MEANWHILE ON LINE OUT
Mike Nipper remembers Macho Man Randy Savage
...
Dave Segal recognizes Bee Gees' 1st as a classic
...
Charles Mudede wants Bad Brains to apologize
...
Here is a giant list of defunct Seattle clubs
...
Avengers are playing the Funhouse tonight!
...
Watch the new Dyme Def video!
...
More »
Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, May 23, 2012
Housekeeping A Critical Overview of The Stranger
Posted by Din Tindleson, Spiritual Leader and Maker of Dr. Tindleson’s Hygiene Products on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 9:00 AM
We're observing Slog silence from now until 11 a.m. while we have an editorial meeting, but look—we made an entire paper's worth of stuff for you! Here's what Din Tindleson has to say.
History Settlers in History, Settlers Today, Settlers from Space
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:24 AM
While watching this video, I recalled this passage in Jared Diamond's book The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal:
To begin with, we do not discuss the Indian tragedy much - not nearly as much as the genocide of the Second World War in Europe, for instance. Our great national tragedy is instead viewed as the Civil War. Insofar as we stop to think about white versus Indian conflict, we consider it as belonging to the distant past, and we describe it in military language, such as the Pequod War,Jared Diamond's point is this: In the colonizing moments of Australia, Tasmania, and America, the indigenous people were mostly killed not by the army but by civilians, settlers.Great Swamp Fight, Battle of Wounded Knee, Conquest of the West, and so on. Indians, in our view, were warlike and violent even towards other Indian tribes, masters of ambush and treachery. They were famous for their barbarity, notably for the distinctively Indian practices of torturing captives and scalping enemies. They were few in number and lived as nomadic hunters, especially bison hunters. The Indian population of the US as of 1492 is traditionally estimated at one million. This figure is so trivial, compared to the present US population of 250 million, that the inevitability of whites occupying this virtually empty continent becomes immediately apparent. Many Indians died from smallpox and other diseases. The aforementioned attitudes guided the Indian policy of the most admired US presidents and leaders from George Washington onwards (see quotations at the end of this chapter). These rationalizations rest on a transformation of historical facts. Military language implies declared warfare waged by adult male combatants. Actually, common white tactics were sneak attacks (often by civilians) on villages or encampments to kill Indians of any age and either sex.
When I read this piece of news...
Astronomer Jill Tarter, the inspiration for heroine Ellie Arroway in the novel and movie "Contact," is retiring after spending 35 years scanning the heavens for signals from intelligent aliens....I recalled the passage in The Third Chimpanzee and that video in The Guardian and thought: Why are we looking for intelligent aliens? What in the world (or in world history) makes us think that such an encounter will be peaceful? The last thing we need are settlers from space.Tarter is stepping down as the director of the Center for SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., the organization's officials announced today (May 22).
Advertisement
Election / Olympia Dems' Odds of Holding State Senate Just Got Better
Posted by Goldy on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:18 AM
I don't know whose idea it was, but Governor Chris Gregoire deserves a ton of credit for executing a political maneuver yesterday that could end up keeping control of the state senate in the hands of her fellow Democrats. Just days after the candidate filing deadline, Senator Cheryl Pflug (R-Maple Valley) announced she would step down July 1 to take a $92,500 a year appointment by Gregoire to a six-year term on the Washington Growth Management Hearings Board, suddenly putting Pflug's 5th Legislative District into play.
Hey, thank you, Governor, for the lovely parting gift.
Pflug has been one of the more moderate members of the senate Republican caucus since being appointed to the seat Dino Rossi left to run for governor in 2004. She will be perhaps best remembered for her crucial vote on marriage equality... a vote that had earned her a Republican primary challenger from the right, Snoqualmie businessman Brad Toft.
But Pflug was also facing a tough Democratic challenger in Issaquah Councilman Mark Mullet. No Democrat has held this seat since the single term won by Kathleen Drew (now running for Secretary of State) in 1992, but Mullet is considered a bit of an up and comer, and given his name ID, experience, and lack of being a one-issue rightwing Christianist like Toft, insiders tell me that Mullet has the early edge in this suddenly competitive race.
