Citizen Rain

Be on the next Recess Monkey album

2010-02-12T16:43:22Z

Thanks to ParentMap for alerting us to this: If you and your kids have plans this Saturday, break 'em and get in on a recording session with Recess Monkey. The band is made up of three Seattle elementary school teachers who've been playing kid-friendly, pop music together since 2004.

They're working on their fourth album, The Final Funktier, and need audience members to be part of four songs they're recording for the disc.

To get in on the session at the University Child Development Center, 5062 9th Ave NE, Seattle, pre-order a copy of the new album for $25 on the band's site. There will be a limited number of tickets available at the door too.

New place to trade or barter in West Seattle

2010-02-09T19:18:19Z

Our friends at West Seattle Blog have added a trade/barter element to their freebies/deals/sales section in their forum. The first listing posted? An offer to trade in-home dog training for bookkeeping/secretarial services. Look out, Craigslist!

Everett could be next wine destination

2010-02-08T19:23:51Z

Yup, that's right, not some city in Eastern Washington, we're talking about the Everett on Washington's west side. City officials there are considering allowing boutique wineries within the city limits, according to The Herald.

A proposal being discussed would require a tasting room or shop be attached to the wine making operation if it's located downtown. At the same time, the city of Snohomish is trying to lure wineries to their downtown, where it's already legal for vintners to set up shop.

Starbucks and tattoos, coffee used as a weapon

2010-02-05T17:04:23Z

Starbucks Gossip has spotted a couple of stories of note on Seattle's coffee giant:

The first one is about a former 7-year employee at a Sherman, TX, store who says he was fired because managers didn't like his tattoos. The first commenter: "Ummm, wouldn't 43% of their workforce need to be fired if tattoos mattered?"

The second one is about a homeless guy who threw coffee at a Starbucks employee, scalding her with first- and second-degree burns. It links to a story in suburban Chicago's Daily Herald, a paper I worked for, ummm, more than a few years ago.

Go gourmet on the cheap @ Seattle Central

2010-02-03T16:31:59Z

Seattle Central Community College's culinary arts program has a restaurant that few apparently know about. It's called Square One Bistro and it's open 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday-Friday at the school, 1701 Broadway Ave., Seattle. According to Capitol Hill Seattle (which goes into more mouth-watering detail), they've featured such items as salmon and duck strudel for $7 and Tiramisu for $2.95. Yum!

6 more weeks of winter? OK if it stays like this

2010-02-02T18:09:19Z

The groundhog Puxatawny Phil saw his shadow today, which in common folk lore means we're supposed to get another six weeks of winter. But after the warmest January on record, it's feeling awfully hard to be concerned.

If you want to get a reminder of what winters' past have been like, check out the snowy photo on the Whidbey Island Life blog.

The post also includes a link to a book by the Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island that will help you make sure the groundhog doesn't see its shadow next year. It's for a cookbook with a recipe entitled "How to Cook a Groundhog."

Rare video of Challenger disaster is released

2010-02-01T17:38:15Z

Do you remember where you were 24 years ago when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded? Any of us who were around then saw the video and can remember our sense of shock. Now NASA is releasing a new amateur video of the disaster, which is a gripping, unfiltered view of the disaster.

I found out about it from Mike Davidson, who posted the clip on his blog.

Corydon optometrist Jack Moss, who took the video, can be heard saying to someone off camera:

"There she goes George. That's brighter than usual." Then the booster rockets spiral off and Moss realizes something is seriously wrong. "That's trouble of some kind," he says with dawning disbelief.

The video might never have been made public if Moss hadn't thought to donate it to NASA shortly before he died last December.

A new St. Patrick's Day parade option: Bellingham

2010-01-28T18:21:08Z

Bellingham will host its first St. Patrick's Day Parade in downtown Bellingham on Saturday, March 13.

It's being put together by a volunteer group headed by the folks at one of our favorite breweries, Boundary Bay.

The parade starts at noon on the 13th following the annual Runnin' O' the Green Race and Fun Run.

You can get more details about the event on Boundary Bay's blog.

Mmm, you hungry to be a food blogger?

2010-01-27T18:18:54Z

Seattle Weekly is looking for people to contribute to their Voracious food blog, saying:

Do you like what you see on this blog and are itching to (pun alert!) enhance its flavor with your own exceptionally engaging prose? Or rather, do you view this blog as an undercooked stew, and think your contributions will improve the hell out of Voracious?
Either way, we'd like to hear from you...

If you're salivating at the opportunity, find more information here.

Eat Theo Chocolate to support Haiti relief

2010-01-22T18:00:59Z

Theo Chocolate in Seattle's Fremont neighborhood is stepping up for Haiti disaster relief by donating 100 percent of the purchase price (that's right, the purchase price, not the profit) of their 45 percent classic milk chocolate and 70 percent classic dark chocolate bars purchased via their site and at all Cafe Vita locations in Seattle and Olympia.

Here is what Theo Chocolate says about the effort:

At Theo we are deeply saddened by the human suffering caused by the earthquake in Haiti, and we understand that all life on our planet is interconnected. The people of Haiti need our help NOW! Please join us!
100% of the purchase of our 45% classic milk and 70% classic dark chocolate bars will go to CARE, a humanitarian nonprofit fundraising for the Haiti relief effort.

The money will initially help CARE provide 600,000 water purification tablets. Other aid items will follow.

Theo bars can be ordered online here. See a list of Cafe Vita locations here. You can also donate directly to CARE here.

(Via Culinary Fool)

Save $4 on the NW Flower & Garden Show

2010-01-21T15:50:23Z

The Northwest Flower and Garden show runs Feb. 3-7 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle, but if you buy tickets by Feb. 2, you'll save $4 on the admission price.

The 22nd annual show's theme is "Beauty and Functionality," capitalizing on the buzz around the new catchword "sustainability." The show also includes more family-friendly attractions, including a butterfly house and a "Sproutopia" children's area.

You can buy tickets at more than 75 local nurseries or online.

If you wait until the show, tickets will cost you $20 at the door.

Remember the old Bellevue?

2010-01-20T17:11:40Z

There's a 1970s era photo on VintageSeattle.org that shows a positively flat downtown Bellevue when you compare it to the high-rise studded metropolis of today.

You can find the photo here. And to show how much the city has grown, here's a shot of a couple of the latest additions to the skyline.

How a region can engender a culture of entrepreneurship

2010-01-20T17:01:19Z

The University of Washington Tacoma campus is hosting a talk on this subject on Jan. 27. It's free, but you have to register ahead of time.

Exit 133 has more information about the talk and an archived thread with lots of discussion about the quality of Tacoma's climate for growing new businesses.

Another Seattle landmark has date with wrecking ball

2010-01-19T20:53:48Z

The march of development won't spare the landmark Sunset Bowl in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood.

MyBallard reports that workers plan to take down the building Wednesday after removing some additional asbestos from the building and freon from the air conditioning units.

The popular bowling alley was sold and closed a little less than a year ago. It's sat empty ever since, while development plans moved forward.

Viewing party for 2 Seattle chefs on Iron Chef

2010-01-15T19:31:14Z

Rachel Yan and Seif Chirchi of Seattle's Joule take on new Iron Chef Jose Garces this Sunday and they're hosting a viewing party at Murphy's Pub across the street from their restaurant in the Wallingford neighborhood.

I'll be pulling for Rachel and Seif.

More info on Seattle Weekly's Voracious and on Wallyhood.