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Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. editor@thestranger.com (The Stranger Editor) webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Tue, 21 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Tue, 21 May 2013 10:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/morning-news-an-even-bigger-tornado http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/morning-news-an-even-bigger-tornado Anna Minard <p><strong>Huge Tornado Wrecks Oklahoma Town</strong>: Two dozen are killed and swaths of Oklahoma City suburb Moore are flattened by a tornado that <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/05/21/185715036/death-toll-climbing-in-oklahoma-tornado-tragedy">hit two schools and a hospital</a>. At least seven children are among the dead. From the story of a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-tornado-moore-oklahoma-teacher-20130520,0,261882.story">teacher at one of those elementary schools</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>Evans got some of her students into a bathroom, Cordray said she told her. The walls started falling in on them, so she jumped on top of them, shielding them with her body. After the storm had passed, Evans pulled children from the destroyed building. But she still doesn't know how many of them survived.</p></blockquote> <p><strong>Mayoral Polling</strong>: KING 5 released a <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/mcginn-leads-in-new-king-5-poll">poll of Seattle voters yesterday</a>, and they say Mike McGinn is polling right up there (at 22 percent) with Undecided (23 percent). That's cute, KING 5, but we all know there's only one legally binding mayoral poll, and that's the <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/17/slog-super-poll-who-should-be-mayor">SLOG SUPER POLL</a>. McGinn clinches that one with 44 percent of the nearly 5,000 votes.</p> <p><strong>Israeli and Syrian Troops</strong>: Shooting at each other <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israeli-syrian-troops-trade-fire-in-golan-heights/2013/05/21/a5a78532-c21d-11e2-8c3b-0b5e9247e8ca_story.html">at the ceasefire line in the Golan Heights</a> this morning.</p> <p><strong>Pedestrian Struck by Light Rail Train in Sodo</strong>: At around 7:15 this morning, at <a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Man-struck-by-light-rail-train-near-SODO-station-208317251.html">Fifth Avenue and Holgate</a>. The fiftysomething man is in critical condition, Central Link light rail is closed for the investigation.</p> <p><strong>UW Medicine Announces a "Strategic Affiliation" with Catholic PeaceHealth System</strong>: Announced yesterday, the deal will be explained further this fall, but a <a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021024295_uwpeacehealthxml.html">similar "affiliation" with Providence ended with Providence stopping abortion and hospice services</a>. Go read <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/faith-healers/Content?oid=16050396<br />">Cienna's feature about these mergers</a> if you'd like to be fully freaked the fuck out.</p> <p><strong>Federal Food Safety Standards Affect Small Local Farms</strong>: Says one farmer, &#8220;Some of these [Good Agriculture Practices] standards are trying to make your farm <a href="http://crosscut.com/2013/05/21/agriculture/114451/farm-food-safety-modernization-act-washington/">less habitat-friendly and more [of a] sterile monoculture in the name of food safety</a>."</p> <p><strong>Studies Say Anti-Gay Laws Make Gay People Feel Shitty</strong>: "A small but consistent body of research suggests that laws that ban gay marriage&#8212;or approve it&#8212;can <a href="http://www.kuow.org/post/bans-same-sex-marriage-can-take-psychological-toll">affect the mental health of gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans</a>," reports KUOW.</p> <p><strong>Watch This Interview with a Tornado Survivor</strong>: Just watch it, I'm telling you.<br /><div style="text-align:center;"><embed src="http://cnettv.cnet.com/av/video/cbsnews/atlantis2/cbsnews_player_embed.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" background="#333333" width="425" height="279" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" FlashVars="si=254&contentValue=50147264&shareUrl=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50147264n" /></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/morning-news-an-even-bigger-tornado#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16830409&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> News http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/21/morning-news-an-even-bigger-tornado?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16830409&id=comments 17 Tue, 21 May 2013 08:47:52 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/lindy-west-on-vagina-power http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/lindy-west-on-vagina-power Anna Minard <p>Lindy West reports on Jezebel of the <a href="http://jezebel.com/dude-wants-to-shoot-hillary-clinton-in-the-vag-unaware-508917845">awesomeness of vaginas</a>, in response to that creepy dude who called "Miss Hillary Clinton" a "C-U-Next-Tuesday" and says he wants to <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/hillary-clinton-needs-to-be-convicted-she-needs-to-be-tried-convicted-and-shot-in-the-vagina-i-wanna-pull-the-trigger">shoot her in the vagina</a>. (Which, <em>wow</em> did that ever break my brain.)</p> <p>Lindy says:<br /><blockquote>Nausea aside, though, Santilli's words inspired an unexpected side effect in me: some real <strong>fuck-yeah Vagina Monologues girl-power shit</strong>. You want to hurt me, bro? ATTACK ME SOMEPLACE WEAK. VAGINAS ARE FUCKING BOSS.</p> <p>Vaginas are strong. Entire people come out of them. You know who came out of a vagina (probably)? Hulk Hogan, Shaq, and pretty much every horse.</p> <p>Vaginas take poundings and bangings and slammings and crushings AND THEY LOVE IT.</p> <p>Go ahead, fire your stupid figurative rage-bullet in there. <strong>Vaginas are like, "Yawn. Is it in yet?"</strong></p> <p>Just when you're feeling safe and comfy, vaginas open up and start vomiting blood everywhere like the elevator in the Shining. Vaginas are goth.</p></blockquote> <p>And thus commences the most uses of the word "vagina" in one Slog post ever. Vagina vagina. YOU'RE WELCOME.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/lindy-west-on-vagina-power#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16826830&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Politics The Ladies http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/lindy-west-on-vagina-power?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16826830&id=comments 27 Mon, 20 May 2013 16:41:13 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/seattles-largest-homeless-encampments-oppose-council-legislation-on-encampments http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/seattles-largest-homeless-encampments-oppose-council-legislation-on-encampments Anna Minard <p>Legislation intended to assist tent cities is meeting opposition from the very groups it's aimed at helping. I'd heard that possibility when looking into the legislation for my <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/fight-brewing-over-new-tent-cities/Content?oid=16767077">story in this week's paper</a>, and confirmed it in conversations late last week. A little background: Nick Licata will introduce legislation on Wednesday, supported by fellow council member Mike O'Brien as well as Mayor McGinn, to allow <strong>longer-term tent cities to set up on public and private land</strong> in Seattle. The measure moves beyond what is already allowed under temporary use permits (which only last six months) or the 2011 ordinance allowing encampments on religious properties. If the council doesn't go for it, there's alternate legislation planned to fund an environmental review of the current Nickelsville site so that encampment could become, perhaps more safely and healthily, an even longer-term camp than the two years it's been squatting on this city land.</p> <p>There will doubtless be opposition on the council, but there's also opposition coming from a different direction: SHARE, which runs Tent City 3&#8212;a camp that shelters up to 100 otherwise shelterless people&#8212;and Nickelsville, which supports a similar number of residents.</p> <p>Why are Nickelsville and SHARE so opposed to legislation that would expand legal encampments?</p> <p>Tent City 3 is opposed, says Jarvis Capucion from SHARE, because <strong>they don't want to be restricted to locations that are zoned nonresidential</strong>, which this bill would do. They had some conversations with Licata's office about the legislation, and Capucion tells me, "We have expressed our concerns regarding the residential zoning restriction." He hadn't seen the legislation yet when we spoke, but "from what we hear... <strong>our concerns were not addressed</strong>." Barring them from residential zones blocks them from about 65 percent of the city. "If it&#8217;s allowed in a church in a residential area, why wouldn&#8217;t it be allowed in a vacant lot in the same residential area?" he asks. "Our position is: It's redlining, it's discrimination, and it plays on fears and phobias of homeless people." He also points out that other jurisdictions in the county don't have a similar restriction. "This would be a step back for us."</p> <p>For Nickelsville, at which the legislation is ostensibly aimed&#8212;Food Lifeline wants to buy the city property Nickelsville is currently using, and neighbors have been <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/04/neighbors-ask-the-city-to-evict-nickelsville">badgering the city to move Nickelsville out</a>&#8212;they just don't see this legislation as useful for them.</p> <p>They won't be using it, say residents, and they also want to support Tent City 3's opposition. Nickelsville wants to find a site (two sites, actually, to accomodate their ever-growing numbers) that will <strong>host them for two years</strong>; this legislation only allows encampments for up to one year. "We're going to use the religious ordinance that&#8217;s already in existence, find a religious group for our signatory, and find some land," says Nickelsville resident Trace De Garmo. "<strong>We&#8217;re not going to fight city council on this legislation</strong>," he continues, "We just let them know that we don&#8217;t support it."</p> <p>The more temporary roving camps can still use temporary use permits, say my city sources, so they're not actually losing anything with this. But there's a fear that if this legislation passes, <strong>it will become the new norm</strong>&#8212;when other jurisdictions want to update their codes or other agreements expire, it'll be a go-to idea to limit camps in residential zones.