Thursday, June 4, 2009
Homo / Games We Are Winning
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 6:19 PM
We haven't won gay marriage in another state, exactly. But same-sex matrimony has conquered in the land of the Sims! Reports Towleroad:
Lyle Masaki at AfterElton tested the new version of The Sims to see if gays and lesbians could get married like any other couple. He reports: "...after a week of game time, I was able to get a male couple to plan a wedding party and tie the knot."
Bummer, only six friends at the wedding.
Two-Block Radius / SIFF True Adolescents
Posted by Lindy West on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 6:12 PM
I just finished watching Craig Johnson's True Adolescents, which was filmed in and around Seattle (including The Comet, Caffe Vita, and the exterior of this very office for all you Two-Block Radius Hack Alert Blah Blah watchdogs) and stars Oscar nominee Melissa Leo and Mark Duplass of Lynn Shelton's Humpday (it's also the film where Shelton and Duplass met, Johnson told me). Duplass plays a jackassy but charming band dude (“Calamity Records has our demo, so…”) who slumps around Capitol Hill, bullshitting his way out of life's grown-up responsibilities. When he takes his teenage nephew on a camping trip, simple mistakes steer them dangerously close to disaster, and everyone learns lessons (sweet, important) without the film ever becoming cloying.
In his Humpday review, David Schmader calls Duplass "singularly appealing," and he is CORRECT. Duplass turns this douchey, self-absorbed band-dude cliche into an actual human--no small feat, considering he regularly says things like, “yeah, there's potentially some really cool shit brewing with the band." (God, shut UP.) And the teenage actors who accompany him on the ill-fated camping expedition are captivating little dudes in their own right.
The movie is funny and astute, but I gotta get out of this office (did you notice that it's nice outside?), so I don't have time to write much more. But if you're looking for a SIFF movie tonight (Egyptian, 9:30 pm), True Adolescents is a fantastic option. (It also plays Saturday at 1 pm at the Egyptian).
Crime Re: Was This Guy the Ricin Queen?
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 6:06 PM
Dan, your Ricin Queen may still be out there. Seattle Police Department spokesman Jeff Kappel says SPD has not been contacted about a possible link to the ricin scare last January. FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs also says the feds have "no reason to believe" the cases are linked.
Obviously this investigation is pretty fresh, so we'll see what happens.
Boom Classy
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Folks are squabbling in comments about a story in this week's paper. Why, exactly, do neighbors oppose an extremely affordable housing development?
Quick background: Local developer Dirk Mulhair found that, under city permitting rules, he could squeeze eight single-occupancy apartments into one "town house." Over at 23rd Avenue East and East John Street, he is building six "town houses" that contain a total of 48 units—averaging only $550 a month, including all utilities, cable and internet—and city rules didn't require him to issue a public notice. Neighbors hit the roof. They had a few concerns, as described in the article: the lack of warning, the unprecedented density, and the impact on parking. However, the primary concern seemed that lower-class people will invade the neighborhood.
But a man claiming to be a neighbor quoted in the article, Alan Gossett, writes in comments, "The problem with this article is that it grossly misrepresents the legitimate concerns that the neighbors of this development project have ... I, and my fellow neighbors to which I’ve spoken, are neither 'anti-densification' nor 'anti-low income.'"
Sorry, Alan (or person claiming to be Alan), but I wrote about the "legitimate concerns" that neighbors shared with me—and City Council Member Sally Clark's sentiment that public notice should be required—but neighbors seemed especially opposed to the density and low-income residents.
These were some of the "legitimate concerns" Gossett raised... "I think this is going to be a magnet for very sketchy people," he said. He also rang off these zingers: “We are concerned about who moves in, worried about loss of security, and illegal activity" and "I am concerned about the negative impact on property values" and "Anyone who can scrape up enough money for month-to-month rent can live there."
Gossett added that he and other neighbors successfully blocked a proposal to convert vacant lots a half-block north of his house into 11 to 14 cottages. “We fought it and they are now empty lots. I’d like to see houses, but empty lots are better than 11 to 14 houses on them," he said.
Another neighbor, who asked not to be named, raised issues with people living in congregate housing without oversight. She also lamented that low-cost apartments would undercut the economy of the city as neighbors wish to develop it.
The article is over here.
Crime SWAT Team Called to Roosevelt Over Pellet Gun
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 5:57 PM
King County transit police arrested three teens near the Roosevelt Whole Foods last Friday after someone called 911 to report a young woman waving a gun around.
