CEOS have created and developed dozens of companies. Castle’s only rule in approving companies and dispersing loans is “Do no harm,” meaning that students can’t, say, promote underage drinking by selling shot glasses to fraternities and sororities on campus. (This actually happened.)

When the class ends, students return any profits to the Foster School and can buy their company for $1 to keep it going. Few companies have outlived their academic years, but Castle knows the experience will remain long after grades are posted. “Whether or not they learn how to do it well, they will learn whether or not they want to start their own business.” Castle said. “This is as realistic of an experience of entrepreneurship as we can make it.”

Read on for a look back at some of the most memorable products and services offered by students during Castle’s tenure.

Castle (mostly) lets the students’ imaginations run wild as they come up with company concepts, secure funding from the Foster School, and develop their product or service over the course of about six months. Here are some of the notable products devised by Castle’s enterprising students.

MS Children’s Book

MS Children’s Book

William Khazaal came up with the idea for a children’s book about multiple sclerosis after being diagnosed with the disease in 2009 and struggling with how to tell his son. So he opted to collaborate with writer Zac Raasch and illustrator Amy Donohoe for his project, MS Children’s Book.

Khazaal partnered with nonprofits and sold the book at regional multiple sclerosis charity events – all to great success. Khazaal earned $12,000 in profits, returning $2,000 to the Foster School and donating $10,000 to charity. “It’s a marvelous product,” Castle said. “It was a remarkable success story.”

UW montage poster

University of Washington montage poster

The poster, created in 2002, remains a memorable project for Castle. “This was sort of one of the greatest successes and one of the greatest failures,” he said. “As a product it’s one of the best ever produced in the class.”

The students were gifted the rights to the photos and printed about 300 posters. The poster went on sale in the University Book Store, and the team members sold them to friends and family. But, according to Castle, they didn’t put in much effort beyond the initial push. “In the end, they just did a very poor job of selling,” Castle said. “We had a lot of them left.”

Journey Maps motorcycle route maps

Journey Maps motorcycle maps

“It seemed like a very good idea,” said Castle of the two-sided fold-out map of motorcycle routes throughout Washington. Western Washington routes adorned one side, with eastern Washington routes on the other; the map also included insets listing restaurants, gas stations and lodging resources.

The plan was to get motorcycle accessory shops to sell the maps to their customers. “In the end, the bike shops really didn’t want very many of them,” Castle said. They printed 3,000 maps and ended up with several boxes’ worth of leftovers. “This was the biggest financial disaster we had,” he said.

S’more Amor

S’More Amor

Castle’s students devised an idea to sell s’mores ingredients, but the idea never caught fire. For starters, the ingredients were initially all packaged together; the marshmallow moisture turned the graham crackers into soggy messes before long.

The students responded by packaging each of the items separately; sales never met expectations, but Castle admired the students’ resolve. “Trying to get five dollars for a couple of marshmallows is tough to do,” he said. “But they figured out how to do it, put the work into it, and were passionate about it. I think they did a good job.”

Courage Cakes

Courage Cakes

The idea behind Courage Cakes was simple: Someone could open the jar of cake mix, add water, microwave the contents, and wind up with a miniature cake. The students created the cakes thinking that buyers could send them to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“They did okay,” Castle said. “It never really caught on. You’d think something like this would catch people’s eyes, but they were a little skeptical of it. I don’t think, in the end, they knew why they didn’t do better. But they did okay.”

Bar Blitz

Bar Blitz

The students made deals with four bars and became designated drivers for busloads of students. “They barhopped in a bus,” Castle said. “They were quite successful. The students liked going.”

“The idea, when they got into it, was that they were going to basically have a big party once a week, paid for by us or their ticket buyers. In the end, what they discovered is that they were cleaning the vomit out of the bus. The students were doing exactly what they expected. They were getting drunk, they knew they had a ride home, they were raucous, they were a pain in the ass. So the big party they had turned out to be a real job for them.”

This man, thought to be radio DJ Stan Spiegle, appears in the the newsreel footage that sheds a light on Grays Harbor County history.

We ran an article in the latest issue of Columns about a UW-produced documentary centering around newsreel footage that peeled back the curtain on life in 1920s Grays Harbor County.

