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Sunday, August 22, 2010

Today The Stranger Suggests

Posted by The Stranger on Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 11:00 AM

Pot

Hempfest

Hempfest is fresh like the springtime. Hempfest refuses to fly tie-dye flags fashioned from sheets. Nary a waft of patchouli flies over the Febreze-scented paths of Hempfest. The most contemporary elements of Seattle's music scene are showcased there. At Hempfest, organizers grab every political cliché by the nuts, give it a good hard squeeze, and make it fight badgers. (Myrtle Edwards Park, 3130 Alaskan Way W, www.hempfest.org. 10 am–8 pm, free, all ages.)

DOMINIC HOLDEN

Reading Today: Pilot Books, All Day Long

Posted by Paul Constant on Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 10:22 AM

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Graeme Bezanson is the one book-related event today. Pilot Books's newest writer-in-residence will write while being in residence at Pilot Books. In case you were wondering, Bezanson is a poet. You can read some of his poems here and here. He is also an editor at Coldfront, which is a nifty magazine.

And don't forget the Seattle Anarchist Book Fair at the Vera Project. It's gong on today from 11 to 5.

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.

The Morning News

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Sun, Aug 22, 2010 at 9:29 AM

Posted by news intern Logan Gowdey.

Ninth Time's a Charm: A man was found dead yesterday morning at a South Lake Union construction site on the 1000 block of Valley St. It is Seattle's ninth homicide this year and the second in August.

Predictable: The Iowa companies that have had to recall seventy bajillion eggs over the past few weeks are apparently all tied to the DeCoster family, whose record is brimming, BP-style, with past infractions ranging from animal cruelty to creating a "sexually hostile work environment."

Dumb: A Spokane party where a 14-year-old girl was stabbed and raped was fueled by vodka supplied by the 15-year-old suspect's mother. The woman says she thought it would be safer to provide them alcohol in her home than to have them get it elsewhere.

Just Do Exactly What We Say: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Mideast peace will be "difficult but possible." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has scheduled new a peace talks summit to begin next Friday.

Not Suspicious At All: Eight of the nine members of the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council resigned last week, following a King County prosecutor's office decision that the council must obey the county's public records act. The council members, who are volunteers, said they felt the burden of complying was excessive.

What Privacy? The ACLU has questioned new airport security "enhanced patdowns" the TSA is trying out in Boston and Las Vegas. The ACLU has called them part of a "seemingly constant erosion of privacy."

Danger Zone: A woman was attacked Friday night in The Jungle, a homeless encampment near the I-5 and I-90 interchange. She was taken to Harborview and is expected to recover. There were two homicides in or near The Jungle last year.

Anything You Can Do: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled the first Iran-built unmanned bomber plane, naming it the "ambassador of death." Meanwhile, the nation's first nuclear reactor is up and running.

No You Do Not: Rod Blagojevich compares self to Winston Churchill, believes he has a political future.

Pop a Squat: One Kirkland McMansion squatter may have been arrested, but there's another one who is at it again.

Good News: Republican Party is broke as November looms, down to $5 million cash on hand.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Grayson on Fox News: "Monty Python's Lying Circus"

Posted by Dan Savage on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 12:15 PM

Help keep this guy in Congress. Via JMG.

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Stop and Smell the Roses

Posted by Dan Savage on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 12:02 PM

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But not you, stoner, not during Hempfest. No roses for you. You can go smell the kettle corn and the elephant ears.

Today: Watch Half-Naked Men Play Soccer For Charity!

Posted by Cienna Madrid on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 11:25 AM

Keep your eye on the ball.
  • Keep your eye on the ball.
Soccer players are hot. Gay soccer players are perhaps the cream of the hot crop, because they are also into grooming. Rain City Soccer Club—the world's largest gay and lesbian soccer club (right in our backyard! who knew?)—is hosting the 3rd Annual Shirts vs Shorts game (known to insiders as tops vs bottoms) today from 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Bobby Morris Playfield in Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill!

All proceeds will benefit the GSBA Scholarship Fund, which provides college scholarships to queer youth who have been kicked out by their parents, as well as to the children of LGBTQ parents.

The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have agreed to ref the game and collect donations. So come, bring money for a good cause, and prepare yourself for a sunny afternoon of watching body checks, half-naked slide tackles, and the kind of hand balls you can only hope to see in your wildest dreams.

