Seattle news

• Washington adds 222 marijuana retailers to capture more of $1.3 billion market

  16-12-2015 23:28
  
  With only 191 marijuana retailers reporting sales out of 219 licensed so far of the original 334 slated for Washington, the Liquor and Cannabis Board on Wednesday said it would add 222 more stores to the total.
  
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• Congress set to make sales tax deduction permanent

  16-12-2015 23:22
  
  A tax break strongly beneficial to Washington residents has been included in the omnibus spending and tax bills set to pass Congress before Capitol Hill begins its Christmas break. It would make permanent a federal tax deduction for state and local sales taxes that has hitherto been authorized on a year-to-year basis. “It means an average of more than $600 back in the pockets of Washingtonians,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. Rep. Jim McDermott:  “I’ve been t
  
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• In 2015, I Released Two Albums and Spent 161 Days on the Road—It Was Boring, Disgusting, Lonely, Dreamy, and Great

  16-12-2015 23:19 via thestranger.com
  
  Shana Cleveland: Good morning, America. How are you?WILL SPROTTIn 2015, I spent 161 days on the road. I spent a couple weeks touring in support of my first solo album and a couple weeks selling merch for Shannon and the Clams, but the bulk of my time away from home was with my band La Luz, who recorded and released our second album, Weirdo Shrine, this year. Whenever I return home, everyone has the same question for me: "How was tour?" To which I dumbly reply "Great," condensing half of my life
  
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• New medical-marijuana stores may be added, including 53 more in King County

  16-12-2015 23:07
  
  In a plan to fold medical marijuana into the state’s retail system, officials called for adding 222 retail stores, including 21 in Seattle.
  
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• New marijuana stores may be added, including 53 more in King County

  16-12-2015 23:07
  
  In a plan to fold medical marijuana into the state’s retail system, officials called for adding 222 retail stores, including 21 in Seattle.
  
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• Aurora Avenue road closures coming this weekend

  16-12-2015 23:02
  
  Crews will close state Route 99/Aurora Avenue North in the Battery Street Tunnel area this weekend, with several more partial and full closures to come in the next couple of months.
  
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• Congress revives Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has saved Washington wildlands

  16-12-2015 22:01
  
  The Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal program which has built playfields and protected heron rookeries in Washington, has been revived in Congress’ new omnibus spending bill and given a hefty increase in its budget. The fund will get $450 million through September of 2018, the money coming from royalties collected from the federal government’s offshore oil and gas leases. The program had been marked for extinction or radical modification by conservative Republicans led
  
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• The Slow Boat Tavern Is a Great Place to Pass a Slow Evening (or Afternoon)

  16-12-2015 21:50 via thestranger.com
  
  The Slow Boat Tavern: Home of good beer and "The Old Man Provost." AG
  The Slow Boat Tavern in Hillman City has been open for three weeks. It still smells of fresh paint, and its wooden bar and high-backed leather stools remain unblemished and perfectly smooth.But somehow the Slow Boat, the vision of industry veteran Ken Provost, feels like it's been around for much longer. Discarded peanut shells line the floor, crunching and kicking up a fine dust under your feet. The tavern is dim and cozy, li
  
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• Wynne Greenwood Talks About Sexism, Gargoyles, and the Age of the Plastics

  16-12-2015 21:47 via thestranger.com
  
  Is that you? Wynne Greenwood reconciles with her younger self. Courtesy of the artist
  Wynne Greenwood's had a big year.
  She used to be known as The One Who Did Tracy + the Plastics, a touring video band of her, live, as Tracy, interacting with Nikki and Cola on video, both played by her. That project ran from 1999 to 2006, at which point she broke up the band, went out to celebrate for dinner, and was seated at a table for four.
  She never could quite seem to put Tracy + the Plastics to rest.
  Unt
  
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• Advocates Call for State Laws Protecting Pregnant Workers and Improving Access to Birth Control

  16-12-2015 21:15 via thestranger.com
  
  State Rep. Jessyn Farrell (D-Seattle) is one of two state lawmakers introducing a bill requiring employers to give pregnant workers "reasonable accommodations." She says she's "maybe one of two legislators in the last 20 years" to have a baby while in office. HG
  With less than a month until the Washington State Legislature reconvenes in Olympia, women's advocates are rounding up support for two key bills.
  On Tuesday, two state lawmakers—with support from NARAL Pro-Choice Washington—a
  
