Eating In and Around Seattle, As Told by Me
I’ve been in Seattle for nine days now, until a few days ago living in a U District studio. Cooking wasn’t really convenient – I ate out a lot, without much regard to financial sustainability. Now that my Seattle honeymoon is coming to a close (I start work tomorrow), I figured I’d put fingers to keyboard and review some of the establishments visited. Why not do this on Yelp? Because Yelp reviews occupy a special circle of internet hell, right up (down?) there with YouTube comments (“This video is dumbbbb! Your an idiot!!!1”) and NewEgg reviews (“I put this $2000 enterprise network card in my see thru case but Crysis is still slow!”). I’m pretty sure your average Yelper wouldn’t know good food if it hit them in the crack pipe occluding their face. Anyway, I digress. On with my completely unbiased, 100% perfect, gold-plated, non crack-influenced reviews.
A shark, a duck and an awkward interview
Why can't US morning news be this entertaining?
Black macaque takes self-portrait: Monkey borrows photographer's camera
Visiting a national park in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, award-winning photographer Mr Slater left his camera unattended for a while.
It soon attracted the attention of an inquisitive female from a local group of crested black macaque monkeys, known for their intelligence and dexterity.
Fascinated by her reflection in the lens, she then somehow managed to start the camera. The upshot: A splendid self-portrait.
My Summer at an Indian Call Center
I also got to know a man I'll call Arjuna, a meaty guy with a cleft chin who rented a two-bedroom flat nearby. His hobbies included drumming (he liked The Eagles and Bon Jovi) and taking solo motorcycle trips through the Himalayas, and even in the oppressive summer heat he wore his biker outfit: black bomber jacket, black boots, a bandanna around his neck.
Arjuna told me that he spent the first half of 2003 raising funds for the GOP. As an employee of the outsourcing firm HCL, he called registered Republicans all over the United States to solicit donations.
[…]
Arjuna told me he enjoyed fundraising but was opposed to Bush's policies, particularly the war in Iraq. I asked whether he felt partly responsible for his reelection. "It's a scary thought," he admitted. "Luckily, I wasn't very good at my job back then."
As he recounted his subsequent eight years in the industry, his big eyes swelled with indignation. He'd only intended to work in the call centers for a few months. At 34, he felt stuck. He was still at HCL, doing customer support for British Telecom. "All this time 'perfecting my skills,'" he said bitterly. "What skills? Accent and diction? How will that lead to a career?"
Great piece of experiential journalism. Most enlightening was learning about Indian call center workers' dim views of Australians.
