So Long, Splash Lounge...

...we hardly knew ye. Well, it was a short life for the place. It opened in July or so. Things were initially very quiet, but I really believed that it would pick up clientele. It didn't. This morning I saw a bunch of people load its furnishings into a U Haul truck and drive away. So it's the end again for the place across the street. That's showbiz, I guess. The big question is what it's going to be now. OK, so if we refer to the past, maybe this might help any future potential owners.

1. Saito's: wonderful sushi and various other yummy stuff. So authentic that it became a hangout for the Japanese players on the Mariners after games. It stayed open for years and only closed because Saito decided to do high-end catering.

2. V Bar: pretty good pho, but they weren't too adept at keeping order. It did mad business but fights and shootings came to dominate. They were open less than two years, closing when they couldn't get their liquor license reissued.

3. Splash Lounge: a short and uneventful life. They had almost nothing on the menu, so it was just a place to drink and hang out. On most weekends, it looked like it was just half full.

OK, so which place stands out above the others? That's right, Saito's. If they make it into a great restaurant and not some booze palace, it could possibly do well. True, it's not the greatest location in the world, but it could work.

One More Thing

OK, it's still Christmas and everything. I just pulled up in front of the Rivoli and, whaddaya know, two guys were smoking crack in the doorway of Action Small Appliance right next door. Ah yes, it can't be Christmas without a little crack smoking, I guess. At least that's how they do it in Belltown. Anyhow, I still wish you a Merry Xmas.

Merry Xmas...

...from me and Creepy Bunny.

Your Sunday Squirrel

Well, this guy was pretty shy, but he did consent to this photo. Sunday Squirrel will take Christmas day off - all the squirrels will be worshiping Squirrel-Jesus and not running around Denny Park, so just wait another week and hopefully, I'll be able to lure some more friendly fellows down to the ground with some delicious peanuts.

Toys Today...

I was at Toys R Us at Northgate today and I caught this curious sight:

This is part of the Journey Girls Action Play Set. There is an entire section of the store devoted to this stuff. We've got a wheelchair, crutches, casts and sundry items. Wow, kids in wheelchairs. That's great. On a related note, my Christmas shopping is just about done.

After Hours

Completely out of self-interest... Enjoy!

P.S. I play saxophone on this.

A Superb Sunset Today It Was

I think that it's enhanced by the crappy cell phone quality of it all. By the way, this was down at 1st & Union.

Your Sunday Squirrel

Here is a little fellow standing up and looking kind of strange. Not to worry, though, squirrels - like dogs - look at you from all kinds of different angles to activate certain parts of their little brains. OK, so they're not really bright, but they are a lot more fun than smarter animals. Plus, they can climb trees like nobody's bidness.

I Finally Got on the TV!

It's happened at last! We filmed this thing way back in October and I've been waiting and waiting for it to air. It was on yesterday evening and guess what? Nobody from KING told me! Oh, well! It would have been nice to give people some advanced warning, but it's at their website, so no harm done. You can see it here. Sorry, it's not allowing me to embed. I'm kind of a little surprised at how it turned out. I mean, it's actually much, much better than I expected. I give the impression of being a sane person with something coherent to say. Honestly, I had a blast filming this whole thing. The two guys I worked with were fun and professional. And then I went back to the grind and awaited my moment. It arrived last night. Anyhow, have a look.

Your Sunday Squirrel

The squirrel says: "These are all mine; the leaves, the twigs - all mine. Do you like them?"

I was lucky enough to run into a few squirrels this week. There were all these guys from the Parks Dept. ranging around with metal detectors. The squirrels didn't quite know what to think about these developments. But they were hungry enough to ignore them.

Oh and in case you're wondering, my squirrel calendar is still for sale. You can get it here. You will be glad you did.

After Hours

Potap and Nastya Kamenskikh. Lyeto (Summer)

This is like Vern Fonk Vision gone completely haywire. And the best thing is that you can sing along with it. OK, it's not Shakespeare, but what is these days? In case you don't know, Russia is totally like this: no grinding poverty, superstition, or authoritarian government; only nice weather, swimming pools and women who show lots of fanny. Enjoy!