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The Confectional, 1530 Pike Pl., Seattle.

(I don’t know anything about their cheesecake, I just think it’s a clever name. OK, I know one thing from looking at their Web site: the cheesecake isn’t vegan. A pretty good bet since it’s called cheesecake. I didn’t see any info about ingredients other than a note about sour cream topping. And not a word about tofu or soy.)

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The garden at Kirsten Gallery, 5320 Roosevelt Way N.E., Seattle.

(Taken with my cell phone camera. At least now I know not to use the zoom feature.)

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Construction near Westlake Ave. and Denny Way, Seattle. Taken with my cell phone camera, using the zoom feature. Which is less than ideal, as explained here.

Construction in progress fascinates me – I guess it strikes me as a metaphor for life, that I am (we are each) a work in progress. New construction preceded by a demolition, though sad in some ways (such as lack of appreciation for architectural and other history) fascinates me even more – something decaying being made new.

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Over the weekend, The Boyfriend (TB) and I tried a new-ish, 100% vegan restaurant, Squid and Ink in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood. Squid and Ink is not to be confused with Georgetown Liquor Co., which is a mile or two to the north (I think).

TB had the Steak Seirtare (seasoned seitan strips with sauteed onions and bell peppers, in a flour tortilla with “seirtare” sauce, whatever that is) and a cup of Tomato Basil Soup. He was thoroughly pleased with his choice.

I had the Grilled Ham n’ Cheez sandwich with a cup of beef vegetable soup. I was less pleased than TB was — then again, I am high maintenance and very picky. My bread tasted like it had been sprinkled with some kind of seasoning salt and it was too salty for me. And the cheese, which I would guess was the fabulous Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet brand, wasn’t very melty. And the soup had way too much black pepper.

The service was … well, inconsistent. For one thing, our server brought us the wrong appetizer; we had asked for chips & salsa and she gave us Poutine — French fries covered with gravy and cheez curd. It was delicious, but not what we had ordered. Also, I ate only half of my sandwich and asked for a box or foil so I could take the other half home. Our server said she’d bring me something; we waited for probably 10 minutes, she didn’t come back, so we left, abandoning my leftovers — which was fine, I doubt I would have eaten them.

Still, I’m willing to give Squid and Ink another chance. Stay tuned.

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Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, north side of Seattle Center, 321 Mercer St. (at 3rd Ave. N.).

I took these picture with my cell phone camera, so the quality is kind of crappy — but I think they’re also kind of cool. The bluish one that looks like a water wall is especially crappy because I used the zoom feature. I have since learned that zoomed pictures are sized really small by the Mobile Phone Tools program and my photo editing program doesn’t like small photos.

East side of 1st Ave. near Virginia St. (downtown Seattle).

These folks are on the south side of the lot:
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And this flower is all by itself on the north side; perhaps the south side kids are admiring it from slightly afar:
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And I’m sorry the quality isn’t better. I took the photos around 6:30 a.m., when the parking lot was empty. It’s still pretty darn dark at that time of the morning and my camera doesn’t do very well in such low light. (Note to The Boyfriend: Yes, I used the “night” setting on the camera.)

Parking lot by the Fremont Fine Arts Foundry, N. 35th St. and Phinney Ave. N. (Seattle).
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PETA has a list of the Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Prisons.

Thanks to Mark Morford for bringing this to my attention via The top 12 ‘Top 10’ lists of 2007.

“Hey, Steve,” you may be thinking, “who’s this Mark Morford guy?”

Mark Morford is a smart, politically aware, open-minded, sex-positive, tech-savvy, funny guy who writes a satiric, thought-provoking column for the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper and its Web site, SFGate.com. If you’re like-minded, check out Mark’s archived Notes & Errata. You can read a brief bio about Mark here (scroll down, columnists are listed alphabetically by last name). Mark also writes for the SFGate Culture Blog. Full disclosure: Mark’s columns almost always include some not safe for work (NSFW) language, like “sex,” “orgy,” and “naked.” Just so you know.

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Free your balls and free your self.

Utilikilts: Not your average, fussy, special occasion guy-skirt. “American made utility kilts for everyday wear.”