Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. At least that’s how I feel today. This is the day to do what we should do every day: give thanks, acknowledge our blessings, live with gratitude. Marcus Aurelius begins Book One of Meditations with a gratitude list. Specifically, he thanks people who taught him Read more…
What’s “the best live rock album ever” according to music critic Nik Cohn at The New York Times? Hint: it features a 15-minute version of “My Generation.” Yes, “Live at Leeds.” The Who. There are only six tracks on the original LP, while the CD has 14 songs. Both versions Read more…
Welcome to this special coronavirus quarantine edition of my blog. While this post lacks my usual book and movie recommendations, there are some life lessons with levity. Decades ago, Kurt Vonnegut said, “How should we behave during this Apocalypse? We should be unusually kind to one another, certainly. But we Read more…
News reports allege 38% of Americans blame Corona beer for the coronavirus. Maybe it’s fake news, maybe it’s true. Either way, I’m back in the U.S. after working in Jakarta and visiting Tokyo and it’s weird here. As a comedian on Twitter observed, this is a time for us to Read more…
Chelsea and I went fully digital with our New Year card this year. If you missed it, lament not, it’s still online. We appreciate all of you who stay in contact with us through the email list, thank you. In case you don’t recognize the giant Adirondack chair in the Read more…
Happy Thanksgiving. Christmas is coming. ‘Tis the season for gratitude and books. Books are, of course, the best gifts. While a bottle of single malt Islay Scotch is nothing to scoff at, liquor is still second to literature. I’m defining literature broadly to include “the entire body of writings of Read more…
We filed the first vaping lawsuit in Washington State last month. Our action was covered by Q13 and several other news outlets. As I told Dori Monson, marijuana has became as mainstream as beer and bourbon. So it needs to be regulated the same way we regulate everything else. If Read more…
As someone who visits this blog, you likely know I am with Herrmann Law Group now. We handle aviation disasters, automobile accidents, and other personal injury cases. Matt Nagle at the Tacoma Weekly wrote a smart cover story about the transition. It’s a good read, though I might have titled Read more…
I hope you enjoyed Independence Day. For the first time in a decade, I skipped the bands and the salmon bakes and the parades and escaped to our family beach place. It was awesome. Sloane loved hanging out with her cousins, taking boat rides, and playing on the beach. Seaside Read more…
Some news is fake, but it’s still cool to wake up in Jakarta and see your case on the front page of The New York Times next to a teaser about an old friend and fine writer, Bret Ellis. After reading the interview, which was more profile than dialogue, I Read more…
Thanks to German novelist Alice Winter for this cool spring shot of the German edition of Carnival Desires. The English version is available on Kindle. Vanity Fair called it a “witty, minimalist epic.” Details magazine said it was “great postmodern literature.” Published in 1990, it chronicles the adventures of a group of Read more…
I recently returned from another trip to Indonesia. We now represent 26 of the victim families in the Lion Air crash. Our case continues to gain strength. On the other side of the globe, an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX crashed on a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. There Read more…
On behalf of the families of 17 victims of the Lion Air crash in Indonesia, we filed a lawsuit against Boeing. You can read about it on our firm website or Tacoma Weekly or watch Q13 coverage. These families are heartbroken and need vigorous representation. In short, our lawsuit alleges two main points. Read more…
“This is a brief life, but in its brevity it offers us some splendid moments, memorable adventures,” Rudyard Kipling observed. I’ve written a few words about our lawsuit against Lion Air on my Medium page. And I’m continuing to add photos to my Instagram, which is now my primary social Read more…
Back in the U.S. after more than a month working in Indonesia. I documented the adventure on my Instagram. In January I joined the Herrmann Law Group. Great people, cool cases, good causes. We are representing a large number of family members who lost loved ones in the crash of Lion Read more…
Happy new year! “And now let us believe in a long year that is given to us, new, untouched, full of things that have never been, full of work that has never been done.” Here is my 2018 year-end list of books and movies. These are not necessarily the best. Read more…
Wherever I go I feel at home when I see my books or my friends’ books on the shelves. Books are the best gifts and that’s what I’m buying this holiday season. My recommendations include anything by Ryan Holiday, particularly The Obstacle is the Way and Trust Me, I’m Lying, Read more…
Happy Thanksgiving and Mahalo! As Maya Angelou said, “Be present in all things and grateful for all things.” Back from a holiday in Hawaii, the Lindquists are feeling the Mahalo spirit. You can see more pictures on my Instagram. I’ve updated my Medium page and included a review of Carnival Read more…
I’m grateful for the support, assistance, and friendship through three elections. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’ve kept my faith that public service and politics are a noble endeavor. I’m proud of the campaign we ran and the contributions our supporters made, bringing much needed graciousness Read more…
Trees are bending, leaves are flying, election season is ending. I appreciate everyone who stepped up to help our campaign. We focused on public safety and public service and had a good time. At our last event of the ’18 season at the Swiss in Tacoma, I played “Wild Thing” and Read more…
