• Scenes from the War Against Black People: 10 Crucial Films About One Crucial Subject

    Scenes from the War Against Black People: 10 Crucial Films About One Crucial Subject
    The sirens are getting louder and louder.
    In light of recent events in Charleston and Ferguson, and the general sense that a war has been declared on black people, we offer this list of films about racial tension, racial violence, racial strife, and, in short, race, that have been saying so all along. This isn't intended as a definitive list or the last word. In fact, we're hoping it's just the beginning. If you've seen these films, we encourage you to see them again, because time does fascinati
  • Seattle gay rights pioneer: 'It’s a great day for America'

    Seattle gay rights pioneer: 'It’s a great day for America'
    Seattle gay rights pioneer: 'It’s a great day for America'
  • Escaped Convicts on the Run: Dick Matt Shot, Killed

    Escaped Convicts on the Run: Dick Matt Shot, Killed
    Dick Matt's down. Sweat still on the lamb.Zastolskiy Victor /shutterstock.com
    The New York Times is reporting that Richard Matt, escaped felon who "kidnapped, tortured, and dismembered" his former boss, has been shot and killed in a remote area of Franklin County.Investigators found evidence of the duo passing through a few hunting cabins in the area.David Sweat, the other murderer who escaped the Clinton Correctional Facility, is still on the loose.Stay tuned for more as this story develops.[ C
  • How to Keep Your Insufferably Hot House Cool

    How to Keep Your Insufferably Hot House Cool
    Oh dear lord, it's hot.ktsdesign/Shutterstock
    If you live in an air conditioned domicile... MOVE ON, RICHIE RICH! WE HATE YOUR GUTS! Now that the Mitt Romneys have left, let's get to the business of cooling off your insufferably hot house. Here are just a few tips to get you through the weekend:
    1) Keep the shades down in your house all damn day! Then when the cooling hours of night (below 75 degrees) approaches, get a box fan and put it facing outwards (yes, blowing out) in an upstairs window.
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  • Queer Literature's Biggest Asshole Reveals His Soft Side

    Queer Literature's Biggest Asshole Reveals His Soft Side
    Dale Peck in 1994. COURTESY OF SOHO PRESS
    Dale Peck is one of those writers who's infamous among literary types and unheard of among normal people. His book reviews 10 years ago were all anyone could talk about. They were mean and unpredictable. He called Rick Moody "the worst writer of his generation" in the New Republic, the same magazine in which he compared Ulysses to diarrhea. He was a grandstander and a flamethrower, which made him fun to read, but it was fun in the sense that a demolition
  • Literature's Biggest Asshole Reveals His Soft Side

    Literature's Biggest Asshole Reveals His Soft Side
    Dale Peck in 1994. COURTESY OF SOHO PRESS
    Dale Peck is one of those writers who's infamous among literary types and unheard of among normal people. His book reviews 10 years ago were all anyone could talk about. They were mean and unpredictable. He called Rick Moody "the worst writer of his generation" in the New Republic, the same magazine in which he compared Ulysses to diarrhea. He was a grandstander and a flamethrower, which made him fun to read, but it was fun in the sense that a demolition
  • Listen Here: Olympia's Own Strange Wilds

    Listen Here: Olympia's Own Strange Wilds
    Strange Wilds' debut album Subjective Concepts is out July 24 via Sub Pop.Finally, it's Friday. And sure, I could go kick my feet up and try to relax after a hectic week of work. But then what would I do with all this excess stress and aggression that's running through my bloodstream?
    Tonight, I'd rather watch some boys sneer and scream into their microphones. I want high-volume noise and throbbing bass (yeah, I said it) and cacophony upon cacophony of snare rolls.
    While they look innocent enoug
  • Go to Ballard's Stoneburner for a Tropical Cocktail Without the Kitsch

