Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Health Obama Says: Required Reading
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 12:02 PM
If President Obama pronounced a blog post on health insurance reform to be a must-read, and then Rahm Emmanuel told senior White House staffers "not to come back" the next day if they hadn't read the post, would you make it your business to read the post too?
Video of the Day Lunchtime Quickie: When Turkeys Attack!
Posted by Kelly O on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 12:01 PM
In honor of you-know-what tomorrow, let's revisit this old chestnut. Indian vs Turkey. Who will win?!
City Why Did It Take Police So Long to Catch the Alleged Greenwood Arsonist?
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 11:46 AM
Weeks after firefighters doused blazes across Greenwood, the charred sites of almost a dozen arsons still pock the North Seattle neighborhood. Four restaurants, a coffeehouse, a theater, and a guitar shop have closed their doors. Several buildings are reduced to cinder. Now some business owners and neighbors are wondering if some of the damage could have been prevented.Kevin Todd Swalwell has been held in the King County Jail, charged with the crimes, since his arrest on November 13. He is scheduled for an arraignment hearing on December 1, facing 11 felony counts of arson and one count of burglary. However, court documents show that police had clues as early as this summer that Swalwell—a neighborhood fixture with a criminal record as a repeat arsonist—was the culprit...
"If he had been caught earlier, my restaurant would be open and we wouldn't have gone through all this construction and had the time loss," says Timur Leno, owner of the restaurant Olive You, which was struck on November 9. He's not blaming the police but, he says, "They had all the information on him and he slipped into the cracks and was not caught. It's just strange. The police must explain to us: How could this happen?"
The rest of the piece is HERE.
Animals / Chow Thanksgiving for Your Dog, or: The Decline of Western Civilization Cont.
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 11:43 AM
- sea kay / Stranger Flickr
- Either he's eating regular dog food, or he's not picky about the seven courses touching each other.
West Seattle Dawg—providing "daycare [pawprint] bakery [pawprint] ice cream" for the dogs of our fair city—is offering a seven-course Thanksgiving meal for your dog.
It costs $20.
There are regular, vegan, and grain-free/dairy-free options.
West Seattle Dawg says, "Dogs love the holidays as much as their humans"—how this has been ascertained is left unaddressed—but that "Many people don't realize the table scraps they give their pets will cause all sorts of health issues including indigestion." (My parents' dog seems to thrive on select scraps of people food, actually—that time that he ate an entire batch of cupcakes with the wrappers was totally his fault.)
Your dog's $20 dinner includes:
Doggie Casserole
Pumpkin Scone
Spice Bread
Pumpkin Pupcake
Carrot Cake
Cheese and Bacon Muffin
Cookies
Or you could stick with the kibble and get your own damn Thanksgiving dinner. Or, you know, help out some human beings.
Books Today in Unnecessary Sequels
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Jack Torrance's little boy Danny was last seen recuperating in Maine after escaping the insane evil of the Overlook Hotel, but Stephen King is now plotting a sequel to The Shining which would age the clairvoyant boy to 40 and transport him to a New York hospice.Speaking to an audience of fans in Toronto about his new novel Under the Dome, King divulged that he'd begun working on a tentative idea for a follow-up to The Shining — first published in 1977 — last summer.
I bet because King hated Kubrick's film adaptation so much, he'll toss a few kicks in to the movie version. Twenty bucks says that Danny's life story gets all screwed up by an auteur director and he complains about it a couple times in the new book. King can't resist shit like that.
Animals In My Dream Last Night, These Were in My Bed.
Posted by Lindy West on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Why those? Why those and not these? WHY THOSE AND NOT THESE?
Whyyyyyyyyy?????????????
Stranger Suggests Today The Stranger Suggests
Posted by The Stranger on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 11:00 AM
Art
Akio Takamori, Danny Lyon
Seattle artist Akio Takamori made small porcelain figures from images by Danish photographer Rigmor Mydtskov, then made large photographs of the figures that hang behind them on the wall. Each face, each outfit, goes through multiple translations. Another strategy of capture-and-release takes place in famed shooter Danny Lyon's photographs of the civil rights movement, of the Texas prison system, of a motorcycle gang he joined and rode with. Those images have become part of how we see backward toward the 1960s; how do they look now? (James Harris Gallery, 312 Second Ave S, 903-6220. 11 am–5 pm, free.)
