After last night's season premiere of The Bachelor, audiences of sad, middle-aged women got a sneak peek of what's to come with the above teaser-filled three-minute montage. Looks like upstanding single dad/Kirkland douchebag Jason Mesnick--and yes, it's possible to be both--gives his potential future wives a taste of everything Seattle. They go on a boat! It rains! There's the mountains! They fly a seaplane! They climb the REI rock wall! Let's go hiking! Hey, ...

tags: season premiere of the bachelor, sneak peek, douchebag, middle aged women, space needle, seaplane, kirkland, rei, deanna, spoiler, audiences, robot, mountains, dad, seattle, fly, new zealand

Everyone knew it was going to be harsh. For weeks, arts orgs around Seattle have been struggling with the fallout of the recession and its impact on their projected budgets for 2009. Now hard figures are coming out, and they're not pretty. Over on the Slog, Brendan Kiley has a report on the budget cuts at some of Seattle's largest theatres. ACT Theatre, following the wildly successful run of their annual Christmas show, A Christmas ...

tags: christmas show, intiman, christmas carol, budget cuts, new economy, orgs, fallout, recession, budgets, seattle, shape, struggle, christmas

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 ...

tags: parent advocacy groups, school closure list, orientation center, uproar, alternative high school, budget deficit, alternative school, handful, superintendent, petition, pi, 1 million, consolidation, parents, money

* 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 ...

tags: smithsonian national air, january 6, curator

The big story today – well, the big story after the Midwest-style snowstorms we’ve endured for the past two weeks – is Governor Christine Gregoire’s decision to parrot the budget cuts her opponent, Dino Rossi, advocated during the recent election.Translation to Sonic supporters: No soup for you.It’s not quite that dire, but when the liberal governor of a left-wing state calls for a quarter-million reduction in health care expenditures and skips pay raises for teachers, ...

tags: governor christine gregoire, arenas and stadiums, inept politician, danny fortson, health care expenditures, christine gregoire, dino rossi, taxpayer dollar, brian robinson, boondoggles, economic benefit, economic forecast, mcgann, taking a stand, spending money, sledding, left wing, sonics, constituents, parrot

The gossip flew fast and furious last night and early this morning when it appeared Governor Gregoire had gone AWOL with only the promise of an early morning press release to explain things. Of course, that press release was a complete disappointment. She's not pregnant, gay, or accepting a job with the Obama administration. And no, we didn't get federal economic stimulus money for the viaduct repairs (yet). Gregoire is in Iraq meeting with members ...

tags: governor gregoire, economic stimulus, accepting a job, viaduct, national guard, disappointment, gossip, press release, iraq, money

If so, your focus on detail could pay off big tonight at Seattlest Trivia at the Old Pequliar. Tonight's quiz is an all-2008 retrospective, 80 interrogatory nails in the coffin that was last year. The top 3 teams win cash, while the last place team wins unvaluable swag and a round of applause. Fourth place at halftime wins a free pitcher of beer--as does one lucky team that can answer this question and email the ...

tags: nails in the coffin, musical acts, akon, pitcher of beer, paying attention, applause, retrospective, swag, quiz, brain, trivia, last place team

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, ...

tags: open casting call, nwas, flickr, new year, pool, photo

Looks like somebody's short of cash again. In an email sent out to supporters and the press just minutes ago, Tim Eyman announced that he's taking out another $50,000 loan against his line of credit to help finance his 2009 anti-jobs initiative:We've got a huge list of supporters throughout the state (folks without email). We must send them all a mailing (via the post office) right away that informs them about the new initiative and ...

tags: personal bank account, initiative campaign, state folks, brilliant job, huge list, news tribune, tim eyman, sugar daddy, petitioners, klinge, property taxes, groen, purse, post office, signatures, email, lifetime, priority, signature, jobs

As we’ve learned from the behind the scenes drama at Grey’s Anatomy, ABC doesn’t have a problem saying goodbye to difficult actors. Unfortunately, that’s a lesson Balthazar Getty may be learning the hard way. According to multiple sources, Getty could soon be getting more time to divide amongst his four kids and his new squeeze. While there’s a chance the actor may be let go from Brothers & Sisters altogether, it’s believed he ...

