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Monolith Appears In Seattle 306

Posted by CmdrTaco from the well-that-explains-it dept.
LordXarph writes: "AP reports that on new year's day 2001, a 6 foot tall monolith has appeared in seattle. If Monolith Software weren't based in Seattle, I would be worried." Anyone have pictures of this thing? It makes me want to hum Particle Man by They Might Be Giants. Oh wait- Wrong song.Update: 01/03 04:39 AM by H :Check out the picture that a number of people sent in.
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Monolith Appears in Seattle More

Monolith Appears in Seattle

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  • cool. whomever you were.

  • My God! (Score:3)

    by sharkey ( 16670 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:35PM (#536337)
    ......It's full of stars!

    --
  • and did anybody look inside?
  • An instrument of evolution in the birthplace of M$ and grunge music. We're doomed.
  • According to Yahoo! (the link in the article), the monolith is 9 ft tall...just nitpicking...:)
  • A link to our local paper with the picture of the thing:

    http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/WebObje ct s/SeattleTimes.woa/wa/gotoArticle?zsection_id=2684 66359&text_only=0&slug=mono02m&document_id=1342575 98
  • Make sure you plug your ears before Earthrise!

    --
  • 6 feet with a dumb look ? Must be Bill Gates...

  • Link to picture (Score:5)

    by Relim ( 120308 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:38PM (#536344)
    Here's a picture of the monolith in the Seattle Times [nwsource.com].
  • The link [nwsource.com] again. Click that for the picture.

  • There's only one because... (Score:4)

    by Akardam ( 186995 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:39PM (#536346)
    ... it's the first year of the new Millenium.

    Next year there'll be two, the next, three, the next, four, and so on.

    By the end of the Millenium, we'll have Monoliths across America, and God will reach down and start the biggest domino effect in the history of the world!

  • Re:Here's a picture (Score:4)

    by sulli ( 195030 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:39PM (#536347) Journal
    Well, here's an actual picture:

    Actual Picture [nwsource.com]

  • This is the right link:
    http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/WebObje ct s/SeattleTimes.woa/wa/gotoArticle?zsection_id=2684 66359&text_only=0&slug=mono02m&document_id=1342575 98
  • The fact a 9-foot monolith appeared in Seattle is not really the suprising thing...I am suprised we have not seen a rash of "monolith-like" objects sprouting up around the world.

    Of course maybe a higher power is trying to "encourage" Microsoft to evolve into a higher lifeform (open source of course)

  • A *six foot* tall monolith. I could pull a bigger monolith out of my butt.
  • Are the proportions one by four by nine? I hope to see it tonight and measure it.

  • CmdrTaco should have known that the dimensions would have to be 1x4x9 - how hard is it to remember 1^2 x 2^2 x 3^2 if you've seen the movie?

  • ...if it was a little larger than 6 foot.

    It's not like the size was hard to estimate in Kubrick's film...It was certainly bigger than 6 feet tall.

    And if it had a big Space Fetus...that would make me more impressed, too.

  • Here's a link that works. Monolith Story with picture [nwsource.com]

    Not as impressive as I had hoped.

  • Proportions (Score:3)

    by Bazman ( 4849 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:42PM (#536355) Journal
    But does it have the 1x4x9 proportions?

    Baz

  • And another... (Score:4)

    by Booker ( 6173 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:47PM (#536362) Homepage
    is here [yahoo.com]

    ---

  • and did anybody look inside?

    You know what's inside...

    It's full of stars!

  • SpeakEasy Cafe & the Monolith (Score:5)

    by LionKimbro ( 200000 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:50PM (#536368) Homepage

    I suspect that the folk behind the SpeakEasy cafe are behind this;

    I walked by the cafe with my girlfriend on New Years [wanting to visit the staff], and they noted that they were closed for New Years Eve and New Years. It said, "Come see us at the Monolith Party!", or something like that.

    They're crazy, interesting, and rich enough to pull off something like this. I'd say: Quite possibly (likely?) it was them..!

  • And would the proportions include the section embedded in the soil? Better uproot the whole thing to get the real answer.
  • It is a shame, however, that the aliens chose English units... not that I'm Canadian or anything...
  • The "theme song from 2001" is "Also Sprach Zarathustra", by Richard Strauss.

