in a perfect world of yancies: October 2008

31 October 2008

Toy-sharing; and an Endorsement from Across the Pond

Okay, here's a clip of that "I shared my toys" line, from the Daily Show:

Nice line about the Bradley effect too, no?

Speaking of, there was an interesting column in yesterday's Times about implicit bias, along with links to some tests you can try out.

Emily & I came out okay on the Obama/McCain test . . . it's not the most fun 10 minutes ever, but if you do take any of them, feel free to share your results, reader.


Finally, the Economist--a relatively conservative and immensely readable British paper--has followed my lead and "wholeheartedly" endorsed Senator Obama.

Interesting recounting of the issues at stake; worth reading. But just in case, here's the conclusion:

. . . this cannot be another election where the choice is based merely on fear. In terms of painting a brighter future for America and the world, Mr Obama has produced the more compelling and detailed portrait. He has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent. Whether he can fulfil his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr Obama deserves the presidency.

29 October 2008

American Stories, American Solutions

Did you get rid of your television like we did, or forget to turn on any of the major networks? Are you sorry that you missed tonight's half-hour Obama special?

Don't worry: you can watch it right here on my blog!


Only six days to go!

Any election night plans, reader? We're trying to decide what to do: it seems like we ought to be out somewhere for the big event, but how to choose? Just about every venue around here is hosting a party . . . local celebrity and hero of Yancies everywhere Dan Savage will be downtown at the Showbox, but then again it might be fun to hang out somewhere on Capitol Hill, like Neumos or even the Northwest Film Forum.

You Chicago readers get to decide if Grant Park is worth the trouble (my answer: Yes It Is).

Please vote!




What's that? Things not related to the election? Hmm . . .

Oh, Emily did make this terrifically cute corn bread in our little cast iron skillet:

Good looking and oh so delicious!


Don't forget to vote!

28 October 2008

What is Up, Anyway?

Bit of politics and fun, courtesy of a blast from the end of the last century:


Forgetting the original? Try here.


(Thanks to Kate Phillips at the Times for blogging about this video.)

27 October 2008

Around the House


Look: our lily is blooming for the first time since we've been here! Hooray!

(Last time? try this post)


And what do I wear to run now that it's a little chilly out?

Oh yeah. (If only that rain would come like everyone promised, I could finally put those sunglasses away for the season . . . )


What else? Oh, voted for Obama!

Yay for voting!

Please do the same, dear reader!


[Updated 07:53]
If you do plan to vote (please vote!), and you're willing to make a promise to the band Wilco, you can download a lovely mp3 of them performing Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" together with (Seattle's own) the Fleet Foxes. (Recorded live in Bend, OR.)



Want to watch a video of the song?

(Recorded in Spokane, WA.)

Please vote!


And I'm not sure if you've been watching Mad Men, but this bit from SNL was pretty funny:



Cheers! Happy week and all that!

23 October 2008

Speaking of Pretty Pictures

Take a look at this screen-grab:

In case you're having trouble reading it, Mark Halperin at Time says that the race is close in Montana, and that in a recent poll Obama's ahead!

Can that possibly be right? Who knows, but I like it!

20 October 2008

Colors of Change

A bad pun? Well, guess you're stuck with it, dear reader.




Please enjoy these photos from our walk through the Washington Park Arboretum on Sunday:





We weren't the only ones there with a camera . . .












That picture at the start of the post was taken in the Seattle Japanese Garden, as were these next few. What a beautiful place!


Taken through the opening of a 200 year-old lantern, a gift from our sister city, Kobe.



Hello!



Koi!














Finally, look what Emily spotted back in our neighborhood:

Also being covered by Seattle's Only Newspaper.

19 October 2008

Powell Endorsement


Worth a listen.


Hope your week's off to a great start, reader!

16 October 2008

Update: More Fall

What do those trees by the Arts & Sciences building look like today?

Ah, autumn . . .


And what did I look like as I left for work Wednesday?



And by the time I returned home?

Thanks for letting me borrow the shirt while you were in Spokane, Emily!

And way to go in that debate, Barack! I loved how he refused to attack that lady from Alaska. So classy.

Oh, and now the Times says Virginia's in the good column! Woo!

14 October 2008

Fall-icious

Maybe I'll try a post where I don't mention Obama or the election (oops--damn).

So we went for a walk in the beautiful fall air the other day.

Here's a blurry pic with some tree that you can barely tell are changing--but trust me, they looked great.

Okay, how about this shot from my office window a couple of weeks ago:



Back to this past weekend, what do you think of Emily's new haircut?

Me? Love it.

How about it front of a cute sign?

Oh yeah.
(pdf file of the sign available for downloading or viewing, if you're interested.)



Unrelated bit about music:
Couldn't get any good photo evidence, but we saw Cut Copy the other day & they were awesome. Here's a song I like:
1 Feel The Love - Cut Copy



And finally, in food news
We tried a pizza from the hot new pizza place in the neighborhood (pun intended), 'zaw.

