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BY JOHN STANG | Illegal game of
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The Once and Future DraftKing BY JOHN STANG
JOHN STANG
Bruce Taylor testifies in Olympia.
SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
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Fantasy Football Index is the nation’s oldest and biggest fantasy-football magazine, with 110,000 nationwide subscribers. This puts Allan and his partner, Bruce Taylor, in a growth industry. Both the number of people playing fantasy football and the amount of money being spent on it have increased rapidly recently with the advent of daily fantasy sports betting—fantasy games in which people bet on players’ performances in a single game rather than over an entire season. Armed with enormous TV adver-
“It’s just these ‘bros’ and dollar signs and dollar signs. It’s kind of insulting.” tising budgets, companies like FanDuel and DraftKings have convinced millions of people to put a little money on this running back or that QB. The rapid growth of these two companies has prompted many states to move to ban the services, arguing that they’re little more than gambling sites in disguise. But in Washington, the debate is taking a different tone, for the simple reason that fantasy-football betting is already illegal. Two efforts are in play in the state legislature to legalize it—with the possibility that other fantasy sports will be added. Sen. Pam Roach (R-Auburn) introduced a bill in the last session to legalize sea-
Fast takes from the news desk If You Can’t Beat ’Em
As recently as last week, the City Council was set to approve Comcast’s franchise to operate for another decade in Seattle. But when news broke Thursday that Philadelphia, where Comcast is based, had gotten a better deal out of the company, Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember Bruce Harrell demanded that Comcast come back to the bargaining table. In a letter to Comcast vice president Steven Holmes (himself a contributor to Harrell’s recent re-election campaign), the pair wrote that they wanted the same deal as Philly, with more money and services going to city residents. So the city and Comcast spent the weekend frantically negotiating additional benefits, including more discounted Internet access for the poor, an increased “digital equity grant” to the city, and free laptops for homeless kids. Are city leaders, who have proven reluctant to take decisive action to challenge Comcast’s dominance, finally getting tough on the cable giant? Let’s not go that far. As several councilmembers noted on Monday, the concessions Comcast made over the weekend aren’t part of the contract, meaning they are simply promises. That, said Councilmember Nick Licata, “seemed as if it was very aspirational . . . I’m not sure how much leverage it provides us” over the company if it reneges. Ultimately, the Council voted to postpone for a week their vote on renewing Comcast’s franchise agreement. As everyone should do when dealing with a cable company, they want everything in writing. CASEY JAYWORK
Fantasy football faces an identity crisis in Washington.
an Allan makes his living off the NFL, which means he rarely sits down and enjoys watching a game. From 10 a.m to 1 p.m. on Sundays, he watches the NFL’s Red Zone Channel, which switches from game to game as teams get within 20 yards of a touchdown. This allows Allan to study passing routes, rushing tendencies, which receivers are pulled and which running backs are favored. All this is to get a better handle on which player might actually score on the field—and for a fantasy player. When the early games wrap up, Allan retreats to an office in his small Redmond home and starts crunching the individual and team statistics from the games so far—listening to the Seahawks game on a small radio behind him if they’re playing. He spends at least 60 hours a week analyzing statistics and watching Internet video of several games to try and decipher what situations put certain players in the best position to score. He looks for the hidden pattern on video or the obscure statistic on a spreadsheet that might provide an extra insight that other fantasyfootball analysts might have missed. That results in routine updates in e-mailed newsletters and on the website of Seattle-based Fantasy Football Index magazine, subscriptions to which cost $75 a season. “I’m not watching for fun,” says Allan, a lean 51, whose office whispers “actuary” more than it screams “football fanatic.” “I’m trying to be a scientist and study it.”
SeattleBriefly
sonal fantasy sports leagues—that is, not the kind of games DraftKings markets—with fewer than 50 players and with a buy-in of $50 or less. That bill stalled. She presented to the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee on November 20 to revive the bill for the 2016 legislative session. Meanwhile, Sen. Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale) and Sen. Brian Dansel (R-Republic) plan to introduce a bill to allow wagering without limit on all fantasy sports. “It is ludicrous that you can buy a lottery ticket in this state, pick through pull tabs at your local tavern, or spend an evening at the bingo hall or the card room, but you can’t draft a fantasy-football team. Huge numbers of Washington residents do it anyway,” Ericksen said. “We need to see this as a weakness of state law.” From a legal standpoint, the big question facing
regulators is whether fantasy football is a game of chance or a game of skill. In Washington, the former constitutes gambling, the latter does not. DraftKings and FanDuel have hired former Attorney General Rob McKenna to convince the state there’s lots of skill involved in fantasy betting. But spend some time with Allan and Taylor at Fantasy Football Index, and you might decide it’s much more complicated than that. Allan and Taylor got hooked on fantasy football as University of Washington students in the late 1980s when they were interning in Olympia and joined a league. After returning to Seattle, both were taking a UW class on innovation, and
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Paris? Spare Us
We’re in the second week of the Paris climate talks, and regional leaders are getting some airtime: Governor Jay Inslee was among nine governors in Paris who pledged to “[redouble] their commitments to limit greenhouse-gas emissions to two tons per capita, or 80–95 percent below a 1990 benchmark by 2050.” While the U.S., Canada, China, and the European Union have all given some tentative nods this week to the idea of an aggressive global carbon-emissions cap (1.5 degrees Celsius, the number urged by climate activists), Inslee has been plugging the importance of electric-vehicle infrastructure and cleanenergy development here in Washington. Which goes to show where lots of climate activists minds are at as world leaders meet: change is going to happen locally. “I think a million solutions implemented at local levels,” said 350 Seattle’s Patrick Mazza at a Gates Divest event last week, “are going to give us as much as one big solution at a global level.” Local level? We can do local level. Hometown Councilmember Mike O’Brien has been tweeting up a storm from Paris (including a video of kayaktivists paddling the Seine), and local climate activists continue to stage protests against plans to make the Pacific Northwest a major carbon-shipping corridor. On Monday, a small cadre of protesters from Rising Tide Seattle held a sit-in at BNSF’s office on Occidental, part of many small actions taking place worldwide this week. A statement from the group reiterated the limited hopes regarding Paris: International climate talks have “failed to produce significant enforceable commitments by world leaders,” the statement says, and as a result, “activists’ views on the current summit [in Paris] are mixed.” SARA BERNARD E
news@seattleweekly.com
Future DraftKing » FROM PAGE 4 decided to tackle the initial stage of setting up a fantasy-football magazine as their class project. After graduation, they took the remaining steps and founded Fantasy Football Index. When they began, no infrastructure was established for fantasy football; the number of touchdowns was about all the Index’s numbercrunching could handle. Acquaintances from across the country would videotape games and send them to Taylor and Allan to analyze. Over time, fantasy football evolved beyond just tallying touchdowns and field goals. Today, points are scored for every 10 yards rushed, every 10 yards passed, and every 10 yards caught. Team defenses or individual defensive players began scoring through interceptions and fumble recoveries. Formerly meaningless games—say, the Cleveland Browns vs. the Tennessee Titans—
who was using Cutler as his quarterback—and that one lost yard knocked one player out of first place in his contest, dropping his winnings from $50,000 to $30,000. Taylor and Allan appear ambivalent about FanDuel, DraftKings, and daily fantasy football. They have no problems with the corporations or the daily game, which they believe can easily co-exist with the smaller fantasy operations. But the new wrinkles are just not their thing. “These are not the guys motivated to play with their friends all year. They’re motivated by the money,” says Taylor, who handles the business side of Fantasy Football Index. “I like the drama of a four-month season unfolding,” Allan says. That said, like millions of others, they can’t stand the constant TV ads. “It’s just these ‘bros’ and dollar signs and dollar signs. It’s kind of insulting,” Allan says.
let the
mountains
be your
canvas VISITSUNVALLEY.COM
JEREMY DWYER-LINDGREN
Seahawks running back Thomas Rawls has been a breakout star in fantasy leagues.