Republicans need to pick up three Democratic seats to take control of the senate. They have a virtual lock on the seat Senator Jim Kastama (D-Puyallup) has left open to run for Secretary of State, and a decent shot at unseating senators Mary Margaret Haugen (D-Camano Island) and Rosemary McAuliffe (D-Bothell). Add in races for open seats left vacant by Lisa Brown (D-Spokane), Derek Kilmer (D-Gig Harbor) and Craig Pridemore (D-Vancouver), and senate Dems have little room for error.
With Pflug's departure, the 5th LD now becomes the Democrats best shot at a pickup, followed by the Democratic-leaning 41st LD where first term Senator Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island) faces a tough challenge from Maureen Judge (D-My Ex-Wife). If Dems can pickup one or both of these seats, the Republicans once promising takeover math becomes awfully complicated.
Sports / Fashion Meet the UW "Swagga Suit"
Posted by David Schmader on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:07 AM
- Gillian Pennington/SWAG
Details come from Seattlepi.com:
The Swagga Suits, as they’re called, are a product of a new company called SWAG, short for Sweet Washington Athletic Gear. SWAG was started this year by UW undergrad Gillian Pennington, an entrepreneurship student in the UW Foster School of Business, who developed the jumpsuit with a group of classmates.
You can pre-order a Swagga Suit of your own for $60 right here. And you can share your opinion of the Swagga Suit below.
Teh Internets Legislators Still Have No Idea How the Internet Works
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 8:06 AM
The dumbest proposed law of the week was posted on Gizmodo last night:
Did you hear the one about the New York state lawmakers who forgot about the First Amendment in the name of combating cyberbullying and "baseless political attacks"?
Proposed legislation in both chambers would require New York-based websites, such as blogs and newspapers, to "remove any comments posted on his or her website by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post."
Stupid laws are proposed all the time around the United States, and some of those stupid laws even manage to pass. But this is fucking ridiculous. One day, the majority of American lawmakers will have had some meaningful experience with the internet. Today is not that day.
Advertisement
News The Morning News: The LA Kings Are Going to the Stanley Cup Finals, Facebook Is Being Sued Over IPO, and Skin Cells Are Turning Into Heart Cells
Posted by Megan Seling on Wed, May 23, 2012 at 7:56 AM
The LA Kings Are Going to the Stanley Cup Finals: They beat the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in overtime last night.
In Local Sports: The Mariners lost, the Storm lost.
In a Not Surprising Turn of Events: Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are being sued over IPO.
Egypt Is Voting on Who Their President Should Be: For the first time ever.
And in Other Facebook News: They are working on redesigning the stupid Timeline feature.
Bad News: "The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA locate Osama bin Laden has been convicted of treason and sent to prison."
Magic!: Scientists have turned skin cells into cardiac cells, helping failing hearts.
$100 Bucks Says Someone Will Blame The Hunger Games: "The surgeon who removed an arrow from the body of a 7-year-old says the Campbellsport girl is 'very lucky to be alive.'"
Ugh: "A Marysville police officer whose 7-year-old daughter was fatally shot by her younger brother with a handgun left in the family van was charged Tuesday with second-degree manslaughter."
College Student Pleads Guilty to Threatening the President: A 20-year-old in Florida faces five years in prison for posting threatening messages about the President on Facebook.
Snooki Is Having a Boy: If you care.
Today's SIFF Pick: Cienna Madrid says you should not miss Breathing, a film about a 19-year-old man named Roman Kogler. "He has no family to speak of, and his only chance of escaping lockdown is by holding down a job. Unfortunately, he’s also kind of an apathetic dick who doesn’t work well with others. But when he answers a mortuary ad in the newspaper, Kogler is forced to confront his past and process the pain of seeing a familiar name among the dead, or embrace being a thug for the rest of his life, as you watch and pray he makes the right choice."