</p> <p>But not all advocates for the homeless are opposing this. Real Change director Tim Harris spoke in glowing terms, calling this legislation "groundbreaking and progressive" and "the best legislation that we can get through city council." He's aware of the opposition, but told me, "<strong>I&#8217;m not one to let perfect get in the way of good</strong>... I mean, one of Nickelsville&#8217;s complaints is that as an illegal encampment, as squatters, they&#8217;re not able to get police support, there is bureaucracy in the way of them getting the fuller support that they need. What the city is trying to do is provide options and take steps to legitimize tent cities. I hope they come around to supporting it, because it&#8217;s in their best interests."</p> <p>The weird spot this puts council members in is that people who don't have the best track record supporting the homeless (cough, cough, <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/03/28/homeless-providers-pissed-at-council-member-tim-burgess">Tim Burgess</a>) can align themselves with homeless groups to oppose the legislation.</p> <p>This fight is going to get weird and interesting fast.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/seattles-largest-homeless-encampments-oppose-council-legislation-on-encampments#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16785024&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> City http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/seattles-largest-homeless-encampments-oppose-council-legislation-on-encampments?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16785024&id=comments 5 Mon, 20 May 2013 16:08:39 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/this-week-in-alleged-teenage-gang-rapes-that-end-up-on-social-media http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/this-week-in-alleged-teenage-gang-rapes-that-end-up-on-social-media Anna Minard <p>BECAUSE THAT IS JUST A <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/12/another-teenage-girl-takes-her-own-life-after-photos-of-her-rape-are-distributed-online&view=comments">REGULAR THING</a> THAT <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/10/and-another-teenager-kills-herself-after-being-bullied">HAPPENS NOW</a>. WTF.</p> <p>From the <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/20178826-418/three-teens-charged-with-raping-girl-posting-video-on-facebook.html"><em>Chicago Sun-Times</em></a>:</p> <blockquote><p>The girl had walked to Fritz&#8217; home to meet with him, and when she arrived, Fritz allegedly took the girl down to the basement and sexually assaulted her despite her resistance and demands to stop...</p> <p>Brown and Applewhite then sexually assaulted the girl while Fritz videotaped the rape, according to court documents. <strong>Fritz was identified in the video because at one point he turned the camera towards his face</strong>, authorities said...</p> <p>Two days later, the video of the attack was <strong>posted on Brown&#8217;s Facebook account</strong>, according to court documents. The video was also allegedly later posted on Fritz and Applewhite&#8217;s Facebook pages.</p></blockquote> <p>Here's the <a href="http://jezebel.com/teens-allegedly-gang-raped-a-girl-posted-it-on-faceboo-508879252">Jezebel post about it</a>, which I'm linking to only because half the comments are just GIFs and pictures of kittens, which you might need, because <strong>this shit is unbearably grim</strong>.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/this-week-in-alleged-teenage-gang-rapes-that-end-up-on-social-media#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16823915&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Crime The Ladies Teh Internets http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/this-week-in-alleged-teenage-gang-rapes-that-end-up-on-social-media?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16823915&id=comments 11 Mon, 20 May 2013 13:22:10 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/fighting-street-harassment http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/fighting-street-harassment Anna Minard <p>Following up on <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/16/its-spring-whos-ready-for-street-harassment">Cienna's post on street harassment</a> last week, I'd like to call attention to some awesome projects <strong>fighting street harassment</strong>, all of which were mentioned in the comments section as a place to turn when you're trying to combat that icky, <em>how did I just lose that interaction so hard?</em> feeling. </p> <p>&#8226; Commenters were quick to give a shout out to <a href="http://www.ihollaback.org/">Hollaback!</a>, a website that encourages women who are harassed on the street to <strong>document the incident and post it on the site</strong>, creating a record of it and possibly embarrassing the harasser while offering some community to other women. They now run a nonprofit that trains people to run localized Hollaback! sites. Seattle currently doesn't have a local site. Someone get on this!</p> <p>&#8226; I'm in love with Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's wheatpaste poster project, <a href="http://www.tlynnfaz.com/Stop-Telling-Women-to-Smile">Stop Telling Women to Smile</a>, also pointed out by <strong>Bree McKenna</strong> in comments. Fazlalizadeh also runs a blog with photos of the posters; the most telling ones, I think, <a href="http://stoptellingwomentosmile.tumblr.com/post/48019492559/commentary-in-february-i-posted-two-pieces-in">are here</a>. (She also sells <a href="http://stoptellingwomentosmile.bigcartel.com/">shirts</a>.)</p> <p>&#8226; <a href="http://dontharassmebro.tumblr.com/">Don't Harass Me, Bro</a> posted in the comments about their sticker project. Go here to <a href="http://dontharassmebro.tumblr.com/swag">buy their stickers, and they'll post pictures of where you stuck 'em</a>. (Hopefully on a jerk's face, but <a href="http://dontharassmebro.tumblr.com/archive">walls are nice</a>, too.)</p> <p>&#8226; Commenter <strong>Tomahawk</strong> started the blog <a href="http://iwasaskingforit.tumblr.com/">I Was Asking For It</a>, where she posts "pictures of the frumpy shit I happen to be wearing when assholes come a'calling." Submissions are apparently welcome. This is a funny middle finger to the but-what-were-you-wearing question.</p> <p>&#8226; Commenter <strong>bookworm</strong> shared a link to these <a href="http://designaction.org/2013/05/stop-street-harassment/#sthash.tqVda3aK.EWE4Z22u.dpbs">Stop Street Harassment stickers</a> that showed up in Oakland.</p> <p>Doing something about it later is a way to get a little control back, if you aren't quite awake/badass enough to lipstick your entire face, or you were too scared to do anything, or you're just going through the rest of your day climbing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'esprit_de_l'escalier">l'esprit d'escalier</a> over and over in your head (remember: shouting a loud "SORRY ABOUT YOUR MICROPENIS" is always an okay go-to retort).</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/fighting-street-harassment#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16792660&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> The Ladies Teh Internets http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/fighting-street-harassment?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16792660&id=comments 16 Mon, 20 May 2013 12:01:28 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/morning-news-tornadoes-bombs-hacks-and-trikes http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/morning-news-tornadoes-bombs-hacks-and-trikes Anna Minard <p><strong>Tornadoes Hit the Middle of the US</strong>: One person has died, 21 are injured, <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20130520_ap_tornadoesslamplainsmidwest1deadinokla.html">here is a photo of a wrecked mobile home park</a>.</p> <p><strong>Car Bomb Attacks Hit Across Iraq</strong>: At least <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22593345">54 people have died, nearly 200 are injured</a>, no group has yet claimed responsibility.</p> <p><strong>China Starts Hacking Us Again</strong>: According to the <em>NYT</em>, "Unit 61398, whose well-guarded 12-story white headquarters on the edges of Shanghai became the symbol of Chinese cyberpower, is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/world/asia/chinese-hackers-resume-attacks-on-us-targets.html?hp&_r=1&gwh=122FC1D4AE3D7C4D8A499945B834F770&">back in business</a>."</p> <p><strong>Pedestrian Found Dead on Dearborn</strong>: Here is a sentence that can enrage and depress us all: "Police believe a 34-year-old pedestrian found dead in Seattle early Sunday morning was <a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Pedestrian-dead-after-hit-and-run-in-S-Seattle-208055521.html">hit and dragged by a vehicle and left for dead</a>." That's fucking <em>it</em>. Ban cars forever.</p> <p><strong>Tim Burgess</strong>: Dropped out of the mayor's race on Friday, <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/17/tim-burgess-drops-out">in case you missed it</a>.</p> <p><strong>Poverty Hits the Suburbs</strong>: Where the safety net has a giant white-picket-fence-shaped hole in it, as social services still focus on cities. "During the 2000s, [poverty] grew <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/05/17/184771918/advocates-struggle-to-reach-growing-ranks-of-suburban-poor">twice as fast in suburban areas as in cities</a>, with more than 16 million poor people now living in the nation's suburbs&#8212;more than in urban or rural areas," reports NPR.</p> <p><strong>Yahoomblr</strong>: It's happening. Paul reported <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/17/introducing-yahoomblr">the predictions</a> last week, now we know for sure that <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/20/us-tumblr-yahoo-idUSBRE94I0C120130520">Yahoo will indeed be buying Tumblr</a>, for $1.1 billion in cash. They actually "promise not to screw it up" in a statement.</p> <p><strong>Good Morning!</strong> It might be kind of <a href="http://www.king5.com/weather/maps?radar=63609937&img=0">crappy outside this week</a>. Unless you like cloudy with a chance of showers, which I hear a lot of you do.</p> <p><strong>How the White House Investigates Leaks</strong>: An in-depth look <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/a-rare-peek-into-a-justice-department-leak-probe/2013/05/19/0bc473de-be5e-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html">from the <em>Washington Post</em></a>:</p> <blockquote><p>They used security badge access records to track the reporter&#8217;s comings and goings from the State Department, according to a newly obtained court affidavit. They traced the timing of his calls with a State Department security adviser suspected of sharing the classified report. They obtained a search warrant for the reporter&#8217;s personal e-mails.</p></blockquote> <p><strong>Trikes for Beers!</strong> On Queen Anne this weekend, grown-ups tricycled. <a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/picturethis/2021019253_trike_for_beer_2013.html">Go see the pictures.</a> You can totally lose your two front teeth this way if you do it right. Wait, I mean wrong.</p> <p><strong>SNL Sends Stefon Off in Style</strong>: Along with Seth Meyers...<br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="512" height="288" src="http://www.hulu.com/embed.html?eid=nuakhy_o9tisdwxz7qir2g" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/morning-news-tornadoes-bombs-hacks-and-trikes#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16818863&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> News http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/20/morning-news-tornadoes-bombs-hacks-and-trikes?