According to a police report, the caller reported seeing a young woman running down 65th Ave NE with a black gun in her hand, accompanied by two other girls and four young men.
Seattle police dispatched a SWAT team, who found the group sitting at a Metro bus stop. The police report says officers saw one of the teens attempting to dump—or "slough"—the clip in the gun, which he tried to hide it in his waistband.
Officers handcuffed the teen and searched him, finding an Airsoft replica of a Ruger handgun. According to police, the teen resisted the pat-down, so officers went "hands on," meaning some degree of force was used. The report says the teen complained of shoulder pain following the search but refused medical assistance.
Because the teens were stopped at a bus shelter, King County transit took control of the situation and arrested the three teens.
News Was This Guy The Ricin Queen?
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 5:46 PM
Hm...
The FBI said this afternoon that they have "a strong suspicion" that an Everett man had the deadly poison ricin in his home office, and a specially trained hazardous-materials team — including experts flown in today from Washington, D.C. — have locked down the home.
"I wonder if this could be the same guy sending threatening letters to our gay bars a few months back," says Slog tipper Ryan. Now I'm wondering the same thing. If this guy is the Ricin Queen, well, then it kills my theory that the dude was openly gay. This guy has a wife and a teenage son.
Teh Internets / International Re: The Tiananmen Massacre, Twenty Years Later
Posted by Grant Brissey on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 5:13 PM
As pointed out in the comments here, Chinese government censors celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre by shutting down a bunch of the Internet.
Chinese services are facing so much pressure from the government to keep their users from talking about that bloody day, they are just shutting down comment boards, or claiming their services are closed for unspecified upgrades. For instance, FanFou.com, a popular Twitter-like service, shut its doors for the week, and says it will re-open on June 6.Meanwhile, the so-called Great Firewall of China is blocking Twitter, human rights groups’ websites and blogging services hosted outside of China. Despite that censorship, the country is still very interested in the events of 20 years ago, when the government crushed an unprecedented pro-democracy protest in Beijing by unleashing the army on unarmed students. [Rebecca MacKinnon, the co-founder of Global Voices], the former Beijing Bureau Chief for CNN, noted that the top three hot queries on Google.cn were about the anniversary, despite Google’s willing censorship of search results. But Google does better than the Chinese-owned Baidu search engine, which reports no results for an image search for “Tiananmen Square.” Baidu’s blogging service also searches draft posts for keywords, and forbids publication of posts with controversial terms.
What's more, authorities put Tiananmen Square on a virtual lockdown. The Los Angeles Times has an interesting report of the day's events (or lack-thereof):
On this day, there are commemorative ceremonies all around the world - in Washington, London, Hong Kong, Los Angeles. Almost everywhere, it would seem, but here, where it happened.Dissidents around China have been put under house arrest to prevent any attempt to enter the square. The foreign media have been barred for the day. The entire 10 acres are fenced off with police barricades. White tents like the ones used for the happier occasion of last summer's Olympic Games are outfitted with metal detectors. The authorities look not just for weapons, but also for papers and scarves that might be unfurled into a banner. Some visitors are asked to show their passports; those who have Chinese "J" visas (the letter indicating the holder is a journalist) are turned away.
Also, Slog commenter blip suggests the Frontline documentary The Tank Man, which you can stream here.
Via Wired.com and Latimes.com.
Sex "A rope was attached to his neck and also to his penis."
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 4:57 PM
So it's looking pretty definite that David Carradine died pleasuring himself—and in an ill-advised, highly dangerous manner, but still... he died pursuing some fleeting sexual pleasure.
Actor David Carradine, star of the Kill Bill movies and and Kung Fu TV series, has been found dead naked after reports claiming an apparent sex act went wrong - similar to how INXS singer Michael Hutchence died....But police sources have told The Sun in London that Carradine may have died after he attempted an erotic asphyxiation act when he wrapped a cord around his neck. A police officer said: "A rope was attached to his neck and also to his penis."
Lieutenant Colonel Pirom did confirm the rope was connected to his neck and other parts of his body.
