Crocodile Cafe to reopen in early 2009

The Seattle Times: Sept. 9, 2008

The Croc lives!

"Right now it still looks like it looked last time you or anyone else was in it," says Kerri Harrop, spokeswoman for the Crocodile Café, Seattle's best and most-famous rock club. The Croc's "abrupt close last year left a lot of people reeling," Harrop says, and the plan is to reopen in "late January/early February."

What's going on between now and then?

Construction." When that's done, "I anticipate capacity will be around the 400 mark."

There will be two businesses in the building and two entrances. According to Harrop, Via Tribunali will sell pizza "where the back bar was," and that the wall separating the concert area from the cafe area will be knocked out. She won't specify exactly how the Crocodile will bleed into Via Tribunali.

Last month, The Seattle Times reported that area bar owner Marcus Charles had obtained the Croc's liquor license (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2008091508_webcroc05.html). Says Harrop, "Marcus Charles has assembled a good group of investors that includes Susan Silver, Peggy Curtis, and Sean Kinney."

As for who will book the music, Harrop confirms no more than "a human being."

Former Croc and current Chop Suey booker Pete Greenberg said he's not been asked to book the club, and Steven Severin, who books and runs Neumo's, said, "you can write that I don't know what the hell is going on."

Perhaps most important, "Jim Anderson will still be running the sound," says Harrop. In the past, he made the Croc Seattle's best-sounding rock venue. "All efforts are being made to make sure the room sounds and looks perfect," says Harrop.

There are new Croc photos online, on artist David Choe's Flickr profile, here — http://www.flickr.com/photos/invisiblehour/page6.

Andrew Matson, staff reporter
The Seattle Times: Sept. 9, 2008 (fourth article in the link)

Pan African Market - a dash of west Africa in Pike's Place

Sometimes you miss what's right in front of you, just as I have for so long. The punishment - living in the Seattle for years, going to the Pike Place Market, let's see...at least 52 times a year AND missing out on some fine West African delicacy from Pan African Market on 1st and Pike. It's a great place to sit outside on a sunny day and enjoy a plate of Beef Tibs, which is a delicious tender cut of beef sauteed with onions and peppers or my favorite - the spicy lamb stew - small tender pieces of (carnivorous) heaven which they often run out of and the vegetable sampler - a succulent medley of six different vegetables, almost forming the color of a rainbow and includes cabbage, spinach, peas, carrots, and more. Everything comes with their store made, really soft Injera - a delicacy from west Africa in the form of a flat bread.

Now if you want to go all out - don't be shy to order everything in one plate, roll up your sleeves and jump in with you hands - you won't regret it.

Death Magnetic...first impression

I'd say the three singles that were floating around were a pretty good sign of how this album ended up sounding like. OK, maybe I should listen to the whole thing a couple more times before jumping to any conclusions......too late...so here goes...Lars is definitely back with his double stroke beats and the crushing rolls. I'd even say the solos from Kirk are also "Metallica" material, and actually his love for the phrygian scale is still dominant. The riffs from James kick ass - some are actually faster and more intelligent than ever before. His vocal though, is a little disappointing. I don't know man...he's still somewhat stuck in the nineties, sounding like I disappear and fuel.The riffs in the End of the Line and the Day that Never Comes are so much like those in creeping death and master and actually, I felt subtle touches of seek and destroy in the the end's chorus punch. I could still hear the load/re-load grunges coming out from time to time like in the beginning of the Day. But hey...that doesn't sound bad. And Trujillo...he brought back fingerstyle, just like Cliff and unlike Jason - which sounds awesome in Cyanide and All Nightmare Long, which btw I think has the fastest playing riff in recent times. I also love the fact that they're back with the interludes with riffs mixed with solos coming in and out. Speaking about things coming back...all hail Suicide - which is an awesome instrumental. Another comeback - the Unforgive III, however, was unncessary and doesn't go with the rest of the album at all. Getting rid of Bob Rock was definitely a great first move on the road to salvation...hell yea! And Rick Rubin did an awesome job...but you know what - they should give production another shot...after all, the best songs out of Metallica are those that they produced themselves.But hey, this is definitely an album that I'll be banging my head to for a long time to come…

Trying out the new Windows Live Writer

Windows Live has this new app out, one that'll help publish rich contents to blogs and this is my first try! Actually, I've never tried any of these things, always used the web versions. So here goes...

