Say, you know how we generally try to keep you folks up to date on Apple's latest retail openings? Well, there's an interesting side effect that comes along with performing that particular public service: every time we mention that a new store is about to open, we get at least a half-dozen letters from folks like faithful viewer Greg Bentz bemoaning the fact that the upper left quadrant of the country is strangely devoid of Uncle Steve's little boutiques. It's like there's a black hole of retaily goodness up there. Intriguing, no?

While we can't say for certain why that might be, we're going to take a wild flailing stab in the dark and propose that maybe any Apple store that opens within three hundred miles of Redmond proper would simply implode and catch fire due to proximity to the Taste Vortex and exposure to high levels of negative shame ions. Or maybe Apple's just chicken. We find ourselves wondering if an Apple retail presence in the Seattle area might become a reality if enough Mac fans email Steve Jobs triple-dog-daring him to do it, or at least making that "bawwwk bawk bawk bawk" sound and doing the little strut with the wing motions.

At this point, though, the bad news is that it looks like Timbuktu will be getting an Apple store before Seattle does. The good news, however, is that a Timbuktu store may not be entirely out of the question. As faithful viewer Andrew Galbraith notes, the latest report over at Think Secret indicates that Apple is indeed planning a tentative step into establishing Apple retail stores in other countries, apparently beginning with Australia and Canada. (Based on what we're hearing, the Australian stores can't open soon enough: faithful viewer Jack Kennedy tells us that the country now has its own version of the Dell Dude who says "Get a Dell, mate!" Truly, evil knows no bounds.)

Further borderline evidence that the Canada stores may be in the kicking-around phase comes via faithful viewer Simon Lepik-Wookey, who found a Canadian Apple job posting in National Retail Sales that might indicate an increased retail focus in the Great White North. Don't get too worked up just yet, though; Think Secret surmises that the first Canadian retail store might not open until 2004 near Toronto. Still, every shred of hope is welcome. Just think, Washingtonians: a dose of Apple retail bliss might be just a few years-- and a quick hop across the border-- away!