“Grays Harbor Happenings” looks at life before the Great Depression in this bustling coastal town. The 45-minutes of film that inspired the documentary keeps the past alive on the Libraries Special Collections website, offering short clips of events big and small. Browse the collection for a few minutes, and you’ll see footage of a shipwreck, log-rolling contests, baseball games, an ice cream social, picnics and more.

The newsreel footage, originally shown before full-length feature films, depicts a sense of time and place that resonates nearly a century later, said Hannah Palin, film archives specialist with Libraries Special Collections. “You capture people, behavior, customs, and the environment, and it’s actually moving,” she said. “It helps our current experience if we can see how we were in the past.”

Each of the roughly 50 clips contains its own back story, and some of those stories are still being uncovered today.

Here are a few of the clips with unusual histories or notable stars, along with some background information, courtesy of Palin.

This unidentified man is thought to be local radio DJ Stan Spiegle

Palin believes that the stoic man on-screen from :24-:35 is Stan Spiegle, a  DJ with KXRO Radio in Grays Harbor County.

The radio station was owned at the time by Roy Olmstead, a famous Seattle-based bootlegger during Prohibition. Olmstead would play certain songs with the station’s radio broadcasts to signal boats that it was safe to smuggle bootlegged booze into Grays Harbor. “I don’t know how much Stan knew about this,” Palin admits. “There’s this funny tie with this little 20-second clip to a whole history of Prohibition.”

James M. Phillips, mayor of Aberdeen, address a crowd at what appears to be Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds

American Indian James M. Phillips moved from Pennsylvania to Aberdeen after college, where he launched an improbably successful political career. He began practicing law in 1907, was later elected mayor of Aberdeen, and went onto serve as a Superior Court Judge from 1929 to 1950. Phillips is thought to be the first American Indian to serve as a judge in the Washington state court system. “It obviously didn’t hinder his politics at all,” Palin said.

Mel Ingram and the Aberdeen Black Cats win the Timber League Pennant

Mel Ingram was a baseball player in the late 1920s with the Aberdeen Black Cats, part of the semi-professional Timber League. The team took its logo from a good luck charm posted at logging camps throughout the region, a nod to the town’s labor-friendly policies under Mayor James M. Phillips. Palin said that Ingram might have once shared the field with Babe Ruth when the legendary slugger played an exhibition game in Tacoma.

Ana Moura dazzled the audience on Saturday. (Photo courtesy Isabel Pinto)

One of my tasks as part of this series was to write honestly about the Arts Dawg experience as a date night idea. We in the UWAA naturally felt it would make a great date – Appetizers! Wine! The arts! – but my first two dates admitted that they wouldn’t have thought to attend dance productions or symphony performances on their own.

Thankfully, Ella Mae, my date on Saturday, couldn’t have been more excited to see Ana Moura.

We talked briefly about the Portuguese fado singer over coffee while escaping the Seattle rain and waiting for the pre-show reception. Ella Mae, also an occasional singer, had brushed up on Moura’s work beforehand and found herself entranced by Moura’s voice. “Smooth” became the descriptor of the night.

We shifted topics after a few minutes and spent much of the hour-long coffee date talking about travel. We shared our travel philosophies– “get lost” and “get off the beaten path” – talked about places we’d been – like the Philippines, New York, and New Orleans – and destinations we’d like to visit – basically “everywhere on Earth.”

We couldn’t go to Portugal on this night, so Moura brought a taste of the country to Seattle.

Moura is a young star in the storied fado scene, which started nearly 200 years ago as a genre similar to American blues music; it sprung out of poor and disenfranchised communities, and most song topics touched on loss, yearning, and heartbreak.

Those themes were evident on Saturday, as Moura performed one tear-jerking tune after another. She sung all but two songs in Portuguese, leaning heavily on her latest release “Desfado,” for the set’s material. Maybe Ella Mae and I were actually better off for not understanding Moura’s devastating lyrics; how awkward is it, after all, to spend a blind date listening to songs of failed romance, sorrow, and sadness?

Whether performing a folk-inspired number or traditional fado tune, Moura enchanted throughout her two-hour set. The Portuguese might have been lost on Ella Mae and I, but Moura’s voice – which could soar just as easily as it could crawl from note to melancholy note – kept us engaged throughout the night. Some feelings and emotions transcend language.

