Saturday was the third iteration of the Mobile Chowdown at which representatives of Seattle’s burgeoning “food cart” scene convene on one location, making it easy for folks to try a little bit o this and a little bit o that.

The first two attempts at this gathering were well-intentioned but ultimately a nightmare of awkward locations, long lines, 86’ed menu items and just general disarray. With this third try, though, the organizers managed to put together an event that felt much more cohesive and thought out. The location was accessible (lot next to Safeco Field) with ample free garage parking, lines weren’t crazy, there was a nice variety of vendors (including four that came up from Portland, the land of plenty when it comes to street food) and it felt like a real “event”, with a covered eating area and music.

I took the opportunity to sample some of the food from local street food heroes Skillet, followed up by a donut from Top Pot. The nationally recognized Korean-fusion Marination Mobile had the longest lines, but thankfully, they normally set up shop in my neighborhood, so I’d already tasted what they had to offer. If future Chowdowns are as well organized as this one, you should definitely take a look.

On Sunday, some friends and I found ourselves downtown and decided to give the new Hard Rock Cafe a try, knowing full well we probably weren’t going to be blown away. It had been years since any of us had visited a Hard Rock, and we were just curious if anything had changed since then.

The interior of the place is sharp, with dark woods, spare metal accents and of course, music memorabilia all over the place. A lot of the pieces were Seattle-specific (Heart, Jimi, Soundgarden…), which was nice to see.

Technology was also employed in some interesting ways. Every table is equipped with a “buzzer” that allows you to summon your server. There’s also the interactive museum available on LCD screens at some tables. Finally, in the bar area, there was a Microsoft Surface table, which I’ve only ever actually read about. Pretty neat.

Food wise, it was fine. It won’t knock your socks off, but I was happy with my hamburger. My friends seemed please with theirs as well. I think the consensus was 'the food is fine’, but really, if you’re going to the Hard Rock, food is only part of the equation, isn’t it?

We did manage to leverage some good rapport with the wait staff into a tour of the rest of the place. There’s a second floor event space with a nice stage, a large bar and room for 400 of your closest friends and a rooftop deck area with an amazing view of Pike Market and the Sound.

Finally, on Monday, some friends and I gorged on the fried chicken feast offered by Spring Hill over in West Seattle. Available by reservation only, this $80 meal comes with all the trimmings, including brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes and gravy and cornbread. Oh, and the equivalent of two whole chickens, crispy fried.

This meal is not for the fainthearted. You’ll need friends if you have any hope of conquering all the chicken that’s brought out. The four of us managed to finished everything, but once we were told that only two other parties had ever done that, the gauntlet was thrown and it became a challenge to finish.

This was a week of “Pops”. We’ll see how next week does.

“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

-Dr. Seuss

According to Jon Sayer’s article over at Crosscut.com, that phrase was printed out on a sheet taped to the door of the soon-to-close original Red Robin restaurant, next to the University Bridge here in Seattle. It’s a nice piece about memory and nostalgia, and ultimately what’s important, according to Sayer. His take is that when the location finally closes on March 21, it’s ok, because what it once was, it isn’t now. The local chain has evolved into a big business burger franchise with locations throughout the US and while significant for being the first, this original location has lost the thing that made it special, which is OK. Sayer’s stance is that our tendency to want to hold on to our sense of history is misplaced, because these historic locations aren’t what we remember them as anymore. Those memories are of places that no longer exist and we can let them go and move on from them.

I’m sure we all have those places in our past that we’ll always have fond memories of, those establishments that were present in many of our memories. I’m not from Seattle, but Sayer is and he writes about how Red Robin was a part of his childhood growing up in this area. He ends the article with “I'll still remember the simple pleasure of downing a tower of onion rings with my siblings in a family restaurant with crayons and kid's menus. The wooden walls may be gone, but the memories remain.”

What places have/had this impact on you? How would you feel if they were gone (if they aren’t already?)

