A little birdie just confirmed that tomorrow Microsoft will begin lay-offs. Over the past 12 months, hiring has been cut by over 80%. Some recruiting groups have gone from more than 150 active positions to less than 20, but attrition is no longer enough to compensate for the weak economic climate. I won’t even speculate on the possible affects of this. I’m sure the dailies will be more than willing to do so, over the coming weeks.

These are tough times, people, tough times… I can’t even summon up some ex-MicroSerf shadenfreude.

Microsoft’s expansion plans on a parcel of land just south of the large-scale RedWest satellite campus in Redmond are on hold, at least until the economic climate improves. The land, recently purchased from neighboring Nintendo of America, exists currently in the form of a semi-wild vacant lot, most often trafficked (in the dry months) by either commuters seeking a shortcut from the bus stop on 148th Ave NE to the office complex, or snack-seekers heading the other way to the nearby 7/11.

Known informally as RedWest South, Microsoft has recently re-dubbed the project RedWest Phase II in planning documents filed with the city of Redmond. Those documents describe a ‘park-like’ setting that will preserve a seasonal stream and a hawk’s nest. The original RedWest complex, in which I once worked for a few months, is much different from the rather flat and undistinguished main Microsoft campus, and has surprisingly varied terrain and water features inside the enclosed courtyard.

Macy’s and Nordstrom’s are giving away cosmetics from Clinique and Estee Lauder (there were a bunch more vendors yesterday, but it’s a while supplies last kind of thing). Apparently there’s a lawsuit settlement thingy, and all you have to do is wait on a 5 minute line, sign a fake name and get your full-sized moisturizer or anti-aging night cream. It’s that easy. No gimmicks. No getting a shitty makeover. Just go right now because there aren’t a lot of products left.

You’re welcome.

P.S. I’m not really promoting you do anything illegal. The site states that you have to have purchased one of their products from 1994-2003 (which I had, and most likely you have too). Please don’t really use a fake name.

There are a lot of great comedians in Seattle and opportunities to see them abound but for the sake of your comedy convenience, the third Annual Week of Fun , which kicks off Thursday, January 22 at the Capitol Club, gathers them all together in one handy festival.

Opening night show “Cracked Up” starts the ball rolling at 8 pm with a free, all-ages show at the Capitol Club at 414 E. Pine. Friday night offers up a Lo-Ball double feature that splits the popular local Ballard comedy show in two: catch sketch comedy from “The Cory and Doug Show” and a pair of foreign artists “forcing their art on you” starting at 8 pm, followed by the 11 pm Fresh Faces Showcase, both at Live Girls Theater in Ballard.

Other shows in the series include stand-up/improv blend Dartmondo, horror/comedy blend Blood Squad, “Show and Tell”–a show that requires stand-up comedians to entertain using any method possible except stand-up comedy–and closing night’s Entertainment Show, the final show for this long-running Tuesday night at the Sunset Tavern tradition. Sunday’s celebrity open mic features such performers as John Keister, Luke Burbank, Monti Carlo and Peter Bagge. For full list of shows and performers check the Week of Fun website.

* 12:00 PM: Elliott Bay Books is hosting Lew Daly, co-author of Unjust Deserts: How the Rich Are Taking Our Common Inheritance and Why We Should Take It Back, to read and sign. Unjust Deserts is not pop economics; despite the title, it reads more like an academic treatise than your average non-fiction bookstore econ offering. (Also, and rather unfortunately, the title attempts to make a play on a common phrase that is inherently ironic, and therefore ends up being semantically null. Not like most people will care, but sloppy usage annoys me. Not punny. Make it stop.)
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* 7:00 PM: Knute “Mossback” Berger was at Elliott Bay Books last Thursday to read and sign Pugetopolis: A Mossback Takes on Growth Addicts, Weather Wimps, and the Myth of Seattle Nice, but if you missed him then, you can catch him tonight at the U-District UW Bookstore. SPL still doesn’t have the book in stock, although it’s on order, so if you are impatient, you will have to buy it. Or you can just read Berger’s columns as they appear, at http://crosscut.com/mossback/.
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* 7:30 PM: Benoit Denizet-Lewis is promoting his first book, America Anonymous: Eight Addicts in Search of a Life, with an appearance at Elliott Bay Books. America Anonymous follows ordinary people as they struggle to manage or overcome their addictions. An estimated 23 million Americans are addicted to drugs or alcohol: this book provides a window into the psyches of addicts, and reviews the treatments available to help.
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I look out my office window and am reminded of…