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Monday, October 15, 2007

Fox Sux Dix, Sez Vamp-Rox Fans

posted by on October 15 at 3:26 PM

Apparently, Fox has pulled the plug on the traveling Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the Musical singalong that was in town this past June. Buffy geeks everywhere are outraged that Fox would kill a cult movie experience so clearly by and for the fans.
I have to note here that, though I'm not a Buffy fan, I used to be roommates with the founder and MC of the Buffy musical, Clinton McClung. He's a good guy, a great friend, and a talented blogger over at WFMU. If you're a Buffy fan, or if you're one of the thousands who helped fill the Egyptian to capacity (twice!) for the musical this past summer, please go to the Buffy: the Musical official website, where you can sign an online petition and voice your displeasure.


Saturday, October 13, 2007

The Stranger News Hour. Today 710 KIRO

posted by on October 13 at 11:27 AM

Tune in the David Goldstein show this evening at 7pm, where we'll be talking about the week's news.

On the list: The testy city council races, Richard McIver in jail, Dino Rossi's sleazy book deal, and judging from Goldstein's blog, we'll be talking about the Democratic candidate for King County Prosecutor, Bill Sherman.


Friday, October 12, 2007

What I Learned on Slog

posted by on October 12 at 5:46 PM

Wow, what a day. Slogging all day is hard work, and I didn't have nearly the number of posts as most of the other guests. I know that it has been said a million times, but jesus--it really is challenging to not only find things to post (before someone else does), but to try and be smart and witty about it. It is definitely easier as a commenter. Since the hard work of posting something is out of the way, all you have to do is add a one liner on there and BAM, you are soooo special and smart (looking at you POE! Our Sloggy nemesis!)

But honestly, cheers to you dearest Slog readers and regulars. You tolerated an onslaught of posts, and will probably be back for more tomorrow. But that's 'cause you like pain don't you? Yeah that's right, take it....

Oh wait, ok... back to the wrap-up...

I wanted to add that I have so much respect for the tireless Stranger staff that do this, and their regular newspaper jobs, EVERYDAY. They really do an amazing job, and I am honored to have been a guest here today.

Why I Have Been an Absentee Slogger

posted by on October 12 at 5:31 PM

Hello everybody! First off, I must apologize to everyone for having been mostly absent during Freaky Friday. It was clearly poor planning on my part to agree to Slog today knowing that I had a friend coming in from NYC at noon. Having said that--you all did a fantastic job today, and I really wish I could have been more of a participant. As it were, I spent most of the afternoon wandering around the UW campus playing host. In any case, I would like to thank the Stranger staffers for having bestowed me with such an awesome opportunity which I, in turn, squandered miserably. I love you Slog!

Over and out,

Callie

It's HARD To Be A Slogger These Days

posted by on October 12 at 5:27 PM

This is my last post for the day--if it makes it in before the deadline.

I just want to take a moment to thank The Stranger for giving us the privilege, nay the HONOR to be guest Sloggers today. To paraphrase (badly) the Late Sir Donald Wolfit, "Commenting is easy; Slogging is HARD!" It's been a crazy, hectic, fabulous day, and it's taught me a very valuable lesson: Anybody who does this for a living has to be out of their freakin' minds!

We're planning an aprez-Slog meet-up at Linda's starting at around 5:30 p.m. and going until we're either too drunk to see, or in my case, I have to head out to catch Opening Night of Annex Theatre's "I Feel Fine", 8:00 p.m. at 1100 E Pike, tickets $12 (I'm not proud--I'm in Showbiz!)

Thanks to all who commented; maybe tomorrow I'll actually get time to read some of what you--and my fellow Guest Sloggers actually wrote!

That's All For Me--Be Safe, Be Good!

Puppy Lovers: No Longer Safe from Society

posted by on October 12 at 10:49 AM

It is not safe or smart to wire money for a puppy you have never seen. It quite possibly does not exist.


Friday, October 5, 2007

Dear Science Podcast: How Green Are Hybrids?

posted by on October 5 at 12:04 PM

Hybrid Highlander

+

APOCALYPSE-smaller.jpg

+

+

Tree Canopy


In this week's Dear Science podcast.

