Miscellaneous: July 2009 Archives

The Blue Angels just finished their second practice run prior to Seafair. It's hard to work through what sounds like a jet engine sitting on our roof, so we stepped outside to snap a few pictures. Saturday and Sunday they'll put on a full show from 1:30-2:30 p.m.

The real gem is KIRO2 (ch. 117 on Comcast, ch. 7-2 over digital antennae). The “Deuce” as we call it runs off-net syndication, meaning they recycle old TV shows. Off-net syn is the engine of broadcast commerce, but it’s sadly lacking in character or style. How much “Seinfeld” do you really want to watch?

Tanning salons have more to worry about than just being burgled. We've been wondering all week how the Wallingford Desert Sun will respond to the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer's recent decision to put tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation in the top category for cancer risk.

You don't have to be as intrepid, for refreshing water can be had from any altitude or elevation round these parts...even from 0 feet above sea level. Take off early; we'll write you a note.

Back where we come from, there's places known as "cooling centers". These are public buildings that are air-conditioned in the event of a deadly heatwave such as the one in which we currently find ourselves embroiled. We remember our afternoon cartoons being interrupted by ticker-style warnings about the heat and the elderly and cooling centers for those without A/C in the home. Libraries were the foremost among the list of these cooling centers.

Mayday, mayday--the flora and vegetation in Olympic Sculpture Park is flatlining! The recent scorching temps and lack of water has caused the grass and flowers in the park's east and west meadows to turn a lovely shade of dead.

"Day 30: Beating The Heat" by dn , from our Flickr pool

Under normal conditions, we have nothing but scorn for spoiled, complain-happy Seattleites who start griping when the temperature climbs above 75F, but on this day--THE HOTTEST DAY EVAARRRRRR--by all means, be our guest.

Stare at the above photo and repeat to yourself, "The city needs more snow plows."

        

Last night's Duck Dodge on Lake Union--a proudly tipsy 35-year tradition--was especially busy thanks to the heat wave. More water cannons and water balloons were in evidence than usual, too.

The ORCA card is, of course, the new, handy way to pay fares for many kinds of transit including the new Link light rail. Like all good Seattle things (e.g., a trendy restaurant, your friend's house, or the Fremont Troll), the youth ORCA card is not that easy to find unless you know where to go already.

Sweet little Wesley shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. We're sure it was the cutest thing ever.

Oh, hello crazies. Mike Stark of the Huffington Post and FireDogLake chased down Republicans in D.C. to ask if they believe our President is a native-born citizen of our country. And who's that, second in the video, unwilling to call out a lunatic fringe movement? Why that would be Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), who has represented Washington's 5th District (which includes Spokane) since 2005 and "would like to see the documents."

   

At the bottom left, next to a photo of a young Ronald Reagan was a picture of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, no doubt a publicity still from one of their Road movies. Except there was something a little funny about it...

All the signs were there--a functional transit system, government endorsement of the weedbud, and all that damn bicycling--but the evidence is incontrovertible now that Portland has banished its baseball team in favor of a pro soccer franchise.

We don't have the full story on this, but just from looking at the photo, we can tell we're dealing with the aftermath of a fierce battle, the likes of which we haven't seen since Godzilla vs. Mothra. How the children defeated the Kraken giant squid as it opened its beak to devour Alki is unexplained. Maybe it's a Witch Mountain thing? Or maybe it was just a lucky poke with a stick. Whatevs. Today we're breathing easier thanks to these amazing tots, and Seattlest would like to be first in line to say thank you.

The good news is that UW weather guru Cliff Mass says we're not looking at a record-breaking temperature spike coming up--but the bad news is that it's still a pretty sharp spike to be poked with. (In the same post he's got reader pics of noctilucent clouds, which, in a movie, would be a signal for supernatural doings afoot. Go take look. Real pretty.)

So yes, you've noticed the sun is out, and hey!--maybe it would be cool to do some bike riding. Let's keep in mind that the sun came out of all 600,000 of us, so for the most part, you're not the only one who noticed. Please remember that when you walk into my shop on a bright, sunny Saturday morning. It will save you from looking like a complete twat that huffs, "Why are there so many people here?"

While passing around the final Bumbershoot artists list at last night's Seattlest meetup, we devised a little game--see how far down the list you get before you get to a band you've never heard of.