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Savage Love SL Letter of the Day: Thank You Noted
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 6:22 PM
I'm not expecting a reply—although it would be nice!—I just wanted to say thank you. I'm bisexual. I have known it since I was quite young. My family found out when I was 16. It's been five years of listening to them tell me that I can be one or the other—gay or straight—but not bisexual because bisexuals are liars. Then I showed my brother the YouTube video of you on bisexuality, and he now believes that not only is bisexuality real, but that I am really bisexual. I'm in a hetrosexual relationship and probably will be for the rest of my life. But I have always, and will always, find women and men atractive. It's always been a bit of a problem since my family found out. But now at least I can talk to my brother about my exes. I can finally tell him which of my "friends" were really girlfriends. He even listens to my advice on picking women up now—and he's 7 years older than me! Sorry for rambling.
But it meant so much to me—your video did—and it's amazing how someone can change thanks to one simple video. Thanks again!
You Made A Believer
Politics Big Money Pledged for Charter Schools Initiative
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 5:43 PM
Today a passel of organizations and lawmakers filed an initiative that would create 40 charter schools for five years, raising the possibility of taking a well-worn controversy to Washington State voters yet again. (The state posted the text of the measure in this Word document.)
With only six and a half weeks to finalize ballot language, print petitions, and gather more than 241,000 valid signatures, the initial question seemed to be whether this yet-unnamed group was serious. Secretary of State's office spokesman David Ammons said it is "virtually unheard of to start this late."
But while Mark Funk, a campaign operative brought in to handle media for the initiative's roll-out, was short of details this evening—he was confident that there was money in the wings. "We have, how would I phrase this, there are pledges that have been made to this," Funk said. "We will be a position to undertake a robust paid signature gathering campaign."
Advertisement
Religion Stand Up for the Nuns—Tonight at 7 p.m.
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 4:39 PM
You may have been pissed—I was—when you heard that Seattle archbishop J. Peter Sartain is now in charge of probing and punishing thousands of American nuns for focusing too much on poverty and not enough on abortion and gay marriage. Tonight, Seattle gets a chance to a show whose side we're on. Local Catholics and non-Catholics are meeting from from 7-8:00 p.m. to hold a vigil on the steps of St. James Cathedral, located at 9th Avenue and Marion Street, a mere block from Sartain's chancery. You should go.
If nothing else, go click like on "I Stand with the Sisters."
I know—you're probably not Catholic.
But...
It's not about being Catholic; it's about defending good people from a bully. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which most American nuns belong to, has for the most part been doing god's work (for the poor) and refusing to be hateful. And they are being punished for it. Bizarrely, this entire national controversy is cresting Seattle. I don't want to belabor the point, but it's OUR BISHOP in charge. The sisters deserve our support. If the Catholic Church will ever back down on its increasingly zealous bigotry, it won't be because secularists and atheists are angry. It will be because the laity, the nuns, and the priests resist. And they can resist if they know we've got their backs. So go tonight.
Books Orange No More
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 4:32 PM
Ouch:
Britain's Orange Prize for Fiction, which is annually awarded to a female author, will cease to be orange after the 2012 award is presented next week. That's because the Orange Prize is sponsored by Orange, a British mobile communications company, which after 17 years has decided to end its association with the prize.
According to the Bookseller, Orange plans to move its arts support to movie projects.
Maybe it's time for someone to write the 354,932nd article predicting the death of books, now.
Animals Seattle Aquarium Otter Cam, People!
Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 4:02 PM
Sorry everyone, but I won't be able to put up the new issue of The Stranger online tomorrow morning. I'm spending the rest of my life watching these otters in the Seattle Aquarium's otter cam.
A minute ago one was floating around with with a pink ball then he put it down so he could wash his face. Adorable!
UPDATE: Squeeee! He fell asleep while holding the pink ball!
