photo by ervin vice [flickr] via our group pool

• poll-loving Capitol Hill Seattle gives the viaduct ballot a test drive [chs]
• first puppies in the garbage, now dead sea lions in the sound? [king]
• in search starbucks romances. how quickly we forget about the creepy stalker story. [starbucksgossip]
• is the ease of finding parking under the viaduct because people fear earthquakes? [dailyweekly]

“Mr. Lynch, I’ve been a big fan of yours all my life–I started watching Twin Peaks on Channel 4 when I was three years old,” a diminutive blonde whispered into the microphone.
    “Wait, how old?”
    “Three years old.”
    “…Yikes.“
    And so began an hour-long question & answer with David Lynch on January 16 at Town Hall.  Now, supposedly this was to be an hour-long reading of his new book, Catching the Big Fish, which muses on his experiences with transcendental meditation [Wikipedia] and its role in his creative process. But after Lynch had read only a paragraph, he looked out and said, “So, do you all have any questions?” 
    Nervous laughter rippled through the audience, people looking at each other as if to say, “Is he serious?  Wait, does that count as my question?”  But David Lynch has never been one to kid around, at least not without fully expecting everyone to take him seriously, and so the Q&A began.
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Game industry job seekers be on the alert: The 2007 Game Employment Education Conference is coming to the Puget Sound on Saturday, February 24th. Specifically, the event is coming to the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue to teach you the steps to enter the game industry, give you resume and interview tips, allow you to network with other gamers and gaming pros, and meet with expert educational speakers in the field.

Me, I have zero interest in joining the gaming industry (well, I’d be willing to work for Real Networks, but that’s pretty much just because they have such a cool office), but I’m tempted to go to this event just to see who shows up for it. Are the stereotypes all true or are there gamers who aren’t pasty, wild-eyed and socially inept?

For those of you who are interested in the industry this is your early warning: early registration is only $45, day of show tickets are $60. Sign up before January 31st for an additional discount. [site]

Via philomythus

Oh no. In sad local music news, Pretty Girls Make Graves are breaking up.

“We are sorry to announce that our upcoming tour in May will be our last. Nick quit the band and the rest of us feel like it wouldn’t be right to continue on without him. The five of us feel very lucky to have met and worked with some truly amazing people over the years. Thank you all so much.” [pgmg]

I guess this means that we can expect a “farewell tour”, but so far no dates for the spring are listed online.

(via: drowned in sound [#)

In an above-the-fold front pager in today’s “Sunday Styles”, the New York Times alerts us to the hot new trend of African-American hipsters. Oops, I mean “blipsters” [urbandictionary]. Don’t worry. As their lead case study shows, Seattle’s well ahead the curve on this front thanks to the hard work of Kurt Cobain:

When Douglas Martin first saw the video for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as a teenager in High Point, N.C., “it blew my mind,” he said. Like many young people who soothe their angst with the balm of alternative rock, Mr. Martin was happy to discover music he enjoyed and a subculture where he belonged.

Except, as it turned out, he didn’t really belong, because he is black.

“For a long time I was laughed at by both black and white people about being the only black person in my school that liked Nirvana and bands like that,” said Mr. Martin, now 23, who lives in Seattle, where he is recording a folk-rock album. [nyt]

The story is kind of silly, but it provides a little publicity for Douglas Martin [myspace], a Chuck Klosterman lover with a 142 IQ, and Fresh Cherries from Yakima, his band. There are just way too many Douglas Martins in the Google to be certain, but this guy seems to be a more likely candidate than the NYT obituary writer with the same name.

And do read the rest of the article. It’s fantastically enlightening. Did you know that some rock bands currently include black members. And they’re kind of successful. One of them is called TV on the Radio. Another is called Bloc Party. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?

related:

• Brooklyn Vegan wonders whether it’s offensive to divide the hipster community by race [bv]

In last week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy [abc], officially named after a Belle & Sebastian song, Seattle Grace Hospital gets a visit from a dehydrated runner and an escaped Amish. George deals with his dad’s death, the senior doctors scramble upon hearing rumors of the Chief’s retirement, and Bailey has a dream. All of this in the unsurprisingly delayed recap. After the jump.
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photo courtesy of Cranked Magazine

If you drink your paycheck away at the Summit, think anyone who doesn’t ride a fixed-gear [wiki] is a poser, worry about getting doored, or have grease stains on one (and only one) of your pant legs then Cranked Magazine is definitely for you. Cranked is a Seattle-based quarterly devoted to urban bicycling and the culture and community it inspires. Issue 5, the one-year anniversary edition, is set to hit the virtual newsstand in February. In the meantime, keep up with the latest goings-on in the community via the Cranked Blog [CLOG] and pre-order issue 5 for a chance to win a Cranked-inspired wheelset.

I can’t possible tell you why, but there was just a pretty fabulous fireworks display over Lake Union.

Update! Manuel made a video. Seriously, what the hell were those for?

Answer: They were for Vanishing Point, which has something to do with Vista, I guess. Personally, I vote for more secret fireworks shows; that was fantastic. (Thanks for the speedy research, Ryan and Shep!)

girltalk photo via myspace

• Five bands for five dollars! Seattle Powerpop showcase at the Comet features Young Sportsmen, Matt Southworth (the Capillaries), Ghosts & Liars, James Hall (Shake Some Action), and the Scheme. Now with liquor! [seattlepowerpop]
• For another way to hear a bunch of bands on the cheap ($8!), consider Girl Talk [myspace] who “absolutely detonates the notions of mash-up on his third album, the violently joyous Night Ripper” [pfork]. With local talents, Velella Velella & Library Science (releasing their new CD tonight. Party!). [chopsuey]