I wasn’t going to touch this, but since it’s made it into the newspaper I figure that I had better say something before someone else does.

The first time I met John Guth was last June at the now-defunct Timberline, while his partner Bryan was rocking their karaoke idol contest. I knew in the back of my mind that a close friend of mine was friends with the Star Wars guy, but at the time it never occurred to me that the man sitting across the table making me laugh so hard I cried was the same one.

The last time I saw John was at a party at the Twilight Exit in February, and though we skated around a few serious subjects, neither one of us knew the other well enough to make a dent in what the other was feeling. And he was still making everyone around him laugh. So it was with great surprise that I answered the phone last weekend and learned that John had killed himself.

I didn’t know him long enough or well enough to be able to pull together a series of anecdotes for you so that you can understand just why he’ll be missed so dearly. The world will remember John as that guy who camped out for Star Wars. I’ll remember most vividly the yellow jacket he wore on Halloween, and his dry running commentary during the kissing contest at that party. I feel certain that it was impossible to meet John and not remember him, and my heart goes out to those who loved him most.

(image via dungen-music)

A couple of options for your Monday evening:

• David Sedaris reads to a theater full of adoring fans tonight at the Paramount. Unlike the typical bookstore junket, which allows slackers to get in for a free reading by showing up in a timely fashion, this gig required devotees to buy pricey tickets several months in advance. If you weren’t forward thinking enough to plan for an evening of humor from one of the funniest writers in America, you can console yourself by listening to some of his stories from This American Life for free in the comfort of your own internet-enabled apartment [thislife]. On the other hand, if you have a spare ticket for tonight and need a last-minute date, it shouldn’t be very hard to find someone to help [Ed: hint, hint.]

• Perhaps you prefer Scandinavian rock to witty stories? You’re in luck — Dungen are playing tonight at Neumos. Fantastically tall Swedes, guitar rocking, and ocasional flute solos creates a kind of fascinating and strange entertainment phenomenon. Not being able to understand the words may or may not contribute to your enjoyment.

Tourists and newcomers to often complain about the confusingness of getting from one point to another in Seattle. While those who have lived in or visited cities where road plans developed more organically may have little sympathy, the heart of the weirdness of our grid system has an explanation in old time ego politics:

This pattern is the result of a disagreement between David Swinson “Doc” Maynard, whose land claim lay south of Yesler Way, and Arthur A. Denny and Carson D. Boren, whose land claims lay to the north: Maynard favored a grid based on the cardinal directions, while Denny and Boren preferred that their streets follow the Elliott Bay shoreline. Denny and Boren prevailed in what would become the central business district, but it was Maynard’s grid that ended up being extended throughout the city. [wikipedia]

I’m sure this sort of thing is discussed on the underground tour, but sometimes it’s hard to remember where the roving stand-up ends and the information begins. The article also has useful tidbits about where directionals kick in, the mnemonic for the downtown alphabetical streets, and interesting trivia like the fact that Madison is the only street that continues uninterrupted between salt water Puget Sound and freshwater Lake Washington.

what? a sunday agenda? normally you’d just be eating brunch, doing laundry, and taking the cat for a walk, but there are way too many other things to do once you’re finished shopping for books:

• Need a reason to spend your afternoon in Ballard? How about a decent indie band with an awesome name? Missouri’s own Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin [myspace] rock at four o’ clock at the Sunset Tavern.
• Later, you’ll find Pinback at the Showbox with their unique mathy-tinged rock. I like to think of Pinback as the perfect band to provide a relentless soundtrack for your videogame life.
• Finally, those who still haven’t settled on a Summer wardrobe philosophy would do well to spend some quality time at the CHAC lower lounge. There, Seattle’s finest fashion designers will be staging Haute Off the Rack, a rock and roll fashion show, scored by a team of DJ luminaries. For the practically-free cover charge of $3, you can bask in the glow of beautiful people, made all the more beautiful by drink specials. The under-21 set will be kicked out at 10, but the rest of you can stay later. [sweatshop]

I really have been paying attention to my local library, but I still managed to miss this.
(more…)

Image: Sarah Irene

Think the world could use some changing? So do I. And so does the crew at WorldChanging.

