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October 29, 2006

The Winter Seasonals Are Here

It's the end of daylight savings time, and here in Seattle, it means overcast and drizzly days and commuting home in the dark. But my spirits aren't down. That's because I have my own way of cheering myself up: Seasonal Beers.

Ok, strictly speaking there are seasonal beers for every season, but the winter seasonals are the ones that I love. Dark ales, porters and stouts all help warm the cockles even though the feet may be soaked. Here's a quick rundown of the (mostly) local beers I'm most excited about this winter:

For my own notes, I'll be updating this list of winter beers as I consume them.

16:44 | Seattle | Comments (2)

October 25, 2006

By George W Bush

"One of the things I've used on the Google is to pull up maps. It's very interesting to see that."

Yes, President Bush uses The Google. Probably because it's the only search engine that indexes all of The Internets.

08:00 | Quotes | Comments (0)

October 22, 2006

Chris' Favourite Seattle Establishments

In an ongoing effort to share with you, my loyal readers, all my favourite places to eat, drink and hang out in Seattle, I offer this page, which I will be updating as I discover new places. Feel free to leave suggestions for new entries or any comments.

Beer
American (Pacific Northwest)
Summit Public House
Belgian
The Stumbling Monk
German
Feierabend
Coffee
Atmosphere
Bauhaus
Donuts
Top Pot Donuts
Live Music
Faire Gallery and Café
Food
Breakfast/Brunch
Glo's
Chinese
Shanghai Garden
Dim Sum
House Of Hong
New Kowloon
Ethiopian
Meskel
French
Le Pichet
Greek
The Byzantion
Indian
India Bistro
Japanese
Fuji Sushi
Korean
Shilla
Mexican
Mr Villa
Nepalese/Tibetan
Annapurna Café
Pho
Than Brothers
Pub Grub
The Elysian
74th Street Ale House
Lunch/Sandwiches
HoneyHole
Thai
Rom Mai Thai
Vegetarian
Café Flora

22:52 | Seattle | Comments (1)

October 19, 2006

Shock The Monkey To Life, Again!

Another reason why Peter Gabriel is my personal hero: he made available for free download the multitrack recodings of Shock The Monkey as unprotected MP3s, and encouraged people to remix, mash-up, sample, or do what they will with the sounds. I downloaded the sample pack, and I must say I have a new appreciation for the 25-year-old song's complexity and sound.

Check out the remixes people have submitted (including a country version!). Now I'm no musician, but I can see myself having a lot of fun with 30 second clips of PG's falsetto "monkeeeeeeeee".

08:23 | Entertainment | Comments (0)

October 13, 2006

Sisterly Visit Recap

I had a great time showing off Seattle to Alexis and Derek this past weekend. The first thing we did after getting back from the airport is go out for and some dinner at The Deluxe. Afterwards we met up with Miguel and Rachelle at The Cantebury where I got to introduce them to some fine American microbrew.

Saturday we did the tourist thing. We went out to breakfast, then to the famous Pike Place Market. We then walked northwards towards the Space Needle, stopping several times for beer and snacks along the way. We walked around Seattle Center, and planned to take the monorail back downtown, but once again, it was out of commission due to "mechanical problems". I think there are more sunny days a year in Seattle than days the monorail is operational.

Crossing the first item off Alexis' list of things to do in Seattle, we grabbed dinner at Mama’s Mexican Kitchen in Belltown. Stuffed with burritos and beer, we waddled back to my apartment and crashed.

Sunday we waited an hour for the best breakfast in Capitol Hill, Glo's (I was assured that it was, in fact, worth the wait). Derek wanted to check out Seattle’s dual stadiums (coming from the Toronto area where our MLA team and CFL team share the same stadium, this confounded me as well), so down to SoDo we went. Since neither the Seahawks nor the Mariners were playing, that part of town was completely dead. Luckily for us, we were spared boredom when we stumbled on Seattle’s very own indoor Gold Rush National Park.

We hit the shopping area downtown (ok, I'll admit it, I did most of the shopping), then back south (thank god for the Free Ride Zone) to the International District for Alexis' second and final list item, a fabulous sushi dinner at Fuji Sushi. Our bellies swollen with raw fish, we went to Uwajimaya to check out the weird and exotic fish counter and beer snack aisles. Satisfied, we took out last bus back up the Hill (and were treated to a monologue by a resident bus weirdo).

We were up at the crack of dawn the next morning and drove to Sea-Tac Airport to get those two on their plane. I had a great time hanging out with my sister, re-experiencing the subtle culture shock with US-first-timer Derek (he was absolutely mortified that hosts allow their houseguests to walk onto the carpet with their outdoor shoes on, a custom I'm still not 100% comfortable with) and having an excuse to tour the town, eat some great meals, and most important of all, go on a shopping spree.

08:15 | Family , Seattle | Comments (0)

October 11, 2006

Goodbye Little Ruby

On Saturday my dad called me with some sad news. My parents' 6-month old puppy Ruby died over the weekend. She had eaten some hard plastic, and died due to internal bleeding.

Although I met Ruby only once, I saw the joy she brought to my parents, and I know my parents' home will not be the same without her. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to know her better.

08:04 | Family | Comments (2)

October 6, 2006

Sisterly Visit

Tonight I'm off to drive that familiar route to Sea-Tac airport to pick up my sister and her boyfriend. This will be Alexis' first visit to Seattle (the last of my immediate family members to make the westward trek), and Derek's first visit to the good old US of A. The only two things Alexis insists we do while they're here is go out for Mexican and for sushi.

Most Americans I've told this to raise and eyebrow when I say we're going out of our way for Mexican food. Sushi they can understand -- Seattle has a large Japanese population, and being right on the Puget Sound, seafood is fresh and abundant. But Mexican?

In the US, Mexican food is ubiquitous. It seems every neighbourhood has several inexpensive Mexican restaurants that smother every dish in cheddar and sour cream. But in Southern Ontario, Mexican restaurants are rare (unless you count Taco Bell, or the now-extinct chain of Chi-Chi's family restaurants). Instead, Southern Ontario has a glut of inexpensive Italian restaurants that smother every dish in mozzarella and red sauce. Here in Seattle, you'd be hard-pressed to find a veal parmesan sandwich for under $12.

Besides the food, I plan to introduce Derek to the Pacific Northwest's fine selection of microbrews, so he can go home comforted with the fact that I'm not forced to drink Budweiser (although he may be dismayed that I'm not pining for a Molson).

08:03 | Family | Comments (1)

October 5, 2006

Orphans

This is the best news I've heard all week. New 3-disc album from Tom Waits available in November.

His label Anti has generously made available some free downloads. I'm downloading them now, and so should you.

08:09 | Entertainment | Comments (0)

October 3, 2006

Hypocrite Of The Worst Kind

"It's vile. It's more sad than anything else -- to see someone with such potential throw it all down the drain."

Mark Foley, about Bill Clinton's sexual misconduct (from DailyKos)

07:51 | America , Politics , Quotes | Comments (0)