The two don’t have strong opinions on how “daily” fantasy football should be regulated; their concern is to safeguard the casual “season” players. They fret that a boss might use the state’s ban on any fantasy sports gambling as a reason to fire someone for participating in a casual hobby league for low stakes. “I just want the water-cooler guys covered,” Taylor says. They also suggest that the luck-vs.-skill question is almost impossible to answer. “I have a lot of sympathy for [legislators] when they try to draw the line,” Taylor says. “When people are good at daily games, they’ve played lots and lots of games and they are good at it. . . . The sharks eat the minnows because the sharks are better than the minnows,” Taylor says. However, he acknowledges that actual games don’t necessarily follow the statistical predictions. “That’s why it’s fun,” Taylor says. To illustrate this tension between what the stats suggest and what actually happens on the field, we ask Allan—on the prior Wednesday—to walk us through last Sunday’s Seahawks-Vikings game. “This will be one of the lowest-scoring games of the weekend. A slobber-knocker,” Allan predicts. In other words, Allan, with all his statistical wizardry, did not foresee Russell Wilson slinging three touchdowns and rushing for a fourth. But that is why they—Wilson, the Index’s subscribers, FanDuel’s members—play the game. E news@seattleweekly.com
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became meaningful, provided you have a Browns tight end on your fantasy team. So Allan and Taylor’s operation had to evolve to handle all sorts of scoring systems to serve their subscribers who hold normal jobs. “If you have a regular job, you don’t have the time to look at everything carefully,” Allan says. But none of these innovations in fantasy scorekeeping changed the game nearly as much as FanDuel, founded in 2009; DraftKings, founded in 2012; and “daily” fantasy football. In the season-long sport, you pick a team and backup players at the beginning of a 16-game season to triumph and suffer weekly with those choices—with opportunities to pick up a few undrafted players as the season progresses. In the daily sport you pick one, a few, or many teams from scratch each week—playing against hundreds or thousands of opponents in each contest. The money is much bigger. The research time involved dwarfs what is needed for a friendly seasonal league. The player selection is trickier; if everyone loads up on the same obvious choices—say, Tom Brady as quarterback—they cancel each other out. The winner is the player who picks the right obscure choice. Regulators in other states have argued that in daily fantasy-football games, the element of luck becomes a huge factor. One brief filed in New York pointed to a close Nov. 9 NFL game in which Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler took a knee to run out the clock. That knee subtracted one yard from every fantasy player
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
The Talented Mister Lindquist The Pierce County prosecutor is facing a possible recall following allegations of retaliation and misconduct. What happened?
By Rick Anderson
M
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
ark Lindquist’s life reads like a Mark Lindquist novel. It features a defiant but flawed protagonist with insider knowledge, not unlike the Pierce County prosecutor who renders justice to a meth king in Lindquist’s fourth book, The King of Methlehem. After all, his fiction, he tells me, tends to “track my actual life, more or less.” In the meth book, Lindquist relied on his life experiences as a deputy prosecutor in Pierce County. It’s a technique the Seattle-born author has used since his time living in New York and Los Angeles in the 1980s when he, Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis, and Tama Janowitz comprised the acclaimed Literary Brat Pack, as the Village Voice first dubbed them. His 1987 debut, Sad Movies, a bestseller completed when he was 28 and published in six languages, is a coming-of-age tale about a movie studio copy writer, which he then was. His second novel, Carnival Desires, published in 1990, was based on his work as a Hollywood screen writer. Despite acclaim—a “witty minimalist epic” Vanity Fair called the book—he moved back to Seattle and switched career paths, immersing himself in law. He had earlier attended the University of Washington, then graduated from the University of Southern California and, by the mid-’90s, had earned a law degree at Seattle University. In 1995 he became a deputy prosecutor in Pierce County, helping convict murderers, rapists, and the Tacoma Mall shooter. But he continued to write in his off hours, completing his third novel, Never Mind Nirvana—about a bass player in a Seattle grunge band who becomes an attorney. That was published in 2000, the same year People magazine named Lindquist—tall, slender, with craggy film-star looks—one of the country’s “100 Most Eligible Bachelors.” He moved up to become chief criminal deputy, and in 2007 finished the meth book. As one reviewer wrote, “Having battled methamphetamine distribution as a prosecuting attorney, celebrated novelist Lindquist is well-situated to write a thriller about a detective who’s chasing down a meth dealer.”
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 7
WINTER 2016 PUBLIC LECTURES
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The Talented Mr. Lindquist » FROM PAGE 7
whenever a law-enforcement officer’s credibility is in question. Ames, now retired, saw this purely as retaliation for his refusal to go along with the prosecutor’s attempt to try Dalsing for rape, and sued to clear his name. He lost and is appealing. Prosecutors attempted but failed to force Ames to pay $118,000 in legal fees. That ruling too is under appeal. Recently, Ames also filed a $3.6 million damage claim with the county, a prelude to another lawsuit. The ongoing Dalsing saga spurred some of Lindquist’s detractors to take action. The Recall Mark Lindquist movement was therein born, headed by Cheryl Iseberg, a Fircrest business consultant who distrusts Lindquist. (In one court deposition, she claims that the prosecutor keeps an Enemies List that includes 30 defense lawyers who filed declarations supporting Ames in his legal battle, which Lindquist denies). Iseberg’s efforts got a boost when a police union, the Pierce County Deputies Guild, endorsed the recall drive. In August, a judge approved the recall petition, and the collection of signatures began. Those seeking a recall need 39,000 to put the issue to a vote early next year, though they are aiming for 58,000, since many signatures typically turn out to be invalid. Iseberg wouldn’t reveal how many signatures are in hand, telling me only that “We continue to work toward our signature goal and the February 22nd, 2016, deadline.” She also would not comment when I told her Lindquist thinks the drive will fall short. He says history shows that’s the likely outcome. “Did you know my political opponents also tried a recall in 2010?” he asks me. “It failed, obviously.” Chapter Two: The Media War
to Merrival, his May complaint about questionable practices and political patronage kickstarted an independent investigation by an outside attorney, resulting in a 67-page report that supports much of what Merrival and a second whistleblower alleged. The report and other events could easily fill a book. The only question may be about its genre: fiction, or true crime? Here’s the booklet version. Chapter One: Rape and Recall
In 2010, the year after Lindquist became prosecutor, Lynn Dalsing of Longbranch was charged with child rape. Her husband Michael and a second man, William Maes III, had already been charged, and were convicted in 2011, of raping the couple’s 7-year-old child and two other girls. Lynn Dalsing denied having any role in the attacks, but sheriff ’s investigators quoted the daughter as saying her mom not only knew of, but witnessed, some molestations. However, sheriff ’s deputy Mike Ames, who looked into the case, could find no proof of her involvement. Among a massive collection of child porn, he did find a photograph of a nude woman with a naked child on a bed. The woman’s face was not visible, but her body was a similar size and shape to Dalsing’s. Still, Ames
Lindquist’s office issued a press release claiming it had acted in good faith. “A defendant should not be able to evade responsibility by filing a lawsuit,” the release stated. “It’s our duty to file charges when we have strong evidence of guilt, even where procedural mistakes may have been made.” But that strong evidence was nothing new, Judge Edmund Murphy concluded. In his view, the new charges had been brought out of prosecutorial vindictiveness. Consider the timing, Murphy said. The prosecutor allowed the criminal investigation to lie dormant for almost 22 months. It then took another 11 months after the investigation was reopened before new charges were filed. In other words, the prosecutor “was not interested in this information until after the civil lawsuit was filed by the defendant against Pierce County.” Dalsing’s case, incidentally, also led to prosecutors declaring deputy Ames a “Brady” cop, casting doubt on his honesty. Prosecutors are required, under Brady v. America, to inform the defense
The Dalsing case, the recall, and other incidents were now getting steady media coverage, especially in the Tacoma News Tribune. Of late there have been in-depth and shorter news stories along with critical editorials, including one on the findings from an investigator who looked into the whistleblower complaints. “Two grand themes jump out of the report,” the editorial declared: “abusive intolerance of critics and a level of politicization the office hasn’t seen in decades—if ever.” In a stream of stories, most of them the work of reporter Sean Robinson, the NT regularly inserted a paragraph or two about what this sideshow was costing taxpayers. With headlines including “Possible new headache for Lindquist: An ethics probe” and “Federal lawsuit accuses Pierce prosecutor Lindquist and staffer of deceiving courts,” the detailed reports came off as informed and edgy. In August, Lindquist’s office struck back. “I can no longer allow the Tacoma News Tribune, through Sean Robinson, to continue to mislead the public and attack the integrity of the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office, and me directly,” Jared Ausserer, who prosecuted Dalsing, wrote on his Facebook page. “I charged a woman because the evidence overwhelmingly established that she facilitated the sexual abuse of three young girls, and for no other reason.” Her home contained “an enormous amount of child pornography on her computers, along with naked photos of her. She was arrested and charged based on one of the photographs. It was later determined that the photograph was not her, and the criminal case against her was dismissed. She then sued Pierce County.”
