What you missed at the Crocodile last night (aside from Kevin Emerson showing his funk roots, which was pretty amusing also) was Jon Auer harassing Posies drummer Darius Minwalla into playing drums on a song. The “drums” ended up being an empty guitar case, and Darius was a real good sport even though he didn’t look overly amused by the whole experience. Hey, does Darius Minwalla remind you guys of Jeremy Sisto, or is that just me?

Jon Auer also played a song standing on a milk crate in the audience, and was generally pretty charming. Had a wonderful time, wish you were there.

You traded Chris Snelling, a corner outfielder and cult favorite, for Jose Vidro, a second baseman on the decline side of 30 and two bad legs?

You traded for an $8M contract and gave up a league-minimum guy that hits better?

YOU TRADED CHRISTOPHER DOYLE SNELLING FOR A WASHED-UP BANJO HITTING NATIONAL LEAGUE SPARE PART MIDDLE INFIELDER WHO YOU’RE GOING TO DH BECAUSE HE CAN’T PLAY THE INFIELD ANYMORE WHILE RAUL “HEY, I THINK THAT BALL WAS HIT TO ME” IBANEZ IS STILL PLAYING LEFT AND YOU STILL DON’T HAVE FIVE STARTING PITCHERS FOR THE ROTATION????

That’s it. We’re done. Tomorrow Seth over at Seattlest will receive a fish wrapped in newspaper. It’s a Sicilian sign, you see, for BILL BAVASI WOULDN’T KNOW A GOOD TRADE IF IT CAME UP TO HIM AND BIT HIM ON THE ASS AND THREW IN MANNY RAMIREZ FOR FREE.

Damnit, do the Sounders still exist? They play soccer, right?

Our favorite local sex columnist and society matron hater was on The Colbert Report last night. My favorite quote:

Colbert: Why would I as a straight guy want to listen to you about your talk about my kind of sex? Because I’m going to think there’s some secret agenda … to get me gay.

photo, matt nichols [flickr] via the metroblogging group pool

• why do this year’s eggnog lattes suck? (hint: because they have egg nog in them is not a valid answer.) [starbucksgossip]
• neighborhood #3 (power out) [seattlest]
• making sufjan into a guilty pleasure [lineout]
• connelly is the new mossback. [fos]
• Un-miraculous electric menorahs cheapen Hanukkah [times]
• a self-help guide for rock stars of all pursuasions [thefanalyst]
• obsessive Colbert fans dissect Dan Savage’s visit to the Report [wikiality]

When I lost my iPod, I was pretty broken up about losing thousands of tracks of un-backed-up music and the prospect of re-ripping stacks of CDs. So I can only imagine how terrible the Boeing employee who misplaced a laptop must feel about now. Where I lost vintage songs borrowed from real and napster-era virtual friends, this employee just left nearly a half million names, addresses, and social security numbers to a car thief. Maybe they’re encrypted, maybe not.

Taking a ridiculously optimistic tack, the company leaves out the obvious “yet” with this statement “there was no reason to believe that any of the stolen information has been used illegally.” Just in case, employees will get their identity protection services comped for the next few years along with a cheery note later this month to let them know that they might need to watch their credit scores extra-carefully.

(story via the post-intelligencer [#])

todd barry, photo via toddbarry.com)

• Timothy Egan just won the National Book Award for writing about survivors of the dust bowl. Tonight, Greg Nickels and Nick Licata shower further praise and proclamations when he reads from the horrifying true stories tonight at the Central Library. [elliottbay]
• On a lighter note, the Comedy train seems to be making more and more regular stops in Seattle. If his solo act is anything like his part in Tinkle, Todd Barry is bound to make you squirm uncomfortably and laugh a lot. [chopsuey]
• Seattle Powerpop says [spp] that you should drop by the Central Services + Jon Auer show tonight, not only for indie goodness, but also to pick up a free holiday disc. [crocodile]

I’ve wanted to visit New Zealand for a long time now; a country with more sheep than people (and breathtaking natural beauty) sounds like a great vacation spot to me. Hopefully I’ll get there someday. In the meantime, I am contenting myself with checking out Metroblogging’s newest city: Metroblogging Auckland.

Welcome them warmly to the fold, please.

As I’m sure you’re aware, a few weeks ago, three pedestrians were struck in West Seattle crosswalks. One of the victims ultimately died from his injuries. Not surprisingly, these tragedies have sparked community concern over several dangerous intersections in the city.

In response, the city announced today:

“The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will hold a community meeting on Monday, December 18 to discuss pedestrian safety enhancements along Admiral Way SW near 47th Avenue SW. SDOT currently plans to install a new curb bulb on the southwest corner of the Admiral Way SW and 47th Avenue SW intersection. An additional curb bulb will be constructed at Admiral Way SW & 48th Avenue SW.

Day: Monday
Date: December 18, 2006
Place: Hiawatha Community Center
2700 California Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98116
Time: 6 – 8 p.m.” [city]

Please mark your calendars.

The good news for Washingtonians is that our state was one of only a dozen or so states to get a relatively high score in an assessment done by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) to determine how prepared the US to handle public health emergencies like a bioterrorism attack, natural disaster or pandemic flu. The results were released recently.

The bad news is that it’s really not saying much: being more prepared than most other states is kind of like saying the guy who has only a dollar to his name is better off than the guy who only has a dime.

Washington passed the test in eight out of ten categories. The two categories we failed are having enough hospital beds available and having enough nurses in an emergency. These are problems just about everywhere: Washington is one of no less than 40 states that are facing a severe lack of nurses.

On the somewhat more positive side, TFAH gave Washington an “A” grade on Cancer Tracking; only 11 other states got a score that high.

Are you cranky too because you had to get ready for work this morning in a freezing cold, dark apartment? (And then had to haul your teeny tiny self uphill against the same wind that knocked your power out? Today sucks.) Well, you’re not alone–about 8,900 people are without power today, in patches from North Seattle down to Fairview.

Capitol Hill started it yesterday, and there’s really no telling when the power will be restored. Mine is back on, now that I’m not home anymore. Check Seattle City Light for updates on your lights.