Originally posted yesterday, and moved up to today because hot!

Today The Stranger Suggests

Posted by The Stranger on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 11:00 AM

Film

'The Room'

Do you like sexual and slightly French man-groans? Do you like playing football in a very small room with a leering man-child? Do you like the line "I gotta go see Michelle in a little bit, to make out with her"? Have you either not seen The Room yet or seen it a million times? Then get thee to the Egyptian. Ambiguously foreign person/auteur/aforementioned groaner Tommy Wiseau will be in Seattle this weekend, appearing at the screenings of his bizarre, beloved vanity project. The Room deserves to be seen drunk with a throng of like-minded trash lovers, and the opportunity to gaze upon Wiseau's actual face should not be missed. (Central Cinema is offering a personal meet and greet beforehand for $60. See www.central-cinema.com for details.) (Egyptian, 805 E Pine St, 781-5755. Midnight, $15.)

LINDY WEST

Reading Today: Take a Trip to Gay City

Posted by Paul Constant on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 10:22 AM

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The Seattle Anarchist Book Fair is taking place at the Vera Project today, from 10 to 5. There are some neat classes; if you enjoy book festivals, you should maybe drop in and see what it's all about.

Susan Wingate reads at Seattle Mystery Bookshop today. Easy As Pie In Bobby's Diner is a mystery. The central mystery of the book is probably not how the title Easy As Pie In Bobby's Diner somehow seemed like a good idea for a mystery book title to the author, editor and publisher of the book, but I would like someone to solve that mystery.

Laurie Frankel reads at Elliott Bay Book Company this afternoon. Frankel is a local author who has just published her debut novel, The Atlas of Love. It is about a single mother who is in grad school. Elliott Bay hosts a second reading today, too: Gay City's newest book project, Gay City, Volume 3: Re-Pulped, is celebrating its release party here today, with the editor and a number of contributors on-hand to speak and read. This book reportedly contains a number of "photographs, comics, stories, essays, and poetry" written by and for gay men.

And Graeme Bezanson will be writing at Pilot Books as a writer-in-residence all day today. You should come and bother him.

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.

The Morning News

Posted by Unpaid Intern on Sat, Aug 21, 2010 at 9:14 AM

Posted by news intern Logan Gowdey.

He's Really Meta: John McCain is a social media "genius."

Who's Lincoln? When he wasn't ignoring Tea Party threats yesterday, Dino Rossi challenged Patty Murray to five "Lincoln-Douglas style" debates before the general election.

You First: "Great Americans give up their rights to help those they share nothing else with but a love of this country," a Fox News host and legal analyst (they have those?) told Muslims his fellow Americans.

At Least Judges Like Rights: A King County Judge denied a subpoena for Seattle Times reporter Jonathan Martin's notes from two interviews with alleged police murderer Christopher Monfort.

There Are No Words Just Sadness: A 10-year-old and his 12- and 14-year-old half-brothers were charged with attempted first-degree robbery for allegedly trying to steal a 17-year-old's handgun out of his backpack while on a Metro bus in Rainier Beach.

More, Different Sadness: The White House is hitting back on Muslim rumors, trumpeting the president's Christian faith.

Now Will He Go Away: Wyclef Jean will not be Haiti's next president.

About Time: Class-action lawsuit will be filed against for-profit Westwood College for fraud.

Wait, For Real? Searches with "Cameron Diaz" are most likely to give you malware.

Conspiracy Theories: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange accused by Swedish authorities of molestation and rape in two cases. Meanwhile, Assange took to Twitter, calling the accusations a "dirty trick." Update: and now the charges are "unfounded," withdrawn.

Cool? Forensics expert and Columbia University professor ranks badness of murderers on a "Gradations of Evil" scale using famous 20th century murderers.

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Friday, August 20, 2010

The "Queer Youth" That You Know Are Total Morons

Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 5:14 PM

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"Queer youth that I know," Mmennonno writes in this comments thread, "are totally against the heteronormativation represented by the bourgeois institution of marriage and think gay marriage is a conspiracy by rich white-supremacist gay men and lesbian power-couples to assimilate to an inherently evil corporate greed machine that exploits poor people and racial and ethnic minorities, and gender-radicals."