But again I think back to Drake’s adventures in Uncharted 2 for one reason alone: my wife would come into the room and watch me while I played. She doesn’t like playing games, and likes watching them even less…but with this particular game, she wouldn’t complain or ask if we could watch something else; she would just sit and watch. This was absolutely unprecedented and has never happened with any other game I’ve played. Some games she tolerates for a while before asking that we do/watch something else, others she can barely tolerate for 30 seconds. *cough* Modern Warfare 2 *cough* But Uncharted 2 was different – it drew her in and held her interest like she was watching a good action movie. Sure, there are plenty of gunfights (which she’s not exactly a fan of), but they always took place somewhere new, somewhere interesting. The venues were constantly shifting. The dialog always new, fresh. Well acted and well written. Uncharted 2 had more in common with a feature-length film, and better, for lack of a better word, cinematography, than any game I’ve ever played. So she would sit. And watch.

God of War 3 is certain to be filled with just as many awe-inspiring vistas and cinematic wonders, but eviscerating centaurs and graphically decapitating Greek gods puts it in a different class of spectators games than Uncharted 2. I picture a group of guys huddled around the lone TV in the house, cheering their pal as he pilots Kratos around Mount Olympus…but that’s not really anything new. Heck, that was my colleague experience with gaming.

Uncharted 2 gives non-gamers a more approachable entertainment experience. Anyone can plop down on the couch, enjoy the surprisingly witty banter between the characters and watch crazy action that you’d see in the best summer popcorn flicks. There’s even entertaining dialog during some of the action set pieces. Everyone in the room is given an enjoyable experience, not just the person gripping the controller.

Very few games transcend the typical gaming experience of a single person sitting blasting away at on-screen enemies while eyes of everyone else in the room glaze over with boredom. But that seems to be changing. I’ve already mentioned God of War 3 as another game that does more to (bloodily) entertain everyone in the room. The Mass Effect series also does a fine job of creating interesting characters in interesting settings that actually say things that you want to hear. I’ve also heard that Heavy Rain also provides an experience that would cause the casual bystander to sit and watch. 

This is my great hope for gaming; games that I can play with my wife in the room that don’t put me on the receiving end of the ‘turn it off or I slap you’ look.

My favorite Bridges movie? Hands down, The Big Lebowski. Ok, so maybe playing an unemployed burned out stoner in search of some rich guy’s wife whom he happens to share a name with might not be the most challenging role. But the thing about Bridges is that whether he’s playing “The Dude,” or horse owner Charles Howard in Seabiscuit, or Country musician Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, he gives a performance that lets you believe that he is those characters and you wouldn’t be able to imagine anybody else playing the part.

So, here’s to Jeff Bridges on his well-deserved Oscar win last night.

Prior to the Olympics, hockey in the US was in a state of decline. In the 2007-2008 season, USA Hockey reported 468,202 participants nationwide and declined to 465,975 during the 2008-2009 season. Often in the US, hockey is considered the 4th major sport, and a good argument could be made that NASCAR or the Professional Golf Association could be more popular. Don’t believe me? I’d be willing to bet the majority of the nation wouldn’t have been able to name just five players in the NHL. Go ahead try it…can you name five? You wouldn’t find any other sport that can remain so ambiguous to the nation’s population. So why is there a perceived change in how Americans view this once dying sport? And how was this game able to have higher ratings than any game of the 2009 World Series or NBA Finals?

International Competition

The Olympics provide competition at a level professional sports just can’t match up to. It’s an event that allows countries to come together to prove their patriotism. In the ‘80s the US rallied together, fueled by their displeasure with Russia, to win hockey gold against the Soviets in the heart of The Cold War. To this day, most Americans still shudder hearing of a Russian gold medal. Today, America’s greatest enemy is arguably one that doesn’t claim a country. Given that Al Qaeda isn’t a recognized competitor by the International Olympic Committee it’s difficult to find an opponent the United States can rally to pull against. So, why not root against the neighbors to the north? This particular Olympics was the perfect storm for a US/Canada gold medal hockey matchup. The game was held in Canada’s back yard in a city not more than an hour from the closest US border and at an event that the United States was already dominating every other Olympic category. Not to mention, the US previously beat Canada in a seeding matchup. The interest was there, both amongst Canadians and Americans.

Broadcast

The Olympic Games were broadcast during primetime television slots. Much to the displeasure of the west coast viewers, but that’s a completely different topic. Broadcasting the events during primetime, however controversial it may have been, allowed for a much wider audience to view not only hockey, but other Olympic events as well. I didn’t even know speed skating relay races existed or that it required pushing a teammate to advance. Also, events were broadcast on a national network in high-definition. NHL games are rarely televised nationally and on even more rare occasions are they ever in HD.

