Apr 27, 2013

After watching the above video, you may come to the conclusion that the answer is “yes”. This is where we are as a society folks.  A point where the guy in a superhero costume officially makes more rational, logical sense than does the Mayor, the Chief of Police, and every bobble-headed human teleprompter on every “news” station in...

Apr 7, 2013

Ah, spring. Clouds lift, flowers bloom, Rainier peeks out from behind the clouds, and almost as if on queue, Washington State Ferries begin to fill up with the seasonal bane of everyone’s existence … tourists. “Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello! Hello!”, shouted the toddler, mere inches from my face. “She just learned how to say...

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...

Jan 30, 2013

In the last few months, I’ve had a few emails, not to mention a few real-life conversations, expressing surprise that I have not touched on a subject. That subject, is the legalization of marijuana in the State of Washington. It was generally assumed (correctly) that I supported legalization, and some folks are stumped by my lack of enthusiasm over the...

Jan 12, 2013

snow day noun a day on which public schools or other institutions are closed due to heavy snow. What child doesn’t love a snow day? A day off from school to play games, build snow men, go sledding … why, it ranks right up there with Christmas for most kids. Earlier today, my daughter informed me that there was going to be a giant snowball fight at...

Nov 13, 2012

Yesterday was an exciting day for yours truly. It’s a day I had been eagerly awaiting for months. Yesterday, Pike Grocery finally opened its doors, and as soon as my ferry docked, I beat a hasty path to its doors. What I found left me quite pleased. A grocery, a convenience store, a deli, oh my. Beer, wine, salty snacks, milk, produce … Pike...

Oct 10, 2012

When I was in my teens, I coined a phrase that I’ve been using ever since. “You can be right, or you can be popular, but never both.” While every rule has its exceptions, for the most part, I think the phrase stands up impeccably to the realities of the human animal. I’ve taken a lot of shit from people over the years, and while I have...

Sep 29, 2012

Today is the end of an era. The 40 year-old Downtown Seattle Ride-Free Zone is no moe. I can hear it now: “Yay! It’s about time those free-loadin’ nigras, homeless people, and all around losers start payin’ ther fayer shayer! I ain’t no socialist! With the exception of public schools, public roads, public police, public fire...

Sep 9, 2012

Several months ago, my daughter discovered a convention named Sakura-Con, and since that time … she’s been looking forward to its return in April of 2013. That date is a long way off, however, and once she noticed a sign for the PAX convention a couple of weeks ago, her curiosity was piqued. When she went online to read about the event, and learned...

Sep 2, 2012

That’s all it took to lose control over my own computer, and my own operating system. 45 seconds. It’s actually been sitting unused on my computer for some time, but I scrubbed my old copy, then installed the latest and greatest version of Windows on my machine. Lest you think I’ve gone squirrel-turd-nutty, I should qualify this by stating that...

Aug 18, 2012

As recently as the 1950′s in this country, a white man could lynch a black man, and he would most likely get away with it.   While those days are behind us, there are swift outcries when it is perceived by mainstream America that these particular inequities are still taking place.  The Trayvon Martin case is a good example of this. While it would be...

Aug 6, 2012

Have you ever seen a Washington State Ferry collide with a pleasure boat? On Friday, I came close to seeing exactly that. Shortly after 6:30pm on Friday, I felt my boat go into reverse-thrust, and when I looked out the front window to see what was going on .. this is what I saw: Apparently, Seattleites are not just shitty...

Jun 30, 2012

Yesterday, the “Seattle Great Wheel” (shouldn’t it be “Great Seattle Wheel”?) opened, and today, I planned on giving it a go myself. Not just for my own amusement, but to satisfy my civic blogging duty by promoting the neighborhood’s newest attraction. Without support from locals, new endeavors face a precarious future. ...

Jun 23, 2012

I woke up late this morning. Probably the latest I’ve awakened in the last 5 years. When I finally got out of bed and glanced at the clock, I realized that I needed to get going … and quick. I threw some clothes on, grabbed my jacket and camera, then went into the living room where the rest of the family was already immersed in the latest Nintendo...

Jun 11, 2012

Earlier this year, a friend of mine was rushed to Harborview Hospital. To protect his anonymity, and for the sake of clarity, let’s call my friend ‘Doug Thatcher Tha Booty Snatcher’. Now, the reason Doug was rushed to the hospital is not important, however, the method in which he was rushed is notable. You see, Doug is a resident of...

May 18, 2012

When I tell people that I intend to run for mayor of Seattle, they either laugh or just look at me like I’m crazy. I don’t suppose I really blame them. If they told me that they intended to do the same, I might laugh or look at them like they were crazy as well. Here’s the thing about my impending mayoral run, though … I’m fully...

May 14, 2012

I love the Broadway Farmer’s Market. Who doesn’t? That being said, if I had to choose between the market, which operates one day per week … and the streetcar, which will operate every day … well, let’s just say that I’m going to need to up my V8 consumption to compensate for the lack of fresh produce. While I sympathize with...

May 3, 2012

I should have known that things were a bit screwy when I passed the couple rolling enormous joints. There they sat, a male and a female, on a bench, near the entrance to Freeway Park, rolling big, fat joints from a pile of marijuana about 8 inches high. Have you ever had one of those days when things just seem off? You can’t put your finger on it, but...

Apr 28, 2012

I’ve been having a running argument in my forums with a guy over gun rights. He thinks all guns should be taken away from people, and I think that everyone needs to be their own police officers. Today, courtesy of the SPD, my own stance was hardened. As I was filming a “War on Women Rally” (more on that later), I heard a commotion coming from...

Apr 17, 2012

A few years ago, Apple sold me a $4,000 computer with a defective graphics chip/logic board. The defective part was the Nvidia 8600M GT GPU, and when it was discovered that the machine was defective, Apple refused to take it back and issue me a refund. Instead, they promised to replace the 8600M GT boards when they failed, up to 4 years from the date of...

Apr 6, 2012

I love Pike/Pine. It’s the heart of urban Seattle. It’s the only neighborhood that, at least in my opinion, is equally part of Downtown, First Hill, and Capitol Hill. As someone who lives on the western edge of the neighborhood, it is where I spend probably the majority of my life. This is why today, I sit here, heartbroken. According to the...

Mar 24, 2012

Earlier today, after leaving Emmett Watson’s Oyster Bar, I heard a commotion at the north end of Pike Place, so I walked up to investigate. When I got there, I noticed that the “Going To Hell Preacher”, who had his young daughter in tow, had drawn a crowd, and the crowd was not happy. The Preacher had told these people that they were going...

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 6, 2012

During the course of any given day, I encounter between 5 and 10 wrong-way drivers. While all cities have such drivers from time to time, their sheer volume is something that is quite unique to Seattle. If I personally encounter five to ten per day, imagine how many of these drivers truly exist. Moments ago, I stumbled upon an accident scene in LQA. I...

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...