Advertisement
SIFF / Film Tonight at SIFF: God Bless America
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 3:25 PM
As I noted on Twitter, standing in line to see a Bobcat Goldthwait movie today says something very different about you than standing in line to see a Bobcat Goldthwait movie in the 1980s. Goldthwait is way better behind the camera than he is in front of it. His best movie, Sleeping Dogs Lie, is at once a rude, raunchy sex comedy about a woman who gave a blowjob to a dog in college and a quiet character study exploring why you shouldn't be completely honest in relationships. It's very much the work of a writer/director, and it doesn't feel quite like any other movie.
Goldthwait's new movie, God Bless America, is already available on pay-per-view and through various online rental services, but seeing it as a midnight movie at the Egyptian as part of SIFF was the perfect viewing experience for the film. The premise is Idiocracy meets Falling Down: A man named Frank gets fed up with how stupid the world has become. With a teenage girl as his improbable sidekick, he decides to do something about it, by killing idiotic reality-show "celebrities" and people who talk in movie theaters. Occasionally, Frank would go off on a rant about civility and shame and dignity, and the packed-out Egyptian audience would loudly applaud those monologues with such obvious excitement that the violent revenge sprees that followed the applause made the whole house feel complicit in Frank's crimes. (It helps with Seattle audiences that Frank is the rare left-leaning movie killer—targets of his rage include a Fox News riff and teabaggers.)
This isn't Goldthwait's best movie. It stalls out in the middle and doesn't have much to do once it establishes its premise. But it's a lot of fun—a road-trip movie, a Bonnie and Clyde riff, and a plea for civility disguised as a serial killer flick. In your living room, I expect the flaws would be magnified. In a theater full of people who sympathize with Frank's schlubby outrage, it's a wonderful treat. God Bless America is playing one more time at SIFF, this time at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown at 9:30 tonight. Rumor has it, it'll be back at the Uptown next month, just in time for the 4th of July.
2012 Watch Cory Booker Retreat Even Further on Maddow
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 2:27 PM
Here's Cory Booker on The Rachel Maddow Show last night:
After hearing President Obama explain his position on Romney's business record earlier Monday, it became clear "he was focusing in on his job creation record," the New Jersey Democrat said in anevening interview, and "to me I think that's fair game."
Now that Booker is a company man again, I wonder if there's room under that big Democratic tent for him, and if his reputation can withstand the attacks he's suffered from the left.
Comedy Today in Funny: Hannibal Buress and Aziz Ansari
Posted by Grant Brissey on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 1:33 PM
Gay Marriage / 2012 Poll Says Nobody Cares About Gay Marriage
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 1:27 PM
A new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll says President Obama's announcement of support for gay marriage hasn't made a difference at all. This is your daily reminder that polls are stupid:
In the poll, a combined 17 percent says it makes them "much more likely" or "somewhat more likely" they will vote for him. That's compared with a combined 20 percent who say the announcement will make them more likely to vote for Mitt Romney, who opposes gay marriage.
Perhaps more importantly, 62 percent say the president's support for gay marriage doesn't make a difference in their vote — including 75 percent of independents, 76 percent of moderates, 81 percent of African Americans, and 65 percent of residents in the Midwest who say that.
Okay, but. This was never going to be an issue that would pull people to President Obama's side. The thing this poll doesn't account for is the hundreds of people who came out to show gratitude to the president for his announcement. That enthusiasm and personal engagement is the sort of energy that drives elections, and it's the sort of energy that Mitt Romney can't seem to muster.
Transportation North Seattle Slams Plans for 900-Car Parking Garage at Northgate Mall
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 1:04 PM
Based on "limited information," a coalition of progressive advocacy groups and neighborhood leaders sent a critical letter today to Sound Transit, the regional agency building a light-rail line through the Northgate neighborhood, opposing a potential $40 million parking garage at Northgate Mall. The garage would apparently function as a park and ride, encouraging commuters to transfer from cars to mass transit.
But the group contends that I-5, which runs adjacent to the mall, currently serves as a barrier to the transit station—and that money would be better spent, not by building a parking garage, but by building a pedestrian bridge over the freeway. As they explain: "Direct access from the station to the west side of I-5 will reunite the neighborhoods and provide station access to thousands of potential light rail riders, including the nearly 7,000 students, faculty, and staff who attend and work at North Seattle Community College."
