Thursday, June 25, 2009
Life The Last Time I Saw Michael Jackson...
Posted by David Schmader on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 8:26 PM
....was also the first time I saw Michael Jackson. It was four years ago, outside the Santa Maria courthouse, where Jackson was on trial for child molestation, and I was an undercover reporter hanging out with die-hard Michael Jackson fans who'd travelled from all over the world to be near their beloved angel during his darkest hour.
I spent a week there and wrote about it: "Among the Faithful."
The four of us take seats around the conference room table, and June turns immediately serious, "The first thing you need to know is that when you talk about Michael Jackson, you should assume that you are under surveillance, because you are." The Dutch couple nods gravely. "I've been speaking the truth about Michael for five years," June continues. "I've been videotaped in my bedroom, in the shower…" At this point, June jerks her head toward the ceiling: "We know you're there!" she bellows at the hidden camera she imagines in the corner. Wow, I thought, she's crazier than I ever dreamed! Then I realized she was telling the truth, even if she didn't know it: She was under surveillance. But it was the man in the Michael Jackson T-shirt sitting across the table from her, and not some hidden camera, that was doing the surveying.
Some friends have said, "Well, he's kinda been dead for years..." and yes, but NOW HE'S DEAD, and any latent dreams of Michael Jackson executing some miraculous third-act comeback (in my dreams, this always involved Rick Rubin, ala Johnny Cash) die with him.
The period has been placed at the end of the sentence. His art will not redeem him. He's a one-of-a-kind musical genius who went crazy, played with morphing his race and gender, slept with children, was repeatedly acquitted of child-molestation charges, and then died, alone and broke.
It's enough to make you cry.
Teh Internets / International America's Next Top Twitter
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 7:01 PM
The Iran uprising vs. Michael Jackson?
"My Twitter search script sees roughly 15 percent of all posts on Twitter mentioning Michael Jackson. Never saw Iran or swine flu reach over 5 percent," observed Ethan Zuckerman, a fellow at Harvard's Beckman Center for Internet & Society. He "tweeted" his report.
Life / Media Adding Insult to Mourning
Posted by David Schmader on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 6:43 PM
I can only imagine Ryan O'Neal is getting bumped off a whole bunch of news programs this evening.
Film Jeff Goldblum: Not Dead
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 6:34 PM
Apparently the rumor circulating is false—David Schmader says Lindy West said so.
Photo by teo_0 from The Stranger's flickr pool.
News / International New Video from Iran
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 6:33 PM
It's disturbing—of a demonstrator being shot in the street—but the first, I think, documentation of a protester being shot by security forces.
The videos resemble protest scenes from the WTO or the Republican National Convention—until you realize the police have swapped out pepper spray and tear gas for live ammunition.
James Longley, Stranger Genius Award winner and director of the haunting, conflictingly gorgeous-yet-tragic Iraq in Fragments, has been expelled from Iran, by the way. Someone from the security forces called his translator and told him to leave. He got out without being arrested and considers himself lucky. So what's Longley doing now that he's escaped the crucible of Iran? "Right now I'm in Cairo, working on getting into the Gaza Strip for a different project. What's up in Seattle?"
Longley is the definition of phlegmatic.
Music If You Are Wondering Why There Isn't More Freaking-Out-About-Michael-Jackson Here on Slog
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 5:32 PM
It's because you're looking on the wrong blog. Look here. Line Out: Officially Obsessed with Michael Jackson's Death Since 2:39 pm.
Politics / Homo AP On Obama's Gay Problem
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 5:19 PM
First, you gotta love the headline...
PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama slow on pledge to gays
...a nod to all the furious musical theater queens out there. And the story makes it clear that Monday's reception isn't going to end Obama's gay problem:
President Barack Obama promised gay and lesbian voters he would repeal a law banning their open service in the military, would do away with a federal marriage law and would champion their causes from the White House. In his first five months, he's taken incremental steps that have little real effect and left some people feeling betrayed.... Some gay donors called for a boycott after Obama's Justice Department, in a court filing, compared gay marriages to incest....