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16818863&id=comments 19 Mon, 20 May 2013 08:21:55 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/balds-of-the-90s http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/balds-of-the-90s Anna Minard <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/DL7-CKirWZE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4aeETEoNfOg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/iUiTQvT0W_0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/balds-of-the-90s#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16784906&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Fashion Tunnel&trade; Video http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/17/balds-of-the-90s?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16784906&id=comments 1 Fri, 17 May 2013 10:33:00 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/hats-of-the-90s http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/hats-of-the-90s Anna Minard <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6NXnxTNIWkc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4JkIs37a2JE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/RS0KyTZ3Ie4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align:center;"><em>(At 0:53 and 2:03)</em></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/hats-of-the-90s#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16767080&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Fashion Tunnel&trade; Video http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/16/hats-of-the-90s?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16767080&id=comments 5 Thu, 16 May 2013 10:23:46 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/16/on-a-wall-in-pioneer-square http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/16/on-a-wall-in-pioneer-square Anna Minard <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/bde7/1368724398-don_t_rape_them.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/bde7/1368724398-don_t_rape_them.png" alt="don_t_rape_them.png" title="" width="500" height="346" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">AM</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>That is a detail of this poster:<br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:497px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/488c/1368724636-smurf_tips.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/488c/1368724636-smurf_tips.png" alt="smurf_tips.png" title="" width="485" height="590" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">AM</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>Which is a Smurfized, gender-neutral version of this <a href="http://canyourelate.org/2011/05/24/rape-prevention-tips/">brilliant list of rape-prevention tips</a>. </p> <p>And to the left of this poster...</p> <p>A lovely raccoon by <a href="http://cargocollective.com/baso">Baso Fibonacci</a>.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/f5c7/1368724754-baso_raccoon.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/f5c7/1368724754-baso_raccoon.png" alt="baso_raccoon.png" title="" width="500" height="374" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">AM</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/16/on-a-wall-in-pioneer-square#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16784243&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Crime Arts http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/16/on-a-wall-in-pioneer-square?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16784243&id=comments 32 On a Wall in Pioneer Square AM Thu, 16 May 2013 10:20:49 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/14/city-council-bill-would-allow-new-tent-cities http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/14/city-council-bill-would-allow-new-tent-cities Anna Minard <p>This week, Seattle City Council member Nick Licata is rolling out legislation to allow <strong>new homeless encampments on public and private property</strong>. The measure, which was hammered out with the help of Council Member Mike O'Brien and Mayor Mike McGinn, is intended to address deteriorating conditions at Nickelsville, the infamous homeless encampment currently residing on city land in Highland Park.</p> <p>"Conditions at Nickelsville are not the best we should have for people," Licata says. The camp has recently faced flooding, a rat infestation, a spate of crime, and concerns about its self-governing structure after a two-year stint on its current site. The neighborhood group <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/04/neighbors-ask-the-city-to-evict-nickelsville/">Highland Park Action Committee asked the city to evict the camp</a> last month, saying its "existing management is actually intimidating campers into not seeking help or services, and pressuring residents to not call police." Says Licata: "I don't think we can continue having them there without providing them legal basis to move somewhere else." Mayor McGinn urged the council to support the legislation in a May 13 letter, saying, "<strong>The City cannot ignore the health and safety issues at the current Nickelsville site</strong>," nor the concerns of neighbors.</p> <p>This legislation, slated to be formally introduced next week, would allow for new encampments on city or private land for up to a year, under certain management requirements.</p> <p><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/fight-brewing-over-new-tent-cities/Content?oid=16767077">Keep reading. > ></a></p> City http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/14/city-council-bill-would-allow-new-tent-cities?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16767089&id=comments 0 Tue, 14 May 2013 17:49:05 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/but-will-the-male-fans-call-themselves-equestrionies http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/but-will-the-male-fans-call-themselves-equestrionies Anna Minard <p>From the <em>New York Times</em>, reports of a brand-new <em>My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic</em> spinoff that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/business/equestria-girls-a-my-little-pony-offshoot-in-its-movie-debut.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB">reimagines the horses as teenage girls</a>:</p> <blockquote><p>&#8220;We are responding to the desire by our fans to experience the brand in more ways,&#8221; said John A. Frascotti, Hasbro&#8217;s chief marketing officer. &#8220;They <strong>imagined themselves as which pony they would be</strong> or which pony they identified with the most.&#8221;</p> <p>So Hasbro created <strong>Equestria Girls</strong>, a parallel world in which the My Little Pony characters were reconceived as teenage girls in high school. To maintain continuity, Hasbro retained the same creative talent, animation style and message of friendship.</p></blockquote> <p>The full-length animated movie version of these new ponies-turned-teens will be released in June. Click over to the NYT story for a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/business/equestria-girls-a-my-little-pony-offshoot-in-its-movie-debut.html?src=ISMR_AP_LO_MST_FB">picture of the fillies</a>.</p> <p>Obviously, the real question is: Will <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/26/what-do-you-think-of-the-bronies-trailer&view=comments">Bronies</a> like this new universe? Or is this aimed at the original My Little Pony market of 5- to 10-year-old girls, who probably do identify with and imagine themselves as the characters? I can't tell. I mean, I kinda hope that adult male Pony fans are imagining which pony they would <em>be</em>, and not, you know, <strong>a different verb</strong>. But I don't know. I've mostly seen it go <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/03/25/brony-urges-man-to-stop-having-pretend-sex-with-his-imaginary-pony-fiance&view=comments">the other way</a>, and a new hot teen version makes that suuuuuuuper icky.</p> <p>Anyways, this is the actual world you live inside of, in case you were wondering, not a wacky Monday-afternoon asleep-at-the-desk dream. Real life! Brought to you by Hasbro.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/but-will-the-male-fans-call-themselves-equestrionies#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16755644&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Animals Media http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/but-will-the-male-fans-call-themselves-equestrionies?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16755644&id=comments 20 Mon, 13 May 2013 15:29:12 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/never-heard-of-em-radiohead http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/never-heard-of-em-radiohead Anna Minard <p><div class="blogImageRight" style="width:262px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/4474/1368466960-music-neverheard-click.jpg" alt="music-neverheard-CLICK.jpg" title="" width="250" height="250" /></div><em>Anna Minard claims to "know nothing about music." For this column, we force her to listen to random records by artists considered to be important by music nerds.</em></p> <p><strong>Radiohead</strong><br /><em>Kid A</em><br />(Capitol)</p> <p>I have a relationship to Radiohead that consists mainly of confusion and fear. I've heard <em>of</em> them, and I even went out and bought <em>Pablo Honey</em> when I was a teenager. I just didn't like it, and that was it. Then they became<strong> the Jesus of music</strong> and the world shitted itself every time they took another step, and it freaked me out. I never followed up&#8212;I used to avoid music that I thought I'd be embarrassed if I didn't understand. (I'm curing that impulse weekly now.)</p> <p>When we started this column, I just assumed someone would eventually assign me Radiohead. Right?! But so far the contents have tended more toward <strong>old-school music learnin'</strong> and haven't caught up with the hip kids of the new millennium.</p> <p>So I asked for it. <em>Kid A </em>was decreed, and I went home with determination (and some trepidation). It was a <strong>mostly silent sit-down couch listen</strong>; no running errands with headphones, no sorting laundry, no leaving the room for a minute. I listened to it like I was watching a movie, or waiting to be saved.</p> <p><u><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/never-heard-of-em/Content?oid=16699741">Continue reading &#187;</a></u></p> Music http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/never-heard-of-em-radiohead?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16754572&id=comments 0 Mon, 13 May 2013 13:22:10 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/drugstore-fruit http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/drugstore-fruit Anna Minard <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:497px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/ce06/1368468630-drugstore_fruit.