The Stranger back issues from October 2008:
PUBLIC EDITOR
Oct 09, 2008; ... Autumn is finally here, and with it merciful relief from the crippling humidity-induced bursitis that grates on my good cheer in the summer months. Earlier this week, I made my twice-yearly visit to the haberdashery and then to the tailor to have my cravats adjusted to suit this season's ...
I, ANONYMOUS
Oct 09, 2008; ... To submit an unsigned confession or accusation go to forums. thestranger.com. Please remember to change the names of the innocent and guilty. One submission will be published in the paper every week, but all submissions to I, Anonymous can be read at www.thestranger.com. FEUNE ...
Death Valley
Oct 09, 2008; ... South Seattle Residents On Edge After Violent Summer After a violent summer, Southeast Seattle residents are starting to get restless. Between June and August, five kids between the ages of 14 and 18 were killed in the area. In the last month alone, there have been at least half a dozen ...
Future's Market
Oct 09, 2008; ... One Long-Shot Vision for Broadway's Light-Rail Station While Sound Transit digs a tunnel and builds a light-rail station under Capitol Hill, a block and a half of Broadway near East John Street will be used as a staging area for construction. But when the lightrail lines open in 2016, ...
IN THE HALL
Oct 09, 2008; ... BOTTOMS UP You can relax about one thing this Election Day: Obama is going to win Washington State. It's the rest of the ballot Seattle progressives need to worry about. This election is your chance to have your say on the people and proposals that will have a real, tangible ...
IN OTHER NEWS
Oct 09, 2008; ... CONFLICTED CANDIDATE Last week, the state attorney general's office sued the state Republican Party for alleged campaign violations. The Public Disclosure Commission found in late September that the party used more than $200,000 from a soft-money account, which can't be used to promote ...
In Defense of Dignity
Oct 09, 2008; ... I Hate to Play the I-Just-Watched-My-Mother-Die CardBut, Um, I Just Watched My Mother Die I would need the room for a week. That's what I told the front desk clerk at the Extended Residence Stay America Whatever when I checked in that Sunday night. At least a week, I said, maybe ...
Ten Things Theaters Need to Do Right Now to Save Themselves
Oct 09, 2008; ... In No Particular Order 1. Enough with the goddamned Shakespeare already. The greatest playwright in history has become your enabler and your crutch, the man you call when you're timid and out of ideas. It's time for a five-year moratorium-no more high schoolers pecking at Romeo and ...
THEATER NEWS
Oct 09, 2008; ... THE MUSICAL SARAH PALIN DOESN'T WANT YOU TO SEE Emily Sater's friends aren't allowed to see her dad's musical. Never mind that Spring Awakening is based on a century-old play about adolescence. Forget that it swept the 2007 Tony Awards, just began a national tour, and that many of her ...
IN ART NEWS
Oct 09, 2008; ... IN ART NEWS ALL HAIL WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution at the Vancouver Art Gallery consumed me. I spent 13 hours in the galleries over two days. The show has something like 40 hours of video alone and also includes photography, painting, sculpture, installation, film, ...
Five Attractive, Mysterious Books
Oct 09, 2008; ... Five Attractive, Mysterious Books Which All Happen to Be from the Same Publisher A few weeks ago, a package of five relatively small paperback editions arrived all at once, rubber-banded together. They were different sizes and colors. The only real unifying theme was that they were ...
The Wordy Shipmates
Oct 09, 2008; ... NEW IN BOOKS The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead) $25.95. I've always loved the absurdity of history-if for nothing else, than for my own selfpreservation. Dwelling on the absurd aspects of the past keeps us from being overwhelmed by the depressing aspects, and it ...
Into the Vegettoir
Oct 09, 2008; ... Into the Vegettoir A Truth-Seeking Vegetarian Dares to Look His Field Roast in the Eye Near the intersection of 14th Avenue and South Jackson Street sits a brick building that for years served as a Lu- cerne dairy. Don't let its benign demeanor and folksy history fool you. Every ...
BAR EXAM
Oct 09, 2008; ... MEAT AT THE TRIANGLE The $26 burger is no more at the Triangle Lounge, and its creator, Tom Hurley, is no longer involved with the Fremont bar and restaurant. At the Triangle last week, a server showed little remorse about the tandem departure of Hurley and the burger. Some choice words ...
