Ever seen that before? ☝️ It’s called slacklining, and it’s the thing people do in parks all over the city when they tie a line between two trees or poles and try to walk across it.

It’s a hell of a challenge, in part because the line is loose and wiggly. But if you want to give it a shot, go to Woodland Park around 6 p.m. on a Thursday. That’s when members of the Seattle Slacklining Group have their weekly meetups.

“We’re stoked to share the basic tips and techniques with new slackliners,” group member Danny Schlitt wrote us on Facebook. “That’s how we all started.”

What does it take to find your footing? We asked Danny and fellow group member John Postlewaite for their tips…

• “Patience and persistence are key,” Danny said. “The slackline wobbles and wiggles for everyone the first few times they try, but keep with it and you’ll be taking steps by the end of a session.”
• “Be willing to fail, it takes a lot of tries to figure it out,” wrote John. “Keep your head up, spine straight, and arms wide and balance with your arms. Keep your eyes fixed on the tree on the far side as focus point. Make your steps short and controlled.”
• Want to get a sense of what you’re in for? This NWSlackline site has tutorials and lots of gear info.
• And always put a towel or blanket around the tree you’re tying a line to to protect it. 👍

“I’ve been slacklining for six years now and am really stoked on all the awesome people and adventures it’s brought into my life,” Danny wrote.

Ready to slackline? Check out the weekly meetups Thursdays around 6 p.m. at Woodland Park — between Picnic Shelter #2 and Aurora Avenue North (here’s the exact location), and post to the Seattle Slacklining Group to let ‘em know you’re coming (and ask to use a beginner line). Know another wild new thing your fellow Seattleites should try? Hit reply or email us at [email protected].

Seattle, we have a new police chief. Her name is Carmen Best, she’s been our interim chief since our last top cop stepped down, and until this week, it was looking like someone else was going to get the gig. When Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the three finalists for the gig in May, Chief Best wasn’t one of them. But people got fired up, one of the finalists stepped out of the way, and here we are – with the first African-American woman to lead our local law enforcement. (Crosscut)

Rock out in style. The big Capitol Hill Block Party is just two days away, and if you want to look as badass as the performers sound, these local fashionistas have some pointers. All dressed up with no outdoor music show to go to? Here’s The Stranger’s ultimate guide. (Seattle magazine, The Stranger)

Richer and richer. It’s tough to wrap your head around how much money Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has, in part because no one in history has ever had more of it. Jeff is worth a whopping $150 billion. He made a third of that just this year. And with the moolah he makes in just 24 hours, says Seattle Times real estate reporter Mike Rosenberg, he could buy every house for sale in Seattle and house every homeless person here for a month. 💰 (The Stranger, Twitter)

Want to volunteer? The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is looking for hundreds of folks to help out August 10 and 11 with Obliteride — its annual bike ride to fund research around brain, breast, lung, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Into it? Check out more info here → (Fred Hutch)

Oops: Yesterday we linked you to a column by local writer Knute Berger about 36 hours in Seattle. Turns out, he wrote that column in response to a New York Times travel piece that was published back in 2011 — not the one the Times ran this month. Thanks to reader Greg Scruggs for the catch!

AND COMING UP TOMORROW…

You sent in your questions about homelessness and voted on the one you wanted us to explore first: “Does Seattle get an influx of homeless people from outside areas attracted to better services?”

We’re working on an answer and will have more for you in tomorrow’s edition.

Stay tuned, and have a good one. — The Evergrey