On the Radio

posted by on October 5 at 9:06 AM

I'll be on KUOW's Weekday this morning, talking about the news of the week with Slog favorites D. Parvaz and Danny Westneat.

The show starts at 10 a.m., and although I don't control the discussion topics, I do end up with a mic in front of me for an hour, so... What should we yak about?


Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Jonah on Joystiq

posted by on October 2 at 9:51 AM

Jonah's story from two week's ago—about a woman who was fired from her contract job at Nintendo—gets linked on some blog that he and Bradley have heard of.

Way to go Jonah.


Saturday, September 22, 2007

The Stranger News Hour. Today 710 KIRO

posted by on September 22 at 4:43 PM

This evening at 7pm, I'll be on David Goldstein's show to talk about some of the stories in this week's Stranger, including Jonah's story on johns; Erica's story on fixed-gear bikes; and my story on the nightclub license.

Goldy will want to bash dumb Republicans, so we'll also talk about floundering King County Council Member, Jane Hague.


Friday, September 21, 2007

The DVD

posted by on September 21 at 9:08 AM

Also out this week is the DVD of Zoo, a movie that is set in this beautiful part of the world:
fig1_large-1.jpg

One unimpressed critic has this to say:

It’s an extremely creepy film that shows a deranged, dark underbelly of society. Although the participants in these acts will beg to differ, I found the whole thing quite nutty.


Wednesday, September 19, 2007

This Week's Cover Art

posted by on September 19 at 4:21 PM

cover-big-1.jpg

...is an original colored-marker drawing by a struggling artist from Oklahoma named Wayne Coyne.


Monday, September 17, 2007

Slog on Slog

posted by on September 17 at 2:08 PM

Given that this Slog post about the differences between our print edition and the Slog generated a lively comment thread, you may want to attend this:

This evening at 6:30pm, The Washington News Council is hosting a public forum at the downtown Seattle Library titled: "Today's News: A 'Webolution' in Progress" where members of the news media and the blogosphere will be discussing the way blogs are impacting news coverage and the news industry.

It's being moderated by Merrill Brown, former editor-in-chief at MSNBC. The panelists include: Cory Bergman, digital media director at KING 5; Robert Hernandez, senior producer at The Seattle Times, Alex Johnson, senior producer MSNBC; Joan McCarter, blogger dailykos; Ambra Nykol, blogger nykola.com; Chuck Taylor, editor at Crosscut; and me.

I'll be talking specifically about Slog and how we approach our on-line news coverage.


Saturday, September 15, 2007

The Stranger News Hour. Today 710 KIRO

posted by on September 15 at 2:33 PM

I'll be on David Goldstein's radio show today at 7pm for the weekly installment of The Stranger News Hour.

I want to spend the whole hour talking about the SPD's ignominious sting (a fancy word I kept out of the print story, but have been gravitating back to all week to describe the city's tacky and defining freak out crack down).

Goldy gets a little bored with SPD news, so expect us to move on to Dino Rossi's deceptive non-profit, Forward Washington.

We'll also talk about the Stranger's first ever: Political Genius awards.


Saturday, September 8, 2007

Stranger News Hour on 710 KIRO. Tonight.

posted by on September 8 at 2:12 PM

A nice treat on this week's the Stranger News Hour during the David Goldstein Show on 710 KIRO at 7pm.

No city hall stuff. No police accountability stuff. No RTID stuff. No news section stuff at all. Stranger arts writer Charles Mudede will be on to discuss this year's Stranger Genius Awards.

Enjoy!


Wednesday, September 5, 2007

On Being Eternally Affiliated with the Worst Movie Ever Made

posted by on September 5 at 2:47 PM

scaled.14499__showgirls_l.jpg

In 1999, on the advice of an intelligent female friend, I watched Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls. This was four years after the film's theatrical release, which I'd ignored out of solidarity with good taste and political correctness. But when the most intelligent feminist I knew all but ordered me to stop what I was doing and rent Showgirls, I obeyed, and soon learned one of life's great truths: Paul Verhoeven's critically savaged, thoroughly diastrous stripper drama is the most amazing inadvertant comedy in the history of cinema, and with some slight contextualization and one major cut, the funniest movie ever made.

