After Hours

Here's a very hearty version of "Highway to Hell" in Ukrainian. I especially like the guy pounding on the suitcase with a water bottle. Altogether a very serviceable rendition. Many thanks to Jim Demetre for steering me to this.

Your Sunday Squirrel

It's an Independence Squirrel! This guy was in Denny Park yesterday and he wanted me to wish you all a happy 4th!

Coming Soon to the Moore!

Ah, now here's a very good reason to change all your medical instructions to DO NOT RESUSCITATE. Yeah, since the Spice Girls, the world has fortunately been totally over girl bands. That was a terrible time, wasn't it? But this particular one is Asian. Does that make any difference? No. If anything, it should be even worse than your average girl band. There's a lot that doesn't translate. And with the backdrop of of the Moore, I don't think these poor girls are doing themselves any favors. I mean, it's old, creaky, smelly and dour. It doesn't exactly scream "girl power," does it? Well, even former American Idol champ, Jordin Sparks, is playing the much smaller Showbox, so I guess these gals should count their blessings. And what would serve as an appropriate opening band for a girl group? A boy group! They're called 2AM - and they all appear to be completely heterosexual. After surveying the bill, all I can say is this: GOD HELP US ALL!!!

Totally Gay!

OK, so today was the Gay Pride Parade. And there was no reason to miss it since it was all happening over on 4th Avenue. Today's weather was dull and uneventful by conducive enough for all kinds of gayness. Here's an interesting thing:

This guy's name is Seattle Gay News - just like the newspaper. What are the odds of that?? I'd say astronomical! Anyhow, there were also furries:

There was a dog, but I got no good shots of him. There was a "Gay Idol" float:

I'm sure a lot of people put in many hours to build this contraption, but it looked like it was gonna collapse at any moment. There was also a gay fire engine...

...lots of rainbow balloon configurations such as, for example, this:

There was an entire truckload of sex-people with whom you'd probably never want to have sex:

There was a gay bagpipe band...

...proud leather people...

and the drag version of The Wiz:


I'm pretty sure everybody wanted to be Diana Ross. And finally, there was an outfit calling itself "The Gay Team." Get it?? If you do, that probably means you're gay:


And I left soon after that. I missed the rollerskating penis this year. But the motorcycle-riding gorilla almost made up for it:

All in all, the motorcycle display was loud and pointless, but this guy made it worthwhile. He even did tricks! Anyway, this year was just as good as last year, except the weather was worse. But be proud, gay people! That's the point of the whole weekend, isn't it?

Your Sunday Squirrel

Here's more of last week's guest-squirrel. Funny how the camera really goes out of its way to focus on the grass and not on the squirrel. Enjoy!

Paper Sign Taped to a Light Pole Brings Peace to Community

Or so the Onion headline would read. I swear to God, the news trucks are here every day - even KIRO and they're just down the street. They don't even need a news truck; they can just use an extension cord. Yeah, there's all this talk about the "rash" of violence in Belltown. You know, if you look into the archives, you'll probably find the same thing happening to various degrees every year around this time. This year just happens to be more severe than most. Plus, with the guy getting killed across the street, this crummy neighborhood is under more scrutiny. So some drunk guy tangling with an even drunker guy is now conflated into an assault. And let's just get this out of the way: all (or almost all) this stuff that's happening is done by visitors to visitors. If you're a Belltown resident and you've been beat up/robbed/murdered by another Belltown resident, then you're bucking the statistical trend and I apologize for my gross assumption. But people treat Belltown like it's some kind of Las Vegas-esque adult playground. That's why so much crazy shit happens. Frankly, I welcome the influx of people, but it would be so much nicer if they'd behave themselves and not puke on our sidewalks, especially while the news trucks are here.

Coming Soon to the Moore!

Also from the "Recently Departed from the Moore" Department. There are lots of things wrong with Parks & Recreation, but this guy isn't one of them. Of course, the best thing about the show by far is the theme. It's simple, catchy and direct. And then there's Aziz as sleazebag Tom Haverford. Yeah, fun. The show is also good for those of us who can't get enough Rashida Jones. The rest of the time, I kind of drift in and out. Anyhow, I have no idea whether Aziz is a capable standup comic, but he seems to enjoy some popularity with the youth of our nation.

I Went to a Baseball Match!

I haven't been to a sporting event in ages, so when I heard the Cubs were in town, I couldn't resist. Unlike the Mariners, the Cubs are widely adored for being losers. The big question of the night was which team was worse. The answer? More on that later. I was hoping for general admission, but I had to pay $27 for a 300 level seat. Averaging that out over all the years I could have gone but didn't, it's somewhat reasonable. The evening was nice. Here is what the baseball place looked like:
The city beyond it was as follows:

I still have to remind myself that the voters rejected the bond issue to build this stadium. If it wasn't for the Mariners futile run at major-league glory in 1995, we wouldn't have a stadium or a team. I'm not judging here; this would have been the outcome. It ran against the will of the people, but who cares? Anyhow, as night fell, this is what it looked like:

I often forget that baseball is tons more boring on TV. I have a very short attention span and I was alone, but I was quite entertained by the whole thing. Well, a few $8.75 beers helped, too. How did it end? Quite simply, sweet people. The Mariners got a guy on base, and the guy after him hit a home run. That was it; they didn't need anything else. They won 2-0 and I walked back to Belltown. Speaking of that, did you know that in the early nineties, they were seriously considering putting a stadium in Belltown? It would have been disastrous for the neighborhood, but very cool. Just imagine drunk guys from Redmond staggering around at all hours for six months a year. Isn't that what we already have year-round? Well, kind of. If they'd actually gone ahead and done that, I'd probably still be here.

So that was my sports night.

Coming Soon to the Moore!

I should really call this "Recently Gone from the Moore," since I'm still having trouble in the Enthusiasm-for-Belltown department. I have yet to figure out what these celebrity chefs do when they're in front of audiences. I'm pretty sure they don't cook. In Bourdain's case, he probably talks about being a drug addict. There's always a lot of mileage in that. Personally, I like him, because he's a jerk and he's not ashamed of it. On TV, he's always best when he's put in an uncomfortable situation or made to eat gross food. On the plane back to Seattle, I watched an episode of No Reservations where he went to Australia and hung out with all of his chef friends. Boring! However, when he went to Iceland, was ridiculed by bodybuilders and given fermented shark and jellied sheep's brains, now that was entertaining! So does he just tell stories or does he do a little tap dancing? Does anybody know what happens at these functions?

Your Sunday Squirrel

I leave town for a little while and Denny Park gets a whole new crop of squirrels. This little guy is friendlier than most. The others have no idea what peanuts are. Or perhaps they don't like peanuts. Sure, that's a little like monkeys hating bananas, but I'm sure it happens. Anyhow, all this squirrel shyness makes it tough to photograph them. I'll probably have to dip into the archives for the next few Sundays.