Seattle Culture
Minecraft Motivation
Couple uses video game for renovation inspiration
They had a hard time visualizing what their new home might look like, so they turned to Minecraft, a hugely popular video game Microsoft markets as a tool for creative types to “battle mobs, construct shelter, and explore the landscape.” They had been playing the game for years, and didn’t need to consult the box for instructions. Michael served as Minecraft’s chief creative officer for seven years before moving on to Fortnite.
Pinball is Back
Find out where to play and relive the classics
Stepping into the Seattle Pinball Museum in the International District, a familiar noise quickly fills my ears — a sound of childhood. When was the last time you played pinball? Take a moment to embrace your inner child by setting everything aside for an evening to have some old-school fun. There’s something to be said about the flick of a flipper and the ring of a bell that brings memories flooding back while also creating new ones.
Most Influential, Business: Joy Shigaki
President & CEO, Friends of Waterfront Seattle
Her familial dedication to service and passion for community followed her into her 20-year career working in the nonprofit, government, and community development field in roles across the U.S. and internationally. In September 2022, Shigaki took over as CEO of Friends of Waterfront Seattle, where she works to manage, program, and fundraise to revitalize the city’s Waterfront Park.
Most Influential, Arts: Daniel James Brown
Author
Brown never expected the enormous success of The Boys in the Boat, but believes his book has fostered deserved recognition for the sport of rowing, the Husky crew team, and the Seattle area. Already, Boys in the Boat fans journey to the Montlake Cut from across the world to see the spot a group of scrappy, unlikely athletes trained and rose to Olympic gold.
Most Influential, Politics: Steve Gonzalez
Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice
“This nation was founded on the idea that we’re all entitled to equal rights, even if we didn’t have it at the time,” Gonzalez says. “And I think our job is to reinterpret those fundamental principles in a way that gives meaning to those principles to all of us.”
Seattle Now Has Its First K-pop Store
K-pop Nara open in Capitol Hill
The city’s first store devoted entirely to K-pop, K-pop Nara, is now open in Capitol Hill. Fans can purchase the usual goods for a K-pop store: albums, lightsticks, artist merchandise, stationary, and more. Unique items include custom photocard sleeves and magazines with artist interviews.
Teatro ZinZanni is Seattle’s Moulin Rouge
The cabaret is celebrating 25 years
The real star of the show, though, was the tent itself. Known as “Palais Nostalgie,” the 285-seat spiegeltent is an antique cabaret tent decked out in red-velvet curtains, mirrored walls, and carved wooden booths. Originally used as a traveling pavilion in the early 1900s, it is one of the few surviving such tents in existence. Norm Langill, the creator of Teatro ZinZanni, first encountered one during a trip to the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. He was instantly transformed by the spiegeltent’s mystique, and after learning about their history and how they were being used for dinner cabarets throughout Europe, he deftly managed to acquire one and have it shipped here to Seattle.
Most Influential, Equity: The Women Behind OSAYS
Co-founders Mari Horita, Mimi Gan, Maya Mendoza-Exstrom, Betti Fujikado, Katherine Cheng
They are storytellers. They are Asian American women. And they want to give their community a voice. They banded together several years ago to create Our Stories are Your Stories, or OSAYS, to feature two-to-five-minute videos of local Asian American individuals talking about their lives and experiences. The idea was to bring positive attention to a community that had been embattled by rising hate crimes.
Celebrating Seattle
Honoring the driving forces creating change in our community
Seattle magazine has consistently posited that “what happens in Seattle impacts the rest of the world.” This issue’s cover subject is one such example of the outsized influence Seattle’s thought leaders can have on our culture and shared history.
Author Daniel James Brown was someone whom I fondly remember knowing while at Microsoft during the pre-internet era. He was a quiet and contemplative thinker with a reputation for humility and hard work, and such is the very ethos that has come to define how we see ourselves in the Pacific Northwest. When very few tech retirees could reboot to wholly non-tech careers, Daniel thrived as an author of multiple best sellers.
Fave Five: Skate, Drink, Walk, Shop
The holidays are over. Reward yourself.
CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve survived the holiday season and landed safely in the new year. If you feel that pesky impulse to make a list of self-improvement resolutions, ignore it. You’re wonderful. Instead, here are five ways to enjoy the start of 2024 and perhaps find a sense of renewal without doing a seven-day cleanse or cutting up your credit cards.
‘We Are Groot’
Guardians of the Galaxy tops superhero genre
Imagine hanging out with Bruce Wayne. Or talking photography with Peter Parker. Perhaps brash adventurer Peter Quill is more to your taste. We love the action and spectacle of superhero movies. In Washington state, we particularly enjoy Guardians of the Galaxy — the state’s top superhero movie of all time. A recent study combed through…
When Bad Meat is a Good Thing
Choreographer Alice Gosti’s work dives deep
For those watching, it quickly became clear that the group wasn’t a sports team but rather some kind of performance troupe dancing along the footpaths, under the white arches of the Pacific Science Center, and in Memorial Stadium’s concrete breezeways. The bright red jerseys were all emblazoned, front and back, with the same word: MALACARNE.
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