The White House plans an East Room reception on Monday for gay and lesbian advocates to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Greenwich Village demonstrations at the Stonewall Tavern in New York City. The demonstrations are viewed as the start of the modern gay rights movement. "Unless the president on Monday articulates a strong action plan, and is willing to do it with cameras rolling, it is going to go from bad to worse," said Socarides, the Clinton adviser.
I doubt it'll happen—only docile house homos "good gays," for the most part, have been invited to the White House on Monday—but...
Here's hoping someone at Monday's reception has the courage to go Eartha Kitt on Barack Obama's ass.
Line Out Remembering Michael Jackson
Posted by Megan Seling on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 5:11 PM
News / Celeb The Mullahs Killed Michael Jackson
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 5:05 PM
The Iranian regime has accused the CIA of killing Neda in order to win sympathy for the protesters and create disorder in Iran. I accuse the Iranian regime of killing Michael Jackson to end all coverage of the protests in Iran on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and NBC.
Games Because "Sorry!" Was Already Taken
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 4:53 PM
The Wall Street Journal has an interview with the creator of a very peculiar board game, called Train.
It made its debut last month at the Games for Change conference in New York City. Players load boxcars with tiny yellow figurines and are asked to move the trains from one end of the course to the other. They pull cards that either impede their progress or free some of the characters. Once a train reaches the “finish line,” the game is completed and it is revealed that the destination of the trains is Auschwitz. Nobody “wins.”
News / International Twittering from Iran
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 3:14 PM
Bani Sadr [first president of Iran after the 1979 revolution] on interviews in tv channels: "if whole ppl of iran is on the street, crackdown isn´t possible anymore" #Iranelection 33 minutes ago from webRT @banisadr NOW: Growing masses,mostly woman, walking from Jeyhoon st. throuh navab st toward Jomhori sq. Tehran #iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web
@mriedlinger Javan,gov newspaper accused BBC journalist for murder Neda to get out a story #iranelectionabout 1 hour ago from web in reply to mriedlinger
RT Human right watch: NOW:Growing masses,mostly woman, walking from Jeyhoon st. throuh navab st toward Jomhori sq. Tehran #iranelection Iranabout 1 hour ago from web
And a new topic of discussion in the Iran Twitter feeds:
It is not official, but everyone is saying that Michael Jackson has passed. His family are on their way to the hospital. How sad 20 minutes ago from webTHEY HAVE NOT I REPEAT NOT CONFIRMED THAT MICHEAL JACKSON IS DEAD, LETS WAIT FOR FACTS PEOPLE 19 minutes ago from web
I agree, there is no confirmation> I heard from someone in tehran of all places 18 minutes ago from web
Sorry, Tehran. It's true.
Celeb Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God
Posted by Lindy West on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 2:58 PM
Michael Jackson: About to die!!?!?!!??!?!!?? is dead.
News / International re: Ridiculouser and Ridiculouser
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 2:56 PM
1. Forget hinting that Neda was killed by foreign intelligence agents. An Iranian ambassador effectively blames the CIA.
GHADIRI: This death of Ms. Nada is very suspicious. She was shot from behind. The location was where there was not much demonstration, there was no police presence and the gun that shot and killed her was a smuggled gun. It was not a government-issued gun. [...]My question is that how is that this Nada was shot from behind and several cameras take that. And this is done in an area where there was no important demonstration... If the CIA wants to kill some people and attribute that to the elements of the government and then choosing a girl would be something good for them because it would have much higher impact.
and
BLITZER: Are you seriously accusing the CIA of killing Nada?GHADIRI (through translator): We say that the bullet that was found in her head was not a bullet that you could find in Iran. These are the bullets that the CIA and terrorist groups use. Of course they warned that there would be a bloodshed in these demonstrations and then they could attribute that to the Islamic republic. This is part of a common act of CIA in various countries.
2. Commenter soccerfan writes in an earlier thread:
Hello Seattle soccer fans,Send an e-mail to our national team.
