photo by shawn [flickr] via our group pool [#].

• Is the Stranger readying a neighborhood blog killer or just preparing to add comments registration system? Please please please the option number two. [capitolhillseattle]
• Oh no. First suicidal dolphins [guardian], now disappearing salmon? [nerdseyeview]
• Gluten-free girl launches a spin-off. Oh, and she’s starting a second website. [gfg]
• Let’s all indulge the dream of a magnetic poetry float in the Gay Pride parade for just a few moments. [hillku]
• Tips and tricks on doing buses right instead of the horribly wrong way we’re doing it now. I have never seen this many comments on Crosscut ever. [crosscut] Maybe it’s because “Driving is no longer fun”. Oh, Joel Connelly. (confession: I couldn’t make it through either of these articles.) [pi]
• Outdoor movie season starts this weekend in Fremont with Superbad. [seattletraveler]

I was too stupid/tired/busy/lazy to go to Chop Suey last night for the Three Imaginary Girls birthday bash; so I’m happy to see that they’ve posted a recap and some great pictures [#] of their “Exile in {Imaginary} Girlville” event:

photo by laura musselman [flickr] via the t.i.g. group pool [#].

Already, our group pool is brimming with great pictures from yesterday’s Solstice parade in Fremont. There are too many to post here now, but a few selections for your viewing pleasure … be sure to check out the photographers’ own sets for more.

photo by Suzie [flickr :: photoset] .

photo by Tyler Kantzer [flickr].

photos by Beth [flickr :: photoset] and Mike D [flickr :: photoset] .

photo by Grundlepuck [flickr :: photoset]

Maybe you already know. Maybe you used to know. Maybe you’ll know again soon. Whatever your perspective, this column looks to answer one question: what’s it like being single in Seattle?

It started, as any good Web 2.0 romance should, with a comment on the rival Seattle blog he wrote for. I had thought he was cute for some time; he posted about peeing on a tree. I commented that his post encouraged me to get over my silly little crush on him. No response.

…Until a few weeks later when I checked my spam filter. “Congrats–most women have to meet me at least twice before a crush wears off,” he’d replied. Cute. I replied, and we ended up having a bizarre but hilarious (to us) discussion about HTTP error codes. (Reproduced after the jump for the curious.) Fellow Metblogger Josh once told me upon reading that conversation, “I can’t imagine how things between the two of you didn’t work out.” And sometimes I wonder the same thing.

He friended me on Google Chat and I immediately began ignoring lectures and chatting with him instead. Often I had to stifle laughs in the middle of Intro to Comparative Literature, some times more successfully than others.

Inevitably he asked me for a drink. I demurred, not wanting to let on I was merely 20 to his 30. I suggested tea instead. In a day or two he upped the ante: a picnic in Volunteer Park.

I suddenly became wracked with guilt. I had a confession to make. I had a boyfriend, a boyfriend on the way out but a boyfriend none the less. We decided to go on the picnic anyway. I told my boyfriend, who loved his blog and was excited I was going to meet him. (There was a reason he was on the way out.)

I sat outside Volunteer Park Cafe for a good half hour before our planned meeting time, wanting time to look fresh in the shade rather than like I just dragged myself up the hill from 23rd (which I had, in fact, done). I keep looking up nervously from my book (Dana Vachon’s Mergers and Acquisitions) but nothing but moms and Bugaboos.

Then a guy in yellow rubber flipflops walks up.

Not cute at all.

(come back tomorrow for part 2…)

Read more

Alexander Nevsky, still courtesy SIFF.

Here it is people: the third and final week of SIFF . Is everyone still on board? Found your line zen? Overcome the constant sensation of missing everything and always being in a hurry? Mastered your decision-making about what distinguishes a “3″ on your ballot from a “4″? Lost track of the rest of civilization? Here are some picks to guide you through the beginning of this week from your Metblogs prognosticators:

Baghead [siff] : I don’t want to say much more about Baghead than that it’s funny, scary, and something of a relationship movie. Anything more than that might spoil your enjoyment of it. After all, someone at the Sunday screening thought they were seeing a movie called Baghdad and had a great time. OK, just one more thing. I want this movie to make lots and lots of money so that the Duplass brothers can keep making really good low production value movies with not incredibly famous actors. It’s entirely possible that their aim of trying to have the stupidest title of the year (sorry guys, I’m afraid that you’ve narrowly lost that contest to Beverly Hills Chihuahua this year) with stories of interpersonal awkwardness in the face of the scariest thing they can think of on a road trip can survive the loose-feeling handmade aesthetic, but I’d rather not see it come to that. [josh]
Monday June 9, 4:30 PM (Egyptian)

Walt & el Groupo [siff] : Uncle Walt takes his animators on a goodwill tour of South America. Wacky hijinks ensue, allegedly changing our artistic and political landscapes to this day. Crazy enough to be fascinating. [josh]
Monday June 9, 4:30 PM (Uptown)

