May 2009
48 posts
5 tags
Delicate dessert
A little house sits on busy Phinney Ave, cars whizzing past its distinctive Japanese torii gate. Beyond the gate lays a tiny rock garden raked in patterns, and the slate covered roof of Tokara, a Japanese confectionary.
This isn’t your normal sweet shop: open only one day a month for exactly four hours, Tokara is a secret even unto its neighbors.
No wandering in, no browsing, no kids...
April 2009
29 posts
Flickr: The Official White House Photostream's... →
Some are standard-looking presidential snapshots, some are interesting slices of presidential life, like this, and some are amazing shots like this. Also, I have to say, Obama has an awesome signature.
3 tags
4 tags
Destroying History, Unearthing Truth.
The Seattle Art Museum follows a predictable pattern: its major shows of the year are trumpeted to the public as life-changing!, important!, entrancing!, but in fact are, cautious, sprawling and bland.
The pattern also dictates that the SAM’s minor shows—less publicized and less costly—are vastly more unique, gutsy and worthwhile. While the crowd flocks up to the top floor for...
2 tags
Maelstrom - ©Leif Chappelle 2009
You may be...
3 tags
Take to the stars
One of the strangest businesses I’ve come across in Seattle is the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co., where their motto Space Travel Is All We Do! might prompt you to ask the question “Then how do you stay in business?” The storefront is decked out with space-themed paraphernalia, including incredible mixed-media rockets and machinery, cans filled with noble gases, navigational...
Braid Soundtrack →
I finally remembered to get this game now that it’s on PCs. The soundtrack is so amazing, and it’s streaming free from I site that I’ve never heard of before, MagnaTune. They claim to not be evil, which of course means that they probably are (same tactic that Google uses). Alright, they’re hosting the Braid soundtrack for free- definitely not evil.
Seattle Snuggie Crawl →
Ever wanted to don your Snuggie, go out to your favorite Ballard bar and pound shots with similarly Snuggie-attired patrons? Of course you have. Tomorrow is your chance, with the Seattle Snuggie Crawl. BYOS.
2 tags
Spring, an interlude.
It’s finally beautiful out, but of course as soon as the good weather descends upon us, it is quickly followed by rain. This weekend and first two days of the week saw Seattleites breaking out their skirts and flip flops, playing volleyball on the beach in bikini tops (even if it wasn’t over 60 degrees at the time) and flocking to Greenlake to circumambulate the lake. Some...
2 tags
2 tags
WatchDenizens of the internet, I salute you. Or something along those lines.
Kitschy film/game quote goes he-ah!
tweenbots | kacie kinzer →
Tweenbots is an adorable experiment- will people help a lost little robot reach its destination? Verdict: Of course!
The journey the Tweenbots take each time they are released in the city becomes a story of people’s willingness to engage with a creature that mirrors human characteristics of vulnerability, of being lost, and of having intention without the means of achieving its goal...
Official Photos from Edible Book Fest →
The organizers of the Edible Book Festival have posted official photos of all this year’s entries, around 80 in all. (Including an adorable macro of a Lego Odysseus in a jello sea.)
Additionally, the tv crews that hung around the tables like buzzards apparently belonged to The Seattle Times and The UW and their video reporting can be seen at those two links.
Ok, now I promise to shut up...
3 tags
Cooper the cat in latest People magazine →
No. No, no, no, no and no. I’ve already sounded off about this silliness, but, no, it had to spread and get even more attention. The goddamn “photography cat” is now in People magazine.
Does no one agree that there is nothing special about this? That it is pure gimmick? Step 1: put camera on cat. Step 2: let cat run around. Step 3: develop photos of things like the...
3 tags
A Visual Aid →
This is a stiched-together panorama of a city block in Detroit, but could easily be mistaken for an abandoned suburb in a collapsed America, post-plague, post-depression, post-decimation, post-whatever. It’s a bit eerie, like something out of the Twilight Zone, where one crosses the street and crosses into the future. It’s certainly a powerful visual aid for those who still have...
2 tags
3 tags
Miniskirt Panda
Hello, friends. It’s time to take a break from music and Seattle news to talk about something very important.
(I should caveat this before I begin, by saying that I usually could care less about celebrity worshipping, the tabloid culture, or anything that walks itself down the red carpet.)
That said, we need to talk about Bai Ling.
Who is Bai Ling? This woman on the side, who is not...
2 tags
2 tags
Spokane parks to detonate squirrels -- KOMO News →
“The parks department is warning area residents that it plans to blast squirrels all week, and to not be alarmed by noises that sound like gun shots. Parks officials said police have already been called to the arboretum by people who heard the explosions.”
1 tag
“Stadium Love” by Metric, off of...
2 tags
The Government Compels You
I’ll admit, I’m a bit of a late bloomer to the concept of taxes and tax returns and all that hoopla that happens at the end of the fiscal year. Being a dependent for so long caused my financial sense to be delayed in its awakening. After a certain age though, that concept of being a dependent — to rely on others — wears thin as the urge to become self-sufficient rises.
...
3 tags
2 tags
WatchAs a whole, I usually don’t promote MMOs due to their dependent nature on audience and the like… However, this is a rare exception for two sole reasons:
The game in question is the next title by Ragnar Tornquist, who created both The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. (Excellent adventure games)
It is a very pretty CG teaser featuring glowy tattoos, random sword from nowhere, demons,...
World’s Fastest Broadband at $20 Per Home - Bits... →
I wish we had this kind of speed here. But no, instead, we get ISPs implementing 40GB caps..
1 tag
Nick Cave's "Soundsuits" on the NY Times →
The above link is a brief overview of contemporary mixed-materials artist Nick Cave at the NY Times site, complete with a terrible video that you should watch with the volume low.
My first encounter with Nick Cave’s sometime-ominous, sometime-strange and always wondrous “soundsuits” was at the Seattle Art Museum. We’re fortunate enough to have five or six of standing...
4 tags
Cooking the Books
This weekend was the much awaited (by me) Edible Book Festival, whereupon our creation was unveiled: The Inedible Hulk. Baked and frosted (and gummy wormed) by my best friend and myself, the Hulk was a glowing green and brown masterpiece of…uh…looking queasily inedible. (However, this didn’t stop people from lining up to eat it after the judging was over).
Dozens and dozens of...
New!
As your vaporous cumuli, it has been brought to my attention that a new gallery section has been opened amid the cerulean expanse.
In other words, there be collections of pretty pictures over there! Take a look!
2 tags
1 tag
Tropicana Line's Sales Plunge 20% Post-Rebranding →
YES. My first thought upon seeing Tropicana’s makeover was, “man, who bought the crappy supermarket brand orange juice?” Seems like that was everyone else’s reaction too, as Tropicana’s sales have plummeted 20% in just two months.
“Tropicana had certainly sought to create excitement around the Pure Premium rebrand, announcing Jan. 8 a “historic...