Why weekly Starbucks Watch and not weekly Tully’s Watch? We have no idea, really. We don’t even go there that often [this is being typed from Solstice]. It just started one day and refuses to die.
This week is all about features!

1. Remember when you used to joke with friends about the utter lameness of U-Village when they added a second Starbucks? Those were the days … But, here we are reporting innovation from yuppieville. In this town of scarce twenty-four hour options, the U-Village Starbucks breaks new ground by making one of it’s stores open all night. Evidently, proximity to frequent professional all-hours studiers at the UW prompted the change.

   The second fascinating part of this story is that the U-Village Starbucks is that the world’s second busiest. Maybe Husky dedication to scholarship will allow Seattle to claim the title from Tokyo. [uwdaily]

2. We’d been passing the sidewalk advertisements without having any idea that Seattle was a test market for the new Hear Music CD burning stations until we read about it in last month’s Esquire. So we, along with spiritual brethren Austinites, are among the first in the world to see how we like the experience of pairing cozy furniture with high-tech gadgetry to facilitate custom coffee mix-CD making. Has anyone tried it?

   Maybe I’ll check it out on my walk home from work one of these days. We’ve always been a little afraid of the Olive Way Starbucks (how can it continue to exist in the shadow of so many great indies?), but the lure of newness and LCDs could draw us inside, in the name of scientific exploration.

3. The Starbucks-produced Ray Charles album, Genius Loves Company took home eight grammophones at last weekend’s Academy of Recording Artists Awards. Has Tully’s produced a Grammy Award winning album? We didn’t think so.

Yes, there was an item three in that ____ watch feature. Just because we love you.

Saturday afternoon I attended the Lunar New Year Celebration at Union Station which would have been a lot more fun if it were possible to walk through the crowd without feeling as if one were wearing an excessively tight corset. Does no one who plans events in Seattle understand the concept of traffic flow? There were a lot of great performers but it was frustrating trying to see them.

A similar problem occurred at the Evergreen Cat Fanciers Cat Show on Sunday afternoon but seeing all the cats made it all worthwhile.

In between those events, I attended what has become one of my annual highlights–the Northwest Flower and Garden show. I live in an apartment and have a “black thumb” anyway, but I am fascinated by the idea of lawns and gardens, quite possibly because while just about everyone in the ‘burbs has one, having a lawn bigger than a postage stamp is a sign of true wealth in the city. (Also, I’m a painter whose favorite subject is flowers and floral designs and one visit to the show gives me an entire year’s worth of inspiration.) The best part of the show every year are the sample gardens designed by local landscape artists and put together so well that these temporary installations look as if they’ve been there for years.

Water was a big theme this year–many of the installations featured ponds, fountains, and even waterfalls–but the most striking of designs was entitled “Form and Function. I’m not sure that anyone is both eccentic and wealthy enough to actually want a backyard featuring a path comprised of glassine rocks and imposing metal statuary with backlighting seemingly designed to mimic the lighting in old fashioned horror movies, but it was a lovely work.

Saturday night I shelled out the dollars and headed over to the Showbox to see Keller Williams and immerse myself in the jam culture. (Thumbs up to the Green Room and the superb happy hour specials) The lines were long and confusing. Noone was sure if you had to stand in the line if you had a ticket. The guy at the front says yes, everyone else thought no. Later we’re yelled at for standing in line with tickets…A little hippie flavor walked up and down the streets selling as she called them ‘mushroom chocolates, and ghanga cookies…all organic (I’m sure they are dear, I’m sure they are…)’ I passed on the cookies and ventured in to do a little dancing to ‘Freeker by the Speaker’. Well, the Showbox is layed out interestingly with the bars on raised platforms in the back and an open floor. This would not have been a problem had it not been for the fact that it was an all ages show and to get a beer, you had to show id and go up into the bar area. Normally this wouldn’t be so bad, but it was soooo crowded and they kept yelling at us to get out of the way, that it was almost as if we were being punished for being 21+. (As if paying 5 dollars for a beer isn’t punishment enough) All’s well that ends well though (thank you sir in front of me smokin’ the ‘cigarette’ for my contact high *chuckles*).

As a side note, McCormick & Schmick’s (1108 First Ave, at Spring) has the cheapest happy hour appetizers in the world I think. 2 dollars for a cheeseburger and fries. Amazing. Too bad the place stunk of cigars.

Hello, my name is Rachel and I’m new to Seattle Metroblogging. I’m from Chicago and have been living in Seattle for about nine months.

One of my happy discoveries here is Top Pot Doughnuts. In Belltown, the slanted store-front window reaches from ground to roof as do the bookshelves. Two floors are connected by a winding staircase. They also have free wi-fi. Their doughnuts tend to bring out the primordial sugar craving in me. When near, a panicky voice in my head screams: ‘You may never have a Top Pot doughnut again so now’s your chance!’ I especially like the chocolate with maple icing.

