Nathan Vass
Nathan Vass is an artist, filmmaker, photographer, and author by day, and a Metro bus driver by night, where his community-building work has been showcased on TED, NPR, The Seattle Times, KING 5 and landed him a spot on Seattle Magazine’s 2018 list of the 35 Most Influential People in Seattle. He has shown in over forty photography shows is also the director of nine films, six of which have shown at festivals, and one of which premiered at Henry Art Gallery. His book, The Lines That Make Us, is a Seattle bestseller and 2019 WA State Book Awards finalist.
Briefly—I'll be participating in a panel for the famed and lovely organization TransitCenter this Wednesday. If you're in NYC, stop by! I don't often make it out there and would love to say hello.
Here's TransitCenter's description of the event:
The job of a bus operator is demanding. While getting a...
My lectures sound like this.
You may not think you like lectures, or maybe the word gives you college flashbacks too boring to recall, but I promise you that's not what this is going to be. MOHAI's a lovely outfit, and they're letting me be, well, myself, and I've got some...
"Do you like pie?"
Here's the thing. I love pie. How could I possibly answer his question? What am I supposed to do? Say I don't like pie? It's hard for me to lie, and especially about pie. Look at that crust.
There's a 2013 interview with me where I say, "on rare...
I don't know how many operators read The Urbanist, but I know most of us here will at least find this material interesting. And I know I've underestimated the vast cross-section of folks who peruse these words of ours here--I have more than one homeless friend who may not read...
"How are you tonight?"
For certain folks, that phrase means, I respect you. I acknowledge you. And that's fine. It's great, actually. I've written elsewhere on how pleasantries have valuable meanings totally separate from the words used.
But certain other people know when I ask that I'm actually asking them something. This woman boarding...
My primary emotion upon reading Susanna Ryan's book version of her wildly popular Instagram feed, Seattle Walk Report, other than excitement, was of recognition. As in, someone else also gets excited about these sorts of things besides me?
Check out page 77, where differing tops of fences are appreciated, or page 94, where...
Trigger warning: Language! It's a late night on the 7, after all...
"Bitchass niggers," he opined, with fervor. "What I look like? Scared uh me, huh? You got a phone? Phone, you got a phone?"
He was asking everyone, and nobody was going for it. Everyone had an excuse. They were about to get off. Their charger was out. He wasn't happy...
We've all been there. You're standing over here, and they're over there, not too far from you. It's a public space. They're screaming. You aren't. Maybe it's awkward, because there are only a few people around, or because for whatever similar reason you don't blend in. Or maybe it's...