photo courtesy of ~wesa~

I couldn’t help but take a quick photo of this young man walking on water in Cal Anderson Park. His friend jokingly called out for me to call 911 in case they fell in.

I’m not sure if local comedian Dartanion London is simply dedicated to his craft or just outright crazy: in addition to putting on his weekly Dart-mondo shows with their unique format in which comndians perform a short stand-up routine which is then immediately followed a group of improv artists acting out the themes in their material (Saturday nights at 12:30 at the Historic University Theater, through March 15), he’s kicking off a new comedy festival called the “Week of Fun” which begins Thursday night, January 24 at Central Cinema with a show which features some of the best members of the local alternative comedy scene.

The festival moves to Ballard on Friday for a free, all-ages (inappropriate for young children) show at Mr. Spot’s Chai House and then continues with shows in the U District, downtown Seattle, Capital Hill and Ballard again. If you’re in the mood to be amused, check out the schedule at the Week of Fun website for complete details. [#].

Warning: If you are prone to worry over as-yet-to-happen and may-never-happen-within-your-lifetime events, do not click the links in this post.

Do you remember those videos of what would happen to the 520 bridge in an earthquake? Or during an insane windstorm (75 mph plus winds)? Yeah, I watched them. Creepy. I drive that bridge every day and I admit, those images stuck with me for a while.

The History Channel has a special coming up on what would happen to the world if the human race died out (or was killed, etc.). I’m looking forward to watching it, despite my penchant for pessimism. One of the aspects they explore is what would happen to buildings if all of the people were gone. I won’t go too deeply into the science behind it, but once the heating and cooling systems shut down, the buildings would start to deteriorate. Windows would blow out, winds would circulate within the buildings causing structural integrity issues, and eventually, they would collapse. This video contains a simulation of what would happen to the Space Needle. It’s cool, in a creepy doomsdayish sort of way.

As a resident living in close proximity to the site of the stabbing, this is really disappointing news.

Forensic testing has failed to provide any connection between evidence gathered from the scene of Shannon Harps’ slaying on New Year’s Eve and a man who caught the interest of Seattle police detectives investigating the case.

(more…)

Back in the 1980s an American dancer named Michael Flatley got his big break when he joined a tour with Irish rock band The Chieftans. Flatley and another dancer, Jean Butler, made Riverdance‘s first mark on the world at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest and then developed a full-length show which made its debut in Dublin in November 1994. Much has happened to the show since then–creative changes, cast changes, world domination–but even though its star shines a little less brightly than it did when the show at the height of its fame, Riverdance continues to draw audiences all over the world drawn to its interpretation of traditional Irish music and dance.

Riverdance has been seen by more than 21 million people over the years, became the largest Western musical to play China, and set a world record when a line of 100 Irish dancers performed at the 2004 Special Olympics in Dublin. The show is energetic, sensual, engaging and exciting, a true spectacular. Traditional Irish music and dance are presented in new and innovative ways in a grand theatrical setting. The show is great fund and definitely worth seeing. It’s also coming to a close: its run from Tuesday, January 29 through Sunday, February 3, at the Paramount Theater is part of the show’s goodbye tour of America as after all these years and all these performances, Riverdance is coming to an end so if you want to see it, get your tickets right away.

Brought to you by the Writing Implement Manufacturers Association, naturally.

The Seattle Children’s Film Festival was designed by Northwest Film Forum to provide quality film programming for young people and families, offering full-length features, animation, and short films of all types as well as workshops to allow festival goers the chance to get some deeper understanding of film. Although the films in the festival are specifically designed for the appreciation of this target audience, much of the programming is as appealing to adults as to kids. A well-crafted film is a well-crafted film, after all.

The festival kicks off this Friday, January 25, with an opening night celebration featuring the 1926 animated film The Adventures of Prince Achmed with a brand new score by Miles and Karina. Other special events include the Saturday Morning Pancake Breakfast and Short Film Smorgasbord, Saturday, January 26 at 9:30 am, and the Closing Ceremony on Sunday, February 3.

In between open and close there are many wonderful films. I suggest you see the live action Hansel and Gretel on Sunday, January 27 (playing with Chasing Game and Dimension) but keep the wee ones at home because some scenes might be too dark and scary for the under 9 set. Also on the 27th (and on the 28th, 31st, and 3rd, too), check out Out of This World, a collection of animated and live action shorts telling stories that are, well, out of the world. There are a ton of other films, and they all have something to offer. Check out the complete schedule at the SCFF site. [#]

This is the latest look at the tear-down in progress at the Rainer Cold Storage building in Georgetown. It’s a shame it had to come down at all, but they are sure making it come down FAST!

Photo by ReeBeckiSupergirl

Do you have a medicine cabinet full of expired prescriptions? Or maybe like me, you just have a couple of old allergy medicine bottles with a dose or two left in them. Or maybe like my husband, you got the wrong prescription from a mail order pharmacy that wouldn’t take it back when they sent the correct prescription.

Regardless, you will soon have an easy and environmentally safe way to dispose of those old, unused, or otherwise expired prescriptions. Bartell Drugs will be installing secure drop boxes in many of their locations over the next few months. [Link]

If you can’t wait until your local Bartell’s installs a drop box, you can find a Group Health Cooperative pharmacy that will accept unused medications. [Link]. Whatever you do, don’t just throw the medication away. It can end up in a landfill where the medicine can make it into lakes, streams, or ground water.

People in Seattle sure love their dogs–every day it seems like I see a ton of different dogs out and about with their people. The AKC recognizes that Seattleites love their dogs by including Seattle in their web collection of lists of top breeds in top cities. [#]

The most popular breed in Seattle is the Labrador Retriever. The Golden Retriever and Yorkshire Terrier are number 2 and 3, respectively, and numbers 4 and 5 are the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the Poodle. The Pomeranian is number 6 and the Pug is number 7, which seems kind of low to me–there are times when I’ve seen up- to a dozen different pugs a day and if I’d guessed, they’d be the breed I’d have guessed to be most popular here. Also surprising to me is the Bulldog at number 8. I can’t even remember the last time I saw one around town. Finally, two of my favorite breeds round out the top ten with a tie: the Daschund and the German Shepherd. Labrador retrievers are popular just about everywhere (if you’ve ever known one, you know why) but Seattle dog owners otherwise resist following the trends that apply to the rest of the US, generally preferring “portable and apartment friendly toy breeds,” according to Lisa Peterson of the AKC. In a city where a substantial portion of the population lives in apartments or condos, this totally makes sense–the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, a dog well sized for apartment life, isn’t even close to the top 10 list for any other major city.

Photo by Miika S via Creative Commons