photo via grizzly bear [myspace]

Brooklyn-based Grizzly Bear seem to be on a non-stop, hibernation-free touring schedule this year. Last in town at the end of June in support of Feist (”the Bear’s Dungen-esque psycho/folk seemed to please the crowd” [mb] ) after headlining their own tour in February (” the music is trippy and laidback, the guys work hard on stage and it sounds good. I think that the show must be especially thrilling for fans of exposed process, as seeing the band in person sorts out the source of all of the weird sounds from the record” [mb]).

They’ll be back in Seattle on 6 September at Neumo’s [#] along with Deerhunter and Wesafari. If you haven’t had your fill, recently discovered Yellow House and are dying to see them for the first time, or just recognize that this might be one of the better options for your Thursday night, send an e-mail to seattle.metblogs @ gmail.com and you might win a pair of tickets to the show.

We’ll pick a winner by Saturday morning and all of your info will be kept top-secret. Extra credit will be awarded to those who watch Grizzly Bear playing an impromptu show on the streets of Paris [blogotheque] and include a detail of the performance in your email.

If you actually knew anything about working in a restaurant, you would know you don’t put water on a grease fire.

So, why do you persist with the water?

If you’d just called the manager, reported the blog entries, and left it at that, you could have come out ahead. If you’d been willing to let it blow by and not been such a defensive, vindictive jackass, you wouldn’t have given these “liberal hate bloggers” any red meat. And what was a simple case of blog-slander wouldn’t have spiraled out of control to the point that she is now a hero and you’re the villain. You were in the right, and yet your irrational and unreasonable behavior led you to piss it away.

You Coog’d the moral high ground.

Just saying.

If you’d like to work towards eliminating hunger, help community gardening, and listen to some Blues music, head for the Blues for Food Fest at Warren G. Magnuson Park Amphitheatre on Saturday, September 1st from 11 am through 7 pm.

With local bands including Captain Leroy & The Zydeco Locals, Two Scoops Combo, and Kim Field & The Mighty Titans of Tone and food by Veraci Pizza and Hermosa Tamales, you’re sure to leave full and musically satiated.

Blues for Food benefits the P-Patch Trust, a nonprofit organization working to preserve and protect Seattle’s community gardens.

In my continuous effort to try all the restaurants in my neighborhood [#, #], I recently went to Moxie on First. Located across from Racha on lower Queen Anne (some would say Uptown, I say whatevs), the awning outside displays their logo–Food with nerve. Obviously a play on one definition of Moxie (courage, nerve), it made me wonder. Can food have nerve? Seems a stretch, a bit anthropomorphic, if you will. I would, however, associate the food at Moxie with the third definition of the word–skill, know-how–cause these guys most definitely know what they’re doing.

When eating at a restaurant for the first time, I grade on a standard scale: atmosphere, service, menu creativity, presentation, and general yumminess with food and drink. Moxie wowed me in all five.

The restaurant is split into two sides, boasting what seemed to me as two different atmospheres for two different patrons. The left side contains casual two-tops and a bar, allowing small plates and drinks for those not interested in a formal, sit-down dinner. The right/back side of Moxie offers classy comfort with warm colors, dim lighting and candlelight, and pillows lined against the wooden bench along the wall. It was the most excellent destination for an intimate conversation over food.
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photo by slightlynorth [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• Downtown is getting a real supermarket. [p-i via slog]
• How to buy your way into Millionaire’s Row. [capitolhillseattle]
• Confusing Louise Bourgeois for a Dead White Man. [seattle.lj]
• Wong Kar-Wai : 2046 :: Jean-Luc Goddard : Pierre le Fou [siffblog]
• Blast from the past: wonder if Idaho’s airport wide-stanced restroom toe-tapping Senator ever studied this guide to collegiate bathroom blowjobs. [stranger]
• Speaking of Idaho, all of your other bathroom cruising questions answered. [slate]

photo via joywantseternity.com

• Joy Wants Eternity, who sound a lot like the symphonic post-rock or Explosions in the Sky or a much more subdued Godspeed You! Black Emperor, are a sprawling musical collective who play lush music while showing films. Along with Two Loons for Tea CD release. $7, 9p[chopsuey]
• The Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr. show next month (11 September) is sold out. For the small, possibly soul crushing price of cozying up to some tobacco reps at Moe’s tonight you might be able to score tickets. [reverb]

Last month, my new fiance and I took my folks to Bainbridge Island. We were looking for a day trip that would showcase some of the beautiful scenery in and around Seattle and would take us out on the water. We had some lovely weather and a fabulous boat ride.

