The San Francisco Marathon took place on Sunday. One of our contributors ventured down there to be one of the brave souls toeing the line. more ›

St. Patrick may have effectively become the patron saint of drinking, but the man was a pretty austere dude. As he wrote in his Confessio, "I used to stay out in the forests and on the mountain and I would wake up before daylight to pray in the snow, in icy coldness, in rain, and I used to feel neither ill nor any slothfulness, because, as I now see, the Spirit was burning in me at that time." Hardcore, Pat. more ›

MvB is going to get his pound of opening night hors d'oeuvres after seeing the The Merchant of Venice at the Seattle Shakespeare Company tonight. Saturday, if rainy, may involve an all-day LOTR-athon at a friend's in LQA.
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While our region was rapt (wrapped?) in chilly, snow-encrusted euphoria over the weekend, hundreds of runners had their holiday spirit abruptly thawed in downtown Kirkland on Sunday morning. The 6th annual "12Ks of Christmas" road races were canceled Sunday due to "ice-related safety conditions," leaving all those who had entered the 12K and 5K runs to wonder whether they should complain or just head for breakfast. If management had told the fleece-clad harriers that they weren't planning to refund their entry fees (which were as high as $40), we are guessing there would have been more complaining and less breakfasting yesterday morning. Forty bucks will get you a bitchin' side of bacon, after all. more ›

Seattle is running its collective heart out this morning. You can watch Meet the Press next week. Head over to Lake Washington Boulevard, the Arboretum/Interlaken Park, or anywhere along the 26.2 mile route to cheer them on. Half-marathon begins at 7 a.m. in front of the EMP; marathon begins at 8:15. Last one there is a rotten egg. more ›

Transit in Seattle has its challenges. (Yes, operator of the 554 who thought it would be a good idea on Friday to pull your half-full rig next to another bus at the Eastgate Park-and-Ride and then complain back and forth with the other driver for five minutes about your shifts getting changed due to school being out while Seattlest sweltered a few rows back in the ad-wrapped, ventilation-free, four-wheeled saucepan, yes, we are most certainly talking to YOU. You ran two stops signs later, but we digress.) more ›

In a story that's being emailed around the city, mostly with the subject line "Dude, did your dad start jogging?", cops want to find the short, brown-haired jogger who flashed a lady while running yesterday. Writes Levi Pulkkinen of the P-I:

The woman told officers the man pulled up his white T-shirt and dropped his black running tights as he ran past her near the intersection of Wallingford Avenue North and North 54th Street. more ›

If you're wondering what happens to the lesser-known bands who used to play Seattle at the Croc, evidence from the sports world shows that you ought to look for them in Kent. Or not at all. more ›

Besides being in the running for Owner of the World's Most Glamorous Name, Katjana Vadeboncoeur plays the maternal hen Aunt Julia in blahblahblahBANG at On the Boards. To make a point of it, she sips then spits up her tea into a cup, complete with birdlike neck spasms, and hands it to her beloved, coddled nephew Yorgen Tesman -- who drinks it, onstage, to an audience of wrinkled noses. If you're an Ibsen fan (blahblahblahBANG is WET's precocious interpretation of Hedda Gabler) this subtextual underlining may just elicit a desire to see the original. The difference here is that it's not a matter of moral fiber or willfulness. WET's cast reacts to their socially caged life with the stereotyped behavior of unhappy parrots, literally climbing the walls. Again and again, WET reminds you that they are real people doing real things, disgusting, sexy, risky things. If it's not "perfect," it's compelling as a high-wire act. more ›

What a glorious morning! The Sonics have won three of five, Edgar Martinez wasn't in the Mitchell Report, we've got a kickin' holiday party to attend tonight. more ›

WSF is still dead to us, but Governor Gregoire could make our "holiday card" list if she keeps it up. First the viaduct course correction, now she's scrounged up $100 million to pay for three new ferries. Budget, schmudget! She's all action! Plus, the Port Townsenders, come January, will be reunited with their cars on ferry trips, says the P-I:

Pierce County has agreed to loan one of its boats to the Washington State Ferries, beginning in January, to resume car service between Keystone and Port Townsend.

