clash photomontage via st. vincent [myspace]

• Us, wonderful us. It’s our rescheduled monthly Metroblogging super fun drinky times. Tonight at Bimbo’s. We’ll be pouring over the latest in the Tournament of Blogs showdown over margaritas and nachos. Drop by to say hello, influence the polling, protest the results, or just sit quietly and observe from the bar. And yes, there will be snacks. 6:30 pm [facebook]
• Ignite, part the fifth. Another sure-to-be crowded parade of breakneck paced PowerPoint presentations about topics deserving of more time. For instance: Dick Carlson on “Bad Powerpoint! Bad! Bad!”, Mónica Guzmán on “How to be an awesome news story commenter”, Justin Martenstein on “the six hour startup”. So much excitement jam-packed into so little time. 8 pm, Capitol Hill Arts Center [igniteseattle]
• Charles Muedede, Kathy Fennessy, and Jay Kuehner face off at the Northwest Film Forum on the topic of whether film criticism is still relevant now that everyone has a ‘blog. $3/5, 8pm [nwff]
• Grand Archives begin their world-conquering record rollout campaign today. Their almost self-titled release (the Grand Archives) from Sub Pop hit finer record stores across the country this morning. They’ll be on KEXP today at three, KNDD tomorrow Thursday, and playing a double-header at the Triple Door tomorrow. Tonight, you’ll find them playing a free in-store at Sonic Boom in Ballard. If you thought the four song demo EP was nice, just wait until you hear the album. It is excessively full, rich, and gorgeously produced: old Carissa’s Weird pals Sarah Stoddard, Jenn Ghetto, and Sera Cahoone show up all over the place and one song even has a Flugelhorn! [myspace]
• St. Vincent is the band configuration of sometimes Polyphonic Spreester, occasional Illinoisemaker, and always incredible Annie Clark. Aside from being spooky, dreamy, and lovely, her latest album (Marry Me) is named after a running joke on Arrested Development. With Foreign Born. $12, 8pm. [neumos]

6 p.m. - Noonhat meetup @ McLeod Residence - Noonhat is a website to connect people who want to have lunch with a total stranger or two or three. That’s what it does. I have my first Noonhat lunch today. The meetup is for people who like Noonhat, don’t like Noonhat, want to know more about Noonhat, or have thoughts and/or feelings about Noonhat. Have I typed “Noonhat” enough? No! Noonhat, Noonhat, Noonhat. There.

8 p.m. - Sketchfest @ Erickson Theatre Off Broadway (1524 Harvard Ave., down the street from the Egyptian) - Damn fine sketch comedy from across the country makes it’s annual trek to Seattle. Karla and the Cody Rivers Show (both are great) kick it off tonight, with a gala after. Gala meaning “spicy treats courtesy of Buddha Belltown Lounge”, awright! I look forward to this fest every year.

Hey Seattle! How’s your SIFFing? I hope that all of the passholders and diehards have been paying attention to those little videos playing between films to stay limber and avoid frequent moviewatching injuries because there are still two more weeks of films to watch. Dropping out early due to exhaustion, fatigue, or other consequences of unpreparedness would certainly be disappointing. For those who have mastered line zen, found the ideal seat in each theater to optimize subtitle reading, and who plan to continue their diet of popcorn and izze, a few SIFF selections from your metroblogging pals to consider for your festival agenda:

American Shopper [siff] - Perhaps the most surprising part of American Shopper is that it is not entirely fiction or mockumentary. Instead, it chronicles a Hungarian’s quest to develop a competitive sport around supermarket cart athletics. Follow along as an actor, a town full of people hungry to claim a $10,000 prize for “aisling” prowess, and a wide-ranging collection of experts, struggle to make one Hungarian’s dream of more engaged consumerism a reality. Thursday, June 07, 9:30 PM, Harvard Exit; Sunday, June 10, 1:30 PM, Harvard Exit (J)

The Banquet [siff] Flashy martial arts play a role in director Fen Xiaogang’s lavishly staged reshaping of Hamlet, but the heart of the film is a tale of suspense and revenge set in an unnamed kingdom in 10th century China where diverse warring factions are brought to the table for a spectacular feast of drama and intrigue. Thursday, June 07, 9:15 PM Neptune; Theatre Monday, June 11, 9:30 PM Lincoln Square Cinemas (ZG)

The Boss of It All [siff] - Lars von Trier takes a break from his trilogy of U.S. exploitation to make an office comedy? Why not! An actor is hired to improvise the role of an information technology company’s chief executive so that the operation can be sold to foreign interests without revealing the true owner. Shot in “automavision” — a sort of computer-controlled imprecision technique [bbc] — to break the director’s control-freak habits. Saturday, June 09, 7:00 PM, Egyptian Theatre (Gala Screening) Wednesday, June 13, 7:00 PM, Lincoln Square Cinemas (J)