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• Biden bid on cancer research gets boost in spending deal

  16-12-2015 21:06
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden’s self-described “moonshot” to cure cancer is getting a modest boost from a congressional deal on federal spending. The spending-and-taxes package moving through Congress includes a $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health. There’s also $200 million for research into precision medicine, in which disease treatment is […]
  
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• Navy sues Kitsap County to stop release of emergency plans

  16-12-2015 21:02
  The Navy is suing Kitsap County to try to stop it from releasing Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor emergency plans.
  
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• Telescope equipment coming down from Hawaiian mountain

  16-12-2015 20:52
  
  HONOLULU (AP) — Builders of a giant telescope are taking construction equipment down from a Hawaii mountain after the state Supreme Court invalidated the project’s permit. Protesters had been calling for the machinery to be removed. Thirty Meter Telescope officials say the equipment will be removed from Mauna Kea sometime Wednesday. Telescope spokesman Scott Ishikawa […]
  
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• Congress to require labeling of ‘Frankenfish,’ genetically engineered salmon

  16-12-2015 20:40
  
  The Food and Drug Administration must lay out guidelines for mandatory labeling of genetically engineered salmon and interstate commerce of the fish will not be allowed without guidelines in place, according to a provision inserted in Congress’ new omnibus spending bill. “Consumers have a right to know whether they are buying Washington’s world-class salmon or Frankenfish engineered in a lab,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. This photo courtesy of AquaBounty Technologie
  
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• UPDATE: Karl Blau Emergency Fund Raises Almost $25,000 in First Week

  16-12-2015 20:33 via thestranger.com
  
  The Karl Blau Emergency Fund has received impressive support in its first week.
  A week ago, as we noted on Slog, revered Pacific Northwestern musician Karl Blau lost his recording space and musical gear in a fire that destroyed Anacortes Music Channel, which had become a cultural hub in that city. In the time since then, though, the GoFundMe campaign started to help Blau regain his livelihood has raised almost $25,000 out of the projected $30,000. Organizer Clyde Petersen—who is also a Str
  
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• Thank the Maker! Someone Finally Made a Star Wars Movie for People Who Love Star Wars

  16-12-2015 20:06 via thestranger.com
  
  Those TIE fighters are real death traps.
  The first question must be answered right away: Yes, I very much enjoyed J.J. Abrams's remix of George Lucas's Star Wars and Irvin Kershner's The Empire Strikes Back (with only a dash of Richard Marquand's Return of the Jedi), and so will you, if you have any affection left for the original films.
  In fact, I enjoyed Star Wars: The Force Awakens more than I thought I would. It has it all. Great bad dialogue, stunning special effects, and good performances
  
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• Egypt puts King Tut mask on exhibit after botched epoxy fix

  16-12-2015 20:03
  
  CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has returned the famed golden burial mask of King Tutankhamun on display after repairing a botched attempt to reattach the mask’s beard, which was accidentally knocked off and hastily glued back with epoxy a year ago. Antiquities Minister Mamdouh el-Damaty says the mask was restored to its place at the Egyptian […]
  
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• The Most Important Part of Last Night's Debate Didn't Happen at the Debate

  16-12-2015 19:58 via thestranger.com
  
  It happened the night before, at a horrifying Trump rally. a katz / Shutterstock.com
  Why do we even have debates?
  I'm not saying the debates are entirely pointless. I'd be open to an argument that they serve some sort of function. It's just that after watching a ton of them, reading recaps, liveblogging a few and refuting a bunch, I'm just not sure what that function is.The only people who watch — particularly at this point, weeks before any primaries — already know who they're votin
  
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• State Treasurer Jim McIntire won’t seek third term

  16-12-2015 19:54
  
  State Treasurer Jim McIntire won’t seek re-election next year.
  
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• UW, WWU getting even better in terms of value, magazine says

  16-12-2015 19:28
  
  A personal-finance magazine ranks the University of Washington ninth in the U.S. among all public universities in terms of value.
  
