Monday, July 13, 2009
Books Reading Tonight
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Four readings today.
Heather Barbieri reads at Elliott Bay Book Company from her novel The Lacemakers of Glenmara, in which a woman visits Ireland to recover from some sort of loss.
Joanna Smith Rakoff reads from her novel A Fortunate Age at the Hugo House. It's a book about the enduring (or not-so-enduring) friendship of a group of Oberlin graduates at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one. It has a pretty cover.
Up at Third Place Books, Jean Reynolds Page reads. Her novel The Last Summer of Her Other Life is about three men and a pregnant lady. Before you think of Steve Gutenberg, though, you should know that the pregnant lady is "charged with 'inappropriate behavior' towards a teen boy."
But most importantly, at the Central Library, Colum McCann reads. Let The Great World Spin is a novel about the guy who walked on a wire between the World Trade Center towers. Of course, he was also the basis for the documentary Man on Wire. Ordinarily, I'd suggest watching the documentary instead, but McCann is an excellent writer, and this is the reading of the night.
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.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Politics / Media AG Rob McKenna Gabs with Bloggers
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 6:10 PM
Republican State Attorney General Rob McKenna summoned bloggers to his 20th floor downtown offices this afternoon for a confab. I gotta hand it to him—it takes some guts to call a bunch of pinkos to the table and tout your record of ratcheting up spending on drug tasks forces and defending the death penalty.
“When they do an autopsy on Michael Jackson, they will probably find Xanax and narcotics in his system,” said McKenna, launching into a diatribe about rampant fatal overdoses caused by prescription drugs. Talking about interdicting contraband across the B.C. border, he used a balloon analogy to describe how traffickers would try to escape crackdowns by moving east or west. “When you push it down on one side it bulges out on the other side,” he said. Then, as he did on the campaign trail for reelection, he talked about how he pushed for toughening anti-meth legislation several years ago and increasing funding for 20 drug task forces (which, more than any other law enforcement division, is known for egregious tactics and baseless seizure of property). Of course, shortly after the national meth craze waned—whether due to cyclical trends in drug use or law enforcement—the prescription drug ttend picked up. To use McKenna’s own balloon analogy, it appeared that the drug of choice simply shifted from meth to something more fatal. In King County in 2007, there were 18 meth-related deaths and 151 deaths from prescription opiates (more than triple the rate of prescription opiate deaths six years prior), according to a King County Public Health and UW study. And according to another 2007 survey (.pdf), “Trend data for the helpline, fatalities and treatment admissions are all at or near highs for prescription type opiates.” Meth is nasty, horrible, no-good stuff, but it’s unclear that McKenna’s anti-meth crusade reduced drug use overall—or that the drugs people use instead are less dangerous.
McKenna next dove into today’s ruling that upheld the death penalty—McKenna had defended lethal injection and is now moving to remove the stay of execution for one of the inmates—saying that this likely opens up the door for execution of two other inmates. He noted that the expense of fighting appeal after appeal to get a death sentence ruling costs “millions of dollars” per case. Of course, it’s partly his office driving up the costs and then whining about how expensive it is. “I’d be fine with it if we had life without parole,” he said. When asked if he would use his lobby power to abolish the death penalty, as he advocated for drug legislation, he passed the buck, saying it’s up to the legislature and voters. I disagreed with that tack, which I told him, but thanked him for having us over. He's a pretty nice guy.
Nightlife Um, This Wasn't on the Rider
Posted by Dave Segal on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 5:35 PM
Last night at the Blue Moon Tavern, a local metal band, while loading out, nearly "liberated" a beloved painting that was hanging behind the stage. The venue's talent booker was not amused.
??!! / Books "Growing Up Bin Laden"
Posted by Lindy West on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 4:59 PM
That's the name of the new memoir by the Predator* Osama Bin Laden's son. I have several things to say about this.
1. WOW.
2. "Omar, 28, describes weeping as a teenager when told that Al Qaeda needed his pets to conduct chemical warfare tests." His dad GASSED HIS DOGS. There's nothing better than when the real news about Osama Bin Laden being someone's dad reads like an Onion article about Osama Bin Laden being someone's dad. "After I learned the truth about the puppies, I turned even further away from my father."