Two hours and one encore later, no one in the crowd was ready to call it a night. Nearly everyone stood and clapped along when Moura ditched the sorrowful tunes for more upbeat, fast-paced numbers. As Moura and her band took a bow and waved to the crowd, Ella Mae turned to me and shouted over the applause. “I loved that,” she said. “So smooth.”

Ludovic Morlot guest conducted the UW Symphony on Feb. 28 at Meany Hall.

I’m a relative newcomer to Seattle, having moved here seven months ago from a suburban outpost of Portland, Oregon. My earlier memories of the city consisted of little more than Seattle Mariners games, the fish throwers at Pike Place Market, and beignets at Toulouse Petit, so the city still feels like the world’s largest playground as I explore its diverse neighborhoods.

Luckily, Stacey, a lifelong Seattle resident and my date for the most recent Arts Dawg event, was a good sport about my infatuation. Our date started over coffee at Café Solstice on the Ave. I spent much of the hour peppering her with questions and observations about Seattle – so much so, I later asked if I was boring her with my nonstop chatter about the low-key nature of Eastlake and the fun bars in Ballard. “Not at all,” she said. “It’s fun to hear a fresh perspective from an outsider.”

After an hour of Seattle observations and get-to-know you conversation, we walked to Meany Hall for the University Symphony’s recital.

Going into the performance, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Stacey and I agreed that we respect the arts but admitted that we wouldn’t think to attend a symphony performance. My exposure to classical music has been mostly limited to old Looney Tunes cartoons, and Stacey had enough of symphonies after spending much of her childhood as a flautist. “It wouldn’t be at the top of my list,” she said.

The University Symphony led off with Un Sourire by Olivier Messiaen. The piece alternated between soft, string-driven sections that sounded like they could soundtrack a sunset and skittish sections keyed by fast-paced xylophones. It was a shrewd decision to open the set with such a gripping number; it grabbed our attention and kept us on edge throughout the piece. I liked the uneasy feeling that I didn’t know where it was going, but Stacey was more measured in her enthusiasm. “That was so jarring,” she said almost as soon as the final note finished.

The first piece following intermission – and my personal highlight of the evening – was Maurice Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand Alone, starring soloist Ching-Yueh Chen. The soloist dazzled as he played the piano with – you guessed it – only his left hand. I couldn’t stop staring as I wondered how he made such beautiful, intoxicating music … one-handed, no less. Going into the performance, I don’t know what I expected, but seeing a soloist earn a scattered standing ovation with only his left hand certainly wasn’t on the list.

A lesser writer would say that we, ahem, changed our tune afterward or that the performance struck a chord. But the truth is that I was transfixed. It’s one thing to hear classical music in the background of a big-budget action movie or an NFL highlight reel. But it’s another experience entirely to see more than 70 musicians working together, telling stories with the notes, and creating something positively grand. Even Stacey couldn’t help but agree once the performance concluded. “This was a lot of fun,” she said as we walked out of Meany Hall and into the rainy Seattle night.

Florangela Davila (photo credit Conrado Tapado)

Part-time lecturer Florangela Davila spent nearly 20 years in journalism before coming to the UW, but she knows that most of her students won’t wind up as newspaper reporters. Instead, Davila’s students are more likely to express an interest in public relations, event planning, and nonprofit work.

But Davila argues that the art of storytelling knows no professional boundaries, and the importance of telling a good tale is at the heart of her courses, which have covered multimedia storytelling, diversity in reporting, writing for mass communication, and interviewing.

Davila, who teaches in the Department of Communication, brings storytelling experience in a variety of media to every class. She earned her Masters in Science in Journalism from Columbia University in 1992, covered a variety of beats for The Seattle Times between 1994 and 2008, and has freelanced for KPLU, KCTS, and NPR. “What I always stress is how the skills journalists practice – and have practiced – are very applicable to other industries,” she said. “You need to be able to write. You need to be able to fact-check and be credible. You need to know which sources to trust.”

Davila, mindful of the changing times, shows students how to use the latest technologies and trends to tell powerful stories. She encourages her multimedia storytelling students to shoot video, record audio, and take notes with their iPhones, for example. She also works with students to make new technologies like Twitter less overwhelming and more accessible. “I’ve been there, and I’ve done that,” she said. “I think I’m able to sympathize and empathize with my students.”

