Dr. Stephen Hawking and Dr. Brian Greene are coming to Seattle for lectures on April 9 and May 26, respectively. The lectures are being sold as a package: to go to one, you have to buy both. There are still a few seats left as I write this, though they’re not cheap, even for students.

I dearly hope this guy doesn’t show up.

The Northwest Asian American Film Festival [site] showcases works of Asian American artists living or working in the Northwest as well as Asian American works from across North America to the Seattle filmgoing audience. The films on display are varied in length (there’s everything from shorts to full features during the festival) and subject matter, but they’re all carefully selected to represent the best of what’s out there now in Asian American film.

The festival starts on the 25th and ends the 28th; the opening night features will be shown at Northwest Film Forum and the closing night party will be held at O’Asian, but the rest of the fest takes place at the Theater Off Jackson. Showtimes vary, check the schedule on the NAAFF website for films, showtimes and advance tickets.

photo by dennyt [flickr], via our group pool

Agenda: play liberal drinking games [wonkette] while Nancy Pelosi glares at George W. Bush during the State of the Union Address; high-fives for Jim Webb’s democratic response to follow. [horsesass]

In case you missed it:

• because someone had to be at the front of the Olympic Sculpture Park backlash [slog]
• enlisting the enviros to stop the viaduct or tunnel or whatever before it ruins the waterfront [urbantransit]
• as if caffeine addiction isn’t enough to lure customers, now “bodacious” baristas. [bloggingstocks]
• on the other side of the espresso machine, a freaky murderous, stalking, starbucks customer [starbucksgossip]
• on the merits of a weekend trip to the Methow Valley [seattlesong]

With the Sonics’ hopes for a megamillion dollar upgrade to their KeyArena home shot to hell, they’ve regrouped and presented a new plan. Now they want a new arena in Renton or Bellevue. Cost to you, the taxpayer: $300 million. That’s three hundred million dollars. That’s enough to close the budget hole in the Seattle Public Schools yearly budget twenty times.

Great idea, guys. Have you thought of piling all the cash up on a barge in Lake Union and setting it on fire? It might be a more entertaining waste of money.

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I haven’t been to the Olympic Sculpture Park yet, but I hope that when I do make it over SuttonBeresCuller’s rogue tree “Splinter” will still be there. It’s clearly their take on Roxy Paine’s “Split” (says the SAM: “Camoflaged in the natural setting and light, “Split” reflects its surroundings and poses the question, ‘What is nature? What is art?’”), and it’s great. I think that sneaky sculpture is half the fun of having an outdoor sculpture park.

Who wants to take bets on how long it’ll be before the SAM has it removed?

(Image via our favorite Eldan.)

At first, I thought it was me. But as I talk to students and staff and faculty… I find I’m not alone in this opinion:

The quality of coffee on the UW campus is abysmal.

Espressos taste watery and bitter. The top third of my mocha tastes like water; the bottom half tastes like burned chocolate. The drinks are woefully inconsistent from the SAME barista. And this seems common across campus; it doesn’t matter which stand you go to. (OK, I’ve heard good things about Parnassus, but I’ve never been there.)

It seems like this has only been a problem since Tully’s took over the campus concession a few years ago. Is it a case of poorly trained baristas (and lazy at times — I once watched a barista repeatedly botch a drink because she was too busy hitting on a guy)? Or is it that there’s some quality problems with Tully’s?

All you on campus — do you think the coffee is bad? And if so, what do you think is the problem?

Dear Governor Gregiore:

Re: this article, this article, and this article.

MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND ALREADY!!! MAKE A DECISION AND STICK WITH IT!!! THIS IS NOT FRIKKIN BASKIN-ROBBINS!!!! JUST!!! PICK!!! ONE!!! TUNNEL!!! VIADUCT!!!! IT’S NOT HARD!!! JUST PISS OR GET OFF THE POT BECAUSE WE HAVE A MILLION OTHER ISSUES WAITING TO USE THE BATHROOM!!!! ARRRRRRRGH!!!!!

Thank you.

My step-mom used to joke that one of the best parts of having kids was having an excuse to play with their toys. I don’t have any kids myself, but that hasn’t stopped me from having an appreciation for well-made, fun toys, which is why I was excited to learn about local online toy sellers Nico and Zoe. [site]

I recently had the chance to interview Nico & Zoe co-owners and founders Pam and Stacy about their great company and the great products that they sell. As it happens, their original plan was to open a coffee place. Fond as I am of coffee, I have to confess I’m glad they got stymied on that goal. There are already tons of great coffee places around here but one can never, ever have enough toys..

Interview (and more pictures of toys!) after the jump.
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With the nutcrackers at long last cleared from our streets, you might have feared that Seattle’s public spaces would be blissfully free of fundraiser art for a full year. Never fear. Or rather don’t celebrate too soon.

It seems that the pigs, which first graced our city in 2001, will once again parade. I spotted a fleet of unadorned models in an unassuming abandoned storefront on Pike, between First and Second. I hate to bring you all the news, not only of their return, but of the passed deadline. Wannabe porcine fiberglass decorators needed to file their applications by 20 December [pdf].

The finalists were announced last week, the pigs will first be available for public consumption in May (at Western Bridge), they take to the streets in June to coincide with the Pike Place Market’s street festival, and will be with us until mid-September. Do not point your browser to pigs on parade . org unless you want to see and hear an annoying pig puppet doing an impression of stand-up comedy.

As if choosing between new episodes of Heroes and 24 weren’t difficult enough, there are other options that might compel you to step away from the sofa:

• Can any other film playing in Seattle compete with The White Hell of Pitz Palu for best title bragging rights? The 1929 silent film, part of the series Zee mentioned last week [mb], will be accompanied by the Wurlitzer playing of Dennis James tonight at the Paramount. David Jeffers has a nice essay on Weimar Cinema to get you in the mood for the screening [siffblog].
• Robbers on High Street are taking their stripped-down subway-inspired Americana pop on a brief West coast tour in support of their internet-only EP. Last month, they recorded a lounge set for WOXY [#]; this afternoon, they’ll be stopping in at KEXP for an afternoon in-studio; tonight they’ll play with Mezzanine Owls. [chopsuey]