TESC's first Library head honcho was the late, great Jim Holly. Among his many innovative ideas was the concept to create a collection that would be media-integrated. If you browsed the shelves for say, H.L. Mencken, you would not only find monographs but also sound cassettes of interviews with him. If you wanted to read about bridge engineering, you might find a portable video tape loop of Galloping Gertie (to be played on machine that is now extinct, I'm sure) next to some dry engineering tome. The collection reflected the dynamic and creative experimental curriculum. No other library of equal size was as fun to peruse as Evergroove's.

One area of the library that caught the interest of a certain student composer was the music section. He discovered the sound cassettes had extra room at the end of the tapes. So he recorded his own work on them. Or, he recorded some commentary. Then he returned it to the shelves. I sometimes wonder how many of these little sound bombs he bequeathed are still in the collection.

This same individual like to don a tinfoil mask and walk around in his alter-ego of "Nom Binto." Also, I was present when he tied himself up, donned a knit hat, declared himself the "Easter Pimp," and then hopped around like a bunny until he broke through a window. He also enjoyed shaving off his eyebrows.

What happened to this person? He enlisted in the military and served a stint as one of the guys with his finger on the button in a nuclear missile silo in the Midwest. During the Reagan years, no less. As one who grew up and came of age in the Cold War era, I consider it a miracle we are still here.

Anyway, today this artist/soldier is a highly regarded composer. I have a couple of his CDs and they are really creative, original, and a joy to play. This guy is really good. If you want to find out more about the thoughts of Nom Binto, I would suggest playing Russian roulette with the older sound cassettes in the TESC Library collection and continue playing after the commercial recording is finished.

He tells me that if a worker in this company is sick for three days or more, they have to bring in a note from their physician. Which is difficult, if not impossible, since there is no health coverage.

We cheered each other up during our conversation and now my mind is in a loop. He is a responsible adult and he has raised his kids. But his employer doesn't trust him or any employee. Bring in a note. No health care. Bring in a note.

If you don't know the story of Bill Clayton, please read what his mother Gabi Clayton has written.

Bill's Story

Safe Schools Coalition

The mission of The Safe Schools Coalition:

A Public-Private Partnership in Support of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth is to help schools - at home and all over the world - become safe places where every family can belong, where every educator can teach, and where every child can learn, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

The Coalition serves both the global community and Washington State. Great folks.

Our Crisis Phone: (Washington State only)

1-888-99-VOICE (998-6423)

24 hours a day - the phone line is answered at the Sexual Assault Hotline and they will have a Safe Schools Coalition Intervention Specialist volunteer get back to you within 24 hours.

#2 from Principles of Conflict Resolution

2. Listen Actively

Listening is the most important part of communication. If we do not hear what the other parties are communicating we can not resolve a conflict. Active listening means not only listening to what another person is saying with words, but also to what is said by intonation and body language. The active listening process also involves letting the speaker know that he or she has been heard. For example, "What I heard you say is......"

I continue to work on this one, I tend to interrupt people I know well, and I catch myself assuming I know what they are going to say.

I especially had to learn this as a parent.

When I pay attention and listen, I am more likely to notice when I don't understand something, then I can ask for clarification rather than make assumptions.

Feel free to join in, I'm not aiming these specifically at our discussions here on this site, I just figure that the more any of us practice clear communication, the better.

From The Olympian:

U.S. Reps. Brian Baird and Adam Smith have sent letters to John Potter, the U.S. Postmaster General, outlining six areas of the Postal Service's plans that they feel need clarification.

Baird and Smith shared their disappointment with the Postal Service's lack of clarity about the future of the Olympia postmark, mail service effects, worker effects, union concerns and if the history of the Olympia postmark was taken into consideration.

From the Seattle PI:

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Thurston County has the most overburdened public defenders in Washington, according to the chairman of the state Bar Association's committee on public defense.

Attorneys who handle misdemeanor cases in Thurston County District Court take on as many as 900 cases per year - three times the maximum recommended by the association.

The overload is unfair to indigent defendants and could get the county sued, said Jon Ostlund, committee chairman. The panel is pushing for legislation that would give state money to counties struggling to provide adequate public defense.

The American Civil Liberties Union has sent a letter to Thurston County commissioners, saying the misdemeanor public defense system is in crisis.

From 365Gay.com:

(Olympia, Washington) Gay and lesbian couples across the state of Washington are growing anxious, awaiting a Supreme Court ruling that may allow them to marry.

Arguments challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage were made before the Washington Supreme Court last March. (story) A ruling could come at any time.

The case involves eight same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses in King County.

In August, King County Superior Court Judge William Downing said that the Washington State Constitution guarantees basic rights to lesbian and gay people - and that those rights are violated by a state law prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying.

Downing's ruling went on to say that the couples must be given marriage licenses.

One month later, a court in Thurston County ruled similarly.

The Supreme Court typically issues its rulings on Thursdays and same-sex couples have been anxiously checking the court's web site weekly for months.

Equal Rights Washington, the state's largest LGBT rights group, says it expects if the suit is successful gay and lesbian couples could immediately apply for licenses. The first weddings would take place following a three-day waiting period, which would make it a Sunday.

From Bainbridge Review:

In Munro's youth, between 150 and 200 killer whales made their home off Washington's coast and inland sea.

In the mid-1970s, following a rash of captures and accidental killings by aquariums and amusement parks, that number sank to 71. It was one of these captures in the late 1970s that transformed Munro, who ran the state's elections system for 20 years, into one of the region's most outspoken advocates for the whales.

While boating near Olympia, Munro witnessed a group of killer whales swimming at high speed with a trawler, speedboat and an airplane in hot pursuit. The whale hunting team had been employed by SeaWorld to corral killer whales into nets for display in Southern California.

"They were using explosives, dropping them from the boat and airplane," Munro said. "They just kept dropping explosives as fast as they could to harass the whales into the net. They had mother whales inside and baby whales outside. It was gruesome."

The incident led Munro, then an aide to Gov. Dan Evans, to craft his first lawsuit to protect killer whales. Taking the state's game department to court, Munro freed the whales from holding tanks and negotiated an agreement from SeaWorld to never apply for whale-hunting permits in Washington again.