Unsung Heroes

America loves the underdog. So, when the scrappy US Hockey Team was set to take on the powerful Canadians, a country that lives, breathes, eats and sleeps hockey, you could just see a love affair in the making. When US Goalkeeper Ryan Miller amazed us with his well-timed and mind-blowing saves that led to his Tournament MVP title, we became even more hopeful, some to the point of cockiness. The appeal of this US Hockey Team was that for the most part, the American people had no idea who any of these guys were. They watched and picked out their favorite players from game-to-game and experienced a feeling as if they had watched these players right grow before their very eyes, as if they were playing pee-wee hockey and the viewers were the proud parents.

Now, the Olympics are over. The love affair suspended. Will the success of the USA Hockey Team translate to the NHL? I think it will, to a degree. As I mentioned earlier, the NHL is rarely broadcast on a national level and even more, rarely on HD. If TV networks want to take advantage of newfound fans of the sport they are going to have to increase the coverage and increase the quality of the coverage.  A google search for the NHL broadcast schedule brought up zero hits from national networks and google even asked if I meant NFL Broadcast Schedule. That’s a problem for a sport trying to take advantage of it’s new-found fans.

How say you? Are you more apt to watch an NHL game because of the Olympics? Did you watch the Olympics? Can you name five players?

Earlier this month, former Washington State University Athletic Director Jim Sterk informed WSU officials he would be leaving to take the same position at San Diego State University. Ok, so what? The athletic director is leaving, I really wasn’t overly excited or disappointed about the news. More neutral than anything. 

The interesting part about this development is not that the AD bolted from the paradise that is Pullman to the hell-hole of San Diego (OK, I take that back, I probably would have done the same thing). The interesting part is the search for a new athletic director and the complete openness the Wazzu administration has had with the coaches, alumni and students of the university. Traditionally, during a search for a new coach, athletic director or any other position of importance, schools like to keep the search as far away from the public as possible. There are many reasons why an institution would do this, as frustrating as it could be.

Washington State University President Elson S. Floyd decided to break the mold with his search for a new athletic director. Since Floyd took over as President in late 2006, he has shown an openness and transparency with those interested about Washington State University. Personally, since he took over, I have received several e-mails titled, “A Special Message from President Elson S. Floyd.” The communication from the President has been a welcome change from the previous tight-lipped regime of V. Lane Rawlins.

Today, I received one of these e-mails about the search for a new athletic director from President Floyd. The following e-mail further supports the open-communication the president has with the coaches, alumni and students. Not to mention is an unheard of practice in college sports.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a person in power disclose such information about a hiring procedure with the public. It’s a testament to the type of person Floyd is and further proof that while WSU may be the smallest school in the PAC-10, they realize the importance of creating open dialogue with their fan base. I barely know anything about Bill Moos or what he did at Oregon, but just from reading the overall support given to him by coaches, administrators and fans, I can’t help but be excited the Cougs have offered him a contract. Of course, such a bold action has been made easier because of the overwhelming support from all parties. But one can’t wonder if we are beginning to see a shift in the way universities communicate with their audiences. Verdict: POP!

Seattle has more than a few places that can help you create your signature burger, but for me, the best place is The Lunchbox Laboratory. Small, unkempt and kitschy, this place has an overwhelming number of options to help you create your meat masterpiece. The shakes are great, too.

But recently, a contender for best custom burger joint opened up in Ballard: The Counter. Located in the sort of new Ballard Blocks shopping...thing, The Counter is the cleaned up presentable version of the Lunchbox. When you visit, the first thing you’ll notice (at least the first thing I noticed) is how the signage and typeface make you wonder if you’re not actually about to eat at an office supply store. Once inside, you might be taken aback by the sterile, almost hospital-like interior design of the place. Muted whites and grays dominate, with aluminum chairs. It’s very clean and most certainly antithetical to getting messy with a ridiculous custom burger.