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
In 2009, he became Pierce County’s top lawenforcement officer, named to replace retiring prosecutor Gerald Horne. Lindquist promised the county council he would “run an office that is professional, nonpartisan, and serves the public well.” In 2010, Lindquist, a Democrat, stood for election to the four-year position, beating Independent Bertha Fitzer, one of his deputy prosecutors, by 55,000 votes after she used his writing career against him. “My opponent is a politician, a novelist who writes trash. . . . He is more concerned about creating a media buzz than making sure that the system provides justice for all,” she said. Yet by last year, Lindquist seemed the invincible candidate, drawing no challengers as he cruised to a re-election victory. He has already begun collecting donations for a 2018 run, banking $3,800 in August, for example, from a Hollywood writer and a producer. Now married, with a grade-school daughter, the 56-year-old prosecutor continues to write “in the late-night hours when I can find the time,” he says. He does book reviews, writes for legal publications, and occasionally interviews old friends such as actress and writer Molly Ringwald, she of the 1980s celluloid Brat Pack. He doesn’t watch TV or sleep much, giving him time to work on his next novel, which he’s doing. “I’m also working with a producer on a possible pilot for a TV series,” he adds. It will take place where else but in a prosecutor’s office? “I’ve enjoyed an interesting life,” Lindquist says, “and I have ample material—material galore” to muse about. Lately, however, the material has begun to collect in an uninspiring heap, starting with claims that Lindquist’s office wrongly accused a woman of child rape. After charges were dropped and the woman sued for false imprisonment, he charged her again, sparking a recall movement that is aimed at dethroning him this coming spring. That kind of thing can keep you up at night, too. He’s also dealing with several lawsuits seeking damages, an ethics investigation, and a litany of complaints filed by two mutinous office whistleblowers from his staff of 220. There’s a state Bar Association probe of alleged office misconduct underway, and lingering questions about the quality of justice his office metes out. An Associated Press review of all Washington state cases that were reversed on appeal since 2012 due to prosecutor misconduct found that a majority, 17 of 30 cases, were from Pierce County. They included murder, kidnapping, and assault convictions. In the case of accused kidnapper Edward M. Glasmann, for one, the court reversed the conviction due to “flagrant” misconduct by the prosecution for showing the jury a slide with “GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY” stamped across Glasmann’s jail booking photo. The murder conviction of armored-car robber Odies Walker was similarly tossed because of a PowerPoint presentation that included 100 slides with “DEFENDANT WALKER GUILTY OF PREMEDITATED MURDER” stamped on them. In his 71-page whistleblower complaint, Steve Merrival, the longest-serving deputy prosecutor in the county, says he found 85 cases with prosecutorial misconduct rulings in the past 15 years under Lindquist and his predecessor. To Merrival, prosecutorial misconduct was a “rite of passage” in the office where he still works after 33 years, and remains protected against retaliation under the state Whistleblower Act. Lindquist says Merrival’s complaints and the recall effort consist of claims that “are longer
than a Harry Potter book and less grounded in concluded, the bedroom in the picture did not reality.” But, with millions of dollars in legal fees match any in the Dalsing house. at stake along with more than $10 million in A Pierce County detective, Debbie Heisman, damage claims, other county officials are taking concerned about the daughter’s safety, hoped to a serious look at the accusations, even if their at least prevent a reunion with her mother. She efforts are drawing grim laughter. Two weeks claimed that Ames told her the nude woman in ago, the words “crisis” and “circus” came up durthe photo was indeed Lynn Dalsing. Lindquist’s ing a county council debate over potential costs office filed rape charges stating Heisman “has to defend Lindquist in court, leading to a threeidentified the bedroom in which the photos were way battle between the council, the prosecutor, taken to be the same room as the master bedand the county executive, as room of the residence well as a date before a judge Lindquist says the recall that was searched.” next week to settle the disDalsing was jailed for effort consists of claims eight months. During pute—which the Tacoma News Tribune described as that time, Lindquist’s that “are longer than a “the county taking itself office had learned to court.” Adding to the Harry Potter book and less through Ames that the merriment, Pierce County photo ID was demongrounded in reality.” Council Chair Dan Roach strably false, but did unilaterally tried to fire the not inform Dalsing’s county executive’s outside attorneys last week, attorney. When they finally revealed the evidence, issuing a “termination” letter that one council in 2011, the charges were dismissed. member described as “a kind of a statement of The following year, Dalsing sued the county action that we haven’t taken.” for malicious prosecution and false arrest. Then, Merrival’s claims, in fact, got a stamp of in 2014, Lindquist’s office filed renewed charges approval following a review by the Pierce against Dalsing, child rape included, claiming County Human Resources Department. As additional evidence had now been discovered. director Ginny Dale put it in an October letter In May, a judge tossed the charges again.
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The Talented Mr. Lindquist » FROM PAGE 9
SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
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of stories. “This was no longer about correcting the record,” Peterson wrote, “but shaping it.” During an interview and in an e-mail exchange, I asked Lindquist if he felt the newspaper had been fair to him. He didn’t respond directly, but did say: “Through the years I’ve learned not to let critics distract me from doing quality work or focusing on the ultimate goal, whether the goal is a quality book or public safety. There’s a role in the world for critics, but I prefer creating to criticizing.”
