photo by jeff carlson [flickr] via our group pool [#].

• Go figure, the city’s permit process, not the three quarters of a year in permanent mist, is responsible for the absence of ubiquitous Parisian-style sidewalk cafes in Seattle. (Actually, in two blocks on Broadway I can think of more than a half-dozen restaurants with outdoor seating). [slog]
• Built to Spill is bringing their ATP show on the road. Is the best part of their playing Perfect from Now On live that they’re playing Perfect from Now On straight through or that there will be no excuse for idiots to shout out requests? [seattlest]
• Dogs steal spotlight from gays with mass canine blessing this weekend. [chs]
• Yet another weird video game-related crime. This one involving a Wii and a joke that writes itself. [myballard]
• Blast from the terrifying past: rats the size of cats. [citizenrain] Clearly, not everyone welcomes our new nutria overlords. [mb]
• Liz Phair talks about Guyville [vulture]; Three Imaginary Girls celebrate with Girlville at Chop Suey. Happy Happy! [#]

Is it just me, or have more people forgotten how to park recently? Here are a few rules and polite suggestions for those parking vehicles (including scooters):

1) Do not block sidewalks or driveways. End of story.
2) Do not take up more than one space. This includes street parking (see two examples in the photo) and parking lots. If your vehicle is too big for one spot, downsize to a smaller vehicle.
3) Park closer to the curb, not out in the street.
4) If the sign says “No Parking Within 30 Feet”, don’t park there.
5) Do not move scooters to fit into a spot.
6) If parking a scooter, don’t cram into a gap between two cars. The cars need that gap to get out of the spot.

There is likely a lot more for this list, but I’ve said enough for now. Common sense: use it.

Whether you were intrigued by the building itself, hated the food or were annoyed by the staff, Denny’s in Ballard is officially gone. If you’d like to pay your respects, do the whole comment thing.

Summer is here, how are you going to take advantage of it?

Recently I had a date with a perfectly cute boy I met through Okcupid. He’s a UW student, CSE major, bound for law school. Sounds like a great match. But why did I have to meet him online?

There is a certain sense of embarrassment associated with using a dating website. I definitely feel it–I already mentioned my shame at using Jdate. It makes you feel like something is wrong with you. I mean, I’m your typical 21-year-old in most ways. So why is it so hard for me to meet people?

But I’m not alone. Searching Okcupid for members within 10 miles of 98112 I get 9378 results. Maybe this is evidence that it’s a problem not just with dating but with all aspects of life. Two years into life in Seattle and I still have only met a handful of people, compared to the tons of people I met attending my first college in St. Louis. So how did I meet those people? Through my dorm, parties, classes, random places around the city.

Now as a UW student, I feel isolated and lost. Where are all those random meetings? Nowhere to be found. Only twice have random people approached me in all the times I’ve sat alone at Remedy and Liberty. One was gay and one was drunk–neither exactly dating prospects.

Is this the famous Seattle freeze? Does it really exist? It feels like it to me. Have you encountered it? How do you deal with it? How did you meet your friends, online or otherwise?

If you are one of those people who likes chocolate–and the odds favor the probability that you are–then you’re going to want to start thinking now about the Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon that takes place on Sunday, July 13, at the Bell Harbor Center, from 11 am to 5 pm. Tickets ($20 at the door, cheaper if you order in advance through their website) allow visitors entry into a huge festival of demonstrations, presentations, and (most importantly) tastings all focused on luxury chocolate.

Chocolatiers participating in the event include Theo Chocolates, Dilettante Chocolates, Oh! Chocolate, Sweet Beauty Organic Chocolate Bar and many, many, (seriously, many) more. Tastings and demos run all day, giving chocolate fans an excellent opportunity to taste and experience a wide variety of artisan and gourmet chocolates. The event also serves as a way to introduce fans to Chocolate Television, the only media brand dedicated 100 percent to chocolate.

If you’re currently a big fan of chocolate and not just someone who eats it casually, I don’t need to sell you on this event: you know already if you’re going or not and if it’s “not” it’s almost certainly because you have some previous committment you can’t avoid, like major surgery or a trip to Europe. If you’re a casual eater of chocolate or someone who doesn’t see the point in luxury chocolates, let me tell you–there’s nothing wrong, really, with the cheap chocolates at the grocery or drug store if all you’re looking for is a quick and convenient snack, but until you’ve tasted what expert chocolatiers are able to create from quailty chocolate, you’re denying yourself of a truly exquisite experience. Until I first had a luxury chocolate for the first time, I didn’t even think that I liked chocolate very much. Furthermore, the cheaper chocolates all taste more or less alike with minimal differences in flavor and texture from bar to bar but quality chocolates tend to have a more unique quality, with each chocolatier producing flavors and textures unique to their brand, allowing consumers the luxury of finding a chocolate that fits their own special tastes.

The SubPop weblog brings us fateful Grand Archives news at this late hour: Curtis Hall was not successful in his brave attempt to consume 72 oz of steak (plus sides!) at a Texas steakhouse this afternoon. [sp]

photo via subpop via the big texan steak ranch webcam.

He reportedly survived the feat, one stomachache richer and $72 poorer. Safe travels to the band as they round out their West Coast tour this week and better luck next time.

photo by Chris Villanueva [flickr] via our group pool [#].

• Just like Harry Potter had to leave Hogwarts, Harry and the Potters have graduated to playing shows that aren’t in the library. Mark your calendars for 23 June when they’ll be joining Math the Band, Uncle Monsterface, and Jason Anderson and the Best for Unlimited Enthusisam Expo at Neumo’s. GET READY, PEOPLE. Wizard Rock remains the future. [facebook]
• Whym opens at 1st & Denny. I found it difficult to mourn the closure of Minnie’s, but I won’t complain about another 24-hour diner opening in town. [belltowner]
• The day after SP20, there’s a special guest in town. Coincidence? [tig]
• Jeff Bezos bought into Twitter. So stop migrating to other services, OK? [twitter]
• I’m predicting a fistbump or two when Michelle Obama comes to town to raise money for Gregoire. [strangebedfellows]

Tonight, Peter Buck and R.E.M. touring member Bill Rieflin will be on hand at Easy Street Records in West Seattle for the release party of West Seattle resident David Belisle’s new book “R.E.M. – HELLO”. For the past seven years David has traveled with and photographed R.E.M. and has been able to capture the band and their friends as no one else has. An interesting view into their lives on tour, in the studio and in private with an introduction by Michael Stipe.

The party starts at 7pm and goes until 10pm. Books will be available for purchase and there will be a signing by David and Peter from 7-8pm.

Easy Street Records is located at 4559 California Ave SW in the Alaska Junction.

Photo courtesy of Shawn

And it ends up being Jason Fried over at 37Signals, who summizes:

Public art in a public outdoor space in the middle of public paths and public lawns yet you can’t touch it. The only interaction is visual. It’s standoffish. It feels like a missed opportunity…. Contrast this with Chicago’s Millennium Park. Public art and architecture that is entirely interactive.

Our sculpture park is all sculpture and not at all park. Shame, shame, shame on SAM for failing to grasp what “park” actually means — and that setting up these “force fields” around art only continues to reinforce the public feeling that art is “elitist.” (And I mean that in the actual sense of the word, not in the contradictory and hypocritical sense of Republican “Obama elitism.”)