The Rainier Valley Post reminded us that the Rainier Avenue Chubby & Tubby building is going to be torn down to make way for—wait for it—a mixed-use residential and retail building. Chubby & Tubby closed a few years ago, and World Vision's been selling school supplies there in the meantime. Want to weigh on on the replacement? Hit the design review meeting tomorrow night at 8.......

FACT: Formerly the Sultan Theater, Seattle's Lusty Lady is the original Lusty Lady. The one in San Francisco is the one that unionized and, eventually, became a worker-owned co-op. Seattle? Not a co-op. On the plus side, it's not owned by the Colacurcio family, either. FACT: The $20 that buys a 2-minute lap dance at Déjà Vu gets you 20 minutes of glassed-in nudity at the Lusty Lady. One quarter keeps a peep show......

We first heard of Gypsy Dinners a couple of years ago, right here on this very blog. Culinary cloak-and-dagger? Cool! We emailed sundays@gypsydinners.com. We answered the application we got back -- and noted with wry amusement the last two questions in the email: "Do you or anyone you know work for any agencies that might take a dim view of this adventure? (i.e. the health department, etc.)" and "Please reassure us that you won't betray......

First things first: Things are seriously awry in this town when a Taco-frickin'-Bell inspires multiple blog requiems when it closes, but Seattle's own Mix Ice Cream slips away into the night with nary a peep. That's right. We're going to have to go to Fremont or (shudder) Southcenter when we crave hand-mixed ice cream. They've got Cold Stones. But the Ave is now Mixless. We discovered the above-pictured sign Friday afternoon, when we stopped......

Example number fourteen of Seattle's trend towards blandness, homogeneity and steady corporate march (wingtipped jackboots) towards complete and total cultural entropy comes today via sporting goods retailer G.I. Joes, or, as they are currently rebranding themselves, "Joes." Mother fucking "Joes?" God dammit. Seattlest loved G.I. Joes. Its mix of urban trail gear and skiing equipment alongside camping, hunting, fishing and outdoor work gear gave us hope that Red and Blue might one day get......

Sunday. Usually, a quiet, contemplative day in the Blogosphere. But not here in the Ist-a-Verse. Nonono! Just look below and see all of the wild and crazy stuff our staffs are up to. In Austin, bands are beginning to confirm for SXSW and the rumor mill is up and running. Good thing, too, because we all know how much Austinites love live performances. Austin also found itself in the national spotlight, with Longhorn Legend......

One of Seattlest's favorite Christmas presents this year: Clark Humphrey's Vanishing Seattle, a new entry in Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series by retro-Seattle authority Clark Humphrey. We're a Seattle transplant, ourselves, but we've been interested in Seattle history since we decided we wanted to stay here (about a week after we arrived, as we recall), and we quickly noticed that Humphrey was a consistent, articulate voice advocating for that history. We wondered if......