While trolling through today's Floor Proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives for our other job (it's an exciting one), we noticed something that will probably get no coverage anywhere else. However, we think it is important to note when Congress singles out one faith as important. We think it's doubly important to note when the vote is taken while Congress fights with the Bush Administration over funding the government for the next year, haggles......

The snow is here, and people are already missing on Crystal Mountain. They apparently hit the backcountry (seems way to early to be doing that, we think), and by all accounts were properly equipped, including avalanche beacons. But shit can go sideways in the backcountry, and "properly equipped" is most relevant if you really know how to use that stuff. We're hoping those lost folks do, and are found any second now. Should you be......

The Program (Dec. 18-22) will be way cooler than we initially thought, folks. Not only will some of the biggest names in NW hip-hop be on stage for your entertainment five nights in a row, but the latest news is that there are all kinds of technological tie-ins that will make this event very, very 21st-century. For instance: if you bring your cell phone to the show (haha! Who doesn’t bring their cell phone to......

Last Friday after work we were at the Eames IMAX at Pacific Science Center not seeing the Transformers movie. Instead we were listening to a tag-team presentation by Chris Mooney, who wrote The Republican War on Science, and professor-blogger Matthew Nisbet, of Framing Science. (That's an earlier video of one of their talks, all 71 minutes of it -- it's a little pixelized at first, but that clears up in a few seconds.) We......

It's a big, bad world out there, and there are plenty of reasons to be mad as hell. An undisclosed conflict of interest? Well, depends on the circumstances: whose conflict, whose interest? Used to be, reporters of all stripes were treated to trips, tickets, meals, drinks. Then came a wave of holier-than-thou moralizing and publishers began to insist on paying reporters expenses. Granted, Seattlest gets an occasional free beer, but big whoop. More of an......

So, you think you have been to a beer festival before? Maybe you went to Fremont Oktoberfest , or maybe you even went to the Seattle International Beer Fest this summer. If you really want to go to a beer festival, get yourself to Denver in 10 days. The Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is every beer lovers dream. 408 breweries. 1,884 beers. One huge convention center. 3 straight days of goodness. Can it......

The past two days, contributors Jeremy "The Seattle Samurai" Barker and Katie "The Kalama Quickdraw" Tiehen debated the age-old question of whether Seattle or Portland is better. Both Jeremy and Katie raised some excellent points, but that's what rebuttals are for. Katie rebuts Jeremy: [ED: Jeremy, writing for Seattle, alleged that Portland's ascension to Green-ness and "hipster paradise"-dom was not without social and economic cost--most notably, higher housing prices in the urban core, which pushed......

No question about it: there's too much Bordeaux on the market. The answer: find new ways to sell it. Howard Goldberg, who once wrote for the NewYork Times, thinks the answer is for Bordeaux estates to sell shrink-wrapped, powdered wine, which could be reconstituted (with designer water, to be sure) into vino. Great idea, Howard; we'll get back to you. Seriously, it's time for international action. Justin and Andy, what's your plan?Cut a hole in......

Chicken broth-based soups are some of the ultimate comfort foods, and are especially good when sick. We love them all, from matzo ball soup (a.k.a. “Jewish penicillin”) to tortilla soup to good ol’ Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup (or, better yet, Chicken & Stars – our childhood favorite, though we shudder to think about the sodium content). Last week, Dishin’ lamented the lack of good xiao long bao in Seattle. This week, we decided to go......

Everyone is jumping on the reunion tour bandwagon these days, and the paleontologists greedy museum directors of the world are not to be left out of the mix. Lucy, the famous (if you prefer science over Hollywood) 3.2-million-year-old fossil, is going on tour too. She's got some contentious bones. The original set of fossils--representing the oldest, most intact human ancestor--has been swept out of Ethiopia, where she was supposed to stay in perpetuity, and is......

For the first time ever, we ventured to the sophisticated urban wilds of Toronto for their 32nd annual International Film Festival. TIFF is a big 'un, and, along with Venice, its perpetually strong line-up of award-bait always mark the official beginning of Oscar season. We hit the Canadian cinema circuit in an attempt to catch as many of the year's best films as possible. One film you won't find on 2007's best-of lists is the......

Seattle a sports town? After this weekend, sure. Hawks win! Huskies win! Mariners win! Cougs win! Shit, everybody wins. Ah, not so fast. Mustn't forget soccer. Saturday's World-Cup rematch between France and Italy brings together a couple dozen Seattle restaurateurs to root raucously for les Bleus...or cheer boisterously for gli Azzuri. The venue is a plasma TV at Sorrentino's, on Queen Anne, hallowed ground of sorts, since Mamma Enza comes as close as anyone in......

There's a far more famous Tartine in San Francisco, in the Mission, but we love Cafe Tartine on Gough (rhymes with cough) Street. You go to Cafe Tartine for the feeling of a local French cafe and for the free refills on coffee and for no one ever bothering you for taking up a table for three hours. The baguette sandwiches are delicious, and they do some fun things with bagels, too. (Pseudo-foodies will complain......

Starbucks, give 'em credit, is able to do more than one thing at a time. Mark of maturity, that. The papers are full of its plans to expand into every corner of the globe; this week it's Russia. On the domestic front, meantime, they're promoting a slogan to follow up on last year's "Geography is a Flavor." The new catchphrase: "Coffee is Culinary." Half a step back to the very American notion, articulated by New......

A year ago, under the headline "Eatin' Good Outside the Hood," we wrote about dinner at Union Bay Café in Laurelhurst. Couple of months later, owner-chef Mark Manley announced he's closing down: "After 21 years, it's time to move on." Gulp. Fortunately, the concept of an enlightened yet unpretentious neighborhood restaurant is alive and well in other nabes and hoods. In Fremont, that self-described Center of the Universe, for example, we have a perfect example:......

