Rudolph Valentino. Ray Charles. Jerry Lee Lewis dancing on pianos, for God's sake! Dance in Seattle had anything but a boring 20th century. We were prowling around the internet this morning and discovered that today is the anniversary of the date the city banned a really bizarre but popular 1920s and '30s fad called "dance marathons" within its city limits. That was enough to pique our interest, and we've spent the day researching what was......

-A guy in Tacoma tried to step in on a fight between his mom and step-dad and was shot. Accidentally. In the head. He died 40 minutes later. -Frankie's Sports Bar & Grill in Olympia has been fighting the good fight against the smoking ban, but lost a court battle today and will finally comply with the legislation. -The voting is open for the state's new quarter design. Like good King County Democrats we......

The P-I shows what a sensible newspaper operation can do in the wake of a tragedy today by publishing a number of pieces that don't directly admonish the Seattle Times (because fancy dailys don't play like that), but could be seen as a reaction to yesterday's idiocy in the Times. One is headlined "No rave crackdown coming," and contains passages like the following: "Some tragedies defy any sort of rational response in terms of regulation......

One sentence into the lead editorial of today's Seattle Times, we decided to cancel our subscription. Here's the assertion that broke this camel's back: In the aftermath of a mass shooting that took the lives of six Seattle area young people, including two girls ages 14 and 15, there is plenty of finger-wagging. Actually, Seattle Times, there isn't any finger-wagging anywhere except on your editorial page. The P-I, the Stranger, the Weekly, Seattlest, and pretty......

Celebrities, they are good looking, rich, and if you believe what you read in US Weekly, are just like us (they check their mail). More and more, however, celebrities are also making our laws. Why vote for Stuffed Shirt McPolicy when you can vote for karate-chopping superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger? People like voting for faces they recognize; our own city council has former Seattle Times columnist Jean Godden and former TV reporter Jim Compton. Here......

It looks like a couple of the kids will be getting together this weekend at Linda's to raise money for Teen Dance Ordinance foe and friend of the music scene, City Council member Richard Conlin. Check it out; it's a Rock Star Bake Sale. Local music types from your favorite bands such as U.S.E., IQU, The Catch, Mountain Con, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Brad, and others (notably, John Wesley Harding) will be contributing......