Thanksgiving is always a time to reflect and, by the restorative powers of gravy, realize that no matter how much we think our life sucks, it actually doesn’t suck all that bad. So in that spirit, we thought it would be appropriate to highlight the things a sports lover in Seattle can still be thankful for. We tried to do a Top 10, but, um, we couldn’t come up with that many. more ›

Yesterday, Gov. Chris Gregoire sought to help prevent further injury for the millions of athletes who suffer sports-related concussions, by signing one of the nation's first and toughest laws regulating high school athletes' level of activity after sustaining a concussion. The new motto is, "When in doubt, the player has to come out." The Zachery Lystedt Law--inspired by the 16-year-old Maple Valley football player, who suffered a life-threatening brain injury--mandates adolescent athletes who have suffered a concussion cannot come back to play until they have a written approval from a doctor. more ›

The P-I says that the Seattle school board voted to adopt (4-3) the Key Curriculum Press Discovering Mathematics textbooks series--for algebra, advanced algebra, geometry, pre-calculus and calculus classes across the district. (Statistics classes get an Addison-Wesley textbook.) more ›

Yesterday we blogged about Cliff Mass's opinion on the high school algebra and geometry textbooks the school board is considering--and nobody with an opposing view commented. You'd think it was unanimous agreement. However, we were notified about this indignant response on Twitter: "Wow, I just lost all respect for the Seattlest - GG. http://bit.ly/1R3H08 Cliff Mass is an idiot. Agh so pissed off. Why can't ppl see that all the great minds are saying NOT TO lecture at kids or drill-n-kill. WELCOME TO OUR GENERATION!! Lets go to the weatherman for how we should teach math. EXCELLENT IDEA. Include all the rich white males from Bellevue while you're at it." more ›

Tucked at the end of UW meteorologist Cliff Mass's post about the millions of square miles of low clouds over the ocean that will ruin our sun-loving lives for the foreseeable future is a PS about Seattle's high school math "situation" that we mentioned last week. Says Cliff: "I was amazed that three of them are still considering a terrible math series (Discovering Algebra, Discovering Geometry) that was found by the State Board of Education to be unsuitable. And dropped by San Diego as a failure." They lost us with the titles, for god's sake, but it helps to have Cliff weigh in with an expert opinion. more ›

• Oh no! That horrible flu everyone seems to have been getting lately has hit the schools, KOMO reports.
• In the most unsurprising news item of the day, West Seattle Blog reports that a high school has been vandalized.
• Lake City finally got its day in the sun when the Stranger wrote about the neighborhood's effort to clean up and fight crime. Lake City Live has the details.

Even if she's your student. Because that's not ethically wrong at all. At all. It is, however, quite legal, according to today's ruling by a Washington Court Of Appeals panel holding that state law does not specifically prohibit a teacher from having sex with his or her eighteen-year-old student(s). The decision came after the trio of judges reviewed Matthew Hirschfelder's case; Hirschfelder was a choir teacher solidly into his thirties when he had sex with one of his students, a delicate flower aged eighteen years. Yes, he was committing adultery. Yes, the fling happened on school grounds. (Whoa.) And apparently, yes, the sex was not explicitly illegal. more ›

Who is the best quarterback in the state? Matt Hasselbeck? We don't think so. Jake Locker? Sorry Husky fans. You are only half right. more ›

The Paramount Theatre's next touring musical is called Spring Awakening (October 14-19, tickets $22-$70). It was nominated for eleven 2007 Tony Awards, won eight--notably best musical, direction, book, score, and featured actor. more ›

LET'S TALK ABOUT CHILDREN WHO BREED: Spring Awakening is a musical about teens (really young teens) who have sex. Sex is always a controversial topic, and according to a press release, Roosevelt High School is hosting a community conversation about the musical and its themes for interested locals. A diverse group of people are participating in the discussion, including members of the theatre community and students and teachers from Seattle schools. Two cast members from Spring Awakening will also be on hand to lend their perspective. more ›

For those of you without tweens, HSM is the story of smart Gabriella and jock Troy, teens from different high schools who meet during their winter break, sing some karaoke together at a ski lodge, exchange cell numbers, and go back to their respective lives. Gabriella moves to Albuquerque's East High School, home of the Wildcats...and--completely coincidentally!--Troy. The show begins with a he-said/she-said recounting of their meeting (think "Summer Lovin'" from Grease) with their friends from the Archetype Depot. Troy's the basketball star, Gabriella's the academic decathelon star, and they both wind up trying out for the high school musical, Juliet and Romeo, written by Shy Asian Musician Girl. In matching teal, the high school drama queen, Sharpay, and her twin brother Ryan (sort of an understudy for Ugly Betty's Marc St. James) conspire against our two star-crossed lovers for the leads in the musical. Throw in the must-win brain brawl and the big game--both in conflict with the musical call-backs--and, well, you get the idea. It all works out, and all main characters (except Ryan, 'cause this is Disney...) pair up in the end. more ›

parody of a musical in the first place, with enough cheesy lines, bawdy humor and exposed flesh to sate more or less any appetite. more ›