3. His first name is Omar. His last name is OSAMA BIN LADEN. That's just a bummer.
*Predator joke stolen from whoever forwarded that article to my friend who then forwarded it to me.
Health / Drugs Take Change Where You Can Get It
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 4:44 PM
Reports the Huffington Post:
House Democrats have reversed a decision by President Obama and removed a ban on federal funding for needle-exchange programs that he included in the 2010 budget. Including the ban broke a campaign pledge and the flip-flop set off outrage in the gay community and among HIV/AIDS activists. Twenty-six activists were arrested Thursday in the Capitol protesting the policy."For us this is a major positive development," said Allan Clear of the Harm Reduction Coalition. "We're optimistic it will stay out. We don't think Democrats would do this unless they thought they could keep it out." ...
The needle-exchange question goes to the heart of a seemingly never-ending debate in Washington: Should policy be made based on sound science or used to drive a wedge between the electorate? Obama has placed himself squarely in the sound science camp, which is why his decision touched off such anger.
It is also, quite literally, a life or death question. "Thirty-thousand people a year get HIV or Hepatitis C directly or indirectly from intravenous drug use," said [director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance Bill] Piper. "That's 300,000 people that could be saved over the next decade."
This is good news—assuming the language sticks—but it's just pathetic. Congressional Democrats had to strong-arm legislation to carry out Obama's promise to restore funding for needle exchange. Obama, of course, said he would do this but didn't... yet will probably take credit for shepherding change.
Slog tip from Gnossos
News Give Me A Fucking Minute
Posted by Eli Sanders on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 4:30 PM
Sixty seconds with Congressman Jay Inslee, in which the Democrat from Washington's 1st District talks by phone from D.C. about health care reform, the public option, and Maria Cantwell. (And then trash talks for about 30 more seconds—the buzzer couldn't stop him—about how he still wants to see Obama on the basketball court.)
Books Today In Ridiculous Comic News
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 4:28 PM
+
An explanation and a collection of other bad ideas after the jump
Politics / Sex That's Strange
Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 4:26 PM
I've always found David Brooks to be pretty resistible. But then I'm not a desperate, closeted GOP senator.
Food Death By Chocolate, and Fudge, and Drizzle, and Cookie Pieces, and Whipped Cream
Posted by Anthony Hecht on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 4:26 PM
Should it even be legal to sell things like this? If kids can't buy cigarettes and alcohol, then surely they should be restricted from just buying up all the Chocolate Oreo® Shakes they can eat, no?
Men's Health has awarded this shake the title of Unhealthiest Drink in America.
Is this the worst drink on the planet? All signs point to yes. First off, it has an ingredient list that reads like an organic chemistry final. Those 70-plus ingredients conspire to pack this shake with more sugar than 29 Fudgsicles, as much fat as a stick and a half of butter, and more calories than 48 actual Oreos. Oh, it also has 3 days’ worth of saturated fat and, most bizarre of all, as much salt as you’ll find in 9 bags of Lay’s Classic potato chips.
But look at all that Calcium! And take heart, for it contains no crustaceans.
Oh well, I'm off to Molly Moons. Or Old-School Custard, maybe? Oh, there's that new Bluebird place, too! And soon, Trophy Cupcakes Cupcake Royale. Maybe I'll enter that giant burger contest. My arteries runneth over.
via @cabel and @TheSquare
Sex / Teh Internets A Man!
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 4:24 PM
You Suck at Craigslist is always funny, but this post is the pinnacle (or the nadir) of bad Craigslist personal ads:
my name is josh i just got kicked out of my house me and the old lady just split up i have noware to go and to top that off i am on house arrest 4 child support so all i need is a home phone that house arrest people can call and make shure that i am there.i also need 70 a week to keep up on my child support .i put the ball in your court.i am easy to git along with and love children.so please some body out there you can keep me out of jail and at the very least you would have made a good friend...
I wonder if I went to high school with this guy. Much more, including Josh's awful nickname and an even-more desperate second posting, at You Suck at Craigslist.