From Huffington:
1:21 PM ET — Will the U.S. soccer team wear green? A petition:
To the U.S. soccer team players:
Please consider wearing green wristbands in your upcoming match in the Confederations Cup finale. It would be a sign of solidarity and compassion for your fellow soccer brethren who were banned from the game they love and face unthinkable repercussions for simply adorning a green wristband symbolizing peace and freedom. This is not politics, it is human rights. Any slap on the wrist you may face from FIFA pales in comparison to what the Iranian soccer team faced, and what the Iranian people face.
Make us proud. Make the world proud.
You can send the team a message here.
Thanks.
3. And, for the record, Snowcroft, Albright, and Sandy Berger have all said that Obama's cautious approach is the correct one—that's all the high-level, bipartisan support he needs. The critics are now cordially invited to pipe down.
Science Saltwater Ocean on Saturn Moon
Posted by Jonathan Golob on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 2:48 PM
Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, probably has a saltwater ocean under it's surface, at least per an analysis of data from the Cassini probe. Take it away NASA and JPL:
For the first time, scientists working on NASA's Cassini mission have detected sodium salts in ice grains of Saturn's outermost ring. Detecting salty ice indicates that Saturn's moon Enceladus, which primarily replenishes the ring with material from discharging jets, could harbor a reservoir of liquid water — perhaps an ocean — beneath its surface.
Such an ocean would vastly increase the chance of life elsewhere in our solar system, beyond our own planet.
Politics / Enviro Sole Man
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 2:23 PM
The Sierra Club's regional chapter gave Dow Constantine its sole endorsement in the race for King County Executive today. The distinction could prove especially valuable for Constantine, who is trying to set himself apart from Larry Phillips, a fellow County Council Member who is also in the executive race. They got dual endorsements from the King County Democrats on Tuesday, but this announcement bolsters Constantine's chances of maintaining second place in the top-two primary election in August so that he can challenge Republican Susan Hutchison in November.
"We think Phillips's work on the environment is good, too, but we felt we had a duty to our members to endorse who we thought was the best," says Scott Otterson, the Sierra Club Cascade Chapter's political chair.
Constantine impressed with his commitment to continue fighting a gravel mine on Maury Island and his past work pushing the critical areas ordinance to protect rural lands, Otterson says. "He has taken some lumps for the environment in the past." For instance, Constantine's work to protect rural areas was so controversial that Constantine temporarily required police escorts, and Glacier Northwest, the business behind the gravel mine, sued Constantine and former King County Executive Ron Sims in 2004 for blocking the company from building a dock.
Line Out There's Still Time...
Posted by Megan Seling on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 1:50 PM
(Songs currently in the lead include "Car," "Carry the Zero," "Cortez the Killer," "I Would Hurt a Fly," "Randy Described Eternity," "When Not Being Stupid Is Not Enough," and "You Were Right.")
Politics / International Ridiculouser and Ridiculouser
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 1:44 PM
First Iran state media said Neda—"the Angel of Iran"—was killed by accident because she was mistaken for the sister of a dangerous terrorist. Then they floated the idea that she'd been killed by protesters and was a martyr for the basij. Now they're hinting that some dangerous foreign elements might have killed her. From NBC (via Nico Pitney):
Today Iran's state TV reported that Neda was murdered by a foreign bullet.
Meanwhile, Mousavi met with some university professors (70 of whom were immediately arrested) and has come out swinging against Khameni. He's not exactly calling for a separation of church and state—but simply telling the church to butt out is a major step:
"The leadership's support to the government under normal circumstances is helpful," Mousavi said. "However, if the leadership and the president are the same, it will not be in the interests of the country."
Here is new video from citizentube, allegedly from yesterday, of demonstrators and police clashing as seen from above. It starts calmly and then, around 1:40, pandemonium breaks out:
Citizentube and YouTube say they've gotten very few videos from Iran in the past 15 hours.
