May 19, 2013

Are they man? Are they astro-man? The venerable group from Sector 7G (or Auburn, Alabama, depending on who you believe). The sarcastic question never got old last night. Or rather, it did, and I just didn’t particularly care. “Hey, is that beer, or astro-beer? Even today, a full 24 hours later, I’ve somehow managed to keep it...

May 13, 2013

Mike McCready once ruined a friendship of mine. This was a shame, because the friend in question was an interesting guy. He wrote a book about his experiences teaching in inner-city LA high schools, worked as a writer/producer on several television shows, and he even won the game show Jeopardy several times in a row. On most Sundays, he and I would grab...

Mar 31, 2013

Last night, hipsters stood stoically, pointing gently above the stage, careful not to spill their PBR’s, while across town, their fathers were stage-diving and crowd-surfing like twenty-somethings. Such is the state of affairs in 2013 Seattle. What, exactly, got the Gen Xers so riled up last night? I’m glad you asked. You see, Seattle’s...

Mar 17, 2013

When I first read the proclamation above, I rolled my eyes. “Overshadowed by male-dominated bands”, I said, “oooh, sounds sinister.” I couldn’t help but wonder, though … what exactly is a male-DOMINATED band? Were the Beatles a male-dominated band? How about Simon & Garfunkel? Were the Go-Gos a female-dominated...

Feb 9, 2013

“You know that thing about punk rock being freedom?”, I asked rhetorically. “Yeah”, said the guy who fronted a band that many would call punk. “Well, it’s a load of shit. Punk rock isn’t freedom. Punk rock is privileged white kids rebelling against daddy’s money.” He stared into the distance for what seemed...

Feb 3, 2013

This was the marquee at the Show Box last night: Here are my tickets, so far, for February’s shows. What year is it again???? A few months ago, Love Battery’s Ron Nine was interviewed by The Stranger, and in the article, he was asked for his thoughts on the “g” word. “Speaking for myself, I always kind of rebelled against the word...

Jun 3, 2012

“World-Class” It’s a term that is invoked quite often in Seattle, and it’s a term that draws equal amounts approval and ire from the city’s inhabitants. Most of the approval comes from real estate types, Chamber of Commerce boosters, and assorted carpetbaggers who are more than eager to turn whatever goodwill the city may have into...

May 20, 2012

Love Battery played Lo-Fi last night, and of course, yours truly was in attendance. Now that the ringing in my ears has finally begun to subside, I’ll try to pen a few paragraphs about the show. The festivities kicked off shortly after 10pm, and first up was Summer Babes. This band had kind of a pop thing going on, complete with matching white uniforms...

May 14, 2012

Yesterday, I took Boeing’s new flagship airplane out for a spin. I hopped in the cockpit of a 787, took off from SeaTac, flew down to Olympia, cut back over Vashon Island, and came in low over Downtown Seattle before sticking a VFR landing at Boeing Field. Now I know what you’re thinking … Rex is on another meth bender, but you’re wrong....

May 9, 2012

City Market. Home of the highest prices, rudest service, and most expiredest food in all of Capitol Hill. Despite it all, however, I love the place. It’s like the abusive stepfather with a heart of gold that I never had. Sure, it slaps me around, calls me a worthless sonofabitch, and makes me scrub the toilet with a toothbrush … but it always...

Mar 26, 2012

Sunday morning usually means brunch at Pike Place Market, and yesterday was no exception. Shortly after 10, I headed over to Piroshky Piroshky, and this time, I decided to try something different. While I usually get Oscar’s Star or some kind of breakfast concoction, on this day, I decided to broaden my horizons. After eyeing the menu for a few moments, I...

Mar 22, 2012

On Tuesday, my 10.1″ Galaxy Tab arrived. I’ve only had a few days to play with it, but I can already see that it’s going to be yet another life-changing device. As someone whose life literally revolves around technology, especially mobile technology, incremental updates such as this literally change the way I do everything, from blogging, to...

Mar 9, 2012

Last night, to “celebrate” the completion of a certain project, we headed up to Ballard for a bowl of Mike’s chili. Some people celebrate with champagne, others with cocaine, but that high-brow, pretentious stuff doesn’t fly with me. If ground beef and kidney beans are good enough for cowboys and hobos, then it’s good enough for me...