    Go to Ballard's Stoneburner for a Tropical Cocktail Without the Kitsch
    At Stoneburner, you can enjoy tropical cocktails without a side of kitsch.Beth Crook
    While working on this week's review of Hotel Albatross in Ballard, I found myself deep in a confusing black hole of tiki drinks. Tiki, born in 1933 at an Los Angeles bar called Don the Beachcomber, is a decidedly American genre, one that goes beyond Caribbean rum-based drinks to also include decor that is vaguely Polynesian.It seems the point of tiki is to evoke the feeling of being on vacation in the tropics (w
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  • The Gay, Life-Affirming, Gun-Controlling Art of Christopher Buening

    The Gay, Life-Affirming, Gun-Controlling Art of Christopher Buening
    'HUNTER' The guy in this is probably six inches tall, and made of ceramic. He's just called 'Hunter," but this dog won't hunt. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
    Seattle artist Christopher Buening's show at Gallery4Culture was called Hunter < Gatherer, as in hunter is less than gatherer, gatherer is greater than hunter. That's the opposite of what his father taught him when he was growing up in Northern Wisconsin. His father, who "rabidly supports the NRA and is a staunch conservative," initiated
  • Don't Worry, Bigots! You're Still on Top

    Don't Worry, Bigots! You're Still on Top
    Chill out, bigots. It's not like they're replacing the stars and bars with the rainbow. lazyllama/Shutterstock
    Dear Bigots,I know, I know, I know, you've had a bad week. Your flag's coming down. You can't even buy one at Walmart anymore. Yesterday you found out that millions of people won't be denied access to health care on the basis of a technicality, and that you have to treat people of color the same as white people when they try to buy a house. And now, for the love of God, gay people can g
  • Police Reports Illustrated: Sticking It To The Man

    Police Reports Illustrated: Sticking It To The Man
    Callan Berry [ Comment on this story ][ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]
  • SAM Invokes New Spirits in the Ambitious Exhibition Disguise: Masks and Global African Art

    SAM Invokes New Spirits in the Ambitious Exhibition Disguise: Masks and Global African Art
    Zina Saro-Wiwa, proving them wrong when they say masks are too heavy for women’s heads. COURTESY OF SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
    The rippling hide of a cow splashed across the wall at Seattle Art Museum looks like just that. But keep looking, and a previously unseen form appears in its surface. The form is a backside—is it part of the living cow still visible? Maybe? Whoa, no.
    That's a curvaceous human backside.
    A woman's behind and thighs are at eye level. The tail of the cow rises up where h
  • It Is Accomplished

    It Is Accomplished
    As Gandhi never quite said,
    First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they attack you. Then you win.
    I remember one of the first TV debates I had on the then-strange question of civil marriage for gay couples. It was Crossfire, as I recall, and Gary Bauer’s response to my rather earnest argument after my TNR cover-story on the matter was laughter. “This is the loopiest idea ever to come down the pike,” he joked. “Why are we even discussing it?”
    Those were
  • Charleston Police Officer Fired for Posting Pic of Himself Wearing Confederate Boxer Shorts on Facebook

    Charleston Police Officer Fired for Posting Pic of Himself Wearing Confederate Boxer Shorts on Facebook
    Movie poster for The Social Network, a movie based on a book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, about a popular website that has ended the distinction between private space and work space. Columbia Pictures
    What interests me most about this story concerning a police officer who, according to the The Post and Carrier, lost his job because he posed on Facebook in Confederate flag boxer shorts, is the cluelessness of the officer. In fact, we can say he was fired precisely becau
  • "So You Reproduce Like a Starfish?" And Other Misconceptions About Asexuality

    "So You Reproduce Like a Starfish?" And Other Misconceptions About Asexuality
    Mike Force
    How our culture thinks and talks about gender and sexuality has evolved a lot in recent years. The marriage-equality dominoes are falling fast, more and more transgender people are telling their stories, and homophobic bullying is being addressed in schools nationwide. While we still have a long way to go, we've made extraordinary progress in the last decade.
    But as it becomes more accepted to be attracted to men, women, genderqueer people, or all of the above, we're still only start
  • Remember When Brian Brown Came to My House for Dinner?

