Mar 15, 2012

“Don’t get off the bus ’cause there ain’t nothin’ for you here!” As I pulled into Tacoma at 7 o’clock this morning, those immortal words kept going through my head. I did get off the bus, though … figuratively speaking … and all I have to show for it are these lousy Tacoma photographs. Oh well, you get what...

Mar 13, 2012

Even though Rick Santorum and 98% of Texans claims that it’s un-American to do so, in my opinion, when a man is wrong, he should apologize. With that in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to formally and publicly apologize to the people of Las Vegas. You see, once upon a time, I bestowed the title of “Worst Drivers in America” upon...

Mar 11, 2012

Washington State. A blue state if ever there were one. At least that’s what we’re repeatedly told. What does it mean, though? What does it mean to be a blue state? Were you to ask most Americans, they would tell you that blue means that a state is liberal. That a state disproportionately taxes the rich, distributes that money to the poor, and...

Mar 3, 2012

Remember when you could park your car in Seattle and come back to find that some passive-aggressive estroman had NOT left a note on your windshield because you parked 2 millimeters over the white line? Remember when Seattle bands didn’t have tambourines or violins? Remember when King 5 news anchor Jean Enersen still had her menses? Those days are long...

Mar 1, 2012

Well, I did everything I could to avoid it. I called phone support, I went to the store, I contacted the BBB, I wrote a letter to corporate, I spoke on the phone with the company numerous times, I sent another letter to corporate. All to no avail. The last straw was a final email, sent to me by an executive relations employee. This was a person with whom I had...

Feb 29, 2012

Just before a vote on the downtown tunnel was taken, I informed everyone that the tunnel was a terrible idea. I informed everyone that, instead of alleviating downtown traffic, the tunnel would result in far worse traffic. Mere days after I laid out my arguments, however, the multi-billion dollar tunnel was approved by a voter margin of 60% to...

Feb 16, 2012

Today’s news conference has come and gone, and according to the players in the Seattle arena drama, taxpayers will not have to pay for the arena directly. “Stressing that no taxpayer money would go into the project, McGinn and Constantine said up to $200 million of public funds could be used to finance construction. That money, which would involve...

Feb 16, 2012

2:00pm today. This is when Seattleites are going to learn about a new proposed stadium designed to lure an NBA team and/or NHL team back to Seattle. While we’re not privy to all of the details yet, preliminary reports are that the new stadium will be built in SoDo, not far from Seahawks Stadium, and that taxpayer money will be used to match private...

Feb 14, 2012

Lost your job, can’t find another one, you can’t see a doctor and your home is being taken away? Well, fear not, my friend, for after months of lobbying, the governor of the great state of Washington has just selflessly made herself a media darling by signing a bill that will … change the definition of “domestic partners” to that of...

Feb 3, 2012

Well, my friends, the posebag bloggers and their tragically hip followers are out in full force this week. I mean, look at them go. See all the anger? See all the rage? It certainly looks real, doesn’t it? You buying any of it? Some years ago, I had a quite popular website. It’s hard to believe, but it’s true. I had my share of traffic, my...

Feb 2, 2012

You know, they all come around eventually. The renowned breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure faced an escalating backlash Thursday over its decision to cut breast screening grants to Planned Parenthood. Some of Komen’s local affiliates are openly upset, including all seven in California, and at least one top official has quit, reportedly in...

Feb 1, 2012

My opinion of the Better Business Bureau has never been very high. I am not alone in this assessment: Some people swear by the BBB, though, and having never used it, I decided to give it a shot … just this once. After all, it’s important to always act in good-faith. To exhaust all reasonable options before resorting to a lawsuit. And so, I did. ...

Jan 21, 2012

As I sat here three days ago and watched anti-SOPA protests proliferate across the Internet, a nagging thought kept running through my head. “How”, I wondered, “is any of this hurting big media?” I mean, let’s say that, because of these online protests, SOPA and PIPA are both defeated. It’s plausible. After all, people are riled...

