a lot of people have read articles about how that the ceo of urban outfitters is uberrepublican, their support of sweatshop labor, etc... but this article about the history of the store is much more in depth and interesting. it describes how he and his then-wife were once super liberal. they protested the vietnam war, were very anti big-business/corporations, lived out of the back of their tiny store because they couldn't afford an apartment and showered at friends' houses, gave away free clothes, etc. his wife went on to found a cafe called white dog. she ran it out of her house, made soup upstairs in her kitchen, and hosted a bunch of community activist/social justice events. she's since gone on to win a bazillion awards for ethics, giving back to the community, sustainability etc. it's too bad her former husband isn't interested in using the leverage of the urban outfitters brand for positive causes :/ i'm quite certain the apathetic hipsters would cough up an extra dollar for a shirt that could be put to good use. this whole story just reminded me of my parents and how they're both environmentalists who voted for both bushes (?!).

other linkage:
a story of a man's relationship with coffee illustrated on napkins
rjdj music application for the iphone that's superneat
a very 8-bit christmas III
cool tech/design-y gift guide. i have so much love for that font scarf.

would anyone be interested in checking out this vegetarian dim sum place with me on sunday? it looks pretty good.

podcast hotel seattle could be an interesting event... but it's the same weekend as my motorcycle driving lessons.

these colored ipod headphones are cute for people who don't need high quality headphones but don't want the telltale white headphones either (and/or just want black headphones to match their black ipod)

capitol hill seattle is a blog devoted to my neighborhood.

seattle bon vivant is another good mostly-about-food local blog.