Two Needles by B.K. Dewey

EMP/SFM is looking for artists to submit visual art, performance art, technology, film, etc that connect music with science fiction. Examples listed include Jimi Hendrix and Star Trek, War of the Worlds and Nevermind, Stephen Spielberg and Johnny Cash.

Residencies take place from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm during Family Day.

* Spring Residency: Saturday, March 21, 2009(deadline for proposals: Jan. 21)
* Summer Residency: Saturday, June 20, 2009 (deadline for proposals: April 15)
* Fall Residency: Saturday, September 19, 2009 (deadline for proposals: July 22)
* Winter Residency: Saturday, December 19, 2009 (deadline for proposals: Oct. 21)

Awards

* EMP|SFM membership good for one year
* $400 in advance

Full information is located at the official site.

photo by manuel w. [flickr] via our group pool [#]

• A surprising poll for the Fleet Foxies not to win, but they came in second to New Faces among imaginary readers. [threeimaginarygirls]
• this Crocodile tweets. [twitter]
• White whine, the saga continues: city council holds another special storm response meeting [slog]; scolds Metro. [slog]
• Woodland Park in bad company on “worst ten” list for elephants. [dailyweekly]
• A reason to avoid chain restaurants: being faced with the calorie counts upon ordering. [chs]
• Vote your way into the Amazon Fresh zone. [myballard]
• Downright awful and scary: a bunch of gay bars threatened with ricin-related terror. Keep an eye on your drinks while not letting the terrorists win. [lineout]

This summer, I wrote about Joule’s Urban BBQ series. The food was excellent, prices were beyond reasonable, and the atmosphere was casual and delightful.

Well, Seif and Rachel (Joule’s owners) are at it again, this time with a cozy Winter Supper Series.

We attended the first Winter Supper last Sunday and as always, the food was wonderful. The menu included:

Winter green salad with daikon
Bread with homemade butter
Asian lentils
Roasted sunchoke with garlic
Brussel sprout with pine nut
Beef stew with shitake
Three citrus brulee with honeyed yogurt

Their series continues every Sunday, from 3pm – 8pm. Each week focuses on a different theme. Choose one, or choose them all. $20 ($10 for children) gets you every dish. Four of us dined on Sunday and with wine, the bill was just over $100.

Here is their schedule:
January 11 – Pig out
January 18 – Cassoulet
January 25 – Year of the Ox
February 1 – Honey, soup, teas, spices, and more!
February 8 – February in Korea
February 15 – Post Valentine’s Day Comfort Food
February 22 – Dungeness Crab

Reservations are suggested.

Joule Restaurant
1913 N. 45th Street
Wallingford

The school closure/consolidation uproar has been going on forever, it seems, with parent advocacy groups holding meetings and making website and trying to keep their school open. This afternoon, the superintendent ultimately recommended five schools for closure: Genesee Hill, home to Pathfinder K-8; Mann, which houses Nova Alternative High School; T.T. Minor and Van Asselt elementaries; and Old Hay Elementary, which houses the Secondary Bilingual Orientation Center [PI]. This takes Montlake Elementary and Alternative School #1 off the list.

The superintendent also recommended discontinuing a handful of program and relocating students from a number of other schools. They’ve provided this handy graphic for what is going where.

They want to try and get everything closed and shuffled around by next fall to redistribute student loads and save money, although closing and moving kids around will also cost money. Right now, the school district is looking at a $37.1 million budget deficit for next year. The School Board is set to vote on January 29. Parents and other concerned parties can sign this petition objecting to the superintendent’s plan.

* 7:00 PM: Former curator of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, Jay Spenser, will be at the UW University Bookstore to read and sign The Airplane: How Ideas Gave Us Wings. Spenser is a big wonk and his book is a lively, yet thorough, look at the development of modern aircraft, from nuts to bolts, so to speak. Fortunately, Spenser’s prose is accessible and the story entertaining, so even non-geeks can enjoy The Airplane.
[LINK]

* 7:30 PM: Town Hall Seattle hosts Dr. William Hanson, author of The Edge of Medicine. Dr. Hanson will be expounding on the fabulousness of technology, specifically medical technology. I’m sure he’s right, and having my computer tell me that I should up my meds is just what I need. Considering how often my computer bugs out and shuts down, I’m reluctant to turn to it for medical advice, but I’m a conservative sort, and destined for extinction. $5, www.brownpapertickets.com
[LINK]

