Tuesday, January 20, 2009
City Obama Street Party!
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 8:33 PM
Stranger news intern Aaron Pickus reports there's a spontaneous Obama party happening on Capitol Hill.
There's a crowd of about 200 people in Cal Anderson park right now. I'm working on getting pictures.
Inauguration Don't Let the Crowd Topple You on the Way Out
Posted by Anthony Hecht on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 8:26 PM
After Obama's speech this morning, on a small triangle of grass between the Lincoln Memorial and the Memorial Bridge, we discovered a giant inflatable statue of George W. Bush, posed like the famously-toppled statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. The statue had a plaque that described Bush matter-of-factly, with no punch-line, allowing viewers to project their own feelings onto the work. It had guy lines loosely holding it up from various points. You can probably guess what happened next.
You didn't guess someone would face-hump it?
People also threw shoes, water bottles, and anything else they could find.
A father and son team brought the statue from Minnesota and set it up here without a permit. They told us they had asked authorities if they needed one, but police said they had no specific rules against inflatables, so it could stay. Some park police apparently even thanked them for it, thinking it a tribute to the outgoing president. They seemed as surprised as we were that it hadn't been removed. The statue was conceived by the 20-year-old son as an art project.
It made our day.
Inauguration / Tech President 2.0
Posted by Anthony Hecht on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 8:11 PM
At roughly the same time PRESIDENT Obama took the oath of office today, change.gov became whitehouse.gov, taking the same "Web 2.0" design and principles from Obama's campaign and transition websites to the website of the new president.
Some noteworthy things about this change:
- • The website is valid XHTML Transitional*
- • The previous version of the site had a robots.txt file with 2400 lines of disallow rules. The new site has a single disallow rule.**
- • All third-party content on the site will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
- • There's a blog.
These are very nice and all—one a sign of a web team that cares, two are symbols of high-tech transparency, and one is.. a blog—but the real changes are to be found in a blog post announcing the new site and the new administration's policy towards information.
The President's executive orders and proclamations will be published for everyone to review...Citizen participation will be a priority for the Administration, and the internet will play an important role in that. One significant addition to WhiteHouse.gov reflects a campaign promise from the President: we will publish all non-emergency legislation to the website for five days, and allow the public to review and comment before the President signs it.
Ideally, this would not be remarkable, but it is.
* almost.
** These rules inform search engines which content is not to be indexed. Hat tip to Slog-regular NaFun.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz All the President's Movies
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 6:13 PM
Bethany Jean Clement has never seen The Godfather.
Why should Bethany see the Godfather? Because President (!) Barack Obama would want her to see The Godfather!
According to BHO's Facebook page, his favorite films are: Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Godfather I & II. Obama is also reportedly a fan of the Candidate.
Please update your Netflix queue accordingly, Bethany.
Inauguration Obama Place
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 6:05 PM
In San Francisco some artists renamed—unofficially—SF's Bush Street in honor of our new president.
Seattle also has a street named Bush.
Bush Place is short, not quite two blocks, and if Obama's presidency is a success then he'll certainly deserve something a bit grander. But for the moment, as a gesture of, you know, hope and shit, why not rename Bush Place in honor of the new president now?
Inauguration Oh, Man
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 6:02 PM
The Onion says goodbye to an error era as only The Onion can. I wish this article was four times as long and full of Weekend At Bernie's-style physical comedy.
Inauguration / Science GeoEye Is Watching
Posted by Jesse Vernon on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 6:02 PM
The throng:
via the world's highest-res satellite. Can anyone explain the funny shapes and gaps? (full image here)
Inauguration And the Band Marched On
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 5:40 PM
I'm surprised that the Secret Service didn't tackle the dude with the baton.
News Kennedy "Well"
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 5:39 PM
From the BBC:
Veteran US Senator Ted Kennedy is said to be well again after collapsing from "fatigue" at President Barack Obama's inauguration lunch in Washington."After testing, we believe the incident was brought on by simple fatigue," Dr Edward Aulisi of Washington Hospital Center said in a statement.
"Sen Kennedy is awake, talking with family and friends, and feeling well."
Mr Obama voiced concern for the senator, who was diagnosed last year with a cancerous brain tumour.
Senator Robert Byrd was also reported to have been taken ill, but his office later said he was fine, Reuters said.
Inauguration Re: Flubbing the Oath of Office
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 5:06 PM
Inauguration Re: Wheelcheney!