The above picture is of Sinjoyla Townsend and Angelisa Young. They were the first same-sex couple to receive a marriage license in Washington D.C. They're a powerful lesbian couple, I have no doubt, but they're not what people generally picture when someone cites and condemns "lesbian power couples." And they sure as hell aren't a pair of rich white-supremecist gay men. And most of the couples featured in the Boston Globe's terrifically moving "Big Picture" photo essay about gay marriage are people of color. None of the couples appear to be "power couples," couples are wearing crosses not burning them, and some of the couples appear to be poor. As I wrote here...

Wealthy gay couples—whatever their color—can hire lawyers to draw up wills and powers of attorney and jerry-rig some of the protections of marriage. Full marriage equality will allow all gay couples—regardless of color, regardless of economic resources—to access all of the protections of marriage. Marriage equality is a social justice issue.

And let me guess, Mmennonno: The queer youth you know? White kids, right? And in college?

Thank God for ABC's Nightline

Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 4:47 PM

The opening paragraph of John Berman and Mary Marsh's report on ABC News:

McDonald's Angus snack wrap seems like a simple idea. Just take their popular, juicy Angus Third Pounder burgers, slice them up and stick them in a soft flour tortilla, right? Well, this "simple" idea took a year to develop, plan, taste test and become the appetizing product it is today. So how do items on the fast food chain's menu get the Golden Arches' seal of approval?

Watch the full story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. ET

If you can't wait till tonight to learn how McDonald's Angus snack wraps came to be such popular, juicy crowd-pleasers, you may read the full news report at ABC News.

SL Letter of the Day: But Some Women Can't Handle the Truth (Some Men Too)

Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 4:45 PM

In response to Thursday's SLLOTD and today's post Buh-Bye from N.H., one thing is clear: You need to stop telling men to lie about porn!

I am very similar to N.H.: I like fun kinky sex with people I know, but porn hits a bad emotional button for me. I am finally getting over this hang up thanks to the "realization" that all of my sweet boyfriends lied about porn (realization = catching). Each time I discovered the lie it was painful for us both, but I am glad I now understand the reality: all guys do look at porn sometimes.

I know women can go into crazy-bitch mode and make talking about porn difficult, but this is only half the problem. Men have fathers and usually awesome gay advice columnists telling them to lie about it. Would you tell women to fake orgasms and downplay clit stimulation? No. So if this is an intrinsic part of male sexuality, Dan, then men need to own it. Porn will go down much better with women if men themselves present it without shame and stand up for themselves.

I understand that a lie can help save a marriage, but for the young people, please endorse a no lying policy. Women will adjust to the new reality, I promise.

Porn Honesty Now!

Enough People Are Doing This That It Made the News

Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 4:17 PM

From Orlando, Florida's WFTV. com:

Investigators in Seminole County say they've discovered a bizarre problem: adult children are dropping off their elderly parents at hotels and motels, and abandoning them.

"A lot of the local hotels seem to be getting seniors that are just dropped off by their kids," said Officer Zach Hudson of the Lake Mary Police Department.

One man was left at the La Quinta Inn in Lake Mary for several weeks.

"Two different times he fell out of his bed during the midnight shift. We didn't know about it. We had people call up, saying there's a gentleman in this room, he's screaming for help," said Chris Loker of La Quinta Inn.

Read the whole thing here.

More Tickets to Tomorrow's Trouble Dicso Party With DJ Ira Glass vs. DJ Dan Savage Will Be Released Today

Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 4:07 PM

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First of all, WE HAVE A WINNER! You have voted, and the winner of the DJ Dan Savage coloring contest is... Keith! It was a very close race—you can see his masterpiece here. Congratulations, Keith!

Now, here's some more exciting news.

We will be releasing a few more tickets to tomorrow's Trouble Dicso party at 5 pm tonight! We were holding back some tickets for tomorrow night's party that we are now able to release online. So! If you didn't win the coloring contest, and if you didn't get a chance to grab your tickets before they sold out earlier this week, YOU HAVE A SECOND CHANCE!

These extra tickets go on sale today at 5 pm right here.

And there are still a few tickets available to see Ira Glass speak at Benaroya Hall tomorrow night. You can buy those tickets here. Ticket to both events will all surely be gone by tonight, so hurry!

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Juggalos Are People Too

Posted by Kelly O on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 3:40 PM

Since we posted my slideshow, and this photo feature online, I've been feeling a little sensitive. I wasn't taking photos so people could be downright mean (see also the "Best" Gathering photos on Buzzfeed). I try to keep a careful amount of humanity in my photography. Why? Because I'm a fucking dork.