SODO: Sodo Pizza
Oct 09, 2008; ... SODO Sodo Pizza 3667 First Ave S, 467-4466 ***** Reviewed by Julie If you're looking for fabulous food and topof-the-line customer service, head on down to Sodo Pizza, the hidden gem of Seattle. Try the chicken pesto pizza with pine nuts and basil or any ...
GEORGETOWN: Hangar Cafe
Oct 09, 2008; ... GEORGETOWN Hangar Cafe 6261 13th Ave S, 762-0204 ***** Reviewed by cranewife The interior is small-maybe eight tables, tops. Local artists line the walls in this cute and cozy bungalow. The menu isn't large, but there is something for everyone-from ...
RAINIER VALLEY: Alcatraz Mexican Restaurant
Oct 09, 2008; ... RAINIER VALLEY Alcatraz Mexican Restaurant 7300 Rainier Ave S, 760-1388 ***** Reviewed by rainier valley eater This place is great. Definitely opt for the homemade tortillas, made by the owner's mother. Many menu items can be ordered either Mexican-style ...
WHITE CENTER: Young's
Oct 09, 2008; ... WHITE CENTER Young's 9413 16th Ave SW, 762-3438 ***** Reviewed by Chagos Mr. Young: dressed pseudocasually in the kitchen, with his glasses constantly reflecting his pathological desire to create the most saliva-inducing pancake ever made. The owner is ...
BEACON HILL: Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine
Oct 09, 2008; ... BEACON HILL Dahlak Eritrean Cuisine 2007 S State St, 860-0400 ***** Reviewed by katethed For a broke vegetarian who loves flavorful food, this place is paradise. The veggie combo (a mere $10) is served beautifully and piping hot. The staff is friendly, and ...
Twee Is Not a Four-Letter Word
Oct 09, 2008; ... Twee Is Not a Four-Letter Word The Pica Beats' Easy-to-Swallow Indie Pop The Pica Beats w/Cock and Swan, the Curious Mystery Thurs Oct 9, Chop Suey, 8 pm, $7, 21+. On first listen, one might mistake the Pica Beats as just another of Seattle's current crop of rootsy, ...
Bruce Russell
Oct 09, 2008; ... DAVE SEGAL INTERROGATES Bruce Russell OF NEW ZEALAND NOISE TRIO THE DEAD C The Dead C are largely unknown in the U.S. (and throughout most of the world). I could say you sound like the Velvet Underground's most scabrous feedback blown up and improvised into mantras of morbid ...
"So You Can Cry"
Oct 09, 2008; ... IT'S A HIT "So You Can Cry" by Ne-Yo (Def Jam) Checking the liner notes of Year of the Gentleman, the album this track isn't yet a single from, two songwriters are credited: S. Smith, aka Ne-Yo (born Shaffer Smith), and R. Perry. I took my time ascertaining that ...
"Oh Girl"
Oct 09, 2008; ... "Oh Girl" by Raphael Saadiq (Columbia) Ne-Yo is a certain kind of throwback: the sensitive lover who writes great songs for women ("Unfaithful" for Rihanna, "Irresistible" for Beyoncé) as well as for himself, à Ia Babyface. Raphael Saadiq is another kind: For 20 ...
Guitars from Agadez: Music of Niger
Oct 09, 2008; ... GROUP INERANE Guitars from Agadez: Music of Niger (Sublime Frequencies) ***** Psychedelia sure gets around. You can now hear it emanating from the Sahara Desert, thanks to the diligent efforts of the sonic adventurers at Sublime Frequencies. The Seattle label ...
Die Already
Oct 09, 2008; ... THE GIGANTICS Die Already (Camobear) *** It's now official: 2008 is the most important hiphop year for the local scene since 2005, the year that triggered the new wave of rap and beats. Three camps or schools of hiphop production have dropped first-rate CDs this ...
Vivian Girls
Oct 09, 2008; ... VIVIAN GIRLS Vivian Girls (In the Red) **** When the Vivian Girls' selftitled debut was originally released this spring by minor indie Mauled by Tigers, its 500-copy limited edition sold out in just 10 days (it's now seeing wider release via In the Red). The album ...
