Saturday, June 20, 2009
The Weather The World Salutes You, Fremont
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 8:02 PM
The Solstice Parade at the Fremont Fair is by far the best parade all year. "This parade has balls," someone kept saying. The whole parade is great—not just the first 15 minutes, the naked ride part—in large part because of one rule: no words. No vinyl with corporate logos on them attached to flatbed trucks. No banners with slogans on them hanging from a stick in front of a group of people. Just costumes, instruments, body paint, choreography, happiness, inspiration, blah blah blah. You want me to just shut up and get to the naked people, don't you?
More after the jump.
Homo / Theater Take a Wiz...On Adrian! Plus, Cabaret.
Posted by Adrian Ryan on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Oh, the wretched tragedy of it! Over-extending oneself! So many fabulous things to do, so only one little me.
For example: Tonight many things are happening, including THE WIZ. Yes, The Wiz—I know that '70s Nipsy-Russell-Michael-Jackson-Dianna-Ross nightmare movie version scarred you for life and made you feel all hollow and hopeless and rather gross inside. But this is the Y2Ks, dammit, and The Wiz is all grown up now, and somehow gay, Gay, GAY! In fact they bill it as "A Queer Multicultural Cabaret" featuring several drag queens, and everything else you need to know about it was written by a nice girl called Gina at Line Out.
I'VE GOT TWO TICKETS. I CAN'T GO!
Then there is The Columbia City Cabaret! A dearly loved revue of dazzling feats of cabaret, featuring/hosted by Tamara The Trapeze Lady. It's $25 at the door. And, you guessed it, I'VE GOT TWO TICKETS AND I CAN'T GO TO THAT, EITHER!
Do you want my tickets? Do you?
SO! Wanna take a Wiz...on me? (Who doesn't? Reowr!) Feeling like life is a Cabaret? Email me at adrian@thestranger.com, QUICK! First-come-first-serve, the tickets are yours! (Naked pictures accepted and may help your chances. Offer void in Idaho.)
The WIZ is at The Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, 104 17th Avenue South, 7:30PM.
The Columbia City Cabaret is at Columbia City Theater, 4916 Rainier Avenue South, 206.605.9920.Show at 7:00PM!
Write me! adrian@thestranger.com! QUICK.
News Meanwhile in Iran
Posted by Dan Savage on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Not for the faint of heart:
Via Andrew Sullivan—whose blogging on the uprising in Iran remains required reading.
Food The Cupcake Wars
Posted by Dan Savage on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 11:02 AM
As a parent... ahem... I don't have a problem with birthday cupcakes in classrooms or the occasional class pizza party. But...
Cupcakes and/or pizzas are treat enough. What drives me up the wall are the inevitable bottles of soda pop and/or boxes of brightly colored corn syrup (a.k.a. "juice") that get served with the cupcakes and/or pizzas. The kids are excited about the pizza and/or cupcakes. They won't miss the pop and/or "juice" if it isn't set out in front of them. It's possible to serve kids non-fat milk or even—oh, the humanity!—water with cupcakes and/or pizza. They won't riot.
Stranger Suggests Today The Stranger Suggests
Posted by The Stranger on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Art
Free Sheep
From a fleabag motel on Aurora to the Moore Theatre in just two years—the Free Sheep Foundation's star has risen quickly. The itinerant art cabal that briefly colonizes buildings is now turning the Moore inside out. You will enter from the alley onto the stage and see a giant walkway, made by Lead Pencil Studio, beckoning you to walk up it, through the air, to the first balcony. That's just the beginning: DJing by Scratchmaster Joe, music by Orkestar Zirkonium and "Awesome," 300 watermelons in the backstage bathrooms, graffiti, murals, Gretchen Bennett's ghostly rock-show drawings, and much more. (Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave, 467-5510. 6–10 pm, free, all ages.)
BRENDAN KILEYBooks Readings All Day
Posted by Paul Constant on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 10:12 AM
There's a lot going on today, especially for a Saturday, so let's get into it.
