manchester united

manchester united, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

A group of Manchester United fans has been celebrating their Champions League win all day down at Kurrent on Pine. They've been shouting, tooting horns and singing at the top of their lungs all day (I think they started around 9AM).

It's the first time I've ever seen Kurrent full and spilling out onto the street.

Good times.

hot out

fisher, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

The news didn't lie, it was 90 today. we played in the fountain at Fisher Plaza, what did you do to get out of the heat?

Capitol Hill's Garry Oak is in Danger

Belmont Place, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

There's been a bit of talk about the Seattle Garry Oak (Quercus Garryana) at Oak Manor lately, and I live across the street from it, so I thought I'd pass on a bit of information that I've recently picked up.

First, it's not actually part of Oak Manor. It and the .02 acres that it stands on are a City of Seattle pocket park called Belmont Place. We all own it, which is awesome, because we all get to enjoy it (yes, we can picnic under it if we feel like it), but unfortunately, that brings me to the second bit of news.

It is sick. We had an arborist come by to look at one of our trees, and he was of the opinion that the tree is in danger. Its leaves haven't been filling out as much as they used to, and it is very probable that is is afflicted by a fungus (in Seattle? Really?). The message has been passed to the Parks Department, and it sounds like they need to run some tests to find out what it is, and possible treatments they can use to save it.

I'm sure the Seattle Parks Department realizes how important this tree is both to the neighborhood and the city (it's a fairly rare tree, and native to the region), but I'd hate to see the ball get dropped on this one. A few years back we lost the tree in Thomas Street Park to disease, and although they've replanted, it'll be decades before there's shade there. I'm not advocating letter-bombing the parks department or anything, but it might be a good idea to let them know you're concerned too.

olive tree bistro?

olive tree bistro?, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

Wow. After more than a year of sitting empty, with a "Business Opportunity" sign, Coco La Ti Da's empty space at the Loveless looks like it's finally getting filled. Olive Tree Bistro LLC has put in their application for a liquor license.

It looks like the applicants (thanks for the pointer seadevi!) are Chef Philippe Thomelin and his wife Toni, who run Olive Tree Catering. Philippe also fills in time to time at Rovers and Voila Bistro. Just by digging through the Olive Tree Catering site, I would assume the cuisine will be spanish inspired, french, and spendy. Maybe not a weekly standby, but if they last longer than coco, it might be a nice place for special occasions. Certainly cut down on the cab fare ;)

The Chupa?

the chupa?, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

On the way into work the other day, I noticed a Liquor License Application on 129 Belmont Ave E. It looks like "The Chupa" is coming soon. Anyone have an inside scoop?

Where's the 800 block?

700, originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

Just north of the 700 block on Boylston Avenue East, addresses start at 900. A while ago, a woman in a car stopped and asked me directions to an 800 address. I was stumped, and I've wondered about it ever since. I've asked a few neighbors, but of course, nobody knows why it doesn't exist. I figure it's easy to find out the history of something that exists, but where do you go when you're trying to find out the non-existence of something?

Just what is Chelada anyway?

srsly... chill., originally uploaded by Matt Westervelt.

OK. this is freaking me out. A while back, I was in the QFC and saw Chelada!. This weekend, there's another one. Except it's different. Completely different. First was Clamato and Budweiser.. Now it's Miller and Lime.. I can actually see adding lime to beer, I do it to get the skunk out of Corona, and it's pretty much accepted universally in mexican-beer-land. The slightest chance of clamato pretty much insures that I'll never ever say "Pick me up a Chelada at the QFC".

Don't marketing people look at their competition's campaigns? What the hell?