DATA BREAKER
Oct 09, 2008; ... BEAT-SEEKING MISSIVES Now in its sixth year, the Laptop Battle has become a high-adrenaline highlight of the electronic-music calendar. In 2003, Zach "Zapan" Huntting and Kris Moon humbly launched LB in Seattle's Deep Down Lounge, but it has spread its cables into clubs across North ...
MY PHILOSOPHY
Oct 09, 2008; ... HIPHOPYA DON'T STOP I get Krystal Karrington, ice rock gritty ... Seattle hiphoppers argue about everyfuckinthing. Sports, politics, and of course music. But in my (vast and allknowing) experience, if there's one piece of music that 99.9 percent of the average heads from the '6 ...
UNDERAGE
Oct 09, 2008; ... THE PUNK ROCK ACADEMY At its peak, the Old Fire House teen center in Redmond was open six days a week, hosting drop-in programming after school and all-ages shows on the weekends. In recent years, it's been forced to cut back to only four days a week, Wednesday through Saturday, due to ...
THE SCORE
Oct 09, 2008; ... THE SCORE DKYANDDAKK Kidnapping Water: Bottled Operas-a new installation at Jack Straw Productions by Byron Au Yong and Randy Moss exudes an exquisite darkness whose shifts, gradients, and strips of black bewitch the eye. Upon entering, the room seems pitchblack despite a ...
JUJU, HOO-HA, AND A MISSING WIZARD
Oct 09, 2008; ... PARTY CRASHER JUJU, HOO-HA, AND A MISSING WIZARD When: Sat Sept 27. Where: Westlake. I was told there would be a wizard. Apparently they always have a wizard-a real, certified wizard-at the Bad Juju Party to help revelers purge any cosmic, karmic stink that's ...
Rachel Getting Married
Oct 09, 2008; ... Rachel Getting Married dir. Jonathan Demme Watching Rachel Getting Married is a lot like attending a wedding. There aré plenty of really . sweet and heartfelt moments, but there are also a few uncomfortable and just plain dull stretches wherein you just have to sit there and let ...
What We Do Is Secret
Oct 09, 2008; ... What We Do Is Secret dir. Rodger Grossman Poor Rodger Grossman. He spent 15 years trying to make his first feature film, a biopic about punk-rock suicide god Darby Crash and his band the Germs. The result is an accurate, reverent, lukewarm nothing. It's not like Crash ...
Secrecy
Oct 09, 2008; ... Secrecy dir. Peter Galison, Robb Moss I swear I'm not a bad liberal. I support gay marriage and universal health care-hell, I've donated to the Obama campaign on a regular basis since early 2007. Secrecy, a documentary about the United States government's procUvities toward ...
Body of Lies
Oct 09, 2008; ... Body of Lies dir. Ridley Scott Do we need another spy-action movie in which Americans try to solve some problem or other in a far-off, terrorist-infested land, and end up learning, after a series of shoot-outs, red herrings, and high-tech shenanigans, that the world is a ...
CONCESSIONS
Oct 09, 2008; ... AN AMERICAN CAROL Awww look, you guys! How cute! The conservatives tried to make a comedy! They put, like, little jokes in there and everything. Hey-there's Chris Farley's brother, Dennis Farley or whatever! It is so good to know that guy's not homeless. I was worried. I mean, what is on ...
I (LOVE) TELEVISION(TM)
Oct 09, 2008; ... I (LOVE) TELEVISION(TM) THIRSTY THURSDAYS! I've got a super-awesome idea ... that may be just a weeeee bit "illegal." BUT HEAR ME OUT, OKAY?! The economy is a poopcovered duster-eff swirling down a filthy rest-stop toilet. We hold this truth to be self-evident. Therefore! It is ...
APPALOOSA
Oct 09, 2008; ... NOW PLAYING APPALOOSA Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen are Western samurai, marshals for hire who ride from distressed town to distressed town, clearing out whatever evil gang happens to be holding it hostage at the time. In the first scene, a band of idiots led by a silver-tongued ...
BLINDNESS
Oct 09, 2008; ... BLINDNESS Blindness is pure ideological gimmickry: An unspecified city in an unspecified nation is stricken by an epidemic of blindness known as "the white sickness." The frantic government rounds up the afflicted (and their secretly still-sighted savior, played by Julianne Moore) and ...