Okay, so yes it's take-and-bake, and yes their name is dumb.

But--
A) they deliver.

B) they deliver using bicycles.

C) the pizza tastes pretty good--nice thin crust; tasty mushrooms on ours.

and
D) they also deliver local beer and wine.

They've gotten their fair share of press; for some recent write-ups, see this post on capitolhillseattle.com



And Sunday we made some lamb stew from a recipe in Sunset (thanks again for the subscription, Magen!).

We even made the broth from scratch! (Thanks again, Olsen Farms!)



Lamb, beef broth, roasted red peppers, capers, kalamata olives, parsley--yum!

10 October 2008

Have You Seen This?

I don't want to get too excited, or over-confident or anything, but have you been following the polls recently? This election might just go to the good guys!

from the Times:
Changes Shift Toward Obama in Electoral Map

Woo!

I mean, he's competitive in Indiana (!), and now North Carolina's a toss-up state?

Woo!

In the middle of all the bad news lately, at least there's still reason for--um, what's the word?

Oh, right.

Hope.

08 October 2008

Old Friends, New Pups


We had the chance to spend some time last weekend catching up with Sally, who we hadn't seen since like January '07, I think.

Was great fun, especially since she was eager to explore some hiking opportunities. We spent a few hours in the (mostly) beautiful fall weather hiking around Tiger Mountain.



And we sampled beef tongue and pig cheeks at Quinn's. Yum! (Seriously, it was delicious.)

Actually, one thing I really enjoy about entertaining out-of-town visitors (besides seeing great people, of course) is all the great restaurants we get to try. Had phở, and some great Indian food at Qazis, a nice brunch at the new Portage Bay Cafe in South Lake Union, and we had some tasty pizza and mac & cheese (for some reason, that's super popular in Seattle) at the Alibi Room, which is hard to find and seems out of the way even though you can literally see it from Pike Place Market . . .


Anyway, here are a few more photos from the hike:










Meanwhile, back east
Fran and Dave recently got a new puppy, seen here, in Dave's words, "working (worrying?) some ducks":



04 October 2008

Hey, Get Registered!

A bit on the earnest side, but it makes an important point:


You're all registered, aren't you?

Just in case, here's a link to a map with info on registration:
maps.google.com/vote.


Oh, what the heck, I'll do a little leg work for (most of) you.

In Washington? (Guess that's mostly rhetorical; whatever.) If so, you can register online (through today, Saturday the 4th) at this address:
https://wei.secstate.wa.gov/osos/secure/pages/Onlinevoterregistration.aspx


Montana (deadline 6 October or same day at elections office):
http://sos.mt.gov/elb/voter_information.asp#register


Illinois (deadline 7 October):
http://www.elections.il.gov/VotingInformation/Register.aspx


Kansas (deadline 20 October):
http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_registration.html

02 October 2008

Some Happy Hours

My favorite neighborhood blog site, capitolhillseattle.com, hosted a happy hour the other day at Liberty.

Great photos from one of the bloggers, Wesa:

Meetup
Originally uploaded by ~wesa~


That's Justin on the left, the main force behind the CHS site. Across from him is a blogger who goes by "final answer."

Funny thing about her: she lived in our building for quite a while, but we never actually met her until last night (and now she lives elsewhere on the Hill. Better late than never, though. Check our her cool (and popular!) recent post about the challenges of getting to know your neighbors.)


MeetUS
Originally uploaded by ~wesa~




I also took some photos with my phone . . . they're not quite as pretty, but here you go:

MvB, of Seattlest. Love his Swearengen / Omar '08 shirt!

(Who? Al Swearengen and Omar Little. Brilliant.)






Another sure fire way to enjoy an hour
Or rather 90 minutes . . .

In any case, if you're a first or second-grader looking to have some fun and cultivate your creative side in the lovely midwestern fall, I urge you to sign up for the Kane Co (IL) Forest Preserve District's Woodland Artists program.

Instructor Magen Iwanski, formerly of the Chicago Children’s Museum, brings her expertise and enthusiasm for kids and art. Each session will incorporate observation skills, outdoor discovery, exploration, and creativity. There will be both indoor and outdoor art projects and activities. Children will create art using a variety of media, such as clay, watercolor, tempera, acrylic and more!

Sounds good to me.


Finally,
one of the best hours (well, closer to 30 minutes, I guess) of our trip last weekend was spent far from the coast, in Centralia, WA. (It's halfway between Seattle and Portland, get it?)

There we discovered (Emily discovered, to be precise, using that old Internet) La Tarasca. Wow.

Some of the best Mexican food I've had in months. The chile verde was incredible--tender pork smothered in spicy, delicious tomatillo sauce; and those fresh corn tortillas! I know it's a bit of a drive for many of you, but it is SO worth it.