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/ce06/1368468630-drugstore_fruit.png" alt="Downtown Bartell Drugs" title="Downtown Bartell Drugs" width="485" height="646" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">AM</li><li class="imageCaption">The downtown Bartell Drugs</li></ul></div></p> <p>I have seen the occasional pile of oranges and bananas at a Walgreens. The sad cafeteria-style pile of unripe fruit makes a kind of sense. But this drugstore's exotic fruit display&#8212;<strong>pineapples, coconuts, papayas, mangos</strong> in between hair dryers and cans of nuts&#8212;totally blew my mind. Overhead, they played Joni Mitchell. The wooden display is actually for a brand of "crunch dried&#174; fruit and vegetable snacks" in plastic bags, the kind of food I expect at the drugstore. It was a tropical fluke in the snack aisle. Or is this a new trend?</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/drugstore-fruit#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16753668&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> City Chow ??!! http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/13/drugstore-fruit?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16753668&id=comments 10 Drugstore Fruit I understand the occasional display of oranges and bananas at the drugstore. But the downtown Bartell Drugs has this exotic fruit display—pineapples, coconuts, papayas, mangos. The music playing was Joni Mitchell. AM Mon, 13 May 2013 11:39:47 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/never-heard-of-em-radiohead http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/never-heard-of-em-radiohead Anna Minard <p><div class="blogImageRight" style="width:262px;"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/4474/1368466960-music-neverheard-click.jpg" alt="music-neverheard-CLICK.jpg" title="" width="250" height="250" /></div><em>Anna Minard claims to "know nothing about music." For this column, we force her to listen to random records by artists considered to be important by music nerds.</em></p> <p><strong>Radiohead</strong><br /><em>Kid A</em><br />(Capitol)</p> <p>I have a relationship to Radiohead that consists mainly of confusion and fear. I've heard <em>of</em> them, and I even went out and bought <em>Pablo Honey</em> when I was a teenager. I just didn't like it, and that was it. Then they became<strong> the Jesus of music</strong> and the world shitted itself every time they took another step, and it freaked me out. I never followed up&#8212;I used to avoid music that I thought I'd be embarrassed if I didn't understand. (I'm curing that impulse weekly now.)</p> <p>When we started this column, I just assumed someone would eventually assign me Radiohead. Right?! But so far the contents have tended more toward <strong>old-school music learnin'</strong> and haven't caught up with the hip kids of the new millennium.</p> <p>So I asked for it. <em>Kid A </em>was decreed, and I went home with determination (and some trepidation). It was a <strong>mostly silent sit-down couch listen</strong>; no running errands with headphones, no sorting laundry, no leaving the room for a minute. I listened to it like I was watching a movie, or waiting to be saved.</p> <p><u><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/never-heard-of-em/Content?oid=16699741">Continue reading &#187;</a></u></p> Never Heard of 'Em http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/13/never-heard-of-em-radiohead?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16753614&id=comments 0 Never Heard of 'Em: Radiohead Mon, 13 May 2013 10:47:20 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/why-marital-rape-actually-is-a-crime http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/why-marital-rape-actually-is-a-crime Anna Minard <p>Last week, the governor signed a bill bringing Washington State's rape laws into the 21st century by finally <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/02/washington-closes-troubling-marital-rape-loophole-to-the-relief-of-wives">eliminating the "marital exemption"</a> to our third-degree rape and indecent liberties laws. The law used to say that these crimes had been committed <strong>unless the victim was married to their rapist</strong>, in which case what had been a crime was magically rendered not a crime. Which is clearly fucked.</p> <p>Nevertheless, some people&#8212;Slog commenters, state Senator Elizabeth Scott (Rrrrr-Monroe)&#8212;were confused.</p> <p>Senator Scott, who was the sole NO vote on this bill (as she likes to brag, she's a BA-holding linguist), <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/remember-the-good-old-days-when-rape-used-to-mean-rape">defended her vote by saying</a>, "This bill requires absolutely no proof that rape occurred&#8212;because there couldn't be any." Scott sent that in an e-mail to a constituent. WRONG. Totally wrong. This bill, in fact, only strikes language saying that <em>if</em> what occurred is legally defined as third-degree rape, then <strong>it doesn't matter whether your husband raped you or a stranger did</strong>, it's still a crime. Whether or not she believes in the existence of third-degree rape isn't actually relevant here.</p> <p>"<strong>As a linguist</strong>, I hate it when words are twisted beyond recognition. Rape used to mean rape," she continued. </p> <p>First: HAHAHA, WTF. </p> <p>Second: "Rape" still means "rape," whatever your bullshit linguistic red herring argument is supposed to mean. "Consent" is about communication, and we're not the Borg and we're not telepathic; we have communication breakdowns. Sometimes a rape doesn't look like a made-for-TV movie with a brutal stranger accosting you in a park. Sometimes your rapist is your friend. Sometimes you've had sex before. Sometimes you feel like it's your fault. But <strong>that's why there are laws</strong>. There's a legal definition of crimes, and there are lawyers and judges and juries involved in deciding whether or not a sexual encounter is against the law. </p> <p>But, since people were asking, what exactly <em>is</em> third-degree rape?</p> <p>I took my question to David Martin, a King County prosecutor who heads the domestic violence unit. Third-degree rape is "everything short of using force," he explained. "If someone says 'no,' and you do it anyway, should that be a crime? What legislatures all over the United States have said is 'no' means 'no.'"</p> <p>People talk about fighting off an attacker&#8212;but is that the only way to deny consent? </p> <p>"Should a victim have to fight? Do they have to use violence?" he asks rhetorically. "Or do they get to say, 'I get to do with my body what I feel is appropriate'? If you tell someone, 'You can&#8217;t come in my home, I have property rights,' if they do, they&#8217;re committing trespassing." You don't have to physically fight them for that to be a crime. <strong>Why should that be different when it comes to your body?</strong></p> <p>"You can&#8217;t invade another person&#8217;s body sexually without their permission," says Martin. That's what the law says.</p> <p>On marital rape, he tells me, "For a long time, these laws were on the books because women were looked at as chattel, as property. It was a form of rape that was seen as legitimate." In the domestic violence unit, while he admits there's there&#8217;s "a huge problem with reporting" and there are definitely "barriers to the ability to prosecute," they're also "<strong>among the most important cases that my office does</strong>." Raping one's partner as part of a pattern of abuse, says Martin, has "taken violence and compounded it with something equally if not more horrible&#8212;that is, sexual violence."</p> <p>If you're still unclear on this whole rape thing, Martin gave me published <strong>examples of third-degree rapes</strong>, from the appeals court. Here you go:</p> <p><em>State v. Higgins</em>:<br /><blockquote>Mr. Higgins again tried to wake N.N. and began tugging on her shorts. Mr. Higgins asked N.N., &#8220; &#8216;Do you want to?&#8217; &#8221; or &#8220; &#8216;Can we?&#8217; &#8221; and she replied, &#8220; &#8216;No.&#8217; &#8221; Report of Proceedings (RP) (Nov. 12, 2010) at 81. N.N. went back to sleep. Mr. Higgins eventually moved on top of N.N. and she thought he was trying to leave the tent to go to the bathroom. She scooted under him to allow him access to the tent door. Mr. Higgins then pulled N.N.'s shorts and underwear down. She said, &#8220; &#8216;Stop. You're drunk.&#8217; &#8221; Id. at 82. He responded, &#8220; &#8216;oh, well, you're drunk too.&#8217; &#8221; Id. She repeated &#8220;stop&#8221; five or six times and started crying. Id. at 83. She struggled to get out from under his body weight. Mr. Higgins pulled his own pants down, pinned N.N.'s arms and had sexual intercourse with her.</p></blockquote> <p><em>State v. Ramos</em>:<br /><blockquote>According to Monterrosa, Ramos asked her if they could talk because he was experiencing a lot of problems and felt lonely. Monterrosa was nervous, but reluctantly agreed. They walked to Ramos's girlfriend's truck in the parking lot. After Monterrosa sat down on the edge of the back seat, Ramos told her that he would not let her out of the car and ordered her to get further inside. He pushed Monterrosa and climbed into the truck. He got on top of her and started to pull down her pants. Despite Monterrosa's repeated protests, Ramos pulled her pants down to her knees and had intercourse with her. Monterrosa said &#8220;No&#8221; many times, but did not scream or hit Ramos. Afterwards, Ramos instructed Monterrosa not to tell anyone, or he would continue to grab her whenever he saw her.</p></blockquote> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/why-marital-rape-actually-is-a-crime#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16732241&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Crime Olympia http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/why-marital-rape-actually-is-a-crime?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16732241&id=comments 27 Fri, 10 May 2013 15:53:43 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/supporting-parks-by-drinking-in-a-basement http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/supporting-parks-by-drinking-in-a-basement Anna Minard <p>Last night, while Cienna was <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/ed-murray-has-three-days-left-to-fundraise-for-mayor">hobnobbing at Ed Murray's fundraiser</a>, 23 stories above the city in a condo with a view she'd trade her fertility for, I was stuck in a <strong>windowless basement</strong> where tens of people had gathered on this beautifully sunny day to kickoff fundraising efforts for King County parks.</p> <p>The room looked like this:<br /><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/3146/1368208526-parksfund.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/3146/1368208526-parksfund.png" alt="Just like a park." title="Just like a park." width="500" height="362" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">Anna Minard</li><li class="imageCaption">It was actually much darker than this.</li></ul></div></p> <p>It took forever for my eyes to adjust to the "light" in the basement. There were nachos and sliders and beer if you were brave enough to grope through the shadows for them. Behind us, the precious, waning sun lit up the entrance like an emergency escape route.