Seattle Skyline from the Bainbridge Island Ferry

Once we reached Bainbridge Island, however, the real fun began. We wandered around the main drag, flitting in and out of shops, admiring candle holders, dresses, calendars, books, and one of the area’s few travel stores. But the best part of our trip was the discovery of Mora’s Iced Creamery.
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the 2007 crop of 826 Seattle mustache farmers

If the streets of Seattle are looking a bit more whiskery than usual, the blame can be cast in the general direction of much-loved writing center 826 Seattle. In addition to outfitting outer space enthusiasts (Greenwood Space Travel Supply Company) with necessary items for interstellar adventures and helping Seattle kids develop creative writing skills through tutoring and workshops, the organization has taken on the dubious endeavor of challenging local gentlemen to allow their facial hair to go unchecked for over a month.

Launched Sunday, (26 August, an auspicious date), the “Mustache-a-thon” aims to do more than save competitors razor-related expenses. Instead, “mustache farmers” are raising money for 826 Seattle by collecting pledges from friends, family, co-workers, and other facial hair admirers. The contest runs through 6 October, by which time the hair on upper lips of the thirty competitors will no doubt be sculpted into all sorts of fanciful shapes suitable for judgment and fantastic prizes. Chronicles, weekly check-ins, and links to support your favorite farmer can all be found at 826mustaches.

Supporters of hairy faces can paypal some funds to one or more of this year’s growers [#].

Last week, I had an Uptown vs. Lower Queen Anne conversation with another Seattle native. Our conclusion–what is this Uptown crap? And how many more neighborhoods does Seattle need? We’re already sectioned off into more than 60 neighborhoods, officially listed in Wikipedia. [#] Then there are the unofficial neighborhoods:

Frelard (the area shared by Fremont and Ballard)
Freford or Wallmont (the area shared by Fremont and Wallingford)

So, am I now living in Queentown or UpAnne?!

After searching the World Wide Web for a reason behind the Uptown phenomenon, I weeded through the business listings–Uptown Coffee, Uptown Theater, Uptown Chinese, Uptown Barber–and finally found The Uptown Alliance. According to their official Web site, the neighborhood plan for Queen Anne redesignated “lower Queen Anne” as “Uptown,” in 1998. Uptown is unofficially parts of The Seattle Center and the shopping and dining district to the north and west of the Center. [#] But, Peso’s and Ozzie’s–two popular bars in the area–list their location as Queen Anne. So, are half the businesses located in Uptown and the other half in Queen Anne? And at what point am I crossing over into Queen Anne from Uptown or visa versa when walking around the neighborhood?

I live in Queen Anne. This is what I tell people when they ask, and I’m not trying to section myself off into a six-block radius. I go to upper Queen Anne for Noah’s Bagels, Elliot Bay Pizza Co, etc. and I go to lower Queen Anne for Peso’s, 10 Mercer, The Melting Pot, etc.

Seattle has enough neighborhoods, and “Uptown” seems to be just another marketing term to create buzz and perhaps sell a few more condos. Furthermore, when I asked a fellow Queen Anne local about his opinion on this matter, he said he recently came across “Midtown” when condo shopping. Apparently, Midtown is supposed to be the area on Western and Elliot that is north of Belltown. WTF?

So, Metblog readers, what is your opinion on these new neighborhoods cropping up? Uptown? Midtown? Do you consider these legitimate neighborhoods of Seattle?

photo by culinary fool [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• bears vs. crows : the Woodland Park faceoff [seattlest]
• fighting light pollution for a “more celestial” city. [crosscut]*
• #1 line to start a bar fight in Seattle: “Let’s fight.” [citizenrain]
• the Mayor rejects the council’s nightlife proposal [times]

* if you can get your hands on a copy of the 20 August 2007 issue of the New Yorker [#], Daniel Owen wrote a phenomenal article [#] about light pollution and its effect on our experience with the night sky.