Politics Hakuna Licata: Nick Doesn't Need to Worry
Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 1:34 PM
City Council Member Nick Licata’s reelection campaign has pretty much got his next term in the bag—assuming the winds don't change. He’s outraising his two challengers in this race by over $30,000 each and he has dusted opponents in his previous two reelections by four-to-one margins. At a fundraiser held last night at the Crocodile, he trotted out support from local politicos, including music industry advocates David Meinert and Matt Fox, former city council member Peter Steinbrueck, and a several others running for local office. (Licata’s campaign manager couldn’t get in because he’s only 19 years old, if that reflects on his confidence in the race.) The show hit a crescendo with a solo set by the Presidents of the United States’ lead singer Chris Ballew. The venue was just a few blocks from Spitfire, where, the night before, architect Marty Kaplan held his campaign kickoff. Steinbrueck attended that event, too, where he said, “My loyalty is to Nick.” Kaplan blasted Licata as an anti-Sonics, anti-business obstructionist.
Licata turns Kapln’s argument about the Sonics on its heels, painting the city residents as the wise business investors who jettisoned an unfruitful drain. “I was in favor of a reasonable rate of return from the Sonics,” he says. But he’s not anti-sports, as proven by his work to get the Seattle Storm into Key Arena, Licata notes. He touts his strong record on pushing new parks, better public defense for poor accused of crimes, and high standards for multiple court judges.
“Nick may be an obstructionist to the people Marty represents—those are developers,” said Meinert. “But to the people Nick represents, people who live in the city, Marty is the obstructionist.”
I gotta say, I’m not impressed by some of the anti-development positions that Licata has taken—such as a distaste for the mayor's upzoning in South Lake Union—which probably stems from Licata's willingness to bring NIMBYs to the table. But his open doors have also served as an asset for Licata, who provides a thick résumé of accomplishments (unmatched by Kaplan) fighting for the city’s underdogs and artists.
Licata is also sweeping endorsements: Every district Democrat organization that has voted this year and the King County Democrats have given Licata their sole approval, and 15 of 18 local legislators have endorsed him.
Books They Care About Your Opinion at Seattle Public Library
Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 1:33 PM
As the P.I. reported today, the Library Board unanimously voted to approve the changes to the SPL materials loan policy last night.
The Seattle Public Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously Wednesday to impose overdue fines on previously exempt children's books and English-as-a-second-language materials, charge a $5 fee for interlibrary loans and limit the number of materials a user can check out and place holds on.
The meeting was a fairly astounding thing: For starters, it began a half hour late because one of the board members, Michael Parham, was stuck in traffic. Several librarians who were in attendance had to leave before the meeting began because of the delay. Secondly: I had no idea that librarians would show up to protest the issue, and I was surprised by how many of those librarians were close to tears when they addressed the board. One librarian asked if the board had read all 24 pages of comments from librarians on the SPL intranet (some of which I quoted in my story.) They said they did. She seemed skeptical.
Some non-librarians protested the issue too, most notably a woman who called herself "formerly middle class and now low-income poor. And I'm probably going to stay low-income poor, unfortunately." She was protesting the $5 interlibrary loan fee, suggesting that if it increased from zero to two dollars, she would be able to afford it, but five dollars, she said, was beyond her price range. A student of library science at the UW addressed the "notion of equity" and proposed the idea that "a tier system [for fees according to income] would be more equitable." "There are other ways of doing this," she said.
After all the protests, the Board stated that when they voted on the issue, no matter whether the new policies would pass or not (although they had a hard time with tense issues: Parham and one other board member kept saying things like "the reason we're doing this..." and otherwise talking about the policy as though it had already passed before the vote even happened), the opinions that everyone expressed to the board were valuable and taken into consideration. And then they unanimously voted to pass the policies exactly as they had been written originally, with absolutely no changes or additions phased into the policies from the 24 pages of comments by librarians or speakers at the board meeting. Two women stormed out in frustration.
The UW student leaned in to me and said "Fat lot of good any of our comments did." I had to agree.
Homo / Chow More Pride Events: Free Hot Dogs!
Posted by Megan Seling on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 1:20 PM
There are many Pride parties happening this weekend—there's everything from Hunx & His Punx at the Funhouse to a sex-toy drag race at the Wild Rose (see the whole list here).
