carry a piece of the mainstage with you at all times, courtesy of useless to useful makers at alchemy

Speaking of that pesky bag fee, Alchemy Goods took all of the signage from Bumbershoot and turned them into stylish messenger bags. [bumbershoot] Just in time for this year’s festival, going back to school, or preparing for more eco-friendly shopping. Really, how many other people can say that Fergie danced in front of their tote bag?

Get your own at Red Balloon. [$]

photo by peter from report on ikea’s self-checkout lines. [mb]

I just can’t get enough newspaper stories about the deep and powerful effect that next year’s shopping bag fee will have on Seattleites of all stripes. Each of us are special snowflakes, meaning that there are a near-endless supply of tales to tell about how bringing a bag to the store or shelling out a few cents for one will make our lives ever so different once Everything Changes. Today, feast upon the a trio of predictions of how things will be different for grocery baggers who will need a shelf for reusable sacks rather than the plastic bag hangers, mothers who live in fear of nagging daughters, and people already overwhelmed by the paper vs. plastic question who might be crippled by having to decide between returning home or just buying a new bag. [p-i]

I feel so boring for just planning to always pay for disposable bags whenever my purchases are too many to carry. How will you cope? You have only four months to plan!

If you live in Seattle and own a car, you know already that residential parking can be a real pain in the neck. Heck, I don’t even drive and I know that. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is aware of this, too, and that’s why they’ve released a draft of recommended changes to the Residential Parking Zone (RPZ) program which has been used here in Seattle for almost thirty years.

You can read the either the condensed fact sheet or the more inclusive summary document online. After you’ve reviewed either or both of the documents, take a survey online, or, better yet, send your own thoughtful comments regarding the RPZ review directly to the SDOT.

With my pizza last week came a lesson on how democracy is supposed to work. Thanks Pagliacci! Your seasonal Tomato Basil pizza was amazing and now I know why we vote in November as opposed to June. Next time, though, please cite your sources. The whole underside of the box was left unused.

(Seriously, vote. And seriously, their seasonal Tomato Basil pizza is amazing.)

Today is voting day. If you are registered to vote, please do so. If you are not registered, why not fix that today?

What could be better than voting? It’s free, it’s fun, and it matters!

photo by viv | seattle bon vivant [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• Hempfest caused Christopher Frizzelle to have an out of body experience. [slog]
• Drink with Seattlests tonight at MOE. Remember: no EdWe IRL. [seattlest]
• Teens swimmers circumnavigate Mercer Island for charity, high school graduation. [times]
• A downside of being the daughter of the Seahawks coach is that you get ousted from your fantasy football league. [wbaltv]
• Kapow! wants a statue of Allen to tower over SLU. This is just another excuse to sell t-shirts to go with their coffee, right? [bigblog]

• Jim Hightower and co-writer Susan DeMarco will be at Elliott Bay Books tonight at 7:30 PM to discuss his book Swim Against the Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow. Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, public speaker, politician and activist. He’s written seven books about populist politics, served as director of the Texas Consumer Association, and served two terms as Texas Agriculture Commissioner. The event promises to be both a hoot and a holler.

• Tuesday, August 19th at 6:30, the Elliott Bay SF & Fantasy book group will meet to discuss zombie expert and gonzo journalist Max Brooks’ World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War, the follow up to his Zombie Survival Guide. Only by sharing our stories can the healing truly begin…

• In a bizarre twist, Queen Anne Books is hosting a reception, reading, and signing for local author Matt Ruff, also on Tuesday, August 19th at 6:30 PM. Conflicted? There will be no actual zombies at Elliott Bay Books, but Mr. Ruff will almost certainly be on hand at Queen Anne Books. If you haven’t already read Bad Monkeys, this is a great opportunity to meet the man behind the monkeys.

• Wednesday, August 20th, Elliott Bay Books hosts Colorado poet, novelist, and essayist Linda Hogan. Logan will be discussing her new novel, People of the Whale. Hogan’s novel is set among a fictional Washington Native tribe, the A’atsika. Barbara Kingsolver calls Hogan a writer with “unparalleled gifts for truth and magic.” I couldn’t have put it better myself. No, really, I couldn’t.

everyblock’s view of the capitol hill infoclouds.

