Monthly Archives: January 2009

The Seattle Bike Messenger

Posted on January 31, 2009 by Hoag

When I got my first job as a bike messenger in Seattle, people were already talking about the end of the industry. That was in 1994, and the fax machine was supposed to be the reason that businesses would no … Continue reading →

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The Cave Singers

Posted on January 29, 2009 by Hoag

I had an amazing moment of completeness at the Cave Singers show last night. The crowd was packed onto the floor at Neumo’s for the sold-out show, and we all smiled up to Pete on the stage, as he sang … Continue reading →

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The Demise of Print Journalism: It’s About Time

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Hoag

Declining ad revenue and dwindling circulation has put newspapers like the Seattle PI and even the New York Times in financial jeopardy, and commentators in the news are wailing about the demise of print journalism. With all of the blogs … Continue reading →

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Sexy Vegetable Ad Banned from Superbowl

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Hoag

I’m not sure what’s weirder: PETA’s lame attempt at connecting sex and vegetables, or the fact that a NBC spokesperson said that the ad ”depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards.” Regardless, I love asparagus. ‘Veggie Love’: PETA’s Banned Super … Continue reading →

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Skate or Die in Kabul: Skateistan

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Hoag

When I was twelve years old, skateboarding alone provided solace to what I thought was a tortured, miserable existence. I was a dirt-poor new kid at an affluent suburban middle school in Oregon, my parents had just gotten divorced, and … Continue reading →

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The Tamil Tigers

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Hoag

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, have been fighting a civil war in Sri Lanka for 25 years, and as of today are about to be finally defeated by the Sri Lankan military. The leader of the tigers, Velupillai … Continue reading →

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Konstantina Kuneva and the Anarchists

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Hoag

While we were busy swilling Pabst and watching Who Wants to Marry a Real Top Chef House Wife of Orange County, anarchists and labor activists are smashing cops in Athens. I had thought the civil unrest from the December riots … Continue reading →

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From School to Jail

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Hoag

As Seattle’s public school programs are getting cut or relocated, the city’s plans to build a new municipal jail continue. Real Change News executive director Timothy Harris wrote a scathing criticism in this week’s newspaper, and called the idea “a … Continue reading →

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Russian Human Rights Lawyer Assassinated

Posted on January 21, 2009 by Hoag

Ever since I read Leo Tolstoy’s “Hadji Murat“, about a 19th century Chechen folk hero’s last stand against Russian imperial troops, I’ve had a weird interest in the Chechen cause. Isolated by geography, culture and religion, the people of Chechnya … Continue reading →

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Super Trike

Posted on January 18, 2009 by Hoag

This is a photo my Dad sent me from the Philippines. Amazing. This motorbike and side car are draped with every conceivable kind of item; check out the cluster of four horns on the front, the multiple mud flaps hanging … Continue reading →

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