WorldChanging is an ideas clearinghouse, basically. WorldChangers from all over – including a core group right here in Seattle – bring together “the tools, models and ideas for building a better future.”

There are two things in particular that I love about WorldChanging. The first is the grand scale of their vision: they blithely ignore the convention of dividing knowledge into discrete little boxes, and cover it all: environment, culture, technology, economy, politics. The second is the perfect balance they strike between realism (the world needs changing) and optimism (the world can be changed, and we can do it now) – for example, see this piece to commemorate Earth Day.

Their gorgeous book, Worldchanging: A User’s Guide for the 21st Century, comes out on January 1st, 2007. In the meantime, I’ll have to satisfy myself with their blog.

I was standing behind the counter this afternoon at the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co., looking out the window and chatting with David Lasky about his recent comic book workshop. As I was watching, an older woman on a motorized wheeled cart sped past on the sidewalk, yelling “whee!” Right after her, in hot pursuit, were two other women on similar carts. We all exchanged glances, shrugged, and went back to our conversation.

Spring fever has, apparently, arrived.

Project Runway [bravo] is consistently the most compelling of all of the reality shows, mostly because watching artists create art on a deadline and in front of judges makes incredibly good television. But it’s also because the cast is made up of legitimately creative and interesting people instead of vapid twentysomethings living together in a house to prove their outrageousness, jocks eating cow eyeballs for small cash prizes, or business majors sucking up to Donald Trump for a job. [Don't get me wrong: these shows have their appeal, too.].

This weekend, Santino Rice, second-runner up in the contest but winner of the “good television”, “judge-infuriating fashion”, and “Tim Gunn impersonation” awards, is dropping by Seattle for a visit this weekend. Knowledgeable Seattleites have made some suggestions about where he should hang out [#]; so be on the lookout, he should be pretty much impossible to miss. And, you know, drop us a line if you spot him wandering around town (seattle.metblogs (at) gmail . com) so that we can assemble a collection of sightings.

(via le slog [#])

The first time I went to the Friends of the Seattle Public Library Book Sale was the September after I moved to Seattle, on what turned out to be a date. (There are few ways to woo a lady that work better than a hangar full of cheap books combined with an afternoon in Magnuson Park in September.) While there, I watched a person in full clown regalia browse the self-help books, and I was pretty sure I’d end up staying in Seattle.
I ended up, that day, with a boyfriend I’d have for quite a while, and a bag full of books that I’ve still got. So, you know, I’m a fan of the book sale.

This is my way of pointing out that the first of two book sales for the year is this weekend, out in Building #30, from 9 am – 5 pm on Saturday, and 11 am – 4 pm on Sunday. There is a member’s preview sale tonight, with memberships sold at the door, at which you can buy up to 25 items. Most of the books are $1, and don’t look at me like that, because it’s not all Stephen King books with broken spines. My favorite find will always be a nice 1951 hardcover version of Sir James Frazer’s The Golden Bough. Yes, I realize just what sort of dork that makes me, but I’m a dork that got the book for $1. So there.

If for some reason books aren’t your thing, they also sell music and movies and software and posters. It’s a good even for people–and clown–watching, because the local booksellers all show up and hunch over the tables, ready to stab you with the stylus for their handheld book-checking device if you get in their way. Bring your own boxes to cart things home in, and possibly a hand truck to cart the boxes on. You’ll need it.

(image, 2×4 Landscape [henryart] )

Remainders and reminders for your friday night to-do list:

• Old school (we’re talking first sophomore year) O.C. buzz band, Rooney play tonight at Chop Suey. It’s a really early show (out by 10 pm), so show up on time if you don’t want to miss the Catch or Everybody Else. [ticketweb]

• If you decided not to show up for the video feed overflow lecture [mb], tonight might be a good time to drop by the Henry, which hosts an opening reception for the new Maya Lin installation, Systematic Landscapes [henryart] starting at 9 pm. [upcoming]
• If you’ve ever wondered how that dinner got to your table, Michael Pollan explains it all tonight at Elliott Bay. He’ll be reading the Omnivore’s Dilemma, in which he traces the natural history of four meals. [elliottbay]. Reading the book might make you want to start buying expensive groceries and hunting your own dinner, but you might never want to eat a McNugget again. Just think of it as a way to kick off your pre-summer fitness strategy.