Music to My Eyes
Excited to read the new Seattle Met...especially since KEXP’s Kevin Cole is featured (“One Flight Away: Sounds of Reykjavík,” March 2013). 
Pike to Pine @piketopine via twitter.com

 

The Killing, Reanimated
Peter Sarsgaard is fantastic (“The Killing Casts Peter Sarsgaard for Season 3,” Culture Fiend, February 14, 2013). This might get me to give that show another chance. 
Alison Clancy @alisonCsays via twitter.com

 

Rites of Spring
What a cool list of events (“Top 10 Galas and Parties of Seattle Spring,” February 15, 2013)! Last year I did SIFF Opening Night and a couple of SAM Remixes. Benaroya and The Rite of Spring sound pretty good—I’ll try to check those out. Rappers W/ Cameras sounds funny.
zoe.berr.7 via seattlemet.com 

 

Prost
Woot! Finally a place to relive my Wisco boots roots (“Yes, Von Trapp’s Is Serving Boots of Beer,” Sauced, February 14, 2013). Polka bands are on Fridays and Saturdays, right? 
nicholas.r.hawley via seattlemet.com

 

Glassware for Dummies
Stuff like this is (“Would You Drink an IPA Out of This Glass?” Sauced, February 11, 2013) part of the ongoing attempt to “wineify” beer. The bottom of this is exactly like the Riedel pink Champagne “flute” that was issued a few years back to raise funds for Susan G. Komen. The design didn’t catch on for that because they were a pain in the rear for restaurants and for home dishwashers. If they wanted to design a glass for IPA, why not approach it the way serious glassware is designed: with an eye toward maximizing the virtues of the beers? A narrow mouth and a wider bottom, with a small stem for gripping, would concentrate the aromas of the hops and enhance their impact. This is a wildly overengineered design that takes into consideration none of the practical aspects of using the glass.
stephen.body via seattlemet.com

 

Batter Up
Best news of the day (“Ezell’s Express: A Fleet of Food Trucks Dedicated to That Glorious Fried Chicken,” Nosh Pit, February 22, 2013)!
Griffin Bennett @GriffinWB via twitter.com

 

¡Madre de Dios!
Excited about this prospect (“Is Seattle Getting a José Andrés–Concepted Restaurant?” Nosh Pit, February 19, 2013)! Minibar in Seattle, please? 
Taylor Fleming @taylorgfleming via twitter.com

 

Gone Fishin’
I devoured that list (“Best Fishes!” February 2013). Tried the Brooklyn because of it and it’s now one of my new fave spots. Thanks, Seattle Met!
Whitney Strong @strongwhit via twitter.com

 

Food Service with Benefits
Speaking for the owners of Grand Central Bakery, we wholeheartedly agree with the assessment of some Seattle restaurateurs, that paid sick leave amounts to a relatively small thing for an employer translating to a relatively huge thing for a sick employee (“How Has Paid Sick Leave Changed Your Restaurant Experience?,” Nosh Pit, February 11, 2013). For more than 20 years, we have provided paid sick days to our employees (along with health and dental insurance and vacation time). The benefits are many—high morale, healthier employees and customers, low employee turnover. Most significantly it creates a culture of trust. Employees find ways to improve the operations in that restaurant, they are willing to work harder during crunch times, and they conduct themselves in the workplace with honesty and integrity. And we venture to guess that employee theft and giving out free product is a much bigger threat to the financial health of a restaurant than the impact of paid sick leave. As Matt Dillon says, you build it into the cost of running a restaurant. And we do so happily, because it’s the right thing to do. 
Leslie Cole, Grand Central Bakery communications manager, via seattlemet.com

 

The Price of Dog Bites
“Consider the Pit Bull,” (February 2013) omits the most important aspect regarding the ownership of pit bulls. Whenever I am interviewed about the attack I sustained in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1982, 

I always explain the most traumatizing part: finding out that there was no way to collect any money for my medical bills. (Gardner also neglected to mention how the owner presented himself at the dangerous dog hearing, at one point, saying, “Well if I didn’t pull the dog off you, he’d still be on you today!”) 

The clauses of my proposed Protection of People and Animals Act would mandate that every owner of a fighting breed dog must have a $250,000 insurance policy to cover dog maulings. Since pit bulls were selectively bred to fight and frequently target the victim’s face and neck, reconstructive and plastic surgery can run up to $1 million, plus lost wages. 

The fact is, the majority of pit bull victims are other dogs. Some of the biggest supporters of fdafb.org (Families and Dogs Against Fighting Breeds) and the pro-leash movement are in fact owners whose dogs have been attacked and who have been stuck with vet bills or, worse, burial fees.

Perhaps the biggest omission concerned the case of the infant who lost his genitals to his parents’ pit bull. The massive medical bills are all paid by the taxpayers of Nebraska, since the victim will need testosterone shots for the rest of his life. 
Ellen Taft, fdafb.org, Seattle

 

Dreamers
Great to see a sensible bill like the DREAM Act get bipartisan support in the House (“Morning Jolt: Tom Is a No Show, DREAMERS Make a Big Show, and Background Checks at Gun Shows,” PubliCola, February 19, 2013). That’s an impressive and genuine statement by state representative Bruce Chandler. Hopefully the senate stands behind its claim to being bipartisan as well.
Wade Graham via seattlemet.com

 

Bike Tax Case Study 
We had a bike tax in Esquimalt (a suburb of Victoria and home to Canada’s Pacific fleet) way back in the late ’40s (“House Transportation Leaders Propose $10 Billion Funding Package,” PubliCola, February 20, 2013). All bike serial numbers were registered with the local police department. Great for stolen bike recovery programs! Victoria followed suit soon after. It worked. 
Esquimalt via seattlemet.com

 

Funds for Transportation
Nationwide, about half the money for transportation comes from general taxes, not gas taxes and license fees and other car-related taxes (“House Transportation Leaders Propose $10 Billion Funding Package,” PubliCola, February 20, 2013). In Washington, it’s actually two-thirds general taxes, one-third gas taxes.

Plus, bicyclists pay the same car tabs, even if they drive less often. 
Moagie via seattlemet.com

Equal Opportunity Clothier
This is an exciting collab (“H&M x Brick Lane Bikes,” Shop Talk, February 19, 2013), but what about the ladies?! We need stylish bikewear, too. 
suzanne asprea @sasprea via twitter.com

---

Correction
In “The Brothers Whittaker” (August 2012), we misspelled Tricouni nails as “Triconi.” 

Published: April 2013