Codex Perductum

So I just want to go on the record saying that I think that the new cool neighborhood in Seattle is becoming "Blakeley Alley" (that's my name for it). This is the area just north of University Village Mall and East of the U-District. Here is a map

It's hard to describe what makes it cool, but here goes: It is a collection of funky, independent shops like the phenomenally good University Zoka coffee shop. It is close enough to U-Village to get the benefits of having the chain retails stores, but without having to participate in the homogenization of the outdoor mall culture. There isn't a ton there yet, but there is space to grow. But on top of that, these really cool software start-ups are emerging in the area, like Omni which makes OmniGraffle and makes Visio look like old-school WordPerfect software. Another start-up is Delicious Monster, a company with a ton of buzz because of their software, "Delicious Library". To be honest, I don't get what is so cool about Delicious Library, but I won't ask or else people will think that I don't get it. Finally there is All for kids, a kids bookstore that is funky, independent and loosely affiliated to a part-time advisor of mine. The Burke-Gilman trail runs right by it and TiCycles is right there also.