When Semisonic's Feeling Strangely Fine came out in 1998, Seattlest was 18 years old and leaving the crushing open spaces of Wyoming for good. We liked the album then, but it wasn't until a year later -- this time leaving Phoenix, Arizona for good -- that we really fell in love with it. We were by ourselves, pulling a U-Haul trailer behind our '76 El Camino, and we were on our way to Washington state to start a new life. more ›

(This fall we are combining our love of the football and our dream of learning to cook. On Sunday morning, following a trip to a local farmer’s market/major supermarket chain, we will be preparing a meal from the city of the Seahawks opponent. Then at halftime we will throw our badly burned hands in the air and make hot dogs.) more ›

This week's Stranger news section contains an article about a Nintendo contractor who was fired for her blog. "Not work appropriate" said Nintendo, although, what the hell does that have to do with anything? The blogger Jessica Zenner blogged anonymously and without naming her employer or her coworkers. It sounds like her blog was known among her coworkers, though, and according to the article she used "hormonal, facial-hair-growing, frumpy" to describe a female boss. It's not exactly as if you'd written it on the white board in the conference room along with a paste-up laser print of your boss's face, but if your coworkers read your blog and you refer to your female higher-up's mustache... You could be fired. The article concludes with a quote from the now unemployed blogger in question: "Ten years ago, someone would never get fired for their blog. This is such a sign of the times." more ›

Jim Riches, Deputy Chief of the FDNY, is one of the producers of the Urban Legends video that questions the supposedly heroic actions of Mayor Giuliani on 9/11. Jen Carlson recently interviewed him for our sister site in New York. more ›

--These Sound Transit photos make it look like there are already real Seattleites commuting in these light rail thingys. (via Seattle Transit blog) more ›

The only things hotter than Oakland’s NBA team are its freeways [rimshot…crickets]. more ›

Kurt Vonnegut, up there with Twain and Melville and Kesey as the most original American novelists ever in the history of writing stuff, died tonight. He was 84. He'd been in the hospital since a fall a couple of weeks ago. Attention kids: this is what happens if you chain-smoke for 73 years. more ›

We weren't able to take advantage of last week's free coffee giveaway at Liberty, so we stopped by the cafe/bar/sushi restaurant to purchase a cup today. We'd been there last October for a latte and were less than impressed, and we still haven't gone back for drinks ever since the bad service fiasco we endured nearly a year ago (never forget the events of 5/11). Even now, when we pass by the crowded bar in the evenings, we sigh in reminiscence of the well-mixed cocktails, but dare not venture in for fear of crappy waitstaff. more ›

Yelpers give it 4 out of 5 stars. The Accidental Hedonist says: "If you're a sandwich fiend, you can do no better than here." The Stranger suggests you get drunk and go (but what else is new). more ›

Update: KIRO wants to know if you like metronatural, don't like it, or don't have an opinion. Since "stupidest slogan we've heard since 'Say WA'" wasn't an option, we chose "don't like it," as did 78% of the people who bothered to weigh in. more ›

After years of insisting that “good citizens” were the key to winning ballclubs, the Mariners have hired one of baseball’s notorious bad guys, Carl Everett. more ›

Seattlest saw John Hodgman give one of his unusual, deadpan readings from his first book, The Areas of My Expertise. Given our solely platonic love of ferrets and hobos, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to speak briefly with Mr. Hodgman. more ›

Ten years ago, this very day, was what Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus once described as "one terrible moment in Mariners history." more ›