As John pointed out, Bumbershoot isn’t the only thing happening this weekend. Well, add one more item to the list of reasons Seattle will become the center of the universe over the next few days. Gamers from across the continent will be flocking to the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) at the Convention and Trade Center, running Friday through Sunday.

Calling PAX a big deal is an understatement. The expo’s popularity has skyrocketed since its inception just four years ago. While the first PAX drew 3,000 attendees in 2004, it quickly outgrew its digs at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. Last year, the crowd swelled to more than 35,000 attendees, and is expected to hit 50,000 this year — garnering the title of the biggest gathering of gamers in North America.

What’s the appeal? PAX has built a reputation as the event dedicated to the gamer community. Unlike the Electronic Entertainment Expo in L.A., which serves as a platform for game companies to announce new products to major news outlets, PAX keeps the focus on the game consumer. This year’s schedule includes panel discussions, game tournaments, late-night geek movies, concerts, and Rockband until 3 a.m.

On top of our thorough Bumbershoot coverage, we’ll post updates of PAX attendees getting their geek on throughout the weekend.

Photo by jvidhee.

On Tuesday September 2nd at 7pm John Vanderslice (the nicest guy in indie rock) will be doing a free all-ages in store at Sonic Boom Records in Ballard. If you don’t get a chance to see him at Bumbershoot on Monday, or really even if you do, you should go check him out at Sonic Boom. You can never get too much JV.

Photo courtesy of Shawn via Flickr.

I was very excited to see GZA of the Wu-Tang clan perform his legendary album, Liquid Swords, in its entirety. The crowd was a diverse bunch of frat boys, b-boys with comically baggy and loudly graphic Wu-Wear, aging 30somethings on a nostalgia trip (myself included), and a 16 year-old kid who, as the GZA pointed out, was a year old when Liquid Swords came out. Joints were smoked. People had their fists in the air, waiving them like they just didn’t care for the whole show.

The crowd was at a fever pitch when the opening strains of the first track (“When I was little…”) began, but, after the initial thrill wore off, the law of diminishing returns was in effect. There seemed to be a miscommunication between the GZA and the DJ, as an entire verse of the opening track got dropped, depriving me of my favorite rhyme on the album: “Style is old like Mark V sneakers/lyrics is weak like clock radio speakers.” The GZA stopped to explain to his DJ which hand gesture meant “cut” and which one meant “drop” the beat. (This was far too technical for me to understand.) There also was an issue with “Duel of the Iron Mic” but I believed they played it again later in the show. (Things were getting a little hazy at that point.) Most egregiously, it was hard to hear GZA and, when he is performing an album with so many great lyrics and rhymes, that was a real disappointment. It was one of those shows where the event was probably more important than the performance, with the crowd thanking the GZA for a classic album and he appreciated all the support.

If you missed the show, go buy a copy, smoke a bong hit or ten, and put on some headphones and listen to it start to finish.

-John Mason Brown

 The most exciting literary event of the weekend[*] is at Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery on Friday, August 29th. Fantagraphics is hosting an artist’s reception and book signing for Daniel Clowes, the author-artist of Ghost World. Mr. Clowes will be signing Ghost World: The Special Edition 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM. The special edition not only includes the original Ghost World, one of the most critically acclaimed comics (or “graphic novel” if you are afraid your friends will make fun of you for reading comics, but what kind of friends are those, anyway? Get new friends.) ever, but also includes the Oscar-nominated screenplay adapted by Clowes and Terry Zwigoff, et cetera, et cetera, all the usual bells and whistles guaranteed to persuade fans old and new to fork over their lunch money.

 Saturday, August 30th, Seattle Mystery Bookshop hosts a book signing for author Cricket McRae, at the usual time, i.e. noon. Ms. McRae currently lives in Colorado, but the heroine of her novels, Sophie Mae Reynolds, is a crafty amateur sleuth based in Seattle (okay, Seattle-ish). Heaven Preserve Us is the second novel of this cozy series (after Lye In Wait), with a third (Spin a Wicked Web) forthcoming.

 Not free, but if you are already going to Bumbershoot, why not support a (more or less) new literary series? ACT Theatre’s Kurt Beattie directs Short Stories Live, pro actors reading stories by Seattle writers. Mary Ewald will read “Junk Mail” by Rebecca Brown and Tim Hyland reads Ryan Boudinot’s “Newholly.” This is the first year that Bumbershoot has hosted the semi-monthly Town Hall series. Sunday, August 31st, 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM at the Leo K. Theatre.

[* Except Bumbershoot. Bumbershoot bumbershoot bumbershoot. Josh will be compiling and posting our Bumbershoot recs, so I'll refrain from further geekery here. (Bumbershoot!)]