* 7:30 PM: Miles from Nowhere is the debut novel of Nami Mun, a Korean-American, former-runaway, turned author. Miles from Nowhere is about a Korean-American runaway. Elliott Bay Books is hosting Mun, tonight, for a reading and signing.
[LINK]

* 8:00 PM: Hugo House is hosting Castalia, a UW creative writing program reading series. Featured writers include Rick Kenney, William Bernhard, Paige Chant, Sarah Kate Moore and Kara Weiss.
[LINK]

*

UPCOMING: Thursday, January 29, 2009
7:00 PM: A little birdie told me that Mistress Midori, author, educator, and professional Dominatrix, will be in Seattle at the end of the month. The Fetish Diva will give some workshops and host the annual Bang For The Buck fundraiser. Tucked into her busy is schedule is a private dinner, discussion, and book signing. Space is limited! Registration closes at 7:00 PM on Tuesday January 27th 2009 or when the event is full. [LINK]

photo by danny ngan [flickr] via our group pool [#]

Was one your New Year’s resolutions to “‘blog more”? If so, you’re in luck. We’re looking for a few good Seattle-obsessed types to join the crew of Team Metblogs. The main requirement is that you have time and interest to volunteer to contribute to the site a few times per week about whatever Seattle-related things fascinate you. For more information, send a note to seattle.metblogs (at) gmail.com with a bit of information about yourself and the topics that you’d be interested in covering.

photo by zeebleoop [http://www.flickr.com/people/zeebleoop/] via our group pool [#].

• If you missed today’s briefing from the city on the snowpocalypse, reading this extensive commentary will make you feel like you lived through it. [westseattleblog]
• Under the umbrella of STGpresents, the Moore and Paramount are finally breaking free from Ticketmaster. [seattlesubsonic]
• the big, sad news though was the shooting last night at Chop Suey [slog]; after a summit, the hiphop community is prepared, but not making statements [slog]; aside from online discussion [lineout]; two suspects involved in the “interpersonal” conflict are now in custody [centraldistrictnews]; Chris acknowledges the “elephant in the room” [threeimaginarygirls]

Thanks to a chance meeting with Joanie of Idawg Clothing, I found out that this coming weekend, January 10-11, is Seattle Dog Winterfest, a dog expo that benefits charity.

Seattle Dog Winterfest will be held at the downtown Bell Harbor Convention Center, January 10th and 11th and includes:

* Appearance by Dog Whisperer Cesar Millan
* Performance by American Idol runner-up (and Seattle-ite) Blake Lewis
* “Rescue Fido” fashion show
* “Next Dog Star” talent competition
* Many, many vendors
* Speakers on dog-related topics

I can’t seem to find any information (other than a link to buy tickets) on the official website, www.seattledogwinterfest.com, but Go Skagit has some details. [LINK]

I read somewhere that Seattle has more dogs than children- I certainly do- so it seems that the organizers could have done more, and better, publicity.

* 7:00 PM: SPL is hosting Chinese author Mo Yan for a bilingual discussion of Yan’s works with a panel that includes Christopher Lupke, WSU associate professor of Chinese. Yan is noted for his graphic and brutal novels about rural China. His novels are also known for having lots and lots of characters. It pays to take notes.
[LINK]

* 7:30 PM: Eclectic author and former Seattle resident (and Seattle Weekly writer) Melissa Rossi will be at Town Hall Seattle tonight to present the latest in her series What Every American Should Know.. This evening’s presentation focuses on the Middle East. Rossi will discuss regional issues, by exploring the history, politics, economy, and religions of the Middle East. $5, brownpapertickets.com
[LINK]

We currently have an inch of snow at the top of Capitol Hill and reports via LiveJournal, Twitter, Plurk, and neighborhood blogs show that snow has falled and stuck all over the greater Seattle area. Weather forecasters are predicting 1-3″, then rain around 9pm, but we all know how predictable that can be. If it sticks around, do you think we’ll see salted streets for the morning commute? Will school be in session on the first day back after Winter Break? Stay tuned!