tags: balthazar getty

Here are some of the TV on DVD options available this Tuesday. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (Collection 3) Battlestar Galactica (Season 4) Duckman (Seasons 3 & 4) Eon Kid (Season 1, Vol. 2) Frisky Dingo (Season 2) Hell Girl (Season 1) Laredo (Season 2, Part 2) Mannix (Season 2) Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Season 1) Transformers Animated (Season 2) Tripping the Rift (Season 3) The Tudors (Season 2) The Waltons (Season 8) Tags: (T), (T), (T), (T), (T), ...

tags: galactica, january 6, tv on dvd, no reservations

Sometimes you wonder why bad reality tv shows exist, and then you realize it's so you can read brilliant recaps, like Pareene's review of last night's episode of The City. "The Canadian guy is 'Duncan' and he is Erin's dorky Canadian boyfriend, from Canada, but now he is in New York, staying with Erin, his mysterious American girlfriend. Erin kinda looks like someone we went to college with, and is therefore marginally relatable, as a ...

tags: canadian boyfriend, bikini kill, virtua fighter, dorky, reality tv, olivia, girlfriend, girls, canada

Written by Quibian Salazar-Moreno Right now you’re probably playing catch up with all the great games that came out the last few months, but you better hurry up. There’s a lot more coming in 2009. You can expect everything from sequels to game series reboots to brand new franchises. We did our best in trying to find the 20 most anticipated games coming in 2009, with a few honorable mentions. But hey, if we missed any, ...

tags: salazar, video games

The Thundercats' ownership apparently shares the same broker, as Tom Ward has joined Aubrey McClendon in off-loading a boatload of shares of his company's stocks.From the Associated Press:"Tom Ward, the chief executive officer of SandRidge Energy Inc., has sold 8.9 million shares of his common stock in the company to Tulsa businessman George B. Kaiser. ... Kaiser bought the 8.9 million shares for $50 million, or $5.62 per share."How bad of a deal was that ...

tags: sandridge energy inc, aubrey mcclendon, tulsa businessman, math wizard, initial public offering, substantial holdings, chief executive officer, associated press, boatload, wack, common stock, 50 million, kaiser, stake, ceo, stocks

"Needle" by Seattlest Flickr Photographer S x 2 Capitol Hill Seattle is asking for your help in making a "Collective Hill Playlist" filled with songs about or mentioning Capitol Hill. Do you have any songs for the list? Sorry, but "Posse on Broadway" has already been mentioned.If you're arachnophobic, we'd recommend not reading this little item. A Ballard family that found a Black Widow spider in a bunch of grapes from their neighborhood Fred ...

tags: woodland park zoo, embarcadero freeway, black widow spider, ballard family, anonymous poem, posse on broadway, seattle transit, bunch of grapes, viral email, old postcard, seattlest, bug world, neighborhood news, west seattle, rainier valley, seattle area, flickr, fred meyer, woodland park, viaduct

Sanjaya, the bouncy-haired American Idol un-winner from Federal Way, is releasing a new album and a memoir(!) later this month. If you want a shock to the eyeballs, you should look at Dancing to the Music in my Head's cover art. Here: Whoops! We didn't mean to spring it on you like that! Go ahead, take the rest of the day off work.

tags: sanjaya, music in my head, dancing to the music, rest of the day, american idol, eyeballs, new album, memoir, shock

We just ripped this off the teletype: FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT...FOR MUCH OF WESTERN WASHINGTON...FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH FRIDAY AFTERNOON STOP. Naturally we ran straight to Cliff Mass's house and pounded on the door. Turns out he was out back building an ark. "The high resolution WRF atmospheric model we run in the department (which I show you quite frequently) indicates the potential for 10-20 inches of rain over the next two days on ...

tags: weather prediction models, cliff mass, mountain slopes, hydrological models, atmospheric model, stream flow, teletype, friday afternoon, high resolution, simulations, flood, rivers, rain