usserer claimed that, as a result of information obtained during the evidence-discovery process for the civil suit Chapter Three: The Busto Report filed by Dalsing, “I was provided with information For more than five months, Bellevue attorney that supported charging this woman as an accomMark Busto, a seasoned workplace investigator plice to the rapes and exploitation of these three who was hired by the county, probed the whistlegirls. This information included the counseling blower claims made against Lindquist. He met records of her own daughter, where she disclosed with witnesses, interviewed others on the phone, that this woman and took a deep dive walked in on her the documents “I charged a woman because into daughter being raped detailing accusations and photographed the evidence overwhelmingly lodged by deputy and did nothing, she prosecutor Merrival observed her husband established that she facilitated and Lindquist’s chief photographing one of criminal deputy Stethe other girls and did the sexual abuse of three young phen Penner. Merrival nothing. She transgirls, and for no other reason.” alleged that Lindquist ported the girls to and others in the prosher house and would ecutor’s office engaged leave them alone with her husband. in misconduct and retaliation within a hostile “For some reason the Tacoma News Tribune work environment. Penner contends Lindquist and Sean Robinson have repeatedly published violated local and federal laws, abused his authorarticles suggesting that I have retaliated against ity, and wasted taxpayer funds. this woman for suing Pierce County, and have Busto, working under an initial $25,000 conintentionally withheld the facts supporting my tract that is part of a $90,000 fund the county has decision. I charged this woman because of her set aside for legal costs, reports he spoke with 65 actions in the abuse of these girls and for no people, including prosecutors, cops, attorneys, and other reason.” He attached an affidavit that he county employees. As his guide he used 22 docuinsisted supported his claims, adding that “none ment files, which included voluminous whistleof this information was contained in any article.” blower complaints and court and personnel files, In the Facebook comment section, where one plus e-mails, text messages, and newspaper stories. reader said “I am sorry that the Tacoma News TriHis lengthy report doesn’t summarize its overbune is not interested in reporting the entire story,” all findings. But the News Tribune concluded in a Ausserer responded that “Sean Robinson, [execuheadline: “Lindquist runs prosecutor’s office based tive editor] Karen Peterson, and [publisher] Dave on politics, retaliation.” It seems a fair assessZeek were all informed about the misinformation ment, based on the report’s contents; Lindquist that they were publishing and provided supportcomes off as a grudging, opportunistic leader who ing documentation, yet chose to print stories in an keeps spreading his wings. Readers of the report effort to sell papers instead of being objective.” also had to be surprised by some of his alleged In a rare acknowledgement of the icy relations comments. Wrote Sean Robinson, “One theme between the prosecutor and the paper, Peterson surfaces again and again throughout the report: responded in print, and online, to Ausserer’s Lindquist’s overriding concern with public image, post. She was irritated enough to reveal some of and his efforts to consolidate political power by what had gone on behind the scenes whenever retaliating against his perceived enemies.” Lindquist complained about coverage. In one section of the report, obtained by Seattle “Ordinarily,” Peterson stated in a Sunday colWeekly, Busto recounts an interview with Mary umn from this past August, “I would not write Robnett, Lindquist’s ex-chief criminal deputy. a nearly full-page column explaining our newsShe remembered Lindquist saying in 2009, after gathering process and relationship with a source. four Lakewood police officers were killed by exHowever, the prosecutor’s office decided last con Maurice Clemmons, “that he was going to week to publicly accuse this newspaper and its have to run for re-election and would get $100K individual staff members of misleading the public of free publicity from the murders.” Busto added and withholding information.” Thing is, she said, that Lindquist’s comment was confirmed by other “it falls right in line with the way this prosecutor witnesses. has conducted business almost since the day we As well, Lindquist allegedly promoted deputy started covering him. He and his staff are never prosecutors in an attempt to make them attractive to be questioned. It’s always someone else’s fault. candidates for the bench. “I elect judges, the peoApparently now it’s our turn.” ple don’t,” a retired judge remembered Lindquist The paper had at first listened to his comsaying. Whistleblower Penner, the current chief plaints and over time met with the prosecutor criminal deputy, claimed Lindquist advised his to discuss differences, Peterson said. “But since deputies not to give “good deals” to a select group we published the first Dalsing story on June 22, of defense attorneys who had criticized his office. 2014, he has been relentless in his demands for Lindquist referred to the attorneys as “the confedchanges in a way I’ve encountered from no other eracy of dunces, “ which he admits. (The phrase, source in my 30 years in this business.” the title of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Nonetheless, more meetings ensued, along Kennedy Toole, is crafted from a line in a Jonawith day and night calls from Lindquist’s office to than Swift essay: “When a true genius appears in reporters, until the prosecutor’s office was seemthe world, you will know him by this sign, that the ingly attempting to dictate the opening paragraphs dunces are all in confederacy against him.”)
Penner questioned Lindquist about retaliating against his legal opponents, telling his boss it would be unethical to treat defendants differently based on a grudge against their attorneys. Penner claimed Lindquist responded, “Well, you don’t say that out loud, you use subtext.” Lindquist denied he’d given such an order. Busto concluded “that Lindquist gave Penner the instruction and later remanded it.” Lindquist transferred several deputy prosecutors who were critical of his practices. When details of those demotions surfaced in the whistleblower complaints, one of the deputies, Diane Clarkson, said Lindquist apologized and wanted to know what kind of job she’d prefer. It was obviously “a bribe,” Clarkson later said. “Lindquist doesn’t give away favors for nothing.” Busto also found that Lindquist instituted policies to limit written discussion of cases and office meetings so they couldn’t be publicly disclosed. “Every witness confirmed that they have repeatedly been told not to put anything in writing when you can call on the telephone or walk down the hall and talk in person,” Busto reports. E-mails were to be composed with the understanding they, too, could be subject to a Public Records Act request. Some personnel were told to use what Busto calls the “front-page test:” Don’t put anything in writing that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the News Tribune. Busto was also told that Lindquist discussed office business on his personal cell phone and urged staffers to do the same because, he felt, personal cell records, along with text messages, were exempt from public disclosure. But that was before Glenda Nissen. A county sheriff ’s deputy who sued Lindquist for allegedly retaliating against her, Nissen sought his phone records in 2011 to help prove her case. Three months ago, in a unanimous, precedentsetting ruling, the state Supreme Court agreed
has the potential to jump up and bite him at any that Lindquist’s personal phone logs and billtime: Lindquist admitted he received free legal ing records were not subject to disclosure, but services the past four years from Seattle attorthe text messages indeed were if they involved ney Stewart Estes, who represented him in the county business. Lindquist issued a statement, cell-phone disclosure fight. Not long after Estes the NT reported, declaring a legal victory without became his pro bono counsel in late 2011, his mentioning that he would have to turn over the firm began to do paid work for Lindquist’s office. texts for a judge’s review. More recently, Nissen Busto says the firm has earned $587,000 in the filed a new $6.5 million claim against the county past four years, posing a possible conflict of interfor allegedly retaliating against her, based on est. One of Lindquist’s managers, Dan Hamilton, new material in the Busto report. As well, Pierce said he talked a reluctant Lindquist into accepting County Executive Pat McCarthy asked Lindquist to drop out of any further action on the cell-phone the free representation because his involvement was vital to the case. There couldn’t be any no case. Since “the text messages are on your personal quid pro quo promised because the county had devices, and pertain to certain allegations directly no work at the time for Estes’ firm, Hamilton involving you, your continued representation of said, and it “never dawned on him” there might be the County in this case and related matters creates a conflict of interest, Busto found. The county’s an apparent conflict,” she said in a November letethics commission is now investigating the case, ter. So far, Lindquist has not taken her advice. which, in addition to the conflict-of-interest Addressing a smorgasbord of complaints, question, is likely to Busto found no convincalso decide whether the ing evidence of office “Everything in my life, prosecutor improperly hiring policies that a costly gift favored white candidates including the craziness of accepted of free lawyering: The and attractive women, as the whistleblowers politics and public service, is allowable value limit on gifts to county employalleged, nor evidence that something I appreciate.” ees is $25. Lindquist undertook a major prosecution of three dozen members of the Hill Top Crips Chapter Four: “The smart and to abet his re-election effort. (His opponent, talented Lindquist” Bertha Fitzer, called it an expensive grab for Do these findings present a dilemma for Mark publicity, with taxpayers picking up the tab for E. Lindquist? Will they boost chances of the 36 defense attorneys.) Lindquist did spend a recall going forward? He doesn’t think so. “Most substantial amount of time attempting to shape of Pierce County is unaware of the recall,” he tells media coverage of him and his office, the probe me. “In the unlikely event it makes the ballot, the found, but it didn’t reach the level of “undue recall is about whether a deputy prosecutor made influence” as claimed. the right decision in charging a woman for assistStill, there is a lot of legal debris to step around ing in the sexual abuse of children. I’ve supported if Lindquist is to remain in office and seek rethe deputy prosecutor’s decision, and I’m confielection in 2018. And one other Busto finding dent the people of Pierce County who know the
facts will also support the decision and support our office. Everything our office did on that case was in the interest of protecting children.” Lindquist tells me he really doesn’t pay any attention to his detractors. But his supporters launched a website, Keep Our Prosecutor, noting that he is endorsed by former Prosecutors Gerry Horne and John Ladenburg, Sheriff Paul Pastor, seven law-enforcement organizations, and victims’ advocates. A number of local publications— including the News Tribune, no less—have in the past endorsed “the smart and talented Lindquist,” the site reports. Lindquist claims he relies on others to keep him up-to-date on the recall. By e-mail he sent me a graphic a friend took from the Recall Mark website and passed along to him. A recall supporter had wondered whether Lindquist might be employing a hi-tech cellphone tracker, called a Stingray, to spy on his enemies. (Tacoma Police have admitted to using the intrusive device in criminal cases.) In response, a recall official wrote that “Recall team members believe the Stingray is very much being used. Many team members experience interruptions and disconnections when talking. This is very real.” To Lindquist, that response “sums up the recall effort,” he says. The thing is, recall or not, he’s happy to be where he is, Lindquist says. “Everything in my life, including the craziness of politics and public service, is something I appreciate. Robert F. Kennedy once quoted an alleged Chinese curse/blessing, ‘May you live in interesting times.’ My entire life I’ve been blessed to live in interesting times and interesting places. I lived in Los Angeles in the right time, I lived in Seattle at the right time, and now I’m living in Pierce County at the right time.” Well, for a writer, anyway. E randerson@seattleweekly.com
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
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HOW TO FILL EMPTY CLASSROOMS AND CURIOUS MINDS.
