Last night at Benaroya Hall, author Richard Powers read from a new short story called "Modulation." It was classic Powers; a dense, far-reaching, and meticulously vivid tale of a computer virus that infects music player devices via filesharing sites. He weaves the story around four different individuals: a Japanese hacker recently released from prison and now employed by the RIAA to huntdown filesharers, a Brazilian journalist researching soldiers in Iraq who blast ear-crunching music from their vehicles when they go out on missions, a forlorn music scholar on the eve of his retirement from a mid-western University, and a young laptop battler who agonizes over keeping track of the ever-multiplying sub-genres of electronic music and enthralls with his live performances of entirely computerized music that rely heavily on audio samples from early-80s video games. more ›

True Hoop's been running a fascinating serial written by Gregory Dole, who was Leandro Barbosa's interpreter when he worked out with NBA teams before the 2003 draft. Part IV talks about Barbosa's work out with the Sonics, wherein he wowed the top of the Sonics' org chart, including then-poobah Howard Schultz. Barbosa had a great workout, hitting his shots, blowing past defenders, and unleashing a nasty crossover that caused Kirk Hinrich to fall on his ass. Then he hurt his hip running a sprint, and here's where Dole's account gets depressing.

Many agility tests later with the team doctor, and we are sitting in the reception area waiting to go back to the hotel. Leandrinho has a pack of ice on his hip. Nate McMillan walks by and idly jokes, "I hope you don't get to work out for any other club! You played great today. I hope you fall to us." more ›

We were unusually excited to be seeing Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House down at ACT. While we love the theatre, we tend to feel that a lot of theatre...well, sucks. Boring, repetitive, drawing-room plays about coming to terms with things (race, disease, sexuality, victimization, etc.). So we're always on the look-out for exciting new playwrights with truly original voices, and Ruhl seemed a good bet. A Pulitzer prize finalist and a MacArthur "genius" award winner with adoring write-ups in The New York Times, she seemed promising, a new Suzan-Lori Parks. more ›

That said, while 25-year-old Brazilian Céu [myspace] is what's known in some circles as a "smokin' hottie," the metaphorical orgy we're talking about includes the whole band: Bruno Buarque (percussion), Lucas Martins (bass and guitar), Serginho Machado (percussion), Guilherme Ribeiro (keyboard), and DJ Marco. Yep, whole band, or we just -- well, no need for ultimatums. We walked in expecting Brazilian samba, and we got so much more: soul and R&B, "afrobeat" and "electrojazz," two genres we treat with quotes to indicate: "existence, our shocking ignorance of." They are good words, though, so we'll use them. On ballads, Céu might sound a little like Sade (okay, with more vocal agility); but "Concrete Jungle" [listen at myspace] sounds like Jimmy Cliff singing with a '70s funk back-up band. She kept encouraging the Triple Door audience to get up and dance and if there had been any room to do that, this crowd just might have. We kept coming back to the bass lines the tunes hung on, the physicality of the percussion, that glorious electric organ sound. There was even a sing-along encore. Céu, come back soon. more ›

"Who are you guys?" asked a team correcting their quizzes. more ›

25 teams! Free ashtrays for the taking! Controversy about whether or not Bangor is a "city" or just part of Bremerton! And a geeky white boy dance-off to close the evening! more ›

Apparently there's a reason we don't usually start the quiz fuelled by a shot of Jack Daniel's -- we give away answers. Sharp-eared teams -- which was most of them -- noticed that we gave away the answer to a Wizard of Oz question when talking about Hugh Rockoff's interpretation of the book as a parable about the gold standard. We didn't realize it until we were reading the answers, and suddenly understood why Brazilian Mietze had wagged their fingers at us. more ›

Though they promised to be there, Husker Don't was not among the teams playing the pub quiz at the Old Pequliar last night. Once again, their absence was greeted with applause as a Winchell's dozen of other teams realized their chances to win the big bucks had just improved. more ›

Before we get started, a question: the Old Pequliar wants to know if people are interested in a quiz on the day after Christmas. If you'd be likely to show up, or if you usually show up but wouldn't, let us know in the commments so we can report back. more ›