"Currently, most of the people who park at the Northgate Transit Center live within a 3-mile radius," the group adds. "The 900-stall garage would increase the number of people who drive rather than encouraging more people to walk, bike, ride, and live at Northgate."
I've posted the whole letter here.
Books / Nerd Superhero Comic Book to Feature Gay Wedding
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 12:29 PM
Marvel Comics has decided to take their characters in a new direction, one that hasn’t been explored in their pages before. Today, the publisher announced that their character Northstar would be proposing to his long-time boyfriend Kyle in the pages of Astonishing X-Men #50. And ABC’s The View had the exclusive.
Northstar, of course, has long been Marvel's token gay character. (Before that, he was Marvel's token elf. I'm not kidding.) Marvel will take some shit from the usual bigots*, but this is pretty much as safe as "controversial" can get. When Archie Comics is three months ahead of you, you're not breaking any ground.
* I predict, for instance, that all six of the Million Moms will pretend that comics are still sold to children and not grown-ass men in their 30s and 40s. What about the imaginary children who still read comic books? Oh, the outrage!
??!! Reagan's Blood! REAGAN'S BLOOD!
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 11:31 AM
Oh, yes: Let us now go to the New York Post for our daily dose of important news:
The charitable foundation of late president Ronald Reagan condemned a British auction house for selling a vial that purportedly contains his blood.
Bids above $9,500 were made for the specimen vial and supporting documentation, apparently from the hospital where the then-president was treated after a 1981 assassination attempt.
"If indeed this story is true, it's a craven act, and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase," Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation executive director John Heubusch said in a statement.
This is clearly the beginning of a science fiction novel. Either Mitt Romney will drink the blood, grow to gigantic size, and then go on a rampage during a presidential debate, or an insane Texas billionaire will clone an army of Ronald Reagans in vats as part of a plan to populate Mars. In any case, I eagerly await the quest to find Abraham Lincoln's foreskin. Get Nicolas Cage on the line!
Crime This Is Why You Shouldn't Shoplift Alcohol
Posted by Unpaid Intern on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 11:22 AM
Posted by news intern Joseph Staten
Two incidents around the city in the last few weeks centered on the same theme: attempts to shoplift booze foiled by employees.
The tamer of the two incidents happened at 8:15 p.m. on May 7 at the Central Co-op on East Pine and Madison Street, says a police report. A security guard pursued a man who had allegedly put a bottle of wine into a messenger bag and left the store. The security guard ran after him and "tripped [him] with his feet," knocking him to the ground. The suspect hopped up and pushed the guard hard in the chest, making him "reluctant to re-engage" the suspect in fear that someone might be injured. However, the guard did follow the suspect and continuously gave Seattle Police updates on his location. After a brief backyard chase and multiple attempts by the suspect to hide in the bushes, the alleged shoplifter was arrested by SPD and booked.
The wilder incident happened two days prior, around 4:30 p.m. at a shop on South King Street. After a man allegedly put two cans of beer into his pockets and left the store, the store owner chased after the suspect and "the two got into a physical fight." The suspect punched the owner in the back of the head, according to a police report, at which point the store owner decided "he was unwilling to be a victim of the theft and assault" and reengaged the suspect, recovering not just both beer cans but also the suspect's wallet. After being contacted by police, the store owner said he didn't want a police report completed because he had gotten the beers back, but I suspect it was also because he had taken the guy's wallet in the process. The owner gave the wallet to police, a report was completed anyway, and police were unable to locate the suspect.
Comedy Tuesday: Go Watch Hilarious Comedians Mock Terrified Cheerleaders
Posted by Cienna Madrid on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 11:15 AM
- Camp Hurrah isn't all it's cracked up to be.
And you know the players: Smart local comedians Paul Merrill, Anita Goodman, and Derek Sheen, led by Children of the Atom's Elicia Sanchez.