Look at my stupid hair. My stupid dorky leather-laddie hair.
  • Look at my stupid hair. My stupid dorky leather-laddie hair.
Rewind to high school. I met my best friend 'cause she turned around in algebra class, and asked if I was "a farmer". I was mortified. See, we had two rival gangs at my school in Hillybillysville Northern Michigan—"The Farmers" and "The Leather Lads". The Farmers were the big tough farm boys, much like jocks, 'cept they didn't play sports and drove huge redneck monster trucks. The Leather Lads were much like every single character in the S.E. Hinton book The Outsiders. They were scrappy and tough, and drove huge muscle cars. I wanted to be in the Leather Lads gang (or better yet, one of their girlfriends, a Leather Laddie). Problem was, I was po' white trash from the country. I rode the bus for 2+ hours every day with all The Farmers. They all knew me. The day I got on the bus in a black leather jacket was the day I would NEVER live down. It got so bad, I had to start getting a ride to school from my mom.

What's my point? Even though some of the Juggalos were a bit scary, the campground was terrifying, and Tila Tequila really did get human turds thrown at her—people at The Gathering were extremely nice. Yes, they're a gang. But they're a gang that's constantly hugging, high-five-ing, and "whoop-whoop-ing" at each other with genuine affection. Aside from the initial stabbing when I first got there, I didn't see one single fight or argument. No violence at all. They consider themselves family—they really do. They knew I wasn't one of them. They could smell the white trash on me, sure, but they knew I wasn't there for "family". They were nice to me all the same. And for this, I respect and admire them.

There Are Rules, People

Posted by David Schmader on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 3:23 PM

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From the just-out press release about tomorrow night's show at the Tacoma Dome (visual enhancements added):

Costumes are welcome; however, anything resembling a weapon (whether part of a costume or not) will not be allowed into the venue. Aluminum cans used as part of a costume must be empty. Be kind to your fellow little monsters—don't wear a costume that will endanger others!

Was that "cans must be empty" decree necessitated by stupid kids trying to wear full cans of Pepsi on their heads, or smart kids trying to sneak thrifty soda/illicit booze into the show? Weigh in on Line Out.

This Week's Answer of the Week (Or: A Reward for Fantastic Facial Hair)

Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 3:05 PM

This week's Answer of the Week in Questionland is a quick one, a witty one, one that didn't completely answer the question but was funny and appreciated by the Questionland community. Cedarthvader asked: "Are there more spiders this year or what?"

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And while there were a number of thoughtful answers in the pool, Kip Waddle's got the mushroom and three thumbs up because, well, it was funny. "Good lord its like a spiderpocalypse." It wasn't just the answer that was pretty good, though. Kip Waddle also SHAVED A QUESTION MARK INTO HIS FACIAL HAIR. And man, if that doesn't deserve a free pizza, I don't know what does.

Congrats to both Cedarthvader and Kip! You get a $25 gift card to Pagliacci Pizza.

The Great Kombucha Drought of 2010: Over?

Posted by Eric Grandy on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 3:03 PM

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A friend reports seeing kombucha back on the shelves at Whole Foods today, following a long absence due to FDA concerns about fluctuations in trace amounts of alcohol found in the beverage.

Hooray! (I'm too lazy to brew my own, so I've just been drinking vinegar mixed with grape juice all summer.)

You Have Exactly One Hour Left to Vote for Your Favorite Entry...

Posted by Megan Seling on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 3:00 PM

in the DJ Dan Savage coloring contest! Polls close at 4 pm.

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Yes, Yes, Ira Glass, Dan Savage—But, Seriously, Do Not Fucking Miss JD Twitch at Trouble Dicso Tonight

Posted by Eric Grandy on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 2:35 PM

Here's what it could very well look like:


More HERE.

Didier Takes a Bunch of Hostages

Posted by Eli Sanders on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 2:12 PM

Do what I say, or the 12 percent stay put.
  • Logan Gowdey
  • Do what I say, or the 12 percent stay put.
How else to describe this morning's list of demands that must be met before Republican Clint Didier, who pulled 12 percent of voters in the primary, will endorse Republican Dino Rossi, who pulled 33 percent?