Not bad, says my first impression - it's lightweight, allows connecting to all sortsa sites, provides the essential editing functionality...whoa, including taking a screen shot and pasting right into the journal...not bad, not bad. There's quite a few image formatting options such as color pop and watermark - something that you don't get in most similar apps.

Spell checker is up to the mark, but I wish it had a dictionary and thesaurus - even if it just connected up to some web service.

Now it's time to actually preview and publish it - let's see if it as WYSIWYG and whether what I see is what I get...

...preview is pretty nice, except it's not showing the blog break, maybe because it's still unpublished...

...oh I need to label this...here goes...not bad, it pulled all the labels I had in the site. Oh HOLD ON...this is bad, really bad - it misspelled a few of my labels - missing just the last letter!!! For a second I thought I myself misspelled it. But no...it's not me - it's a BUG!!!

...moving on and publishing...

...and it's posted! NICE!!! Hey and what do you know...it got me writing a real blog after six l o n g months.

Every sha la la la...

I know what you're thinking...the CARPENTERS!!! Yes, but no, it's not about the duo today. Rather, sitting inside a restaurant and listening to the melody in piano reminded me of a old life insurance ad that used to air in Bangladesh TV around two decades ago that used the tune, and I couldn't help but think...

WHO IN THE HELL CAME UP WITH THAT NAME?

It doesn't really insure your life, it just provides a monetary consolation to your loved ones. It should rather be called "In cases my spouse/parent/caregiver/owner (think cats)/lonely uncle die" insurance.

Dr. Yunus in Microsoft

Dr. Yunus in Microsoft - what a great speech! He had the entire audience captivated. Many of us were fortunate to hear him from the front row.

From the Seattle Times:

Inside a private conference room at Microsoft, top executives leaned around the table, eyes and ears fixed on a small, soft-spoken visitor from Bangladesh. He might not be recognized on the street, but to people dreaming up the next great idea to change the world, Muhammad Yunus is a rock star.

One year after he won the Nobel Peace Prize, Yunus came to the Seattle area Tuesday to share his vision for uniting technology and business with a social mission.

The man who turned the concept of banking on its head said poverty stems from flawed concepts, such as the idea that only people with money should be able to borrow more of it.
Yunus, 67, developed the system of microcredit, helping poor people improve their standard of living by using tiny loans to start businesses. Since giving out its first loans in 1983, the Grameen Bank he founded has reached more than 7 million borrowers who would have no access to credit through traditional banks. About 97 percent of them are women.

"The world runs with money," he said. "You need a dollar to catch a dollar, and no one gives you the first dollar."

Yunus said he also wants to change the notion that business exists to maximize profits.

"I think that's a shame because in this theory, they have actually insulted human beings," he said. "Money-making is a very important part of human beings, but human beings are much bigger than that."

Yunus advocated linking business and philanthropy in a new model called "social business."

More from the Seattle Times...

Deshantori (The Migrant)

Deshantori (The Migrant) is a film directed and produced by a few young promising film makers from Bangladesh, based now in the US. This 69 min. short film is about a journey made by so many of us but we often forget the story behind it and how the path for many others has been less fortunate. Check out the movie, and support it if you can.

Good to see that Mridul is as concerned about our motherland as the day I met him in high school and still as willing and resourceful to make a difference!

Stanford robot passes driving test

Junior, Stanford's robot Volkswagen, passed its basic driver's test on Thursday. Driving just 15 miles per hour, Junior passed with flying colors in three of four "missions" on a parking-lot course, including a three-point U-turn and successful navigation of a four-way stop with human-driver cars. But it got stuck on a course passing a car.

When robot drivers become a reality in the streets...I definitely won't be missing the cell phone chatter or careless coffee drivers on the way to work....three cheers for technology...

Read the story in cnet...

Jason Bourne is back...