Tomorrow's your chance to witness the beautiful collision of wit and campy horror as these funny people tear the 1988 slasher flick Cheerleader Camp a new asshole and then gently plug it with a pom pom (BYOPP). In case you still need convincing, horror movie website mostersatplay.com calls Cheerleader Camp "care free... full of tits and gore... tedious... but overall, good times."
The free fun starts at 7:00 pm at The White Rabbit in Fremont.
There will be drink specials! Prizes! Cheese puffs! Tits! Gore! Comedy gold! And a live podcast taping afterward—filled with fresh tits and gore jokes and cheerleading-inspired freestyle rapping—with these same funny people! For more info, check out The Enematic Cinematic: Lives.
What more could you ask for on a Tuesday night?
Animals Cocks Gone Wild
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Slog tipper Ellen spotted this rooster... in Belltown:
2012 / The Ladies Misogynist Man on Internet Doesn't Want the Internet to Know How Misogynistic He Is
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:27 AM
TBogg is singing the ballad of George Tierney, a man who publicly said terrible things to Sandra Fluke on the internet and now doesn't want people to know about the terrible things he said. Ha-ha-ha, George Tierney! You're not helping yourself out, here, buddy.
(Via Rebecca Schoenkopf.)
Music We're Giving Away Tickets to a Couple of Cool Barboza Shows
Posted by Megan Seling on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:24 AM
It'll be the perfect opportunity to check out the new club, if you haven't already.
Pick your poison: Lovely singer Julia Holter, who records soft, experimental pop songs in her bedroom and/or the always unpredictable hiphop/electro outfit Mad Rad, who will probablytry to tear Barboza down to the ground.
LGBTQITSLFA The Police Let the Beatings Happen
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 9:54 AM
Go read the Slog post filed yesterday evening by former Stranger intern Chris Collison, who covered an attempt at Ukraine's first gay-pride parade, the Orthodox hooligans, the beatings, the pepper spray, and the police's complicity in the abuse.
And as Collison explains, this is actually progress.
City Seattle's Forthcoming Waterfront Ferris Wheel
Posted by David Schmader on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 9:52 AM
- Artist's rendering of forthcoming ferris wheel.
It is happening, on Pier 57, where roughly 550 tons of concrete have been poured, supporting spokes have been hoisted into place, and the whole 175-foot-high shebang is scheduled to be up and running by the 4th of July.
The Seattle waterfront ferris wheel will feature 42 heated-and-air-conditioned gondolas, each of which will hold six people, each of whom will pay $10-$12 per ride.
International Israel Is for Jews
Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 9:21 AM
The US does not report on shit like this, but the Europeans do:
The Israeli prime minister has stoked a volatile debate about refugees and migrant workers from Africa, warning that "illegal infiltrators flooding the country" were threatening the security and identity of the Jewish state.I feel sad for these Africans and the memory of those who were murdered by the criminals who ran Germany only 70 or so years ago."If we don't stop their entry, the problem that currently stands at 60,000 could grow to 600,000, and that threatens our existence as a Jewish and democratic state," Binyamin Netanyahu said at Sunday's cabinet meeting. "This phenomenon is very grave and threatens the social fabric of society, our national security and our national identity."
...[The interior minister, Eli Yishai]: "Why should we provide them with jobs? I'm sick of the bleeding hearts, including politicians. Jobs would settle them here, they'll make babies, and that offer will only result in hundreds of thousands more coming over here."
Yishai repeated an earlier call for all migrants to be jailed pending deportation. "I want everyone to be able to walk the streets without fear or trepidation ... The migrants are giving birth to hundreds of thousands, and the Zionist dream is dying," he told Army Radio.
...More than 13,500 people entered Israel illegally in 2010, of whom almost two-thirds were Eritrean and one-third were Sudanese. Three were granted refugee status by Israel, rising to six last year.
....Israel is also constructing the world's largest detention centre for asylum seekers and illegal migrants, capable of holding 11,000 people. The £58m building, close to the border, will receive its first detainees by the end of the year.
