Sakura img by [heathbar]

I only sit upon the periphery of gaming culture. That is to say, I date a gamer, and so have a window in, but am rarely a participant. Thus, when I saw the flags around downtown announcing the Penny Arcade Expo [paex], I knew what it was, but that’s about it. Enter wikipedia [wiki] (what ever did we do before the Internets?).

The ExpoPAX starts today at 2, but there were gamers hanging about the convention center as early as 8 a.m. this morning when I rolled into the office. I have to say my first thought about the gamer-geeks I saw was that thankfully they had not overcrowded my coffee shop as many conventioneers are wont to do. Point: gamers. The second thought was to remark to myself that it was interesting that gamers are as recognizable as the Sakura-Con people, but far less flashy [wiki].

So, I just went down for another stroll to see what’s going on in the final minutes before launch and there’s a weird tour bus sitting outside with The Spoils emblazoned upon its side. Band? Apparently not. Nope, it’s a tournament card game [spoils]. Okay, there’s another bit of geek culture that I had been heretofore unaware of. At this point, I really feel like I’m in the deep-end.

But what is this I see? Scrolling through the schedule for this weekend, a shining beacon of geek pierces through my outsider’s fog: one Wil Wheaton, who is giving this year’s Keynote Address [wwdn]. Oh if only our little blogging enterprise here had warranted me a press-pass. Alas, if I want to see Wesley Crusher (@ 4 p.m.), I’ll have to shell out the $30 daily fee just like everyone else.

Other notable events for today [paex]:

• 7:00 – 8:00 Girls and Games, the Growing Role of Women in the Game Industry

• 8:30 – 10 Trivia! Okay, I only ever get 1 point on the quizzes in the back of the EGM, but I do so love trivia.
• 9:30 – 2 a.m. the first night of the PAX Nerdcore Concert Series:
  “Break out your cell phone and handheld gaming screens to welcome Freezepop and the OneUps as they join our PAX musical guest veterans Optimus Rhyme and the NESkimos for night one of our PAX Nerdcore Concert Series. The first 4,000 attendees at PAX on Friday afternoon will receive wristbands for guaranteed entry, with the remaining seats being given away on a first-come, first-served basis.”

Nerdcore definitely sounds like it’s in Seattle’s wheelhouse. So, who’s going to this? Any thoughts or recommendations from ExpoPAX veterans?

Update: I’m such a dork. I called it the wrong name! What little credentials I have are gone. Thanks for the head’s up.

• SIFF kicks off a Stanley Kubrick program that runs through September 6 with a Friday night showing of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a film that scared me more as a child than any other film besides Jaws. It still kind of creeps me out now. Saturday they show the rightfully iconic Dr. Strangelove and the history-based Paths of Glory. Sunday brings multiple showings of Barry Lyndon; check their site for showtimes and additional films.
• Outdoor movies: Movies at the Mural this week features Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me on Friday and Casino Royale on Saturday; Supergirl screens at Cal Anderson Park; Seattle Outdoor Cinema in Fremont has Princess Bride; West Seattle’s Sidewalk Cinema has a pre-film set by local band Pagasys [MS] before Edward Scissorshand; and it’s The Sandlot over in Kirkland.
• The Egyptian is going all out with its Midnight Movie this weekend: show up in costume for the screening of the film Young Frankenstein and you could win tickets to the musical playing at the Paramount
• Roky Erickson, a musician from Austin, was an important inspiration of fellow Texan Janis Joplin, amongst others. In 1969 he began a three-year stint in a mental hospital after being busted for marijuana and pleading insanity. When he came out of the hospital, he went into a different of lock-up by keeping himself a recluse, disappointing his many fans and admirers. Keven McAlester’s documentary on Erickson, You’re Gonna MIss Me starts Friday at NWFF and continues all weekend.
• Central Cinema is showing the excellent French action flickLa Femme Nikita
• The Grand Illlusion is again showing 80s summer-camp comedy Oddballs; they’ve also got Ki-Duk Kim’s Time, in which Seh-hee, convinced that her boyfriend no longer loves her, undergoes plastic surgery to become a new woman, one whom he will.

Seattle audiences are generous with their standing ovations–too generous, I often think; when every performance gets one, how do you reward those performances that are truly outstanding? Young Frankenstein, which officially opened tonight after two weeks of previews, could use just a bit more tweaking but despite its minor flaws (a couple songs could use some reduction in length, a couple scenes could use some tightening of pacing), the play definitely deserved the standing ovation given to the cast, director/choreographer Susan Stroman and writers Mel Brooks and Thoman Meehan.

The performances by the actors in the play were all top-notch: Sutton Foster (Inga) and Megan Mullally (Elizabeth) were the obvious audience favorites but I was most struck by Andrea Martin’s portrayal of Frau Blucher in which infused some major comedic depth into a character which could’ve been just a one-note joke. I especially enjoyed her number “He Vas My Boyfriend” which gave her a chance to show off her full comedic range. Roger Bart as Frederick Frankenstein is no Gene Wilder, to be sure, but he was charming and engaging in his own way and made the role his own.