Momma’s Man [siff] : Azazel Jacobs makes a movie about a guy who makes a weekend trip to visit his parents and finds himself unable to leave their apartment to return to his wife and children. Whether this sounds like the premise for a quirky indie drama or a terrifying horror movie may depend on your own family situation.
Monday June 9, 7:15 PM; Wednesday June 11, 4:30 PM (Uptown)

Theater of War [siff]: Meryl Streep took on on the title role in Brecht’s anti-war play when it was staged with a new translation by Tony Kushner in 2006 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. This documentary includes footage from the play, shows Streep digging into the role, and provides backstory on the playwright. [josh]
Tuesday June 10, 7:00 PM; Thursday June 12, 4:30 PM (SIFF Cinema)

In the Land of the Headhunters [siff] : Back in 1914 photographer Edward S. Curtis produced this silent film about love and war amongst the Kwakwaka’wakw people in what we now call the Queen Charlotte Strait area of British Columbia. Entered into the United States Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance in 1999, the film made its debut here in Seattle way back in December of 1914 at the Moore Theater. Thanks to SIFF, the Burke Museum and the Seattle Theater Group, it’s back at the Moore with a newly restored version accompanied by the orginal orchestral score and descendants of the original cast. [zg]
Tuesday June 10, 7:00 pm, The Moore Theater

Stranded: I’ve come from a plane that crashed on the mountains [siff] : One of many movies mined from the story of the Chilean soccer team whose flight crashed in the Andes and had survivors resorting to cannibalism. This one, however, finds the survivors and their families, taking them back to the site of the crash thirty years later. [josh]
Tuesday June 10, 9:30 PM

Trouble the Water [siff] : New Orleans native Kimberley Roberts and her husband fight FEMA’s milles of red tape as they struggle to rebuild their post-Katrina lives in Memphis in this provocative documentary that includes footage Roberts filmed of the hurricane’s assault on her hometown. Be prepared to be both deeply touched and extremely pissed off. Executive producer Danny Glover and the films directors, Carl Deal and Tia Lessin, are scheduled to attend both screenings. [zg]
Wednesday June 11, 4:30 pm; Friday June 13, 9:30 pm, (Harvard Exit)

Fields of Fuel [siff] : If you haven’t turned Green yet, then see this flick about bio-diesel. It’s one of those movies that’ll make you want to sell that gas guzzling car of yours. Until you realize you need said car to get around, and don’t want it smelling like fried chicken. [ba]
Wednesday June 11, 7:00 pm; Thursday June 12, 4:30 pm (Harvard Exit)

Alexander Nevsky [siff] : Prince Alexander Nevsky raises an army to fight Teutonic knights set on invading Russia in this epic film from the Soviet Union originally released in 1938. It’s worth going for the way pre-CGI battle sequences alone. Enhancing the experience, Sergei Prokofiev’s original score will be performed live by the Seattle Symphony. [zg]
Thursday June 12, 7:30 pm; Friday, June 13, 7:00 pm; Saturday June 14, 8:00 pm, Sunday June 15, 2:00 pm, (Benaroya Hall)

Visioneers [siff] : In Jared and Brandon Drake’s dystopic future, productivity and forced happiness have displaced feelings and dreams. Zach Galifianakis stars as a descendent of George Washington who is trying to avoid exploding (literally) like so many of his fellow citizens who succumbed to feeling too much individuality. It is entirely possible that this movie isn’t about any of this, and is instead about a man’s slow descent into madness driven by a combination of impotence and displaced extra-marital lust. The humor is dark, the pace is slow, but with the grim outlook enhanced by a score from the Polyphonic Spree it casts a heavy spell. [josh]
Thursday June 12, 9:30 PM; Saturday June 14, 4:00 PM (Egyptian)

_{photo courtesy of Metroblogging’s own Slightlynorth / Shawn [flickr]}

The New York Times published a short travel essay on Georgetown a couple days ago [nyt]. In it they describe the appeal of a neighborhood Fantagraphics curator Larry Reid calls the “last outpost of any blue-collar, bohemian arts culture in Seattle.” When put that way, the appeal is self-explanatory. For those reasons and more, I really enjoy Georgetown. There’s an authenticity (grittiness?) to it that is missing from many other Seattle neighborhoods. Lunch at Jules Mae’s Saloon is easily turned into a Seattle history lesson and a short walk along Airport Way always leaves me feeling fortunate that Georgetown exists (however precariously) and sentimental for a different Seattle.

And so, thanks to the TNT’s Grit City, the Tacoma comparison begins. Noting that among other things Tacoma (like Georgetown) has its own glass blowers, artists on scooters, and cheap rent, Grit City proudly declares that Tacoma is the new Seattle. Here I thought Portland was the new Seattle. Or Omaha. And if those cities are the new Seattle, what’s Seattle? Once again, an Internet poll comes to our rescue.