Seattlest took a little jaunt up to downtown Pacific Rim Canada the other weekend. Vancouver is the Toronto of western Canada and, just like its gritty eastern counterpart, we just *big throbbing heart* the place. We love its density, its layout, and its landscape. We love the architecture, even its endless kilometers of glass and steel high rises. Moreover, it's a walkable city. If you're a reasonably able-bodied tourist, you should be able to stomp......

Once upon a time, we had a nice boyfriend with whom we discovered Szechuan Noodle Bowl, a veritable gem in the International District. We ate noodles, we held hands, we gazed into each others’ eyes. But somewhere along the line, it seemed that not all of the times were as good as those we spent at the Noodle Bowl and sadly, we were...let go. Now, getting dumped was painful, but giving up Szechuan Noodle Bowl......

At work the other day, Seattlest was talking to a coworker and friend who originally hails from Minnesota. Naturally, we talked of the bridge collapse. As one would expect these sorts of conversations to go, the conversation logically ended with us looking up the coordinates for the northernmost point in Maine. Just how did this happen? In the course of conversion, it came up that Minnesota, not Maine, is the northernmost contiguous United State. So......

In anticipation of French house DJs Daft Punk's show at WaMu Theatre this Sunday, head to Lower Level at the Capitol Hill Arts Center tonight for a screening of the first film directed by the electro duo: Electroma, a film made by Daft Punk, is an odyssey of two robots who journey across a mythic American landscape of haunting, surreal beauty on a quest to become human. Their symbolic quest, which takes them from......

Remember—or recognize—Silverchair? Chances are the last song you heard from the Australian trio was 1995’s grunge-ish "Tomorrow," which hit #1 on US charts. The band’s mates were 14 when that single, off debut album Frogstomp, made them international stars. American interest in their music may have ebbed since, but Silverchair remains Australia’s biggest act. Young Modern, their new—and decidedly un-grunge—album is their record-breaking 5th Aussie chart-topper. It hits US bins on July 24. The......

The supreme granddaddy of Seattle blogging and king shit of the international bicyclist rebellion Rob Zverina has yet another straight from the gut, well written and beautifully illustrated post up on his blog that's worth checking out. After viewing the aftermath of another car on bicyclist collision up in Fremont, Zverina rants: It made me incredibly mad. The equivocator said he knew what it was like because he too was a cyclist. When Sarah......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

N.P. Thompson went to SIFF, and we all benefit now that he's written about the best and worst films of the festival -- and launched a few broadsides at SIFF and select members of its audience: The 33rd Seattle International Film Festival ended two weeks ago; it’s taken me this long to gain enough distance to sort and sift through all I might conceivably have to say on the subject. Even so, the movies under......

Whether it was the warm weather, the accompaniment of canines, or the abundance of fantastic alcohol, people were blissed-out at Saturday’s go-round of the Seattle International Beerfest. Here’s a taste of what we observed during our first SIB experience. Things we expect from a brewfest and did, in fact, witness: The girl who, needing a free hand for a moment, stuffs her tasting glass into her cleavage. The guy who parts with his shirt after......

It is finally here! What is it? The Seattle International Beerfest (SIB). There will be over 100 different beers from breweries all over the world, and some great beers from our own backyard. You will have the opportunity to try samples of beer that is normally not even available in Seattle. Where and when is it? It is held at the Mural Amphitheater at Seattle Center Friday 4pm to 10pm Saturday Noon to 10pm......

It was a week of bizarre, embarassing headlines at DCist. The trial of the local administrative law judge who sued his cleaners for $54 million over a pair of missing pants left everyone shaking their heads. Then the capital city was nearly brought to its knees, twice, by poop. Finally D.C. contemplated taking Vermont's place as a state and marveled at the GOP lessons learned from the "Macaca Moment." Due to some sad shootings......

Apparently, there's some other annual festival this weekend besides Sasquatch. That's right, Memorial Day also hearkens the return of Folklife, Seattle's hippiest fest, held every year at Seattle Center. Local singer-songwriter/friend of Seattlest Ali Marcus will be playing the festival (Sunday, 4pm at Cafe Impromptu in McCaw Hall), so we turned to her for an expert opinion on what's worth your time this weekend, besides hackysack and drum circle. Seattlest Kim's already given you......

At long last, after months and months of announcements and press releases, it's finally time to kick off the 33rd annual Seattle International Film Festival. Tonight's the opening gala event (7pm), held for the first time at SIFF's swanky new digs at McCaw Hall. This year's opening night film--Son of Rambow--much like last year's, falls somewhere in between previous year's selections, including the mawkish abomination that is The Notebook and the precious artsy genius......

National film festival correspondent Kyle Anderson on Seattle's other one While May 24th is the debut of the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), the lesser known, 3rd annual Seattle True Independent Film Festival (STIFF) also kicks off its performance schedule on the same date. The latter appears to be the yin to the former’s yang – one is slang for Syphilis and the other is a rock-hard…whatever. Although it has been documented that Seattleites don’t......

Last year we lamented a less-than-stellar meal at a forgettable Japanese restaurant, wishing we’d instead gone to ol’ reliable: Takohachi. Especially after an active day, we crave the salty goodness of the grilled mackerel dish known as saba shioyaki, or saba-shio for short. Forget about the latest version of Dining for a Determined Amount of Dollars. Run, don’t walk, to the International District before Takohachi closes. Just like the beloved Koraku, this restaurant will be......