JEN GRAVESPolitics / Sex Back Off, Glenn Beck
Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 10:57 AM
The "three-G system" already exists, Mr. Beck, and I created it and popularized it. GGG stands for "good, giving, and game." It does not stand for "God, gold, and guns." (It also stands for Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft, but only in Germany, and the East Texas Regional Airport, of course, but who the fuck flies to East Texas?)
Arts / Music / Visual Art 'Degrees of Inspiration': Gabriel Miller's New Film Portrait of Three Seattle Artists
Posted by Jen Graves on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Gabriel Miller has been shooting short documentaries of single Seattle artists for three years now. But in his latest project, "Degrees of Inspiration," he's trying to get at the context, the interconnectedness, the flow between artists and works. He's featuring three artists instead of just one: animator Britta Johnson, cellist and composer Lori Goldston, and sound artist Susie Kozawa.
“Degrees of Inspiration,” the name of which is a play on the concept of “six degrees of separation,” tells the stories of three artists, but also reveals intersections and relationships between the artists. We are told stories about how collaboration, friendship, and a flow of ideas can spark inspiration and nurture creativity. This concept is taken one step further with a portrait of the Northwest Film Forum, an organization that each of the artists has some meaningful connection to.
The movie screens Sunday (November 29) at 7:30 at Northwest Film Forum.
Want a sense of his work? Here are two (from his Vimeo page).
Books Reading Tonight: There/Is Only One Reading And/It's a Haiku Slam
Posted by Paul Constant on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 10:18 AM
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.
Chow All Hail the Brand-New Chow Calendar!
Posted by Bethany Jean Clement on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 10:16 AM
- Bonus: Your family (probably) won't be there.
You look like a person who eats food. What? You also drink drinks? Now, especially for you, food-eater and drinks-drinker: The Stranger's Chow Calendar, with all the info on every important food and beverage event in our fair city.
Recommended currently:
• The Jones Soda Tofurky and Gravy Smackdown at the Bottleneck Lounge, with cocktails featuring Tofurky and Gravy Soda for as long as those in attendance can stand it (tonight!)
• Thanksgiving at world's best dive bar the Five Point (all the sides, only $20!)
• Vegan Thanksgiving at Plum and Vegetarian Thanksgiving at the Georgetown Liquor Co. (the lion's share of the thanks goes to the mighty soybean)
...and more, more, MORE! Feast your eyes, people.
Got an event? Send it on over.
Religion Rape of Irish Boys "Endemic," "Systematic" at Homes Run By Catholic Religious Order
Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 9:36 AM
It amazes me that the leaders of the Catholic Church are taken seriously when they lecture other people—including non-Catholics—about their sexual morality. BBC:
A Catholic religious order is to supply a 161m euros (£145m) package of measures as reparation for child abuse in Ireland. The Christian Brothers said the decision had been taken in response to the Ryan report which revealed decades of abuse at religious institutions.... More than 2,000 people told the commission they had suffered physical and sexual abuse as children in the institutions, which included schools and orphanages. It found that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys' institutions, and church leaders knew what was going on.... More allegations were made against the Christian Brothers than the other male orders combined.
In a statement the order says it is filled with "shame and sorrow." Yeah right. No from the Catholic Brothers lifted a finger to stop the abuse while it was happening. If they're feeling shame and sorrow now it's because they got caught. And the same order that failed to protect the Irish children entrusted to its care moved heaven and earth to protect the rapists and their accomplices that are still members:
No real names, of perpetrators, appeared in the Ryan report after the Christian Brothers took legal action in 2004 to keep the identities of all of its members, dead or alive, out of the report.
They're shameless.
Health Health Insurance Reform Is Anti-Gun?
Posted by Eli Sanders on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 9:28 AM
The group Gun Owners of America thinks so:
The special "wellness and prevention" programs (inserted by Section 1001 of the bill as part of a new Section 2717 in the Public Health Services Act) would allow the government to offer lower premiums to employers who bribe their employees to live healthier lifestyles—and nothing within the bill would prohibit rabidly anti-gun HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius from decreeing that "no guns" is somehow healthier.We all need to contact our Senators right away.
I mean, granted, guns are not at the top of the list of health-promoting possessions, but this worry seems excessively paranoid. The White House agrees, smartly offering its fact-check here.