</p> <p>The King County Parks levy is an every-six-year vote that will be <strong>on your August primary ballot</strong>. It funds maintenance and operations for park systems like Marymoor Park, the Burke Gilman Trail, Tiger Mountain, and more than 200 parks and 175 miles of trails. Outside! In the fresh air and sunlight! It accounts for about 70 percent of the county's parks and rec operating budget; the general fund started paying exactly nothing toward parks in 2011. It's a property tax that costs something like $56 a year on a $300,000 house and will raise about $60 million a year for the next six years.</p> <p>The bright campaign poster had a picture of a tree and a swingset. <strong>I had never wanted to be outside in a park more.</strong></p> <p>Up front, King County Council member Larry Phillips extolled how "incredibly fortunate" we all were to live here, with so much "natural beauty" and the "great park system" that is KC parks at our fingertips. Dow Constantine was late, probably sunbathing. Organizers begged the room to turn on their headlamps and <strong>write a check</strong>. I wondered if it was deliberate: Forcing all these nice people into a small dark room with the express purpose of making them appreciate (and long for) a well-maintained park system? So I asked the organizer. <strong>It was not deliberate.</strong></p> <p>I took a moment to think: It's my job to be here. I should stay and listen to more speeches about green space, wise words by KC Executive Dow Constantine. I should wander and talk to these name-tagged, suit-wearing, nacho-eating politicians and donors. </p> <p>On the other hand, holy shit was it nice out.</p> <p>So I ran out the door. Seriously, <strong>vote yes on the parks levy in August</strong>. If you don't, you'll just have fewer or shittier outside spaces to gambol about in on days like yesterday and today. And that would be a damn shame.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/supporting-parks-by-drinking-in-a-basement#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16729500&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Politics Wilderness http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/supporting-parks-by-drinking-in-a-basement?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16729500&id=comments 12 Supporting Parks by Drinking in a Basement Anna Minard Fri, 10 May 2013 11:47:08 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/how-sexist-are-book-covers http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/how-sexist-are-book-covers Anna Minard <p>Years working in a bookstore will teach you a lot about book covers and how people respond to them&#8212;not only can you often tell when a book's good cover is selling it better than it should've sold, your own brain gets so used to the different tropes, you feel like <strong>you know exactly what a book will be by looking at the cover</strong>, the old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_judge_a_book_by_its_cover">adage</a> be damned. That's mostly just you trusting publishers to correctly aim their product at the right reader, and it doesn't matter how many times you learn your lesson that they can really <a href="http://flavorwire.com/378513/20-embarrassingly-bad-book-covers-for-classic-novels/view-all">fuck it up</a>, your brain loves an image. And it's not just about genre&#8212;if book covers consistently <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/aug/10/bloomsbury-book-cover-race-row">whitewash their characters</a>, or use obnoxiously <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/06/anne-of-green-gables-and-sylvia-plath-get-sexed-up">gendered design</a>, it does have an impact on who reads what and how we think about books.</p> <p>Earlier this week, young adult author Maureen Johnson tweeted this:</p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>I do wish I had a dime for every email I get that says, "Please put a non-girly cover on your book so I can read it. - signed, A Guy"</p>&#8212; maureenjohnson (@maureenjohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/maureenjohnson/status/331444327278587904">May 6, 2013</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p> <p>And it kicked off a crowdsourced experiment in response to the fact that, like a lot of books by and about girls and women, her books get <a href="http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com/books/">hot pink cursive and hearts and sexy white girl torsos</a> on their covers.</p> <p>She called her challenge "the cover flip" and asked people on Twitter and Tumblr to <strong>redesign existing book covers for the opposite gender</strong>, and then <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/coverflip-maureen-johnson_n_3231935.html">collected the best examples here</a>. Check 'em out, some of them are really perfect.</p> <p>Paul wrote about a <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/11/sci-fi-author-nearly-injures-himself-trying-to-pose-like-a-woman-on-a-sci-fi-novel-cover">similar conversation</a> in the sci-fi/fantasy world last year.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/how-sexist-are-book-covers#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16728770&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Books http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/10/how-sexist-are-book-covers?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16728770&id=comments 7 Fri, 10 May 2013 09:31:59 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/dog-blog-of-the-day http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/dog-blog-of-the-day Anna Minard <p>If you're looking longingly out the window at precious sunlight, here are some longing looks in the other direction, from outside to inside: <strong>a Tumblr full of dogs, mostly in Seattle, tied up and waiting for their humans</strong>.</p> <p>It's called <a href="http://alonewoof.tumblr.com/">A Lone Woof</a>.</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://alonewoof.tumblr.com/"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/eed5/1368141249-tumblr_mmfvhamfwh1soxpb6o1_1280.jpg" alt="Woof!" title="Woof!" width="500" height="348" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">JON E/USED WITH PERMISSION</li><li class="imageCaption">Woof!</li></ul></div></p> <p>Click it! Make the workday go quicker!</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/dog-blog-of-the-day#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16723146&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Animals http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/dog-blog-of-the-day?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16723146&id=comments 18 Dog Blog of the Day WOOF! Slog Tipper J Thu, 09 May 2013 16:23:13 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/seattles-building-codes-will-include-new-green-energy-provisions http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/seattles-building-codes-will-include-new-green-energy-provisions Anna Minard <p><div class="blogImageRight" style="width:212px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/4484/1368117588-photo.jpg" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/4484/1368117588-photo.jpg" alt="A single solar cell&#8212;so thin you can barely see it&#8212;in front of a wall of panels." title="A single solar cell&#8212;so thin you can barely see it&#8212;in front of a wall of panels." width="200" height="200" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">Anna Minard</li><li class="imageCaption">A single solar cell&#8212;so thin you can barely see it&#8212;in front of a wall of panels.</li></ul></div>Every three years, the city updates its building codes. WAIT! Don't fall asleep yet! Yeah, building codes are among the most boring, bureaucratic things I can imagine, second only to zoning&#8212;it all makes me want to run immediately to report on "<a href="http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2013/05/03/seattles-thelma-louise-arrested-after-robbing-shoe-store-with-bear-mace-fleeing-in-stolen-car/">Seattle's Thelma and Louise</a>" (bear mace?!) or an allegedly PCP-crazed "<a href="http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Deputies-Twice-tasered-train-passenger-may-have-been-on-PCP-206717261.html">twice-tasered train passenger</a>."</p> <p>But <strong>this shit really matters</strong>. The rules concerning how our city is built decide how it looks, how it functions, how much it costs, and, in this case, how much or how little we contribute to an impending climate apocalypse.</p> <p>Next month, the newest commercial building codes (residential codes are run by the state) will head to the city council for approval, and in them will be new energy requirements. I started asking around at city hall because at a <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/11/solar-power-businesses-and-environmental-activists-call-on-governor-to-set-solar-power-goals-for-washington">solar-power-nerd party</a> I went to last month, someone asked city council member Mike O'Brien if it would be possible to change our building codes to <strong>make solar power more affordable</strong>&#8212;a lot of the cost of installing solar panels on a roof has to do with strengthening the roof to hold them, working around poorly placed vents/fans/skylights, and getting at the electrical system to hook it up. That seemed pretty fucking reasonable to O'Brien, who said he'd look into it. Turns out the new codes will address just that.</p> <p>Duane Jonlin, the city's energy code and energy conservation advisor, says it's all about "phantom design"&#8212;adding small requirements to the planning process that don't increase the cost of building, but make future solar projects easier. "As the [solar-power] systems get dramatically less expensive over time," he says, "the cost of moving those bathroom vents and fans and junk out of the way would be an increasingly large portion of the cost" of putting panels on the roof. His new requirements, based on a California solar-ready code, would require that commercial buildings five stories or less make <strong>40 percent of their roof "free of vents and fans and clutter"</strong> and relatively unshaded, if possible. There'll also need to be a little extra space for electrical gear solar systems need to hook up to.</p> <p>He guesses that in a decade or less, "without the need for government subsidies, people will be slathering their buildings in in this stuff." It'll just be too cost-effective not to. But if we don't prepare for that by making the process easier and cheaper, it just pushes further into the future "the day when it becomes <strong>an economic no-brainer</strong> to put this on your roof."</p> <p>Another addition to the codes is going to be a mandatory, small amount of renewable energy built in to commercial projects. Currently, according to Jonlin, the city energy code has a "modest" renewable energy requirement&#8212;but "very few projects" have actually complied, because there's an exception: Buy renewable energy credits on the open market, and you don't have to put it into your building. That makes sense for City Light, he says, which pays a lot of money over a long period of time&#8212;"it does build windmills somewhere." But a one-time customer buying credits out there on the cheap doesn't really get anything done. So he's <strong>removing the exception</strong>, and as an appeasement, cutting in half how much renewable energy is required.