The Bee:

Host and Pronouncer Extraordinaire Luke Burbank!

Judges Johnathan Kyu from Seattle Spelling Bee and Sean DeTore from TBTL and The Mix Tape.

Celebrity spellers:

• Cheezburger’s Ben Huh
• The Stranger’s Lindy West
• Comedian Solomon Georgio
• Comedian Kevin Hyder
• Movin’ 92’s Monti

Competing along with YOU — well, maybe you — seven audience members get a chance to spell! Bring your No. 2 pencils, there will be a test.

Post Bee Festivities:

An hour of top notch comedy coordinated by Kevin Hyder and People’s Republic of Komedy!

Closing out the night: A soon to be announced musical guest!

$10 cover, all proceeds go to the King and Snohomish County Regional Spelling Bee

A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors: TBTL, The Stranger, Factory 43 and People’s Republic of Komedy.

Click here for tickets!

We have some exciting news over here at Altrooist HQ! We are very proudly sponsoring the King and Snohomish Spelling Bee. An odd choice for a start-up with a misspelled name? Perhaps.

This post on The Stranger’s Slog tugged at our heartstrings: Tug Tug

No spelling bee in Seattle? We couldn’t let that happen! After making a few phone calls and activating our tiny but kick-ass network of do-gooders, it was a go.

We have some fundraising plans to help our partner, Town Hall, defray some of the costs associated with this event. Seattle’s favorite podcaster is on board – Mr. TBTL himself, Luke Burbank. And, most importantly, we have you. Would you like to help out, too? Leave a comment or email us at hello (at) altrooist.com and we’ll put you to work! W-O-R-K. Work.

(via Swissmiss)

We give this many many thumbs up.

Genes kinda look like peas.

New Scientist magazine explores ten mysteries of things humans do or have that don’t seem to make evolutionary sense. Things like pubic hair. And being nice. You can guess which one caught our attention here at Altrooist! But since we’re about being nice we’re gonna talk about that one.

Altruism is when someone does something to benefit another with no benefit to themselves, and maybe even at harm to themselves. Being a recovering philosophy major, I can recall many passionate discussions in my 20s about the existence of altruism. With my misunderstood hair-do, 40 pound book bag and serious doubts if I could make it through a philosophy graduate program, I didn’t think altruism was real. There was always a benefit to the doer. But maybe that was my AVRP1 talking.

AVPR1 is a gene that is tied to kindness. When it’s longer than average being nice is a biological preference. Coming up short? You might be mean, dictator-like and all around ruthless. According to a study if you have a lengthy AVPR1 you get more of a reward in the feel-good centers of the brain when you are kind. You get a bigger kick out of social bonding, a greater high when you click with someone. Given all the good brain chemicals being released when you go out of your way to be altruistic, it’s no wonder that an AVPR1 afflicted philosophy student would argue that the doer gets a benefit — because as a doer, I was getting a benefit.

But what if that conversation was with an AVPR1 challenged student. She’s not getting the same reward for being nice. Brain chemicals might be released but could go relatively unnoticed or have no effect. Her decision to donate blood could seem like a burden, something she gets no reward from at all. Where my brain is skipping through a field of wildflowers after doing something nice, her’s could be hanging out in the library.

So now 15 years later, my answer for if altruism exists is “It depends.” Which, really, is pretty much the smartest answer for any philosophical conundrum anyway.

I’ve watched folks improve their mood by buying someone else coffee. I’ve spent vacations doing good deeds in unfamiliar cities only to find that’s the quickest way to make them familiar. Genetically lucky? Maybe. But worth a try? Absolutely.

When I saw these post-it notes, I found myself nodding and saying yes and wondering which one I should print out. Where do I most need the encouragement?

Is it this?

Or maybe this?

I couldn’t help but email compulsive doodler and optimist, CP.Writer, and ask if he’d be so kind to answer my (modified) “tagged: kindness” questions. His reply: “I’d like that very much, please.” I like it very much, too.

1. How did you come up with the idea for this project?

I started this in mid-January when the noise about the recession was at its loudest. Everything – the news, the talk – was really negative. I started this project to cheer myself and people around me up.

2. Do you feel like leaving these post-it-notes around are good deeds?

I think it has some positive effect. People who’ve found the post-it notes have told me that in small ways. People also leave comments on the blog and on the Facebook page.

3. What one of the tips do you forget the most or which one do you feel like you do the best?

Ha, I forget most of them! That’s why I need to remind myself.

4. What color best captures kindness to you?

Van Gogh thought that yellow represents friendship. I agree.

6. Can you sum up your best intentions with one word?

Love.

It’s a great holiday for good deeds. Think of all the people you’ll see — at fireworks, at the beach, in your backyard with their feet in the kiddie pool.

“Wherever there is a human being there is an opportunity for kindness” — Seneca.

Twitter peep math_magic is the first to ring in!

You can join in, too! We’d like it lots if you did.

Just leave a comment or @Altrooist  your acts of kindness, your good deeds, your letting your little sister have the last slice of blueberry pie! So easy, so awesome. That’s how we like it.

Go good!

That’s the first ever Altrooist t-shirt.

It’s almost been a year since we solidified the name during a phone call. Almost a year since we spent $20 on the domain. We’re close to a soft launch (!) and there are many many things I am proud of — that t-shirt is one of them.

I’ve never worked at, much less “ran”, a web start-up. I’ve meet many whip-smart, start-up entrepreneurs and I’ve tried to soak in as much as I could around them. I’ve read books. I’ve become comfy in the world of online lingo and know enough to ask a few of the right questions. But most of the Altrooist team are start-up newbies with Eric being the impressive-resume exception.

We celebrate the tiny, because tiny is awesome and because tiny is kinda how our wins come right now. A glimpse into the code and we’re smiling for days. A rough UI demands a round of high-fives. One of my wishes is for us to never lose that. Celebrating the tiny seems like a way to stay motivated and happy.

This Altrooist shirt is going to be worn during the Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon in Seattle on June 27th. We donated $50 to a really good cause to land the torso of one of the 8 drunken Krunking Numbkits team members, one of which is Buster Benson. He’s one of the entrepreneurial gurus who has helped us along with encouragement, (perhaps unintentional) bits of wisdom, and by living an awe inspiring life. The man follows his passions. He’s the force behind Locavore. He’s always in the know. He can sport a pair of very tiny running shorts effortlessly. Thank you for kicking ass, Buster.

If you happen to be at the Seattle R’nR half marathon this weekend — give a hoot and a cup of cool water to the Krunking Numbkits team who are running for a good cause while wearing one!

Go Good!

++ Update! A Tweet!

A recent study concluded that spending money on others can boost our own happiness. Which, if you think about it, makes perfect sense. Stopping at your local coffee house to pick up a cup of java, doesn’t necessarily make you any happier. Okay, maybe it does. Look, let’s just pretend it doesn’t make you that much happier. There’s no need to be difficult!  What if you spent that same amount of money on a cupcake for a friend, coworker, or even a stranger. Can you imagine how much that might brighten someone’s day?

I mean, I know it’s cliche to say “it’s the thought that counts” but it’s true. Thoughts count! Little things add up. After all, it really isn’t about the money at all. It’s about the intentions behind it. Someone’s willingness to share. Someone’s thoughtfulness to think of you. Someone going out of their way, even just a little bit, to cheer you on.

So, can money buy you happiness? Sort of. But not really. You know what can buy happiness? Sharing.