All apologies to anyone involved in this accident on the floating bridge, but the headline "Loose bucket blamed for multi-car crash on I-90" only makes us think of this:

              

Who says we're making transportation progress? Eighty years ago, you could've joined other day-tripping Puget Sounders on a passenger train to Monte Cristo, then one of the area's leading tourist destinations. Now you have to hoof it. The rails are gone, and most of the town, too. But the gorgeous sights that drew your grandparents here remain.

The heat's already gotten to our squirrel neighbor, and it's just after nine a.m. KOMO says 85 degrees today, tops. Cliff Mass says in New England, people are complaining about their cold, dreary summer, but we've got temps in the 80s as far as next Monday.

Earlier today, we were smiling over the Seattle Times trying to use the first day of light rail ridership as a benchmark. "What was the Times headline on February 4, 1965?" we asked, thinking of the opening of I-5. Then we really wanted to know, so we looked it up.

It all started last week when the August issue of Marie Claire (not on the magazine's webpage, because somehow Hearst doesn't know how to work the tubes) included a list of the top cities for women to meet single men. It was based on some statistics of dubious merit--among them the number of Starbucks and movie theaters--as well as some stats in areas we'd think Seattle would rank poorly (public transit, last call time). Despite all that--not to mention the phenomenon of the Seattle freeze--our fair city came out on top in the dating survey, beating, well, everyone else.

The ratio of slutty meat market square footage to respectable business space on Lower Queen Anne is reaching a critical tipping point with Peso’s expansion drawing to a close. While the nearby Spectator and Mecca remain stable, growth up the block is surging as demand for pseudo-tapas and $7 happy hour margaritas skyrockets. This formidable lure has proven an effective draw for white guys in backwards white hats and clingy women with heavy eye makeup.

Forty years ago next Monday, the world watched as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon, which is still one of the coolest things ever. This weekend, the Museum of Flight is beginning a week of exhibitions celebrating the moon landing's anniversary.

   

In advance of MOHAI's sold-out Georgetown walking tour this weekend, we went for a Georgetown promenade our own selves. We assembled this entirely prize-free trivia contest out of our iPhone snapshots. Fill in the answers in the comments section...if you can!

Speaking of regular readers, hey, you fly-by types: What the hell, make a commitment for once in your life. 5,000 people already subscribe to our RSS feeds (full stories on four separate channels), or you can follow us via our automated headline feed on Twitter. Crank up your iPhoneBerryDroid and enjoy our mobile version.

One thing the loop does is remove the need for decision about 12th or Broadway, which, it being Seattle, could keep us at the consensus table for the next quarter of a century. Also, as we understand it, it takes up less space to run the streetcar one way down a street, and it pencils out (construction-wise) as cheaper to do.

Both the print edition of the Seattle Times and its online headline stack yield some curious juxtapositions this morning--at least at first glance. Were the moon landings faked, or was it the mission to mars? (PS: To our knowledge, this story about an unemployed blogger--but we repeat ourselves!--marks the first usage of the expression "ass-clown" in Fairview Fanny's pages.)

This was Google's first attempt at a public meetup (they're doing meetups in several cities), and no one really knew what to expect. It turned out to be a fairly informal happy hour--Googlers circled the room wearing nametags (see Exhibit A, right) and you'd just flag one down and say something like, "So, like, explain this API thing to me."

On Friday, the trusty Central District police scanner caught word around 3:45 p.m. that there was a disturbance at 1500 East Union Street. Apparently the building's custodian wanted a man removed from the property, noting he was scared of the man because he has red hair. Really? Red hair? What's wrong with gingers? It's bad enough they face extinction, but have we all become so jaded that we're not shocked to find that gingerphobia really exists?

The Seattle Times has a complaint from a Redmond woman who was taking two kids to the fireworks on the Fourth. On holidays, Metro's policy is that kids ride free with a paying adult. But it turns out the Fourth is not a holiday...well, not a Metro holiday. Metro's holiday was the Third of July, which as you know celebrates the day the Founding Fathers settled on the parchment for the Declaration of Independence.

Look at that face! In the above video, the now six-week-old Woodland Park Zoo snow leopard cubs undergo another vet exam, complete with their first vaccinations and deworming. Awwwwww. There's only one little baby "peep" in the video (at 0:42), but you have to watch till the end to see the cubs trying their first solid food, chicken.

