Just disappearing -- even if it's side work -- without letting customers know for 25 minutes what's going on with their food is not good service.

Totally with you on this. 25 minutes is a long time to wait for information, let alone food.

A billion blogs (OK, three) have had this photo today, so...

Princess Leia & Stunt Double Sunbathing on Tatooine While Filming Return of the Jedi

In matching slave girl outfits....

I'm still amazed by the service we got at Purple at the Seattle F2F. I think one or two orders might have been spaced on, but for a group of 20+ people I was impressed for the most part.

Actually, I'm even more amazed they had the space for us without a reservation. I guess if the upstairs room had been booked, we would have been SOL.

sending a message by your tip doesn't work, so you should tip whatever you tip

Bullshit.

I will say that the tipping a penny thing probably doesn't work the way it's intended. Certainly I and most people I knew would react to that, fair or not, by instantly writing you off as an asshole who was looking to cheap out from the get-go. (Um, that's a general you.) OTOH, a 10 or 12% tip is much more likely to be interpreted as a sign of unhappiness.

Jilli - I think you and Pete need to do another NYC visit

I KNOW! Believe me, I have been trying to figure out how we could go to NYC, see peoples, and spend a lot of time at that Tim Burton exhibit. The big fancy opening night gala is (supposedly) even on my birthday.

Barack Obama Names Alan Moore Official White House Biographer

WASHINGTON—At a press conference Monday, President Obama announced that he had appointed legendary comic book writer Alan Moore as the official biographer of his time in the White House. "As evidenced by his epic run on Swamp Thing #21–64, Moore's deft hand with both sociopolitical commentary and metaphysical violence makes him an ideal choice to chronicle my time in office," Obama said of the author of Watchmen and From Hell, whom he reportedly chose over others on a short list of potential biographers that included Warren Ellis, Grant Morrison, and Bob Woodward. "I look forward to seeing the kinds of subplots he will surely weave throughout the main narrative of my presidency, and how he'll tie them all back together at the end in a way that just elevates the thing to a whole other level. God, that guy is the master." Although Obama has not yet settled on a publisher for his White House biography, he is reportedly leaning toward DC's Vertigo imprint for its creator-friendly ethos, high production values, and willingness to publish content for mature readers.

(Yes, it's from The Onion.)

Also - International plug smackdown!

I have definitely gotten caught in the middle ground of service between pleasantly unhurried and neglectful -- do they think they're being nice by leaving us alone? Have they forgotten us?

ION, I had no idea Eliza Dushku and Rick Fox were together! Also, they went as Zombie Bonnie and Clyde for Halloween. [link]

Also, they went as Zombie Bonnie and Clyde for Halloween.

That's hilarious.

Eliza Dushku and Rick Fox

Eww, what? Eww. EWWWW. I don't know why, I've just always found him skeezy.