Oh Jason, it seems like you just can't figure out what you want. Star Magazine sent us this teaser for a story in an upcoming issue of their rag: "Bachelor Jason Mesnick has changed his mind--again! After handing Melissa Rycroft the rose and then, in a shocking turnaround, dumping her for Molly Malaney, STAR has learned that he's had another change of heart and wants Melissa back! 'I made a mistake!' he confessed to Melissa, who's now dazzling fans on Dancing with the Stars. Will she take him back? We have the inside story!" more ›

And lo, it came to pass that all that was predicted/leaked about this season of The Bachelor came to be, just as Reality Steve said. That's called prophecy, bitches. It is written. Jason Mesnick proposed to Melissa on the finale, only to dump her ass six weeks later (one hour in TV time) on the "After the Final Rose" special for Molly, the girl he had jilted just an hour earlier. Kinda a dick move, guy. more ›

Tonight's the big final rose ceremony on this season of The Bachelor, featuring Kirkland's own Jason Mesnick--but as always there are rumors on the internets. more ›

The gossip flew fast and furious last night and early this morning when it appeared Governor Gregoire had gone AWOL with only the promise of an early morning press release to explain things. Of course, that press release was a complete disappointment. She's not pregnant, gay, or accepting a job with the Obama administration. And no, we didn't get federal economic stimulus money for the viaduct repairs (yet). Gregoire is in Iraq meeting with members of the National Guard, so simmer down with your rumor-mongering. more ›

Some guy at a bar last night told Seattlest that some friends of his got city approval for a public art prank in Queen Anne yesterday. He said that they set up some bogus construction site with a big painting of the city skyline obstructed by a new tram to take Queen Anne residents in to downtown. The painting supposedly listed the cell phone number of one of the pranksters. Guess we can expect an mp3 of angry Queen Anne nimbies (sp? Nimby-ies?) screaming bloody murder to start making the rounds of all the blogs soon. If it's true that this happened and that our elected city government rubber-stamped this prank, then we live in the coolest city in the world. more ›

more ›

more ›

that have been backing up on our TiVo. But alas, we had agreed to check out some band from Portland called Casey Neill and the Norway Rats. We'll be honest--the main draw for us was Jennie Conlee (the Decemberists). We had been so stoked about seeing the Decemberists and Laura Veirs next week, and then a Decemberist came down with some illness bad enough to make them cancel the tour (we hope they're okay!). This was going to be about as close to the Decemberists as we were going to get this year. more ›

Despite what you may have heard the past few days--scuttlebutt about the sale of the Showbox Market and subsequent consolidation of venues at the SoDo location--it turns out that the original (and best) Showbox is staying right where it is, thankyouverymuch. Says Chad Queirolo, Talent Buyer/Manager for both Showboxes: It used to be once a year an especially virulent rumor that the Showbox lease would end in March. This has been happening for at... more ›

Seattlest doesn't go to a lot of concerts -- we never did, and once parenthood embraced us we tend to invest in babysitters for stuff like movies and restaurants. There's less thrill in staying up until 1:30 when you know, no matter what, that 7:00 would be sleeping in. more ›

Late summer is berry season, which means it is also bear season. A 51 year-old man mountain biking in Banner Forest (near Port Orchard on the Kitsap Peninsula) was attacked by a male black bear last week. His dogs were running ahead of him, and he heard them barking. He turned a corner, and was face-to-face with the bear, which then attacked him. Attacks by black bears are remarkably rare, which makes the situation all the more puzzling. Miraculously he survived and is in good condition, and both dogs are alive and well. Every mountain biker, hunter, hiker, random person that Seattlest knows seems to have their own opinion: he shouldn't have had his dogs off leash, shouldn't have been riding by himself, he was in a freaking "Forest" what do you expect...and so on. more ›

The first thing Mike Hargrove did after quitting the Mariners? He followed Alan Jackson's advice and bought a Ford truck. Jim Moore of the P-I talked to Hargrove's car salesperson:

Jerry Korum of Korum Ford in Puyallup read that the Hargroves always said when they retired, they would get a red truck, call it "Retired Red," load up their belongings and drive off into the sunset. more ›

, and our guess would be that it applies even more to the latter. We've heard it from several people that adults don't vote, either. After last week's grossly misguided injustice, we're fairly certain both rumors are true. That's why we're making it a point to head off further sadness the best way we know how: with a blog post. more ›

When the possiblity of a H&M of our very own was mentioned on this site a few weeks ago there were a few different reactions, but most people were more than happy to drink the lingonberry juice with Seattlest, take the rumors as gospel and begin speculating on where to start lining up. U Villiage Key Bank? Or over by the Blue C? Or the U Villiage Abercrombie and Fitch? Downtown Barneys? Northgate? The much neglected north-Seattle suburb sometimes referred to as "Vancouver?" more ›