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• The Morning News: Today, Advocates Will Begin a 24-Hour Vigil Demanding for More Homes for Seattle's Homeless

  16-12-2015 17:49 via thestranger.com
  
  Nearly 4,000 people were sleeping outside in King County as of the last one-night count. Today, advocates will hold a 24-hour vigil to call for more federal funding to fight homelessness. Ansel Herz
  Local Homeless Advocates Plan to Hold a 24-Hour Vigil to Demand Federal Assistance in Decreasing Homelessness: They'll start today at noon outside the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building downtown at 2nd and Marion. Organizer Kerry Cooley-Stroum says advocates will take two-hour shifts throughout the ni
  
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• Slippery commute in Spokane as snow falls

  16-12-2015 17:10
  
  Spokane area residents woke up to snow on the ground — and a slippery commute.
  
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• Quiz (newbie version): How much of a Seattleite are you?

  16-12-2015 17:02
  
  Seattle has become a city of transplants. Still, all of us should know at least a little of the Emerald City's lore and trivia. So here's a test for the newly arrived. If you've been here more than a few years, we expect you to get at least 75 percent correct!
  
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• Shoplifter with luxury taste nabbed in Portland

  16-12-2015 16:50
  
  The suspect lifted $50,000 worth of Rolexes, Gucci bags and other high-end products between June and November to pay for his heroin addiction.
  
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• Washington’s graduation rate rising, but still lags national average

  16-12-2015 15:00
  
  Washington state's 78-percent high school graduation rate for the Class of 2014 is the highest since 2010.But Washington lags the nation for students as a whole and in every sub-group.
  
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• Q&A: New law allows Uber drivers to unionize, but how?

  16-12-2015 15:00
  
  The idea is simple: unions for taxi and Uber drivers. The implementation will be more complicated, so check out some questions and answers about Seattle’s groundbreaking ordinance.
  
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• Where to Eat New Year's Eve Dinner

  16-12-2015 13:00 via thestranger.com
  
  13 Recommendations from Angela Garbesby Stranger Things To Do StaffIf you're planning on making a New Year's resolution to eat healthier, make sure your last meal of 2015 is delicious. Many Seattle restaurants are serving decadent meals for New Year's Eve, and you can find a complete list of them on our New Year's Eve calendar. To give you a taste, here are Angela Garbes' 13 recommendations—just make sure to make your reservations now.1. Anchovies & Olives New Year's Eve Dinner
  Anchovi
  
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• Top 17 Recommended Concerts This Weekend

  16-12-2015 13:00 via thestranger.com
  
  The best live music for December 18-20.by Stranger Things To Do StaffThis is a big one, folks. Besides a Friday filled with fantastic rap (take your pick: Lil Wayne, Chimurenga Renaissance, or Devin the Dude), this weekend also features Kremwerk's sure-to-be excellent ugly sweater anniversary, the Psychedelic Holiday Freakout, and much more, so enough jibber-jawing! Let's take a look at this weekend's best. For all the live music this weekend, check out our Things To Do calendar.FRIDAY
  1. Lil Wa
  
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• Those Sisters Are Mouthy Broads

  16-12-2015 13:00 via thestranger.com
  
  Those Sisters Are Mouthy Broadsby Megan BurbankWatching Amy Poehler and Tina Fey make sharp-edged jokes at awards shows is one of my favorite hobbies, so I was pretty bullish on Sisters, the latest movie starring and produced by my two pretend best friends. That's an effusive way of saying I would have enjoyed Sisters even if it was awful, so I'm happy to report that it isn't!In Sisters, Poehler and Fey play against type: Fey's the irresponsible manicurist to Poehler's type-A nurse. They've trav
  
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• Star Wars Is for Everyone

  16-12-2015 13:00 via thestranger.com
  
  Star Wars Is for Everyoneby Bobby RobertsA long time ago, in a galaxy—well, in this galaxy, actually, somewhere near the end of the '70s—20th Century Fox released a goofy, earnest adventure movie about a boy in a bathrobe who goes from kicking rocks around the interstellar boondocks to becoming the most important person in the galaxy. This movie changed the way movies were made, changed the way stories were told and sold, and, ultimately, changed the way we interact with our entertai
  