When the news first broke, no one hesitated to label Carradine a suicide. Now that more info has emerged and it seems clear that Carradine died during "an erotic asphyxiation act"—masturbating while depriving himself of oxygen (which is a highly dangerous thing to do)—people are saying it's rude to speculate, leave the man alone, have a little respect. But no one objected when people were saying that he killed himself. There was nothing rude about labeling the man a suicide, nothing disrespectful about leaping to the conclusion that Carradine was in so much despair that he took his own life.
So it's worse somehow that his death was accidental? That he didn't mean to kill himself? That he died happy?
Theater Capo di Tutti Capi
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 4:30 PM
So. Who wants to be the boss of American theater for the next two years? Because the NEA is hiring.
Music "There is no shitty recording gear, only shitty performers."
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 4:28 PM
So says John Totten, one of the three brothers in the Seattle indie rock band the Quiet Ones, in this interview with Trent Moorman. Also discussed: Radio Shack ("Sometimes, we would put one Radio Shack mic on the drums and we would keep that take"), Robert Pollard, what it's like when brothers fight ("Sometimes our practices are more like scenes out of Some Kind Of Monster"), Southern girls, the state of Tennessee ("Tennessee is a beautiful place but there are lots of Republicans and Wal-Marts"), an awesome Abbey Road homage, and a certain bedroom in West Queen Anne where U.S.E. have also recorded. The interview's accompanied by three free mp3s (recommended: "Girls and Uniforms") off the Quiet Ones' forthcoming album.
Photo by Kaija Cornett.
Drugs I Wouldn't Endorse This Sort of Thing, But...
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 4:21 PM
It's plainly obvious to anyone who has ever gotten seriously baked at school that it's a waste of school and a waste of pot. And I don't think teenagers should be getting high at all (though I accept that many teenagers do and it's nothing worth getting too concerned about, in moderation). But, I must say, this is kind of awesome:
At the end of his speech Tuesday urging legalization of marijuana, a 17-year-old Peninsula High School student pulled out a joint, lit it and smoked away. Then he ate the remains.For that he got a quick escort to the school office and then a ride to Remann Hall juvenile jail.
The stunt was celebrated among some of the teen’s peers but was frowned on to say the least by law enforcement officers and district administrators.
If the kid was a shitty student, this would not be awesome. But as the article goes on to explain, the student carried a 3.7 grade point average. In addition, this would be a lame stunt if it had followed a lame speech. But students, the article says, found the speech moving, articulate, and persuasive. So there: spectacular agitprop theatrics. On the flip side, eating a roach is reprehensible.
??!! / Sports "Dang. We've got some floss in the van, Angie."
Posted by David Schmader on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 4:12 PM
This just in from Hot Tipper JB:
Dear Last Days,Holy crap. I can't believe I forgot to tell you about this until just now! I was at an M's game on Friday May 22 sitting in the Diamond club when I saw something that will haunt me forever.
The game was coming to an end when Angie Mentink from FSN strolled out of the Umpire's Tunnel and sat down right in front of me in the camera well waiting to do some interviews for the post game show. I think the game was going to extra innings because she ended up sitting there for quite awhile. She must have just eaten some popcorn or sunflower seeds or something because she immediately started jamming her fingers into her mouth trying to dislodge whatever it was that was bothering her. Which was gross, but nothing compared to what happened next. Fingers glistening with spit, she reached around to the back of her head, started searching around for something, plucked out a hair, wrapped it around her two index fingers, AND STARTED FLOSSING WITH IT! SHE WAS FLOSSING HER DIRTY TEETH WITH HER OWN EFFING HAIR!!! Her cameraman even said, "Dang. We've got some floss in the van, Angie." I was trying to get that vision out of my head when 5 minutes later I saw her feeling around the back of her head again so that she could repeat the performance. But this time the one hair wasn't cutting it so she pulled out like five, put them all together, and used their larger circumfrence to really make me want to puke.
I stand behind the actions of everyone involved. Angie Mentink has the right to floss her hair in public with whatever the hell she wants, and innocent bystanders have a right to be totally icked out.
Books / Nerd Anyone Want to Start a Website?
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 4:09 PM
I've finally put up my full and complete interview with sci-fi author China Miéville, over here. We talk about multiculturalism, the problems and pleasures of creating fictional worlds with their own (physical and societal) laws, and lots of other stuff.
But it looks like the end of the interview, where Miéville talks about his idea for a website to convince nerds not to go to bad sci-fi movies, is the idea that everyone likes.
China Miéville reads at Third Place Books tomorrow night, and you should go to the reading. He's funny and incredibly smart and able to talk equally well about Marxism and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Film Sorry?