Jan 21, 2012

Well, my acquiescence to my powerlessness over the Weather Channel has drawn a rousing chorus of “Booo!”s amongst my own small circle of morons. I’ve been called everything from a pussy, to an enabler, to an enabling pussy, to a … well, really those are the only two things I’ve been called, but they hurt. Of course, I am, if...

Jan 18, 2012

We’re almost 24 hours into the anti-SOPA protests, and I’ve got to tell you … I’m getting burned out. Google’s black banner, countless blog after blog with their black banners, Wikipedia’s complete blackout of their site — I’m starting to lose sympathy for my own cause. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still...

Jan 17, 2012

Well, the local meteorologists are one for two so far. The dusting of snow that was promised for Sunday turned out to be an inch or two, and the few inches of snow that were supposed to fall beginning yesterday afternoon never materialized. At least not here in Central Seattle. This has messed up my schedule a bit. I took yesterday evening off to avoid getting...

Jan 12, 2012

Not long ago, I was driving in a neighborhood that shall not be named, and I stopped in front of a hospital that shall not be named. A young woman wearing a nurse uniform had flagged me down, and of course, I picked her up. As soon as she closed her door and I began moving, the woman began sobbing uncontrollably. I wasn’t exactly sure what I should do, so I...

Jan 10, 2012

I’m sitting here in the parking lot of the Greenwood Market, and I’m truly sad. Mere moments ago, I stopped in during one of my thrice weekly visits, and the place was being picked clean by shoppers. “What’s going on?”, I asked the nearest cashier. “We’re closing on February 5th”, he said, “the owner of the...

Jan 10, 2012

It’s 7:00am, and Nirvana’s “School” is blaring through two tiny, yet surprisingly powerful speakers. Supposedly, this song is loosely based on Kurt’s hatred of Seattle and its upper-middle-class cliques. The town which now plasters his face on every museum it has, and is now oh-so-proud to claim him as a native son. What can I tell you, I love waking...

Jan 5, 2012

Ah, 2012. One second into the new year, I sat and watched the Space Needle fireworks from Capitol Hill. Afterward, I took the family back home, then headed over to a friend’s crib in Pike/Pine who had texted me for a little help. I arrived at his place to find roughly 30 people in his tiny studio apartment. About 5 of them where unconscious, and the rest...

Jan 2, 2012

In the last five years, I’ve gone to court twice. Both times I was the plaintiff, both times I represented myself, both times the company I sued was represented by an attorney, and both times I won. It wasn’t easy, though. In fact, the last suit took 18 months from beginning to end, and it cost me thousands of dollars in fees (which the defendant...

Dec 25, 2011

For as long as I can remember, my favorite TV shows have been in two genres: 1) Infomercials 2) Televangelism To me, these are the television equivalent of train wrecks. They are deeply troubling, and I know it is so very, very wrong to stare at them, but I just can’t help it. In addition to these programs, in the last few years, I have found yet another...

Dec 25, 2011

It seems like only yesterday I was hanging out in Westlake Park, enjoying Christmas in 2010. Here it is … 2011 … and I’m once again celebrating in exactly the same way. Running around looking at Christmas lights. Why mess with success? Now that I have a family, I really enjoy this time of year. I don’t think I’ve ever gone into details about...

Dec 21, 2011

empathy noun the ability to understand and share the feelings of another Another day, another video demonstrating the Seattle Occupation Force’s abject hostility toward the people they have been charged to suppress and control. For those who have yet to see it, I urge you to visit the following...

Dec 14, 2011

Today, Lowell Elementary School was thrown into lockdown mode as police cars descended on the area — all while a helicopter hovered overhead. Why? Because a very bad man was spotted on school grounds. Read all about it on the Capitol Hill Blog: http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2011/12/14/manhunt-locks-down-area-around-lowell-elementary As a parent, and...