Noon: At Seattle Mystery Bookshop, Adria Lang reads from For the Sake of the Vine, which is about a winery...and murder. It's a weird situation with this book: Someone came up with the concept, someone else researched a Washington winery (a winery that gets promoted in the book) and then Lang wrote the book based on the information that other people had figured out. In fact, she wrote the book in three weeks. I haven't read it, but Lang is an interesting person; she's a burlesque dancer and screenwriter and is very forthcoming about this weird process of writing, and you might want to go just for that.
1 pm: Bellevue Regional Library hosts a "meet-and-greet" with authors like Will North, Philip Marks, Deborah Schneider, Joe McDonald, Theresa Meyers, Curt Ebbesmeyer and perhaps one or two more authors that you or I have actually heard of.
2 pm: The Central Library hosts a bilingual reading of Pablo Neruda's poetry. This is a worthwhile event. Neruda in Spanish, read aloud, is lovely. Also at 2, Tim McNulty, the author of Olympic National Park: A Natural History reads and shows maps at the Elliott Bay Book Company.
3 pm: At Bailey/Coy Books, Dani Cone reads from Tall, Skinny, Bitter, "a personalized guidebook to the caffeine scene of the Great Northwest." And at the West Seattle branch of the library, Jennifer Worwick reads from Backcountry Betty Crafting with Style: 50 Nature-Inspired Projects, allegedly a "hip, snappy craft book...to bring the outdoors in!"
And then you can nap until 7 pm, when it's time for the first in what is hopefully a new Seattle reading series at Vermillion called "Debut Lit." Josh Weil's debut collection of novellas, The New Valley, is set in the Virginias. Mark Cooper is the author of a full-length comic book, The Inspectre. This is the reading of the day.
The full readings calendar, including the next week or so, is here. And if you're planning on staying in and you're looking for personalized book recommendations, feel free to tell me the books you like and ask me what to read next over at Questionland.
Visual Art / Mailbag You Had to Steal Their Chuckle
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Now I'm not pretending like this is a great piece of art, but I painted it and hung it to spread a smile around my neighborhood. An old telephone pole had been updated and all that remained was an urban stump. I was inspired to create the attached, but within 90 minutes of me hanging it, it was gone.I live in Wallingford, which teems with children and 30- to 40-something breeders, all of whom might enjoy the nod to the great Doctor. But, no, you had to steal their chuckle.
Perhaps this admittedly crude painting will hang in your dorm room or stoner basement, but guess what: Without context it has no point. It is not funny. You fucking suck and I hope you die, punk.
DOUG.
News The Morning News
Posted by Unpaid Intern on Sat, Jun 20, 2009 at 9:23 AM
Situation Normal, All Fucked Up: Reports of police stopping protests, bombs going off in Iran.
Because If There's One Thing Today's College Students Are, It's Surreptitious: Obama Administration looks into starting ROTC for spies.
World's Oldest Man Tells Us How He Survived So Long: "...Cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women."
Where Did He Go?: Steve Jobs had a liver transplant.
Here's A Good reason Why Health Care Reform Is Necessary: US has severe shortage of primary care doctors.
I Wonder How More Physicians Would Be Helpful...?: CDC says swine flu could extend flu season to entire year.
Thirsty?: Washington State to loosen liquor rules due to recession.
Population Drop: By fall, Ft. Lewis will be down 18,000 in largest deployment since Korean War.
More 90's Comedy Goodness: It's painfully dated and NSFW.
Most Commented on Slog
-
WTF? by Dan Savage
-
PETA vs. Thanksgiving by Dan Savage
-
Your Wife Died Alone... by Dan Savage
-
Is Your Teen Out of Control... And Smoking Hot? by Dan Savage
-
Health at Every Size by Dan Savage
-
Boy-Nerds Offended by Cootie-Ridden "Girl" Movie by Paul Constant
-
The Cost (and Fear) of Dying by Anthony Hecht
-
SL Letter of the Day: Serial Cheater Turns On the Tears by Dan Savage
-
SL Letter of the Day: Hot For Twinks by Dan Savage
-
Palin's Base: The Know Nothings by Dan Savage
RSS
Facebook
Twitter