I will end this post on a most pessimistic note:
Arthur Wichmann, a Dutch explorer and professor... devoted a decade of his life to writing a monumental three-volume treatise on the history of New Guinea's exploration. In 1,198 pages he evaluated every source of information about New Guinea that he could find, from the earliest reports filtering through Indonesia to the great expeditions of the Nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. He grew disillusioned as he realized that successive explorers committed the same stupidities again and again: they showed the same unwarranted pride in overstated accomplishments, refused to acknowledge disastrous oversights, ignored the experience of previous explorers, repeated previous errors, and hence blundered into unnecessary suffering and death. Looking back on this long history, Wichmann predicted that future explorers would continue to repeat the same errors. The bitter last sentence that concluded Wichmann's last volume was, 'Nothing learned, and everything forgotten!'
News What You're Missing on Neighborhood Blogs: Half Cats, Roving Bees, and Pooper Scoopers
Posted by Unpaid Intern on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 9:17 AM
Posted by news intern Joseph Staten
Mysterious Cat Death: West Seattle Blog reported on the discovery of half of a cat corpse near Holy Rosary in West Seattle. Someone came upon the half-cat and alerted authorities, stating that the animal appeared to have been "cleanly cut" in half. The Seattle Animal Shelter is investigating, but says that no foul play is suspected as animals such as raccoons apparently do this all the time.
Shit Show: Two women at the Pillars Park off-leash area allegedly had a stand-off involving pooper scoopers, reports Capitol Hill Seattle. According to a police report, one woman began attacking another with the metal implement, which forced the victim to pick up another to defend herself.
Bees Descend Upon Wallingford Citizens: A large Wallingford bee hive has split in two, causing half of the bees to seek a new home elsewhere, reports Wallyhood. Don't panic if you see the roving swarm, though. Local beekeeper Kevin writes that "Swarms are not inherently dangerous. They’re just waiting somewhere before moving into a new home."
Do You Know Who Named Beacon Hill?: The Beacon Hill Blog asks its readers if anyone can figure out the provenance of the neighborhood's name. The common story is that it's named after the Boston area, but Beacon Hillites are seeking a more definitive answer.
Science Memories of the Space Age
Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, May 22, 2012 at 9:14 AM
The beauty of this image (an artist's impression of the what the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array site in Chile will look like in 2013) breaks my heart:
- ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/L. Calçada (ESO)
NOM's Brian Brown Said I Could Name the Time and the Place
Posted by Dan Savage at 9:05 AM in Politics / Savage Love / Religion
Fun News For Seattle Fans of the "Savage Lovecast"
Posted by Dan Savage at 8:56 AM in Savage Love
Currently Hanging: Adrain Chesser and Art Camp
Posted by Jen Graves at 8:42 AM in Visual Art
Chicago Cops Attacked Cyber-Activists
Posted by Charles Mudede at 8:27 AM in Occupy
Better Than Nailing Books to the Wall
Posted by Paul Constant at 8:09 AM in Visual Art / Books
Monday, May 21, 2012
Even More on the Spectrum/Storefronts Thing
Posted by Brendan Kiley at 6:49 PM in Theater / Dance
The First Trailer for The Master Is Here
Posted by Paul Constant at 5:17 PM in Film
Yesterday I Tried to Cover Ukraine's First Gay-Pride Parade
Posted by Chris Collison at 4:47 PM in News
Most Commented on Slog
-
SL Letter of the Day: Show This Woman Some Love by Dan Savage
-
The Sunday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
Confidential to Conservative Christians: Keep Doubling Down On Hate, Assholes by Dan Savage
-
Dharun Ravi Sentenced to 30 Days by Dan Savage
-
Portland Is More Urban than Seattle by Charles Mudede
-
Seattle's Forthcoming Waterfront Ferris Wheel by David Schmader
-
NOM's Brian Brown Said I Could Name the Time and the Place by Dan Savage
-
Why KeyArena Won't Work by Goldy
-
Our First President: Dwight D. Eisenhower by Goldy
-
SL Letter of the Day: Anti-Gay Sister-In-Law Getting Her Kink On by Dan Savage
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
