Appropriate backdrop

This is pretty much how things look to me whenever I visit the Canterbury. But today was foggy for everybody on Capitol Hill. Kind of neat out there.

Here’s what the Internet sez causes our current fogginess: infrared cooling of a cloud-free, humid air mass at night can lead to fog formation – this is called “radiation fog”. Radiation fog is most common in the fall, when nights get longer, and land and water surfaces that have warmed up during the summer are still evaporating a lot of water into the atmosphere.

It’s not necessarily caused by whisky and soda.

Find unique and memorable gifts and support local indie crafters, DIY-types, and music labels at two upcoming events on the hill.

Saturday Dec 6th: Hollow Earth Radio’s Local Label Record Show
3:00 – 8:00 at Healthy Times Fun Club, free.

Crafts and ‘zines will be featured along with 20+ local record labels in this local-music-oriented DIY event. (Yes, Sub Pop will be there, but so will other worthy local labels worth checking out.) This first annual show is organized by internet-only local radio station Hollow Earth Radio and will be held at Healthy Times Fun Club, in the Pike/Pine neighborhood. I’m particularly looking forward to checking out the ‘zines and picking up some affordable, ultra-indie, and ultra-unique gifts.

Five bands will be performing during the sale. The evening continues with a four-band lineup starting at 8:00; a $5 donation is requested for the evening performances. Email healthytimesfunclub at gmail dot com for exact address, or in cases of super last minute address requests call Rebecca at (206) 422-5387.

Off the hill, check out these additional indie craft shows also happening this upcoming weekend:

Sunday, December 21st: I Heart Rummage
12:00 – 4:00 at Chop Suey, free

The I Heart Rummage sale is for procrastinators and folks who regret not buying that special something from a local crafter earlier in the month. IHR is an intermittently monthly event held at Chop Suey in the Pike/Pine neighborhood. All items are orginal and handmade (no imports) and jewelry is limited to no more than six of the 35 spots. At previous IHR events I’ve bought awesome hand-knitted wrist warmers and unique jewelry and cuffs. Prices tend toward the reasonable end of the spectrum.

(mobile post)

From SU CampusNews:
Song, candlelight and the celestial sounds of the harp all combine to make this year’s “Festival of Christmas” a special event that you will want to attend. The Seattle University Choirs will hold two performances at St. Joseph Church (18th E. and E. Aloha, on Capitol Hill): 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, and 2 p.m. at Sunday, Dec. 7.

Led by Joy Sherman, director of choral music, the program includes the “Magnificat” of Francesco Durante, Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremony of Carols,” the magnificent “Bogoroditse Djevo” of Arvo Part, and other fine Christmas music from several centuries. Ticket prices are: $30 for reserved seating; $18 for general admission; and $7 for students.

For more information, contact the SU choir concert information line at 296-5372.

In Google StreetView. Any idea what they are “discussing”?

Can’t embed here (wish I could!), so you’ll have to click:
cop and dude “discussing”

Update from jseattle: We have a solution to allow anybody to embed that we’re ready to roll out any day now. In meantime, I can do it for you. Here’s your Street View find from 12th Ave E. Looks like a meter maid is doing some lecturing!

View Larger Map

1:50 PM Friday – anyone know why all the sirens?

Of course the folks at Caffe Vita are no strangers to fine pizza — Vita owner Michael McConnell also owns Capitol Hill establishment (and Seattle’s very best pizza) Via Tribunali. And yet it’s still a wonderful surprise to discover that a much-anticipated NYC pizza restaurant will be serving Caffe Vita coffee when it opens next month. I had no idea it was the sort of coffee that could make that leap.

This marks the third time I’ve been surprised to see a Capitol Hill export pop up outside of Seattle. The Sound’s most famous exports might still be Nirvana, Microsoft, Boeing and Starbucks, but it seems like a raft of newer brands and products are also making headway. Top Pot donuts (also founded in Capitol Hill) have achieved nationwide distribution on the back of their recent Starbucks deal. Then there’s Savage Love, a column I’d been enjoying for years, unaware of its provenance until I moved — purely by coincidence — to the very same block of Capitol Hill that The Stranger calls home.

So if Seattle has a cultural center, it certainly feels like it’s up here on Capitol Hill, proud home of Seattle’s most decadent donuts, most buzz-inducing coffee, and gayest advice columnists.

The Seattle Marathon is Sunday and while the course isn’t on Capitol Hill for most of its route, it does encircle us and can make it difficult to get off the Hill or back to it. (But why would you ever leave?)

Miller Park Blog has a few tips for anybody out for a Sunday drive:

Going north on 23rd to the University District or getting to I-5 via the Roanoke onramps won’t work. Accessing I-5 via Madison, Denny-Steward-Yale (southbound) or Olive (northbound) will work.

Here’s a map of the course:

Roads will be closed early for the 7:15a start — site says all roads will be opened by 2:15p.

As far as rooting and support go, Capitol Hill is a low responsibility zone. It’s not our marathon! You’ll note that the course pretty much avoids most of the Hill proper — only the last few miles bounce along the top of the St. Mark’s region. So, if you wanna rep the Hill, stand at the C point in the map below.

That’s around the mile 23 mark in the race (mile 10 for the half-marathoners). By that point, those runners will need your support.

While you’re all planning to support local businesses this coming weekend, don’t forget about local charitable causes. While everyone suffers in an economic meltdown, the small, the local and the charitable are the ones that suffer most. While groups like the Downtown Emergency Service Center or 826 Seattle could always use your donations, they really need them now: corporate giving is drying up, local and federal budgets are tightening, and there are plenty of people who would have been happy to give three months ago who won’t be able to now.

“What other suggestions do you have for charitable giving?” you might ask. Well, I do have one more (and for disclosure purposes, yes, I’m volunteering for them). The Capitol Hill Community Council set up Unpaving Paradise as a project to fundraise money for the park-to-be at John and Summit. You may have heard of this potential urban gem, since it has been featured on CHS before.

Even if you haven’t, the pertinent point is this: it’s up to the community (that is you and I, gentle reader) to raise the $158 thousand that Parks couldn’t gather during its budget creation process. Since we the public found out about this budget shortfall shortly before the economic downturn, you can imagine that Unpaving Paradise has had a fairly slow start. However, I remain convinced that there are many people in this fine city that want to make this park happen. Our quest is to find them all.

This is where you (yes, you) can help. If you can, donate. If you think you know someone (or group) who would want to help fundraise to create an amazing local park, bug them until they do. It’s a question of networking, and that is one thing we blogonauts do best.

{For more information on John and Summit park, visit the Unpaving Paradise blog. You can also contact us at [email protected]}