(image, courtesy cori ready [flickr])

• Vroom Radio reports [mp3] that Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio won one of the Stranger’s Genius awards [seattleartblog].
• Speaking of Lead Pencil Studio, how about some flickrs of their art? [braintru$t]
• And on the topic of Geniuses, one of the other winners is On the Boards [slog]
• Bus lovers loving other bus lovers get married with a little help from FlexCar. [buschick]
• ‘sup with overly friendly ATMs? [defectiveyeti]

A few delayed and abbreviated reminders for your busy weekend:

Firday

• You have two chances to catch Rainer Maria again (or to make up for missing their oversized emo sound last time they were in town) this weekend. Those who can’t make it to tonight’s show (with the Format and Anathallo) [neumos] on account of a certain Red Sox-Mariners matchup, should check out free in-store performance on Saturday at the Queen Anne Easy Street Records [bmh].

Saturday

• Local bands! Kickball! Dog parade! If you’re incapable of missing a free Divorce show, this is the block party for you. They suggest kicking in $5, but if you’re a neighborhood interloper it’s unlikely that you need to worry about dirty looks if you sneak in for less. [lake-fest]
• Sparkly! Quiet! British! Pop! The Clientele (with Fleet Foxes) [chopsuey] Not convinced by terse exclamations? Try before you buy via an live in-studio [kexp].

p.s. today’s the last day to get your Bumbershoot tickets on the cheap — 5 bucks off the daily rate, 10 bucks off the three-day pass. No service fees if your nearest Starbucks is still open, otherwise dial them up on
online [#].

(image via skye [mb])

Seattle lovers of doughnuts, rejoice! Particularly if said enthusiasts are also die-hard fans of Lemony Snicket. And even more so if they have a few spare Benjamins in their wallets looking to get out of the house to improve the coffers of beloved writing/drop in tutoring center 826 Seattle.

Daniel Handler and fifty of his closest friends will sit down to snack on doughnuts (from an unspecified vendor) for one glorious hour on Saturday (2 September). A hundred dollars gets you in the door. Once inside, in addition to breakfasting, a very special purchasing opportunity will be available. A Series of Unfortunate Events: the Beatrice Letters, unavailble elsewhere in the local bookselling community, will be unveiled for buying and booksigning.

While we’re chatting about 826 Seattle news, another of the very special guests for the Seattle stop on the Revenge of the Bookeaters tour has been revealed. Portland’s own Decemberists frontman, Colin Meloy will grace the stage of McCaw hall with his presence, providing support to the already strong “music” contingent for their much-anticipated showdown with the “words” gang.

Tickets for both events are still available [826seattle].

related: a very thorough recap (with shaky Sufjan Stevens + David Byrne video) of the NYC version of the Bookeaters event. [stereogum]

As reported in the PI, yesterday a federal judge struck down Washington state’s ban on tobacco giveaways.

The law, approved by the 2006 Legislature, went into effect in June and prohibited companies from giving out free product samples anywhere in the state, including adults-only venues like bars and nightclubs. RJ Reynolds protested and US District Judge Franklin D. Burgess agreed with their complaint that the new state law is unenforceable under existing federal law.

“This important state law was designed to keep free cigarettes, free chewing tobacco, and other free tobacco products from easily winding up in the hands of our children,” said state Attorney General Rob McKenna.

Dear Mr. McKenna: if children are routinely hanging out at bars and nightclubs, you have bigger issues to worry about than Joe Camel.

Yes, I know, smoking is BAD and in an ideal world everyone who smoked would stop and no one new would ever start again, but can we have a little perspective on this issue? I think it’s entirely reasonable to enact measures designed to keep cigarettes from kids as much as possible but I’m having a hard time envisioning a scenario in which a lifelong dedicated non-smoker in a bar where she or he can’t light up anyway due to the smoking ban is going to suddenly lose all control whatsoever and start the habit just because someone gave her or him a free pack.

Image, via Can Can on Myspace

After we found ourselves shut out from the dance off (and seriously, Seattle, I love you but if you get between me and a dance off again I will hurt you), Team Metroblogging decided that we were in need of a drink. We’d never been in the Can Can, which has been open about six months and is located underneath the Corner Market Building, so into the Can Can we headed.