Posted by Lindy West on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 3:56 PM
Commenter "berian" has a quibble with my "review" of The Hangover:
Why are you "reviewing" something that is obviously not targeted at you? Doesn't THE STRANGER have any dudes who get dude humor? I haven't seen the film yet, but it is OBVIOUSLY meant to be enjoyed by 20/30 something men who are stuck in the limbo of life that happens when we are pretty much forced into the world that is douche-baggery. For more on that, see inside any frat house / military unit / mans sock drawer.
If I am qualified for anything in this life, I am qualified to like The Hangover. But I did not. Because it is bad. Sorry, bro!
Savage Love Savage Love Letter of the Day
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 2:30 PM
David Carradine? Erotic asphyxiation? Am I the only one thinking this, Dan?Jill G.
Nope.
Chow / Sex Nooooooooooooooooooooo!
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 1:38 PM
"Topless Coffee Shop Destroyed in Arson Fire".
Oh, the humanity! The doughnuts! The boobs!
Evidence found among the rubble at the Grand View Coffee Shop, a former motel just north of Augusta, indicated that the 1 a.m. blaze had been set shortly after its owner appeared before the Vassalboro Planning Board to discuss extending the shop's hours and allowing topless waitresses to dance around the restaurant.
Oh, Maine. First you go the right way on gay marriage, and then you take two steps back to weirdly Deep-South-style prudery. No one was hurt. The owner says he will rebuild.
Chow / ??!! Flame Grilled
Posted by Megan Seling on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Scalpel in Questionland says:
"There are plenty of amazing burgers in Seattle, but not a lot of flame grilled burgers. Who has the best one?"
That's a good question! Being a vegetarian (screw you, A. Birch Steen), I'm not sure who does flame-grilled and who doesn't. Does Lunchbox Laboratory? Does Burger Madness? What about Luna Park? Do any of your carnivores have a good flame-grilled tip? Share your wealth of knowledge in Questionland!
Homo When Death Does You Part
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:46 PM
Rhode Island is now the only state in New England that doesn't allow same-sex couples to marry and we shouldn't expect a marriage equality bill in that state anytime soon. But Rhode Island state senate did approve a domestic partnership bill yesterday. So what rights might same-sex couples in Rhode Island soon enjoy? Just one.
[The] Senate on Tuesday approved a bill giving “domestic partners” the right to claim the bodies of—and make funeral arrangements for—their loved ones.
And that's it. To get the state of Rhode Island to treat a same-sex couple equally one the partners has to die first. Isn't it romantic? And why did the Rhode Island senate decide to bestow this right—and only this right—on same-sex couples?
At a hearing earlier this year on one of the stalled bills to allow same-sex marriage, Mark S. Goldberg told a Senate committee about his months-long battle last fall to persuade state authorities to release to him the body of his partner of 17 years, Ron Hanby, so he could grant Hanby’s wish for cremation — only to have that request rejected too because “we were not legally married or blood relatives.”
Goldberg was in possession of the documents that opponents of marriage equality insist are all we queers really need. He and his partner had wills, living wills, powers of attorney, and a marriage certificate from Connecticut. But the police and the medical examiner's office wouldn't even look at these documents. Instead they held on to Hanby's body and conducted a weeks-long search for Hanby's "next of kin." It took a month for the state to release Hanby's body to Goldberg and even then Goldberg couldn't get his partner's remains cremated in Rhode Island—he had to have Hanby's body taken to Massachusetts—because Goldberg wasn't Hanby's "next of kin."
Goldberg and Hanby were together for 17 years.
Books William Witherup
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:32 PM
John Marshall, the owner of Open Books up in Wallingford, informs us that local poet William Witherup died yesterday of leukemia. Here is what Marshall has to say about him:
Bill was, to various degrees, very sweet and very crusty. He spent much of his life, politically and through poetry, focused on the plight of Downwinders, of which he was one—people who grew up and lived downwind of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
You can find a short bio, a sample poem, and more of Witherup's books here.
Video of the Day Lunchtime Quickie
Posted by Kelly O on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:15 PM
Okay, if you absolutely *HAD* to pick a side, who would it be... Bill O'Reilly? Or Violent J?