So one thing federal financial regulators and Congress need to examine is why banks can pay virtually nothing in interest rates on standard savings accounts while continuing to charge in the 5 percent range for 30 year mortgages and 6.5 percent and up or so on new auto loans, even as the federal funds rate is very nearly zero in real terms. It strikes me as a hidden corporate subsidy, in a way. Financial advice gurus ...

tags: financial regulators, federal funds rate, auto loans, sound advice, new auto, savings accounts, fdic, gurus, stock market, subsidy, proportion, interest rates, mortgages, banks, congress, money

In the final announcement of the MacWorld 2009 keynote, Phil Schiller listed off some of the changes coming to the iTunes ecosystem. First and foremost, in our mind, is that iTunes is going completely DRM-free. Starting today, 8 millions songs on the service will be DRM-free, and by the end of March, all 10 million will be without DRM. Consumers will be able to upgrade their entire purchased music library to iTunes Plus, which means ...

tags: flo rida, fi music, apple also announced that, final announcement, price adjustments, iphone, n music, music library, music store, hotspot, macworld, itunes, keynote, 10 million, consumers, wi fi

iLuv has unveiled its iMM183 Speaker Dock. With room for both iPhone and iPod 4G or later, it can, like its older brother iMM173, play from either, has a built-in alarm clock, FM tuner and an aux-in jack for other audio sources on the 6W stereo. Add to that weather texted alerts from NOAA and SAME. They come through preset channels and up to 10 of them can be archived. An LED flashes to let ...

tags: ipod 4g, preset channels, iluv, noaa, audio sources, alarm clock, iphone, texted, fm tuner, weather, catastrophe, brother

Samsung has announced that many of its HDTVs released this year will feature Internet@TV service. The 5th generation Yahoo Widget Engine allows users to check news headlines, stocks, and search Internet based photos and videos on such sites as Flickr, and Yahoo News and Finance. Social interaction will also be available as well as access to YouTube, eBay and other sites. Connection is by Ethernet or optional wireless USB dongle. Tags: flickr, internet, internet@tv, news, samsung hdtv, usb, yahoo widget engine, youtube, Samsung HDTV ...

tags: wireless usb dongle, yahoo widget engine, yahoo news, youtube, ebay, flickr, social interaction, internet tv, n news, hdtvs, news headlines, search internet, tv service, hdtv, samsung, stocks, finance, yahoo, photos

As of two minutes ago, it appears you can now buy music from iTunes from your iPhone over EDGE and 3G, not just Wi-Fi. Even better: all the music in the store appears to be DRM-free now [emphasis added]. I’m guessing Phil Schiller will announce it later on in the keynote. Maybe this is the “one more thing”? [From Daring Fireball Linked List: DRM-Free Music at iTunes Store]

tags: phil schiller, daring fireball linked list, iphone, itunes, free music, keynote, two minutes, fi

In an article in the New Yorker Roger Rosenblatt writes about the death of his young daughter and how her family is dealing with the loss of a mother, wife and daughter. I was particularly taken with this piece of the article where he writes about the novel Deaf Sentence by David Lodge. The book is about a retired linguistics professor..."Desmond Bates who is losing his hearing and who is also deaf to life until, ...

tags: roger rosenblatt, psalm 90, loss of a mother, human ashes, david lodge, passing time, precious resource, passing of time, misunderstandings, desmond, auschwitz, linguistics, standpoint, new yorker, bates, ladder, silence, efficiency, heart

enator from Minnesota. Franken will be a great senator and will be a joy to watch in office. He got his fame as a comedian, sure, but he's also whipsmart and incredibly fast on his feet. Anyone who's read any of his books knows that he has a great analytical mind - which he gleefully uses to eviscerate his opponents and political adversaries. Watch him demolish Ann Coulter in less ...

tags: political adversaries, ann coulter, al franken, comedian, opponents, fame

lish bit of logic he delivered on the David Letterman show. Still one of my favorite Al Franken moments.