    Remember When Brian Brown Came to My House for Dinner?
    The head of the National Organization for Marriage came to my house for dinner in the summer of 2012 to debate me on same-sex marriage. Here's how the night ended:I'm detecting signs of stopping—our side has been winning at the polls, at the ballot boxes, and in the courts since Brian Brown came to dinner. Brian clearly isn't winning anymore. But he sure is whining. (Lots more sadz to enjoy at Joe My God.)[ Comment on this story ][ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]
  • Obama's Remarks on Historic Marriage Equality Decision

    Obama's Remarks on Historic Marriage Equality Decision
    We are people who believe every child is entitled to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. There is so much more work to be done to extend the full promise of America to every American. But today, we can say in no uncertain terms that we’ve made our union a little more perfect.
    That’s the consequence of a decision from the Supreme Court, but more importantly, it is a consequence of the countless small acts of courage of millions of people across decades who stood up, who ca
  • The Morning News: SCOTUS Rules for Marriage in All 50 States, Heat Watch, and a New Home for Edge of the Circle Books

    The Morning News: SCOTUS Rules for Marriage in All 50 States, Heat Watch, and a New Home for Edge of the Circle Books
    Read the decision here. KOBBY DAGAN/Shutterstock
    HOLY FUCKING SHIT MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN ALL 50 STATES: So ruled SCOTUS 5-4 this morning. "The nature of marriage is that, through its enduring bond, two persons together can find other freedoms, such as expression, intimacy, and spirituality," the majority wrote. "This is true for all persons, whatever their sexual orientation. There is dignity in the bond between two men or two women who seek to marry and in their autonomy to make such profound ch
  • Up Early for the Supreme Court—Marriage Decision Could Come Today or Monday

    Up Early for the Supreme Court—Marriage Decision Could Come Today or Monday
    Everyone is hoping it's today—because, you know, pride parades and shit. But SCOTUS's marriage equality decision is just one of five the court will hand down today and on Monday. So... we could be up early for nothing. Fingers crossed.
    where can i find a livestream of rick santorum's face
    — Erin Gloria Ryan (@morninggloria) June 26, 2015Okay—word is the court will be handing down four decisions this morning. That's a good sign.[ Comment on this story ][ Subscribe to the comment
  • Blabbermouth: Our Week-in-Review Podcast Talks About Gayborhood Changes With Mayor Ed Murray and Author Jason Schmidt

    Blabbermouth: Our Week-in-Review Podcast Talks About Gayborhood Changes With Mayor Ed Murray and Author Jason Schmidt
    Everyone's talking about how Capitol Hill, Seattle's gay neighborhood, has gone through a lot of recent change. But what's it like to have watched that change over three decades, rather than just a few years?For this special, pre-recorded Pride episode, I talk to Mayor Ed Murray and author Jason Schmidt about the Capitol Hill of the 1980s, how it compares to the Capitol Hill of today, and whether the gay community still needs a geographic center (or, as Murray also put it, a "ghetto") in this a
  • Seattle hoping to attract people to urban parks despite criminal presence

    Seattle hoping to attract people to urban parks despite criminal presence
    Seattle hoping to attract people to urban parks despite criminal presence
  • Peeping Tom Catches Bobby Jindal Announcing His Run For the White House

    Peeping Tom Catches Bobby Jindal Announcing His Run For the White House
    Jindal will find this spy and give him some of that L'isiana jyustice. Andrew Cline / Shutterstock.com
    I don't know how I missed that Bobby Jindal announced his run for the presidency yesterday. It could have been because the spy who was hiding in the tree while Jindal made the announcement to his family didn't overnight me the tapes. In any case, here it is:I know what you're thinking. Who is this spy? Or is the question who are these spies? Could the escaped prisoners have made it that far sou
  • Washington Supreme Court Overturns Conviction of Black Seattle Teenager for "Obstruction"

