It's always hard to come back to work after a holiday weekend; furthermore, even though it's Wednesday, last week Wednesday was Friday (so to speak). Today it's merely a run-of-the-mill Wednesday, which could be considered depressing. Maybe that's why this guy jumped into traffic on I-5 by NE 50th St. this morning. He wasn't hit, but other than that no one seems to know exactly how he's doing or what possibly made him think that was a healthy and life-affirming hump-day activity. more ›

Wednesdays are $4.99 burger days at the Deluxe Bar & Grill on Broadway, down by the Harvard Exit. You have to purchase a beverage (not necessarily beer), but then you can choose from the Tillamook cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, gardenburger, bacon-onion-avocado burger, mushroom-and-swiss burger, BBQ burger, bleu cheese burger, and chicken burger. more ›

When we heard about the murder of the Tuba Man, Ed McMichael, we were really shaken by it. We've been heartened, though, by the outpouring of emotion from people everywhere; the Seattle Times says that "about 150 people gathered Saturday morning at Seattle Center for an informal musical memorial to the Tuba Man," and another public memorial has been set for this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Qwest Field (800 Occidental Ave S.) Local radio's Robin & Maynard and Art Thiel and Ken Schram are attending, and "the wearing of funny hats in tribute to Ed McMichael is encouraged." In addition, there's a memorial fund to help pay for McMichael's plot, grave marker and funeral expenses. Donations can be made to the Edward "Tuba Man" McMichael Memorial Fund, in person at a Bank of America branch, or by sending a check to the fund at P.O. Box 4985, Federal Way, WA 98063. (H/t to Seattle Metblogs) more ›

It seems every time we check a local news site, which is pretty regularly...okay hourly, there's a report of another malfunctioning ferry. According to our unscientific, educated guesstimate, The Washington State Ferry Service has only had a few days of normal running schedules in the past month. more ›

Two eastside teens have been arrested for the false bomb threat that shut down Mercer Island High School on Tuesday. The teens, a 15 year old female student from Mercer Island High School and a 16 year old boy from Renton. The arrests were made around noon on Wednesday. The teens were booked into a juvenile detention center, upon suspicion of phoning in the bomb threats. more ›

Saigon descended upon Neumos Wednesday night in true East Coast style, backed by three hype-men, two photographers, one DJ, and for awhile two dancing "homegirls". (Yes, his shirt did come off for a brief moment, and we did get to see those famous bulging arm muscles.) A sparse but expectant crowd watched as the New York rapper and his posse blew through an aggressive set that included the extra-tight club favorite "C'mon Baby" dropped at the stroke of midnight, and "My Favorite Things," a funny exercise in calculated OG optimism. more ›

Mike Doughty (yeah, he used to be in some other band) has a new album out this week, Golden Delicious. We saw him at the Triple Door in December for his Question Jar tour; he sat on stage and played songs (even one from that other band), occasionally drawing questions written by the audience from a large glass jar and answering them with charming humor and candor. Most felicitously, we didn't even have to ask "Hey Mike, will you make a little video of one of your new songs and dedicate it to our lovely Seattlest readers?" Because he just went ahead and did it anyways. That's how much he loves us. And you. Please enjoy "Fort Hood" and we'll hope the sun continues to shine around here for a little longer, too. more ›

U-N-I, the L.A. headliners at last night's show at Chop Suey, is the profoundly West Coast hiphop equivalent of human superficial fascia: loosely, intricately webbed, sticky, and pliable. Tricky, surprising beats backed Thurzday and Y-O's tight rap in a dizzying but relaxed kind of way. The night was solid for such an unsung show, with performances from some of 2008's most promising local acts: J. Pinder (his ballsy, impeccable timing meshing perfectly with high-power Vitamin D beats), the infectiously vibrant GMK, and Stranger fave The Physics. more ›

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, a seven-day festival of classic film noir, starts at SIFF. The shows are being introduced by "Czar of Noir" Eddie Muller. more ›

Monday, Feb 4, 7pm more ›

Photo by Mike Siegel from the Seattle Times more ›

George Zimmer would not have liked what went down at the Tukwila Men's Wearhouse Wednesday evening. We guarantee it. more ›

It felt like a veritable love fest inside the elegant Triple Door Wednesday night. Petals of adoration rained down upon the boys of Nada Surf and even with the sold out crowd, it seemed like we recognized more people than not. Bloggers, photographers, local musicians (The Long Winters were in attendance) -- all were there to show love. more ›