When you enter, a nice person will hand you your menus: clipboards with a list of pre-configured burgers printed on them as well as a pencil and a pad of burger building sheets with the various components on them. This is the ideal way to dine at The Counter. If you come here and select a pre-built burger, then you’re missing the point.

The list of options available to you is extensive (but less so than at the Lunchbox) so I won’t detail them here other than to say you can choose the size of hamburger patty, the type of bun, sauces, cheese, and additions like bacon, onions, etc. On my trip, I built or sort of weird Greek burger, with bacon, feta and tsatsiki. I also got a half and half order of sweet potato fries and fried onions to share with a friend who was with me.

After taking our custom burger slips, the waiter came back less than 10 minutes later with our food, which I thought was pretty fast. This made me suspicious, but I can’t really explain why. I guess I just didn’t want to admit a burger really is “fast food”.

My burger was as I had ordered it, but the tsatsiki was on the side, which I thought was odd. It also wasn’t very good tsatsiki, so maybe they were doing me a favor.

So how was it? Well, it was a burger. It was cooked perfectly (a little pink inside). It was THE burger I built, so I guess I can’t really blame anyone but myself for not being blown away. All of the extras I requested were there, but they didn’t feel like a cohesive thing. It was just a collection of foods picked from a sheet. The experience was as sterile as the dining room I was eating in.

The sides were ok, nothing remarkable.

In the plus column, they’ve got a nice selection of local beers as well as a full bar, which is interesting but maybe a little incongruent to the idea of a “burger joint”.

Ultimately, I think The Counter is fine, but if you’re after a custom-made burger, you can do a lot better in Seattle. I probably won’t be back, but it does make me want to take another trip to the Lab…

Fizzle.

Disclaimer: In older posts I’ve proclaimed myself a hardcore non-fiction fan. I still am but last week I found myself thrust in the middle of something that was way over my head and guess what I did to cope? Read trashy teen fiction. And oooooh boy, was this stuff trashy.That’s not to say the lot of it was badly written but there were times when I had to stop reading and laugh hysterically. Belief can only be suspended so far, after all, before the lines start to snap.

These are rather irreverent reviews so if you want my serious  (read: more intelligent) take, drop me a line on Twitter or some such.

Also, I am TOTALLY providing spoilers for these books. As in, “it was Miss Scarlet in the library with the candlestick” type of spoiler. I’m warning you now just so I can disregard your angry comments later.

So without further ado…

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Unbelievable premise: A sexy, mysterious boy and a smart, vulnerable yet snarky girl get paired up together in biology class. Sparks fly. Triangles are created. Scars are revealed. Murder is attempted- several times, Uh, do I really need to warn you about a spoiler? Guess what the mysterious boy is? He’s a freaking fallen angel. I mean, look at the damn cover.

Pros: Unbelievable premise is interesting. And the cover is pretty. Patch (yeah, that’s his name- seriously), the mysterious boy aka Fallen Angel dude isn’t completely unlikeable.

Cons: Everything and everyone else. The main character, Nora, is annoying. She’s attracted to Patch because he’s kind of a jerk and makes a lot of snarky comments towards/about her- yeah, every girl’s dream, right? And the dude works as a busboy or some crap which, yeah, if I was a fallen angel with the ability to make people do what I want them to do, I’d totes get a job at the local burrito place. Not.

Also, her father was murdered and what does her mom do? Leave her alone for most of the week in a big farmhouse in BFE so she can go sell antiques upstate or something.

Conclusion: I give this four out of ten pirate swords.

The cover is pretty and would make a nice addition to your coffee table. Not gonna lie though, I’m TOTALLY getting the sequel, just to know WTF this dude’s real name is. Patch the Fallen Angel sounds too much like Puff the Magic Dragon, if you ask me.

Need and it’s sequel, Captive, by Carrie Jones

Unbelievable premise:  Pixies. Pixies that have blue skin and sharp teeth but hide it all under something called a glamour. Pixies that go to high school in a small Maine town and have nothing better to do than to harass the new girl, whose father just died and whose mother sent her to live with her grandmother because she couldn’t deal with the sad-girl faces she kept making. Why do these pixies bug the new girl? Because she’s a hippie… and a pixie princess. Who has a werewolf boyfriend (Nick) with control issues. And is friends with like a were-eagle, a psychic, a human… and whose grandmother is a were-tiger. Oh and the school nurse is a were-bear (not to be confused with a Care bear). The first book sets up the second book which sets up the as-yet-unreleased third book.

