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On May 24, 1941, Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in Duluth, Minnesota. No information is available regarding whether his first cries were hoarse and nasal. Certainly they were unintelligible.

Zimmerman is better known, of course, as Bob Dylan. On this day, “the voice of a generation” turns 72. I’ve been a Dylan fan for a long, long time — at least a generation, probably closer to two. I don’t think I bought his debut album Bob Dylan in 1962, the year it was released, but I’m certain that when I did acquire it a year or two later I could choose between mono and stereo versions of the record.

I’ve taken note of the turn of Dylan’s calendar quite a few times over the years, in a couple of settings:

When he’s 64…, written on Peace Tree Farm in 2005
Medicare Part D-ylan, which appeared in 2006 on both DailyKos (that’s the link) and PTF
2010’s Time flies…, written at PTF
The very brief HBD, Bob! at PTF in 2011
Last year’s Happy birthday, Bob, another dual dKos-PTF post

Dylan rarely celebrates his birthday on the road any more. By my reckoning, the Never-Ending Tour has had a late-May break in all but three years since 1996 (comprehensive tour schedules, set lists, and reviews available here). I haven’t a clue how he marks the occasion, but I bet he’s enjoying it.

The title of this essay refers, of course, to one of Dylan’s hundreds of familiar tunes. A particularly apt one, to be sure. Here’s a video of Bob and The Band playing Forever Young at The Last Waltz in 1975.

Dylan wrote the song in 1973, over half a lifetime ago (he was 32 at the time). One wonders whether he was envisioning himself four decades later. It’s clearly one of his favorite ditties — he’s played it in concert 493 times (his 27th most commonly performed song), starting on January 3, 1974 and most recently on November 21, 2011.

So, I wish a very happy birthday to Bob Dylan, and hope for many more. I can’t think of a better salutation to Dylan on his birthday than his very own words:

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

Candidate Questions: Seattle Mayor

by Carl Ballard — Friday, 5/24/13, 8:01 am

I’ll email these to the Seattle mayoral candidates later today. I still haven’t figured out the calendar. I’ve put them here first in case y’all have any more suggestions or tweaks. I’ll update this post to reflect any changes if I make them before sending.

1) Now that I-502 has passed, what will the purchase of marijuana look like within city limits? Will medical marijuana collective garden storefronts in Seattle have to abide by the 1000-foot rule established by I-502?

2) With Metro’s ability to fund itself at the whim of the legislature, what should the city’s role be in public transportation? As mayor, how will you both make sure we get our fair share, and that the system serves the entire region well?

3) What should the waterfront look like after the Viaduct comes down? Will there be a streetcar or other transit?

4) What should happen in the next 4 years to make sure that police reform both satisfies the Feds, and works for Seattle citizens?

5) When there are police incidents, the response from the top is important. With hindsight, in the wake of John T. Williams being killed by a Seattle police officer what, if anything, should the mayor’s office have done differently what, if anything, did it do right?

Can We Maybe Fix Our Infrastructure Now?

by Carl Ballard — Thursday, 5/23/13, 7:38 pm

Jesus.

Washington State Patrol confirms an I-5 bridge over the Skagit River has collapsed and at least two cars with people inside are in the water.

The incident has closed all northbound and southbound lanes.

Maybe You’re A Drag To Ride The Bus With!

by Carl Ballard — Thursday, 5/23/13, 6:19 pm

This piece in The PI’s Big Blog about Seattle being a healthy city is fine. But I’m confused about this from the setup (bold mine):

We may be hard to get to know and a drag to ride the bus with, but when it comes to being healthy, Seattleites rank right up there with Bostonians.

What? Are we more of a drag to ride the bus with than most other places? Is it just the bus or any public transit?* I feel like I don’t even know what the stereotype about Seattle bus passengers is. Is this a reference to another piece that I missed?

Compared to a lot of the places that I’ve lived (larger like London and smaller like Olympia both come to mind), we’re much more conversant, chatty, maybe even flirtatious with strangers. If anything, people are more likely to drag me into a chat that I don’t really want to participate in than I’d like. And when you ride the same route regularly, you get to know some of the other people. I guess if you hate those damn kids, they can be annoying, but no more than anywhere else. For me, other than the occasional person with a mental illness, the other passengers are generally pretty pleasant.

Your mileage may vary, of course. There are horror stories that I’ve heard from women about sexual harassment and worse on the bus. Still, I don’t think it’s more of a drag than anywhere else.

[Read more…]

Open Thread 5/23

by Carl Ballard — Thursday, 5/23/13, 8:03 am

– The first time I read the Silicon Sound I thought it sounded pretty good. But maybe it’s catching up to somewhere else.

– Jesus, London

– Just remember: the state can’t touch our guns (or require tornado shelters) because of freedom…but adults’ private decisions about whom to love must suffer the full brunt of state power.

– I am going to opt for not being in the same car as your dog, sorry.

– I digitally scan bowling ball surfaces and I vote

Books on Bikes

by Carl Ballard — Wednesday, 5/22/13, 7:50 pm

This is pretty neat:

Mills, a Central District resident, said Books on Bikes is a “full-service library model. I’m not aware of any other library that does this. We will be able to provide people with help on digital downloads, as well as offer reading suggestions, have popular new titles available for check-out, provide Library card sign-ups, assist with research and much more,” he said. The trailer to accommodate all the librarians’ needs was developed and constructed by Colin Stevens, who runs Haulin’ Colin in Seattle.

And just to head off the almost inevitable how-come-there-aren’t-books-on-cars trolling, there are. And that’s pretty cool too, but not a new program.

Candidate Questions

by Carl Ballard — Wednesday, 5/22/13, 8:02 am

Later in the week, I’m going to send out candidate questions to everyone running for Seattle mayor. I have my own ideas about what to ask, but I thought I’d throw it out to the comment section before I send anything off.

The general rule is it would have to be broad enough that it could be asked to all of the candidates so no in your first term questions for McGinn or legislature questions for Murray, for example. But there are more general questions about things that happened in McGinn’s first term or in the legislature when Murray was there. I talked to Lee and Darryl at Drinking Liberally and there was some discussion of Metro and I-502, but we weren’t sure if that’s a city question. I’m definitely going to ask a police reform question.

Here are the questions I emailed out to City Council candidates 2 years ago.

Aside from Seattle mayor, I think I’m going to ask the top 2 people in each City Council seat after the primary. Are there any other seats you’d like to see questions asked?

Drinking Liberally — Seattle

by Darryl — Tuesday, 5/21/13, 4:30 pm

Please join us tonight for an evening of politics over a pint at the Seattle Chapter of Drinking Liberally.

This week we will, of course, talk about scandals and conspiracies. You know…like Alex Jones’ theory that a government “weather weapon” caused the Oklahoma Tornado. (No doubt, ordered by Obama himself, with targeting by the IRS, as a way to distract from BENGHAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!11!!!1!!!)

And, NIXON….

We meet every Tuesday evening at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. Starting time is 8:00pm. Some people show up earlier than that for Dinner.

Can’t make it to Seattle tonight? Check out another nearby DL meeting over the next week. The Tri-Cities chapter also meets tonight. On Wednesday, the Burien and Bellingham chapters meet. And on Thursday the Woodinville chapter meets.

With 204 chapters of Living Liberally, including sixteen in Washington state, four in Oregon, and two more in Idaho, chances are excellent there’s a chapter meeting near you.