Actor Ben Weber has been in movies like Kissing Jessica Stein and television shows like Sex and the City. Most recently he was in a television mini-series called Manhunt: Unabomber. But he also got some attention a few years ago for a video he did starring Ben Weber as Angry Ben Weber. Weber grew up in Seattle and was a Seattle Supersonics fan from day one. After moving to New York, and eventually to Los Angeles, the Sonics remained his team, up until the point where they were sold by Starbucks

This week, stories of breaking points, realizations, and bitter ends. We meet one man who is taking out his disappointment with the departure of Seattle's basketball team in an unusual way. We hear from a homeowner whose Wallingford backyard abuts a homeless encampment , as well as from the campers who are sick of being moved around. A local writer remembers the moment he could no longer stand being "the fat kid" in class. We get a story about the man Sasquatch was looking at in that famous

Years ago, not long after Mike Lewis lost his father, he made a pilgrimage to his dad's favorite bar--a place called The Ranch in Modesto, CA. When he got there, he found something he didn't expect: a stool that had been roped off. Mike asked about it, and was told it was in honor of Jack Lewis, "a guy who hung out in here who was really well liked." When Mike identified himself as Jack Lewis' son, he heard an outpouring of stories about the kind of man his dad was, and about everything he gave

All of Erica’s heroes liked to drink. Hunter S. Thompson, Molly Ivins … to be an edgy journalist, it seemed like alcohol was part of the job description. For Erica C. Barnett , alcohol did soon become a thread weaving through her work for magazines and alternative weeklies. “I loved being able to meet with people over drinks,” she said. “That is a wonderful way to get to know a source, over a couple, five, ten drinks. And it just made sense to me that that’s what journalism culture is. You write

The most intimidating bar to walk into in Greater Seattle may not be a seedy dive downtown. It might just be a juice bar in an obscure strip mall in Shoreline. What makes Alive Juice Bar so daunting is its owner, Andrew Ho, who’s just as likely to curse out and humiliate his customers as he is to soothe their ailments with foamy fruit & veggie concoctions. Ho opened the shop eight years ago with his ex-fiance. In the beginning, it was tough. It was in the middle of a recession, they had $300

An essay: I always joke that dark, divey bars are where I'm most at home because that's where I first learned how to talk to people. I mean, we learn speech at a young age, on the mats at preschool, or at home, mimicking our parents. But forming phonemes is different than talking to people. Most of my life, I've supported myself through talking: talking my way into AP classes, and talking myself out of a trespassing charge when I pretended to be a caterer in order to eat leftovers after a

One of the realities about bars, like many other businesses, is that at some point, they will probably close their doors for good. This was the case in December of 2015, when a Pioneer Square bar called the Double Header called “last call” for the last time. This is significant, because the Double Header was one of the oldest, if not the oldest, gay bar in America. Clint Lanier is the co-author of the book “Bucket List Bars: Historic Saloons, Pubs and Dives of America.” He visited the Double

When the print edition of the Seattle Post Intelligencer came to an end in 2009, the reporters who worked for the paper scattered off to other careers. Some picked up other gigs covering news, others went into public relations. Veteran reporter Mike Lewis bought a bar. Specifically, he bought his bar, a dive called The Streamline Tavern, where he and other reporters used to adjourn to after quitting time at the paper. “I took my severance and bought myself a minimum wage job,” says Lewis. The

This week on Sound Effect, we pull up a stool and chat with some barflies. We meet up with Mike Lewis at the Streamline Tavern, and hear about how he physically moved the old bar to its current location. Then we talk to Clint Lanier about why no one seemed to notice the closing of what may be the oldest gay bar in America. Hanna Brooks Olsen shares an essay on what she learned growing up in bars. Brie Ripley introduces us to a “rude” juice bar . We talk with Erica C. Barnett about being in bars

Longtime NPR newscaster Carl Kasell died Tuesday at the age of 84. Public radio listeners are mourning the loss of a steadfast and reliable voice. The people who worked with him are mourning a friend. KNKX talked with Bob Edwards, who spent decades working the early shift with Carl as they broadcast Morning Edition . Bob shared some of his favorite memories.