</p> <p>Will anyone oppose the code changes? "Usually these are non-controversial," he tells me, "because building codes are so boring." Hey, man, it's no <a href="http://spdblotter.seattle.gov/2013/04/23/man-arrested-for-threateningly-twirling-his-nunchaku-in-public/">nunchuck-twirler arrest</a>, but it still matters.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/seattles-building-codes-will-include-new-green-energy-provisions#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16709187&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> City Enviro http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/09/seattles-building-codes-will-include-new-green-energy-provisions?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16709187&id=comments 39 Seattle's Building Codes Will Include New Green Energy Provisions A single solar cell—so thin you can barely see it—in front of a wall of panels. Anna Minard Thu, 09 May 2013 09:45:25 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/08/bad-accident-at-pike-and-boren http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/08/bad-accident-at-pike-and-boren Anna Minard <p>If you're wondering why that helicopter is circling up there. At the intersection, the scene is this:</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/7cc8/1368059154-pikeboren.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/7cc8/1368059154-pikeboren.png" alt="pikeboren.png" title="" width="500" height="368" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">ANNA MINARD</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>Witnesses told me it looked like the van took a right on red and slammed into the bus. Two people were just loaded on stretchers into ambulances.</p> <p>SDOT says:<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Collision at Boren Ave &amp; Pike St 2 eastbound lanes blocked, 1 westbound lane blocked<br />&#8212; seattledot (@seattledot) <a href="https://twitter.com/seattledot/status/332284355651178496">May 9, 2013</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>Seattle Fire says:<br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Medics transporting a male driver and female passenger ofa van to HMC in stable condition after Pike &amp; Boren VanVS busAX.<br />&#8212; Seattle Fire Dept (@SeattleFire) <a href="https://twitter.com/SeattleFire/status/332288868256727040">May 9, 2013</a></blockquote><br /><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>Buses are backed up down Pike right now.</p> <p><strong>UPDATE</strong>: Slog tipper Derek Erdman says in comments: "The 11 is getting through now. Should start moving soon."</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/08/bad-accident-at-pike-and-boren#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16712666&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> City http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/08/bad-accident-at-pike-and-boren?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16712666&id=comments 8 Bad Accident at Pike and Boren ANNA MINARD Wed, 08 May 2013 17:09:00 -0700 The Stranger http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/never-heard-of-em/Content?oid=16699741 http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/never-heard-of-em/Content?oid=16699741 Anna Minard Radiohead's <i>Kid A</i> by Anna Minard <p><i>Anna Minard claims to "know nothing about music." For this column, we force</i> <i>her to listen to random records by artists considered to be important by music nerds.</i></p> <div align="left" class="innerhead">Radiohead</div> <p><em>Kid A</em><br /> (Capitol)</p> <p>I have a relationship to Radiohead that consists mainly of confusion and fear. I've heard <i>of</i> them, and I even went out and bought <i>Pablo Honey</i> when I was a teenager. I just didn't like it, and that was it. Then they became <b>the Jesus of music</b> and the world shitted itself every time they took another step, and it freaked me out. I never followed up&mdash;I used to avoid music that I thought I'd be embarrassed if I didn't understand. (I'm curing that impulse weekly now.)</p> <p>When we started this column, I just assumed someone would eventually assign me Radiohead. Right?! But so far the contents have tended more toward <b>old-school music learnin'</b> and haven't caught up with the hip kids of the new millennium.</p> <p>So I asked for it. <i>Kid A</i> was decreed, and I went home with determination (and some trepidation). It was a <b>mostly silent sit-down couch listen</b>; no running errands with headphones, no sorting laundry, no leaving the room for a minute. I listened to it like I was watching a movie, or waiting to be saved.</p> <p>And honestly, I'm a little disappointed; buildup can do that to you. I totally see how people think this is brilliant. Sometimes it sounds like thoughts before they happen, or like the space between awake and asleep. Voices are slightly or majorly robot-ed; computers that sound like bells and drums that sound like tapping fingertips slip in and out. It's not boring. It just mostly sounds like <b>a computer trying to teach itself how to cry</b>. I like my feelings realer and bigger.</p> <p>I really like "The National Anthem"; I'm a sap for songs constructed like that&mdash;repetitive undergirding, melodies layered over it, with some human voice sounds that at least approximate words flying on top. When it turns into <b>jazzy improv horn farts and orchestrasplosion</b>, I'm less on board, but I can stay on that bass backbone and it carries me through. Then the horns scream like elephants and I'm back in the fun zone!</p> <p>My favorite part of listening to this was not feeling like an asshole just because I didn't love something other people love. I get so nervous about fucking up at music sometimes, I get sick to my stomach. I've spent so much time <b>tongue-tied, or lying, or apologizing</b>. But now I'm excited most of the time. And when I'm scared I'll say something embarrassing, I just take a deep breath and think of the people who send me crazy CDs in the mail or the last time I got a music reference I would've missed a year ago&mdash;like this week, at the Croc, when I sat under the picture of Andrew Wood and realized I knew who that was. I screamed a little bit.</p> <p>I give this a "<b>free to be you and me</b>" out of 10. <img src="/images/rec_star.gif" width="10" height="10" alt="recommended" border= ";0&quot;" /></p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/never-heard-of-em/Content?oid=16699741#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16699741&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Music/Feature http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/never-heard-of-em/Content?oid=16699741&show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16699741&id=comments 33 Never Heard of 'Em Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700 The Stranger http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/downtown-business-goes-after-hempfest-hippies/Content?oid=16701420 http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/downtown-business-goes-after-hempfest-hippies/Content?oid=16701420 Anna Minard Downtown Business Goes After Hempfest Hippies by Anna Minard <p><span id="dropcap">B</span>reaking news, everyone: It turns out that downtown business groups and pot-smoking hippies don't always get along. The powerful Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) sent a letter asking the city to deny Hempfest's permit this year&mdash;it is scheduled for the third weekend in August&mdash;saying the pot festival, which boasts hundreds of thousands of attendees, has outgrown Myrtle Edwards Park.</p> <p>"The noise, trash, and traffic congestion resulting from an event of this size&mdash;over three days&mdash;has a direct negative impact on the thousands of residents who live within a 1&frasl;2 mile radius," says the March 29 letter, part of a bulleted list of concerns cosigned by the Belltown Business Association and Uptown Alliance. Unfortunately, the groups continue, their concerns about Hempfest (it is too large, lasts too long, and is messy and unpleasant for neighboring residents and businesses) outweigh any of the festival's benefits to the neighborhood.</p> <p>Hempfest must move out of the waterfront park, the groups say, unless it meets three conditions: (1) Hempfest's attendance is limited, (2) it is truncated to one day&mdash;as opposed to the three days it ran last year&mdash;and (3) the city improves traffic control, police patrols, parking enforcement, and trash pickup in the park and a half-mile radius beyond it.</p> <p>Just a couple reasonable little suggestions! Cut your attendance, slash the event's time span by two-thirds, and get the city to kick in more money to mitigate its impact.</p> <p>Why are they suddenly taking issue with the pot gathering, which has been held in Myrtle Edwards Park since 1995? DSA spokesman James Sido says his group sent the letter after Hempfest came to them directly, asking for neighborhood feedback.</p> <p>That's some feedback.</p> <p>In a letter obtained by the city, Hempfest director Vivian McPeak shot back a response last month addressing the DSA's critiques point by point, in most areas strenuously disagreeing with their arguments. Where the DSA claims "customer access to waterfront businesses is virtually halted... at the heart of the critical tourist season," McPeak says Hempfest's own research shows the fest is a "positive opportunity" for waterfront business, and he points out that many Hempfest attendees come from out of town, bringing spending money with them. DSA says attendees leave trash for "multiple blocks in every direction"; McPeak says volunteers spend days picking up trash and debris from the area.</p> <p>McPeak, who didn't return calls for comment, also writes that they've already "examined all park venues and the Seattle Center repeatedly in past years," as recently as last year, and they're sure that Myrtle Edwards and its surrounding park areas&mdash;Centennial Park and the Olympic Sculpture Park&mdash;are the right (and only) place for their event.</p> <p>Reached by phone, Sido insisted the "sole focus" of his association's letter "was to give [Hempfest] any kind of feedback or constructive criticism that we could," and maintained "it has nothing to do with the nature of the event; it's certainly not a condemnation of Hempfest." It's just about "logistics."</p> <p>When I told him the letter sounds like a bit more than "constructive criticism," he said there's "a chance that it could come off as more critical than intended."</p> <p>To boil it down: Hempfest asked the neighborhood for feedback, DSA's feedback was "Don't hold it here," and Hempfest countered that there's nowhere else to hold it and they're going to keep having it there, thank you very much.