Books People Seem To Be Interested in the Columbia City Bookfest
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:59 PM
Just got an e-mail:
Paul Constant mentioned the 2009 Columbia City Bookfest. He did not, however, provide a link to their site, or give any contact information. Now I tried to find something myself, but my google-fu was weak. We are a local publisher, and doing quite well, thanks for asking, and would love to try to get in on a local book event. Is there any way I could get some contact information?
Well, Mr. Publisher, thanks for writing. And let me tell you: The reason I didn't include a website was because the website is still not complete. The organizers of the Columbia City Bookfest are the same folks behind Columbia City Cinema. That's this website. And the only e-mail I have for them is this all-purpose e-mail address. And now you know as much about the 2009 Columbia City Bookfest as I do. I will keep you posted as information becomes available.
Chow Now No Longer Open
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:54 PM
Whym, the diner where Minnie's used to be, is gone. No one in the office has anything enlightening or interesting to say about this closure. It had a stupid name. No one ever went there. It is gone.
UPDATE: Now also no longer open: Saito's sushi in Belltown. It was good, though his heart may not have been completely in it for some time—it's been for sale forever. And it finally sold.
??!! / Drugs / Film Three Apples High!
Posted by Lindy West on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:47 PM
That's what you'll have to be to enjoy the forthcoming live-action Smurfs movie (high—do you get it!?).
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live-action Smurfs movie.
Live.
Action.
Smurfs.
Movie.
Smurfs.
Smurfs alive.
In a movie.
Smurfs.
I'd been hoping this whole Smurf-movie thing was a hoax, but apparently it's going to be directed by the guy who directed Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Also, it's a trilogy.
Just wanted to let you know. In case you didn't.
Chow For Your Stomach's (and Your Wallet's) Consideration: A Giant Burger
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:47 PM
Tomorrow at the Spectator, eat an 8-pound, 7-ounce bacon cheeseburger in a contest-winning manner (fastest, one presumes?) and win $150. Here it is pictured with a regular burger for scale:
I watched the Super Bowl at the Spectator once; the fact that it's a sports bar where Sorry Charlie's used to be (and, hell, even Sorry Charlie's successor, the Mirabeau Room) made me melancholy.
Details on tomorrow's contest—and the recipe for the burger, which has a 2.3-pound bun—after the jump.
Media This Totally Did Not Save the Media
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Back in January, I told you about a new venture called The Printed Blog:
The Printed Blog is an independent media outlet that aggregates user-generated content from the Internet and publishes it twice daily via print. The result is a revolutionary newspaper that reads and functions like a web feed - yet can still be enjoyed on the train or spread across the breakfast table, for an uninterrupted, pleasurably tactile experience.
Well, today, The Printed Blog announced that they were closing down:
According to Karp, the final numbers for The Printed Blog look like this: “16 issues, 80,000 print copies distributed, another 100,000 or so copies downloaded…. [and] zero regrets.”
This is, obviously, tragic and unforeseeable. How could that plan have possibly failed?
(Via Fading to Black, which is relentlessly and fastidiously documenting the end of the news industry.)
Chow Please, Sir...
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:25 PM
Do you know about Empire Ice Cream? All local, and reportedly yummy. They're at the U District and Magnolia farmers markets on Saturday (Seattle forecast: 85 degrees), and Ballard on Sunday (71). Take it away, Empire:
Mulberry Ice CreamIn Charles Dickens’ “Nicholas Nickleby” Sir Mulberry Hawk is a lecherous old guy who spends most of his time in the novel trying to put the moves on Nicholas’ sister Kate. Kate is having none of it. She rejects him with this Dickensian smackdown, “I hold you in the bitterest detestation and contempt, sir.” Ouch! Seriously, somebody has got to come up with a reality show starring all Dickens characters. I can see it now, “I came here not to make amicable acquaintances. Nay, I came here with the sole intention of leaving victorious.” I’m sure that would be a ratings bonanza. Or not. Anyway, come try some of this delicious, fruity dessert and I’m sure you’ll be all “Please, sir. Can I have some more?” And, because we’re not running a squalid, 19th century orphanage, our answer will be “Yes. Yes you can.”
