Who to Know >>

• Best Person to Get You Off Your Ass
  Last year's winner in this category was a clinical psychologist. This year I've decided to take it more literally. I've had more experience with physical therapists than I'd care to recount. And many of those experiences have been something less than therapeutic. There was the P.T. at the UW who... More >>
• Best Local Republican
  A protégé of fellow Republican moderate Norm Maleng, the ostensible King County Prosecutor for Life who passed away last year, Dan Satterberg showed himself a stand-up guy shortly after getting elected to his old boss's job last November. He quietly instructed his staff to start... More >>
• Best Unsigned Band
  A tag like this is usually a kiss of death. Ever since LA Weekly named Eleni Mandell its city's "best unsigned artist" in the late '90s, those words have followed her through every stage of her non-label career. Each article written on her made it sound as though she were begging for charity.... More >>
• Best Way to Impress Your Guitar-Player Boyfriend
  My boyfriend lives in a perpetual state of being generally unimpressed. So in the rare instance that he raves about something, I listen. Time and again he's given glowing reviews of Chris Hesterman, one of the luthiers at Trading Musician. Locals know that place is amazing on its own, but their... More >>
• Best Local Prospect for Gold in Beijing
  Having just set the American record in the pole vault this June (with a leap of 19 feet, nine inches, and change), Mountlake Terrace resident Brad Walker is considered the event's Olympic favorite. Not only did the former UW star (class of 2003) win at the World Championships last fall, but his... More >>
• Best New Urban Scold
  Walking along First Avenue almost daily, I hate the ugly expanse of concrete and glass being unveiled opposite the Seattle Art Museum, and so does Dan Bertolet. That's why I was happy to read him trashing the new Four Seasons hotel-condo, and those who would defend its gilded hostility to the... More >>
• Best Embrace of Blogging by a Politician
  One month after winning a spot on the Seattle School Board, Harium Martin-Morris decided to subject himself to the overzealous carping and anonymous sniping that is the comments function. His blog began when he posted a quick note about a meeting with the mayor. Several people jumped into the... More >>
• Best Gyros Slingers
  I worked at a grocery store for almost 10 years, and when I first started, I was the nicest checker you'd ever seen—chatty and friendly, always willing to go the extra mile. That lasted about a week. After that I became as surly and bitter as every other retail worker out there. That's why... More >>
• Best Neighborhood Blogger (2 Comments)
  The other morning, I was surfing the Web in the guest bedroom of my home near the Delridge Home Depot in West Seattle. Upon visiting the West Seattle Blog, I learned that my neighbor's dog was crouching down to take a morning dump on my front lawn, as he often does. So I looked out my window... More >>
• Best Sportswriter
  Not all that long ago, the two most coveted sports-journalism beats were boxing and horse racing. This, of course, was when the NCAA didn't permit freshmen to play or players to dunk, when NASCAR was Winston Cup, and when the only people who gave two shits about Winston Cup were chaw-spittin'... More >>
• Best Baseball Team
  Even if the Mariners didn't suck this year, they still wouldn't be the local baseball team with the greatest legacy of achievement. That distinction belongs to the Tacoma Tugs of the Puget Sound Senior Baseball League, whose rosters are stuffed with 20- and 30-something former minor leaguers... More >>
• Best Transition from Rock and Roll to Heavy Metal
  During the 1980s, David and Douglas Farage lived in San Diego, had poofy hair and tight jeans, and their videos were on regular rotation on MTV. Now they run a Ballard institution creating ornate fences for the privacy-minded. Having passed through the Emerald City during tours with their band,... More >>
• Best Number to Have Tucked Into Your Italian-Made Leather Jacket
  At $3,000 and up, a fancy little Italian scooter is an awfully expensive (and let's face it, pretty wussy) mode of transportation. At least it was, but then gas prices shot up almost as fast as your house's value bottomed out, and suddenly that 50 miles to the gallon seemed a pretty sweet deal.... More >>
• Best Trivia Announcer
  Showbiz rule #1: never show contempt for your audience. Uncle Willie, the trivia announcer at Wallingford's Murphy's Pub, destroys that rule weekly. But I like bitchy, hard-to-please people, so his constant eye-rolling and "don't you backtalk me" attitude are right up my alley. His questions are... More >>
• Best Place to Melt Your Heart
  Delyn Kosbab can be a little gruff at first blush. On a recent Saturday, the proprietor of Kitty Harbor wouldn't let a friend and me go into the kittens' playroom just to look; we have to be serious about adopting if we're going to start cuddling them. Kosbab also doesn't like to adopt kittens... More >>
• Best Blogger for Fags and Their Hags
  Who is Bill W.? The only thing the blogger reveals about himself on Seattle Gay Blogspot is that he's lived in the Seattle area for 30 years. And he's blown off my attempts to delve further into his identity. Harrumph. Regardless, I love him. Bill offers a ridiculously comprehensive guide to all... More >>
• Best Radio Station for Dancing Queens
  If the Pet Shop Boys and Rihanna had a threesome, their love child would be C-89.5 FM. The station pumps out dance hits like it's providing the Saturday-night soundtrack for Neighbors. That means I get to hang with Kylie and Lady Gaga sans the cover charge and ego deflation. (Spending an evening... More >>