    Sigh.
  • They have an entire park of them. Meadowdale Playfields has 16 statues in it. I don't know if this is the same place the 2001 monolith is located, but.. A story [nwsource.com] about the park can be found here. I think it's pretty cool. If I was the mayor / town council of anywhere, I would have done something like this - except a little more permanent, with nice material. Hey - kudos to the person/thing/ that did this one! ( has anyone touched it yet?)

  • NINE feet tall... not SIX. (Score:5)

    by Speare ( 84249 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @01:54PM (#536377) Homepage Journal

    That's one short man in the photo if it's only six feet tall.

    Didn't see whether the other axes were FOUR feet by ONE foot, but it looks plausible.

    (In Clarke and Kubrick's films, as well as Clarke's books, the monoliths' measurements were in the ratio of 1 : 4 : 9, the squares of the first three positive integers, presumably as a sign that the creator was aware of the universality of mathematics as a way of communicating between evolved species.)

  • Arthur C. Clarke has a full schedule his novel's titular year. He'll rake in enough cash this year to buy a whole closet full of surongs.

    The new commercial for Ford:

    The David Bowman look-alike floats up to the monolith in his pod. SFX: breathing.

    "My God ... it's full of cars."

    Voice Over: "That's right! We're clearing out the over-stock for the 2002's!"

    full story [ridiculopathy.com]

    Ridiculopaths R us [ridiculopathy.com]

  • Didn't they find the monolith in 1999 on the moon (i assume before the moon was blown out of earth's orbit by that massive nuclear waste explosion) in the movie? apparently, someone was just too lazy to pay attention to details. I mean come on, we've know how to get stuff to the moon since the late sixties. nobody puts in any effort these days.

    ^. .^
    ( @ )

    Soylent Foods, Inc.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Seattle has one of the most progressive government programs I've ever heard: they decree that 1% of the annual budget must be spent on public art. Statues, murals, sculptures of all sorts, everywhere you go. It's really pretty cool to have real art that's not hidden away. (Even if one or two particular pieces don't tickle your fancy.)

  • It's not the feet, it's the ratio between the measurements. It could be 1 : 4 : 9 cubits or zoinkles or leagues, it doesn't matter. Those measurements would show to some other race that the makers knew MATH.
  • I can't be the real deal if its proportional dimensions aren't perfect squares(1x4x9). Anyone actually take the measurements of the thing?

    Seriously, this is pretty cool move on who ever did this(especially if it was God or ET). They obviously like A Clarke's work.
  • On January 24 Datacloud will introduce JANNA. And you'll see why 2001 won't be like '2001'.

  • You know, it's not JUST "theme from 2001" (Score:3)

    by D. Mann ( 86819 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @02:28PM (#536409) Homepage
    Denny Sargent couldn't resist humming the theme to ''2001: A Space Odyssey,'' when he walked up to touch the imposing object, which stands on a grassy knoll in Magnuson Park like the movie's enigmatic extraterrestrial guardian.


    I wish people would realize that it's not JUST the "theme from 2001," it's a piece of music called "Also Sprach Zarathrusta" by Richard Strauss.

  • The actual creators of the Seattle Monolith... (Score:5)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @02:29PM (#536410)

    ...are at http://www.isupportthemonolith.org/. No joke. These really are the people. ;-)

    This project has been ongoing for months in the Seattle area. On New Year's Eve, a parade/protest/whatever was organized from Capitol Hill in Seattle (the "Bohemian" Neighborhood) up and down its main street and then into downtown Seattle. The parade was in support of the monolith that was going to be emplaced at an unknown location. We were supposed to have a wooden faux monolith with us but the cops confiscated it. The real monolith was put into place while this was going on.

  • hey thats not a monolith! (Score:5)

    by Cookie Monster ( 1482 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @02:35PM (#536413) Homepage
    It's just an unfinished Domino peice.
    (or it will be soon after a geek gets
    their hands on some black n white paint)

    It's only a matter of time :)

    Other tricks to do... glue a monkey toy to the top, make it output funny noises randomly, etc.

  • Do Canadians use different prime numbers than the rest of the world? They're weirder than I thought.

    1,4, and 9 are prime where you are? damn, that is weird.

  • Jan 12 is HAL's birthday!

    PS: None of the monoliths in the movie were 1:4:9 because they didn't look right on camera.

    Pope

    Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength! Monopolies offer Choice!
  • All these worlds are yours -- except Seattle. Attempt no landings there.