Soon after my epiphany, my friend Eric (Fredericksen, then a Stranger staffer, now director of this joint) urged me to share my findings with the world. Northwest Film Forum arranged a screening, I provided live annotation, and since then I've toured sporadically around the country as a semi-professional ambassador for the hilarity of Showgirls.

As some of you know, in 2004, I got a call from MGM, the studio that produced Showgirls. Instead of a cease-and-desist order, they had me provide the commentary track to the DVD re-release, which has recently been re-re-released. No matter what I do with the rest of my life, my name will be forever linked with Showgirls.

I couldn't be happier. The film's mindblowing comedic magic is eternal. In advance of upcoming screenings in Texas and Florida, I'm hosting a one-nighter tomorrow night at the Triple Door—the only place in the world where you can enjoy Wild Ginger cuisine while watching the worst movie ever made in a nightclub co-owned by Kenny G. Join me, if you please.

Federally Funded Human Embryonic Stem Cells

posted by on September 5 at 1:39 PM

The University of Washington was selected by the NIH as one of two national centers for human embryonic stem cell research. The purse? Ten million dollars in federal funds spread over five years. Hurray for us!

(Full disclosure time: I was a small contributor to the grant, including preliminary data, experimental design and writing. The lab I work in will be receiving some of the funds. Writing this, I am the eponym for conflict of interest.)

Hearing the news, Eric Earling at Sound Politics noted:

And a reminder that despite the annoyingly simplistic campaign rhetoric one hears around election time, there actually is federally funded, embryonic stem cell research already occurring in the country.

Not so quick Eric. Added to the bottom of the press release is this defensive notice:
The source of human embryonic stem cells is limited to federally approved stem cell lines listed on the National Institutes of Health Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry.

Only lines created before August of 2001 may be studied with federal funds, as per the president and his infinite wisdom. Twenty-one are still around, and only ten are actually available for purchase right now. Federal research on human embryonic stem cells is limited the oldest lines, the lines where culture techniques were perfected, and the lines from a very limited genetic pool. (Fun fact: Three of the more popular lines (H1, H7 and H9) all started as embryos from the same in vitro fertilization clinic in Israel. How's that for genetic diversity?)

What's wrong with refusing to federally fund the creation of new embryonic stem cell lines? When government opens the purse, it gets to set rules. New lines are still being created (and pre-implantation embryos destroyed) -- just with private dollars, behind closed doors and without any federal governmental oversight. For anyone seriously concerned about the ethical implications of this research, this is the worst possible outcome. Rather than a real national debate to hash out some reasonable rules and guidelines, we've simple swept the whole problem under the rug.

Solving some of what stops us from using human embryonic stem cells clinically -- purifying out desired cell types from the differentiating population, delivering and integrating cells into target organs, avoiding grafting undesired or undifferentiated cells, protecting the genetic and epigenetic stability of the aged existing lines, and evading immune rejection -- will require the creation of new embryonic stem cells. So long as the asinine Bush policy remains in place, we cannot forge a coherent and ethical means of doing so.


Friday, August 31, 2007

The Stranger News Hour is Back!

posted by on August 31 at 11:47 AM

For the last two weeks, the Seahawks pre-season games pre-empted KIRO's Stranger News Hour on "The David Goldstein Show."

But we're back this Saturday evening at our regular time: 7pm on 710 KIRO AM.

It's been a news-heavy couple of weeks for us: ECB's reporting on city council candidate Tim Burgess's connection to the right wing freaks at Concerned Women for America, local attorney David Coffman's sleuthing on Ted Haggard, and my stories on KUOW and Rep. Brian Baird.

And I imagine David Goldstein—our amiable host—will want to talk about his blog rival Stefan Sharkansky.


Thursday, August 30, 2007

Ellen Forney Splashes Around in the Mainstream

posted by on August 30 at 10:14 AM

scaled.WheelsFINAL300-row1_01.jpg

Beloved local artist and Stranger contributor Ellen Forney is this month's writer-in-residence for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and today's P-I features an original Forney graphic essay. Congrats, Ellen!


Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Gawking at Ari Spool

posted by on August 21 at 12:40 PM

Ari Spool's essay on women and pot got linked on Gawker and big feminist blog, Feministing.

Way to go Ari. Oh, and Ari is a girl.