Posted by Lindy West on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:57 PM
Oh my god. Hahahahahahaha x forever.
Thank you thank you thank you, commenter Lindy's New Boyfriend.
Inauguration / Visual Art Chewed, Digested, Shat, Flushed: Bush
Posted by Jen Graves on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:51 PM
A Seattle artist announced today he has completed a project he has been working on for seven years:
In February 2002, JEMA’s Director, Sean Miller, purchased George W. Bush’s book A Charge To Keep: My Journey to the White House. He drew a grid on the book, cut “chad-like” rectangles into the cover, removed rectangular portions, recorded the printed words, and slowly ate the paper portions. For the last seven years he has been eating the book and documenting its slow disappearance. Today he is pleased to announce he is done eating and the small remainder and binding will be entered into the JEMA Library.
For more of this deliciousness, click here.
Visual Art The Seattle Arts Commission Turns Over
Posted by Jen Graves on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:48 PM
The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs today announced the appointment of eight new Seattle arts commissioners (out of a total of 15), including Eric Fredericksen of Western Bridge, Sandra Jackson-Dumont of Seattle Art Museum, and artist Diana Falchuk of Crawl Space—all of whom know to be smart, motivated, passionate, effective people.
The others I don't know, but I'll be curious to see what transpires...details on jump.
Books One More Post About Poetry...
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:11 PM
...but wait! Don't just skim! This poem is actually written by Barack Obama, and it appears here.
It's called "Pop," and here is the first half.
Sitting in his seat, a seat broad and broken
In, sprinkled with ashes,
Pop switches channels, takes another
Shot of Seagrams, neat, and asks
What to do with me, a green young man
Who fails to consider the
Flim and flam of the world, since
Things have been easy for me;
I stare hard at his face, a stare
That deflects off his brow;
I'm sure he's unaware of his
Dark, watery eyes, that
Glance in different directions,
And his slow, unwelcome twitches,
Fail to pass.
I listen, nod,
Listen, open, till I cling to his pale,
Beige T-shirt, yelling,
Yelling in his ears, that hang
With heavy lobes, but he's still telling
His joke, so I ask why
He's so unhappy, to which he replies . . .
But I don't care anymore, cause
He took too damn long, and from
Under my seat, I pull out the
Mirror I've been saving; I'm laughing,
Laughing loud, the blood rushing from his face
To mine, as he grows small,
A spot in my brain, something
That may be squeezed out, like a
Watermelon seed between
Two fingers.
Please bear in mind that the President was 19 years old when he wrote the poem. (More information here.) Our outgoing president wrote poetry when he was 19, too, but the men's room at that particular Denny's has since been remodeled and the poem was lost under several coats of paint.
(Thanks to Slog Tipper Brian.)
News Meanwhile on Wall Street
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:03 PM
It looks like they had a bad day—biggest drop ever on an inauguration day.
Inauguration Wheelcheney!
Posted by Lindy West on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:03 PM
2008 No Money for Poison Control
Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Seriously, less than a week after posting about how I accidentally brushed my teeth with antifungal cream and had to call Poison Center for help (and quickly received that help), I get an email concerning our Governor's plan to cut the Poison Center's budget by 50%!
Writes William Hurley, the Medical Director of Washington Poison Center:
The recent proposed Washington budget calls for a 50% ($1 million) reduction in Poison Center funding. The leadership team at the Poison Center estimates such a cut would leave us unable to continue 24/7 operations & unable to maintain certification as a center. This would lead to our closure. Such a cut would cost lives & multiple millions of dollars.
Is this the same budget that Gregoire deserves so much credit for? A budget with such an idiotic cut? A cut that will endanger lives? Writes William Hurley about my encounter with anitfungal cream: "Glad it wasn’t the hemorrhoidal cream... If it has dibucaine in it, it can be fatal!" People, this is not funny; this is as serious as a heart attack. Poison Control must always run at 100%. It only costs us two million dollars, and every buck is worth it.
Fashion Sticker of the Day
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:52 PM
Seen on the bike rack outside Café Presse:
Which demands that old joke: What's the hardest part about rollerblading? Telling your parents that you're gay.
Inauguration Yesterday's News
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Yesterday, at around the same time famous un-American terrorist Rush Limbaugh was saying that he hopes our new president fails, the Bush team was having the world's most depressing goodbye party.
