"Under 520" by Shelley McIntyre A lovely shot of something that most Seattletonians find themselves on top of but much fewer find themselves underneath. Over *and* under... you'll find it in our Flickr pool. Thanks for sharing.... [continue]

Photo courtesy of Adam Lyon Lightning, thunder, and heavy rains are beautiful and exciting, particularly to us in the Pacific Northwest who get to witness them so infrequently. When a storm comes in we always hope we're near a window (or camping, so said people on the bus this morning) so that we can catch random glimpses of nature's fireworks. Other people react differently, though. When a storm whips up Dad, back in Illinois, mans... [continue]

Useless Bay Sign courtesy of John Klein We love the quirky names found in Washington State. We never tire of hearing of places with names like Zillah, Hooker's Cove, Sequim, and our life-long personal favorite Humptulips. But Humptulips might have to make way for a new-found favorite, Useless Bay. Apparently, Useless Bay is located off Whidbey Island and was so named because it was too shallow for the tall ships of yore to explore.... [continue]

Walking over to Baguette Box for lunch yesterday (the all-star Salumi's cured meat sandwich, $7.50), we were startled by a U-Haul with the most alarming marketing artwork we've ever seen. We're not sure anyone moves to Manitoba strictly for the snake dens ("We're alive with snakes") in the first place, but just to the right of the snake explosion is the tagline, "Where will U go next?" (Sorry, we were keeping one eye on the... [continue]

When Seattlest was just a wee lesbian growing up in a small southern town, we did what we reckon other wee small-town lesbians did: we listened to a lot of k.d. lang and the Indigo Girls. We went on long road trips across the whole state with the windows down, our other closeted friends with us, singing "Galileo" at the top of our lungs. Ah, those good ol' days of closeted small-town life. It's... [continue]

Poor Michelle Malkin. Barely a month went by after declaring her break-up with Starbucks—after a 10-year relationship starting in Seattle—in favor of Dunkin' Donuts, before her new caffeine paramour ran afoul of her sensibilities. Equally culpable in this Foolish Fracas is some other website's post mistaking the time-honored, free-market practice of appropriating culture to turn a quick buck for the alleged mainstreaming of (a generic and varied regional) symbol used by some (in a... [continue]

Lab Monkeys, image courtesy of the AP We may have found the best headline of the week on Monday morning, but KIRO 7's website came through with doubtlessly the most disturbing headline of the week today. It read: "No Federal Violations For Boiled Monkey Death." Just re-typing the headline makes Seattlest shudder. Turns out if you are working in a lab using monkeys for research and test subjects and you scald one to death, it's... [continue]

Seattlest may be more attuned to these reports, since we spend the greater portion of our day browsing local news sites...but what is going on with the spate of stabbings in Western Washington? Every time we refresh the local news sites, it seems they are reporting a new fatal or near-fatal stabbing. A quick perusal of Komo 4's local news site found the following recent headlines: Roadside Argument Leads to Deadly Stabbing Auburn Teen... [continue]

"The soul of a city resides in its humanity, not its historic buildings. But those buildings serve to remind the changing cast of human characters what that soul is made of, and keep it from mutating beyond recognition." --Lawrence Cheek Architecture writer Lawrence Cheek writes in today's P-I about two historic properties--one landmarked and one not, respectively--that have been undergoing some creative adaptive reuses: Queen Anne High School and the old Rainier (Sick's) Brewery... [continue]

Ever notice the big tree at the North end of Macy’s sitting on that tiny island in the middle of Stewart Avenue? Is it us, or is that thing fading faster than Christine Gregoire's chances of being re-elected? Can we really blame it? Imagine being the only natural thing standing in a sea of transition and fumes--you’d look haggard, too. It probably feels like former Governor Spitzer’s wife. It ain’t easy being the only... [continue]

Nothing screams “alcoholic refuge” like a windowless bar. At no place is this truer than the Slurricane Cafe, as some derisively refer to the old mainstay at the corner of 7th and Bell. To say the Hurricane is crap is overly simplistic. The Hurricane fills a rare and seedy void combining 24 hour “service," Simpson’s pinball and a decent jukebox with the aforementioned windowless lounge. The food is sub Mecca/5 Point on the dive-joint... [continue]

What do you get when you cross first-class amenities with a blood-thirsty, third-world parasite? If you’re a downtown Seattle hotel you get bed bugs. According to several hotel sources and a couple of pest control experts, the bed bug is back in downtown Seattle, nobody wants to admit it, and they’re really expensive to get rid of. Pest control experts will readily tell you that as few as a couple of years ago bed... [continue]

While trolling around some of Seattle's great local blogs for breaking news, we saw this photo that broke our heart: Kitten stealing is definitely a new low! Though, apparently, it's been a problem before at Twice Sold Tales. They take your backpack at the counter in part to avoid cat-napping. So sad. The cats, to this non-allergic bookstore lover, are one of the nicest parts of Twice Sold Tales on Capitol Hill. We, with all... [continue]

The ability to endure month after month of days like today is an unappreciated phenomenon unique to this corner of America. Elsewhere winter storms may be harsher in the traditional frozen pipes/paralyzed infrastructure sense, but the psychological toll of Steve Pool’s constant grey "with a chance of light rain" is just grueling. Long-time Seattle residents are not unlike seasoned veterans of a lifelong Chinese Water Torture and Seattlest appreciates the local grit required to... [continue]

Ever notice how Luke Ridnour gets the loudest applause at Key Arena? It’s kind of strange since the 5-year NBA vet is one of the worst Sonics point guards to actually start or get playing time in team history. Laying claim to the lowest field goal percentage among a miserable cast of point guards on one of the worst teams in the league should be a recipe for early retirement; Ridnour even trails our... [continue]

"As Is" by Arboreality Not only do the seedy shops look charming but the scene as a whole looks like something out of a warm, June evening. Thanks, Arboreality, for dropping this photo into the Seattlest Flickr Pool.... [continue]

Photo by lachance Yet another greasy Seattle landmark has fallen victim to the mass character exodus currently enveloping this city of heartless opportunists. Andy’s Diner, otherwise known as the “train car café" on Fourth Avenue South is closing. Mozzarella sticks will be a rare commodity in Ballard with the closing of Sunset Lanes and Denny’s, and now SODO will be deprived of the Prime Steak and booze that Andy’s so graciously offered this city for... [continue]