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...

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...

Jan 1, 2013

You know, sometimes I envy suburban tourists. I truly do. After all, they don’t have to wait 10 minutes each way for an elevator when they leave their homes; don’t have to smell what 15 people are cooking for dinner … at the same time; don’t have to listen to their neighbor argue with her partner at 2am every morning. After coming home...

Dec 22, 2012

After an aborted attempt to ride the new Seattle Ferris Wheel (or The Seattle Great Wheel as it’s officially called), in late October, we finally headed down to Pier 57 for another attempt. A slightly more successful attempt. As the sun was hanging low over Elliott Bay, about 45 minutes before it officially set, we walked up to the ticket booth and...

Dec 8, 2012

Downtown Seattle is a much more pleasant place in the fall than it is in the summer. Less traffic, less heat, more lights, fewer bopo boys with skateboards and pit bills, fewer homeless people, fewer tourists, fewer homeless tourists … from the perspective of a resident, it’s just better in every way. Last night, it was even better than usual. On...

Nov 28, 2012

Another day, another SPD scandal. There have been several in the past few months, but for the most part, I’ve tried to just ignore them. Nothing can be done, really. There’s little probability of change. There’s little support for change. John Diaz remains Chief of Police, and Mayor McGinn … a mayor I used to support … is...

Nov 2, 2012

Download Video: MP4 Last night was Halloween, or depending on when I had time to post this, maybe it was the night before. We walked to Hilltop, where we went trick-or-treating. There was a flash mob there. I took pictures and a video. On the way, we encountered three groups of people who had wheelbarrows full of candy. They gave us some candy....

Aug 26, 2012

Download Video: MP4 I’m hanging out at the Crocodile last night, when a band takes the stage and launches into a set of Soundgarden covers, the previous band having just finished up a set of Pearl Jam covers. The night is billed as a Tribute to Layne Staley, and the crowd is an interesting mix of Belltown yuppies, UW fratboys, pretentious...

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 21, 2012

Remember when life didn’t suck? Yeah, me either. I try, though, oh how I try, and lately, I’ve found that there’s something contagious about the boundless optimism that is exhibited within the context of a flash mob. Especially the flash mob I witnessed today. Last year, I recorded the 2011 Glee Flash Mob as it made its way form Capitol Hill,...

Apr 1, 2012

Over the last year, I’ve made an effort to soundtrack my own videos and embed them in HTML5 instead of uploading them to YouTube. This process is a pain, and it has resulted in my making far fewer videos (which is either good or bad depending on your point of view), but there are few alternatives. Last year, I tracked a video with a royalty-free clip...

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 19, 2012

Two months ago, a massive storm dumped 2″ of snow on Seattle, bringing the city to a complete halt. In the face of this catastrophe, local news reporters, with no regard for their own safety, hit the streets in droves to warn Seattleites to “be careful out there!” It is estimated that, in doing so, these brave news people saved dozens, if not...

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...

Feb 26, 2012

On Friday night, I fell asleep with the TV on. Early Saturday morning, while still in twilight sleep, I heard a news story being repeated over and over from the talking picture box that I had left running. I must have heard the same piece three or four times in the course of an hour. Figuring that I was missing out on something very, very important, I finally...

Jan 25, 2012

I made a short video tonight. I call it Corduroy. No particular reason. Download Video: MP4

Jan 1, 2012

I’ve seen New Year’s and July 4th Fireworks multiple times in cities such as New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle. While they have all been fine displays, my absolute favorite display is the New Year’s fireworks at The Space Needle, and I mean that sincerely. It may not be the biggest (that’s what she said),...

Dec 30, 2011

Be sure to fast forward to 5:10 where the world was introduced to the wireless pager. It’s the size of a small building and weighs only 800lbs, but every drug dealer on Rainier had one by the end of the week. Speaking of blasts from the past, an artist made this rendering in 1914. It depicts what he thinks Seattle will look like in 100 years, or...

Nov 30, 2011

When most people have downtime, they watch TV, play videos games, eat tacos, or socialize with friends. I, on the other hand, pull out my laptop and make things like this: Download Video: MP4 Why? I don’t know. Watch it, though. It’ll be good for you.

Nov 26, 2011

A woman slow dancing with a three-legged dog to live Peruvian bluegrass. You can’t make this stuff up.

Nov 26, 2011

Tonight, Pike Place Market officially lit up for the holidays. Won’t you join me in the festivities:

Nov 25, 2011

It’s been a busy day in Downtown Seattle. Parades, trees, stars … face it, this is the place to be when Christmas kicks in. We’ve got our own Manhattan thing going on, without being surrounded by obnoxious New Yorkers. If only we could build a moat at the Oregon/California border. Ah well, when I get voted in as first president of the great...

Nov 13, 2011

I hurt myself today. To see if I still feel. I focused on the pain, the only thing that’s real. Then, I went to Harborview for an X-ray and some drugs. “Give me something that rhymes with bilaudid!”, I begged the nurse. Then, I came home, and in an opiate-induced haze, made the following video: Why? I don’t know. That’s really...