  • Prepare for the end! (Score:3)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @02:44PM (#536426)
    The end of high prices!

    Seriously, does this remind anyone of a Simpsons episode? ;)

  • Well, I just walked down with my trusty tape measure (can see the hill from my office building) and the official size:

    1.0ft x 4.0ft x 8.5+ft

    My ruler goes to 1/16 inches and it was accurate to that level---don't have micrometers to examine further. It was buried slightly at an angle, so I couldn't determine the height.

    It's oriented N/S, but with the sun at its current height there's at least one "sunrise over monolith" place to stand.

    I would have dug it up to determine the height, but there was a crowd there, mostly dog-walkers. I got involved with a conversation with Fido and Rex about the trival 12th-dimensional spacetime rotation required to unify...oh, that's right, you haven't touched it yet.

  • Re:You know, it's not JUST "theme from 2001" (Score:4)

    by Greyfox ( 87712 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @02:54PM (#536435) Homepage Journal
    Personally I think the Monkees theme song ("Hey-Hey We're the Monkees") would have been a much better fit for the opening sequence...
  • --Cost of steel and welding supplies: $1,245.
    --Cost of labour on New Years Eve: $724
    --Cost of having an entire city gape blankly at a hunk of steel, without a bone in sight: priceless.

  • Oh brother. Next thing they'll probably try to tell us that the shuttle docking music was actually written about a river or something.

  • Re:Proportions (Score:5)

    by squidfood ( 149212 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @03:08PM (#536444)
    Well, I just walked down with my trusty tape measure (can see the hill from my office building) and the official size:

    1.0ft x 4.0ft x 8.5+ft

    My ruler goes to 1/16 inches and it was accurate to that level---don't have micrometers to examine further. It was buried slightly at an angle, so I couldn't determine the height.

    It's oriented N/S, but with the sun at its current height there's at least one "sunrise over monolith" place to stand.

    I would have dug it up to determine the height, but there was a crowd there, mostly dog-walkers. I got involved with a conversation with Fido and Rex about the trival 12th-dimensional spacetime rotation required to unify...oh, that's right, you haven't touched it yet.

  • One has to wonder...I have yet to see a mpeg of a bunch of geeks in ape suits tossing bones around this thing.

    In a more geeky locale, I bet we would have pics of such an event by now.

    What? No costume shops in Seattle? Or just no geeks?



  • Re:There's only one because... (Score:4)

    by KFury ( 19522 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @03:28PM (#536462) Homepage
    Actually, monoliths reproduce at a geometric rate.

    Like Starbucks. Sure, it started out with just one in Seattle, but then there's 2, then 4, then 8, and before you know it, they'll be everywhere.

    Kevin Fox

  • SpeakEasy Cafe? Nope. (Score:3)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @03:33PM (#536463)
    As an employee of Speakeasy, I can safely say that the monolith was not a promotion item, nor is Speakeasy affiliated with the monolith or its appearance. A number of us did attend a certain parade/public revelry/gathering that was to have a wooden monolith replica burnt in effigy at its culmination. Hence the sign.

  • Re:NINE feet tall... not SIX. (Score:3)

    by fm6 ( 162816 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @03:35PM (#536465) Homepage Journal
    Been a while since I read the book, but I seem to recall something about it being necessary for the sides to have that ratio, and that anybody who understood how the monolith worked would see this. Of course, we puny humans are incapable of such insight....

    __________________

  • Re:What, are we supposed to go throw bones at it? (Score:3)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @03:42PM (#536471)
    The funny thing is, the original wasn't really supposed to put the apes on the road to technological civilization. What they saw was just the screensaver; they read their own message in to it.

    --
  • it's a piece of music called "Also Sprach Zarathrusta" by Richard Strauss.

    Actually, that's "..Zarathustra" and not "...Zarathrusta". :)

  • A followup: just finished re-orienting the rotated tape-measure, and the true dimensions are 1.0 x 4.0 x 9.0 x 16.0 x 25.0 x 36.0 x 49.0 x whups gotta run, i just figured out my tax return...

  • Can I resist? Nnnnnnnnnnnnngggggg ... no, I can't, sorry! 1 : 4 : 9 are actually not only the squares of the first three positive integers but also the squares of the first three negative integers.

