photo by kristel [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• Segway + stroller = seattle [seattle.lj]
• join the Furry 5k to raising money for animals [alexgarcia] (ed note: not furries [wiki])
• Dan Savage, not turned on by Niketown’s big feet. [slog]
• The disappearing grit of downtown, a pawn shop and gun exchange go quietly into that good condo-fueled night. [times]
• Women of UW, not at the bookstore [p-i]
• M.I.A. is shut out of the U.S., cancels Sasquatch show, makes room for Long Winters [tig]
• Now that you’ve cried all your Sanjaya tears, follow this tutorial to make Blake Lewis your next American Idol [seattlest]
• Sambar is among the 100 best bars in America. [esquire]
• it looks like SIFF Notes are starting to appear online [stranger]

photo via lavender diamond [myspace]

• Clotilde Dusoulier began chronicling her food-related passions through Chocolate and Zucchini, a weblog she started in 2003. Now those thoughts, recipes, musings, cookbook acquisitions, restaurant experiences, gleaned from life in Monmartre have been collected into a cookbook of the same title. Tonight, her book tour stops in Seattle. 7p, free[universitybookstore]
• At last week’s Miranda July “musico-literary extravaganza”, Becky Stark solo folk songs and between song banter were endearing additions to the main event. She performs tonight as Lavender Diamond, with opening support from the Watson Twins. 7:30p, $15 [tripledoor]
• Do people in Seattle just love to support charities, or do they really like Robin Williams enough to sell-out two consecutive nights of comedic fundraising? It remains a great mystery to me since a few minutes on late night talk shows is often more than I can handle. Take comfort in knowing that all of those $45 advance tickets will support the West Seattle Food Bank and the Seattle Animal Shelter while possibly making a lot of people laugh. Update, as noted below: a third show has been added for Thursday, this time to support Challenged Athletes. [showbox]

Robin Williams has been better known for his acting than his stand-up routines in the past few years, but that doesn’t mean he’s turned his back on the trade. In fact, he’s currently working on new material and has two sold-out Showbox shows to show for it. If you’re one of those curious to find out what he’s up to and haven’t gotten tix yet, you get one more try: The Showbox has added a third show for Thursday, May 24th. Tickets are $45.00 and go on sale Wednesday, May 23, through Ticketmaster.

Williams is one of those comics I can take or leave–he has his moments when he’s very, very funny but then he has his moments when he’s very, very not. I wouldn’t turn down the chance to see him if it didn’t require effort on my part but I wouldn’t put the effort into going to see him. I find him mostly “okay”, I guess–I don’t think he sucks, I’m just not impressed. I am impressed, however, to learn that his proceeds from the show are going to Challenged Athletes Operation Rebound [site], an organization that provides post-rehabilitation support and mentorship to American soldiers and veterans who suffered traumatic injuries in Afghanistan and/or Iraq that resulted in a permanent physical disability. It’s a great organization that can use all the help it gets (so true of so many good organizations), so I applaud Williams for giving them a hand.

The Seattle City Council is advertising for applicants to fill an open seat on the Seattle Women’s Commission. The term would begin in July for a two year term. Both women and men are encouraged to apply.

The Seattle Women’s Commission is a volunteer advisory group with 21 members. The Commission is charged with advising the Mayor and City Council on women’s issues and works with the Director of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights to eliminate discrimination.

The application deadline is June 8th. For more information, see the Commission’s website [#].

Sometimes, you go out for a run and just don’t feel like coming home right away. So maybe you go get some coffee or an ice cream, do a little shopping, run down another block. And sometimes, it seems, you simply don’t come home for three days, setting off a great big search that keeps volunteers out in the rain all weekend.

I don’t know, I just feel like there’s something a little fishy in the story of the Cougar Mountain man who disappeared on Friday and came home yesterday with a story about falling in a ravine but without any apparent injuries [P-I]. Don’t you think that if you fell thoroughly enough to be knocked unconscious for a few days, you’d look at least a little tattered? What was he really doing out there? Hanging with D. B. Cooper? Checking on the treasure that was really in that safe in Tacoma, a treasure that he had spirited away when no one was looking like in a Scooby Doo episode?