Friends, Seattle is now one of the elite eight cities graced by the presence of EveryBlock. No more toiling to find the news most relevant to your microgeography with all of the RSS feeding, Google alerting, online media scouring during your lunchbreak. Just plug in your ZIP code and let the filtered firehose of data — news, building permits, emergency dispatches, photos, reviews, real estate listings, sidewalk troubadour sightings — about your immediate vicinity wash over you. Or if that’s too much data for the average human mind to process, just hope that your favorite neighborhood weblog tunes in to sort out the interesting from the dull to repurpose it for your refined palate.

(via lost remote [#])

starting on 30 september you will have a chance to buy this sign [$$] that demonstrates the band’s keen sense of self-deprecating humor from Under the Radar’s delightful Protest Issue. [#] Go buy it while it’s still on newsstands and keep it close.

You’ve driven out to the Eastside to see them play in parks. You’ve crammed into the Capitol Hill Block party in the early afternoon to hear them play in the streets. You’ve camped out at Sasquatch to see them play at the Gorge (twice!). You’ve stayed up to watch them play on late night television. And that’s just in the span of a few summer months. Now, beloved local baroque hymnists Fleet Foxes have announced an indoor show in Seattle at the majestically crumbling Moore.

For the surprisingly low price of $15 and all of the associated fees, you can get yourself a ticket to witness the quintet (four of whom sing) filling the place to its soaring ceilings with soaring neospirituals on 19 October. By then, real autumn will be in full effect and this show will be exactly what you need. [themoore]

And my question, dear Metblogs readers, is this: why, do you think, would someone nail two baby shoes with sharpied hearts on them to a telephone pole on Fairview, not particularly near an intersection? I passed these today on my walk home from brunch, and I’m honestly baffled. They’re about five feet off the ground, and they don’t appear to be a memorial of any sort. They’re the only ones on the street. Weird.

One last birthday post, to note that it’s not only Seattle Metblogs’ birthday, but also our fearless leader Josh’s birthday, too. Happy Birthday, Josh!

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this jealousy-inducing photo by seattle rainscreen [flickr] arrived via our group pool [#].

• OMG. Seattle Times totally ruined the Olympics (for people who didn’t watch swimming live on CBC instead of tape-delayed NBC yet still signed up for breaking-news SMS alerts.) [lostremote]
• Flower Houses are a hold out in the rapid condoification of Alki. [seattledailyphoto]
• Metblogs Dear Leader profiled. [good]
• Washington is a lot more twittery than most of the country, pretty mainstream for other webtrends. [andrewchen via waxy]
• Get psyched for labor day with Kevin Cole’s selections for this week’s KEXP podcast. [bumbershoot]
• I guess no one told the City of Seattle about setting a reserve price on eBay auctions: five million dollars worth of spacetoilets sold for less than $13k, depriving pedestrians, homeless, drug users a few moments of privacy, sparing the city a little bit of embarrassment. [citizenrain]
• One Bus Away is the “new king of bus arrival prediction sites“. I’ve been meaning to try out the iPhone app, but haven’t been convinced to shell out $10. [seattletransitblog]

Happy Birthday! (This post brought to you by the Mad Libs party favors passed out by Dylan)

Please fill out our Metblogs Mad Lib- leave your answers in the comments! Our Metblogs team will determine the funniest entry, and then post it for all the world to see. Enjoy!

Person in Room- Female
Noun
Adjective
Noun
Number
Scary
Person in Room- Male
Noun
Part of Body
Plural Noun
Noun
Adjective
Noun
Number
Adjective
Plural Noun
Noun

last year at bumbershoot [flickr]

Starting tomorrow, Bumbershoot tickets hop up to “regular” price: three-day passes go from $80 to $100; daily passes go from $35 to $40. So if you think you’ll be spending Labor Day at Seattle Center (and you really should — every time I look at the lineup I see three or four exciting things I’d missed previously. For instance, did you know that FINAL FANTASY is playing on Sunday night? He is.), dial up the online order form [#] or make a quick trip to your friendly neighborhood Starbucks before the close of business.

And before you start complaining that in the olden days tickets used to be cheaper, please consider that the advance price for three days at Bumbershoot would barely cover a day at most other big summer music festivals. Plus, you don’t even have to see Jack Johnson!