    MadEagle

    *turns and runs away to avoid being smacked to death with a book about algebra*


  • isupportthemonolith.org seems to be registered in Seattle [networksolutions.com]... :)

  • > I wish people would realize that it's not JUST the "theme from 2001," it's a piece of music called "Also Sprach Zarathrusta" by Richard Strauss.

    It's also the soundtrack to about 32,000 commercials I've seen in the last 32 years.

    --
  • "lith" is latin for stone.

    We know it's made of stainless steel, not stone therefore it's not a monolith.

    Which begs the question - who assembled it? IIRC, welding stainless steel requires some special equipment - TIG welder, instead of your typical arc welder or oxy-aceteline setup. Okay, I guess you can pick up a TIG welder at Ace hardware. . .
  • Weeell, measuring the 4 and 9 dimensions were probably only accurate to 1/4inch or so (hard to get the tape perfectly perpendicular-my error not the builder's error) but I also had a plastic ruler that was 1.0ft (marked and sqaured on the edges) and the thing was exactly 1.0 so I thought feet was a good measure to keep it in.

    Just goes to show, Imperial measures were the work of God (or at least space aliens). Show those EU b@Stards that want us to measure things in kilograms a thing or two...

  • Re:Correction... (Score:3)

    by jafac ( 1449 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @04:21PM (#536491) Homepage
    heh, Also Sprach Zarathrusta sounds like the name of a highbrow porno flick.

  • Why feet? (Score:5)

    by xant ( 99438 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @04:29PM (#536494) Homepage
    Wouldn't an advanced alien species measures things in meters? Or have they not converted over yet, either?
    --

  • Re:NINE feet tall... not SIX. (Score:4)

    by kaphka ( 50736 ) <1nv7b001@sneakemail.com> on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @04:30PM (#536495)
    (In Clarke and Kubrick's films, as well as Clarke's books, the monoliths' measurements were in the ratio of 1 : 4 : 9, the squares of the first three positive integers, presumably as a sign that the creator was aware of the universality of mathematics as a way of communicating between evolved species.)
    Then again, wouldn't an evolved species use metric?
  • LOL! And look [palantir.net] the zoo let out all the monkeys for the great monolith event.
  • um, I was pretty much worried about the 4 and 9.
  • Yeah, and it's also Ric Flair's [wcw.com] entrance music :)

    Your point?

    --
  • I went down there and measured tonight as well. It was nearly 1.0ft x 4.00ft but on the height I came up with 106 inches or 8.83 ft. I'd guess between the ground and the part that's buried it's still darn close to the proportions.

    On the other sides though it was slightly over by like a 16th of an inch.

  • I wouldn't be surprised if this was local engineering students pulling this off---if so, it would be in the tradition of the finest hackers as started by MIT.
  • So, are you saying that if the aliens had three fingers on each hand and foot, they'd use the imperial measurements of three + three + three + three = twelve inches to a foot? And three feet to a yard?

    Because, then, you see, for the aliens, feet would be nice since they exploit the power of three, and base three might be intuitive to aliens. Wow. I'm glad we haven't converted in the US yet. We're getting ready for our alien masters!

  • Public art is different from publicly-funded art. Public art is fine. I think the monolith is actually quite cool. But I'm glad I didn't pay for it.

    If you're in Seattle, your tax revenues ARE going to the art funds. Maybe you DID pay for that monolith; the artist hasn't been revealed yet.

    The government has no business spending my money on art. If I want art, I'll buy it. Or if some patron wants to buy it or create it and put it on display, then I may or may not look at it -- my choice.

    Certainly a valid opinion, but here's mine. Cities are communities, and taxes go to build all aspects of the community. That means zoning to keep industrial waste more-or-less out of your front yard, fixing potholes, providing parks and recreational areas, and yep, you guessed it, public art. So that's publically funded public art. And if you don't like the 'foo' at 'Baz & Main', then write a letter to your city council. Personally, if you don't like a few surprises in art, I'd rather you just find some other community where you can be a curmudgeon to your heart's content.

  • Has anybody bothered to check if it's magnetic or not? Sounds like it's made of steel, so it's possible-- but I'm curious to see how far they went.

  • public access supports the monolith (Score:3)

    by lucidvein ( 18628 ) on Tuesday January 02, 2001 @06:12PM (#536552) Homepage
    I read this comment [slashdot.org] earlier today and thought for sure it would get moderated above zero...