tags: david letterman, al franken, scooter, execution, logic

A cop car, lights blaring pulls a dark Saab into a shopping center for an unknown offense. Curiously the Saab’s dome light blinks on just as its wheels slow to a rest, then all disappears in darkness from view. The bus continues on regardless, its first morning run in almost three weeks not to be canceled or rerouted due to “adverse weather” or “holidays”. I am of course not on the usual ...

tags: insulated tumblers, blinking red light, virtual capacity, cop car, shot in the heart, auto drivers, car lights, dome light, smidgen, rustle, cogitating, 6 january, freckles, daybreak, paraphrase, plethora, paying attention, shopping center, sip, expectation

Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton found deadRon Asheton, the influential guitarist for legendary punk band the Stooges, was found dead early this morning at his home in Ann Arbor, police said.Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Brad Hill said the department received a call around midnight with a request to check on Asheton, 60, because the unidentified caller said he had not heard from the guitarist in a few days. Police went to his home and found him ...

tags: guitarist ron asheton, legendary punk band, ann arbor police, rolling stone magazine, rock guitarist, police sgt, unidentified caller, gifted player, rock revolution, thurston moore, energy music, brother scott, dte energy, rock groups, jack white, stooges, infighting, reek, detroit area, foul play

Hunter S. Thompson Motivational Posters. [via]

tags: hunter s thompson, motivational posters, motivation

Dan Deacon - Pink Batman Seen any good videos lately? Let me know: scotto (a) comfortradio.org Recently on Comfort Radio: Tricky - Tonite Is a Special Nite [Kaos Mass Confusion Mix] if:then:goto - easy (bad loop remix) Afro Celt Sound System - Riding The Waves

tags: riding the waves, confusion mix, special nite, mass confusion, dan deacon, scotto, ndan, kaos, tonite, batman, pink, radio

A lot of people are posting 2009 goals posts, and reading these posts keeps spurring thoughts in me. I already keep track of a lot of goals with my 101 things list, but I think it's also good to talk about some specific yearly goals. I achieved some awesome things in 2008. I left a situation that wasn't working for me (grad school) and moved into a job that I'm really enjoying. If ...

tags: uncommon occurrence, membership participation, roth ira, new year thoughts, action goals, seasonal positions, personal gains, seasonal position, definite plan, gym membership, achievable goals, personal time, cool guy, breaking point, grad school, health insurance, firm believer, grasp, tho, new year

That's right. I travel thousands of miles to a city of culture and cuisine on the other side of the continent, and I take pictures of graffiti....

tags: graffiti, continent, cuisine, montreal

Springsteen Goes Free With Amazon, 'Guitar Hero'Bruce Springsteen is offering free downloads through Amazon.com and "Guitar Hero" in the run-up to the Jan. 27 release of his next Columbia album, "Working on a Dream."The third single from that project, "Life Itself," is up as a free track on Amazon.com as of today, along with a new video. Amazon previously made the album track "My Lucky Day" available, while the title cut was initially an iTunes ...

tags: guitar hero, working on a dream, columbia album, glastonbury festival, bruce springsteen, bonnaroo festival, amazon, wii, e street band, halftime show, lucky day, xbox 360, tampa fla, free downloads, new album, ps3, super bowl, release date, xbox

Let me try and tell you what happened. On the Monday before Christmas--which in Seattle turned out to be a citywide snow day--I woke up with an upset stomach. "I have an upset stomach," I told the wife, because I believe in directness in our marriage. Later, I was haunted by awful chills followed by raging fevers, and I couldn't keep any solid food down. And because my wife also believes in clear communication, she ...

tags: flu symptoms, ginger ale, upset stomach, saltines, swedish hospital, bloodwork, directness, snow day, real food, solid food, vitals, fevers, electrolytes, massive amounts, chills, cough, cones, nshe, cigarettes, flu

A week ago, as Israel began pounding Gaza in retribution for rocket attacks by Palestinian militants, I observed that Democratic leaders had been just as complicit as Republicans in giving Israel's government their blessing to drop as many bombs and lob as many shells as they want:Democratic leaders in the United States are busy releasing statements of sympathy and support for Israel. No condemnation of Israel's blockade of Gaza. No acknowledgment that there simply isn't ...