Thursday, August 16, 2007

How to Get Busted for Pot After I-75

posted by on August 16 at 3:10 PM

According to the Ballard News Tribune

Reports of a suspicious male hanging around a downtown Ballard building were made to 911 at 8:20 p.m. on a Saturday night. Police contacted the suspect who told them he rented a studio in the building and that he had the keys. Officers smelled the odor of marijuana coming from his studio. They did a routine check on his identity and found a warrant in his name. Subsequent to his arrest, the suspect agreed to let police search his studio and they found two bags of marijuana. He spent the evening in jail.

Listen, folks with warrants, if you get caught for breaking one law and take police officers to your apartment with pot inside – and give them permission to search it – they will charge you with marijuana possession, too. Everyone else: If you're gonna smoke pot, do it discreetly and bathe daily.

Since voters passed Initiative 75 in 2003, marijuana possession has been the City’s lowest law enforcement priority. (Full disclosure, I coordinated the campaign.) Charges for marijuana possession have dropped. But City Attorney Tom Carr, who opposed the initiative, says the decline in pot cases is unrelated to I-75. Are the fewer pot filings just coincidence? Is the decrease significant? Did the city save money? Did more people start getting high? The eleven-member Marijuana Policy Review Panel, which includes Carr and me, will hold what is ostensibly its final meeting this evening at 5:30 p.m. in room 370 at City Hall to answer those questions and iron out the final wording of a report to the City Council on the measure’s impacts.


Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Oh, and Another Funny Thing About Today's News Section

posted by on August 15 at 5:10 PM

As I said on Monday : Read Mudede's Police Beat column this week!



Monday, August 13, 2007

Sweet Police Beat

posted by on August 13 at 5:54 PM

One part of my job that I savor is editing Charles Mudede's Police Beat column.

It's relaxing—amidst all the chaos of getting a news section through every week—to sit down with Mudede's weekly gem.

I mention this as a intentional tease for the installment that's coming out this week.

Funniest Police Beat all year. I cried laughing. All I will tell you is it involves donuts.

Thank you, Charles.


Saturday, August 11, 2007

Stranger News Hour on 710 KIRO

posted by on August 11 at 3:55 PM

Tune in at 7pm. This week, Dan Savage will be on.

Disagree with everything he says on Slog? Now's your chance.

That's 710 on the AM dial.


Monday, August 6, 2007

Crowdsourcing My Fact-Checking

posted by on August 6 at 3:40 PM

I'm busy on deadline and need a little help. Make fun of my ignorance if you must, but can someone out there ID the image behind this speaker's platform for me? The Constitutional Convention of 1787? (Bonus points if you can guess the politician who was recently using this backdrop.)

PaulSpeakersPlatform.jpg


Saturday, August 4, 2007

This Week's Edition of KIRO's Stranger Newshour: Live from YearlyKos

posted by on August 4 at 1:35 PM

Tune in to 710 KIRO for this week's installment of the Stranger Newshour, when Eli Sanders reports live from Chicago at the YearlyKos convention.

7pm on KIRO with David Goldstein.


Saturday, July 28, 2007

Stranger News Hour on 710 KIRO

posted by on July 28 at 9:30 AM

This week, Erica C. Barnett will be on 710 KIRO talking with Goldy about the City Council races, the nightlife debate, and, I imagine, bikes.

Be sure to tune in to the show at 7pm.


Friday, July 27, 2007

Letter of the Day

posted by on July 27 at 9:52 AM

A conspiracy theory:

Good one, Stranger.

For months now someone calling himself "ecce homo" has been posting comments constantly. He's your most dedicated troll, always on Slog, he's rude, he's obnoxious, and he's positively obsessed with Dan Savage. And who else do we know that's constantly on Slog, constantly posting, rude, obnoxious, and positively obsessed with Dan Savage?

Dan Savage.

Dan Savage is "ecce homo," and "ecce homo" is Dan Savage. Want proof? Late last night Savage posted this comment to one of his own Slog posts:

Okay. I was at Pony tonight for Circus, and I thought I saw this guy--this girly boy or the boyly girl that's tormenting me. But just as suddenly as he or she appeared, he or she was gone. Maybe I hallucinated him/her.