Seattle hiphop artist Kublakai (aka Ian Waller) released in early January, and we've happily kept tracks from the record such "Oh Lord" and "Power Food" in our frequent playlist rotation ever since. This week, Kublakai talked to Seattlest in an exclusive about jazz, Snoop Dogg, his mom, a budding film career, and more! more ›

Musicians who remain active in the recording industry for over 20 years usually become internationally famous and aim to save the world, or quietly cultivate a devout fan base by emancipating humanity one pair of ears at a time. Mark Pickerel—drummer, vocalist, and Ellensburg native—has followed the latter career path. more ›

Two eastside teens have been arrested for the false bomb threat that shut down Mercer Island High School on Tuesday. The teens, a 15 year old female student from Mercer Island High School and a 16 year old boy from Renton. The arrests were made around noon on Wednesday. The teens were booked into a juvenile detention center, upon suspicion of phoning in the bomb threats. more ›

Unlike our beloved baseball All Star Game, we’ve tended to skip the NBA's version in recent years. However, with our hero Brandon Roy, in Sunday's game we can’t wait to watch our fellow ex-Bulldog cram some FANtastic™ action down the East’s face. However, we’ll be in Vancouver--sorry TNT. more ›

We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they discuss McCain’s new frontrunner status, religion in American politics, and Edwards’ departure. more ›

Or, "In Which We Suggest a Proper Landing Zone for that Satellite Headed Our Way" more ›

Mercer Island is not just the home of the fifth richest man on earth. And 98040 isn't just the wealthiest zip code in our state. It is now known as a childhood home of Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Dunham. more ›

Last time we checked in on Shawn Kemp, Jr., he was a 6-7 wingman considered a fairly decent prospect in Georgia. more ›

The film runs through January 17 at SIFF Cinema, and at its heart is a statement that might read something like this, from the blog Asperger Square 8:

The idea of supporting people rather than trying to force them into those behaviors the majority can more comfortably tolerate, the correctness of this seems so very self-evident, I often forget what a radical concept it is, how much we are sometimes hated for expressing it.

The only responsible note in "Billy the Kid" is that when Billy checks out multiple books on serial killers from his school library, someone has the sense to make an issue of it. You don't want to wish that the same librarian had worked at Virginia Tech, but the thought certainly crosses your mind.

Tony Harris was a star basketball player at Garfield High School and Washington State University. After college, he played in a variety of international pro leagues: The Philippines, South Korea, Brazil. more ›

So, we were total boneheads: the TV debut we've been awaiting for months rolls around, and what are we doing at 9 pm Monday night? Having an evening constitutional. My God, what have we become? more ›

M. Coy Books on Pine is closing, and, because we spent hours and hours there as a teenager without buying anything, we're feeling a bit jerk-ish for not having patronized the place more in adulthood. more ›

Recommendeds are awesome. They let you tell us what you want more of (food posts) and what you don't (high school basketball previews). Keep letting your fingers do the talking! more ›

Counterpoint at Tuesday night's Garfield/Inglemoor game, played at Garfield's temporary home, Old Lincoln High. more ›

If you're wondering what happens to the lesser-known bands who used to play Seattle at the Croc, evidence from the sports world shows that you ought to look for them in Kent. Or not at all. more ›

On Saturday, we took our godson, his mom and his dad to Baby Loves Disco. Since we don't have a kid of our own and don't have any experience with kid-themed events, 17-month-old Eli agreed to let us interview him about the party. more ›

Making up for weeks of hibernation and workaholism, Kim will hit the parties this weekend. Tonight, she’ll don her Groucho glasses for a lesbian function at Jabu’s celebrating the births of her two favorite Sagitarii. Saturday, it’s to the War Room for a company party with the missus and her workmates. Finally, she’ll ship off to the sub-tropics on Monday, where she’ll spend what remains of 2007. more ›

"Play smart," came the exhortation from Blanchet parents, as their children began to fritter away a lead that had been 13 points with three minutes left. But let's face it, people--asking high school basketball players to "play smart" is like asking high school musicians to "maintain your vibrato" or high school cheerleaders to "save it for marriage." So, on our Metro League Tuesday (TM), through a series of ill-advised drives, poor passes, bad fouls and,... more ›