    The important information...
    www.isupportthemonolith.org/ [isupportthemonolith.org]


    Anyway, Deface the Nation [10things.com], a public access news show which lampoons the media has been promoting this since the anniversary of WTO/N30. Great show if you're in the area. The soundman for their DTN was driving around with a mock monolith on his car until the police stopped him and then tried to confiscate his hammer.

    We need a bit more humor in this city again. It's getting a little too serious. So cheers to all involved.
  • Did you tap it? How heavy was the gauge metal used? Did it sound light/hollow/tinny when tapped? or was it a heavier gauge and felt more dense...?

    For the record: Thanks to whoever did this - the world needs more randomness like this.. kudos friend.
  • I'm wondering if the artists had the technology to increase the dimentions of this object beyond three. The dimentions of this thing should actually be:

    1 : 2^2 : 3^3 : ... : (n-2)^2 : (n-1)^2 : n^2

    ...where n -> infinity. :-)

  • I heard this on the local (Seattle) news tonight:

    The Monolith apparently doesn't conform to safety codes or something (it wasn't mounted right) and they'll be taking it down.

    Meanies.

  • Nah, if we get a sense of humor, noone on slashdot will get the point that we had a parade with the monolith at 9pm on New Year's to mess with people's minds and then put it up somewhere else for the same reason.

    Just like we did when we had Santarchy [santarchy.com], where me and some of my friends (big pic with fire) [gte.net] rampaged thru Seattle dressed as Santas. Some more pics were at Santa John's website [johncornicello.com].

    It's a joke, people!

  • On New Year's Eve, a parade/protest/whatever was organized from Capitol Hill in Seattle (the "Bohemian" Neighborhood) up and down its main street and then into downtown Seattle.

    Ahem. Fremont is Seattle's bohemian neighborhood, Capitol Hill is Seattle's gay and alternative neighborhood.

    Everyone knows that.

  • OK, geography lesson.

    Seattle is on the West Side of Lake Washington.
    Mercer Island is in the middle of Lake Washington.
    Bellevue and Redmond are on the East Side of Lake Washington.

    Just think Seattle = New York and Redmond = Trenton and you'll get the idea. Except it's reversed, since it's the West Coast.

    The Monolith is in Seattle. Bill Gates is in Redmond. Oh, ok, that cheesy suburb right off of I-520, but same concept. And, sometimes, just to be nice, we let Bill Gates come to Seattle to pretend he has culture.

  • Certainly a valid opinion, but here's mine. Cities are communities, and taxes go to build all aspects of the community. That means zoning to keep industrial waste more-or-less out of your front yard, fixing potholes, providing parks and recreational areas, and yep, you guessed it, public art. So that's publically funded public art. And if you don't like the 'foo' at 'Baz & Main', then write a letter to your city council. Personally, if you don't like a few surprises in art, I'd rather you just find some other community where you can be a curmudgeon to your heart's content.

    Wait, it's not just Monoliths, it's also Monorails [riseaboveitall.org] that Seattle needs, wants, and desires.

    And, we actually have a 2 percent for art requirement in King County. Not just your paltry one percent - two percent.

  • Actually, they're not just a National ISP, not just a cafe, they're:

    a place to do performance art;

    a place to have a band play;

    a place to have an art show;

    a place to host the Green Party of Seattle's Election Night Victory Party on Nov. 5, 2000;

    an intergalactic ISP (entrance behind the bar);

    right next to the coolest pool hall that Seattle ever had;

    and a bunch of troublemakers.

    But it wasn't them, that was just some of the Monolith people from the parade ...

  • ouldn't an advanced alien species measures things in meters? Or have they not converted over yet, either?

    They made it easy for the people who are Microserfs. The rest of the Seattlites can do metric, it's just those wannabes across the lake who can't.

  • There go our plans for world domination.

    We figured with Bush as President he'd be clueless as to geometric progression, which would give us enough time to get monoliths in all 51 states.

  • Really. Now that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer [nwsource.com] has settled it's strike, the Seattle Times [nwsource.com] (which is still on strike) needed to do something to raise it's circulation and page hits, since most of us are only getting the Seattle P-I now.

    You'll see Frank out at the Monolith with his shotgun, trying to shoot it, just like he did his neighbors dogs when they wandered onto his property.

    Just lift up the Monolith and look for the union label.