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• Paolo Sorrentino's Youth Is Wasted on the Wrong Characters

  16-12-2015 13:00 via thestranger.com
  
  Paolo Sorrentino's Youth Is Wasted on the Wrong Charactersby Charles MudedePaolo Sorrentino's follow-up to his Oscar-winning The Great Beauty, Youth, is set in an Alpine spa for the very rich and famous. Here where the air is crisp and good for the lungs, movie stars, celebrated composers, legendary screenwriters, and Saudi princes with lots of petro dollars to spend are rubbed, bathed, muddied, monitored, entertained, and sometimes fucked by the spa's staff. The resort also has Buddhist monks f
  
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• UK Supreme Court rules against Trump over wind farm

  16-12-2015 11:19
  
  LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled unanimously against tycoon and U.S. presidential contender Donald Trump in his pitched battle to stop an offshore wind farm near his upscale Scottish golf resort. Trump claims the 11-turbine project, approved by the Scottish government in 2013, will spoil the view from his golf course near […]
  
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• Threats to NY, Los Angeles show tough decisions schools face

  16-12-2015 08:23
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — When it comes to assessing threats, schools in New York City and Los Angeles likely have more experience than most other districts in the country. But their reactions were dramatically different Tuesday to the same threat of a large-scale jihadi attack with guns and bombs: LA canceled its classes, while New […]
  
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• Emailed threats to NY, LA highlight worries schools face

  16-12-2015 08:23
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — When it comes to assessing threats, New York City and Los Angeles schools likely have more experience than most other districts in the country. But their reactions were dramatically different Tuesday to the same threat of a large-scale jihadi attack with guns and bombs — LA dismissed all its classes while […]
  
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• Sea otter known for cup-stacking skills dies after illness

  16-12-2015 07:16
  A zoo spokeswoman says veterinarians will have a better idea of the cause and nature of Nellie's illness once they get test results.
  
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• Point Defiance sea otter known for cup-stacking skills dies

  16-12-2015 07:16
  
  A zoo spokeswoman says veterinarians will have a better idea of the cause and nature of Nellie's illness once they get test results.
  
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• Climate researchers employ tool from 1800s: Whaling logs

  16-12-2015 06:43
  
  NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — Maritime historians, climate scientists and ordinary citizens are coming together on a project to study the logbooks of 19th-century whaling ships to better understand modern-day climate change and Arctic weather patterns. Whaling ships kept meticulous daily logbooks of weather conditions during their often yearslong voyages searching the globe for whales, […]
  
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• Executions at lowest level since 1991; death sentences fall

  16-12-2015 05:50
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people executed in the United States this year dropped to the lowest level since 1991, as states impose fewer death sentences and defendants in capital cases get access to better legal help. The Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit organization that opposes capital punishment and tracks the issue, said […]
  
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• Homeless IT guy scores his $100,000 dream job

  16-12-2015 05:29
  
  With the help of counselors, generous readers and the “hacker” community, the man in Danny Westneat’s recent column started a new job on Monday. James Simmons is no longer in a homeless shelter. Now he’s trying to make the leap all the way to the corporate tech world.
  
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• 'Merry Christmas' signs popping up near Redmond schools, city offices

  16-12-2015 05:17
  
  'Merry Christmas' signs popping up near Redmond schools, city offices
  
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• The Stranger's Christmas Show Review Revue!

  16-12-2015 03:44 via thestranger.com
  
  The Stranger Reviews Four Theatrical Christmas Shows—and Ranks Them in Order of Greatnessby Stranger StaffDina Martina Christmas ShowRe-bar, through Dec 31Reviewed by Christopher FrizzelleHow Many Stars Jesus Would Give It:
  What It's Like: Dina Martina has been performing in Seattle for 27 years, and somehow, against the odds, she gets better with time. "Compliments of the season to you and yours! He is risen. Christ is risen. I'm lovin' it," she says, pumping the air with a raise-the-roof
  
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• Puyallup man arrested for alleged threats against Planned Parenthood partner

  16-12-2015 03:19
  
  A Puyallup man has been charged in federal court with threats made on a Fox News website against a biotech officer formerly associated with Planned Parenthood, reports say.
  