In another effort by Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz to "get back to the roots and the core of our heritage, which is the leading roaster of specialty coffee in the world," it's been reported that Starbucks will remove those tasty breakfast sammiches from their stores. more ›

A day wasted, spent refreshing the same web page over and over. At least we weren't sitting in a big rig stuck up there waiting for the pass to re-open. That must be miserable. And they're still there. In fact, they might be spending the night:

Update I-90 Snoqualmie Pass remains closed until avalanche control work is complete. WSDOT crews continue working through heavy snow to make I-90 safe for travel. Best case scenario: If the snow lets up considerably, we will be able to clear all of the main avalanche areas and have I-90 open late tonight. Worst case scenario: If the snow falls as forecasters predict (20 inches in the next 24 hours), avalanche control efforts will delay the opening until sometime Wednesday morning.

It's only playing for one week, so be sure to check out Nanking, a moving documentary about the 1937 Japanese invasion of the titular Chinese town. The film begins its theatrical run in Seattle this Friday, February 1st. more ›

We're as guilty as anyone else when it comes to not knowing that Nada Surf has been living a second life of sorts -- a new life, all their own, long after "Popular," the satirical high-school anthem that ruled MTV circa 1996. more ›

Recently, we've been spending a lot of time talking about films not yet (if ever) released, but now it's time to turn our focus back to movies actually playing in theaters. Nanking, a moving documentary about the 1937 Japanese invasion of the titular Chinese town, won an editing award at last year's Sundance and also played SIFF 2007. Now the film begins its theatrical run in Seattle this Friday, February 1st. more ›

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This is pretty heartwarming stuff. The NBA asks teams who play against New Orleans to do a little community service while they're there. Teams do, often haphazardly, sending a couple of players along to some pre-selected site. more ›

Two events occurred this weekend that damaged our long and strongly held opinion of Wallingford as a sleepy bedroom suburb-within-the-city this weekend. Yes, Wallingford still tears down 4-unit rentals in lieu of 4500 sq ft single-family monstrosities at a prodigious pace, and can only get riled about an issue if it involves people using Gas Works for anything other than leisurely walks, but this weekend it showed signs of life. more ›

Yesterday we were hanging out at the Stumptown Coffee at 12th & Madison-ish when this guy circulates around the cafe, telling people that there's a coffee cupping at 3pm. It'd been almost a year since our last cupping at Victrola, so we perked up and headed downstairs for the show. more ›

When we're not blogging about food, wine and opera, Seattlest works as the sommelier at Sorrentino atop Queen Anne. (Keeps us out of the bars, don't you know.) more ›

How about opening your big yap in person for a change? Join the panel discussion about how to keep a healthy arts community on Capitol Hill. Meet up at CHAC next Wednesday, the 16th, at 5:30pm and plot next moves over a martini. 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 ›

Details are starting to leak out about the Carnation woman suspected of killing her parents, her brother and her wife, and their two kids Christmas Eve with the help of a boyfriend. more ›

Dennis McLerran, head of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is "pissed." Governor Schwarzenegger is suing federal regulators. According to more than 500 news articles, The Environmental Protection Agency denied California’s bill to place limitations on vehicle emissions, which would have cut greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 percent in the next 10 years. McLerran claims in a Seattle Times article the EPA’s decision is purely political, not factual. more ›

Don't you want to go outside and gulp huge mouthfuls of this stuff until you collapse and start burping up moose hairs and stray Denali snowflakes? It's supposed to start raining tomorrow and Wednesday, but today and the weekend preceding today we've had the best Seattle winter weather we could possibly hope for. more ›

The last time multi-culti multi-genre singer-songwriter Manu Chao hit the Seattle area was at Sasquatch this summer (see above). Singing in French, Spanish, Arabic, Galician, Catalan, English, Portuguese, Italian, and Wolof, Chao fuses a variety of styles, including rock, reggae, punk and ska. So this ain't your grandma's drum circle's world music. There's no word as to when he's headed back to the Northwest, but if you're looking to experience the Spanish political punk in your own home, Nacional Records just released a limited quantity of the double vinyl version of his latest album La Radiolina today, available at Sonic Boom, Easy Street, and Everyday Music. more ›