The Starbucks That isn't a Starbucks

Seattle: The Emerald City. Home of Microsoft, Costco, Boeing and of course Starbucks. Today in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, a new coffee shop opened or rather re-opened. Starbucks re-branded three of their stores to give it a more small neighborhood coffee shop feel. I may have to go check it out, but according to The Stranger the coffee will be five to ten cents more per cup.

Even though I love the Top Pot Doughnuts and other sweets Starbucks has to offer, the re-branded stores will be serving something a little different. Booze. Seems like Starbucks is gonna be getting into the beer and wine business. I would think since the stores are attempting a more local appeal, they would be exclusively serving local breweries and wineries. It does not appear so.

That's okay. I think it's worth a look-see. I know I'm a Starbucks snob; I gotta have my Venti Soy No Water No Foam Chai Tea Latte, but I'm always willing to try new stuff. Even though the new stuff is just the old stuff with a new name and look.


Check it out 15th Ave Coffee and Tea

mmm... ice cream. mmm... gelato.

If you are looking to stay healthy but still want some ice cream, here are a few tips to help you decide what to get:

• Select your cone carefully. Cake cones have 35 calories, sugar cones, 50 calories, and a waffle cone 110-160. Adding a chocolate dip to your cone adds a minimum of 120 calories and 8 grams of fat.

• Not all mix-ins are created equally. If you choose fruit or nuts, you're adding fiber and other nutrients; with candy and cookie dough toppings, you're adding calories and fat.

• Think light. Opt for sorbet, which is fat-free, or frozen yogurt or light ice cream. If sugar-free is an option, give that a try. Eating the lighter option from a cup, not a cone, saves more calories.

• If you must have a sauce, forget the hot fudge and ask for chocolate syrup, which has half the calories.

-Seattle PI

Or you can go all out and go for gelato in Costco. A buck fifty gets you three scoops in a waffle cone. YUM! Here's the catch: only two warehouse have it right now: Woodinville, WA and San Diego, CA (Morena Blvd). Hopefully more warehouses will have them soon.

They Might be Giant Tiny Toons.

One of my fondest memories of discovering a band was when I was watching Tiny Toon Adventures. Every once in a while the show did their own take on music videos. I recall one bit was done using Aretha Franklin's Respect. It, like all things Tiny Toons, was entertaining.

I forgot which I heard first, but both Particle Man and Istanbul (Not Constantinople) by They Might be Giants were very well interpreted by Tiny Toons. I just remember it being upbeat, catchy and intellectual with just a touch of smarmy. I like smarmy; it's the hint of a smile person has when they are being mischevious.

I didn't know that an actually band had recorded these songs, but when I did learn, I had to find their other stuff. Of course, I learned later that Istanbul (Not Constantinople) is a cover, but I like the TMBG version better anyway. I felt most of their songs were allegorical even before I knew what that was. Thank you Tiny Toons for introducing me to a band that elevates my geek-cred.

Tiny Toons - Particle Man


Tiny Toons - Istanbul



By the way, Sid Meier's Civilization obviously knew the song as well.

Quoth the Ducky, "Devil Ducky"

Above is the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe watermarked with Devil Ducky in the Background and instead of the Raven it's the Ducky. Very cool that coworker made this. It is well known that cats are our overlords, but I think Devil Ducky is usurping that power at least for me and those near me.

DEVIL DUCKY IS ALL POWERFUL!

Why I like The Ting Tings.

On their full-length debut, the Ting Tings craft peppy New Wave that's relentlessly catchy: "That's Not My Name" is a Toni Basil-style chant-along fueled by a punk-funk groove, "Be the One" sounds like Blondie, and "We Started Nothing" dresses up a ripping break beat in sumptuous soul horns. The Ting Tings toss in enough untreated guitars, grrrl-power lyrics and subsonic Moog blurts to give We Started Nothing a certain edginess. But it's just a front: An album that's as joyful as anything by Gwen Stefani or Kylie Minogue doesn't need indie cred.

-Michael Endelman on Rolling Stone.com

Among all those buzz words about what the band sounds like and what kind of music they play, the heart of the article is saying, The Ting Tings We Started Nothing is an album you should get. The album is reminiscent of some of our beloved 80s bands and yeah it has a punk girl feel to it. Oddly enough, I'm all about the punk-girl types. If I hear one I kinda gravitate. The video to "Shut Up and Let Me Go" is as fun as the song sounds, despite it being a song about breaking up with their old record label.

Starting September 15, The Ting Tings will be on tour with Pink, another artist i enjoy (What is up with female music artists for me lately). This will be the US leg of Pink's tour and looky here, the tour is starting in Seattle!

It's good to live in Seattle...sometimes.

I'm not old! I'm not! I'm not!! I'm not!!!

I was listening to the radio the other day and the DJ announced a song as a flashback from 2001. I actually threw a hissy-fit in the car. (Yes, I do have one of those.) There really has to be a certain amount of years before you call a song a "flashback" or "old school". Or "showcase" a "featured artist" on a "resurrection" or "remember the (insert decade here)" hour or weekend.

I say give a song 10 years before you tag it as old. I understand that after so long a song becomes nostalgic. There are those who were barely aware of their existence when a song came around. There are girls now that were not even born when No Doubt came out with "I'm Just a Girl" but I am pretty sure Gwen Stefani is one of those girls idols.

I know it is now 2009 and 2001 seems so far away (8 years, wow), but honestly the dates are still in the same decade right now. Come back to me in 2011 about a song in 2001 then I will be nostalgic.


Now get off my lawn you little rapscallions!