Running text ads on your blog never really struck us as the Get-Richest-Quickest path; we used to have Amazon ads on a book review blog and after a year or two and no checks, we decided we could better use the real estate and quit the program. A few months later we got our first and final check for...$6ish? But Seattle's Furious Seasons blog has just discovered firsthand the pain of algorithmic rejection. The email... more ›

As an alumnus of Centralia Community College (out of boredom, we took a Latin class there one fall) and former southwest Washington resident, we've been following the flooding thataway with interest. A friend of ours just passed along two emails from K. in Centralia, and they can't be beat for a you-are-there feel that balances some of the apocalyptic news coverage -- let's face it, if nothing terrible happened to you, you aren't news. On... more ›

Let's talk about the kind of band Moving Units is not. If any of you have seen Broken Social Scene live, you know that one of the most engaging aspects of their show is that it's one big love-fest. Everyone on stage smiles, laughs, and cracks jokes. It's one big happy family, and for the entire performance, you're welcomed as part of it. Moving Units on the other hand, seems like the kind of band where everyone wants to smother the lead singer in his sleep, and they would, were he not the one writing the songs and able to hit the high notes. more ›

If you were here right now, you'd see us looking around suspiciously like we don't quite trust we're awake because we just read Knute Berger's latest deep thought over at Crosscut and we...agree with him.

While promoting green consumption might be politically more palatable than getting people to change their habits and expectations, promoting consumption still offers an answer that doesn't solve the bigger problem. Global warming's hawks have to be honest with us: Fighting the good fight isn't all economic upside. We're going to have to do more with less.

All mass transit is not created equal; here in Seattle, a city with buses and, well, nothing else, unless you're specifically talking with someone about monorail or lightrail or streetcars (you know, mass transit), when you're talking about supporting mass transit, you're talking about supporting buses. 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 ›

Attention Pearl Jam fans and Flatstock attendees: You need the new, superfancy art book Pearl Jam vs Ames Bros: 13 Years of Tour Posters. more ›

Tonight, the nation's hardcore gamblers' eyes will be on Seattle as our fair burgh hosts Monday Night Football. more ›

Anti- reissued three Neko Case albums today: Furnace Room Lullaby from 2000, Blacklisted from 2002, and last year's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Stock up if you don't have 'em. more ›

This Friday and Saturday, for the eleventh year running, the Pyramid Alehouse will host the "Get Snowed In Party" in celebration of Pyramid's flagship winter ale, Snow Cap. 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. Note: This weekend we are injured reserve, so trading in the visor and clipboard for some playing time is Seattlest Courtney. more ›

There is something seriously wrong in this city right now. The fight between drivers and bicyclists has been brewing for years, but recently it seems to be reaching a boiling-over point. It pushes what we consider to be sane people, on both sides of the argument, into a state of rage that we honestly find a bit frightening. more ›

Opening tonight, and running through the 11th, Pacific Northwest Ballet presents "Contemporary Classics." If you have a friend or loved one who you wish to convert to ballet compatriot, take them to this performance. They will think that this is how ballet always is, and thankfully now that is the case in Seattle. Hats off to you Mr. Boal. more ›

Someone just forwarded Seattlest the coolest Washington State ferry pictures of all time saying they were embedded in an email going around the office. We'll paste them all below, in order and with the authors commentary intact. If you took these or if you know of a place online where we can link to these, please email Seattlest. [UPDATE: We've been directed to the Bitter End blog, although he didn't take them either. Ross Fotheringham took them, it turns out. Thanks for coming forward, Ross--We removed the cropped versions in favor of your tagged ones.] more ›

Corner of 3rd and Union last night, the air's full of crazies. The rabid anti-Hillary crazies, fueled by and fueling right-wing panic even as they convince the mainstream that she's unelectable because she's so polarizing ("Just look at us!"). The Ron Paul crazies, all suited and tied. The 9/11 crazies in search of evil conspiracies. more ›

The new Office Nomads offices are located in the old Heath Printers building on Boylston, the block west of the SCCC parking garage on Pine -- they have the 5,000+ square feet upstairs to work with. The idea is for rootless freelancers, contract workers, and small biz owners to have a happy office environment with all the accoutrements: desk, T1 network, printer/faxer/copier, a Bunn coffeemaker, and the company of others. (It's bring-your-own-laptop.) There's going to be a full kitchen, and there's also a shower for sweaty bicyclists or gym-goers. "Anybody who's not invited to apply?" we asked. "Well, it's an open space, so counselors and massage therapists wouldn't find it too useful," said Jacob. more ›

Scion's back in town bringing music, art, and culture to the kids. Sure it's subversive corporate lifestyle marketing to the coveted youth demographic, but we do like that it's free. Their art installation is at BLVD Gallery for a few more nights, while their film series is running once a month at the Harvard Exit. Somehow we missed the September film (Mayor of Sunset Strip), but we'll definitely be there tomorrow night for Bling: A Planet Rock. 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 ›