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...

Dec 24, 2012

It’s a tough time to be an American consumer. It’s a tough time to be an American. I always knew it would come to this, but being the Pollyanna that I am, I was hoping that it wouldn’t. Two and a half years ago, I bought my first Android device, an HTC EVO, and even though it was a battery-draining, unstable mess … I sung its...

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 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...

Feb 22, 2012

I’m a creature of intermittent habits. Once I get into a routine that works for me, I tend to stick with it until it either becomes a hassle, or until something better comes along. Take, for instance, lunch. For most of February, I’ve been getting two slices of pepperoni pizza from Pagliacci daily. For the most part, they have pretty decent pizza,...

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 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 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 11, 2011

Of delicious donuts! Although I’ve greatly reduced my intake of refined sugar products, tonight, I gave into temptation. I dropped $5 at the Westlake mini-donut stand, and I’m glad I did. Each bag of donuts contains roughly 15 sugar-covered donuts, they are handed to you fresh and warm, and they taste quite good. If you have yet to try the stand,...

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...

Sep 4, 2011

Yesterday, I had a couple of hours left on my Zipcar rental, so I decided to take a short trip to the “other” Seattle. West Seattle. Home of Eddie Vedder, Mark Arm, Matt Lukin, and an ambiguously gay junkie named Trent. I don’t get out to West Seattle as often as I would like, but when I do make it to the other side, I’m reminded that...

Aug 12, 2011

Olympia, Washington. Without a doubt, home to the best burgers in the USA. Big Tom’s, Eagan’s … if you like hamburgers, this is where you should be. Almost. In Thurston County, south of Olympia, literally in the middle of nowhere … sits a small shack that serves the best hamburgers in the world. Not the best hamburgers in the county. Not...

Aug 12, 2011

For some bizarre reason, Western Washington has the greatest hamburgers in the USA. The best hamburger I have ever eaten in my life was in Thurston County (which reminds me, I need to write a post about that place), and when it comes to decent burgers, this area of the country is about as good as it gets. Why this is, I do not know. You would think that a...

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...