The City of Seattle has come to an agreement with Seattle Parks & Recreation and the private development firm Build 11 LLC to retain affordable studio space for artists in Magnuson Park's Building 11. more ›

FROM MALI WITH LOVE: Mali is the heart of African pop music. Or perhaps its more like a tree that just keeps producing some of the world’s tastiest tunes and talented musicians. With internationally renowned artists like Amadou et Miriam, Super Rail Band, Oumou Sangaré, and most recently Bassekou Kouyate, the landlocked west African nation hasn’t stopped exporting excellent music. Bassekou Kouyate and his band Ngoni ba were the first group signed to Sub Pop and KEXP collaborative world music imprint, Next Ambiance, releasing I Speak Fula earlier this year. Kouyate and others in the group play the ngoni, a string instrument and ancestor to the American banjo. Charged yet subtle, brisk but steady, Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni ba should not be missed. more ›

We can't find the thrown ball in this photo. Is this a fake throw to get the dog to pose for the camera? You kind of get the sense from him that he's saying, "That's not necessary--How do you want me to stand? Like this? More devotion? Because I can do that." Cool picture, zeebleoop. Thanks for putting it in the Flickr Pool. more ›

The City Council has approved Arena Sports' proposal to renovate Hangar 27 at Magnuson Park. The project, which is entirely privately funded (are you listening basketball fans?) will begin immediately, and the facility will open in 2009. The city retains ownership of the structure, however, Arena Sports will receive free rent up to the value of the improvements. Additionally, Arena Sports will offer free programs and scholarships. Nearly 50 percent of the floorspace will be available for non-sporting community events. more ›

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This Sunday evening, the Seattle Phonographers Union will be holding a sonic performance at Magnuson Park. Phonographers?!? The hell you say? Rest, assured; we misspeelled neither photographers nor pornographers --although, for the record, we support many of those engaged these activities. We like the term phonography, first, because it sounds nicely antiquated and, given that we are currently embroiled in The Digital Future, somewhat analog what with its allusion to the phonograph. Now we're certain that many of our valiant phonographers likely use digital means to record sound; however, the term still has somewhat of steampunk charm and we are currently having a torrid tryst with the steampunk ethos. more ›

Seattlest grew up in a tiny town you've never heard of in Central Florida, where a real sandy ocean beach (on which you could drive) was 20 minutes in one direction, and a crystalline gulf beach was an hour and a half in the other. Now that we live in the Land of the Rain, we wait all year for weeks like these, when the sun is high and hot, the breeze is soft and frequent and there are enough daytime hours to book it to the lake beach after work. more ›

The Friends of The Seattle Public Library Book Sale more ›

You be the judge. This Saturday, two wheel-obsessed events face off at Magnuson Park. In one corner we have the Northwest Film Forum's Bike-In, an outdoor event with music, bike-related demonstrations, beer garden, raffle, and screenings of bike-themed films on a large outdoor screen. The event is co-sponsored by the Cascade Bicycle Club. more ›

We're a little reluctant to tell you about this, honestly, because we don't want any more competition for the good stuff, but we really are good folks at heart, so we'll let you in one of the absolute highlights of our year: tonight is the special Member's Preview of the Friends of the Seattle Public Library Book Sale at Magnuson Park. It runs all day Saturday and Sunday as well, and on Sunday things are half price, which, we'll get to prices in a minute. more ›

VALTRON 3000 is co-captain of Throttle Rockets, one of the four teams in Rat City Rollergirls. more ›

That giant flaming ball of hot gases is back, and aside from telling ourselves to stop staring at it, Seattlest's mind is on the fence. (It's a small fence.) We haven't had enough ski season yet, but a nice dry bike ride sure would be dreamy. If the extra vitamin D from the past few days has skewed your thoughts to similar memes, or you just want to pick up a bunch of free swag and some dirt-cheap lycra, by all means please head over to Magnuson Park for the 2006 Bike Expo from Feb 18-19. more ›

Dog owners know the sign: no dogs on the beach, fines up to $500. Seattle's municipal code says so. The only way to get your dog to water (legally) is to take him to the Magnuson Park off-leash area--which Seattlest highly recommends for the giggle factor. But it's a small beach, crammed with ball-obsessed Labs. (The dog beach at the Marymoor off-leash area--outside city limits--is even smaller, and the area itself was underwater for much of January.) more ›

Bank of America, McDonalds and Starbucks? Seattlest is reeling a little from the notion of an overtly corporate party to celebrate the start of the year of the dog at Union station on Saturday, February 4th. more ›

With the weather being so Seattle-like recently, we're all looking forward to a weekend that promises to be nearly summery. Mid-seventies and sunny in July should see the paddlers paddling, the hikers hiking and the bikers lazing around in the park watching TV. Yes, bike fans will have to give it a short rest on Saturday while attending the "biggest Tour party on the west coast." more ›

Seattlest has a shopping list that contains all the items we hope to procure from garage and estate sales this spring. It's very extensive and we won't subject you to it here, but we will tell you that it's a couple of electronic components short of "house, furniture, and all items necessary for normal life." That's a lot of stuff, and it doesn't even cover the things we need to live Seattlest's abnormal life. more ›

I volunteered to dogsit this weekend, and I'd like to do more than just drop in and let the pooch out to pee. What are some good off-leash areas in and around Seattle? more ›