tags: senate majority leader harry reid, senate majority leader, bad analogies, ground invasion, palestinian militants, vancouver canada, david gregory, senate majority leader harry, mr gregory, military solution, democratic leaders, rocket attacks, harry reid, complicit, meet the press, hostilities, conjecture, jon stewart, holy land, daily show

Complete and unedited text of a recent email...SUBJECT: ok I'm new at thisI love my wife but she refuses to dominate me in any way, shape or form. My secret desire to to have a woman with a strap-on to, well, fu(k me in the ass. I would wear panties while this happened. any help?Yes, clearly you are a beginner, dear man, or you would not have written such a ...

tags: salvatore ferragamo shoes, salvatore ferragamo, simple goodness, secret desire, foot massage, dan savage, unedited text, sensible answer, psychic powers, sex advice, anathema, orgasms, rants, panties, variables, email, shape, fantasy, heart, blog

[@375]Twits du JourShe also mentioned that Walmart subcontracts phone sales. So when you buy a phone you sign a contract with both the carrier and subcontr ... #Interesting talk w/ the gal selling phones at Costco. They don't carry the iPhone because Apple releases new models too often and they b ... #Erik's Tumbles - Brown Delivers tinyurl.com/7nztkf #I just dropped my phone getting into the car. Slippery piece of sh... A few scratches on ...

tags: twits, iphone, subcontracts, costco, walmart, scratches, apple, models

Directed by Robert McKimson, 1961. Summoned to supply cheese for the Mexican mouse fiesta, Speedy Gonzales works like lightning at lightening the cheese store of its stock, under the not-so-watchful eyes of Sylvester, the cat.

tags: sylvester the cat, cheese store, robert mckimson, speedy gonzales, watchful eyes, cannery, woe, fiesta, lightning, stock

Produced by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 12/02/2005. RT 59:01. The story of animal evolution is marked by key innovations such as limbs for walking on land, wings for flight, and color patterns for advertising or concealment. How do new traits arise? Sean B. Carroll, Ph.D. explores how new patterns evolve when 'old' genes learn new tricks. Old genes learning new tricks also apply to our own species and the evolution of traits that distinguish us ...

tags: hughes medical institute, howard hughes medical, howard hughes medical institute, animal evolution, carroll ph, biological history, color patterns, nthe, new patterns, concealment, howard hughes, apes, genes, butterflies, innovations, wings, struggle

Al Franken and Tom Davis visit Late Night with David Letterman, 8/20/87. Al draws a map of all 48 contiguous states in under 2 minutes.

tags: late night with david letterman, al franken, david letterman, 48 contiguous states, tom davis

A traditional animation about a boy and a spider.

tags: traditional animation, north america

Scanning the old RSS reader and the impressive amount of speculation by both dirty hippie leftist bloggers and traditional media types, I vote for the sensible speculation of Joe Turner at Political Buzz, who wonders if this is all about Viaduct money and then adds: It could be broader than that. Democratic governors are set to meet again with Obama this week about the stimulus package. Gregoire has been active in pushing for a large boost ...

tags: chris gregoire, political buzz, stimulus package, democratic governors, joe turner, secretary of commerce, viaduct, rss reader, hippie, speculation, bloggers, money

CD REVIEWKAL: Radio Romanista(Asphalt Tango)KAL makes Roma/Gypsy music; KAL makes modern urban music. And there's no separation between the two.The musical equivalent of nuclear fusion, the Serbian band seems to create ever more energetic tunes, upping the ante from their self-titled 2005 debut with the 13 songs on Radio Romanista (the title track tells of a radio station in the imaginary nation of Romanistan, homeland of the Gypsies). Traditional touches pervade the album, co-mingling with ...

tags: vera bila, serbian band, gypsy music, urban beats, musical roots, romanista, s mp3, ristic, musical equivalent, nuclear fusion, sad commentary, kal, urban music, audio samples, gypsies, prowess, radio station, asphalt, ancestors, tango