(Via TPM)
Religion Church Camping Trip Chaperone Watch
Posted by Dan Savage on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 9:15 AM
A man accused of groping teenage girls when he chaperoned a church camping trip appeared in court Friday.... Elijah Curtis Murphy, 28, of St. Paul is charged with one count of second-degree criminal sexual contact with girls under 16 while in a position of authority. The charge has a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $35,000 fine. Police say Murphy approached two girls, ages 13 and 14, from behind and grabbed their breasts during the week of June 12, 2006. He was later hiking behind a third girl, 15, pretended to slip on the trail and cupped a hand over her breasts. Police asked Murphy why he thought he was being questioned, and Murphy immediately said it was because of the camping trip. He admitted the feigned trail slip, saying he didn’t “intentionally do anything wrong.”
Murphy feigned the slip but didn't intentionally do anything wrong—so the fall was intentional but the cupping of breasts, Murphy's fifth and sixth that week, was a happy accident, a coincidence, a small miracle. God had a plan for Murphy's hands and who are the St. Paul police to question God's divine will?
Film Tom Ford's A Single Man
Posted by David Schmader on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 9:15 AM
This past weekend, at a special SIFF screening, I saw the new film A Single Man, directed by Tom Ford, who spent decades making his name and fortune as a fashion designer before applying himself to this film, an adaptation of a novel by Christopher Isherwood, written, directed, and produced by Ford. I've been anxious to see A Single Man since its splashy triumph at this year's Venice Film Festival, and I'm happy to report the film succeeds beyond any sane person's expectations.
The basics: A Single Man charts a day in the life of an early-'60s gay man haunted by the death of the love of his life. The man is played by Colin Firth, who appears in every scene and is amazing; he'll be nominated for an Oscar and maybe win. Julianne Moore plays a key supporting role and is good, but the ultimate star of the movie is Tom Ford, who distinguishes himself as a serious filmmaker with something to say. It's a freakishly impressive achievement—smart, confident, meticulous, and deeply, deeply gay.
Which brings us to the supplementary hubbub, well-chronicled by Towleroad, where I first read about the "de-gaying" of A Single Man's press materials, and encountered this hilarious quote from Tom Ford himself:
"This is not a gay film!"
Towleroad and others are rightly suspicious about the closeting of A Single Man and the extent of Ford's involvement in it, but I can only laugh, because speaking the sentence "This is not a gay film!" in reference to A Single Man without busting out laughing is hilarious. Anyone who ventures into A Single Man actually expecting a not-gay movie is going to get the gayest movie they've ever seen.
Seriously: Not only is it a film made by a gay man based on a novel by a gay man about a day in the life of a gay man—in the hands of Tom Ford, A Single Man becomes a towering testament to the world-altering power of compulsive gay-male perfectionism. (Seriously, if this movie had any more lyrical elegance, you'd shit yourself.) And if he can keep a straight face while trying to sell it as a not-gay film, more power to him. Susceptible audience members will learn their big gay lesson soon enough.
News The Morning News: US to Pledge Emissions Reduction, First Human Trafficker in Washington, R Kelly's Magic Seed
Posted by Jen Graves on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 9:04 AM
How to 'Finish the Job'?: Obama may add 30,000 troops to Afghanistan.
Obama Will Speak in Copenhagen After All: Promising US greenhouse gas emission reduction.
Still More Bodies: In the Philippines.
19-Year-Old Pimp: First in the state to go down for human trafficking.
Food Courts Can Be Upsetting: Man shoots himself in the knee at Westlake Center's.
Will There Be A Memorial for Memorial Stadium?: Tentative agreement reached to tear down the Seattle Center eyesore.
Pictures from the State Dinner: Michelle Obama is the most beautiful, stylish woman in the world.
Google Apologizes Over Racist Michelle Obama Picture: But doesn't take it down.
Pakistan Charges 7: In Mumbai attack. India is watching.
But It Sounds Like It Was Fun: Toyota will fix "unintended acceleration" problem.
More Nervous-Making Slivers of Hope: For the economy.
Polanski's Getting Out on Bail: $4.5 million so he can stay at his Swiss chalet.
Carla Bruni Says Yes to Woody Allen: "When I'm a grandmother, I'd like to be able to say I made a film with Woody Allen."
R Kelly Has Magic Seed: Would like to plant it in you.
We have 200 stars. (Thanks, Artforum.)
Enviro The Earthquake We All Fear
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Nov 25, 2009 at 8:04 AM
There is, however, still some time before it happens...