FREE POP SODAS FOR SEATTLEITES: For quite some time, every Friday the folks over at Jones Soda handed out free sodas to their South Lake Union neighbors and passersby, dubbing the program "Free Soda Friday." Well, the soda makers are offering not just the parched and thirsty, but all of Seattle a free Jones Soda, if you stop by their SLU headquarters today from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (And if you can't make it today FSF will take place at the Queen Anne Metropolitan Market the next two Fridays.) 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday // Jones Soda Co., 234 Ninth Avenue North // One free soda per person

A week ago, news of Fisher Plaza’s fire-induced power outage came as a surprise to gullible emergency management types who were guaranteed the media "fortress" could withstand even the most modern of technological curveballs. But in light of the present truck stop generator makeover that's sprung up on John Street, we're not so sure.

"Listen, we f***ed up. We lost Ichiro."

Good thing the P-I is still around to focus on such breaking news as this hard-hitting think piece from Redbook.

Surprisingly, the above ad (NSFW, unless your work is burlesque- and/or violence-friendly) isn't part of PETA's "sea kittens" campaign, but it might as well be. Objectification of women? Check. Making fish "sexy"? Check. Somehow drawing a parallel between killing a person with harming a fish? Check. The PSA is from Dutch animal rights group Wakker Dier ("awake animal"), but we fully except PETA to recruit some local burlesque performers the next time they need to protest Pike Place Market fish-throwing.

"Queers Against Gentrification," spotted by the lovely and talented Katelyn Hackett on Capitol Hill "right across from the light rail construction site, John and...10th, I guess." ACT UP! indeed.

MyBallard lit up yesterday with the continuing saga of Edith Macefield's house. In the basic facts of the story, the house has been sold to Greg and Shauna Pinneo, owners of some shady outfit which combines real estate investment with "inspiration, motivation, ethics, and expertise"--if one is predisposed to believe the website.

There isn't much going on here at Seattlest today, many of our writers have punched out early for the long holiday weekend. Some are off enjoying the sun, tracking down fireworks or doing absolutely nothing at all.

                        

So last Tuesday we took the day off and took advantage of our drought *koff koff* for a non-cloud-enshrouded trip to Mount Rainier. At 8:30 a.m. we were driving south down I-5, to 405, to 167, to 161, which took us through South Hill and Eatonville, and then it was 7 to 706, which drops you right at the door of Mount Rainier. The door costs $15 per car, or $5 if you're a person. Either way, it's the best damn money you're likely to spend in your life.

ZOMBIES WALK AGAIN!: First it was zombies on Cap Hill and now the streets of Fremont are expected to be littered with the living dead at Fremont Outdoor Film's Red White & Dead Zombie Party. They will be assembling record-breaking zombie masses (anyone can join), in an attempt to beat the Guinness World Record for largest walking zombie mob. Afterward, the gruesome group will meet zombie book authors, listen to zombie bands, try to dance like the zombies in "Thriller" and watch the romantic zombie comedy film,"Shaun of the Dead."

Hellevators are like bug zappers, you never notice them until something gets fried.

I cannot tell you how low I think your virtual rag has sunk with the story you ran on June 16. The victim of this accident perished from his injuries on June 24th in the ICU at Harborview. He was one of my closest friends, always a gentleman and the least grumpy human being I have ever met. There are no excuses you could ever give that could alter my low opinion of Seattlest.

We know you're all celebrating your national holiday, so you won't mind us wishing you this so late in the day. We've always been enamored of you, considering we have family in Montreal and Toronto (the nice thing about Toronto is that it's so close to Canada! har har). And since moving here, we've enjoyed the fact that you're only two hours away...even closer than that impertinent Portland.

       

Our day trip to Mount Rainier yesterday was capped off by an exclusive photo shoot starring some of the mountain's more publicity-shy and fluffy residents. On our way out of the park, we saw four fox kits and a parental unit enjoying the evening sunshine on a hillside. With our telephoto lens, we could shoot from far enough away that they didn't trouble themselves with our presence. What followed was totally candid. And totally magic.

Video from last night's episode of the Colbert Report, regarding our precious Benjamin Schroeter.

Because we don't want to deal with all the Twilight freaks who have made the tiny town a vampire nerd mecca. Look, we're not sure whether to pity Forks residents for having to put up with this bullshit or envy their ingenuity in coming up with new and exciting ways to steal these idiots' money during tough economic times.