Also on the menu this week:
Bleu Cheese with d’Anjou Pears and Caramel
Brown Sugar
Cherry
Cherry Brown Sugar
Raspberry
Strawberry
Strawberry Basil
Chocolate Ice Cream with Nibs
Fresh Mint with Chocolate Chunk
Cherry Sorbet
Apricot Sorbet
Strawberry Rhubarb Sorbet
More worthwhile reading on their Flavors page here.
Photo by jessicafm from flickr.
Life There's No Excuse For Boredom This Weekend
Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Three possible ways to spend the days this weekend:
The West Seattle Summer Fest: With dozens of bands (including Mudhoney, Team Gina, Derby, and more!), hundreds of vendors, and a Rat City Rollergirl dunk tank. Wet Roller Girls!
The Seattle Chocolate Salon: Where you're given endless samples and tastes of the latest products from local and national chocolatiers. (Slog-reader Amy will get to go for free because of her winning entry in last week's contest).
And lastly, the Chinatown International District Summer Festival: "This annual two-day event includes kids & family activities, cultural dances, musical performance, karaoke contest, and over 100 booths featuring arts & crafts, local business, community organizations and much more!"
And lastly again! How could I forget? The No Depression Festival is this weekend at Marymoor Park with Iron & Wine, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Gillian Welch, and so many more. Read about it in this week's Up & Comings.
Also: West Coast Kickball is having their annual jamboree. You can work off all the ice cream you've been eating!
Go! Have fun! It's sunny!
Homo / Religion Gay Couple Vs. LDS Church Security Guards At Salt Lake City's Temple Square
Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Two men showing affection while crossing Salt Lake City's (Mormon-owned) Temple Square get roughed up by LDS church security guards. The blog Blue in Red Zion has the story so far.
Thanks for the tip, Slog Tipper Tom.
Media "If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' On It (Before I Give It Away)"
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 2:24 PM
The New York Times is reportedly considering a $5-a-month subscription for web content.
Apparently all print subscribers haven’t been asked (this by way of a full disclosure), but the New York Times is asking its dead tree readers whether they’d be willing to pay to access the paper’s content online.The numbers being floated are $2.50 a month for subscribers, and $5 a month for everyone else, according to Bloomberg.com.
Nytimes.com is currently free, and a previous attempt to put some their columnists behind a paywall, Times Select, ended with great fanfare nearly two years ago with the slogan: “Now, everyone is entitled to our opinions.”
Is this what the internet is going to be—a continuous battle over subscriptions and free content? Because that would suck.
(The title of this post is from a great old Georgia White song. It doesn't seem to be available anywhere online, but you should seek it out and listen to it. It's one of those songs you never forget.)
UPDATE: Gold Star Commenter Ironymaiden found the song here. Thank you so much, Ironymaiden. You made my Friday.)
Chow / TV Top Chef Trivia
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 2:10 PM
The powers-that-be over at Bravo tell me that all the would-be Top Chefs do their own wardrobe for the show, meaning that the French guy CHOSE to dress like a cartoon of a French guy. (The San Francisco Chronicle did not love his restaurant in '04, and Yelp currently concurs.)
City One-Third of the City Council and Me in a Van
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 1:44 PM
City Council Member Sally Clark is driving a nine-seat white van, borrowed from the city’s motor pool, onto an I-5 onramp. “I have to drive or else I get sick,” she says. “It guarantees I won’t ever move on to higher office,” Clark adds (because, as governor or president, she’d be chauffeured). City Council Member Jean Godden is befooted in gold flats sitting in the passenger seat. Next to me in the back row is City Council Member Tim Burgess, who Twitters the trip from his phone. City hall employees are buckled in with us. We are heading to South Seattle.
Earlier this year, Mayor Greg Nickels submitted legislation to the city council that would allow people across Seattle to build residential cottages in their back yard. Under the proposed rules, the property owner would be required to live in the house or cottage (preventing landlords from simply building two units on one house's lot). It’s based on a pilot program in Southeast Seattle that passed in 2006—to the horror of neighbors who feared a plague of backyard construction. But three years later, only 17 cottages have been built and the city council’s land-use committee decided to take a look to see if they should expand the program citywide.
