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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Music This Week in Party Crasher

Posted by Paul Constant on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 3:20 PM

This week in Party Crasher, news intern Aaron Pickus descends to the umpteenth level of ska.

The electricity shorts out frequently as Rowan begin to set up their equipment. Some sort of twisted game is being played involving the slamming of doors, screaming, and some guy dressed up convincingly as a penguin. I begin to reflect metaphysically on whether I am standing in a bedroom or a David Lynch film.

Having been The Stranger's Party Crasher for longer than anyone else on the face of the planet, let me tell you: I love Pickus' Party Crashers. He always manages to make them fresh, weird, and funny. You should read the whole thing.

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Science News from the Animal Kingdom

Posted by Charles Mudede on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 2:36 PM

In a paper published in December in Primates, an international journal of primatology that provides a forum on all aspects of primates in relation to humans and other animals, Great Ape Trust scientist Dr. Serge Wich and his colleagues provide the first-ever documentation of a primate mimicking a sound from another species without being specifically trained to do so. Bonnie, a 30-year-old female orangutan living at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., began whistling—a sound that is in a human’s, but not an orangutan’s, repertoire—after hearing an animal caretaker make the sound...

...The behavior goes against the argument that orangutans have no control over their vocalizations and the sounds are purely emotional—that is, an involuntary response to stimuli such as predator

With that dumb whistling down goes yet another section of the great wall that for centuries has separated us from the rest.

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Mailbag Letter from a Binge Drinker

Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 1:57 PM

The first bad decision was to put on Limp Bizkit. It seemed like a good idea at the time: "Hey, let's put on some music that sounds like an elk bleeding to death and listen to it ironically and look at each other and laugh." But then without even knowing why people started to feel aggressive, like they wanted to fight people, and the girls started sneaking off to the kitchen to take solo shots of tequila...

The whole thing's here.

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Strangercrombie Calendar? I Hardly Knew... 'Ar.

Posted by Paul Constant on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 1:40 PM

Our Strangercrombie auction is over, but you can still give money to the good folks at Treehouse.

You can give at any amount, just by clicking this here button:

If you donate $20 or more, you can get a lovely Stranger tote bag, which looks like this:

If you donate $50 or more, you earn yourself a (different kind of) lovely Gentlemen of Slog or Ladies of Slog calendar. Twelve months of Slog craziness acted out by our attractive commenters. It is not brought to you by Rainier Beer, but it does feature Rainier Beer:

Delicious, delicious Rainier.

Mmmm...

Wait, what? Where was I? Ah, yes! Give money to foster children now, please:

And thank you.

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Drugs Mass Appeal

Posted by Dan Savage on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 1:39 PM

People also turn to drugs during bad times. Just sayin'.

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2008 Don't Let the Shoe Hit You on the Way Out

Posted by Eli Sanders on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 11:18 AM

President Bush made his last surprise visit to Iraq today, and, well, the press conference in Baghdad didn't go so well.

His appearance at a news conference here was interrupted by a man, apparently a journalist, who leaped to his feet and threw one shoe at the president, who ducked and narrowly missed being struck. Chaos ensued. He threw a second shoe, which also narrowly missed Mr. Bush. The man was roughly 12 feet from the lecturn in the center of two rows ofchairs, about two feet from a pool of reporters. A scrum of security agents descended on the man and wrestled him, first to the floor and then out of the ornate room where the news conference was taking place. The president was uninjured and brushed off the incident. “All I can report is it is a size 10,” he said jokingly. An Iraqi accompanying the pool of reporters said the man had shouted, “This is a farewell kiss, dog.”

Update: Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, trying to block one of the shoes flying toward the president:

And now, the video:

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Stranger Suggests Today The Stranger Suggests

Posted by The Stranger on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 11:00 AM

Art

'Rape of the Sabine Women'

You must see this work of art by Eve Sussman and a group of performers called the Rufus Corporation, because when you do, you will learn something about yourself. Rape of the Sabine Women is a huge, elaborate, sexy, self-important, beautiful movie layered with references to neoclassical paintings (Poussin, David, Rubens) depicting the mythical tale of the founding of Rome. It lasts 80 minutes and moves from a 1960s house party to an International Style airport to an elongated, smoke-machined, dancelike sequence of writhing bodies in an amphitheater. Will you love it, or will you hate it? (Henry Art Gallery, 4100 15th Ave NE, 543-2280. 11 am–5 pm, $10. Through March 22.) JEN GRAVES

See what else is happening in Art on Sunday »

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Books Reading Today

Posted by Paul Constant on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 10:06 AM

An open mic and one event today. Up at the University Village Barnes and Noble, Vincenza Scarpini signs and reads from The Journey of the Italians in America. One of the saddest things about Seattle, in my opinion, is that it doesn't have a Little Italy. I wrote about that in the Chow section over a year ago.

And that's it. Happy Christmas shopping, everyone.

The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here.

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News The Morning News

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 8:16 AM

Posted by News Intern Aaron Pickus

Palin church fire: Sarah Palin's church damaged by fire, possibly arson.

~~Indian~~ Pakistani air space: ~~Pakistan~~ India "accidentally" violates it twice.

Church attendance on rise: Mars Hill is famous.

Bush surprise: President's farewell tour of Iraq.

Auto bailout: White House says loans aren't imminent.

Human Rights: UN Gay rights declaration opposed by US.

"Biden to shrink VP role": Apparently...

Recession: Port of Seattle may halt construction at Sea-Tac car rental facility.

West Seattle: Snow info.

Driving in the snow: Capitol Hill hills.

Snowmen are evil

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Life Snow! Cont.

Posted by Sam Machkovech on Sun, Dec 14, 2008 at 1:17 AM

This photo was taken on Aurora just south of the bowling alley I visited tonight (don't ask). Snow looks incredible when blasted by a four-way spotlight in front of a Lovers shop. Almost like fireworks.