The theme was "Crossing the Finish Line," and it was held in a drafty ballroom (party-goers were advised to wear coats and layers over their fancy clothes). Apparently, just about everybody was talking about how they were unemployed, except for a Treasury employee who scored a job as manager of an Abercrombie & Fitch.
History / Inauguration Who the Hell Was Chester A. Arthur?
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:40 PM
The question came up at a post-inauguration feast (oysters! champagne! grilled sardines!) and one of our party did not believe Chester A. Arthur was, in fact, a president. "He's not a president," she said. "The Seattle Times just slipped him onto the front page as a joke."
Well. Not only was Chester Alan Arthur a president, he was a fancy president. Some facts about our man Chester, courtesy of Wikipedia (mostly):
• Mark Twain liked him—and Mark Twain hated everybody—saying: "It would be hard indeed to better President Arthur's administration."
• Not only did Chester have an awesome name, he was surrounded by people with awesome names: Roscoe Conkling (his political mentor), Uriah Stone (his Continental-Army great-grandfather), Charles J. Guiteau (his predecessor's assassin, who shot president Garfield and shouted "I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts... Arthur is president now!"), Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (his Secretary of State), Cornelius Newton Bliss (one of his pallbearers), and so on.
• Chester was part Native American. (Did everybody know we had a part-Native American president?)
• Chester was considered a snappy dresser.
• People called Chester "the Gentlemen Boss."
• Chester's inaugural address was all about how, even though Garfield was shot by a crazy man (and killed by his doctors, who poked and prodded his wound with unwashed hands) things were okay in America.
• Chester led the effort to establish the Greenwich Meridian and international time; he said paupers, criminals, and the mentally ill couldn't emigrate to America; and tried to clear the civil service of nepotism and corruption. He vetoed a bill saying Chinese people couldn't come to America, but signed a 10-year moratorium on Chinese people. (Apparently Mark Twain didn't like Chinese people.)
• Chester took 1 am walks to clear his head, and rarely went to bed before 2 am.
• Chester died of Bright's disease (kidney failure) while on a health-vacation in Florida that didn't go so well.
• You can buy a Chester Alan Arthur t-shirt here.
International Who Says Venezuela's not a One Party State?
Posted by Grant Brissey on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:36 PM
Probably Hugo Chavez, and soon everyone can read about it in his new column, which will begin running in "various newspapers" just in time for him to promote a referendum to end term limits.
Via Seattle P-I
Inauguration Stay Classy, Republicans
Posted by Erica C. Barnett on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:29 PM
How are Republicans celebrating the historic swearing-in of our 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama?
By blocking the confirmation of his secretary of state, praying that the "evil" new president fails, trying to make the moniker "Sun King" stick, saying, "I hope Obama fails," whining that there's nothing to celebrate, and slagging on his speech.
Don't ever stop showing your true colors, guys.
Inauguration Flubbing the Oath of Office
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:27 PM
I haven't surfed over to any crazy, right-wing websites today—I'm trying to be better than that—but I suspect the fact that Roberts flubbed the oath, causing Obama to flub the oath, has some right-wing nutbags insisting that Barack Obama is not officially, not technically, President of the United States.
Anybody care to dive into, oh, Free Republic and see if I'm right?
Boom An Ice Age for Seattle Development?
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 3:14 PM
Reports the DJC on permit applications for new developments around the city:
Seattle's Department of Planning and Development saw its revenues and permit intake value fall from 2007 to 2008, and Director Diane Sugimura said she is expecting this year to be even slower.“The revenues and intake was probably as high as it was (in 2008) because we were seeing the second and third phases of projects that had been in for some time,” Sugimura said. “What we are not seeing is new projects.”
“2008 was clearly a drop but not, you know, off the cliff,” Sugimura said. “2009... we are concerned about that.”
But the anti-development crowd can hold their applause. Although applications for new developments have dropped off a cliff and the real-estate market is slower, for sure, I don’t think this means we’re going to see halt in neighborhood construction. Lots of projects—which submitted plans to the city in the last couple years—are still chugging through the design process. Fourteen large projects were scheduled for design reviews this month, and construction marches on around the city for four- to six-story apartment buildings. Meanwhile, developers for some of the more ambitious projects, such as office towers downtown, feel confident that they will begin construction before long. Kevin Daniels of Nitze-Stagen, for instance, believes his proposed 41-story tower on 5th Avenue and Colombia Street will proceed. “I’m looking at the end of 2012,” he said last week.
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