Car Culture

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Naturopath by Akira Ohiso

A friend parks his vintage Jaguar in an apartment garage around the corner. The management company rents out spaces to maximize profits - sandwich boards and grommet banners advertise vacancies.

This weekend, someone tried to hotwire the car but failed. Still, the steering column is significantly damaged. Metal interior finishings, such as seat belt buckles, handles, and the rearview mirror, were stolen, like Seattle was from the Duwamish.

A new proposed policy would require homeowners to give their homes to the original landowner without a profit from the lake to the sound. 😉

There may be Indigenous bones under your Craftsman.

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El is visiting her parents this week. She has Sandwich Gen responsibilities in Florida. Her plane, a Boeing 737-9 Max, flew over the destruction left by Helene just days ago and landed in Fort Lauderdale. The aircraft did not lose a door.

She sends a photo of a distant sunset over Boca Raton from the wing window seat. When she lands, she will spend the week saying goodbye to her mom, who seems to have taken a turn for the worse. We sense she is close and talks about going on a trip. Before my father passed, he focused on train tickets and having enough money in his wallet for an upcoming trip. He clutched his travel bag with his life.

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What can I make with hot dogs and almost spoiled vegetables in the frig? I Google “hot dogs and peas recipe.”

I am seeing a trend of cooking shows moving away from haute cuisine to focus on budget-conscious viewers. Shows are filmed in the chef’s domestic kitchen (not a studio), where they use canned goods, frozen vegetables, plebeian supermarket utensils, and half-bags of pasta from the pantry. Jamie Oliver’s Cooking For Less and Alison Roman’s Home Movies are examples. DIY production value has replaced the Emeril Lagasse tasting table, live studio audiences, and Martha Stewart’s farm-to-table ethos.

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On 14th Ave NW, a city crew uses gas-powered industrial scythes to weed-wack the matted and prickly brush on the median. Workers wear goggles and face masks and look like lefty rioters, a fashionable fad these days.

The streets are temporarily free of parked cars, and the feeling is palpable. I walked to Ballard Market (Rebranded name: Town & Country) for the basics—butter, milk, cheese, Japanese rice, chilled green tea, bananas, and grain-free cat food to prevent crystals in their bladders. Cat healthcare is more of a priority than human healthcare in this country.

When you go to the vet, they shame you for all that you are not doing for your pet: recommendations for fancy diets, tinctures, mood scents for anxiety, and enriching stimulation like Gweneth Paltrow’s naturopath.

Maria Banda Memorial by Akira Ohiso

NE 125th Street & 28th Ave NE

The inspiration for this art project is to memorialize a beloved member of the Lake City Senior Center, Maria Banda, whom a hit-and-run driver killed in 2019. Her passing hastened the installation of a crosswalk and pedestrian traffic signal proposed by the community to improve pedestrian safety. The art depicts Maria providing a safe passage for future pedestrians across NE 125th Street. In Maria’s Mexican culture, marigold flowers symbolize “grief” traditionally displayed during religious ceremonies and Día de los Muertos.

The project was funded by the Raynier Foundation and the Rotary Club of Seattle NE. Thank you for your generous support in bringing awareness to pedestrian safety. A special thanks to Lake City art instigator Mark Mendez who continues to bring local art to the streets of Lake City.