you may have noticed that we’re going into post-solstice semi-hibernation mode here. But before jetting off to michigan for a very midwestern xmas, a few of the items that have been accumulating in the in other blogs queue:

• although the editorial we is an odd fit for a personal tribute, this essay is a fitting celebration of the best cafe in the u-district’s best cafe [seattlest]
• a clever way to check for electricity from afar [westseattleblog]
• a fitting conclusion to a weblog about watching the watchers: tips for rock audiences (”Yelling `Freebird!’ at any show makes you sound drunk and old.”)[thefanalyst]
• triple threat! hating on the times for their multilingual warning and on the p-i for a stranger-quoting writer intro. [dailyweekly]
• unless one of the techies using Victrola as office space comes up with an automated way to hijack the “vote early and often” polling system, it looks like the Slog is on its way to a head-to-head matchup with the squirrels, in an esoteric Capitol Hill Tournament that included almost no contenders south of Thomas or west of 15th. [chs]