Davila hopes that her lessons transcend new technologies, though. She preaches the fundamentals of telling a good story – “What is a story? Whose story are you going to tell? What are the facts?” she asks her students – and trains them to keep an open mind as new tools become available. “There’s always technology,” she said. “There are other ways to tell stories.”

But that storytelling acumen won’t come without experience, she said. Wanna-be writers should start a blog, and amateur filmmakers should make videos whenever possible, Davila recommends. Even flyers for campus events or club newsletters demonstrate experience and skill to would-be employers. “There’s nothing stopping you,” she tells students. “You should be creating.”

Ana Moura will bring her soulful brand of fado to the University of Washington on March 2, 2013. (Photo (c) Paulo Segadaes)

Valentine’s Day candy might be relegated to the clearance rack at Safeway, but feelings of love, loss, and yearning endure. Those themes will take center stage when Portuguese fado singer Ana Moura performs as part of the UW World Series’ World Music & Theatre Series early next month.

The concert is the latest in the Arts Dawg series, which introduces UWAA members to the University’s fine and performing arts offerings. Arts Dawg ticketholders receive discounted admission, a pre-show reception with free wine and appetizers, and a talk with Michelle Witt, executive director of Meany Hall and artistic director of the UW World Series.

Witt, during her discussion, will give an overview of Portuguese fado, a mournful style of music that began in the early 1800s. The genre was born when poor and disenfranchised communities in Portugal gathered to express their despair – not unlike the blues in America. “It’s an incredibly soulful form of vocal expression,” Witt said.

Two hundred years later, Ana Moura is one of the biggest, most compelling names in the genre. Since releasing her debut album in 2004, Moura has gained acclaim for blending the deep-rooted fado traditions with modern influences such as Nina Simone and Billie Holiday.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In addition to performing around the world, Moura has shared stages with the Rolling Stones and Prince. That pop music influence, along with a broad vocal range, makes Moura a compelling figure in the international music scene, Witt said. “She bridges a very traditional, important art form, but is very connected to the contemporary popular music world.”

Moura’s tales of longing, pain, and regret will still resonate with audiences who don’t speak Portuguese, Witt said. “It’s an incredibly powerful experience.”

If You Go

What: Ana Moura, in concert. UWAA members can sign up as part of the Arts Dawg promotion, which includes a pre-show reception with free wine and appetizers, as well as a talk with UW World Series Artistic Director Michelle Witt.

Where: Meany Hall for the Performing Arts, UW Seattle campus.

When: 8 p.m. March 2; the pre-show reception will start at 7 p.m. in the Meany Hall theater lobby.

Cost: $34-$38; $33 for UWAA members; $32-$36 for UW faculty, staff, and alumni; $20 for students.

Information: Arts Dawg at ArtsUW.

Bill Walton, speaking on Feb. 13, 2013, at the University of Washington

Few speakers are more qualified to talk about overcoming obstacles and perseverance than basketball legend Bill Walton. He played an integral part on three of the sport’s most celebrated teams while battling a steady barrage of knee and foot injuries. He later overcame a stutter and established a post-playing career as a color commentator. Most recently, he recovered from a debilitating back injury and returned to both broadcasting and public speaking.

So it’s no surprise that basketball was only one of the myriad topics Walton discussed during his visit to the University of Washington last week.

The event was part of the nine-week Walton on Wheels Tour, which featured the basketball legend speaking at Pac-12 schools by day and broadcasting Pac-12 basketball games by night. He arrived on campus to promote–and call–that night’s game between the Huskies and Oregon Ducks.

Walton had plenty of material to draw from during the event. He first rose to national fame as a member of the legendary UCLA basketball team coached by John Wooden; Walton was part of the UCLA team that won 88 consecutive games. He was then taken as the number one overall draft pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1974 NBA Draft and helped lead the franchise to its only NBA title in 1977. Injuries derailed a promising career, but Walton stayed close to the game by becoming a color commentator after retiring.