Know Your Juggalo Week™ Only on SLOG
Arts / International Russia: Still Backsliding
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:11 PM
From NPR:
A Moscow museum director and a prominent curator seeking to protest Russia's renewed censorship could face up to five years in prison in a criminal case that international human rights groups say targets freedom of expression in Russia. They are charged with inciting hatred and offending human dignity.In the Soviet Union, pro-religious artists were persecuted. Now, artists who question the resurgent power of the Russian Orthodox Church and its close relationship with the Kremlin are under pressure.
The case coincides with another attempt to limit freedom of expression. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently created a commission for "counteracting attempts to falsify history to the detriment of Russia's interests." It is made up of Kremlin-friendly conservatives.
The first time I saw Vladimir Putin was New Year's Eve, Y2K, watching TV at a house in Bath, England, wondering if the world was going to short-circuit.
The BBC announced Yeltsin had resigned and Putin was now in charge. The footage: Putin in Chechnya, grinning like a dog, handing out hunting knives to Russian soldiers putting down the Chechen rebellion—hunting knives. I remember thinking: That man is a creep who will do bad things for his country. And then I returned to wondering whether the world would short circuit.
Visual Art Iain Baxter, Not Lynda Benglis
Posted by Jen Graves on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:10 PM
I reported a little while back, while drooling in anticipation, that Lynda Benglis was coming to Seattle to give the opening talk for the upcoming show Target Practice: Painting Under Attack, 1949-78 (it opens June 25: you want to have this one on your calendar).
Alas, Benglis has backed out. According to a SAM spokeswoman,
Lynda Benglis had something come up and won't be giving the opening lecture, after all. We are working on rescheduling it, but don't have anything set, yet.For the opening, we will now have Iain Baxter. His lecture will be Thursday, June 25, at 7 p.m.
Baxter is great. Nothing against Baxter. He was part of the N.E. Thing Co., the conceptual group that was active in Vancouver from 1966 to 1978, and that's responsible for the GO stop sign that greets you at the top of the SAM escalator.
They're also responsible for this advice to tourists:
And here's a great page of Baxter's solo works from 1958 to 1999, including this lovable vacuum-formed plastic landscape from 1965.
Still, Lynda, if you're listening: We love you. We want you. We need you. What could we do to persuade you to resked?
Religion God Is All-Powerful
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Which means he can hate fags and Jews and walk and chew gum—all at the same time! Jew-ish reports that Westboro Baptist Church is coming to town:
You heard it here first. Unless you already follow GodHatesFags.com. But if not, check their schedule for June 13-15. They’ll be at the Northend Seattle JCC on Saturday evening (that’s the preschool, which is usually in session then, right?), at Congregation Beth Shalom on Sunday at 8:45 a.m., just in time for their morning Minyan, then to a bunch of churches and Seattle Pacific University (you know, the school with the non-drinking vows the students must sign?), and on Monday they’ll be at Garfield High School (at 7:10 a.m. - more than a half hour before start time) then to the ADL’s (former) downtown high rise building, and wrapping up the fun here at our downtown offices before heading off to L.A. for some fun in the sun (and maybe to catch Conan at his new digs).
Crime Police Arrest Man for Home Invasion At His Own House
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Thu, Jun 4, 2009 at 11:54 AM
Seattle Police Department SWAT officers arrested a 32-year-old man in the Roosevelt neighborhood last night following an investigation into a home invasion robbery and shooting that occurred last week.
On May 28, police responded to a report of a shooting at a boarding house in the 6300 block of 15th Avenue NE. Police say two armed men kicked in the front door entered the home wearing masks. One of the masked men yelled, "Give me the bag," at one of the tenants before several of the tenants tried to push the men out of the door. One of the masked men fired a shot, which ricocheted and struck a 21-year-old man in the face. The two men then fled.
According to Seattle Police Department spokeswoman Renee Witt, the man arrested last night for the robbery actually rents one of the rooms in the home where the incident took place. Witt says the robbery was likely motivated by drugs. "It definitely sounds like one of those typical dope rip-off robberies," she says.
Witt also says that another home invasion robbery in the 12000 block of Hiram Place NE, which took place early this morning, was drug related and that the victims knew the robbers.
Last night at a public meeting on policing in the North Precinct, Assistant Seattle Police Chief Nick Metz said home invasion robberies are on the rise, but that "the suspects and victims have some kind of relationship" and that the robberies are often linked to "drugs or some other kind of criminal activity."
Police are still looking for one additional suspect in the Roosevelt robbery.
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