Nov 13, 2011

Last Thursday, I went with a friend of mine to two stores, located directly across from each other in the University Village Shopping Center. The first store was the Apple Store, the second was the newly-opened Microsoft Store. You see, my friend, a non-US resident, needed to buy a contract-less iPhone, and he could not do it in the AT&T Store in Downtown...

Oct 23, 2011

Download Video: MP4 I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again … Love Battery is the most underrated band in the history of music. Over the years, I’ve mentioned this group in my various articles a few dozen times, and in the process, I’ve turned a lot of people on to the band. Not once has anyone been disappointed. Love Battery...

Sep 21, 2011

About a month ago, when the Cinerama began selling tickets for the premiere of the Pearl Jam 20 movie, I looked at my late September calendar and realized that my schedule would be chaotic. I might be available to see the show, and then again, I might not. Because of this, I decided against purchasing tickets. Not so much for financial reasons (two tickets...

Jul 30, 2011

My never-ending quest for the best, cheap food in and around Downtown Seattle has caused me to stumble upon a new reigning champion. Something only a local could discover. Now, when I reveal the source of my new culinary delight, some of you will laugh … but before pretentiously dismissing it out of hand, I urge you to try it before you scoff. Yesterday,...

Jul 17, 2011

Download Video: MP4 After the Bite of Seattle on Saturday, we decided to do some tourist stuff, and what Seattle attraction is more touristy than riding The Ducks? Unfortunately, for whatever reason, nothing ever goes 100% smoothly for yours truly. After paying for our tickets, a lady at the base of the duck insisted that some of our folks line...

Jun 14, 2011

Since I am going to be away from my main computer this week, I decided to download all of the local Seattle news apps onto my Galaxy Tablet this morning. I grabbed King 5, Komo News, Kiro 7, Q13 Fox, and the Seattle Times — then I went about testing each app to see which would take the coveted upper-left-corner position on my news page. King 5’s app is...

Jun 8, 2011

About an hour ago, I was walking through Westlake Park when I noticed a crowd gathered near the corner of 4th & Pike. I walked toward the group, and when I arrived, I found that a brand-spanking-new eatery had opened up on 4th Avenue. It’s called “Potbelly Sandwich Shop”. I entered the store, surveyed the scene, and even though I was not hungry, I...

May 13, 2011

I grew up eating pizza. A lot of pizza. Tons of pizza. I also grew up on two distinct styles of the food. Not a lot of people realize this, but “DC-style Pizza” does exist. It can be found in places like Trio Pizza at 18th Street & Columbia Road. DC-style pizza is pizza which has little or no uncovered crust at the edges, has a thin-yet-firm crust...

May 9, 2011

Because I am so fond of Pike Place Chowder’s clam chowder and seafood bisque, I often don’t bother to try other soup offerings in the Pike Market environs. Yesterday, however, I decided to expand my horizons a bit. While walking through the market, I decided to get a 16oz cup of clam chowder ($6.50) at the Market Grill, and I am certainly glad that...

May 1, 2011

Before Donkey Kong, before Asteroids, before Pac Man … heck, before Pong … there was pinball … genesis of mainstream electronic gaming. Few people are aware of this, but ever since I was a young boy, I played the silver ball. From Soho down to Brighton, I must have played them all. However, I’ve never seen anything like it in any amusement...

Apr 25, 2011

Late Saturday morning, before heading up to Cal Anderson Park, I decided to snag a couple of slices of pizza. Since it had been a long time since my last visit (I think the last time I ate here was sometime in the 90’s), I decided to re-acquaint myself with Hot Mama’s Pizza on Pine Street. I tried to have lunch here a couple of weeks ago, but when I walked...

Apr 20, 2011

For lunch yesterday, I decided to patronize two businesses on Broadway … one of them new, one of them brand new. Z Pizza opened up on Capitol Hill last August, and I finally got around to checking out the joint myself. I ordered the lunch special consisting of two slices and a fountain drink for $6.26. My first slice was a pepperoni, and my second slice...