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• Human error sends out wrong Amber Alerts to TV viewers

  16-12-2015 03:19
  
  Human error sends out wrong amber alerts to TV viewers
  
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• Seattle man arrested in Mexico in connection with fatal Renton gunbattle

  16-12-2015 03:18
  
  A 33-year-old Seattle man on the lam for more than two years was arrested in Mexico last week for his role in a 2013 gun battle in Renton’s Liberty Park. A 20-year-old woman was killed in the crossfire.
  
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• With Its New Show, Unstoppable, INCA Strives to Expand the Lexicon of Seattle's Art Conversation

  16-12-2015 03:03 via thestranger.com
  
  With Its New Show, Unstoppable, INCA Strives to Expand the Lexicon of Seattle's Art Conversationby Jen GravesThe Seattle art venue INCA used to be in a flimsy warehouse resembling a personal storage shed in Sodo. Today, it's housed in the prominent storefront of a corner brick building in Lower Queen Anne. The building had been a ruin for almost five years when INCA arrived a few months ago with the tools that laid the smooth concrete floor and uncovered the redwood beams of the original ceiling
  
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• We Saw You Sitting on the Nordstrom Awning, Busting Moves at the Blue Moon, and Talking About Your Boobs

  16-12-2015 03:03 via thestranger.com
  
  We Saw You Sitting on the Nordstrom Awning, Busting Moves at the Blue Moon, and Talking About Your Boobsby Stranger StaffMYSTERY OF THE MINI XMAS TREEWe saw you, a tiny Christmas tree, on one of the beams of the new awning under construction outside Nordstrom the first day of December. A week later, you were gone, so we asked a Nordstrom spokesperson where you'd gone, and he told us he had no idea what we were talking about. When we sent him this picture, he explained that iron workers on constr
  
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• The Top 10 Albums, Songs, and Everything Else from the Year in Music 2015

  16-12-2015 03:03 via thestranger.com
  
  The Stranger's Year in Music 2015. All the Top 10 Lists You Can Possibly Imagine. And More! Much, Much More!by Sean Nelson and Stranger StaffEvery year around this time, people who write about music professionally and amateurishly (and in many cases, both) are beset by the temptation to summarize the preceding 12 months into organizing principles of meaning. The year of the this. The year of the that. What the success of Adele proves. What Kendrick Lamar's artistic triumph augurs. Why both music
  
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• The Stranger's Christmas Review Revue!

  16-12-2015 03:03 via thestranger.com
  
  The Stranger Reviews Four Theatrical Christmas Shows—and Ranks Them in Order of Greatnessby Stranger StaffDina Martina Christmas ShowRe-bar, through Dec 31Reviewed by Christopher FrizzelleHow Many Stars Jesus Would Give It:
  What It's Like: Dina Martina has been performing in Seattle for 27 years, and somehow, against the odds, she gets better with time. "Compliments of the season to you and yours! He is risen. Christ is risen. I'm lovin' it," she says, pumping the air with a raise-the-roof
  
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• The Highs and Lows of Being Stevie Wonder’s Personal Touring Chef

  16-12-2015 03:03 via thestranger.com
  
  The Highs and Lows of Being Stevie Wonder's Personal Touring Chefby Angela GarbesLast December, Stevie Wonder came to Seattle's KeyArena to perform his legendary double album Songs in the Key of Life. I stopped going to church a long time ago, but the show felt something like that: thousands of people singing Wonder's revelatory songs about love, unity, and justice, in unison. It was life affirming.For local chef Makini Howell, who operates four vegan businesses under the umbrella name of Plum R
  
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• The Danish Girl Fails to Strike a Blow Against Hollywood's Heteronormative Hegemony

  16-12-2015 03:03 via thestranger.com
  
  The Danish Girl Fails to Strike a Blow Against Hollywood's Heteronormative HegemonyRELATED FILM: The Danish GirlRELATED: Emotionally Truthful | Ex Machina May Look Like Sci-Fi, but It's Really About Revolutionby Kathy FennessyNot every fact-based LGBT story has to have a happy ending. Things didn't end well for Brandon Teena in Kimberly Peirce's Boys Don't Cry, but his fate illustrated the resistance transgender individuals have had to face just for trying to live their authentic lives.The probl
  
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