Dasepo Naughty Girls [siff] - Depending on your state of mind, this candy-colored South Korean high school sex comedy could be a hilarious trippy adventure in moviewatching. Thrill to singalong karaoke, ridiculous plot elements, and a possible message about social class inspired by an internet webcomic novel. Monday, June 04, 9:30 PM, Neptune Theatre; Wednesday, June 06, 4:15 PM, Egyptian Theatre (J)

Hula Girls [siff] In what looks to be an endearing and charmng tale based on real-life events, residents of a Northern Japanese coal-mining town in the 1960s struggle to transform it into the home of a luxury spa that will bring in the tourists with money they need to survive. The plan turns out to be a lot more difficult than they imagined. Things are looking bleak until a group of young women learn the hula under the tutelage of a dedicated Tokyo dancemaster. Thursday, June 07, 9:30 PM Egyptian Theatre; Saturday, June 09, 4:00 PM Lincoln Square Cinemas (ZG)

The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema [siff] - We may be living in an era lacking in rockstar philosophers, but at least we have psychoanalyst and cultural critic Slavoj Žižek [wiki]. Sophie Fiennes directs a three part documentary, in which Žižek gallavants through wide swaths of film history encompassing Chaplin, Hitchcock, Lynch, the Wachowski brothers, and Lucas to find out what all of these films say about love, desire, and freedom, and what we think about them. Friday, June 08, 9:30 PM, Harvard Exit; Saturday, June 09, 11:00 AM, Egyptian Theatre (J)

Sharkwater [siff] - In often gorgeous and sometimes sickening footage, Rob Stewart’s performance protest film documents underwater beauty and the brutal practice of destroying sharks for the sole purpose of harvesting their fins. Stewart’s lifelong adoration of sharks brings him below the surface to swim in their company and onto a boat employing guerrilla tactics to keep the seas safe from unscrupulous fishermen. With devotion that seems to border on the delusional, it’s hard to watch this an not imagine that under slightly different circumstances this footage might have ended up, like Timothy Treadwell’s encounters with Grizzly bears, in the hands of Werner Herzog. Nevertheless, the destruction of the ocean’s population is reaching catastrophic levels and those fighting to protect these uncuddly predators (savingsharks.com) are in a worthy uphill battle. Friday, June 08, 7:00 PM, SIFF Cinema; Sunday, June 10, 11:00 AM, SIFF Cinema (J)

Sweet Mud [siff] Why are there so many “coming of age” movies? One reason is that while we’ve all got to grow up some time, it happens differently for each of us. This film, a black comedy about a young boy’s journey to manhood in a 1970s kibbutz in Southern Israel, takes a unique look at a unique growing up in which the hero of the story learns that what some would call utopia isn’t a place for everyone. Wednesday, June 06, 7:00 PM Neptune Theater; Thursday, June 07, 4:00 PM Neptune Theater (ZG)

• The Seattle University chapter of Oxfam is hosting a screening tonight of Black Gold, a 2006 documentary about the coffee trade. Dinner at 6:30, film at 7:30, at New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave S. Contact Shasti Conrad at conrads@seattleu.edu or 206.296.2480 for details.
• Northwest Film Forum [site] shows their spiffy new 35mm print of Annie Hall, tonight through next Thursday at 7 and 9 pm weekdays, Saturday and Sunday at 5. I have never understood the appeal of this film, but, then, I’ve never been much of a Woody Allen fan, anyway.
• Midnight at the Egyptian [site] this week is the brilliant Wait Until Dark, a drama about a blind woman who unknowingly brings home an object wanted by some seriously bad guys whose melodramatic plot is saved from silliness by the extraordinary performances of the cast, including the always perfect Audrey Hepburn.
• Hot Fuzz is playing throughout the city, but you should go see this sardonic comedy at the Neptune [site] because it’s a great place to see a film.

photo by Dustin DeKoekkoek [flickr], via our group pool [#].

• Those intrigued, as was Ari Spool [slog], by today’s Thursday Styles story about the hot new trends in men’s undergarments [nyt] will no doubt be pleased to learn that the Sweatshop has their fingers on the throbbing pulse of America’s most fashionable groins with a window display of sporty, locally-designed boxer briefs.
• Whatever happened to the viaduct debate? It went behind-the-scenes. [crosscut]
• Sad news for fans of deliciousness in the form of soup, smoothies, and organic produce. After months of emptied shelves, Rainbow Grocery is rumored to be closing up shop on 1 May. [capitolhillseattle]
• Grotesque scholars at UW covered with moss and guano. [seattledailyphoto]

Fans of stellar music writing and music in general: Set your alarm and think up your excuses for being late to work. the New Yorker’s music critic extraordinaire Sascha Frere-Jones addresses the 2007 Pop Music Conference on Friday morning [emp] on a panel about “year zeroes”.