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Update: I just noticed that Grit City is not claiming Tacoma is the new Seattle. They’re claiming Seattle is the new Tacoma. All the sudden this meme became a lot more more sinister.

Photo: Joshua Trujillo / P-I
Urban growth is on the rise. Two articles posted recently in the Seattle-PI show possibilities for the direction of two distinct neighborhoods: South Downtown and South Lake Union.

South Downtown (think Stadium district) is in the process of revealing a proposal to add more 6,000 new housing units (consisting of condos most likely) and enough business development to support 16,000 additional jobs. The PI published this list of development plan highlights:

OVERALL: The plan would urge developers to build more housing, especially near mass transit. Taller, denser projects would be allowed in some areas and environmentally friendly practices encouraged.

PIONEER SQUARE: Developers would be allowed to construct taller buildings in parts of this district, except the central historic area of First Avenue South. Better east-west walkways over the railroad tracks to link Pioneer Square with the International District are suggested.

INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT: The plan aims to improve sidewalks and streetscapes throughout the area but largely recommends against allowing taller buildings in the retail core of Chinatown.

The South Lake Union neighborhood, known for recent growth, is looking to approve new zoning proposals that would raise height restrictions.

The upzones range from most dense, 125 to 400 feet, to medium density, 85 feet to 400 feet, to the “least dense/stair-step” plan, 85 feet to 240 feet.

When I participated in the Capitol Hill Community Council Steering Committee, there was discussion about the South Lake Union neighborhood and the increasing amount of tall residential buildings being developed. Residents of Capitol Hill worried that they would lose their views and congestion would increase around the borders between South Lake Union and Capitol Hill. The South Lake Union community group is trying to address those fears, as reported in the PI:

The community group’s board members told City Council members last week that taller, more slender buildings would allow more light, help retain views, allow for more open or green space at street level and make neighborhoods more walkable and livable.

Honestly, I am torn between two different feelings in regards to proposals like these. On one hand, I really enjoy Seattle the way it is. Change is uncertain. On the other hand, the Seattle core is unable to expand any further out and must instead expand up. Urban density can work for a city if the citizens are willing to work with each other and the government.

Regardless of what ultimately is approved, Seattle is going to look very different in 20 years.

Welcome to week 2! Traditionally, this is the week that a lot of people burn out on all of the movies they’ve seen in week 1. But SIFF always delivers with a number of excellent offerings. Do you have other suggestions? Post them in the comments!

Island Etude : A college student named Ming who takes a seven-day bicycle tour of Taiwan, having small adventures and random encounters with strangers along the way in a film that celebrates having the freedom to explore. Monday, June 2, 6:30 pm, Pacific Place Tuesday, June 3, 4:00 pm, Pacific Place [zg]

32a : Teenaged Maeve Brennan takes her first steps toward adulthood in 1979 Dublin in a film that celebrates friendship, first love, and the importance of one’s very first bra. Tuesday, June 3, 7:00 pm, Uptown [zg]

John Waters Live at Benaroya Hall : Loved and respected by some, hated and reviled by others, John Waters is seldom ever simply liked. His films are bold, bright, colorful and often outrageous as he looks for beauty in the people and places most people would consider worthless junk. One of the most interesting people in the history of film, Waters will be talking for three hours about his life and his long career as a writer, composer, actor and filmmaker at an event where “festive attire” is welcome. Tuesday, June 3, 7:30 pm, Benaroya Hall [zg]

Encounters at the End of the World : Antarctica is so hot right now. First it was marching penguins with love stories re-narrated by Morgan Freeman, then animated dancing penguins that you’d prefer not to watch on airplanes. Now Werner Herzog, who turned Timothy Treadwell’s self-absorbed home movies of communes with the Grizzlies of Alaska into a riveting documentary about nature and documentation, returns with footage from the bottom of the planet. [josh] Wednesday June 4, 4:30 PM (Egyptian)

Good Food : The world premiere of Melissa Young and Mark Dworkin’s documentary about the organic food movement as told through farms and ranches across the state of Washington. [josh] (Adds Patricia… Some of my very favorite farms are featured in this movie and some of the farmers will be at the showing on Wednesday. My two favorites: Skagit River Ranch and Growing Washington.) Wednesday June 4, 7:00 PM (Egyptian); Saturday June 7, 4:30 PM (SIFF Cinema)

Anvil: the story of Anvil Back in the 80s Canadian headbangers Anvil were rocking out in arena shows, but lasting super-success has eluded the band. That hasn’t stopped them–even if they have to scrap to get just a small club show, the members of Anvil refuse to give up the rock and continue to play their hearts out for anyone who will give them a chance. Even if you hate heavy metal, if you’ve got even a small spot in your heart for the underdog, you can’t help but like these guys. Thursday, June 5, 9:15 pm, SIFF Cinema Friday, June 6, 4:30 pm, SIFF Cinema [zg]