A major quake rupturing the 300-kilometer length of the Cascadia subduction zone that runs along the Washington coast would measure magnitude 8.9, Melbourne and Chapman estimate. If the entire 1,100-kilometer subduction zone slipped at once, the quake would be a magnitude-9.2 whopper rivaling the tsunami-spawning quake that slammed Indonesia in December 2004 (SN: 1/8/05, p. 19). Field studies suggest that quakes of such magnitude happen along the Cascadia subduction zone once every 550 years, on average. The last one struck the region in January of 1700 (SN: 11/29/97, p. 348).But we can all agree that the whole world dies everyday. The death of an individual is the same as the death of everything. When one goes, the whole world goes with them. Apocalypse happens all of the time. It is the most personal thing; it is the rule and not the exception.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Politics G.O.P. Purity Resolution
Posted by Anthony Hecht on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 9:35 PM
Republican leaders are circulating a resolution listing 10 positions Republican candidates should support to demonstrate that they “espouse conservative principles and public policies” that are in opposition to “Obama’s socialist agenda.” According to the resolution, any Republican candidate who broke with the party on three or more of these issues— in votes cast, public statements made or answering a questionnaire — would be penalized by being denied party funds or the party endorsement.
The source of the specific number of things a candidate has to agree with is a speech by Ronald Reagan:
President Reagan believed, the resolution notes, “that someone who agreed with him 8 out of 10 times was his friend, not his opponent.”
This is some scary shit. Reagan pulled a random number out his folksy-wisdom ass, and now the party is basing their support of candidates on that specific ratio of agreement to non-agreement, as if it were the gospel. They really do think Reagan is God.
Here's the list of resolutions that prospective nutjobs have to 80% (or more!) agree with:
(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill;(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run health care;
(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;
(4) We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check;
(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;
(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;
(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;
(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;
(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and
(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.
Politics / Media Taibbi on Palin
Posted by Anthony Hecht on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 9:27 PM
Matt Taibbi is always good for a nice cathartic tirade, and this is a good one, but I really just wanted to post this paragraph:
... just as the antiwar crowd spent years being painted by the national press as weepy, unpatriotic pussies whose enthusiastic support is toxic to any serious presidential aspirant, so too will all of you afternoon-radio ignoramuses who seem bent on spending the next three years kicking and screaming your way up the eternal asshole of white resentment now find yourself and your political champions painted as knee-jerk loonies whose rabid irrationality is undeserving of the political center. And yes, that’s me saying that, but I’ve always been saying that, not just about Palin but about George Bush and all your other moron-heroes.
Up the Eternal Asshole of White Resentment should be the name of Glenn Beck's next book.
News Dow Constantine Is Now the King County Executive
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 7:13 PM
- Ned Ahrens
Good job, voters. You almost had this:
- Eli Sanders
Text of Constantine's inauguration speech appears after the jump.
Health No Diplomas for Fatties?
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 6:08 PM
This is nuts...
Lincoln University students will now have to endure a physical exam determining each student's BMI (body mass index) before they are permitted to graduate. An individual's BMI measures the amount of body fat. Amid fierce criticisms, Lincoln University has recently installed a new requirement for its undergraduate students. If your BMI is over 30, you are required to take a physical education class.This new requirement has caused an uproar from some students and professors who argue that the university is actively discriminating against those who are obese. Some students argue that their time at Lincoln may be prolonged because of an additional class.
There are so many problems with this I don't even know where to begin. If someone has done her required coursework, she deserves her diploma, regardless of the size of her ass. Or his ass. Also, the BMI—which I have never defended—is a crude instrument and Lincoln's standard will sweep up plenty of non-obese students. And if Lincoln University thinks that students would benefit from a physical education requirement, then the university should require all students to take a physical education course, not just students with BMIs over 30. The fat activists are right about one thing: there are plenty of unhealthy skinny bitches out there who could benefit from a little physical education. Everyone could benefit.
People have a right to live their lives and make their own choices even if their choices aren't necessarily healthy. I have no argument with big people—some of my best friends, favorite relatives, etc., are big—who aren't in denial about the elevated health risks that come with the added weight. I have an argument with big people who insist that it's bigoted to assert that there's some connection between diet, exercise, and size, or that obesity doesn't carry certain known health risks. Basically I have an argument with people who expect others to coddle and excuse in order to make them feel less conflicted about all the chow they're shoveling in. But I don't believe university administrators—who should focused on brains, not butts—have a right to meddle in the private lives of students like this. It's intrusive and it's discriminatory.