• Since their long overdue reunion late last year, Peter Parker [myspace] have been playing lots of shows around town with other quality local bands. Tonight is no exception, as they join Llama in support of Key Note Speaker for a bargain admission price ($6!). Plus, the poster for this show is probably the best of the week. I’m hoping there’s a spare one floating around at the club. [crocodile]
• Elsewhere, Central Services headline a FREE show at the Vera Project House (766 Thomas St.). Show up early with $3 for vegan dinner. [vera]

Don’t take our word for it, both of these are endorsed by the hard-working kids over at Seattle Power Pop, too. [#]

• First Thursday = Pioneer Square Art Walk. Even better, the weather has rebounded from the icy cold and snow from last week, making strolling around the galleries a lot more pleasant a prospect.
• Two-thirds of Stella (Celebrity poker playing I love the __ personality Michael Ian Black with fellow the State veteran Michael Showalter) bring comedy to Captiol Hill. [neumos]
• From 5 to 8 pm tonight, a wholesome excursion in Volunteer Park? The conservatory will have lights hanging inside it, providing a first time ever chance to tour the plants at night.[volunteerpark]
• Eight laptops enter the arena (in this case, Chop Suey), but only one can be crowned champion. The National Laptop Battle Championships will determine which of the eight finalists can rock a laptop the hardest, single-elimination style. [myspace]
• Deck the Hall Ball. On the plus side, a killer lineup including Gnarls Barkley, My Chemical Romance, Snow Patrol, and (in unjustifiably small letters at the bottom of the poster) the Shins. On the minus side, it’s in Key Arena and costs forty bucks. (Followed by a free Sparta show at El Corazon) [107.7]

(image, via neumo’s)

Whilst Josh’s selections for this evening should keep your feet tapping, we have some more recommendations if your feet are worn out and you’re looking for something more tweedy.

• UW Historian Herbert Ellison talks about Boris Yeltsin and Russia’s Democratic Transformation at 4pm. Hearken back to a time when the only person a Russian leader was trying to poison was himself, with vodka.
• Also at 4, Princeton scholar Ato Onoma comes to town to discuss Property Rights in Postcolonial Africa.
• Architecture and Urban Planning pairs up with a local Danish foundation to present a panel on Sustainable Planning and Design in the Northwest and Denmark at 7pm.
• Speaking of the frigid north, the UW Program on the Environment and the Alaska Wilderness League bring noted Arctic photographer Subhankar Banerjee to ask the question: America’s Arctic: Is It For Sale? at 7pm.

A few interesting offerings from SIFF for tonight. Both sound incredibly odd, with the potential to be fantastic or just head scratchingly weird. Either way, the potential for entertainment, sincere or otherwise, seems strong:

• The First People On The Moon [siff] tells the story of how the Russians beat the U.S. in the race toward our favorite tide-creating satellite by a few decades. Soviets talking about rocket science with a mix of real and fake archival footage? Sign me up. (9 pm, Harvard Exit)
• Later, the festival hosts a “Face the Music Rock Party.” The last week in SIFF has been music heavy, and tonight a bunch of local bands provide their take on artists featured in the festival. On the list are Sean Nelson, Key Note Speaker, and Seattlest favorites Awesome [#,#,#,#,et c.]. I’m most intrigued by the promise that someone will cover Sigur Rós and wondering how it will stand up to the We Are Scientists version of “Hoppipolla” [yanp].

Anything else you’re looking forward to seeing as SIFF makes it’s way into the final weekend? Seen anything that’s changed your life? Let us know.

Tonight is apparently cuteness overload night at Neumos with a trio of duos taking the stage [#]. So much overload that it’s the only actual bullet point on tonight’s agenda:

• Local teenage girl pop phenomenon Smoosh kicks off the evening. They’re followed by a double-header of husband-and-wife rock acts: Viva Voce and Mates of State. Both bands have some degree of the charming guy-girl vocal mixing and some degree of the tweeness inherent in married people being in a band together. Where Viva Voce takes a more dreamy and laid back approach with some field-recording type samples thrown in for good measure, Mates of State are a bit higher up on the enthusiasm scale with songs that often take a manic turn into carnival music territory (for what it’s worth, I mean this in the best way possible — drum set meets classic organ meets dual vocals explosions = a certain sort of awesome).

• For those that think that single bullet point outlines are the work of the devil, here’s a second suggestion: get some fries at Ting between sets at Frites. It’s a long night and you’ll need some nutrition.