Anthony Bourdain while filming his Seattle episode of Parts Unknown last year.
Anthony Bourdain while filming his Seattle episode of "Parts Unknown" last year. Instagram/Parts Unknown

Anthony Bourdain found dead: Bourdain was found unresponsive in his hotel room this morning. He was in France shooting an episode of his show, Parts Unknown. Bourdain, 61, was a chef, a world-traveling storyteller, and a father. According to the network that hosted his program, CNN, the cause of death was suicide. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or have concerns about someone else who may be, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)


Anthony Bourdain impacted the world: This is from part of thread by a person from Trinidad who ran into Anthony Bourdain once. They talked about Trinidad together. One day, just as the person hoped, Bourdain visited:


Hutch School closing after 30 years: The school provided a K-12 education for the children and siblings of cancer patients. Many were displaced from their regular lives and routines when their family member needed treatment. The school provided free education services to children in need. There are also weekly meetings with social workers to aid children in handling their grief and fear. However, low enrollment rates and rising costs have forced the Hutch School to close its doors after 30 years.

Seattle City Council wants to shift funds from preschools to elementary schools: Under Durkan’s proposed property-tax levy, the city’s subsidized preschool plan would be expanded substantially. Durkan’s plan aims to spend $363 million over seven years to expand the program “from about 1,500 kids next school year to about 2,750 kids in 2026,” reports the Seattle Times. Only $23 million would be spent on elementary schools. The council wants to scale the preschool plan back to give more to elementary schools. Their plan would cut $27 million from preschools to give to elementary schools.

There are 120 asylum-seeking immigrants in SeaTac federal prison: ICE has partnered with five facilities around the country, including the SeaTac prison, to hold 1,600 people. These people were arrested after crossing the border illegally. The immigrants in the SeaTac prison are women, many who were separated from their children. This latest crackdown on immigration is a result of the new “zero-tolerance policy” toward people who enter the U.S. illegally announced by Jeff Sessions in May. Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson have expressed serious concerns about the treatment of these asylum seekers.

Seattle safe-injection sites will be mobile: Finally, Seattle is moving forward with plans for safe-injection sites. After years of trying to nail down a fixed location to no avail, Seattle officials are looking at going mobile. A mobile safe-injection site would be a large van that visits the same spot everyday. This would probably be somewhere in the downtown corridor where drug usage and overdoses are most prevalent. Consumption would happen in the van, a waiting room and other services would ideally occur in the building next to where the van is parked.

What the fuck is watermelon snow: The phenomenon is cropping up all over the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Large pink ponds are littered around high elevations. This is caused by a type of algae that turns snow pink randomly. There’s probably no cause for concern since this so-called watermelon snow has been seen from Washington to Peru. However, scientists are still scratching their heads over it. You can help them out yourself if you want by becoming a “citizen scientist” and collecting snow samples that will be tested at Western Washington University.

You want to feel sad? Look at this little poem that’s hanging in a kindergarten classroom. That's the same the tune as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."


No I-5 closure this weekend: How could they close it with all the events in Seattle this weekend? It’s going to be crazy. I will be in the thick of it at Husky Stadium on Saturday with my graduation cap that says “Send me your breakfasts.” Gotta promote the brand.


June gloom: It’s going to get chilly.


Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup: The D.C. team won their first Stanley Cup last night against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. One of the Capitals is TJ Oshie who was born in Everett and got his start in Seattle Junior Hockey. Here he is with his dad:


New evidence found for life on Mars: Curiosity is living up to its name as it searches for clues on Mars’ surface. The newest discovery comes from rocks. There is evidence in the rocks of many organic materials usually associated with life. These include carbon and hydrogen, “and also may include oxygen, nitrogen and other elements,” writes NASA. Scientists also found seasonal methane variations in the Mars atmosphere. None of this really proves anything but it gives scientists more areas to focus on in future Mars missions.

Russia should be allowed in G7, says Trump: The leading group of industrialized nation, called the Group of 7, ousted Russia from the group in 2014 after Putin’s “annexation of Crimea and its support for pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine,” reports the Associated Press. Trump told reporters that Russia “should be a part of it.”


Speaking of G7: Trump won’t be attending the climate portion. He got into a Twitter fight with France’s Macron and Canada’s Trudeau.

Canadian senate passes marijuana legalization bill: The landmark legislation will lift a 95-year ban on recreational cannabis use. It passed with a slew of amendment — nearly four dozen. It’s headed back to the House of Commons where they’ll decide whether to approve, reject, or modify the changes before sending it back to the Senate for the final vote.

People buy more at McDonald’s touch screen kiosks: McDonald's says it’s because people take their time more when selecting at the kiosks. I think it’s because there’s no human interaction and therefore no judgment. Yeah, you can putter around and debate whether you actually /need/ that other sausage McMuffin at 10 p.m. But you also don’t have to tell another human being to their face that you want to stuff yours with multiple breakfast sandwiches and, honestly, a burger or two, to fill the aching hole in your heart. Anyway, McDonald’s is going to be adding more kiosks.

Alt-right version of Twitter bogged down by Nazi activity: Gab is a website that functions essentially the same as Twitter. It was created as a free speech alternative when Twitter started banning people. Now, it’s where alt-right gather and it’s a mess of “paranoia and conspiracy theories,” as Gizmodo puts it. Recently, the site has been inundated with Nazi activity usually targeted at Gab’s management. Management believes that there are highly organized leftists who have infiltrated Gab to pose as Nazis. Alternatively, maybe their own people are just Nazis?

Fun fact for your Friday: Olympus Mons, Mars' huge ass mountain, is so tall that it has 5 mile high sheer cliffs at its base. Its base alone is nearly the size of the state of Arizona and, if it were on Earth, its peak would reach into space. As someone from Reddit put it, "an observer on its peak wouldn’t know he was standing on a mountain because its slope would be obscured by the curvature of the planet itself."

This weekend's best Seattle entertainment options include: The NW New Works Festival, Negroni Week festivities, the Volunteer Park Pride Festival, and the Georgetown Carnival.