Jul 10, 2011

The heck with Facebook’s video chat, there’s a new feature on Seattle Rex that has the whole country buzzing: 170 degree full-motion HD video from the streets of Seattle. It’s true. Call a friend and let them know. Hell, call two. Then they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on. That reminds me, I’m out...

Jul 5, 2011

Today, I checked out the Lions Clubs Parade of Nations. This event was billed as the “Largest Parade in Seattle”, so of course, I had to go and see it. Now, I wish I could say that I had a good time, but unfortunately I did not. Instead, I argued with old people for about half an hour before giving up and leaving. The conflict started as soon as I...

Jul 5, 2011

I just got back from the fireworks at Lake Union, and it was a great show. As a matter of fact, this particular show is one of the top rated displays in the entire nation. It’s late (it took nearly an hour to get a streetcar at the park), so I’ll just throw up the video for now and type something up tomorrow. Happy 4th. Enjoy the...

Jul 3, 2011

Ack, I stayed up all night rendering a super-long video. Why? I just don’t know. Below is about 80-90% of the entire Seattle Zombie Walk. I included the entire thing out of respect to the walkers who may want to see themselves. The mainstream news generally provides 10-15 second excerpts so it’s a crap shoot as to whether or not the zombies will...

Jul 2, 2011

Yesterday during the Pro Shop opening, Sound Wave, the Seattle Sounders band performed a few songs. I recorded one of them. Download Video: MP4

Jun 26, 2011

“Can you imagine if this many people turned out for the police brutality protest in February?”, I asked my friend. “Yeah, Birk would have been prosecuted. Cobane too. We’d probably have a new police chief right now”, she said. As I stood on 4th Avenue watching the Gay Pride Parade, I realized that what she said was true. I’ve been to many Gay Pride...

Jun 25, 2011

New York City, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Seattle … I’ve been to the Gay Pride Parade and associated “Dyke” events every year for the past 20 years, and for the most part I enjoy them. Even though I have some ideological differences with some of the groups, I generally find the Gay/Dyke/Whatever Pride parades to be among the...

Jun 25, 2011

Today, over 20,000 people took to the streets of Seattle for the annual Rock & Roll Marathon. For those who are not aware, the Rock & Roll Marathon is a running event where the course is interspersed with stages … and various local bands perform on those stages. Most major cities have a Rock & Roll Marathon, but Seattle’s is widely...

Jun 19, 2011

“Lock the front door when you leave the house.” “Put a club on your steering wheel when you park.” “Don’t dress like you have money.” “Don’t carry a camera out in the open.” “Don’t act like an American.” For my own safety, I’ve been given all of the above advice at one time or another during my life. On none of these occasions did I...

Jun 18, 2011

Fremont, Seattle. The self-proclaimed “Center of the Universe”. Home of Getty Images, Adobe Systems, a statue of Lenin, and Nirvana’s “Bleach” album. It’s also the location for one of the more unusual parades in the USA. Even though it was wet and a bit cold today, thousands of people turned out for the annual Fremont...

Jun 12, 2011

Yesterday, while hanging out in Lake Union Park, I observed a flotilla heading south toward Downtown Seattle. I watched as the fleet got closer and closer, and just before they made landfall, I was able to identify their origin. Sure enough, they were Canadian. Oh no! I knew this day was coming, I just didn’t expect it to be so soon. I thought we had...

Jun 1, 2011

I just pulled some video from Folklife ’11 from my camera, and I put together a short piece from Calvin’s performance on Saturday. He starts off the set by answering the question “What do you think of Seattle Rex”, and then segues into a couple of songs. Enjoy. Download...

May 27, 2011

I recorded this two days ago after narrowly avoiding two terrorist attacks at Pike Place Market. Download Video: MP4 After the Space Needle observation deck, the fish throwers are perhaps the largest single tourist attraction in all of Seattle. I am fortunate to get to see them several times each week, and I often stop to watch for 10-15 minutes...

May 15, 2011

Since yesterday, I have had the same song stuck in my head. It just keeps playing over and over and over and over. While at the Cannabis Rally in Volunteer Park, I caught one of the rap acts, and I just haven’t been the same since. Every corner of my brain has been reverberating with the same loop. If you watch this video, perhaps you will suffer a...

May 9, 2011

After hanging out at the Broadway Farmer’s Market yesterday, I turned right on Pike Street and walked the short mile to my other official “home” market: Pike Place Market. Yesterday, Pike Place was hopping. It was Mother’s Day and “Flower Fest” was in full bloom (corny pun intended), and it was hard to look anywhere without...

Apr 23, 2011

A couple of hours ago, I was walking up Pike Street when I heard the intermittent eruption of loud cheers. I looked around … nothing. I looked around some more … nothing. Of course, being the inquisitive sort, I could not leave the issue alone. I had to investigate. I searched high, I searched low, and just before giving up, I decided to take a...

Apr 12, 2011

Built in 1985, the Columbia Center is the 7th tallest building in the USA, and at 932 feet, it is the tallest building in the entire Pacific Northwest. The building has 76 floors, 46 elevators, and the antennas on the roof bring the total height to 967′. While the Space Needle is Seattle’s Statue of Liberty, the Columbia Center is our Sears Tower. ...

Apr 12, 2011

Today at 10am, students gathered on the lawn of the Seattle Central Community College to protest the proposed 11% budget cuts in higher education funding. According to a release by organizers: “Our educated workforce is the engine that drives our economic survival, allowing us to attract and retain powerhouse multinational industrial and technological...

Apr 10, 2011

I spent the day today following a flash mob all over the city of Seattle. Why? Because it was there … and a couple of friends were in it. The action started at 11:00am at the Cal Anderson Park ballfields for a final rehearsal. When practice was over, the mob headed down to the Space Needle where the first performance was scheduled. Once there, a couple...

I took this video at Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill about an hour ago. Download Video: MP4

Mar 28, 2011

Download Video: MP4 I just got back from the “Pro-Police” rally on 12th Street, and I have to tell you, I’m kind of baffled. I mean, I just don’t get it. What, exactly, are the people of Capitol Hill supposed to think about this? “Awww shucks, ma’am, you’re right. That whole Ian Birk thing was an overreaction on my part. My...

Mar 24, 2011

Over the past few months, I have become intimately familiar with the South Lake Union Streetcar, or as it is lovingly known by many — the SLUT (South Lake Union Trolley). I’ve taken it several times from the Pacific Transit Plaza to Lake Union Park, and as luck would have it, my scooter shop now sits directly on a station (I’ve gone twice by...

I’ve never been a fan of rhyming protest slogans. In my opinion, they turn serious protests into goofy nursery rhymes or really lame rap songs. Sure, I get it on some level, rhyming slogans are supposed to be catchy and easily memorized, but still … more often than not I just end up laughing at them. Take, for example, the Egyptian Protest in...

Jan 19, 2011

Earlier this afternoon, I was surfing the web and watching beachballs spin on my iMac while music played in the background. This is about as much multi-tasking the world’s most advanced operating system could handle, and even then, it doesn’t handle it terribly well. There’s always been a 5-10 second lag when I’ve tried to control iTunes...

Download Video: MP4 Soon, construction will begin on a deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Frankly, I will be sad to see it go. As far as urban highways go, The Viaduct is definitely in the top 5 in the USA … up there with FDR drive in NYC and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. It has interesting views of the Seattle skyline,...