Last year's immigrant rights protest was out of character with the well-publicized, poorly-attended quick hitter marches that seem to be de rigueur in Seattle currently. Thirty thousand people came out for that one and snaked through the streets of Downtown for hours. Yesterday afternoon we left the office a few minutes early to try and track down the 2007 version and after chasing 5th all the way back to Westlake Center and coming up empty we found exactly one dude in the square with some immigrant rights flyers. "Yeah, they're already back at Seattle Center. I stayed here." That was 5:15pm, when the picture to the left was taken across the street from Westlake Center. C'mon guys, can't you linger a little while you're Downtown. You got the permit, take advantage of it. Camp out in the street a little, double back, do something to let us know that a couple thousand immigrants were here looking for their rights. Don't fly down your route like Eastern Washington is a half-block behind simultaneously trying to deport you and employ you under the table. more ›

Finally, someone else sees things our way. Like peanut butter and jelly, there has been one natural combination longing to be put together: having a beer and thinking about your favorite insurance company. Thank God Online providers Esurance have stepped up to the plate. Meshing together insurance needs with scenester whoredom, that's right, this year it's the Esurance Capitol Hill Block Party. more ›

On the off chance that you don't know the drill, let us introduce you: more ›

Seattlest and Mrs. Seattlest have been getting take out on Friday nights at Chantanee Family Thai Restaurant in Bellevue for almost 3 years and have found no better Thai restaurant on the Eastside. From time to time, we eschew the styrofoam containers and eat our meal in the gold and purple themed interior. The service? Efficient and friendly. more ›

That's how Mayor Ole Hanson described the beginning of the general strike that was held in Seattle February 1919, one of the few general strikes ever attempted in the U.S. The Bolsheviks had just won their revolution in Russia two years earlier and the Red Scare was coming into play in our country. Add 35,000 striking shipyard workers. Subtract the city's more moderate labor officials - They were in Chicago for a vote. Those left behind broached the subject of a general strike with other unions and the city was shut down on February, 6, while rumors of poisoned water, blasted dams and union heavies en route from Chicago kept everyone else either locked in their homes or fleeing for the country. In an effort to keep the peace, or kick a lot of union ass anyway if the peace got queered, the mayor brought in soldiers from Fort Lewis and deputized 2,400 frat guys and student organization members whom he armed with clubs and guns. The city teetered towards open war in the streets. more ›

Last week when Salon came to town to check in on the Ballard megachurch Mars Hill there was a lot of commenting here and elsewhere, both condemning the church and inviting non-believers to attend a service. The proprietress at the local Electrolicious blog took them up on it and went to Mars Hill this Sunday, and today Seattlest sits down with the resulting post for a chat. more ›

Seattlest has a magazine problem (as if our book debauchery wasn't enough already). Our habit combined with the husband's predilection for shiny, glossy paper-based crack results in a house we could putatively wallpaper with pages from one of our dozens of weekly or monthly subscriptions. Schizophrenically, our two favorites tend to be the New Yorker and Outside; we often plug through the other placeholders vainly waiting for either of those selections to appear in the mailbox. more ›

We heard a rumor and since rumors are one of our favorite things to propagate (second only to "the species") we're getting off to a good Friday. Unfortunately, while there are potentially lots of good rumors surrounding the Seattle public school district (no school closures, across the board school closures, Gates Foundation bought the district) AND lots of good rumors surrounding Apple (new wireless iPod will get you chicks, Apple recalling those crusty and yellowing iPod sleeves, Jobs going to space and not coming back), this rumor falls squarely into the "meh" category. more ›

Megasapien more ›

, an examination of a remarkable woman who wrote genderbending science fiction stories while leading, in effect, a double life. Writing as James Tiptree, Jr., she led editors and readers alike to believe that she was a man for ten years. Robert Silverberg famously wrote an introduction to an anthology of her work in which he dismissed rumors about Tiptree's gender because of the 'ineluctably masculine' nature of 'his' writing. Soon afterward, Tiptree was revealed to be 'an old lady in Virginia' named Alice Sheldon. more ›

Rumors abound early this week concerning a most ghastly notion, a dark vision that has kept us sleepless: reportedly, both the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies called Mariners GM Bill Bavasi over the weekend to inquire about a potential trade for Ichiro. more ›

A few hours ago we were very happy with Mariners GM Bill Bavasi. He ridded the team of one of its most sour spots, and brought up a kid who, despite wicked injury troubles, we can't help but want to love. more ›

Seattle clubs are playing a big game of musical chairs, but when the music stops and everyone grabs a seat it's going to be downtown that's out of the game. more ›

By now it’s no secret that Seattlest is all ga-ga over local showmasters, Awesome. We’ve recommended numerous times that you, John and Jane Q.P., experience for yourselves this strange and wonderful ensemble, and well, here we are once more. more ›

-David Goldstein is first on the scene of the heartwarming story of Sacajawea escaping the Seattle Public School advisory committee's carving knife. Which hasn't happened as of this writing. (and didn't, it turns out, happen at all) more ›

Seattlest had heard nasty rumors from brother Austinist that New Orleans-based Mute Math was, in fact, a Christian rock band. At first, we didn't know whether or not to believe it. After all, there's nothing to the band's overproduced Police/early U2 sound that seems overtly religious, nor was there the requisite shout-out to the Man Upstairs in the CD liner notes or on their website. Plus, people from Texas lie. more ›