    Washington Supreme Court Overturns Conviction of Black Seattle Teenager for "Obstruction"
    The doorway of the Beacon Hill home where Seattle police arrested Jordan for obstruction—a charge overturned today by the Supreme Court.Via Lila Silverstein
    Between 2006 and 2008, Seattle authorities filed 51 percent of all obstruction charges in the city against African Americans, even though African Americans make up only about 8 percent of Seattle's population.Eristus Jordan became one of those statistics on February 14, 2011, when Seattle police arrested him for obstruction. Today, the
  • Police Cannot Arrest You For Watching and Criticizing Them from a Distance In Washington State

    Police Cannot Arrest You For Watching and Criticizing Them from a Distance In Washington State
    The doorway of the Beacon Hill home where Seattle police arrested Jordan for obstruction—a charge overturned today by the Supreme Court.Via Lila Silverstein
    Between 2006 and 2008, Seattle authorities filed 51 percent of all obstruction charges in the city against African Americans, even though African Americans make up only about 8 percent of Seattle's population.Eristus Jordan became one of those statistics on February 14, 2011, when Seattle police arrested him for obstruction. Today, the
  • Highway crews ditch the lawnmowers because of fire danger

    Highway crews ditch the lawnmowers because of fire danger
    Highway crews ditch the lawnmowers because of fire danger
  • Garage Punk Bacchanal, Pizza Fest 2015, Will Be Bigger and Better

    Garage Punk Bacchanal, Pizza Fest 2015, Will Be Bigger and Better
    Steal Shit Do Drugs would like to see your id.
    Seattle's wildest musical bacchanalia, Pizza Fest, returns for its sixth annual marathon of garage-punk shenanigans and excessive cheese and crust intake August 6-8 at El Corazon, the Funhouse, and Chop Suey.This year's bill includes 22 local and national bands, including The Heaters Gooch Palms, Useless Eaters, Childbirth, Full Toilet, Gazebos, and Steal Shit Do Drugs (SSDD). The latter group features drummer Pete Capponi, who also is Pizza Fest's
  • Poster of the Week for Nark's Pride Weekend

    Poster of the Week for Nark's Pride Weekend
    Kevin Kauer and illustrator Ian O'Phelan (ianophelan.com) have made a couple of lovely posters for this year's Nark Pride events. (See if you can spot their Pride Cruise poster around town before it's covered over with inferior garbage.) And while you're at it...
  • Single Christian Lady Bristol "Screw As I Say, Not As I Screw" Palin is Pregnant Again

    Single Christian Lady Bristol "Screw As I Say, Not As I Screw" Palin is Pregnant Again
    Big news, tweets Bristol Palin, with a link that takes you here:
    I wanted you guys to be the first to know that I am pregnant. Honestly, I’ve been trying my hardest to keep my chin up on this one. At the end of the day there’s nothing I can’t do with God by my side, and I know I am fully capable of handling anything that is put in front of me with dignity and grace. Life moves on no matter what. So no matter how you feel, you get up, get dressed, show up, and never give up. Whe
  • Fourth of July Will Not Be Deterred by Your Creeping Unease About the State of the Nation

    Fourth of July Will Not Be Deterred by Your Creeping Unease About the State of the Nation
    Rest assured, this man is not letting the state of the US economy ruin his Independence Day. Eli Sanders
    Look, I get it: Columbus Day is bullshit. Celebrating some genocidal maniac because of manifest destiny or whatever is totally untenable. Memorial Day and Veteran's Day? As a nation we're pretty on board with those, but they're not really appropriate avenues for indulging in our wildest pyrotechnic fantasies. No, for those we need the Fourth of July, which now warrants its very own special sp

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