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At Wallingford’s Oom Yung Doe school, self-preservation is a holistic pursuit.
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who join soon learn that Oom Yung Doe can also help mitigate risks associated with their physical space, says Martin.
“Oom Yung Doe teaches overall awareness and coordination.”
“We help develop balance and proper coordination and help our students learn how to fall in a safe way where you don’t get hurt,” he says. “Oom Yung Doe teaches overall awareness and coordination.” Martin knows firsthand the importance of
this kind of awareness. He tells the story of a time he was walking on foot and turned a corner, only to be met by a bicyclist. Without thinking, Martin went into the horse stance he learned through Oom Yung Doe. The bike struck him and the rider was thrown. Martin, though, was unmoved. “I remember saying, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. Are you OK?’ ” Martin recalls. “Usually when a bike hits you, it’s the other way around.” The most common threat to his students is not careless cyclists, says Martin, but the everyday toxins we encounter in our air and water. Here again, Oom Yung Doe can help. “You can develop the internal organs in such a way, through proper breathing techniques that make it so the organs function better,” he says. “They get much better circulation and do their job at a much more optimum level. And so the immune system works better, and you’re able to relieve stress more efficiently.” Martin credits this aspect for his own good health following a very serious surgery in the spring. “The doctors told me I had to wait a month,” he says. “But I was ready to go after a couple weeks.” oomyungdoe-nw.com
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t is usually while traversing a long, dark alley late at night that the idea of taking martial-arts classes is likely to pop into your head. But what about in the shower? Or on the way into surgery? Protecting oneself in these scenarios is just as important, says Greg Martin, the proprietor of Oom Yung Doe Wallingford. “When we talk about self-defense, of course there is the self-defense where someone is coming up and threatening you,” he says, “but that’s actually the least common kind of situation that people will get into.” Much more likely, says Martin, are the threats from rickety staircases, slippery sidewalks, or the pollutants that surround us. These are an important consideration in Oom Yung Doe, a 40-yearold school of traditional martial arts that teaches eight disciplines as one, using meditation, philosophy, herbal formulas, and equipment to help students maintain control over mind and body. Martin knows that the dark-alley scenario is what brings many prospective students to his door, so he does address physical assault directly in a weekly class devoted to women’s self-defense called “Shock Scream and Run!” But students
few years ago I attended a lecture on sustainability by a renowned speaker. I’d found out about it only that day, and was shocked to find the auditorium half full. It turns out nobody in my circle knew about the talk even though we worked in the industry. For a number of years, I had been the executive director of an organization that offered green building classes. We spent a lot of time and effort publicizing our program. Our own website was great, but people saw it only if they were already looking for our class. We spent a lot of time honing our Search Engine Optimization, but SEO is a moving target and continuously sucked up our marketing budget. We were spending money to advertise our classes online, but were never really sure if it was being well spent. When students found our class, they often remarked that they had been looking for something like this for a long time. I was puzzled. How could we better reach the people who wanted to take our classes? Around the same time, my kids wanted to take a prep class for the SAT, but, being busy, they were not willing to give up the six Saturdays that most outfits offered. They asked me to find them a concentrated weekend class. “No problem,” I thought. “We’ll make a weekend of it, in Seattle or even Portland.” I expected Google to find me weekend-only SAT classes for the next two months at a price I was willing to pay. What Google returned was hundreds of pages of results that offered SAT classes in every configuration possible, but to find the details I had to review every one, and often had to look at five or six pages on each site to determine if the class would work for us. It ended up taking days to find the right class. That’s when it hit me. For instructors, classes are difficult to fill. For prospective students, classes are hard to find. There was a missing link between these two groups. I decided to be that link, which is why I started Connect2Classes. You can sell a used couch or find a pet sitter easier than a class online. And we have so many incredible instructors and course providers in Seattle that most people don’t know about. Think of a topic you are interested in and try to name five organizations that offer classes in that topic—I bet you can’t. But I also bet there are more than you could ever imagine, offering variations on the topic that could keep you learning for a lifetime. We partnered with Seattle Weekly and created LevelUp to help get the word out. Take a class to learn something or just for entertainment; upgrade your skills or start something new. You’ll find it all on LevelUp. I love taking classes. When I look through our class listings, I get completely sidetracked and picture myself in French cooking classes, or dream about yoga in the mountains. I hope you find what you need, and get sidetracked into something you love as well.
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No Problem
Producing Fundamentals for Indie Filmmaking instructor Lindy Boustedt shares tips for filming on the cheap.
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hen Lindy Boustedt started making films a decade ago, she needed some help. But the help she needed wasn’t available. There was plenty of advice on how to actually make a film, and there were even classes on how to secure the big piles of cash it takes to make a Hollywood-friendly indie. But for the beginning filmmaker, big piles of cash most often aren’t an option. How, Boustedt and her filmmaking husband wondered, can we make what we want on the cheap? They learned the hard way, and 20 short films and three features later, they are experts at telling a story on a budget. This winter Boustedt will share that expertise by teaching Producing Fundamentals for Indie Filmmaking at Northwest Film Forum. We spoke to the thrifty filmmaker to learn more about the course. LevelUp: What skills can students expect to walk out of this class with? Boustedt: I’ve gone myself to a lot of producing seminars and producing classes, and I found that there weren’t a lot of people actually talking about how to make a film if you have no money. [Laughs.] If you have little to no money, or the only type of currency you have is relationships you built over the years, how do you turn that into an independent film? And so I focus on that side of it, because there’s a lot of classes out there that tell you how to write business plans, and go find investors, and do the Hollywood route, how to find a casting director and get name talent. But what if you’re building your resume and you just need to start making films now, but you have no money? So you’re teaching students how to use their imaginations not only in the making of films but also in funding. Yeah, it’s really about writing to what you have. We want to move people away from thinking that the only way to make a film is with money. There are many forms of currency, and it’s about thinking, Well, what do I have access to, and who do I have access to, and who’s in my “bank,” so to speak, and how do I write a film that utilizes that? Do you have an example about how writing to your resources changed an idea for a film that you have created? Sure. For our most recent feature film, we knew that we could make a feature for around $50,000, because we had done it before, but we wanted to utilize the money better than we had done it before. So we kept the page count down to around 80 pages, rather than your more traditional 120-page script. We made it so that it mostly took place in one location. COURTESY OF LINDY BOUSTEDT
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There were only four actors total, and we knew that we could get by with a crew of 15. The film was going to have a little bit of a horror element to it, so where we had action sequences, we thought about how we do those elements in a way that we’re not shooting ourselves in the foot, rather than trying to do way too much. We kind of just tried to focus on putting a lot of energy into a few things rather than doing mediocrity over a lot of things. What is the most inventive thing that you have done to make a film happen? I kicked my mom out of her own house for a weekend to shoot our very first short film, and I said, “Go away, I want to use your house, and we’ll restore it so that you won’t even know we were there by the end of the weekend.” [Laughs.] Everyone stayed at the house and we used it as the one location, and we kind of did little offshoots from there. You just have to use the family that you have, your friends and family, to make what you need happen. I hope you got her flowers. Yeah! We also made that film with no dialogue. We learned that this was a mistake later on, but we thought, “Oh, we don’t actually need to record any sound on set, we’ll just do it all in post.” So that made it really easy to film, because we didn’t have to worry about sound, but it did make our lives a lot harder in post. In the class description, it says that you’re going to cover “budgeting, financing, and audience.” What do you mean when you say audience? Well, the other thing about indie filmmaking, from a producing standpoint, is that you have to start building your audience from day one. You may then use them for crowdfunding, or, when you have the film done, help getting it out there. And so it’s about really being realistic about who this film is being made for—where do they hang out online, where do they get their news, what music do they listen to. You need to know where they go and how they find out about movies, so you can then know how to reach them with your movie. And so it takes a lot of time and research, and hopefully you’re not just connecting with them for one film. Hopefully you’re a filmmaker that’s going to make many films, and so you need to start to build your brand and take that audience with you from film to film to film. And that’s how you’re going to learn how to make your filmmaking career, hopefully, a little bit more sustainable. Producing Fundamentals for Indie Filmmaking takes place Jan. 11–14 at Northwest Film Forum. To sign up, find LevelUp at seattleweekly.com and search “indie filmmaking.”