Fantasia (Epilogue)

Pick a day and write a note
Bleed it out below a clef
The songs written stay afloat
What happens tomorrow, dream today

It creeps on you, sliding away
Rocks the ridges of Monte Rosa
Darkness falls where I lay
With the sand in hand, I'm safe

She was there, for the winter
In the perfect fifth, so afar
The foggy road that leads to her
Harmonies, yet so somber

She's a child, if you think
Strike a tone and she’ll be born.

are you on web 2.0?

...this video pretty much sums it up - what the new www is looking like. Web 2.0 is here ladies and gentleman and what better way to show the success of "separation of content and format" but through YouTube. I can hardly hold my excitement thinking about how this simple concept called xml has enabled us...proof of which I see when watching the video - distributed by an extensible content provider, reading about it in a friend's blog, which i noticed in an RSS feed about this mesmerizing concept that Tim O'Reilly labeled appropriately around two years ago....enjoy...

winters mist

interaktion.info

The tigers of cricket have emerged!

...or should we call them the tiger cubs? All but two players are between 17 (yes that's one and seven - seventeen!) and 24 and not only they play GREAT cricket but they're cool and composed and calculative. The Bangladesh Cricket squad did some serious a** kicking in their game against India in the World Cup...and managed to pull a 5 wicket win.

Their balling was awesome, their batting was smashing and their fielding was spec-ta-cular but the best part was how matured their game was. They did not break a sweat even though they knew that that cricket giant India has been deemed as one of the possible champions this time.

But Bashar and the boys came and managed to say “adios” to all the Indian batsmen in 191 runs, with some superior balling by Mashrafee, Russell, Razzak and Rafique. In the outfield, not a stoppable or catchable ball went by passed them.

Then the batting side also outperformed their counterparts. With opener Tamim smashing away to get a 51, and Musfique, promoted from fourth to the first down to prove that he may just have it in him to be the next captain, with a stunning 56 and lasting all the way to the end without getting out. Sakib also scored 53, to show that the squad doesn’t put on a one man show.

We were SO ecstatic and pumped up about the win that we decided to bring out our bats and pads ahead of time and played a quick round of cricket ourselves, in the cold Seattle rain! I lost my voice while watching the Tigers beat the c*** out of the Indians and sneezing away after our adventure in the rain…and still couldn’t stop jumping up and down in celebration!

Another highlight of the celebration was when a Pakistani friend called (moments after the Pakistan loss) to congratulate me and wished that their side would play as professionally as the Bangladeshis and he’s now supporting Bangladesh for the rest of the WC. Just to think, before we got the ICC status, so many of us have grown up supporting the Imran Khans and the Wasim Akrams in world cricket, but now the tide is turning…and it’s our time!

Congrats to the young Tigers for bringing us this moment.

Visconti's Tiramisu

Tucked away in the Northern Cascades range, far away from it's alpine junction is a fascinating Bavarian village - Leavenworth. There in that magical little countryside is a fine Italian diner called Visconti's, named after the legendary rulers of Milan.... OK enough introduction...their Tiramisu is to die for!!! One of the best I've ever had...right there with Mrs. Risso's (friends mom) home made one. This creamy tiramisu just melts in your mouth, with the smooth taste of cocoa and espresso complimenting the very existence of ones taste buds.

Of course, the starters and entree were delicious too...

my Murano

In the world of automobiles, styles and performance are anything but standing still - new concepts are always emerging. I want a truck? No? But I want a SUV...hmmmm, I don't want a sedan but I want the handling, but then again, I also want a sports car?

...so...

...DUDE WHERE'S MY CAR??? ...ok ok ok...after all it's a market economy and it's all about demand and supply. So, car manufacturers then decided to take all those ingredients, shake it up in a test tube and out came...

...a crossover!

A concept that never crossed our minds when we went looking for a new car...until we parked ourselves in the local Nissan and there it was in all it's glory, looking sleek and sexy...

My Murano!!!

Black on black, AWD, 3.5 liter V6, 245 hp, Continuous Variable Transmission, 18 inch wheels, ABS, intelligent key, rear camera, 20/25 MPG, roomy and comfortable, sunroof, reliable in bad weather, great agility, performance and let's not forget the Bose sound system.