Walton has since gained acclaim for his positive demeanor, rambling nature, and love of life. It was all on display last week as Walton discussed that evening’s game, his career, his mentors, and the importance of a positive attitude. Here, edited for space and clarity, are a few of Walton’s thoughts:

Walton spoke glowingly about his college coach, John Wooden:

“When you think about what John Wooden taught, he taught us how to think, how to use that library, how to use that smartphone, how to drink deeply from all sources of knowledge. He taught us how to dream, and he taught us how to compete.”

Walton spoke about his heroes, including Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bill Russell:

“They lived, they played with passion and purpose. Their life was not about stuff. Their life was not about material accumulation and physical gratification. They were the antithesis of selfishness and greed. If you think of all the problems that we have in whatever it is that we’re facing, it all comes back to selfishness and greed.”

Walton used basketball as a metaphor for life:

“Everybody’s involved. In basketball, you only have to wait for the opening tip. And then there are endless possibilities to make a positive contribution. The same way when you guys get out of bed and put your feet on the floor, you gotta know in your mind, ‘Today, I’m gonna do so many fantastic things that, by the time I get back here to this bed, I’m going to be so tired. I’m gonna win some, I’m gonna lose some, but I’m gonna chase it down. I’m going to build my life, and I’m gonna try to make other people’s lives better.’”

Walton also joked about his reputation as a boisterous, scattershot speaker:

“My wife, she always tells me that my mind is like a slot machine, where the wheels are turning all the time. You never know where it’s going to end up.”

Walton closed by calling on those in attendance to make a difference in the world:

“Make a difference. Walk like a giant in the land. This DOES matter. Come on, hold people to higher standards. If you don’t like what you see, say something! What are they gonna say? ‘You’re wrong?’ You’re not wrong for what you think. You’re entitled to your own beliefs. Come on, let’s go! Get in the game of life. Build it! Build more libraries! Chase it down! Write more books! Stand up there, bring our troops home, let’s go.”

Ludovic Morlot will guest conduct the UW Symphony on Feb. 28 at Meany Hall.

Ludovic Morlot has made a big splash in his first few years as music director of the Seattle Symphony, drawing praise for triumphantly leading his ensembles through notoriously difficult works. Later this month, Morlot will lead another orchestra in a challenging piece when he guest-conducts the University Symphony through Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé. Blog Down to Washington caught up with Morlot after rehearsal, and he agreed to answer a few questions about the concert, his thoughts on conducting a student orchestra, and the importance of music in our lives.

Blog Down to Washington: Some of the audience members will be Arts Dawgs pass holders. As part of this series, they’ll be seeing a dance recital, live theater, a museum exhibition—that is, these are people who are interested in the arts, but not necessarily coming from an orchestral music background. Do you have any advice for people who are maybe not as experienced with classical music when they come to this concert?

Ludovic Morlot: I think that if this is the first time they experience live symphony music, they should feel very lucky. One of the things I’m trying to do with the Seattle Symphony is to really create that first opportunity to experience live sound as early as possible in our lives. Once we’ve created that memory, it doesn’t really matter if you like Ravel or Mozart or Pink Floyd, or whatever.

Beyond that, there is the element of experiencing a live performance. Music is a performing art—Classical music is not something you hang on a wall. Each time you start a concert you have to start from scratch. You don’t know if the oboe reed is going to be splitting well that night or if something’s going to go wrong—it has that element of adrenaline that one would identify with any other performing art: dance, theater, even sports, to some extent. So this is what I think would be easy for people coming from different backgrounds to identify with: that experience of live performance. The excitement and the energy that we can create on stage is what I hope people can get out of it. And the sheer beauty of the music, of course.

I know that this concert also features many different soloists from the University, so it’s an exciting night just for that, and there will be great variety, with [a concerto by] Prokofiev and Ravel’s Left Hand Concerto, so my collaboration with the orchestra is only a small part of this big deal.

BDTW: You’ve been in Seattle almost two years now. How do you like it?

LM: Oh, I love it here. It’s just been quite a journey, quite a busy one. I love being able to finally start a collaboration with the UW, and I know that there’s more to come, so I’m really excited. The work we do with the orchestras in the University is a combination of really trying to tell a story, put on a good concert—that’s very important—but it’s also a work in progress. This is what I want to emphasize: the concert is one thing, but beyond that, is establishing as a working relationship over the years. [Ravel’s  Daphnis et Chloé] is complex stuff—the students are not going to go out after three rehearsals and perform Daphnis at the best level you can possibly imagine, but what seems very important is how we can evolve from one week to the next together and how the students can take some information home so that their individual level of playing is transformed—overnight, really.