  • Maybe they should see how long it takes to get SPD out to beat it into submission.

    Nah, first they have to surround it with four squads of police officers, tear gas it, block off all the exits, and then take away it's rights of free speech.

    Then they can bring in the robot tank they bought. Gotta justify that big waste of money somehow.

    After all, it might be a bomb.

    But, I have a simpler solution - check the version number - if it's a point zero release, it's a bomb, if it's a point one or higher it's mostly harmless.

  • Yep, it's interesting: if you go to that http://www.isupportthemonolith.org/ site, it has a link to "http://www.iopposethemonolith.org"... which resolves to

    http://www.speakeasy.org/~priapus/monolith.htm

    Nope, it's not associated with Speakeasy... heh, heh...

    ---

  • Ahem. I used to live in Capital Hill. It's neither gay nor bohemian, only certain clusters of it are. Like some parts of Broadway and the surrounding areas have a high gay population, but others have no more than most any other area (especially relative to Seattle in general)
  • From the picture [nwsource.com], it looks somewhat unstable and able to be tipped over easily with enough force to crush someone.

    I'm suing the aliens for gross negligence. As restitution, I get their flying saucer.

  • Re:Me = Dumbass (Score:3)

    by LionKimbro ( 200000 ) on Wednesday January 03, 2001 @06:45AM (#536600) Homepage

    Somehow, I don't think you've ever met the SpeakEasy crew...

    I find it rather laughable to believe that this is "scheming marketeers"...

    The SpeakEasy staff are the most environmentally (both social and ecological environments) conscious people I have ever met.

    Their cafe is an incredible place.

  • Perhaps we should let the President-elect touch the monolith. Maybe place it in the Oval Office. Better yet, let him use it as a desktop.

  • No, but I had the mental image of a bunch of students doing this as a prank. A couple of art students working on this for a few months and then someone borrowing their dad's 1/2 ton and a bunch of guys driving out to the park in the middle of the night to plant this thing.

    I guess it is not the end of the world if it was the work of an internet cafe or something, just kind of takes the gleam out of my eye as I chuckle about someone just going out and pulling this _cool_ prank vs some commercial enterprise doing this for publicity (if that is in fact their motivation)
  • Hurry, pour me another half-caf soy latte before pass out from excitement about pool halls and internet cafes.

    Sorry, we gave up soy lattees for the Druidic Solstice. You'll have to get a Silk lattee instead.

    That said, Seattle may have Monoliths, but it has fewer Internet cafes than any town in the French West Indies does.

    Not to mention fewer pool halls than in the South of France.

  • Who says that the ratio only had three dimensions to it?

    1:4:9:16:... are the correct dimensions..
    ---
  • >of the length of the meridian of Paris

    Nope, you don't hardly get any less arbitrary than that, do ya? ;-) A unit of measure based on 1/4 of the circumference of the Earth isn't going to be any less arbitrary to ET than the length of some Royal English Dude's, erm... foot.

    "The distance from the pole to the equator was divided into ten million parts to constitute the meter " [essex1.com]

    Now, if you came up with a measure that was based on the wavelength of light emitted by Hydrogen fusion or some other such pan-galactic standard, then you could argue non-arbitrary! :-)

  • Well, sweetie, you just haven't been paying attention. It's flamin' gay, or lesbian.


    Or maybe you just don't know it as well as you think you do. I lived there for 7 years, I know full well what is and is not there. Granted, there are still _some_ in many areas, but not more so than other parts of the country, and especially not more than Seattle on average. If you venture a little further North than Volunteer Park (or even adjacent parts of Federal Avenue), for instance, you'll find some very nice / conservative houses. Likewise, if you step back away from those little clusters surrounding Broadway, particularly to the more expensive parts, you'll find a dramatic difference. And yes, I have been back there since, those neighborhoods are largely the same, only substantially more expensive.

    Put simply, you're over-generalizing. You might say Capital Hill, when taken on whole has a larger gay presence than other parts of Seattle (because of those clusters), but you're simply wrong if you imply that the entire neighborhood is "flaming."
  • Yes, it is gone, but here is a story (with video) [komotv.com] on local TV channel KOMO 4 about it.

    arf arf arf

  • BS. I used to live there. You don't know what you're talking about.
  • story [nwsource.com]. DOH!
  • ...it's the double-zero, of course.

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