BURN AFTER READING
Oct 09, 2008; ... * BURN AFTER READING Burn After Reading is an astute, brutal comedy about infidelity, modern idiocy, paranoia, and the CIA. Set to thundering action-movie drums, the characters brew immense tempests over the most mundane nonsense. The acting is uniformly fantastic-George Clooney, Tilda ...
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE
Oct 09, 2008; ... HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE At the center of How to Lose friends & Alienate People is Sidney Young, a British tabloid journalist who labors for a fateful spell at Sharps, a Vanity Fairike lifestyle magazine with a negligible relationship to the basic tenets of ...
IGOR
Oct 09, 2008; ... * IGOR Igor is a hunchback living in the decrepit land of Malaria He's meant to do one thing: assist the evil scientists of the world. Igor, however, is smart enough to create life! But because no one believes hunchbacks are worth their weight in shit, Igor has to hide his talent from ...
THE LUCKY ONES
Oct 09, 2008; ... THE LUCKY ONES I had assumed that The Lucky Ones was a heartfelt drama about soldiers returning home from Iraq. I was incorrect. In fact, it's a heartfelt comedy about soldiers returning home from Iraqi No shit. Cheever (Tim Robbins), Colee (Rachel McAdams), and TK (Michael Pefla: ...
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
Oct 09, 2008; ... MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA Contradictions are everywhere in society. But out of all of these contradictions, is there one more extreme or more tragic than a black American soldier fighting (risking his life) for a country that does not give him any freedom or love? The pre-civil rights black ...
NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST
Oct 09, 2008; ... NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST Nick (Michael Cera) is a mixtape-happy indoor kid hung up on his repellent, unfaithful ex Tris (Kewpiefaced Alexis Dziena). Norah (Kat Dennings) doesn't know Nick but loves his mixes, which she scavenges as Tris trashes them. Nick & Nora's Infinite ...
Political Animals
Oct 16, 2008; ... Political Animals We Learn to Be Ourselves by Watching Others I want to open with a quote that appears early in Marco Iacoboni's new book, Mirroring People: The New Science of How We Connect with Others: "Some years ago [it was] suggested that the discovery of mirror ...
Red Scare
Oct 16, 2008; ... Washington State wants Obama. So why doesn't it love the rest of the Democratic ticket? Something odd is happening in Washington State. I'ts not that Barack Obama is running strong here, up by 10 points in a recent state poll. That makes sense. You have to go back to 1984 to find ...
PUBLIC EDITOR
Oct 16, 2008; ... Seeing that this issue brings the annual, always insufferable package of endorsements from The Stranger's "Election Control Board," I decided to skip ahead to the music section, hoping for something soothing. What I found instead were the jarring, no-doubt amphetamine-induced rantings of one ...
Oh, the Places We'll Go
Oct 16, 2008; ... LAKE Oh, the Places We'll Go (K Records) *** One of the distinguishing oddities of Olympia is Capitol Lake, a man-made reflecting puddle scenically situated between downtown and the Capitol Building up on the hill. It was immortalized in Beat Happening's "Our Secret," ...
Mr. Quintron OF QUINTRON & MISS PUSSYCAT ABOUT HURRICANES, RADIOSHACK, AND THE POLITICS OF PUPPETRY
Oct 16, 2008; ... How is your venue, the Spellcaster Lodge? I understand it was flooded during Hurricane Katrina (whoa, "underwater dance club") but has since reopened. How's it held up this year? Hurricane? What hurricane? Yes, the Spellcaster is fine. Actually, it's better than ever, because now it's ...
JJ Got Live RaTX
Oct 16, 2008; ... RTX JJ Got Live RaTX (Drag City) *** After Royal Trux split up, it seemed that Neil Hagerty reclined into easy glory as the act's enduring talent, while Jennifer Herrema got played as "just the singer." Singer she is, but there is no "just" about it. The woman has ...
Happiness for a Rainy Day
Oct 16, 2008; ... Happiness for a Rainy Day Kushibar Brings Japanese Street Food to Belltown The next time it rains, I'm going to make haste to Kushibar, drink a lot of beer, and have (at least) the following snacks: tako yaki, shin gyoza, gochamaze, gyu tataki, grilled sanma. I will bring ...