With Ryan’s report on Asteroid Cafe closing, I realized that somehow, in the short time I’ve been here I’ve managed to make it to nearly every notable spot that’s been closed down or demolished a grand total of once.

On that list:

1. Crocodile- Shortly after moving here in February of last year, my friend’s band came through town and played at the Crocodile. It didn’t close until December, but I only managed to get there once. And I really meant to go to the I Heart Rummage show. I know it’s moved on to Chop Suey, but it seems to me like the Crocodile was the perfect location for it.

2. Bimbo’s Bitchin’ Burrito Kitchen- First Iteration- A pair of friends took us to Bimbo’s in spring of 2007. I loved it- the kitschy decorations, the fun stuff under the tables, and so much pink! It was fabulous. But its entire block was demolished, and while it managed to move in elsewhere on Capitol Hill, it just hasn’t been the same. I miss the old one that wasn’t decorated entirely in Mexican wrestling decor…

3. The Sunset Bowl- It’s all in the post, but I only got there once for a friend’s mid-winter party before it closed down in the spring.

4. The aforementioned Asteroid Cafe. Again, it’s in the post, but I never did make it back for that romantic date (well, guess I’ve got two weeks).

5. The Vivace at Cal Anderson Park. A good friend took me there for a cup of coffee this spring, not more than a month before they closed. I found out the hard way, by trying to take my parents to the loveliest coffee shop in the city while they were visiting in mid-July and walking up to boarded doors and windows. It was incredibly sad to lose that location, particularly to lose it so soon after discovering it.

So, I’m kind of feeling like the Typhoid Mary of Seattle businesses these days. The time between visit and closing seems to get shorter and shorter, in addition. But one of my fellow Metbloggers suggested that instead of being sad about my anti-Midas touch, I use my powers for good and not evil. With great power comes great responsibility and all.

So, Metblog readers, what businesses do you really want to see move on and be replaced by condos and light rail? I’ll be happy to go visit them, and keep you updated on their impending demise immediately following.

photo by Race Bannon [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• OMGoats clearing brush along the highway between Pine and Boren!! [flickr]
• I’m not sure what most of this means, but I just hope that no one reads it and decides to cultivate a crop of microcelebrities in our own second-tier city. [gawker]
• Final Fantasy is the band I might be most excited about seeing at Bumbershoot. Maybe even to the degree that I’d say that he is the main reason not to skip Sunday. Three mp3s from his upcoming EPs appeared online today. Get ‘em while they’re hot. [yanp, s'gum]
• I don’t necessarily recommend leaving Bumbershoot early on Saturday, but if you were so inclined, the main reason would be because you wanted to see Bon Iver , whose For Emma, Forever Ago was among my most favorite of last year’s releases. Thanks to re-release, it could be your favorite of this year. [neumos]
• If you’d been dying to check out what the Clover’s all about but wanted to avoid one of those indie places that used to brew drip coffee with them, now you can enjoy it at one of 10 Starbucks stores making use of their new acquisition. [bigblog]
• Richard McIver paid a fine for an ethics violation with city funds. Some are not amused. [citizenrain]

I’ve mentioned before [mb] how the boyfriend and I only share one music cd in common. That cd is the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ Hot, a band I thought I’d never get to see live.

It’s interesting how a band that was practically broken up by the time I started listening to them has spanned so much of my adult life. Of course, that was twelve years and at least two cities ago so probably not THAT surprising. Thank God I signed up for that seemingly long dead mailing list years ago since as late as the 14th there was practically no advertising for their two Seattle shows. But, you know, I suppose everyone who cared was on that same mailing list since the Triple Door looked if not sold-out then pretty close.

For the record, the Squirrel Nut Zippers [myspace] are not a swing band – although swing’s 1990s resurgence did help catapult them into the limelight. They’re more of a gypsy-esque amalgamation of hot southern jazz, blues, calypso, and maybe just a little swing. SNZ is fronted by both a male, “Jimbo” Mathus, and female, Katherine Whalen, singer – but rarely both during the same song – which adds to their stubborn resistance to classification. The fact that the boyfriend has this cd in with his full collection of Judas Priest and old school metal probably says something about both him and the band.
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Our favorite local virtual big box retailer is set to release an updated version of its mysteriously bestselling e-book reader. Kindle 2.0 should be available in late September or early October, according to BusinessWeek. In addition to a larger screen, a less clunky design, and fixes to some of the more annoying UI features, the new Kindle is rumored to be aimed at students. Given the notoriously bad manufacturing and supply chain issues, I would expect the new Kindle to be consistently sold out until Fall of 2010.

