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I'm heading out to Vince's Italian Restaurant's Rainier Beach location tonight to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the local restaurant chain founded by my paternal grandfather (pictured above). Read below what Ra Scion of Common Market (also husband of my cousin, Mariangela) had to say about all the anniversary hoopla. This editorial was originally posted at MasslineMedia.com and is republished with permission.

FUCK greg nickels, for real. somebody tell this bucket-head to regain his focus on downtown gridlock and leave the nightclub management to meinert. and if i see construction of one more condo complex, i’mma turn this bitch into bellevue and start topplin’ cranes.

every once in a while, the dude gets it right, though. take, for example, his recent proclamation of september as “Vince’s Italian Restaurant Pizzeria Month;” a bold, gutsy, bi-partisan declaration that will undoubtedly stand as his most noteworthy accomplishment of his entire mayoral tenure. good on ya, greg!!

many of you already be knowin’ that Vince’s is family oriented – and i’m not talkin’ about the bambino pasta option on the connect-the-dots menu. i mean real family. blood; thicker than san pellegrino, but slightly thinner (and a few shades darker) than that delicious marinara.

Vince Mottola Sr. (pronounced “MO-tuh-luh,” not “mu-TOE-luh,” you knuckleheads), founder of your favorite eatin’ spots in rainier beach, burien, and renton highlands, is wifey’s maternal grandfather. i had a chance to meet this man on my first-ever visit to seattle in January of ’97, on the eve of that MONSTER snow storm, at the former queen anne location (currently peso’s). i was ushered first-class to “the back room” and introduced to “nono,” who graciously extended a hand with three full-length fingers and a couple of nubs, which, i was told later were the result of a “cooking accident.” i never questioned the explanation, at least not openly, and i never got a chance to see him again before he passed away the following year.

Vince came to amurka in ’54 directly from napoli (naples is in florida, dummy). with the skill and knowledge he’d gained from working in the catering business back home, he set out to open up a restaurant in the rainier valley – known at the time as “garlic gulch.” the first Vince’s opened up in 1957 at othello and empire way, and even though the original spot made way for some snazzy duplexes (whattup, my dude?) they’re still holding down the folks around the beach to this day.

do the math, genius – it’s FIFTY YEARS of pizza and pasta, and we’re callin’ for a celebration, bitches (edit)! come out to the restaurant sunday night (8824 renton ave south – 6pm) and i’ll personally deliver your pollo marsalla – plus i’ll introduce you to my “nona,” who will sing and dance for you, then kiss you on the mouth. it’s a family affair, family!

I’ll save a spot for you next to nickels…

RA

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My sincerest congratulations go out to my longtime friend and focuspoint lead singer/guitarist Chris Watson and his wife Allie. Now let me introduce you to Tristan Gabriel Watson...

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You might recall my proclamation about diving into the murky pools of online dating. Jeanna asked in a recent comment, “Totally off the subject, but are you still online dating?” and I figured that answer deserved its own post. I realize now I haven’t given an update recently.

I imagine, Jeanna, you’re referring to the fact that my profile is no longer up on The Stranger personals. Well, I took my profile off when I went to Europe because I knew I'd be unresponsive anyway.

Basically, I've met some nice girls online, but...

  • Nice girls = friends
  • Hot girls = girlfriends

I have too many of the former (which is why I started this madness) and haven't met or discovered any of the later online. Sure, I've had success in meeting people, getting responses, etc., but I'm not meeting the physical quality of girls I was hoping for. God intended for me to date models, and I must do His willing.

I think I'm going to stick to the old adage of meeting girls in person because it's just a waste going out with girls I'm compatible with on paper but no so much in person.

Clearly, God intended for physical attraction to come first in the act of courting. That's why Eve appeared to Adam naked. Now I must ask God's forgiveness for forsaking His plan and trying to covet thy neighbor online.

During my pilgrimage to Italy, I met an astounding number of beautiful women with relative ease and came to the revelation that:

  1. Women overseas are very approachable (and attractive).
  2. Women here are generally not as approachable (or attractive) in comparison.

Thus, unless I hop abroad for some extended period of time, I intend to tap the great confidence I gained in my interactions overseas to be more bold in approaching women here. I may or may not repost my profile, but I doubt I'll spend much time skimming through profiles or updating my own. Rather, I'll be out at a local pub or concert, and you can find me talking to the tall, hot blonde in the corner.

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Just more than 24 hours after its launch, Halo 3 has sold $170 million and eclipsed all entertainment sales records -- beating out first day records set by "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" for literature and Spiderman 3 for movies.

CNET reports more than a million players have logged on to Xbox Live to play the multiplayer version of the new game.

To answer your questions, yes I do own it and it does kick ass.

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The wives and I are hosting an impromptu party at the Ballard Burrow (our apartment) tonight for the season premiere of The Office. If you want to watch the hour-long episode in HD on the new 42" widescreen TV, come on over! The show starts at 9 p.m.