BDTW: Is that the difference between working with students and professionals?

LM: Well with professionals it’s actually a little bit of the same tune. As a music director, not only do you want to do a great concert, you always envision where you want the orchestra to be five years now. So it’s not different; the only difference is that my relationship with this orchestra here is very new. It may start at a different level, but the focus is the same. I feel privileged and excited about this collaboration.

BDTW: It’s clear you see these collaborations as an important part of your job here in Seattle

LM: Exactly. It’s about creating a memory and an understanding and making sure all these young people sitting in the orchestra know the power of music—the mission for all of us is that it becomes infectious. You know, it doesn’t really matter what level you play, just the fact that it’s part of your life makes a big difference.

Looks harmless, doesn’t he? But he’s coming after your grammatical crotchets and linguistic hobgoblins–your lexical bugaboos too! (Photo from www.lel.ed.ac.uk/~gpullum/)

Before embarking on a career in linguistics, Geoffrey K. Pullum could be found gadding about 1960s Germany playing piano for Sonny Stewart and the Dynamos (listed as “Jeff Pullem”) and later for Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band (that’s him rocking the organ in this YouTube video). The stresses of life on the road led him to eventually abandon his musical career and instead pursue “the glamour and excitement of becoming a linguist.”

In the years since, in his classes and as a contributor to the popular linguistics blog Language Log, Pullum has engaged in battle with what he terms “prescriptivist poppycock.” On Feb. 12, he will deliver a free talk at Kane Hall (reservations are full, but there might be space for walk-ups).

The lecture is titled “The scandal of English grammar teaching: Ignorance of grammar, damage to writing skills, and what we can do about it,” but the scandal probably isn’t what you think. It’s not the shopkeepers advertising “Banana’s $0.99 cents” or even texting teens who are in Pullum’s cross-hairs; it’s “the rule-givers and knuckle-rappers and nitpickers” who have turned explorations of grammar into an extended game of “Gotcha!”

Have a problem with split infinitives? Does the singular “they” make you twitch? Do you get the vapors when you see a stranded preposition? Are you adamant that “between” can only be used when talking about two things, and “among” must be used for numbers greater than two? You may be a prescriptivist. Furthermore, you may be in the grip of what Pullum calls “Zombie rules:” dictates handed down from your English teacher—frequently invented by someone with a usage guide to sell—that have no basis in English as it is actually used.

Pullum, like most professional linguists, belongs to what is called—imprecisely and inexpertly—the “descriptivist” school of linguistics. Descriptivists are more interested in observing and describing language as it is actually used, rather than enforcing rules of “proper” usage (the purview of prescriptivists). According to descriptivists, grammatical nitpickers miss the point, interfere with clear communication, turn normally well-adjusted and perfectly competent speakers and writers into nervous wrecks and are, quite frequently, simply wrong.

It’s not that descriptivists believe that “if someone said something somewhere it must be correct”—a claim frequently leveled by prescriptivists—English has rules, and ungrammatical speaking and writing is still ungrammatical. It’s that these rules should not be imposed from personal prejudice, but derived from how words are used by people generally considered skilled at a language. If “they” can only be used as a plural, Pullum argues, then Chaucer, Shakespeare, the authors of the King James Bible, Swift, Byron, Austen, Carroll, Wilde, Orwell, and Stoker and countless others, whose writing is otherwise held in high esteem, are grammar nitwits. Or one can accept that Strunk & White’s much-beloved Elements of Style (which holds a special place in Pullum’s heart: see here and here) is wrong.

Heresy or common sense? Leave your opinion in the comments!

Mmmmmm. Coffee

For many college students, coffee is an integral part of school life. As we students cram in last minute papers and stay up late studying for exams, coffee often becomes a necessity. Fortunately for the thousands of students at UW, Seattle is the coffee-drinking capitol of the country.

Over the nearly four years that I have been studying at UW, I have probably drunk hundreds of cups of coffee. Here is a review of 10 coffee shops that I frequent regularly around UW.