Pros: The premise makes it sound laughable- and it is, but dude, I kinda dug these two. The main character, Zara, is a tree-hugging, peace-promoting, phobia-reciting bundle of nerves but she totally worked for me. I didn’t quite like the other characters as much but the pixies weren’t a bunch of Keebler-elf copies, which is a good thing.

Cons: Dude. Pixies and were-(insert animal here).

Conclusion:  I give these books six out of ten penguin scarves.

If  you’re stuck in a bookstore and someone has a gun to your head and is forcing you to buy a book RIGHTNOW but you’ve read everything else you could ever be possibly interested in… these books aren’t a bad choice.

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, and it’s sequel/companion, Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie by Maggie Stiefvater

Unbelievable premise:  Not pixies this time but fairies who decide to harass a gifted harpist named Deirdre who has a tendency to throw up before any public performances. She meets a mysterious boy (sound familiar?) and has several encounters with nasty versions of the creatures usually found hanging out with Peter Pan who try and kill her. In Ballad, however, the point of view switches over to her best friend, James, while they're enrolled in a school for gifted musicians. He has his own encounters with fairies and other creatures of the dark.

Pros: So… these were actually good. I could re-read them both and actually (gasp) enjoy them. The characters were smart and (dare I say) likeable. The dialogue was smart and funny. The pacing was good (except Ballad dragged a little) and the prose flowed smoothly. I’d actually grown to like Deirdre and James and got a little choked up when Deirdre had to make a tough decision (best friend or boyfriend who’s been tortured for the past thousand years, whose life do I save?) at the end of Lament.

Cons: That boyfriend I talked about? The one who’d been tortured for a thousand years? Yeah, I didn’t fall in love with him. He was mysterious, sure, and not a one dimensional bad boy like Patch or Edward-Jacob hybrid like Nick but I couldn’t figure out why it was Deirdre got all moony-eyed over the dude. Maybe it was because he held her hair back when she threw up that one time? The sequel/companion book was all about James, the snarky sidekick and while his POV was much more fun to read, this book fell flat for me. It’s well written but for some reason, I wasn’t as engaged as I was in Lament.

Conclusion:  I give these books eight out of ten platform heels.

Rainy day, nothing to do, no one to hang out with? Read these books.

Deadly Little Secret, and it’s sequel, Deadly Little Lies, by Laurie Faria Stolarz

Unbelievable premise:  A boy pops out of nowhere and pulls an Edward Cullen ala Twilight, saving Camelia from… something. I think it was a bus or a car or something. I can’t remember because these books were boring and long. Anyway, he fondles her belly or something before sprinting away so she doesn’t even get this name. He pops up again at her school months later and she’s like OMG U SAVED ME while he’s all like U IZ CRAZY! The boy, Ben, has a mysterious past (which makes him an object of fear and contempt and… dumb school pranks) and he also has the power to tell if someone is in danger by touching them. For some reason though, he can’t figure out how Camelia is in danger, or if she is. Anyway, at the end of book one he runs away and in book two…. he comes back.

Also thrown in: love triangles, dead ex-girlfriends, crazy lunatic aunts, family secrets and pottery scenes taken straight out of the movie Ghost.

Pros: Uh….

Cons:  Oh where do I begin? Ben was a whiny little bitch and I wanted him to either grow some or play in traffic somewhere. Camelia was equally as annoying (“La-de-da, people are sending me creepy messages and pajamas and breaking into my room but I won’t tell my parents because I’m sure it’s nothing!”) and her two sidekicks were caricatures of eccentric high schoolers. In short- the characters weren’t likeable, the plot was convoluted and not at all mysterious and the angst meter was turned up to HIGH, making it almost a comedy.

Conclusion:  No rating needs. Just don’t bother.

So there you have it. I’ve actually read about five more books but figured this post would get too long. And if you were wondering why I bothered spending money on any of these books, rest assured I didn’t. They were all actually a Christmas present from someone who thought it would be hysterical to send me Twilight-esque novels.