The Three Musketeers
Oct 16, 2008; ... The Three Musketeers Seattle Repertory Theatre Through Nov 1 5. It's hard to fathom why a major theater like Seattle Rep is doing The Three Musketeers right now-unless its total irrelevance to the outside world, the reprieve it offers from contemporary anxieties, is the point If so, one ...
Night of the Living Dead
Oct 16, 2008; ... Night of the Living Dead Seattle Children's Theatre Through Nov 1 . What is a child's understanding of death? At what point do we really grasp the concept of our grandmas and pets and selves becoming, eventually, rotty sacks of mush? There must be a threshold where "Can I e-mail Jingles ...
THIS IS [POST]
Oct 16, 2008; ... BAR EXAM "That's Kells, and this is Post" says the blonde standing in the alley. "This is the one you want to be in." KeIIs is an Irish bar, she explains. She confirms that Kells' non-Irish next-door neighbor is indeed new, but is unable to elaborate on her enthusiasm any further. Why is ...
DRUNK OF THE WEEK
Oct 16, 2008; ... MOLLY K. Maybe I'm extra paranoid after last week's floating tray of Jäger shots, but man, could that be a ghost over Molly's shoulder? Or as the paranormals like to say, an "orb"? This photo was taken outside a party in Georgetown. Georgetown is pretty creepy at night. Ooh, and it has ...
SINGLES, REMIXES & MP3S
Oct 16, 2008; ... IT'S A HIT A few weeks ago, the Heatwave Blog (www.theheatwave.co.uk/blog), which cov- ers Caribbean music, posted an astounding five-song virtual EP of versions of "Benny Hill Riddim" by Leftside, which speeds up the re- cently deceased Boots Randolph's immortal 1958 hit, "Yakety Sax," ...
Of Montreal's Pop Odyssey
Oct 16, 2008; ... A Report from the Strangest Indie-Rock Spectacle IVe Ever Seen Midway through Of Montreal's show last Friday night at New York City's antique Roseland Ballroom, bandleader Kevin Barnes-wearing gold-lamé hot pants, makeup, and (naturally) nothing else-rode out onstage atop a live ...
Raising McCain
Oct 16, 2008; ... Stereolab's "Maverick" Moment Stereolab have appeared in many places during their 18-year life span-including on the now-defunct major label Elektra Records and on the Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy soundtrack, for instance-but perhaps none so strange as on McCainBlogette.com, the ...
POSTER OF THE WEEK
Oct 16, 2008; ... Here's a typically clean, simple, and stylish poster from Chelsea Conboy, which perfectly captures my feelings about the onset of yet another ...
Fucked Up Friends
Oct 16, 2008; ... TOBACCO Fucked Up Friends (anticon) **** Hiphop producers have been plundering psych-rock wax for years now, so it's about time psych-rock musicians started making them some hiphop. Thus the balance of the universe is maintained. A sterling case in point for the latter ...
BEAT-SEEKING MISSIVES
Oct 16, 2008; ... DATA BREAKER Seattle's techno scene has added yet another potent weapon to its arsenal with From 0-1. Led by Midwestern transplants Justin Penned (aka Milkplant) and Brian Sonnleitner (aka Sone), this label/studio/concept intends to "[explore] the space that exists between the archetypal ...
HIPHOP YA DON'T STOP
Oct 16, 2008; ... MY PHILOSOPHY First off, I want to send some love out to DJ Vadim, the prolific DJ/producer known for his intensely layered instrumental work (my favorite: 1999's USSR: Life from the Other Side) and most recently for the beats for hiphop group One Self. A few weeks ago, Vadim (and his ...
PARENTHETICAL GIRLS' ENTANGLEMENTS
Oct 16, 2008; ... UNDERAGE Parenthetical Girls' eccentric singer, Zac Pennington, always wanted to live a life that revolved around music. So when writing about music (for The Stranger and others), promoting shows, and starting a record label didn't satisfy him, he opted for the only other option and ...
EARSHOT PICKS, PART 1
Oct 16, 2008; ... THE SCORE Earshot's annual festival embraces a broad and brave notion of jazz-from the straight-ahead sound that accompanies almost everyone's notion of film-noir cool to scabrous, shrieking clusters of notes. Opening night features Jerry Gonzales and the Fort Apache Band (Sat ...