One more thing to keep on your radar is Bottleneck Lounge's events. They didn't make it into the paper's listings, but hot dog fans, you'll wanna make note:
Friday: Hot Dog Blessing by Super-Sexy Gina Bling of Team Gina. 10 PM. No Cover.
Saturday: Dyke March Pre-Func and Post Party. Free Hot Dogs and $3.50 drafts from 3-8 PM.
Sunday: POST PARADE Carbo-load. Free Hot Dogs (and veggies dogs) from 1:30 — 6 PM.
Happy Pride Weekend!
(Photo by Mama Dread via the Stranger's Flickr Pool.)
Hump / Film Humpday in the UK
Posted by Lindy West on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 12:50 PM
Lynn Shelton's Humpday gets a write-up in the Guardian, complete with a link to our very own HUMP! page:
Lynn Shelton's film centres on two heterosexual Seattle friends, happily married Ben and bohemian Andrew, who meet for the first time in years and, in the midst of a drink and drugs bender, talk themselves into entering the local amateur porn festival, as the stars of their own gay porn movie. "Straight ballin' — it's beyond gay!" When they sober up, the reality of their idea dawns on them. But can they back down?Visiting the Edinburgh film festival with her thoughtful and funny film, having already screened it to some acclaim at Sundance and Cannes, Shelton tells me that Hump! is a real porn festival, representative of the "sex-positive" culture in her city.
Here's hoping for some bangers & mash and spotted dick in this year's HUMP! submissions. Get HUMPing, Brits!
Politics / Homo Confidential to TPM
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 12:47 PM
You don't think this has anything to do with social conservatives in Florida failing to line up behind Charlie Crist? Because I sure do. But we can all agree that it's going to be fun watching Crist try to beat off his cute primary opponent.
Politics A New Fan?
Posted by Eli Sanders on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 12:47 PM
Via a press release just sent by her office, we learn that Gov. Gregoire is ahead of the Iranian mullahs but behind basically everyone else in the world.
OLYMPIA — The popular social networks, Facebook and Twitter, have a new fan. Gov. Chris Gregoire is using them to stay in touch with constituents and others interested in Washington state government.“Through the use of these interactive technologies, I aim to provide Washingtonians with information in a way that is efficient, useful and fun,” Gregoire said.
Politics / Homo What He Said
Posted by Dan Savage on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 12:45 PM
A smart Senate and House leader.......would immediately bring up for a vote the repeal of DOMA while the Republicans are reeling from their second bimbo eruption in a week. Let the Republicans start talking about the protection of traditional marriage. Just let them. If anything, the DOMA repeal FORCES the entire country to keep talking about the ongoing GOP sex scandals.
That's pretty brilliant—and we know all talk about the adultery is hurting the GOP: even the Moonies agree.
Health The Case for a Public Health Plan
Posted by Jonathan Golob on Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 12:44 PM
... isn't about the uninsured. Paul Begala put it concisely on Real Time with Bill Maher last week:
(Most relevant part starts at 3:35.)
My transcript:
What we've really spent our money on, in this system, is trying to figure out to not cover people who have paid for their premiums.There was a hearing last week, with no network covered, including mine (CNN). And they had witnesses, people who had paid their health insurance premium for months or years and then committed the sin of getting sick. And then insurance companies kicked them off.
And then they had insurance company executives and they were asked, under oath, 'Will you stop doing this? Will you stop kicking people off unless they've committed fraud?' Ok. Short of fraud, will you cover the people who pay their premiums?
And they all, under oath, said 'no.'
That's why we need a public plan. Because they'll keep kicking you off.
Most Commented on Slog
-
WTF? by Dan Savage
-
Your Wife Died Alone... by Dan Savage
-
PETA vs. Thanksgiving by Dan Savage
-
Meanwhile in Vancouver 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 Democrats Have 60 Votes in the Senate for Health Care Reform by Jonathan Golob
-
The Cost (and Fear) of Dying by Anthony Hecht
-
SL Letter of the Day: Hot For Twinks by Dan Savage
RSS
Facebook
Twitter