Posted by Dan Savage | July 26, 2007 11:54 PM

Nine minutes later "ecce homo" posted this comment:

How was the Glory hole, "Dad"?

Gonna write your next book on what an attentive and admirable parent you are?

Posted by ecce homo | July 27, 2007 12:05 AM

According to previous posts written by this "ecce homo" person, he's a respectable, sober-minded, suburban gay dad with two children. And yet there he was, ready to pounce on Savage at midnight, minutes after Dan himself posted comment to an old Slog post written by Dan himself.

Usually when people engage in sock puppetry it's to defend themselves or stroke their own ego. Leave it to Savage to create a sock puppet to beat himself up.

—Curt

The Writing Beat

posted by on July 27 at 9:08 AM

The thing about the movie Police Beat, which just came out on DVD, is it's less a movie and more a piece of writing. It's an essay. The essay is about white people, about ambition, about trying to please a woman who has different values than you do, about the difference between what you see and what you know, about jealousy, about understanding all too well. Z, the immigrant who narrates, wears his cop uniform and rides his cop bike and delivers the essay in his native Wolof and a little French, with English subtitles. Yes, the cinematography in Police Beat is dreamy, but the movie would be nowhere without the words.

Like, there's a scene in the middle of the movie when Z is riding his bike around a very leafy Capitol Hill. It's pretty. There's piano music. He's thinking about stuff. He hasn't heard from his lady in longer than he's okay with. His patrol partner has taken up heroin. He's met a lot of shrieking, vituperative, blood-splattered citizens on his beat lately, but you can tell he's really just thinking about his lady and why she hasn't called.

He thinks:

Who am I? I am a problem solver...

And then:

Why? Because I have all these problems...

And then:

And I am by no means alone...

And then (pace doesn't change but here, so you don't have to keep scrolling):

To live is to solve problems. That's the definition of everything... Leaves are stretching out for light because that's their problem... Ants move dirt because that's their problem... Flowers are bright not for lovers, but because they have problems....

That's writing. That's pure Charles Mudede.

You know what isn't writing? The text on the back of the Police Beat DVD box.

It goes a little something like this:

From the boldly original director of the controversial Zoo, this is not your typical crime story! Based on actual police reports, Robinson Devor's critically acclaimed film follows Z, a rookie bicycle cop in Seattle, as he investigates a series of unsettling crimes. A new West African immigrant separated from his girlfriend, Z views all his cases through the eyes of a heartbroken outsider. The city's many outrageous and offbeat crimes become a surreal reflection of Z's disorientation and pain. Ride along on this intense emotional journey through the urban jungle in this lyrical spin on the POLICE BEAT.

Whee!

I guess it sounds very movie-ish, but man if that isn't a disappointing way to summarize Police Beat. "Not your typical crime story!" "Outrageous and offbeat crimes"! "Writing" like this not only gives you no sense of what the movie is like, it's exactly what the movie isn't: badly written and studded with clichés. The person who wrote Police Beat, who shares a cubicle wall with me, told me to take my grievance to Northwest Film Forum, the main producer. NWFF's Michael Seiwerath said that the DVD's text and art came from Image Entertainment, the distributor. Attempts to find the writer within the Image Entertainment empire who wrote the Police Beat DVD text have proven unsuccessful.

On the Radio

posted by on July 27 at 8:31 AM

I'll be on KUOW's Weekday this morning starting at 10 a.m., talking about the news of the week with other local journalists.

Probable topics: Gonzales and contempt, Bush and subpoenas, cheese-and-wire terrorism, the YouTube debate, the Burner/Tom race, and the death penalty. Plus whatever you call in about.


Saturday, July 21, 2007

Stranger News Hour on 710 KIRO

posted by on July 21 at 1:45 PM

I'll be on 710 KIRO radio at 7pm Saturday for our weekly rundown of what we've got in the news section.

This week's section—about the master bike plan and the mayor's cave to a Fremont power broker; an outrageous pot bust; developer loopholes; and Jay Inslee's faulty webcasting bill —already generated a lot of comments on Slog.

Let's continue the discussion on the radio.


