December 5th, 2002

Ahhhh, yes.

Yet another Turkey day successfully survived. *And* I even got out of Central Oregon for the occasion.

Seattle has much to offer year-round, but on this trip all good things came in three's: good art, good food, good music.

First - if you live in the Seattle area or intend to visit and appreciate good art, don't miss the current exhibit of works from Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at the Seattle Art Museum. The upcoming movie on their lives should stir interest in their art and eccentricities even more.

But what is great art without great food? I found that Buca di Beppo is not only has the best down-to-earth, home-grown italian food, but it also provides an ambience to match. The walls are adorned not with tasteful murals of the homeland - no, you'll rather find oversized black-and-white photographs of beautifully sulty women next to a humerous depiction of an elephant fondling another with his trunk, while Sophia Loren's likeness is at least once on every wall and Frank Sinatra has his very own shrine. And the good news is: you won't have to travel to Seattle to get a taste of it all. Buca di Beppo is a chain. Oh, and did I mention that the portions are HUGE, and when you order wine you get a big tumbler of it rather than a disappointingly half-full glass? Oh, yessssss...

Finally, there was the musica. Ever heard of St. Christopher and the Jet City Angels? No? Well, you haven't yet anyways. You will though. Or at least of Chris Mongillo. His talent, voice and stage presence is one of the best I've seen and heard in a long time. Go listen to the music on their website and you will understand. (In the interest of fairness I have to disclose though that Chris is the son of a friend.) Nonetheless, they're a band worth watching, and if you can try and see them at one of their live gigs.

A message to the jerk who designed their site though: Hey! Idiot! Ever heard of a browser called NETSCAPE? How about you try to learn how to design for it too, before you go out and put up crap like that. The picture on the main page is completely scrambled, your javascript doesn't work in the bio and the photos sections, and if you're unlucky, "Jet City Radio" plays the tracks simultaineously. Never mind that you forgot to actually *name* the site. You're doing the band a huge favor. Yeah, right. ::shake head::

Anyway - bad webdesign aside, this was probably the most completely enveloping experience of the senses I've had in quite a while.

Seattle rocks.