Mainstream media outlets have written about the history of teriyaki in Seattle, one writer for the New York Times going so far as to call it Seattle’s signature food. But there’s another version of the story as well—and behind it, other stories about Japanese and Japanese American food in Seattle. We found these stories at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW). more ›

The opening ceremonies have come and gone, and between the films and the parties, SIFF has shown us a great time this weekend. But it's time to get down to business. Today marks the start of the first full week of the festival, so I hope you've done your stretches. This is what we're looking forward to in the coming week. more ›

Looking for some lunchtime reading? Jose has the weeks arts news, including shake-ups and shut-downs within some of the areas most influential art-makers. more ›

The New York Times covers the viaduct, with some spot-on analysis and some missed opportunities. more ›

Our fair city is still small enough that it's exciting when we get a mention in the New York Times. It's especially exciting when our history is dissected into what's basically a glowing review of our priorities and way of life. more ›

There are some conveniences in life we just can’t seem to do without these days. Coffee vendors on every corner, a bus no more than 20 minutes away, readily available and easily downloadable videos and television shows. These are the things that set our modern society apart from the savagery of animals. Without these comforts humans may well begin eating our young. It could happen. more ›

Knowing nothing else about the film Julie & Julia, aside from the fact that the screenplay is by the same person that wrote When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail, you could safely assume it’s a chick flick. more ›

Though this is Chandler Burr's first novel, he is also the author of three other non-fiction books: The Perfect Scent, The Emperor of Scent, and A Separate Creation. And if you're smelling sensing a particular theme, you're on the right track--Burr has been the The New York Times scent critic since August '06. more ›

In the wake of the New York Times article on borderline personality disorder, "An Emotional Hair Trigger, Often Misread," in which she's quoted, Dr. Marsha M. Linehan, psychology professor and director of the Behavioral Research and Therapy Clinics at the UW, is answering readers’ questions on the NYT's "Consults" blog. more ›

Yesterday we were reading about the new speakeasy craze in the New York Times, and William Grimes listed a few of the first wave: "Their name is legion: the Varnish in Los Angeles; Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco; Speakeasy in Cleveland; the Violet Hour in Chicago; Manifesto in Kansas City, Mo.; Tavern Law in Seattle (scheduled to open later this month)." Who's so dialed-in they can make the Times without being open? Chef/owners Brian McCracken and Dana Tough of Spur. Tavern Law will be a part of Trace Lofts, on Capitol Hill. more ›

CHS's seadevi notes the Vita/Theo collaboration--"You got coffee in my chocolate! You got chocolate in my coffee!"--has hit the New York Times style blog. Howard, you might want to sit down for the first sentence: "From Seattle, the birthplace of Starbucks, comes a cooler coffee company." (Why do people have to make invidious comparisons? Why?!) The verdict: one bar is a "tasty rush," while the other is a "milder, milkier affair." more ›

No less an authority on exercise than the weight-dropping New York Times is covering the Dutch Bike Company's expansion: "So, with 170 miles of new bike lanes in New York, it makes sense that the Dutch Bike Co. in Seattle should be opening a branch in the city this summer, its third in the United States." Actually, the Dutch bike story is in their fashion section, because apparently the real trick is to look manly while cycling. Money quote: "The only person I know who has a Dutch bike is a girl." more ›

David Pogue Hearts Jeff Bezos is the headline for the Seattle Weekly blog post, which asserts, "it's fair to say that [NYT] personal technology writer David Pogue is now officially in love with Jeff Bezos." Except David Pogue doesn't agree that his review of the Kindle 2.0 is such a wet, sloppy kiss and says so in the comments: "Um, no, it's not. Did you read the same article I wrote? I remember writing something far more mixed. Did you skip over these parts?" Pogue isn't Marshall McLuhan, but other than that, it's pure Annie Hall. What Pogue does conclude is "the new Kindle edges even closer to the ideal of an e-book reader." Edges, not leaps. more ›

Last August, we wrote this postscript to a post about the Kindle's holiday sales prospects: "I didn't want to write a separate post, but if I were doing marketing at a newspaper, I'd start figuring out if bundling a 2-year subscription and a bulk Kindle buy would knock down the price enough to horn in on some of this Xmas shopping action. Not only would the newspaper subscriber get a Kindle, but it would actually come with something to read every day." more ›

[UPDATE: This post has been edited to reflect corrections made by David Dobbs to his original post, which we quoted below.] more ›

Award-winning Seattle writer Timothy Egan has a great piece in the New York Times in which he ruminates on the people who, it was feared, would not vote for Obama, but did. "He became only the second Democrat since Franklin Roosevelt to win more than 51 percent of the popular vote not because he’s black, but because he is smarter, with better ideas, and showed leadership under fire. This was a victory for meritocracy." more ›

• Mid Beacon Hill Blog, as well as Beacon Hill Blog and this very blog you are reading--are all wondering if Seattle will follow Denver's example. In the Mile High city, proximity to light rail raised the value of a home. Will the same be true in the Emerald City? North Beacon Hill residents certainly hope so.
• PhinneyWood tackles an age-old Seattle question, where does Phinney end and Greenwood begin?
• Unhand Boogie, you West Seattle thieves!

