The Seattle Times puts hard data to the trend all of us are feeling: the diminishment of Seattle’s middle class. The numbers show that half of all new households in King County are poor, and the other half rich—giving truth to the old line about “how the other half lives.” Half of the new households…

Black River by S.M. Hulse (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $24) This striking debut novel by Spokane writer S.M. Hulse is a contemporary Western that has earned critical comparisons to the work of Larry McMurtry, Annie Proulx and Wallace Stegner—and deservedly so. Hulse uses spare language to craft a rich portrait of inland Northwest as a backdrop…

Must BlendGenre Bender Showcases Inspired Artist Collaborations(3/6 to 3/7, 8 p.m.) It’s time once again for Genre Bender, an exceptional performance event that pairs up local artists from different fields and asks them to go forth and make something together. This year features five promising duos—including conceptual artist C. Davida Ingram with composer Hanna Benn,…

A group of cool dads is petitioning Amazon to change the name of its Amazon Mom service, which provides discounts on diapers, baby products and food (you know, stuff only us ladies handle) to Amazon Family. The petition has nearly 5,000 signatures and the group hopes to get the online retailer’s attention. Seems like a…

Scenes from the workshop of cosplayer Eric Jones, of CoregeekSometimes, when trying to replicate a villainous, power-hungry Asgardian’s wardrobe, you just have to punt. “I use a technique where I wrap the [human] subject with plastic wrap and tape—either duct or masking,” says Eric Jones, about making the form for the Loki costume (from The…

One of the many pleasures of beachcombing along the shores of Puget Sound is the immense variation in the colors of the stones—deep purple, jade green, burgundy, caramel, speckled or striped black and white. To wanderers, it looks like a beautiful carpet but to marine scientists the diversity tells an exciting story about the geological…

If you find yourself approaching the Washington State Convention Center later this month and Thor, Wonder Woman or Geordi La Forge hold the door open for you, just smile, nod a “thank you” and step right in like you belong. You’ve arrived at Emerald City Comicon (ECCC)—ground zero for Seattle’s superhero fandom. It all happens…

Way to go, Bellingham: The city to our north has earned the title as one of the least obese cities in the U.S. after a recent Gallup survey found that “just 18.7 percent of Bellingham residents have a Body Mass Index of 30 or more.” The low BMI brings Bellingham to the 5th best overall….

Despite recent bike lane additions in sections through downtown and other areas of the city, bicycle collisions in Seattle are on the rise. King 5 News reports that “recent data reveals collisions increased by 34 in 2014. Also, the overall rate of collisions per 1,000 cyclists increased slightly.” A spokesman for the Seattle Department of…

In 2003, Seattle author Brent Hartinger published Geography Club, the first book in his young adult series that follows gay high school sophomore Russel Middlebrook and his quest to interact with other gay teens at his school. The novel earned praise from reviewers–USA Today called it an “honest, emotional and funny story,” and The Seattle…

For the last 25 years, Seattle performer Randy Minkler has been taking the stage in the guise of a clown named Godfrey Daniels, and even he agrees with the general consensus: “Clowns can be scary.” But Minkler has a strategy for getting beyond that hard truth. “I don’t think of him as a clown,” he…

Rumors are swirling that Bellevue-based Expedia could be packing up and moving its headquarters to Seattle. Among the options the online travel giant is potentially considering? The Puget Sound Business Journal reports Expedia “was looking at moving to Amgen’s Helix campus next to marine shipping Terminals 90 and 91 on Smith Cove.” That now-vacant facility…