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After the frenzy of the holidays, you just might need to get away for a few days. Maya Whole Health Studio is offering Yoga and Nature: Refresh Your Perspective, a three-day, two-night yoga retreat into the beautiful North Cascades that will provide the perfect opportunity to adjust your perspective and re-energize your life. Sessions in January, February, and April, $590 Have you thought of starting a restaurant or bakery, or even buying a food truck? If so, you cannot afford to miss Seattle Central College’s Food Business Incubator, now in its second term. This comprehensive class focuses on the start-tofinish process of creating a food business. Jan. 25–April 11, $1,200 Looking for a holiday menu that’s a little different? Arm yourself with recipes that will please
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Explore the power of uncensored, intuitive “first thoughts” with Katherine Jenkins, author of the memoir Lessons From the Monk I Married, a Lonely Planet Top Travel Literature Book for 2012. During Intuitive Writing: Freeing the Person and Writer Within, she will guide writers through uncensored intuitive writing, meant to spark the imagination and keep the words flowing. Jan. 14–Feb. 11, $250
Keeli McCarthy, senior graphic designer for Fantagraphics Books, will introduce you to an enormous collection of fabulous graphic novels, manga, classic, and underground and contemporary comics all while teaching you about publishing, marketing, and retailing during Get to Know Fantagraphic Books. Jan. 7, 7 p.m. Discover the infinite and brilliant versatility of acrylics by attending Innovations in Acrylic. Get a grasp on the many gels, mediums, and grounds and learn how they can change the texture, saturation, and intensity of your work. Whatever your approach as an artist, this lecture will offer the technical knowledge to support your concepts. Jan. 23, 1 p.m. Joel Schwarz of the Puget Sound Bonsai Association will be at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens on Jan. 4 for Bonsai 101: It’s
LAUGH | EXPLORE | GROW ... all at your doorstep Easier Than You Think, in which he will cover the history of bonsai, including what exactly a bonsai is and what kind of plants can be used. He’ll also teach you how to create bonsai by wiring and pruning trees, how to care for them, and the three ways to avoid killing them! Jan. 4, 6:30 p.m. Free dance lessons will be provided at Salsa ‘N Seattle Kids Open House. Have your little ones try out hip-hop, Bollywood, creative ballet, and salsa. Face painting, snacks, and crafts are all part of the fun as well. Jan. 9, 10 a.m.
Registration Now Open! 206.934.5448 learnatcentral.org
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
Free Events
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food&drink
Cheese Please!
Seattle lands its first bona fide cheese bar. BY CHASON GORDON
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CULTURE CLUB
SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
PRIME STEAKS. LEGENDARY SERVICE.
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just like a prom date you’ll never forget.” hen I first pictured a cheese For LaVigne, opening a cheese bar was a necesbar, I imagined shelves with sary evolution. “It’s the next natural step from the every type of boxed cracker and retail counter. At the shop I can give people recomcheese, served with various flamendations for cooking and pairing and stuff like vors of Tang to 8-year-olds having a sleepover in that, but it stops there at the counter,” says a basement. But Culture Club, Seattle’s LaVigne. “And so we’re basically giving first cheese bar, is not quite like that. that stuff to people instead of them Instead, it’s the offspring of the Culture Club having to go figure it out themselves, beloved Calf & Kid cheese shop
Downtown | 1511 6th Avenue | Seattle, WA 98101 206-223-0550
mortons.com
1806 12th Ave., culturewhich a lot of people really want.” in Melrose Market, where owner clubcheesebar.com. Located on Capitol Hill next Sheri LaVigne mongers select 4–10 p.m. Wed.–Fri., to microbrewery Outer Planet, cheeses from the Pacific Northwest 2–10 p.m. Sat.–Sun. Culture Club offers flights of and around the world. They don’t three cheeses served with kindred hand out Pulitzers for cheese descrippours of wine, beer, or ciders meant to tions, but anyone visiting Calf & Kid is underscore the distinct flavors in the cheese. apt to notice the adorable descriptions that If you prefer your cheese melted, the seasonally tempt customers: rotating menu also offers a five-cheese macaroni “You’d leave your boyfriend for this cheese,” (five seems to be the general limit), as well as a says a Domaine du Village, while Pondhopper is described as “sweet, floral, and bathed in beer, » CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
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Hoodie from Here A former Amazon software designer creates the ideal Seattle top. By Cassandra Calderon
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incent Chu was in search of the Little Black Dress of outerwear. A Wisconsin transplant to the Pacific Northwest, Chu knows we’re prepared for downpours. But what about the signature Seattle drizzle? We may be equipped with an arsenal of heavy soft shells, rain jackets, and anorak coats, but when it comes to light showers, the average Emerald City resident is, ironically, left high and dry in terms of outerwear. Enter the Yesler Technical Hoodie, an • is the most versaitem that Chu claims tile piece of outerwear in Seattle and the answer to the prayers of every Seattleite who wouldn’t be caught dead with an umbrella. The idea for the hoodie began when Chu was working as a software designer at Amazon. After noticing a growing trend toward more American-made goods in the retail market, he wondered whether outerwear could be adequately designed both for Seattle and in Seattle. “When everyone here loves athletics or is active in sports, and you look at a landscape
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Look East!
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Jessica Dobson Lead singer and badass guitarist for Deep Sea Diver.
