While you’re in: Celebrate the solstice, see something naked, dream about Canada
The longest day
Saturday, June 20, is the summer solstice, bringing South Sound 15 hours, 54 minutes and 12 seconds of daylight. (Something about living in the Pacific Northwest seems to encourage counting every moment.) It might be that spending as much time as possible outdoors (wearing a mask and observing social distancing, of course) is the best way to mark this occasion, but there are, of course, some virtual events happening, too. Most notably, this summer solstice will be the first one on which you can participate in the rituals at Britain’s Stonehenge without making a long trip and dealing with enormous crowds. Sunset in England (1:26 p.m. Pacific time June 20) and sunrise (8:52 p.m. Pacific time June 20) will be streamed on Facebook. Closer to home, the Fremont Solstice Parade is attempting an online parade of sorts: an online program featuring “videos and pictures of the past, present and future,” according to the Fremont Arts Council’s website. The Olympian is inclined to question the veracity of photos and videos of the future, but the people of Fremont do tend to do things their own way. It will be streaming at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 20, on Facebook and Youtube. In its submission guidelines, the council warned that nudity will be blurred or omitted, so you might have to do without the famed naked bicyclists this year — unless you create an impromptu parade here in Olympia. (If you do, though, please don’t tell the neighbors The Olympian gave you the idea.)
Naked in Seattle
OK, so there won’t be naked bicyclists out and about on Saturday — or if there are, you won’t be in Fremont watching them, since parades are not possible right now. But there will be some naked celebrities frolicking in the Emerald City, and you can check them out online. You know there has to be some kind of a disappointment coming, right? OK. The naked beings are mole rats, and they are on camera 24/7. You might not be excited about these long-lived burrow-dwelling vegetarians, but the people at the Pacific Science Center definitely are. “The naked mole rat reigns supreme at PacSci, fascinating our guests for decades and stumping researchers for even longer,” the center announced in a recent email newsletter. Apparently, the naked mole rats living in the center have a queen, Elphaba, and you can read more about her in a tell-all interview on the center’s blog. The Olympian is confident in saying that the interview is fake news, but unlike most fake news, the blog post does include actual scientific facts. And Elphaba has some useful advice for humans who are currently spending a lot of time in close quarters, something naked mole rats do naturally. “The main thing we would advise is to remember to work together and keep each other safe and happy like we do,” Elphaba is quoted as saying. “Also, there should be a queen who is in charge. Obviously.”
O Canada
Americans have long been making fun of their neighbors to the north, but since 2016, at least some Americans have been wishing they were there. There’s universal health care, for starters. Now there’s a twist on the trend that’s giving plenty of people a much-needed laugh — and maybe increasing the envy of a goodly number. Trevor Noah of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” has floated an idea in a video that’s been watched more than 600,000 times. He and the show’s correspondents call on Canada to invade the United States, “please.” “We’ll still have racism, but it’ll be polite,” standup comedian Dulcé Sloan says in the video. “Canadian racism, with a smile.” The “Daily Show” folks invite you to sign a petition asking for this invasion — because, Sloan points out, “If enough of us ask and we do it politely, they can’t say no.” The appeal was issued June 11, and in a June 12 article, the Huffington Post reported that more than 23,000 people had signed. Unfortunately, as of Tuesday, officials have decided to keep the US-Canadian border shut until July 21.
Freelance writer Molly Gilmore can’t disagree that there should be a queen in charge — that, or someone from Canada. Or maybe Elphaba, even. Molly talks about local happenings with 95.3 KGY-FM’s Michael Stein from 3 to 4 p.m. Fridays.