Friday, July 20, 2007

Re: Tension at The Stranger

posted by on July 20 at 4:42 PM

Jeff Kirby makes a good point about taffy, but I think the best part of Brendan Kiley's Seattle Center story is where he advocates for a brutal beating/rape as just the thing to get people excited about the Seattle Center:

New York's Conservancy formed in 1980, but only got off the ground years later when muggings, vandalism, and the Central Park jogger—who was raped and beaten almost to death—became symbols for a city gone feral, and galvanized citizens to take charge where government failed. Until we have a Seattle Center jogger, the Seattle Center cause will be one of irritation, not urgency.

For shame, Brendan Kiley. For shame.

Tension at The Stranger

posted by on July 20 at 3:24 PM

posted by Jeff Kirby

It's probably not wise that I speak out against a Stranger writer in his own forum, but his brazen words in this week's paper have left me little choice. Brendan Kiley's article about the Seattle Center is irresponsible journalism at its worst; the kind of near-sighted, poorly researched slander that should cost a journalist his job in a fair and just world. He left out the single most important aspect of the story, the center of Seattle Center: this is where one goes to get good taffy. The Center house may be built like an armory, and it may have had maggots fall from the ceiling at one point, but god damn it if it isn't the only place I know around here where a man can get some fresh, flavorful taffy. Kiley advocates for "plan four," in which it is suggested the Center House "build a fancy-ish restaurant up top and some cheaper cafes on the bottom, mak[ing] the whole thing less a food court and more a place you'd want to be." The Center House is better than a "food court," Mr. Kiley. You can't get freshly pulled taffy at the goddamn mall, now can you? And what do you suggest we build in its place? A "cheap café"? I don't want a cheap café; I want to see my taffy being made in front of my eyes, like Benihana for people who still have their soul. But you, like the people in charge of plotting the destruction of this city treasure, obviously just don't get it. For shame, Brendan Kiley. For shame.


Thursday, July 19, 2007

The Stranger Is Seeking a Drained Iraqi Brain

posted by on July 19 at 1:13 PM

Some 2 million Iraqis have fled the consequences of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, creating an Iraqi brain drain that is making it even harder for that country to stabilize. With U.S. politicians now talking about a complete U.S. pullout soon, Congress has been considering whether America has a moral responsibility to welcome more of the professional class that's now fleeing the country we threw into chaos.

But while the politicians debate, some members of the Iraqi brain drain have already made it to the U.S. Have any of them made it to this city?

The Stranger is seeking such a person for a story. Are you a recent Iraqi refugee living in Seattle? Do you know one?

If so, email me here and put "Iraqi refugee" in the subject line.


Saturday, July 14, 2007

On KIRO Radio: The Stranger News Hour

posted by on July 14 at 11:45 AM

On this week's installment of 710 KIRO's Stranger News Hour, I'll be talking about this revealing video footage I got my hands on and also—still more (to our host David Goldstein's chagrin) on police accountability.

Erica C. Barnett will also be there to set everybody straight (including Goldy's team of bloggers) about the mayor's environmental record.

That's 7pm this evening on 710 KIRO.


Saturday, July 7, 2007

On the Radio at 7pm

posted by on July 7 at 3:29 PM

I'll be on 710 KIRO tonight at 7pm for the weekly edition of the Stranger News Hour.

I'll be talking about what's in this week's paper including: Dino Rossi's shadow campaign committee, the Belltown shooting, and more on embattled SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowske.


Friday, June 29, 2007

H5N1

posted by on June 29 at 4:55 PM


Can I express my love for Erica’s feature this week on the avian influenza? You really should read it.

The current bird-to-human form of the virus kills an astonishing number of those it infects; according to the World Health Organization, more than half of those who have contracted the virus from birds have died. Its impact is greatest among the young; in a study of more than 200 confirmed human avian flu cases conducted in early 2006, WHO found that just over half of all cases were in people under 20, and that the median age of those who caught the flu was 18. Of the youngest victims, the majority died; the majority of those older than 50 survived.

Unlike the typical annual influenza outbreak, deadly mostly for those very young or old, H5N1 kills people with the healthiest immune systems—people in their twenties. This virus, like the 1918 influenza, induces a panic response from our immune systems; for people in their twenties, it is your own immune system that does you in.