At about 8:00 on a Thursday the place was completely empty, save for a lot of pretty girls in fantastic can can dresses, who turned out to also be the waitstaff. We took seats at the bar and I fell instantly and deeply in love with how red and cozy the restaurant was. (Rumor has it that the macaroni and cheese is quite yummy, something I intend to find out post haste.) After an initial round of regular drinks we readied our taste buds and decided to give the specialty cocktails a shot.

I don’t remember the name of the one Josh had, but it looked like a terrarium in a glass with rosemary, gin, apple, and champagne. I ordered an East of Eden, a bright drink made of raspberry and vodka (a different beast from raspberry vodka) and cucumber, which was also supposed to have soda but which she made instead with champagne, a move that made her my favorite bartender ever.

By the time we left to go eat fried okra elsewhere the place was packed, getting ready for Thursday night bingo, which promised to be quite a spectacle. The can can performances are always free, they keep the bar open for Joe Public even when there’s a ticketed event in the main room, and happy hour is from 4:30 to 6:30. Next time I go back it’ll be to sample the food and finish off the drink list.

photo, Michael Hanscom [flickr]

Let’s just say that it is actually possible to underestimate the popularity of a Dance Off. While this is good news for dancers, dance fans, and fans of non-violent resolution to complicated world problems, it was not good news for Team Metroblogging, who showed up far too late to get in to see the action.

Luckily for us (and you), ace photographer Michael Hanscom was there to capture the whole event in pictures. He sent this brief report:

Closer competition than I figured, too…National Pleasure won by just 66 votes. I think MP3 would have won again (they were last year’s winners) if National Pleasure hadn’t been there, and they were both excellent, but NP had a hilarious Cold War theme going that stole the show (Nikita Kruschev and Fidel Castro scheming to the “Be Prepared” song that the Hyenas sing in ‘The Lion King’…that’s hard to beat!).

Check out his photoset [flickr], which tells the story of long lines, untrained dancers, the victory of “national pleasure” and their representation of the Cuban Missile Crisis through dance, and the glorious afterparty. It’s not quite the same as being there, but it’s a nice consolation prize.

If you’re a serious gamer, you already know that this Friday through Sunday is the third annual Penny Arcade Expo (PAX)a three-day festival of table top, video and PC games featuring dedicated tournaments, freeplay areas, concerts, panel discussions, the “Omegathon” and an exhibitor hall. Heck, if you’re a hardcore gamer, you’re probably already pre-registered and are right now counting down the minutes until the doors open (3 pm to the walk up traffic, an hour early for pre-registrants) on Friday.

image c. Penny Arcade

Dedicated gamers might spend the entire trio of days on site but dabblers and the merely curious are welcome, too, onsite daily registration gets you in the expo with access to almost all of the events except for entry in the Omegathon. This is a huge event that attracts thousands of gamers of all levels of ability and interest as well as some of the biggest names in the gaming industry. While it’s not really an industry event–PAX is heavily attended by industry reps but the focus of the fesitval is the actual playing of games–it has become one of the largest and most notable events in gaming.

• Victrola about to get boozy with their new roasting plant? [postalley]
• Because finding a Starbucks is nearly impossible, they’re going to simplify your morning brewing routine by letting you subscribe to regular mailings of their beans. [starbucksgossip]
• the Weekly adds a syndicated “advice column” from a Mexican, local Secular Jew with Shiksa wife provides pseudo-outrage they were gunning for and starts his own Q & A [horsesass]
• It turns out that most people either like the Blue Angels buzzing our city, or are too lazy to complain. Not that anyone can do much about the annual jet invasion anyway. [capitolhillseattle]

Just one reminder for tonight (as if you could possibly forget):

• It’s a motherfuckin dance off! Legions of “untrained” dancers convene on the Market Theater in Post Alley to battle it out for bragging rights. With a motto like “you don’t need talent to dance”, be glad that admission is free and drinks are available. Will this live up to the great StreetBeat/FanKick showdown [mb] of 2005? Electric Boogaloo, indeed.

(screengrab from the ridiculously complete official site for Breakin’ 2 [mgm])

From 10 am to 6 pm today Brown Bear will be offering free car washes at 19 different locations to thank the public for their help in recovering 25 of 46 bear statues stolen from their warehouse in Fife. Visit their site [#] for locations and more info.