Yesterday I went to the cat show at Seattle Center. In order to fit the theme of “My Furry Valentine,” stuffed hearts sat atop cages while the colors pink and red were everywhere. The cats themselves came in all different colors, shapes, and sizes: orange, white, gray, calico, tabby, black. Some had big shaggy tales, while others didn’t have tails at all. I have yet to understand the cats without fur–they just don’t seem to be very happy without it.

The “Cat Agility” contest made me laugh because it was rather anti-climactic. I watched a feline slowly walk beside–and then hide under–the obstacles. It didn’t matter that his owner had about six different cat toys. The contest proved what my cat reminds me daily: cats are cats, and will continue to do as they please.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

We’d like to think of them as the Scrappy to our Scooby Doo, but realize that analogy might not be as flattering as we’d like it to be. Instead, we’ll just say “welcome to the neighborhood” to Seattlest, another website about Seattle that launched today.

They’re the latest progeny of Jake and Jen’s Gothamist empire, even more special because they’re all about Seattle and also because they’re an -ist without an “i”. Show them a little love, but don’t forget about us. You know we have abandonment issues.

While Mark Ryden’s bizarre candy freak show Wondertoonel has unfortunately closed, there are still reasons to visit First Hill’s Frye Art Museum. The first being free admission every day the museum is open (Tuesday – Sunday). The second reason is a beautifully designed space, both inside and out, plopped strangely amongst hospitals, apartment buildings, and O’Dea high school. Outdoor fountains, a lovely cafe (closed at 4, so we didn’t partake, but stood at the windows like poor orphans, staring at steaming coffee cups and gleaming wooden tables). Lush red velvet circular seats in many of the rooms to rest your weary feet and gaze up at artistic wonder, whether that art makes you feel joyful or just slightly sick to your stomach….

Oh yes, the art. Alan Magee’s Paintings, Sculpture, Graphics is up until April 3rd, and features both calming and quizzically frightening mixed media realism studies. Also joining the Frye’s permanent collection is Philip Pearlstein Drawings (until May 1st). Though a friend noted that many of the nudes looked very similar to the drawings in her boyfriend’s 1975 copy of The Joy Of Sex (and indeed these drawings are mainly circa 1960 – 1979), those interested in the “meticulously recording images from careful observation of life” will find inspiration in this collection.

The Frye Museum is open Tues – Sat 10 AM – 5PM, Sunday noon – 5 PM, and Thursday 10 AM – 8 PM.

I either slept through it or it wasn’t cold enough in my neighborhood, but the all over the internet, people are reporting instances of snow to bust up our fantasy ideas about spring striking early. Check out citizen journalism at work by following the snowstorm action on flickr with this slideshow of all photos tagged with seattle and snow [flickr]

Tag accordingly to contribute your pictures to this work in progress. [ed: you know you want to call this a folksonomy. -- over my dead body!]

This weekend, perhaps to remind those who will be drinking alone on Valentine’s Day that they’re not unique, the Seattle Times examined of our city’s anti-social complex (they call the “Seattle Freeze”):

One theory points to the cloistering effect of cloudy skies. Another has it that the Seattle Nice/Ice phenomenon is rooted in a historic intersection of Nordic-Asian reserve. It may be the influence of weekend mountain men or the influx of socially disinclined tech workers. It could be a trapping of mid-sized citydom

Her name is Bonni Suval. She is 25 years old. She is a musician and a dancer. She came to town to visit friends andto play a show with her band, Fear of Dolls.

The driver who struck her–and then fled the scene–is in custody, on a $100,000 bond. He was already on probation for a DUI in 2003 and was allegedly drunk at the time he recklessly took to the road.

Karma and the justice system will see to the driver, but Bonni could use some help.

The media reports her status as “satisfactory” but her injuries are extensive. She has suffered a skull fracture, a broken collarbone, a broken shoulder, broken ribs, and broken veterbrae. The healing process for her broken bones is expected to take a minimum of 6-8 weeks. Bonni will be unable to work for some time, all the while incurring medical expenses and gaining debt in the form of being unable to work.

If you would like to contribute to the “Benifit of Bonni Suval Fund” you can do so at any Washington Mutual bank, you can ask for the account by name and that should work, or use the account number 1003130141.

You may also donate by Paypal: Bonni Suval Accident Fund

Cab driver chases down hit’n'run driver

Being someone who doesn’t drive, I take a lot of cabs. I think I’ve had this driver, actually. In any case, cab drivers often have a bad reputation but this guy commands much respect.

The young woman who was struck remains hospitalized; her injuries are serious but she is stable.