And after we got behind the wheels, there was no turning back!

So after much exchange of numbers, we went home with a SL Touring edition two days later...thanks to some GREAT customer service by the friendly folks at our neighborhood Nissan...seriously!

And seriously...we love our new car!!!

Celebrate International Mother Language Day

February 21st is International Mother Language Day.

"International Mother Language Day was proclaimed by UNESCO's General Conference in November 1999. The International Day has been observed every year since February 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue." -- un.org

The day in the news today, also see the wiki.

Birth of better days?

Finally, there is something good in the air! I was getting so sick and tired of writing how bad things are in Bangladesh. For once, we can be positive about where we are politically, with a reliable and unbiased caretaker government in place which is carefully backed by the military. Nobody denies that a state of emergency is not the most democratic solution but Bangladeshis are happy and feeling safe. The only people complaining are the corrupt politicians.

In the last weeks, two very important news have made the headlines, which may very well be the beginning of a different Bangladesh:

The first is the list of fifty corrupt politicians and businessmen, including former Ministers and Parliament Members and all with ties to one political party or the other. Many of whom have already been taken into custody and all of them have been asked to provide explanation of their wealth within the next 72 hours, otherwise the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will temporarily confiscate or freeze their assets and properties. The ACC took the action as part of its action to root out corruption under the amended Emergency Power Ordinance, 2007. Delowar Hossain, the secretary of the ACC said more names would be published within the next few days.

At the same time, Dr Yunus announced his interest in coming into politics and forming a new political party. Of course it'll be hard, even for a Nobel peace prize winner to have a one man show in a parliamentary democracy but I believe he'll apply his straights as an economist and philanthropist and rationally form a plan for introducing his new party. Don't be too surprised if he comes in with a team of respected countrymen with views to go beyond the corruption today and make true improvements.

Pessimists obviously are not holding their breath but I'd say the worst that can happen is the corrupted politicians will realize that their day of reckoning IS possible, even if they get away this time and we may just have a third political presence, that has been born from peace, logical thinking and politics of unity, to run our state.

May the slogans created by the two leading parties finally come true! Something that they have ignored for a long time now....of course, why lead the country to be a winner when you can exploit it for personal wealth?

So I say "Bangladesh Jindabad" and I say "Joy Bangla"...things are looking better!

Cypress Rays...

paul kozal @ susan spiritus gallery

Tahmima Anam with A Golden Age

Tahmima Anam, daughter of Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam is introducing her literary debut - “A Golden Age”, which is coming out in March. Although some are referring her as the next Monica Ali, but this is not a story of life as an immigrant, but rather about our war of independence. I'm also hoping she'll deliver better because of her writing background and growing up around renowned journalists and politicians. Already many critics, who had a preview of the book have good things to say about her. Few snapshots about her work are as below...

"Great writing may be in the blood, but having a window seat on remarkable historical events can help to shape an author. A major new talent, Tahmima Anam, has the advantage of coming from a line of gifted Bangladeshi writers and thinkers, yet it is the damaging experience her family shared with thousands of others living around them that is to see her launched in Britain." -- The Observer

"Set against the backdrop of the Bangladesh War of Independence, A Golden Age is a story of passion and revolution, of hope, faith and unexpected heroism. In the chaos of this era, everyone – from student protesters to the country`s leaders, from rickshaw-wallahs to the army`s soldiers – must make choices." -- HooderHeadline

Snowing like under an evil spell

Well that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but Seattle and the rest of the northwest is a bit snow struck this winter. This is the fifth cycle of snow in the Puget Sound, where usually it stops at two. Looking out through the window every morning, seems more like looking past the wardrobe and Narnia greeting on the other side. Reality of course, is a little less magical, icy roads have turned even the shortest commute into a nightmare, with many accidents in the road and some in the homes too. On top of that, many neighborhoods have lost power again and schools and work places have lost control over any scheduling.

Ahhh well...it could be worse...this could be Narnia, under the spell, frozen in eternal winter with no Lion and no saviors coming to the rescue!!!