Do you have a Kindle? Do you like it? I’ve still never seen one in the wild. I’m starting to think that a good scavenger hunt task would be to find someone with a Kindle and have your picture taken with it.

[via Business Week, Ars Technica]

You probably haven’t bought tickets to see TV On The Radio yet. Otherwise, the Showbox (SoDo edition) wouldn’t be offering them at the extra low price of $11.50 each (when you buy two). They are worth seeing, and definitely worth seeing for such a low price, but you’ll have to face your own demons to get a pair: visit Ticketmaster and enter the name of the band’s new album for the deal. 6 September, 8 pm. [ticketmaster]

update: looks like it’s back to regular prices already : $23.00 + $8.20 + shipping

If you are starting a new garden or just looking to fill in some bare spots in an existing garden, then be sure to make it to Swanson’s for their annual fall sale. This is one of the best deals in the city for gardeners - all trees, shrubs and vines are 40% off and perennials, herbs and groundcovers are 25% off. Fall is the best time to put in new plants, since mother nature takes care of watering everything in for you, and you’re off to a great start next Spring.

The sale starts this Thursday, August 28 and goes through September 28. It’s always very crowded the first weekend, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that they bring in new inventory throughout the sale. So do yourself a favor and wait until after the first weekend to go, but by all means go check it out!

Swanson's nursery photo from brewbooks on flickr.

Yesterday a King County Superior Court judge told the school district that it isn’t allowed to cut down a grove of trees at Ingraham High School [mb]. Now the district has to resubmit their permits and get approval for their expansion project, since they pulled their requests in an attempt to go around the legal troubles by cutting down the trees first and then re-applying for their permits.

The school district wanted to pull the trees down before school started and winter set in, to protect the safety of both the students and the remaining trees. The district swears to plant three new trees for every old one removed, but the neighborhood points out that there are other, less dense places on campus where the school could expand [PI]. (Plus, are three new tiny trees really going to equal the environmental value of one great big one?) District officials worry that the delay will stall the construction, which they wanted to start in February. The students, I imagine, are probably glad that they will still have some trees to sneak out of class and smoke behind, at least for the time being.

Memories of drinking in airports take me back to Chicago’s O’Hare, and dingy, smoky bars with a newspaper-theme and hot dogs under a heat lamp. My, how things have changed.

All dark leather chairs and soothing, sterile white, Vino Volo, in SeaTac’s Central Terminal, has wines light years beyond the Gallos and Columbia Crests of the world. I enjoyed a nice bone-dry French rosé and a glass of bubbles (a dangerously refreshing, all-Chardonnay French sparkler). I also appreciated the informative coasters with information about the wine:

In addition to sipping wine at the bar, Vino Volo also sells full bottles to go. In fact, everything you try there is available for purchase. Since Vino Volo is past the security checkpoints, you can buy a bottle to bring with you on your flight. (But you do have to wait until you get to your destination to uncork it.) The selection is, naturally, Washington-heavy, but I was able to spot some impressive Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Rhone selections. (I am a bit of a Francophile when it comes to wine.)

I never went to Sea Breeze. Or whatever was there before Sea Breeze. I drove by every day, often kind of wistful at their fireplace and somewhat sad that there never seemed to be more than three or four people inside. So I wasn’t all that surprised when they closed. I was surprised, however, when I found out there was a burger joint going in there.

Did we really need another burger joint? After all, there’s Lunchbox Laboratory, Zak’s, Scooter’s, Zesto’s, Ballard Brothers, and if you are going to or from Ballard, there’s even Red Mill. So another burger joint? Really?

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Macrina Bakery : if you’ve never had their tasty treats, you should totally do something about that posthaste. Macrina bakes a variety of breads and pastries and cakes and in their cafes cooks up soup, salads and other savory fare.

I highly recommend making Wednesday, August 27, the day you do that something about it: Macrina is celebrating their fifteenth anniversary and instead of asking for presents, they are giving them away in the form of a free brown sugar shortbread cookie, available at all of their current locations. To continue the celebration they’re offering their gloriously delicious signature Giuseppe bread, a crusty Italian style bread perfect for sandwiches, with soup, or all on its own, for $2.15 from August 27 to September 3.

Macrina currently has three locations: in 1st Ave in Belltown, on McGraw Ave, and on Vashon Island. While you are stopping in for your free cookie and discount loaves of bread I highly recommend checking out the cherry almond scones, the spinach and cheese dumpling, the Budapest coffee cake (so yummy I periodically dream about it), and, well…pretty much everything else they make, too. Macrina also makes several of their products for sale at various local markets and cafes. As an added bonus, Macrina bake their goods with as many locally produced ingredients as possible - you can totally taste the freshness.