1.Orin’s Place, PACCAR Hall

Location: 1st floor of PACCAR Hall, North Campus

Coffee: 6/10
Studying Ability: 5/10
Crowd: Undergraduate and graduate students
Why I come here: Studying in between classes

Review: One of the newer cafes on campus, Orin’s Place was added when PACCAR Hall was refurbished. Orin’s serves Starbucks coffee, unlike many of the other campus coffee shops, which serve Tully’s. The cafe is comprised of a section of PACCAR Hall’s first floor and contains several tables and chairs where many students choose to eat their lunches brought from home. Since the cafe is located right next to a main staircase, it can get extremely noisy during the 10-minute passing periods when students are getting out of their classes.

2. Parnassus Café, Art Building

Location: basement of the Art Building, North Campus

Coffee: 9/10
Studying Ability: 9/10
Crowd: Art students
Why I come here: For studying in between classes, reading, and to drink espresso.

Review: Parnassus is easily my favorite coffee shop on campus. The espresso drinks are always great and the cafe makes the dank basement of the Art building seem quite a bit cozier. Since there aren’t too many outlets, many students like myself choose to bring printed-out readings and study materials.

3. Suzzallo Café, Suzzallo Graduate Library

Location: 1st floor of Suzzallo, Central Campus

Coffee: 3/10
Studying Ability: 7/10
Crowd: Students, TA’s, Professors, Faculty
Why I come here: For studying in between classes and to grab coffee before class

Review: Suzzallo Café is probably the most frequented cafe on campus because it is located right next to Red Square. The coffee drinks served here may taste a little burnt, but nonetheless Suzzallo Café is a great place to get coffee to drink during class.

4. Café Solstice

Location: 4116 University Way NE, between 41st & 42nd streets

Coffee: 8/10
Studying Ability: 3/10
Crowd: Mainly students
Why I come here: white chocolate banana bread

Review: Solstice has really great drip coffee and a yummy selection of desserts. The service does tend to be on the slower side, which is fine if you plan on sitting down with your friends. The cafe is darkly lit and the music played is usually loud so I find it hard to study here. However the casual atmosphere makes this cafe a fun place to meet up with friends and hang out for a bit. This cafe also serves beer, which is attractive to the 21-and-over crowd. I visit Solstice for their amazing white chocolate banana bread that I crave every so often.

5. Starbucks

Location: 4147 University WA NE

Coffee: 8/10
Studying Ability: 2/10
Crowd: Everyone
Why I come here: Quick service for when I am in a rush

Review: Although this Starbucks is on the smaller side, the baristas are always upbeat and make sure that drinks are made quickly. They recently got rid of many of their tables, so it is nearly impossible to find seating. Whenever I am in a rush to grab a cup of coffee, I visit this Starbucks because I know that the service is fast and the drinks always taste the same.

6. Café on the Ave

Location: 4201 University Way NE

Coffee: 9/10
Studying Ability: 7/10
Crowd: Students
Why I come here: Espresso coffee, studying with other people

Review: Café on the Ave is a popular place for many students to go to study with other people. The tables are on the larger side, and there are several outlets lining the walls. The cafe has a wide variety of breakfast and lunch menu items, but the prices tend to be on the higher end of the spectrum. However, the price of the coffee drinks seems reasonable and the drinks always taste good. The cafe can get extremely noisy sometimes, to the point where it is hard to hold a conversation with the person sitting across from you.

7. Allegro Espresso Bar

Location: 4214 University Way NE

Coffee: 6/10
Studying Ability: 8/10
Crowd: Students
Why I come here: To relax and blog

Review: Café Allegro is supposedly Seattle’s oldest espresso bar. Despite the fact that Allegro is tucked away in a hard-to-find alleyway off the Ave, this cafe is nearly always crowded. The quality of the coffee can vary a little depending on the barista, but the desserts are consistently good. This cafe is filled with outlets so many students choose to bring their laptops to study here.

