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Uncles - part III

Anthony and I are uncles for the third time! Our new niece was born yesterday at 4:30 in the morning. Her name is Jalyn Giovanna.

Hedwig

Last night, Anthony and I went to see Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Neumos. It was a great show! It took Hedwig a couple songs to get into it, but once the band got on, the show was great! The only bad thing about the show was a few stupid guys who heckled… I think they didn’t realize what they show is about.

After the show, Anthony and I had an interesting conversation about Capital Hill. The audience was a great example of what CH is becoming. We went to a gay themed show, yet gays were not the majority. It was a mix of straight and gays, but most definitely mostly straight people. The straight crowd included a mix of yuppy people who seemed out of place (but tried REALLY hard to fit in) and obnoxious frat-boys. Slowly, the gay ghetto is turning into over-priced condos that are replacing the artists, gays, and odd-ducklings that made CH such a fun place. Once it is so expensive that none of the cool people live there, what will be the draw?

NO!!!!!

A developer just bought a large chunk of land in Columbia City - one of Seattle’s coolest little neighborhoods. While I normally wouldn’t be very upset about this, I am VERY troubled by a statement the developer made in the Seattle PI. He wants Columbia City to be the next Fremont. If that means that the cool, local feeling goes away and in comes a yuppy, corporate feel, then I am TOTALLY against this. Fremont is such a joke in Seattle… all of the locally owned businesses have given way to frat-infested clubs and chain-ish restaurants.

I feel like I need to put a “Save Columbia City” bumper sticker on our car.

Columbia

Columbia just passed legislation to grant same-sex couples many of the rights of marriage - which their president has agreed to sign. It is interesting to me that in a country dominated by the Catholic church and is supposedly ruled by a machismo sentiment is still more progressive than us.

But, hey… Dallas might elect a gay mayor.

Just my luck…

So… in the past year, I have had several friends who have had to take medication - for one reason or another. In all cases, their medications caused them to lose significant amounts of weight.

Today, I went to see an ear, nose, and throat doctor because of a sore throat that was previously undiagnosable at UW’s Hall Health. The doctor put a scope up my nose and down my throat, only to determine that he wasn’t quite sure what was wrong. So, he put my on prednisone - a steroid - to reduce inflammation of the tissue.

Which leads me to the point of this post: the side effects are extreme mood swings, inability to sleep, and potential weight gain. WEIGHT GAIN. WTF?! Life is unfair.

Volver

Anthony and I watched Volver this weekend. I loved it! It was such a good story and the actors were great. I love movies that depend on a gripping story versus special effects.

3 Years for Stolen Toilet Paper

And the worst part is that the woman’s last name is Butts.  What a shitty deal.

Live from the West Seattle Cupcake Royale

Anthony and I are enjoying our Sunday ritual. We just left the West Seattle’s Farmers Market and are now enjoying a delicious cupcake!

Yesterday was officially the last day of Spring Quarter for me at work. Our department had it’s graduation celebration before the HUGE, campus-wide ceremony. Summer is here!

The economics of Seattle’s Farmer’s Markets

Anthony and I go to the West Seattle Farmer’s Market every Sunday. It is surprisingly fun, even though we are generally just buying produce. I always assumed we were paying a little more than in the grocery store, but a story in today’s paper indicates that at least one of the markets are cheaper than the stores. Granted, the study was rather limited (only compared 2 stores that are known for being pricy against one Seattle farmers market).

I don’t know if the farmer’s markets are a better deal. Frankly, I don’t really care (which seems to be the sentiment of the people interviewed in this article). It is fun to talk with the farmers and buy produce that is generally much better than what the stores carry. In addition, what we buy tends to come from less than 100 miles away, versus thousands of miles for many of the big grocery stores.

First concert in 5 years

This Wednesday, I will be performing with the Seattle Central Jazz Orchestra at Tula’s in Seattle. I haven’t played with a group since Western. We are playing from 7 to 11PM.