>>>Hugo House, 7:30pm. Screenwriters Salon: Geoff Miller and Mark Handley invite you to bring your questions about format, technique, structure, dialogue, writing characters, and how to use your catering gig to hand your script to celebs. $5 general/$2 students. Free to members. more ›

Tuesday 31st, Halloween Night more ›

Last week we caught a free showing of the Brazilian documentary Favela Rising, courtesy of Scion's marketing machine. With the promise of free cocktails beforehand, we trundled down to the Harvard Exit about a half hour in advance of the show. Upon making our way upstairs to the top floor, we felt a bit like we'd crashed someone's party where we quickly realized we knew no one there. The atmosphere was more "Yo check out my friend's DJ premiere" than "Indie movie screening", but we tried to settle in. Sadly, we were not wearing a mesh hat slanted like Mike Cameron, or our best "trying too hard" clothes. more ›

Another month, another free Scion-sponsored documentary at the Harvard Exit. This time around (tomorrow night), it's Favela Rising. more ›

After kicking our collective asses for four consecutive days, the heat is finally backing down. So pull yourself together. Go outside again -- especially to Capitol Hill this weekend. more ›

Last night, the air was thick with sweat and World Cup Fever. That's what you get when Brazilian actor/musician/superstar Seu Jorge comes to town. The sold-out show was hot and crowded---and the least hipsterish we've ever seen Neumo's. Members of the audience were speaking in Portuguese, donning soccer jerseys, and wearing glasses less out of concern for their image than their eyesight. All in all, it was an energetic, friendly crowd. And when Seu, along with his four-piece backing band, took the stage a little after 10:30pm, the audience reacted to the music in a way that we don't see much in Seattle: They danced. Not the arms-crossed, head-nodding form of dancing, nor the pushing-people proto-mosh. But some bonafide swaying, hip-shaking, wave-your-hands-in-the-air-like-you-just-don't-care dancing. It was amazing. more ›

The end is near. Soon SIFF will be but a fading memory. So if you've been putting it off, this weekend is the last chance until next year for you to get some festival action. As an added bonus, on Sunday night at the Broadway Performance Hall, there will be an encore presentation for two of the films (one short, one full-length) that end up taking home SIFF awards. If you missed 'em the first (and second) time around, be there! more ›

You've got two options for where you should be Saturday night. Sure, there's more going on, but you'll have to trust us when we say that these two are where the action is. Anything else just won't be as good...unless it is. more ›

There we were, mostly strangers, alerted by email, huddled around a table in a Capitol Hill back room. The product to be sampled was an extremely high-grade Bolivian variety, hard to get. Just a single bag had been a cooperative venture. "Get your nose all the way down there," we were instructed, "and make sure it's a good long inhale." more ›

With all this talk of indictments, World Series action, and last night's Gilmore Girls, it is easy to forget that we are about to pick a mayor. Well, not so much forget as not realize. more ›

Unlike a certain whiny bastard with terrible taste, most people have had nothing but glowing praise for The Constant Gardener, the new film from Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles. And with good reason---the movie's a taut political thriller about a genteel mid-level British diplomat in Africa (Ralph Fiennes) whose activist wife (Rachel Weisz) is killed, an event which spurs him to get to the bottom of her murder by digging ever deeper. Y'know, 'cause he's a gardener. more ›

What’s it really like to be the child of a Nobel Prize winning physicist? Tonight Seattle is offered a glimpse into this world when Michelle Feynman, daughter of Nobel Prize-winning Richard Feynman, discusses her father’s life and work. Joining her in this reminiscence will be local scientists George Dyson and Prof. Steve Ellis. more ›

Who are the 11:30pm girls? more ›

Did you know that "Baby Got Back" has consistently been one of the most purchased ringtones in cellphone history? Sometimes we like to think about the people out there who would pick that song to play whenever their cellphone rings. We hope there is a junior executive making a big sales pitch to a board of directors and that during a big presentation his phone starts playing "My anaconda don't want none unless you got buns hon." We do hope, however, that he still gets the account. more ›