8. Ugly Mug Café

Location: 1309 NE 43rd St

Coffee: 10/10
Studying Ability: 9/10
Crowd: students
Why I come here: Curried Lentil Soup, Espresso Drinks

Review: Ugly Mug is my favorite place to get coffee in the University District for many reasons. The baristas are always nice and the quality of the drinks is consistently top notch. The ambiance is very cozy and casual, and is a great atmosphere for studying. The sandwiches are huge and the soups are delicious. This cafe might not be ideal for bigger groups since the tables are small and the cafe is a bit quieter than other coffee shops. Ugly Mug gets very crowded around lunchtime.

9. Starbucks, University Village

Location: 2650 NE 49th St

Coffee: 7/10
Studying Ability: 8/10
Why I come here: For studying long hours and getting coffee to-go while shopping at U Village

Review: This Starbucks coffee shop is very large and is filled with different sized tables and couches. The baristas work very quickly so even though the line can be long, the wait is short. Many students choose to study here because there is so much seating and a lot of outlets. Some students stay for hours during the weekend to get a nice chunk of studying done.

10. Zoka, Coffee, University Village

Location: 2901 NE Blakeley St

Coffee: 10/10
Studying Ability: 10/10
Crowd: Graduate students, families with small children, businessmen and women
Why I come here: For studying long hours and writing essays

Review: The baristas are always extremely friendly at Zoka. This specific location has dozens of tables and outlets. In fact, I was at Zoka during finals week where, despite the throngs of studying students, I still managed to find a table and outlet. Zoka also sells coffee that they directly purchase from coffee farmers in various Latin American countries which is neat.

How about you? What were some of your favorite places to grab a cup of coffee near the University of Washington?

The next day, looking for a new line of study, Smith asked a friend on the bus about his major. The psychology major talked up his program, leading Smith to take an Introduction to Psychology course. “Almost from the first day, I said ‘This is for me.’ I found my passion,” Smith said.

That was 1959. Smith started at the UW a decade later and has remained busy ever since. In the 40 years since, he’s helped UW student-athletes improve performance, worked with professional athletes, and mentored countless students as a Professor of Psychology and the department’s Director of Clinical Training. It’s that dedication that led one student to nominate Smith for a profile in this space.

Smith came to the UW after receiving his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Southern Illinois University. It didn’t take long for Smith to make an impact on the lives of UW students and student-athletes. Early on, he worked with students and studied techniques to help improve performance in the classroom. His research emphasized goal-setting, stress management techniques, and healthy coping skills.

At the time, one of those students played football under legendary coach Don James, who called Smith, interested in what he might do for what he called a “Wednesday All-American.” This player excelled in practice, Smith remembers, but his solid play rarely translated to game day.

James ultimately invited Smith to work with the football team to devise techniques for improving their play and coping with stress. Players and coaches alike reported better athletic performance and mental toughness, Smith said.

Smith published a few articles about his work with the Huskies, leading to a call from Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics. Over the next 12 years, Smith worked with coaches, major-league players and minor-leaguers for the Athletics, Houston Astros, and Seattle Mariners.

Smith worked with players to relax more, develop breathing techniques, and change their thinking to improve concentration. Smith juggled pro sports and the UW, traveling 40,000 miles each summer to work with players and coaches while continuing to teach during the school year. Smith enjoyed pro sports but left after 12 years and focused once again on his work at the UW, co-directing Husky Sport Psychology Services for six years.

Smith has incorporated the work he’s done with athletes, professional and amateur alike, into the classroom. Smith in 1987 began offering a course – Human Performance Enhancement – which teaches psychology skills and supporting studies, so as to enhance performance in all walks of life. The class proved to be so popular, it’s still offered each summer by one of Smith’s former students. It also won him the Intrafraternity Council/Panhellenic Association’s  Most Inspirational Professor award in 2011.

Outside of the classroom, Smith serves as the Department of Psychology’s Director of Clinical Training. In the role, he supervises students in clinical practice and research and continues to publish his own work. “I get to have a lot of interaction with absolutely brilliant graduate students. It’s always been a great source of gratification to me to see students develop and grow. I get to have a front row seat for that,” he said.

Smith’s mentorship earned him the 2012 Davida Teller Distinguished Faculty Award in Psychology for Graduate Student Mentoring and Training, as well. The honor reflected Smith’s continued commitment to students, his interest in their success, and his enthusiasm for a demanding job. “That term ‘I never had a job in my life’  just really applies to what I do,” Smith said. “I just thoroughly enjoy it.”