This week I spoke at the City Club of Tacoma. My closing was atypical in that I focused less on public safety and more on public affairs. In my opening, I discussed our innovative initiatives to make the community safer and reform the justice system, but in closing I told Read more…
Here’s a new literary website for you: transgressivefiction. It’s cool. People sometimes ask if I read a piece about myself or my work and the answer is always, “No.” When I was a young novelist, my editor advised me against reading my reviews or profiles, good or bad. Eventually I Read more…
The events are endless, from street fairs to community celebrations, but for Sloane it is always about face painting. Chelsea and I appreciate all of you who greet us, share stories, and encourage us to keep up the good fight. We are grateful for the volunteers who continue to step up. Read more…
It’s summertime, and the livin’ is busy. Chelsea, Sloane, and I have been all over the county, from the Gig Harbor Maritime Parade to Meeker Days in Puyallup to the Buckley Log Show. We appreciate seeing friends everywhere we go. Pierce County is big, diverse, and friendly. I appreciate every Read more…
Keep our community safe, keep our prosecutor. That’s what good people in Pierce County are saying this year. I’m a career Prosecutor going into my tenth year. Time does fly. I’ve been appointed, elected, and re-elected. Now I’m running again to keep serving. Our public safety successes have been remarkable Read more…
The Keep Our Prosecutor Kickoff Concert with The Beatniks is Saturday, April 14, at 6 pm. Join us, thanks! Tacoma Mayor Woodards will welcome the crowd, Detective Ed Troyer will serve as Emcee, and The Beatniks will rock the Landmark Temple Theatre in Tacoma! We expect musical guest stars as Read more…
Happy new year! I’ve updated my “Have a Pleasant New Year” article, a precursor to my “Zen Lawyer” column. I hope you experience plenty of pleasantness this year. Chelsea, Sloane and I are always enthusiastic about the spirit of adventure and growth inherent in a new year. Possibilities. If you are Read more…
Happy Thanksgiving! “Gratitude is not only the greatest of all the virtues, but the parent of all others.” Marcus Cicero Ladenburg, Strickland, Lindquist. Sounds like a law firm, but it’s actually the co-authors of this editorial on Tacoma, the city we are grateful for. We compare Tacoma’s past reputation with today’s Read more…
I was happy to honor the 2017 graduates of Clover Park Technical College as their commencement speaker. There was a contagious spirit of initiative, adventure, and accomplishment in the Tacoma Dome. Here is the text of my speech, which was titled #fivehashtags. In an early draft, I included one of my Read more…
In June of 1992, Atlantic Monthly Press published my second novel, Carnival Desires. Details magazine called it, “Great postmodern literature. Romantic and cynical, true and original, full of modern ideas and seductive moments … ” Vanity Fair called it, “a witty minimalist epic.” Now I’m older and it’s available on Read more…
Happy new year! “Tomorrow is the first page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” Brad Paisley, a country music star, wrote this. My musical taste generally runs a different direction, but I like this line. I wrapped up my “Zen Lawyer” column for Pierce County Lawyer this year. Read more…
Please join us November 17, 2016, at Kings Books in Tacoma, 7pm, for our 8th Annual Signed Books and Spirits Auction. #KeepOurProsecutor Guest star auctioneers will be auctioning off signed books from Governor Jay Inslee, U.S. Representative Denny Heck, and, of course, me. New York Times bestselling authors Maria Semple Read more…
Highlight of 2016 — so far — was playing guitar with Peter Buck of R.E.M. and the Beatniks at our summer celebration. A great time was had by hundreds. You can find pics and vids at www.marklindquist.org or my Facebook page. Our next event will be the 8th Annual Signed Book and Read more…
Happy mid-year! If you’re in the NW, please join The Beatniks and surprise guests at our family-friendly summer celebration at Ruston Plaza, Saturday, July 30, 2 pm. For more details, go to our Facebook Event page, thank you. Zen Lawyer, Chapter 13, features one of my favorite riffs about integrity and quality Read more…
My Instagram account just went public. Zen Lawyer, chapter 10, features a crash course on one-minute meditation. Try it. I continue to write book reviews for the Seattle Times, including, most recently, “Breem Gives Me Hiccups & Other Stories” by Jesse Eisenberg, star of “The Social Network.” In the never Read more…
Closing out a good 2014, looking forward to a good 2015. In addition to various community and family activities, I was re-elected with more than 96% of the vote, I successfully tried another murder case, made progress on a new novel, wrote book reviews for The Seattle Times, and continued my Read more…
I’m running for reelection. We have everything you would want in a campaign, except an opponent. Robert F. Kennedy said, “About twenty percent of the people are opposed to everything all of the time,” but I still picked up more than 96% of the vote in the primary. The kick-off Read more…
John McGrath wrote a good story about an unusually entertaining Continuing Legal Education class featuring sports, law, and life lessons. In summary, be cool. Mary Ann Gwinn, the blessed Books Editor for The Seattle Times, put together an honorable tribute for the 40th Anniversary of Elliott Bay Books in Seattle. Read more…
“When it Happens to You,” Molly Ringwald’s “novel in stories,” is out in paperback. I interviewed Molly for The Oregonian. We talked music, books, and the Bad Old Days. Speaking of the Bad Old Days, in 2001 I interviewed Peter Buck for the Hartford Courant. We talked music, books, and the Read more…
Welcome to my updated website, 2013 version. Thanks for visiting. I’m more active on Facebook than here, and I have an attorney website. I will mostly used this blog to recommend books, movies, life lessons and so on. I will also posts links to articles I’ve written or read. “The purpose of Read more…