Politics Unveiling The Teabagger Plan, Part 2
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 5:28 PM
There will be a National Tea Party Convention in February, and TPM reports that Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin will be co-headlining. This can only raise the political discourse.
Comedy / Drunk For Your Nighttime Pleasures: One Nite Only Part 3
Posted by Lindy West on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 5:24 PM
Tonight at the Sunset Tavern (9 pm!), 2009 Genius Award shortlisters Kevin Clarke and Travis Vogt will be presenting a live show: One Nite Only Part 3.
Recent Stranger Genius Awards short-listers Travis Vogt and Kevin Clarke return to their beloved Sunset Tavern to conclude the run of their "One Night Only" Trilogy the only way they know how: by writing the show, and then performing in it! Expect a shit-load of off color language (like "Shit-load"), bizarre twists and, of course, staged violence as the duo performs their first full length (mostly) live show in three years! With opening comic Paul Merrill and possibly others! Don't miss this rare opportunity to drink alcohol and look at stuff simultaneously!
They made a trailer for the show, detailing all the ways in which their prestigious almost-Genius status has changed their lives ("the amount of blowjobs of which we are on the receiving end has increased by approximately onefold"), but I can't figure out how to embed videos from Facebook. Because I am a girl. Instead, here's another video they made this one time:
I recommend this show very highly. Good day.
Politics The First 'Mo on the King County Council?
Posted by Dominic Holden on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 5:20 PM
Dow Constantine is being sworn in as King County Executive about now, leaving a vacancy on the King County Council. Eleven people—including known homosexual and confirmed state senator, Joe McDermott—have thrown their hat into the ring:
Jan Drago—A member of the Seattle City Council who is leaving the Council this yearHelen Howell—Former Director of the state Department of Financial Institutions, served as Deputy Chief of Staff under Governor Locke
Zack Hudgins—State Representative from the 11th District
Jake Jacobovitch—Engineer in the Road Services Division of the King County Department of Transportation
Arun Jhaveri—Former Regional Technology Manager with the Federal Energy Management Program and former Mayor of Burien
Lucy Krakowiak—Burien City Council Member and a member of the King County Library Board of Trustees
Joe McDermott—State Senator from the 34th District
Shawn McEvoy—Mayor of Normandy Park
Sharon Nelson—State Representative from the 34th District,
Vlad Oustimovitch—A partner at VoKa Incorporated, and a former Development Program Manager for the Seattle Housing Authority
Kathleen Quong-Vermeire, Commissioner, Highline Water District, former Mayor of Normandy Park
Here's how the decision is made: A 12-person committee will begin reviewing the candidates on December 3, making their recommendations to the council based on each candidate's knowledge of King County government, familiarity with the county's 8th District (West Seattle, Burien, Vashon), and ability to work with folks. The committee must recommend at least one person who plans to run for the office in 2010 and one who doesn't plan to run for the office. The full council is slated to pick Constantine's replacement on December 14, the last day the council council meets this year.
State Senator Joe McDermott (D-34), one of the forces behind Washington's three domestic-partnership laws, is the clear favorite of homosexuals everywhere. "Joe is well liked by those he works with in the legislature," says Ed Murray (D-43), sponsor of the domestic-partnership bills and King of the Homosexuals. "He will bring a fresh understanding of Olympia to the Council. He also has been a leader on LGBT issues in the legislature and deserves to be the first openly gay member of the King County Council."
Honestly, I don't know if Joe is more qualified than everyone else in the running. He seems like a smart guy, adored by the 34th District Democrats—a shrewd bunch—and very familiar with the area (the 34th Legislative District makes up more than half of the county's 8th District). But rumor has it that Republicans on the county council aren't that enamored with him (they prefer more moderate state Rep. Zack Hudgins (D-11)). That's good enough for me. The council's four Republicans should go to work with a gay person five days a week. It would be good for them.
Politics Who's That on the State Dinner Guest List?
Posted by Eli Sanders on Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 5:18 PM
Why it's Rep. Jim McDermott, Democrat of Seattle.
How come he gets to rub elbows tonight with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Deepak Chopra, David Geffen, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Oprah bff Gayle King, Colin Powell, Ms. Emma Georgina Rothschild, Fareed Zakaria, and others?
Well, he's a fancy guy.
But, also: a small thing called the India Caucus.
Also spotted on the list: Gary Locke, once our governor, now the commerce secretary.
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