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where . . . less than 2 percent of all gear is made here,” Chu says, “that to me is cognitive dissonance. There is value in creating something locally.” So Chu left the world of software design in 2013, started his company, Yesler Apparel, and began taking on the challenges of creating a physical product that “can’t be fixed with the flick of a wrist or a keyboard. “When you’re making a physical product, once it’s out there, it’s out there.” Chu says. “You really have one shot to make it right; that was a huge evolution of figuring out how to do things differently from software.” A successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014 helped Chu manufacture Yesler Apparel’s first items, technical shorts and yoga pants. Now a year later, and with the support of over 600 backers on another Kickstarter campaign, Chu is beginning production for the Technical Hoodie just in time for the holidays. Designed to be worn in all situations, the Technical Hoodie is made for every active Seattleite who wants to move seamlessly between city life and outdoor escapades. A hoodie can be considered the go-to piece in any wardrobe, but what makes the Technical Hoodie unique is its use of a high-end softshell fabric, developed by PolarTec, that is both highly weather-resistant and breathable. The dense knit material features a durable weather-repellent exterior that is non-abrasive and harbors a microporous interior membrane. PolarTec boasts that the material remains 50 percent more breathable than the average soft shell while shielding the wearer from 99 percent of wind. At the same time, the fabric is soft and pliable, with an interior brushed tricot that is lighter than most cotton hoodies and has a greater range of flexibility. “The fabric we’re using is what makes it a ‘technical’ hoodie,” Chu says. “You’d normally only find it in $300 soft-shell jackets, but we’re using it to make a much more tailored hoodie—not a jacket.” The relaxed material allowed Chu and his team to design their hoodie with a more tailored fashion that looks equally good in the city and on the trail. Cut with clean lines, the hoodie features a single zipper up the front, underarm gussets, and zippered pockets. “The goal was that the sum of high-end weather-resistant fabrics combined with a tailored fit would be a beautifully designed, super-versatile hoodie that is made for Seattle life,” Chu says. The hoodie comes in black, midnight blue, and aluminum, and is available for preorder for $169 (orders will not be ready to ship until March). For Chu, the birth of the Technical Hoodie has been a long process of designing a lovable product perfect for the duality of a city like Seattle, where professionalism meets an active outdoor lifestyle. “This single product is made in Seattle for Seattle,” Chu says. “We are really proud of that; we can’t be all things to all people, but we certainly can have a stab at making the best [products] for Seattle.” E yeslerapparel.com
RENEE MCMAHON
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Continued Support for Homeless Shelters
There are so many incredible shelters in our city that make a difference in the lives of people looking for housing, food, and support. Whether it’s a donation of time, money, or resources, there are ample opportunities to get involved. Un Bien & Lighthouse Coffee in Every City
The country now has more legit coffee shops and eateries in the towns where our band plays, but these Seattle gems are hard to rival. It would be difficult to stay in shape eating a prawn sand• • every day, but I would be in food heaven. wich unbienseattle.com, lighthouseroasters.com
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Look East! A Gift Card to Mike and Mike’s Guitar Bar
These guys carry a kaleidoscope of vintage guitars and amps, and it’s always a treat to visit their shop and drool over their gear. You know you’ve found a good thing when you can’t stop spreading the word. mmguitarbar.com A Haircut From Arianna at Victory Hair Studios
Tucked away in a dreamy remodeled 1948 camper, Arianna’s studio is a breath of fresh air for anyone who wants a top-notch haircut in a relaxing single-chair salon. Arianna is a blast to talk to, and she makes you feel at home. It’s obvious that • • cares deeply about continuing to hone her she craft, and I love that she took a risk and started her own business. victoryhairstudio.com
G I V I N G B AC K
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Bernie Sanders for President
I know that’s not until next year, but I want to see him continue to climb the polls. I’m a big fan of Bernie, I’ve somehow convinced my Republican parents to check him out, and I even ordered a bumper sticker for the first time in my adult life. I support his drive to tackle wealth inequality, his refusal to to accept Super-PAC support, and his stance on foreign policy that would take us off the trajectory of policing the world and would only use force as an absolute last resort. His consistent voting record and genuine concern for the middle and lower classes only strengthen my belief that • he’s•the real deal. Go Bernie, go! E Deep Sea Diver’s new album, Secrets, will be released on Feb. 19, 2016. A new EP, It’s Christmas Time, is also available for free at thedeepseadiver.bandcamp.com.
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LO C A L Education B U YEducation An An in Gifting in Gifting cation in Gifting •
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A mother lode of merriment awaits in the U District and Wallingford. By Jeanny Rhee
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of homes from the 1920s adorned with Christmas lights, blow-up candy canes, and mechanical decor. Don’t miss the annual Wildlights at the Woodland Park Zoo, running until Jan. 3, with more than 600,000 LED lights surrounding the zoo’s pathways and festivities including a peacock scavenger hunt, a beer and wine garden, and an indoor snowball fight—and don’t forget to wish the reindeer Happy Holidays. On December 12, take a brisk walk through the Pathway of Lights around Green Lake Park. Enjoy refreshments and live music and bask in the warm glow of candles and luminarias lining the 2.8-mile path—and bring nonperishable donations to benefit the local food bank. Then head over to Wallingford, where you’ll find holiday-inspired • socks, like Santa Rex and • • Jingle Cats, from The Sock Monster (1909 N. 45th St., 724-0123). With most clocking in at less than $10 a pair, you can find socks in all styles, colors, and fabrics to keep your and your loved ones’ toes warm through the winter. Stay at Wallingford Center awhile to find more than 17 boutiques hidden inside this refurbished elementary school. Many feature fair trade, organic, eco-friendly, and handmade goods, so in the altruistic spirit, give back to small businesses and pop into Bootyland (1815 N. 45th St., Ste. 204, 328-0636), the first retailer in the city to offer organic and hemp clothing. Swap out the brown paper bags and plastic and opt for the machinewashable Eco Lunch Bag made from recycled cotton fibers. E
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head-to-toe in purple and gold. But as the holidays draw near, the coeds give way to some of the area’s greatest seasonal traditions and some unique shopping. If you have time to spare, start with a stroll across the scenic University of Washington campus, with views overlooking Mount Rainier and awe-inspiring architecture like the gothic Suzzallo Library in Red Square. On University Way, make your way through the clunky backpacks and the hubbub of cheers in pubs to find a plethora of cheap eats, strong coffee, and independent bookstores and shops. Visit Danaca Design (5619 University Way N.E., 524-0916), a metal crafting • center and storefront gallery showcasing handmade jewelry made by students, teachers, and local artists. Each piece is uniquely• made, and gift cards are available to use for jewelry classes, custom work, and more. The best whiteelephant gifts are found at Red Light (4560 University Way N.E., 545-4044), Seattle’s premier vintage shop, with funky retro finds and one-of-a-kind costumes for all occasions. Underneath the racks of clothes, boots, and vintage Levis are rare gag gifts like oversized holiday sweaters, a Donald Trump clown mask, and flamboyant brooches. Treat yourself to a warm beverage at Seven Market & Cafe (2007 N.E. Ravenna Blvd.) before visiting Ravenna’s Candy Cane Lane to see rows
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Look East! Homey aromas and chic shaves await on the other side of the bridge. By Jennifer Karami
PHOTOS COURTESY OF WOODINVILLE LAVENDER FARM
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t the turn of the millennium, the Eastside seemed like Seattle’s • cousin. But frumpy little wannabe then a funny thing happened—its subtle charm started to become more appealing, from the horse-country wineries in Woodinville to Kirkland’s Hollywood-esque homes to Bellevue’s swanky chic downtown. During the holidays, the Eastside lights up with festivities (Snowflake Lane, anyone?) and shop windows sparkle with goodies and gifts. Here are a few to inspire you. To get to the Woodinville Lavender Farm (14223 Woodinville-Redmond Rd. N.E., 425-398-3785), follow the Sammamish River trail until you come upon a gravel inlet. Enter through the shady grove, past the sprinklers and the buzzing bees, until you reach the purple fields of waist-high, aromatic lavender. (Or just use the parking lot off Woodinville• Redmond Road.) On the property sits an idyllic little shop that sells all things lavender: fresh bundles, essential oils, fabric spray, cookbooks, lemonade, and ice-cream bars. Lavender makes a great gift for Grandma’s house, for young ladies just leaving the house, or for those with trouble falling asleep. Non-floral novelty bouquets are hardly a new invention, but you’ve probably never heard of a cookie bouquet! Bellevue’s Cookies in Bloom (10307 N.E. First St., 425688-7777) creates darling holiday-themed cookies in the shape of snowmen, mittens, menorahs, and more. They also do edible image cookies that you • can customize with a picture of your own. They offer next-day
and same-day shipping. A cookie bouquet is an ideal gift for a coworker or family friend. Do you have•a stubbly man in your life? Someone who’s been slacking on his personal grooming habits? Someone who needs a subtle reminder that it is no longer no-shave November? The Art of Shaving (138 Bellevue Way N.E., #138, 425-455-2146) will give him the royal treatment. For a neat gift idea, get him a gift card with enough for a straightrazor shave (I assume this is the male equivalent of a pedicure), and a little extra so he can pick up some aftershave and sandalwood soap to use each morning. Look no further for stocking stuffers: Located at Crossroads, Daiso (15600 N.E. Eighth St., 425-643-8148) is essentially a “made in Japan” dollar store, full of knickknacks like chopsticks, Pocky, ceramics, socks, false eyelashes, and more. Unlike other dollar • stores, which can be mothball-scented and mildly depressing, Daiso has mastered the bright and cheery Japanese shopping experience. There’s something uninhibiting about these trinkets—no need to sit and ponder, “Do I really need this?”, you just grab ’em by the handful because they’re so cute and cheap! So kawaii ! E
GIFT PICKS
arts
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Fashion
artwork by Alicia Brooks
Children’s Holiday Storytime:
Zany Christmas
read by guest Seattle actors
Saturday, December 12 at 11am
The Elliott Bay a ay Book Company Since 19 1 73
Share your storytime art with us in the store or on Instagram @elliottbaybookco elliottbaybook.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE ART OF SHAVING
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Woodinville Lavender Farm in the Sammamish Valley.