</p> <p>The city, perhaps having learned its lesson in past years (it has often tried to stomp on Hempfest, and it never wins), is siding with the potheads. James Keblas, the director of the city's Office of Film &amp; Music, and the man to whom the DSA's letter was addressed, tells <em>The Stranger</em> by e-mail that as long as Hempfest fulfills permit requirements, "it is the City's intention to issue a permit for Hempfest this year by June 1," a permit that will include "a cover letter from the City that address[es] concerns from all parties." <img src="/images/rec_star.gif" width="10" height="10" alt="recommended" border= ";0&quot;" /></p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/downtown-business-goes-after-hempfest-hippies/Content?oid=16701420#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16701420&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> News/Feature http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/downtown-business-goes-after-hempfest-hippies/Content?oid=16701420&show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16701420&id=comments 18 Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700 The Stranger http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/fight-brewing-over-new-tent-cities/Content?oid=16767077 http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/fight-brewing-over-new-tent-cities/Content?oid=16767077 Anna Minard Bill Would Allow Homeless Encampments on Public and Private Property by Anna Minard <p>This week, Seattle City Council member Nick Licata is rolling out legislation to allow new homeless encampments on public and private property. The measure, which was hammered out with the help of Council Member Mike O'Brien and Mayor Mike McGinn, is intended to address deteriorating conditions at Nickelsville, the infamous homeless encampment currently residing on city land in Highland Park.</p> <p>"Conditions at Nickelsville are not the best we should have for people," Licata says. The camp has recently faced flooding, a rat infestation, a spate of crime, and concerns about its self-governing structure after a two-year stint on its current site. The neighborhood group Highland Park Action Committee asked the city to evict the camp last month, saying its "existing management is actually intimidating campers into not seeking help or services, and pressuring residents to not call police." Says Licata: "I don't think we can continue having them there without providing them legal basis to move somewhere else." Mayor McGinn urged the council to support the legislation in a May 13 letter, saying, "The City cannot ignore the health and safety issues at the current Nickelsville site," nor the concerns of neighbors.</p> <p>This legislation, slated to be formally introduced next week, would allow for new encampments on city or private land for up to a year, under certain management requirements. Currently, encampments are allowed on church properties, but Nickelsville hasn't found one willing to accept them. The deal would also allow local nonprofit Food Lifeline to buy the land Nickelsville currently resides on for construction of a new distribution center.</p> <p>There's no telling if the proposal will have traction with the council&mdash;or with Nickelsville itself (no one from the encampment could be reached before press time). Real Change director Tim Harris says, "Real Change is 100 percent behind" this legislation, but identifies one sticking point: The legislation wouldn't allow encampments in neighborhoods zoned residential, and Nickelsville has previously opposed that restriction. Harris says it "doesn't seem politically possible" to allow encampments in residential neighborhoods, and that he hopes Nickelsville comes around. On the council, encampments have had little support in the past.</p> <p>The council should be tripping over themselves to pass this, after three years of basically punting the issue, but sources say it'll be a tough sell on City Hall's second floor&mdash;even in an election year, when more eyes than usual are on the council. <img src="/images/rec_star.gif" width="10" height="10" alt="recommended" border= ";0&quot;" /></p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/fight-brewing-over-new-tent-cities/Content?oid=16767077#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16767077&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> News/Feature http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/fight-brewing-over-new-tent-cities/Content?oid=16767077&show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16767077&id=comments 21 Wed, 08 May 2013 04:00:00 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/girls-gone-wild-founder-convicted-of-assault http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/girls-gone-wild-founder-convicted-of-assault Anna Minard <p><div class="blogImageLeft" style="width:212px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/0c29/1367961859-shutterstock_105048755.jpg" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/0c29/1367961859-shutterstock_105048755.jpg" alt="JOE FRANCIS Hoping LA jails have a tooth-whitening program." title="JOE FRANCIS Hoping LA jails have a tooth-whitening program." width="200" height="300" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit"><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-842284p1.html?cr=00&pl=edit-00">s_bukley</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/?cr=00&pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.com</a></li><li class="imageCaption"><strong>JOE FRANCIS</strong> Probably hoping LA jails have a tooth-whitening program.</li></ul></div>The <em>Los Angeles Times</em> reports today that Girls Gone Wild Founder Joe Francis has been <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-girls-gone-wild-founder-guilty-of-assaulting-woman-faces-jail-20130507,0,4770090.story">convicted of five misdemeanor charges</a>&#8212;including false imprisonment and assault causing great bodily injury&#8212;after a 2011 attack on three women. LA city attorney Carmen A. Trutanich lauded the victims' courage to come forward.</p> <p>From the <em>LA Times</em> account of that night:<br /><blockquote>The group was taken to Francis' gated home, where a physical altercation ensued between Francis and two of the women as he allegedly attempted to pull one of them away from the others, authorities said.</p> <p>Francis grabbed one of the women by the throat and hair and pushed and <strong>slammed her head into the tile floor</strong> four times, according to authorities.</p> <p>The women were escorted out of the house and allegedly told <strong>a taxi would not be called and paid for if they called the police.</strong></p></blockquote> <p>Francis faces serious jail time&#8212;up to five years. He'll be sentenced tomorrow in LA County superior court. Good riddance.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/girls-gone-wild-founder-convicted-of-assault#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16698261&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Crime Media The Ladies http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/girls-gone-wild-founder-convicted-of-assault?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16698261&id=comments 37 Girls Gone Wild Founder Convicted of Assault <strong>JOE FRANCIS</strong> Hoping LA jails have a tooth-whitening program. <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-842284p1.html?cr=00&pl=edit-00">s_bukley</a> / <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/?cr=00&pl=edit-00">Shutterstock.com</a> Tue, 07 May 2013 16:01:24 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/american-life-league-urges-american-catholic-bishops-not-to-give-communion-to-anyone-supporting-abortion http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/american-life-league-urges-american-catholic-bishops-not-to-give-communion-to-anyone-supporting-abortion Anna Minard <p>For some unfathomable reason, we are on the American Life League's press list (I guess we all know <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/06/28/excommunicate-me-the-end">it can take a while to get excommunicated</a>), and while I mainly ignore any e-mail that comes with letterhead carrying a <a href="http://www.all.org/newsroom">logo of a fetus</a>, I thought I'd share this gem with you all.</p> <p>Apparently, in late March, Pope Francis sent a letter to the bishops in his native Argentina directing them to <strong>deny communion</strong> to anyone&#8212;"legislators, heads of governments, and health professionals"&#8212;who acts in contradiction to the church's teachings on abortion. (This is one of the jillion reasons why I don't really give two shits that this wonderful new Jesuit priest <a href="http://theweek.com/article/index/242061/7-fascinating-things-weve-learned-about-pope-francis">doesn't like fancy things</a>. You could have all the palaces and Prada shoes you want if you'll just <strong>stay the fuck out of my uterus</strong>, thankyouverymuch.) The American Life League has taken it upon itself to send "the following letter to all U.S. Catholic bishops," admonishing them to do the same...</p> <blockquote><p>Your Excellency,<br /> <br />We are renewed in our joy over the election of Pope Francis. One of the reasons for our happiness is the Holy Father&#8217;s reiteration of Catholic teaching as enunciated in <a href="canon 915">canon 915</a>. The report, published May 4 by LifeSiteNews and Breitbart News, states in part: &#8220;Pope Francis has directed the bishops of Argentina, his home country, to govern the Church there following a document that makes clear that <strong>Holy Communion should be disallowed for any person who facilitates abortion, including politicians</strong>. 'These are the guidelines we need for this time in history,' the pope wrote to the bishops.&#8221;<br /> <br />We pray that these words will be an encouragement to you as well because, like Argentina, the United States has her share of Catholics in public life who persist in their support of abortion while, at the same time, receiving Christ in the sacrament of Holy Eucharist.<br /> <br />We write to ask you, in view of this recent news report, to act on Pope Francis&#8217; call and <strong>deny the sacrament of Christ&#8217;s real presence&#8212;body, blood, soul, and divinity&#8212;to every pro-abortion Catholic in public life who has not repented of his support for the heinous crime of abortion</strong>.<br /> <br />Thank you for your consideration of our request.<br /> <br />You are in our daily prayers and we ask you to remember American Life League in your prayers as well.<br /> <br /><strong>Sincerely yours in the Lord who is LIFE!</strong></p> <p>Judie Brown, President<br />American Life League</p> <p>Michael Hichborn, Director<br />ALL Defend the Faith</p></blockquote> <p>The letter notes that "Judie Brown was appointed twice by Pope John Paul II and again by Pope Benedict XVI to the Pontifical Academy for Life."</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/american-life-league-urges-american-catholic-bishops-not-to-give-communion-to-anyone-supporting-abortion#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16697477&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Religion http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/american-life-league-urges-american-catholic-bishops-not-to-give-communion-to-anyone-supporting-abortion?