We have much better drugs to control the immune system, things like cortico-steroids. Still, you might find it difficult to get to a doctor when the pandemic comes:


King County, thanks in large part to the vigilant efforts of County Executive Sims, is perhaps the best-prepared county in the nation. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean we're actually prepared. If a severe pandemic hit tomorrow, King County would be in serious trouble. Hospitals, which have almost no excess capacity, would overflow immediately; the movement of goods through the port and freight rail systems would slow to a crawl; medicine supplies would run out; the mortuaries would fill up; and many basic functions of government would cease.

The best plan is not avoid getting infected. Here are some hints on how to that:

Avoid prolonged or close exposure to people who are infected.

Wash your hands. Start with the habit of washing every time you enter your home, and before every meal. For when soap and water isn’t available, carry some instant hand sanitizer—like Purell and with at least 60% alcohol—and use a dime-sized drop that will keep your hands wet for at least 10 seconds.

Use a surgical mask—available at drug or grocery stores—if you go out during the outbreak. It should be good enough to protect you from the virus-carrying droplets, provided you stay 3-6 feet away from someone coughing. And cover your own coughs.

Stock up on food and water.

Something like Erica’s plan

Here's what's in my personal stockpile: One 20-pound bag of rice; one gallon jar of pickles; four 40-ounce cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli (a childhood indulgence I would never allow myself to have in "real" life); two weeks' worth of bottled water, allocating one gallon per person per day; several assorted cans of beans; several large cans of soup; a large box of crackers; a half-gallon jar of peanut butter; canned vegetables, including corn and green beans; several pounds of pasta and jars of pasta sauce; a half-dozen aseptically packaged boxes of broth and soup; cereal; vitamins; toilet paper; tea; and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember.

is a pretty good place to start. Add in a whole bunch of batteries, a flashlight and a radio and you’re there.

Having a functional social network, simply knowing your neighbors, is also key. Go introduce yourself.

Finally, given we live under volcanos, and over three fault lines, it might be wise to take a Community First Aid and Safety class with the Red Cross. That way you’ll know how to help the people in your network. Knowing how to operate a bag-valve-mask, stop dense bleeding, splint a limb or treat shock might make a huge difference.

There is a whole bunch more information at pandemicflu.gov or though King County Public Health.

On the Radio

posted by on June 29 at 3:12 PM

The Stranger News Hour returns on 710 KIRO this Saturday from 7-8pm.

Here's the drill. I briefly talk about this week's news section—and then take callers' questions about that. And then we talk about whatever's got us all bent out of shape.

Last week, ECB and I were on talking about police accountability and the upcoming city council races.

This week, Jonah and I will be on talking about the Kerlikowske scandal.

Tune in. David Goldstein of Horsesass hosts. And we've even got our own theme music.


Thursday, June 28, 2007

Taken Out to the Ballgame

posted by on June 28 at 4:13 PM

DSCN0074.JPG

Baseball and rock 'n' roll--as American as cocaine and hookers.

Thanks to the stunningly beautiful people at Barsuk Records for sponsoring a day out at SafeCo field yesterday. Many beers were drank, many hotdogs were devoured, and a few crotch-waves were attempted. And hey, the Ms won in the 11th to sweep Boston in a three-game series! Go Mariners!

Read all about it on Line Out.


Thursday, June 21, 2007

One correction

posted by on June 21 at 2:51 PM

In my column this week, I claimed:

It is not clear that adult human cells can be reprogrammed; there is only one hint in all the scientific literature.

Uh, better make that two hints:


Previous efforts to obtain embryonic stem cells from cloned primate embryos have failed. Korean cloning scientist Woo Sook Hwang lost his job over fabricated successes using human eggs.

But Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the Oregon National Primate Research Centre in the United States said he had succeeded using modified Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, or SCNT, in which an egg cell nucleus is removed and replaced with a donor nucleus.

The cell eventually forms an early embryo, or blastocyst, with DNA almost identical to the donor organism.

Mitalipov said he used skin cells from a 10-year-old male rhesus monkey and presented the conference with proof of his success using DNA evidence. He also showed slides of the embryonic cells changing into heart cells and neurons.

While it's wise to wait for a peer reviewed scientific paper, if this holds up it is an exciting development indeed. Congratulations (in advance) to Dr. Mitalipov.