Basic math tells you that, in what's widely expected to be a very close contest between himself and Democratic Senator Patty Murray in November, Rossi needs that 12 percent to win. And Didier's not going to make it easy for him.

"He’s trying to find a way to deliver people who don’t want to come to Dino," said Didier spokesperson Kathryn Serkes. Right. Sure he is. Noblest of intentions and all that.

But, clearly Didier's also trying to find a way to turn a loss at the polls into a kingmaker position in future elections (ala Sarah Palin, who he admires and was endorsed by). He's got a new group, Take Back Washington, to put his 12 percent into. And he's got those demands: Rossi must commit to introducing a bill that would ban abortions (court rulings be damned), must promise not to raise any more taxes (or increase any existing taxes) ever, and must promise not vote for any bills that would increase federal spending. Meet the demands, or the 12 percent stays holed up tight in Take Back Washington and maybe doesn't vote in the general.

Of course, it's impossible for Rossi to meet those demands while also maintaining his "moderate" cred. Which puts Rossi in a difficult bind, because he'd sure like that 12 percent. Hence this, from Rossi spokesperson Jennifer Morris:

Dino will keep working to earn the support of anyone who will work to reduce spending, get the economy back on track, and put Washingtonians back to work. He knows Washingtonians are principled and independent and expect their public servants to run on what they believe. In that spirit, Dino will continue to campaign on the things he believes, and will not submit to a list of demands made by anyone even people with whom he agrees, in Washington State or Washington, DC.

Translated: I will not submit to your demands! Even if I agree with them! Which I certainly might! Maybe! So let the 12 percent go! (Also: Hey, 12 percent, come over to me anyway because, see, I'm not as bad as Didier says.)

Didier spokesperson Kathryn Serkes suggested this kind of attemped fence-straddling by Rossi won't work. "People want to hear specifics rather than generalities," Serkes said. "That's what we're hearing."

Translated: Try again. It's very simple. Meet the demands, or the 12-percent stays put.

Meanwhile, the Murray campaign, happy to let this be the news of the day, is taking the opportunity to highlight Rossi's dance with the far right:

Senator Murray has been traveling this state talking about her record and the choice before Washington state voters. The reality is that Rossi took a hard turn to the hard right on issues ranging from Wall Street reform repeal to taxes to reproductive rights. His stance on the issues puts him out of steps with this state. Regardless of what happens today or the days to come, he can't run away from his record or rhetoric.

Caption Yet Another God Damned Picture of Justin Beiber!!!

Posted by Grant Brissey on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 2:06 PM

From Wm™ Steven Humphrey:

I feel like I have a lot of ground to make up after months of incessantly blogging about JUSTIN BIEBER, JUSTIN BIEBER, JUSTIN BIEBER, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Therefore I invite you to go ahead and caption this photo. (Sigh.) Have fun.

Leave Ernest Borgnine ALOOOOONE!

Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 1:42 PM

Ernest Borgnine is 94-years-old—he gets a pass on his homophobia. Let him have his award and let's not make ourselves look ridiculous by making a fuss about it.

Looks Like They've Finally Found a Way to Stop Straight-Identified Men From Having Sex With Other Straight-Identified Men in Public Parks

Posted by Dan Savage on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 1:35 PM

Summary execution.

Independent Publishing Finds Kickstarter

Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 12:51 PM

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We'll probably be seeing much more of this kind of thing in the next few months: Tiny indy publisher Atomic Book Company wants to do a second printing of Julia Wertz's very funny autobiographical comics collection The Fart Party. Second printings cost a lot of money, though, and so they've put up a Kickstarter page, trying to raise $5,200 by August 30th to finance the print run. Depending on your level of sponsorship, you get signed books by Wertz, or even personalized sketches. They've almost made it to the goal at the time of this writing.

I don't think this is a bad idea, honestly; as long as the backers get something out of it, there's no harm in asking for money (a straight-up charity model would be a very bad idea for publishing, I think), and there's a community feeling that's beneficial for both the publisher and the reader. I'm surprised more publishers haven't tried to adopt an NPR membership model—it would be annoying to get a ton of pledge drive e-mails in your inbox from a bunch of different publishers, but the primary hardcore reading audience has already proven that they respond to that kind of appeal.

(Full disclosure: I'm already a backer of this project for $40. I like Wertz's stuff a lot, and I'd like to own autographed books by her as part of my permanent collection.)


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