Capitol Hill's trend-setting WET theater ensemble has a handy flyer about it stapled to telephone poles up and down 15th Avenue. But for those of you outside of flyer range, the play is called Gods Ear: (presumably as in, "From your mouth to..."). By Jenny Schwartz, the play was summed up in the august pages of the New York Times thusly: "a formally inventive and superbly performed drama about how the death of a son shatters a family, this ode to love, loss and the routines of life has the economy and dry wit of a Sondheim love song." It's a language play, which means that you'd better damn well enjoy listening to people speak. It opens Thursday, and runs (Thurs-Mon) through November 10. more ›

In a feature article on the psychology and sociology of Internet trolls and hackers, the New York Times shines their spotlight on Kirkland's own Craigslist scammer Jason Fortuny. Curious about what the guy looks like? From the article: "He is thin, with birdlike features and the etiolated complexion of one who works in front of a screen." Sounds like a lot of techies we know! Thoughts on the article? Leave 'em in the comments! more ›

NPR IN DA HOUSE: Seattlest was kind of surprised to hear that tickets are still available for NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me live show at the Paramount tonight. We've never personally been to a live radio show before, but we do love the N to the PR, and we're guessing this'll be well worth your time. In case you don't mack on the NPR, it's the silly quiz show that takes a humorous look at current events. Good stuff. more ›

• Gothamist was shocked when someone scaled the 52-story New York Times building's exterior on Thursday. And then Gothamist was shocked again when a second person scaled the building six hours later.
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If you wanted to buy a few books, a used movie, a car, and a new outfit all in one place—right this very moment—well, you're out of luck. Amazon.com, the internet's purveyor of everything, seems to have crashed. The New York Times is reporting the site failure is an "unplanned event" that had already been happening for an hour when they posted at 10:37 PST. A check-in on Amazon at noon finds the same error message. We've questioned our friends who work at Amazon about the site's troubles, but we figure they are otherwise occupied with figuring this thing out and trying to keep their heads from exploding. more ›

According to Slog, the Seattle Times is about to lay off 200 employees (at least 45 of them from the newsroom). As a friend noted, it's not entirely surprising. Print media far and wide are bowing to the evolution of demand for media. This Seattlest, for one, only ever touches a newspaper anymore if it's in a bin at our local coffeeshop. And, even then, it's to pull out the crossword. We get all our news online and reckon we're not alone. more ›

What does the Noo Yawk Effing Times have against Seattle? more ›

We here at Seattlest like to provide our readers with valuable advice when we think it’s necessary. Two blog posts we’ve seen today make us think it’s important to advise that you stay the hell away from Denver. more ›

Down here in the Seattlest newsroom, we rarely find time to pay attention to the upper echelons of the American chattering classes, what with their myopic focus on the Washington (as they relish in referring to us as, in the rare event they mention us at all). But this morning, as the astounding news of Obama's four-peat trouncing of Clinton over the weekend percolated through the commentariat, we noticed an increasingly shrill response from Clinton-supporters like Paul Krugman. 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 ›

The New York Times reports that our esteemed politicians have agreed on "an economic stimulus package", which sounds pretty high-falutin', but it basically amounts to cutting everyone in America a check. more ›

Fremont's own Getty Images wants to auction itself off and could sell for up to $1.5 billion, reports the NY Times. The stock photo agency has had a rough go of it lately:

But the rise of digital photography and the Web created a host of competitors that charged as little as a dollar for an image. Recent events — from the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prime minister, to the latest foibles of the entertainer Britney Spears — have led to a surging popularity of low-quality but on-the-scene photos, many taken by cellphone cameras. more ›

Former Washington governor Booth Gardner has Parkinson's. He's been using his leftover political capital to campaign for a "Death with Dignity" initiative, to legalize physician-assisted suicide in Washington state. And it's been working. Even the New York Times took note of Gardner's labors. more ›