Really, the important part is that the man is safe and at home, that he is no longer lost and possibly knocked out at the bottom of a ravine. There will be no further investigation into where he went and what happened, except perhaps by his wife.

photo by Danny Clinch via Wikipedia [#]

It seems that little birds are talking to all of the ‘bloggers in town. Their little tweety message: “Beastie Boys are playing a secret show at the Crocodile“. Queue up at ticketmaster starting at 5 pm 4 pm tomorrow to get your spot to see them up close on Friday night before you trek out to the Gorge to see them set against the spectacular backdrop of Central Washington at Sasquatch on Saturday (instrumental gala) and Sunday (mainstage headliners).

linky linky: buy tickets [ticketmaster]

viva la via: [tig, seattlenoise, nwmb, ...]

photo by don ankney [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• A refreshingly snark-free roundup of scooter resources [seattle.lj]
• Hyperbole watch: “People are getting shot. Noise is a very important problem, but it’s the public safety that worries me.” So says City Attorney Tom Carr, regarding the scene at closing time and why nightlife should be more regulated. [p-i]
• Is any public transit more beloved than the Water Taxi? Many local ‘blogs rejoice at the prospect of it running year-round. [seatrans]
• Could the Muckelshoots save the Sonics from deportation to Oklahoma? [aolsportsblog]
• West Seattle’s public housing gets Christo-like treatment [wsb]
• A survey of Chemical Wedding‘s western gothic handbag creations. [midbeaconhill]
• Decades old paper vs. plastic debate, still unresolved, still unimportant [sightline]
• death knell: More about how new royalties on internet radio mark the end of the world as we know it, countdown to 15 July. [pfork]
• Tantalizing speculation regarding a mystery headliner at Neumo’s this Saturday [lineout]
• Beer drinking cat = hilarious. Wins double linkage to m-bh. [midbeaconhill]
• AGENDA: Reports from last night’s Ben Gibbard solo performance at the Showbox — with special guest appearance by Jenny Lewis. (There’s another sold-out show tonight! Beg, borrow, steal, etc.) [soundonthesound, pfork]

poster by Jason Sho Green [lj]

O.K., Seattle: SIFF lands in a few short days to make all of this dreary overcast weather seem like a well-timed blessing. With a gala presentation of Son of Rambow [siff] kicking things off on Thursday, it’s about time to start filling out your dance card.

Although reviews for the opening night selection are few and far between, they’re glowingly “fresh” [rt] and the film was quickly snapped up at Sundance. The film, about a pair of British boys who create an adaptation of Rambo: First Blood, has caused some grumbling in the crowd for not being press-screened [sw], but it looks worthwile. Even though Son of Rambow is semi-autobiographical, I have to imagine that director Garth Jennings (of the surprisingly charming Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) owes a debt of inspiration to the true-life story of the the three American teenagers who made the brilliantly inventive Raiders: the Adaptation, a glorious shot-for-shot recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark [guardian]. Unless you want to wait until the film’s widespread 2008 release, it will cost you at least $50 to see whether the movie is worth the hype. The price of entry also gains you admission to the opening party, where you can race other casually glamorous Seattle film lovers, employees of sponsors with free tickets, and other festival guests to snap up the best appetizers and film-inspired alcoholic beverages. Regardless of the quality of the movie shown, the party is always a weird and fun way for those who don’t do much in the way of gala-ing during the year to scurry for food, overdose on unusually abundant chocolate, run into familiar faces from previous years, and get really excited about the rest of the three-week festival.

Beyond opening night, if you’re finding the long list of film offerings and short descriptions too overwhelming, SIFF has also put a bunch of trailers online. Fritter away your lunch hour browsing the list [siff] and streaming clips to your screen. For people who often find that the best part of going to a movie is the parade of previews, it’s a fun way of getting a sense of what the festival has to offer and whether that documentary about Seattle gamers who “dress up and participate in a live action role-playing game” (Monster Camp [siff]) or the Quebecois tale of a vengeful accountant (Little Book of Revenge [siff]) are pretty enough to sustain your interest for a full showing.

In the event that you encounter nightmare timeslots or difficult choices between a couple can’t-miss films, it’s worth knowing that many of the SIFF offerings are actually available on DVD. From the archival presentations to a batch of movies that have been released outside of the U.S., the deep catalog at Scarecrow Video might be able to come to the rescue if there’s something on the festival program that you’re unable to attend. In an annual tradition, Media Babe has compiled a list of films available for rent [lj] in the event that you’d rather watch in the comfort of your own home theater.

So, have you flipped through the glossy pages of the SIFF catalog yet? (It’s available ahead of schedule for only $5) If so, what’s on your list of must see movies?

Hey, remember when I told you about author David Wellington’s online novel Plague Zone? [mb] It turns out that Wellington is now offering readers a chance to have a minor character in the story created from their name and likness. One lucky winner will be selected on June 22; to enter, send an email to contactmonster[@]hotmail[.]com with “walk-on” in the subject line.

Regular reader Eldan helpfully dropped a tip to let us know that at exceptionally low tides it is possible to walk the beach connecting Richmond Beach, Carkeek and Golden Gardens parks. It just so happens that this is the time of year these low tides happen, from May through July. He has a great lj post giving specific details [lj]; if you’re feeling all outdoorsy, you should definitely check it out.