UPDATES: P!pe editor Soyon Im is a her, not a he… The kindly folks at the DMX cable-music service called to say yes, residential customers can get the full 90-channel service, not just the mainstreamed 30 channels offered on local cable TV systems–if you’re willing to buy your own 27″ satellite dish and tuner. For the “German Schlager” and Flemish Pop channels, tho’, it just might be worth it.

LIVE AIR: Pirate radio broadcasts have resumed in Seattle on the 89.1 FM frequency recently vacated by the Monkeywrench Radio collective. The new outfit, FUCC, includes some of the old Monkeywrench volunteer DJs. It promises long segments of “non-corporate” news and interviews along with the freeform music, 6 p.m.-2 a.m. nightly. The Pearl Jam members, rumored to have helped jump-start Monkeywrench, are officially not involved in the new operation.

PLAYLAND: Just as the Washington Bullets basketball team plans a change to a less violent name, two inventors from DC’s Maryland suburbs won a patent for “bleeding” toy figures embedded with tiny fluid-filled capsules that rupture during play. An NY Times report said the blood capsules would be attached to the toy in patches, which could be replaced for repeated “play.”

THE SWINDLE CONTINUES: A Mountain Dew ad has premiered on MTV with images of “Xtreme” sports accompanied by John Lydon singing a sneering-macho rendition of “Route 66.”

WATCH THIS SPACE: On the Boards announced it wants to raise money to buy and move into the current A Contemporary Theater building on lower Queen Anne, once ACT moves into the Eagles Auditorium downtown (around August). OTB sez its current home, Washington Hall, is too small and under-equipped for some of OTB’s favorite touring dance and performance-art acts. The stoic, historic old space would still be great for whatever theater or performance outfit picks it up next. Apparently at least one theater troupe’s vying for Wash. Hall, but nothing’s anywhere near final. (It’s also a perfect space for all-ages music events.)

PANGS OF GUILT: I understand the local media’s obsession with Martin Pang but I don’t share it. Should they try him for arson? Yes. Murder? No; manslaughter at most. Yes, four firefighters died needlessly in the fire Pang allegedly masterminded. But nobody’s even claiming he wanted or specifically sought their deaths.

C:\>HAWKS?: When Paul Allen bought the Portland TrailBlazers, I wrote about whether he’d bring sophisticated computer analysis to basketball and whether it’d result in increased throughput. As it turned out, Allen (and his privately-financed arena) made the Blazers a much enviable franchise financially, if not in the standings. Now, the MS/ Asymetrix/ Starwave/ TicketMaster/ Seattle Commons/ Hendrix Museum magnate’s talking about buying and saving the Seahawks (though owner Ken “No Ball” Behring, the almost-official Most Hated Man in America 1996, officially isn’t talking about selling). But the lack of any real sale prospects thus far doesn’t mean we can’t start pondering the possibilities. First, we can presume Pearl Jam won’t perform before any Hawks games like they’ve done for the Sonics. Jared Roberts wrote to the Internet newsgroup “alt.sports.football.pro.sea-seahawks” with further predictions: “There would be a trick play called the `Ctrl-alt-del.’ Tackling an opponent would be called `crashing’ an opponent.”

HATE TRIANGLE: Courtney Love’s put her band Hole on temporary hiatus and cleaned up her personal act (possibly to appease the movie producers she now wants to work for). To help fill any outrageousness gap, two local performing artists have trotted out characters named “Courtney Hate,” both gleefully exploiting Love’s recent-past rep for big make-up and crude stage antics. One is lounge-before-lounge-was-hip singer Julie Cascioppo; she’s done the role at her regular Pink Door gig and on her cable-access show (a show I’ve been on). The other’s a drag performer, who’s appeared at events including the recent Drag Queen Spelling Bee. He claims Cascioppo stole the idea from him; she denies it. I believe the idea’s so obvious, neither should claim it was a conception of major originality. Love herself is apparently amused; the gay paper Perv quotes her, “You know you’ve made it when you’re impersonated by a drag queen.”