Our van stopped at seven cottages yesterday afternoon: some converted garages, some new structures made to look old, and one contemporary gem.
next to a green host-house that's also under construction
The city’s Northwest District Council was hostile to the idea when DPD presented the concept last month. There was “finger pointing and yelling,” according to Department of Planning and Development staffer Andrea Petzel.
“A cottage is not something that is two stories tall and 800 square feet. That is not cottage; that is another house,” says Northwest District Council Co-chair Irene Wall. The group will probably consider supporting or opposing the cottages at a meeting next month. “My sense of it is that it is unnecessary and it doesn’t solve any problems, and it creates a lack of privacy, busting single-family zoning,” she says.
But the city council members in the van seemed immune to the knee-jerk NIYBY—not in your back yard—reaction to cottages. In contrast, they were concerned that the mayor's proposal to cap the number of new cottage permits at 50 per year is too restrictive (the mayor wants to slow their proliferation). Clark, who chairs the council’s land-use committee, said she believes there is “pent up demand” for cottages, based on emails she's received, and that a cap could “unnecessarily push people to rush to the permit counter.” Burgess, who also sits on the committee, believed the limit on the cottages could drive up demand for them, thereby increasing rental costs. A cap, he said, “doesn’t move toward what we are trying to accomplish: more affordability and housing.”
Books Columbia City Bookfest?
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 1:33 PM
Some folks around town have been getting this e-mail:
Announcing
Columbia City’s
2009 Seattle Book FestRemember the old Northwest Book Festival on the waterfront? Seattle’s Columbia City community is bringing it back. It’s going to be very cool event with at least 50 authors in attendance and over 80 exhibitors. This is a grass roots effort with all the funding coming from participants. In order to get started we need you to sign up now.
The event will be held October 24-25 at the Columbia City Event Center, a charmingly converted historic school building at 3526 S. Edmunds, a block off Rainier and a block from the Columbia City Light Rail Station. So far the response has been terrific with dozens of local writers and bookstores already committed.
I have a call out to the organizers about it and I'll let you know when I hear more. This is not the potential Amazon-sponsored book festival I wrote about a few months ago.
UPDATE: Just got an e-mail from the organizers (via an address from Columbia City Cinema). It reads, in part:
so far, garth elliott, nancy rawles, matt briggs, anna balint, judith roche, mary guterson, jennie shortridge, ron dakron and several others have agreed to attend. fremontbooks, open books, bailey-coy, black heron press, rose alley press and a few others have agreed to take booths.
More information as it comes.
City Downtown Newsstand Reopens Next Week
Posted by Jonah Spangenthal-Lee on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 1:32 PM
Seattle's last newsstand is set to reopen next week, just in time for the collapse of the newspaper industry.
I just got this email from Frank Turco Memorial Newsstand owner Ben Gant: 
We pulled Old Blue out yesterday. The new one will be installed Saturday,and the glass will be in on monday. I should have papers and drinks for sale Tuesday.
Gant's newsstand is on 3rd and Pike. Stop by next week and pick up a paper or a copy of the constitution (only $5!).
Sports Bikes and Guns
Posted by Eli Sanders on Fri, Jul 10, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Received today from a man who assumes we aren't going to consider this a great idea:
Tomorrow I intend to complete the Seattle to Portland bicycle ride while openly carrying a loaded pistol. I've carefully reviewed the relevant laws of Washington and Oregon with which I shall comply. I'm willing to submit to an interview on this subject and thought you'd be interested, given your doubts about the subject.I've served in the Navy aboard submarines, qualifying with and carrying a semiautomatic pistol thereon. I'm a member of the Washington Progressive Alliance, registered as a democrat and will admit to bisexuality and Athiesm. I've ridden bicycles as a means of commuting for many years but only in the past few have I started to ride long distances; I finished the STP in two days last year... this time I'm planning to finish in one. Could there be a better person to dispel the myth that all gun owners are bible thumping, politically regressive fundamentalists? Maybe, but you go to press with the references you have, not those you might want.
I'm planning to be back in Seattle on Sunday, give me a call any time. Also, I'll be twittering away throughout the ride as @sleepylemur on #bikeSTP.
Kind regards,
Lee Colleton
Suggested questions for the packing-while-riding Mr. Colleton?
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