Here we are again. Another Monday following another Sunday with a major pop culture event. Raise your hand if you watched the Super Bowl last night. If your hand is up, you are part of the 35.03% of Americans who set a new television-watching record.

The 2010 Super Bowl garnered 106.5 million viewers, which set a new record for most viewers for a single television program. With 500,000 more viewers, it surpassed the series finale of M*A*S*H, which had held the record since 1983, though with the increased number of television sets in homes, its actually a lower percentage.

But with 35.03% of Americans tuning in to the Super Bowl, there were roughly 51.7% of American office employees talking about the Saints' gutsy onside kick, Peyton Manning's late game interception and the incredible amount of money GoDaddy.com wasted.

With this continued interest in the sporting event and the hoopla surrounding it, it's no wonder than CBS can continue to rake in $2.5 - 3 million per 30-second spot. But is it worth it? For a major brand, is shelling out the cash for enough spots to make a splash really going to help the bottom line?

That's the question Pepsi poses as it chose to forgo Super Bowl ads this year and instead direct funding toward its Refresh Project, a crowd-sourced philanthropic endeavor to give away grants to worthy causes. And while the majority of this morning's water cooler conversations might not have included Pepsi, some did, whereas shelling out the cash for Super Bowl ads might not have made Pepsi a Twitter trending topic anyway.

What shall be interesting to watch is whether other major brands, with solid marketshare, reputation, brand recognition and loyalty choose to follow suit. If these brands pull out of the Super Bowl and opt for a more long-burning activity than this flash in the pan, that will shape the way viewers, networks and advertisers approach the game.

If major brands pull out, smaller brands and start-ups (who need an initial splash of name recognition) can get in...if they can afford it. If fewer brands can afford to buy spots, networks will have to drop the ad price, which opens up a whole new demographic of companies to the possibility of Super Bowl advertisement. But will these companies still be shelling out for production value? Will we see a decline in interest in the commercials and people return to timing their "pit stops" during commercials? Have Super Bowl ads "jumped the shark"?

What a sight, wouldn’t you agree? On this beautiful February day in Seattle we’re experiencing slightly cloudy skies with a temperature of 59 degrees. As the sun begins to set it puts the city in a nice warm glow of golden rays. It really is a nice reminder of what a great city we live in. Don’t believe me? Check out Exhibit A on the left. I literally took that picture 10 minutes ago! Just don’t ask the NFL what they think. As we approach one of the biggest weekends for football I’m always reminded that no matter how nice of a stadium we build, how great our fans are in Seattle, or how much money we throw to the NFL Super Bowl selection committee, a Super Bowl will NEVER be played in Seattle.  Forget about it…not going to happen. There’s a general guideline that cities need an average temperature above 50 degrees to host a Super Bowl in a stadium not covered by a dome.

So, while we’re enjoying the amazing February weather in Seattle, the actual site of the Super Bowl, Miami is getting  dumped on by rain. How ironic is that? Please witness Exhibit B on the right. That looks like fun, doesn’t it? By the way, how hard does it have to rain to require a poncho/umbrella combination? Miami joins New Orleans and Los Angeles as the most frequent sites for the Super Bowl.

So why? Why is there a requirement on temperature? The reason I’ve heard most often is cold weather can have a negative impact on the outcome of a game. That might be the most ridiculous argument I’ve ever heard. Divisional and Championship Playoff games are played in stadiums with average temperatures below 50 degrees and those games are every bit as good as the Super Bowl. Some say it’s because the fans deserve not to be placed in cold weather. This is a little more valid of an argument but really? Come on. NFL fans can handle a bit of the cold. They’re the same fans living in Green Bay, Chicago, Boston and New York.

It’s time for the fans to fight back! As the rule stands, the Super Bowl will never be featured in the NFL shrines that are Lambeau and Soldier Fields. Markets like New York, Boston and Seattle will never see the spectacle. Does that sound right? I say we do something about it. I’m proposing a full-on grassroots campaign where we tell the NFL to “Chill Out!” Cities will combine to hold rallies, pass-out flyers, write local politicians and team owners, all with the single goal of Super Bowl selection equality. Cities should not be judged by their temperature, but the qualification for holding a championship game. We CAN do it and the NFL should listen. We want the NFL Championship in our own backyard. Join me, in the fight for equality!