Post-Apocalyptic Seattle and Lessons from Mountain Climbing

Megan Sukys
09/30/2008

Safeco Field is a compound filled with chemical warfare, rogue militias, and hideous mutated animals. Not in real life, of course. Fantasy writer Terry Brooks tells us how he envisions a post–apocalyptic Seattle. We also talk with legendary mountain climber Dan Mazur.

At 2:05 p.m. – Simple Measures

Classical music has a long history full of old rituals and formal concert traditions. Those traditions aim to honor the music, but they can also intimidate new audiences. Rajan Krishnaswami is a Seattle cellist who is dispensing with the tuxedoes and talking in plain language about the heart and soul of classical music. Rajan was at a crossroads in his artistic life when he founded the innovative Seattle chamber music troupe called Simple Measures.

At 2:20 p.m. – Post–Apocalyptic Seattle

Safeco Field is a compound where fugitives of chemical warfare, pollution and plague hide from wandering predators, rogue militias and hideous mutated animals. Not in real life, of course. That's how Seattle looks in the novel "The Gypsy Morph," the latest book from local writer Terry Brooks. Terry is one of the bestselling fantasy writers alive today, with more than 21 million copies of his books in print. His stories often take place in post-apocalyptic worlds, but his inspiration comes from the world we live in right now–like Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

At 2:40 p.m. – Gavin Borchert Classical Review

It would have been easy enough for Haimovitz, a child prodigy who began to concertize and record in his early teens, to stick with a safe path, playing standard cello repertory in conventional concert halls. But he's become known for adventurous repertory, unusual venues (coffeehouses, bars, Seattle's Tractor Tavern), and for starting his own label, Oxingale. The label's latest two releases are of Dmitri Sitkovetsky's ingenious and beautiful arrangement of Bach's epic keyboard work, and of American music old and new for cello and piano.

At 2:50 p.m. – Dan Mazur

Mount Rainier is an easy climb compared to Mount Everest. But our local summit taught mountain climber Dan Mazur a lot about the ethics of mountain climbing. Dan is an Olympia resident and sometimes volutneers as a guide on Rainier. He also leads expeditions to the top of Mount Everest. Dan and his team made headlines after a dramatic rescue there in 2006.