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16697477&id=comments 20 Tue, 07 May 2013 14:04:17 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/senator-patty-murray-introduces-a-military-sexual-assault-bill http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/senator-patty-murray-introduces-a-military-sexual-assault-bill Anna Minard <p>Remember yesterday's <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/headline-of-the-day">Headline of the Day</a>? I'll refresh your memory: It was "Air Force sex assault prevention chief <a href="http://www.stripes.com/air-force-sex-assault-prevention-chief-charged-in-sex-assault-1.219860">charged in sex assault</a>." Then today comes the release of the Pentagon's annual report on sexual assaults in the military. Says <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/07/military-sexual-assaults/2140835/"><em>USA Today</em></a>: "Pentagon estimates of how many troops are sexually assaulted show the numbers <strong>increased by more than a third since 2010</strong>, from 19,300 servicemembers believed to be victims that year to 26,000 in 2012."</p> <p>Senator Patty Murray's had enough. In a press release today, she says, "Not only are we subjecting our men and women to this disgusting epidemic, but we&#8217;re also failing to provide the victims with any meaningful support system once they have fallen victim to these attacks." So she and fellow senator Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire) introduced a bill today called the <strong>Combating Military Sexual Assault (MSA) Act of 2013</strong>.</p> <p>The bill, according to Murray's office, will:<br /><blockquote>&#8226; Provide victims of sexual assault with Special Victims&#8217; Counsel (SVC) &#8211; a military lawyer who will <strong>assist sexual assault victims</strong> throughout the process. <br />&#8226; Enhance the responsibilities and authority of DoD&#8217;s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Office so that it can better oversee efforts to combat MSA across the Armed Forces and regularly <strong>track and report on a range of MSA statistics</strong>, including assault rate, number of cases brought to trial, and compliance with appropriate laws and regulations within each of the individual services.<br />&#8226; Refer cases to the general court martial level when sexual assault charges are filed or to the next superior competent authority <strong>when there is a conflict of interest in the immediate chain of command</strong>.<br />&#8226; Bar sexual contact between instructors and trainees during and within 30 days of completion of basic training or its equivalent.<br />&#8226; Ensure that Sexual Assault Response Coordinators (SARC) are available to members of the National Guard and Reserve at all times and regardless of whether they are operating under Title 10 or Title 32 authority.</p></blockquote> <p>It's always great to remember how badass your senators are. (<a href="http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/ade7b7a7-b6c1-445a-a4e5-ed90cea5530d/20130506-arm13488-murray---ayotte-military-sexual-assault-bill.pdf">Full bill is here</a>, if you wonk that hard.)</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/senator-patty-murray-introduces-a-military-sexual-assault-bill#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16695215&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Crime Politics War http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/07/senator-patty-murray-introduces-a-military-sexual-assault-bill?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16695215&id=comments 8 Tue, 07 May 2013 11:33:33 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/anti-child-abuse-organization-uses-cheesy-old-technology-in-an-awesome-new-way http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/anti-child-abuse-organization-uses-cheesy-old-technology-in-an-awesome-new-way Anna Minard <p>Remember those colorful '90s bookmarks (and rulers, binders, postcards) printed with weird plastic lines on them so that if you turned them one way or the other, a <strong>different picture would appear</strong>, or the picture would move back and forth? Like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdvvKf2n24A">this</a> <em>Harry Potter</em> one. That technology is called "lenticular printing," and I've only ever seen it as a gimmick for for kids' books or Cracker Jack prizes.</p> <p>Well, Spanish organization ANAR, which works with abused children, just figured out a way to use it in their street ads to solve a major messaging problem. It's a problem that faces many groups that work with systematically abused populations (battered women, enslaved immigrants, sex workers): How do we get our information delivered just to the eyes of someone who needs to see it when they may be <strong>walking down the street with their abuser</strong>? ANAR wanted a way for kids to see an ad with a phone number they can call for help, and an adult to just see a generic anti-child-abuse PSA.</p> <p>Here's what they did:<br /><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6zoCDyQSH0o" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p><a href="http://www.diyphotography.net/lenticular-photo-used-secretly-convey-hot-line-number-abused-kids">Read more over here on the DIY photography blog.</a></p> <p>I'm not sure how publicizing it on the web really serves the ads' secretive purpose, but I guess it wasn't going to stay completely secret for long. It's just a lesson in creative messaging for the public good. (And it makes me look at shiny rainbow Lisa Frank binders in a whole new way.)</p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/anti-child-abuse-organization-uses-cheesy-old-technology-in-an-awesome-new-way#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16686409&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Crime Media http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/anti-child-abuse-organization-uses-cheesy-old-technology-in-an-awesome-new-way?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16686409&id=comments 7 Mon, 06 May 2013 13:56:08 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/06/this-weekend-in-loving-yourself-just-the-way-you-are http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/06/this-weekend-in-loving-yourself-just-the-way-you-are Anna Minard <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/6663/1367865575-perfect_dick.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/6663/1367865575-perfect_dick.png" alt="perfect_dick.png" title="" width="500" height="375" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">Anna Minard</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>Smiley face!</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/06/this-weekend-in-loving-yourself-just-the-way-you-are#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16686359&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Graffiti http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/06/this-weekend-in-loving-yourself-just-the-way-you-are?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16686359&id=comments 3 This Weekend in Loving Yourself Just the Way You Are Anna Minard Mon, 06 May 2013 11:43:20 -0700 The Stranger http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/the-first-mayoral-race-scandal-pizza-peter-dines-out http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/the-first-mayoral-race-scandal-pizza-peter-dines-out Anna Minard <p>Spotted in Wallingford this weekend...</p> <p><div class="blogImageCenter" style="width:512px;"><a href="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/60bb/1367860620-steincar.png" class="zoomable"><img src="http://www.thestranger.com/binary/60bb/1367860620-steincar.png" alt="steincar.png" title="" width="500" height="501" /></a><ul><li class="imageCredit">The Stranger</li><li class="imageCaption"></li></ul></div></p> <p>Does mayoral candidate Peter Steinbrueck even <strong>make his own pizza</strong>, as <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/04/30/hope-and-no-change-first-mayoral-forum-promises-a-spirited-debate-about-nothing">he has publicly claimed</a>? Is this campaign car parked right outside a pizza parlor there to pick up pizza in the dead of <strike>night</strike> noon and ferret it away to an undisclosed kitchen, where Pizza Peter will pass it off as his own?</p> <p>And what are all those bumper stickers? <strong>HIPPIE CONSPIRACY.</strong></p> <p>[ <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/the-first-mayoral-race-scandal-pizza-peter-dines-out#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16685401&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> Who's the Boss? http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/06/the-first-mayoral-race-scandal-pizza-peter-dines-out?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16685401&id=comments 19 The First Mayoral Race Scandal: "Pizza Peter" Dines Out?!? The Stranger Mon, 06 May 2013 10:20:59 -0700 The Stranger http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/04/happy-mca-day-2013 http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/04/happy-mca-day-2013 Anna Minard <p>I know this was in yesterday's <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/03/todays-music-news-franken-bands-non-fatal-shootings-and-sigur-rs-on-the-simpsons">music news post</a>, but I just wanted to say happy one-year afterlife anniversary to Adam Yauch. If you didn't happen to <a href="http://gothamist.com/2013/05/03/mca_photos.php#photo-1">click through</a>, yesterday they dedicated a park to him in New York City, and his mom spoke at the dedication. </p> <p>"<strong>We didn't have anything to do with the crazy part of Adam Yauch</strong>," she started, laughing. "He brought that all by himself." Later in the speech, she tells the crowd that after his death and the ensuing "worldwide outpouring of admiration," friends told her, "We didn't know your son was so famous!" And she says, "We didn't know it either."</p> <p>Watch:</p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ugntEoSkYrE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></p> <p>If you're sitting across from me at this cafe, sorry I'm crying. I'll be okay, promise.</p> <p>Today, people gathered in Brooklyn to celebrate this first anniversary of his death, which they're calling <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MCADAYNYC/info">MCA Day</a>. I hope it went well. I'm spending the rest of this fine sunny day celebrating...</p> <p><div style="text-align:center;"><iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/z5rRZdiu1UE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align:center;"><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/42106181" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div></p> <p>RIP, MCA.</p> <p>[ <a href="http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/04/happy-mca-day-2013#comments">Comment on this story</a> ]</p> <p>[ <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16672381&amp;id=comments">Subscribe to the comments on this story</a> ]</p> RIP #1 Fan http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2013/05/04/happy-mca-day-2013?show=comments#readerComments http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Rss.xml?oid=16672381&id=comments 0 Sat, 04 May 2013 14:20:56 -0700 The Stranger