If you’ve seen the movie, you already know the play’s plot and many of its big laugh lines; the cast and crew definitely deserve applause for making even the recycled jokes sound fresh. The songs are funny, fun and memorable but the opening number (“Frankenstein is Dead/The Happiest Town in Town”) and the madcap song-and-dance routine “Join the Family Business”, both in Act 1, and Act 2′s “Please Send Me Someone” are each about a minute or two too long. A couple of the first act scenes would probably be even funnier if they moved a little quicker, but these are minor quibbles. Young Frankenstein is great fun and I definitely recommend checking out before it leaves Seattle to make its way to Broadway.

Of special note is the set design: I’ll be shocked if set designer Robin Wagner doesn’t get a Tony nod next year Peter Kaczorowski, Jonathan Deans, and Marc Brickman–Lighting, Sound, and SFX designers, respectively–also did an outstandiing job of making everything feel “real”..

helloinsomnia [flickr] snapped a picture of goats taking a break from clearing groundcover at the u.w. and shared it via our group pool [#]. (what can I say, we’re a bit goat crazy over here today)

• the Decemberists are closing their massive, trans-continental fall tour with a pair of dates in Seattle this December, mercifully separating their long “epic, progressive compositions” from their “more succinct, pop-leaning material”. I’m desperately hoping that the latter part of this division will help me to rekindle my once great love for the band. [pitchfork] The presale starts Saturday [musictoday], those braving both shows get a discount and custom tickets.
• How green is your festival? Bumbershoot goes above and beyond carbon offset credits by rewarding people to cycle to Seattle Center with Clif bars and Camelbak water bottles; using biodegradable signage; and requiring vendors to stay styrofoam-free, composte waste, and recycle grease into biodiesel. [treehugger]
• The moon disappears on Tuesday, celebrate it with tea and astronomers in the arboretum for $25. [capitolhillseattle]

Dodging tourists downtown this afternoon, I spotted sculptors hard at work in Westlake Center Plaza turning mountains of sand into igloos, pigs, and poodles. The meaning of this sponsored, “polar espresso” themed, sandwork? Sandfest.

Anyone familiar with FOUND Magazine?

I stumbled across the FOUND coffee table book when ordering Post Secret from Amazon.com (They’re so sneaky! Their suggestive “Those who bought this also bought this” technique always gets me!). Anyway, FOUND was nothing short of amusing–chalked full of found love letters, to-do lists, random notes and messages–some completely bizarre and many freakin hilarious, which force you to ask the question, “What is this person’s deal?”

The guy who started FOUND Magazine one day discovered a random note, meant for someone else, on his car. It read:

Mario,

I f**ing hate you. You said you had to work then whys your car HERE at HER place?? You’re a f***ing LIAR. I hate you. I f***ing hate you.

Amber

P.S. Page me later

After this, he began a project, collecting found items and eventually putting them all into a magazine in June 2001. The most recent–FOUND Magazine #5 The Crime Issue–will be released for September 2007 and features FOUND items such as “a former FBI agent’s life story, prison guard poetry, found notes about arson, pot and self-amputation, academic crime, crimes of the heart, found eyeballs, found crack, and the story of a guy who found a million dollars in the road.”

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Miro Tea in Ballard

I’m lucky that my job allows me to work from home one or two days a week. Oftentimes, I’ll hang out at a neighborhood establishmemt with free wireless rather than staring at the same four walls that I stare at daily at home. So far, my favorite non-work working locations include Fuel Coffee and Mr. Spot’s Chai House. However, both of those locations have loud, often blaring music. While sometimes that is very condusive to the work I do, today I need to read over 200 pages of documentation. Fortunately, I’ve found a calmer location that meets all of my needs: wireless, food, comfortable seats, music, and of course, caffeine.

My new favorite work at home spot is Miro Tea on Ballard Avenue.
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Before you get that free car wash [mb], spend your lunch hour at City Hall Plaza. As if you need an excuse to claim our sudden, much anticipated return of summer weather, Visqueen and Carolyn Mark are playing a show at noon. For free. Bring snacks.

Then stop by Nordstrom Rack. They’re having a one day only Inventory Sale, complete with double discounts.

(via threeimaginarygirls [#] & somewhere else in my rss reader that I can’t remember right now — sorry. edit: threadcount [#] had the sale scoop.)

No more torturous internal conflict resolution at the check out like for P.C.C. shoppers (who aren’t eco-friendly enough to bring their own reusable organic sacks) when deciding what sort of bag best fits their personal environmental impact comfort level: the co-op has decided to go paper-only, starting in October. [pcc]

(via west seattle blog [#])