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We take the gift of music very seriously.
Peak Experience The Service Board helps teens overcome challenges through service projects and snowboarding. By Mara Silvers
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utdoor adventure is more than just fun and games for the Service Board (tSB). For the Seattle nonprofit, it’s a crucial part of helping high-school students from South and Southwest Seattle work through personal obstacles. Since 1995, tSB has combined carving up the slopes with serving the community, creating what executive director Alex Okerman calls a “holistic approach to supporting young•people.” Teens meet every Wednesday and Sunday, with the weekend meetings alternating between a public-service commitment, like cleaning up a neighborhood park, and snowboarding at Snoqualmie or Stevens Pass. The Wednesday meetings include a home-cooked nutritious meal and a workshop: peer-to-peer skill sharing, discussing vulnerability and fear, goal-setting, unpacking experiences with institutional injustice, and other topics. The curriculum is focused on “goal-setting, creative expression, [and] environmental justice,” Okerman says. “We can relate whatever we’re learning to whatever we did on Sunday. What was it like to fall and get back up again on the mountain? How did you overcome fear? What was it like to clean up your neighborhood?” The Service Board executes its programming • through three different roles: prophets, peer leaders, and mentors. The prophets are 14–18-yearolds who join the organization’s Core Winter Program for a six-month commitment of service and snowboarding. Much of the program’s content is created and facilitated by the peer leaders (youth who have worked with tSB before) and the adult mentors from the community.
Even though the snow goes away in the summer, tSB continues, connecting students with internships at various business and organizations and offering drop-in programming where students can do everything from glassblowing to environmental cleanup projects and day hikes. With close to 50 incoming prophets each year, 10 peer leaders, and 15 to 20 mentors, the organization’s three full-time members have their • hands full. But still they want to do more—in particular creating ways for teens to stay involved after they turn 18. “Going off to college or going into the workforce is a huge step for kids,” says Okerman. “There’s a huge gap for youth employment services in King County . . . Our kids are saying, ‘OK, but now what? We’ve made all these goals, but how do we get there?’ ” In 2014 tSB launched a $200,000 initiative to go deeper into its programming and extend opportunities for teens to stay involved for a longer period. The organization is steadily raising funds to help launch New Heights, an initiative intended to “improve, sustain, and expand” their continuum of programming. Along with New Heights, Okerman dreams of increasing the tSB • staff and finding a new physical space for their offices and programming, where they can offer teens in need their unique services. “It’s a multigenerational approach to community involvement,” Okerman says. “It tears down the ageist experience that our teens have. They get to have real-life support with adults that they trust.” theserviceboard.org
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Giving Back » FROM PAGE 7
Bike Works
Making communities work better with bikes The philosophy behind Bike Works has as many supporting arguments as bicycles have parts. Connect low-income and marginalized youth with bikes, they say, and you get healthier, more productive kids with critical thinking and technical skills. Each kid with a bike, or the skills to repair one, is a few steps closer to environmental sustainability.Located in Columbia City since 1996, Bike Works has eight different youth-oriented programs, including a slew of summer-camp opportunities. They also offer adult classes on repairs and the basics of bike building. In 2013, more than 150 kids received bikes, and 64 percent of youth were on scholarship for the organization’s programs. While still maintaining its focus as a youth-centric space, Bike Works is looking into opening a new space to fit an expanding vision. bikeworks.org
ENVIRONMENT
Charities helping Mother Nature that need your help. Keeping a super-close eye on the superfund Most Seattleites are aware that the Duwamish River has been designated as a Superfund site, and that plans are being developed to remove toxic waste and chemicals from the ecosystem. What most people might not know is that the group making it all happen isn’t the federal government. The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition (DRCC) is a technical advisory group making sure that the cleanup process is thorough and up to community standards. DRCC is a result of “the community, neighborhood, environmental, tribal, and smallbusiness organizations” that advised the Environmental Protection Agency during its initial site survey. DRCC is also an educational force that teaches people more about the cleanup, and a hub for community-oriented programs including the Duwamish Valley Youth Core, the Duwamish Alive! restoration project, and the Duwamish River Festival. DRCC is asking for participation through attending events, making donations, and volunteering for the long-term health of the Duwamish River and its surrounding communities. duwamishcleanup.org Outdoors for All
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Breaking down barriers to wilderness recreation Seattle is often lauded as a beautiful city sur-
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The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition
Washington Green Schools
TSB Prophets give back on a service learning trip.
rounded by pristine nature just waiting to be explored. While this is true, many people never get the chance. Outdoors for All provides yearround opportunities for disabled adults and children to explore skiing, kayaking, rock climbing, cycling, yoga, and more. Based on the belief that everyone deserves an active and healthy lifestyle, Outdoors for All focuses on the therapeutic impact of outdoor sports, and often helps whole families recreate together for the first time. Donations are needed to offer more scholarships, provide better equipment, and help create programs that will have a lasting impact on participants. outdoorsforall.org
Nature Consortium
Planting seeds for community growth Since 1998, Nature Consortium has connected local communities with forest restoration work and creative art making, with the goal of uniting people and communities for a common, beautiful cause. The Urban Forest Restoration Program, focused mainly on the West Duwamish Greenbelt, teaches volunteers how to remove invasive weeds, counteract soil erosion, and help native plants grow stronger. The Consortium also offers an EcoArts program, which includes drop-in classes for all ages, and in-school programs that focus on art and gardening. naturec.org
Keeping energy standards high For Washington Green Schools, it doesn’t matter if your school is public or private; it still uses energy and water and practices waste disposal. The program works on a certification system in six categories: Energy, Healthy School Buildings, School Grounds & Gardens, Transportation, Waste & Recycling, and Water. A student-driven initiative, becoming a Washington Green School requires a few steps that end in Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certification. With 81 percent of their expenses going to programs and services, Washington Green Schools is investing in the authentic growth of communities across the state. wagreenschools.org E
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The Gift of Going
PEOPLE IN GLASSHOUSES SHOULD THROW PARTIES.
Subscription and ticket packages for the culture vulture in your life. Ring in 2016 under Seattle’s most
By T.S. Flock 1. SIFF Membership
The Seattle International Film Festival is the largest and most attended in the country, and cinephiles who want to take in the many events and screenings will find a membership essential. Year-round benefits at the Benefactor level include discounts at SIFF Cinema and priority invitations to advance screenings, plus cinema and festival vouchers. $125 ($45 of which is tax-deductible). siff.net
iconic fireworks display as Chihuly
Assassins and the acclaimed, politically charged rock musical Bad Apples. $90, acttheatre.org A-List members get free admission to the incredibly diverse year-round programming, from improv to new plays to reinterpreted classics. There are also discounts at the concession stand and on venue rental. There is no minimum or maximum time period; it’s $25 per •month, and you can choose the duration when you donate online. annextheatre.org
Out of This World
This great bargain for local theatregoers offers tickets to ACT’s mainstage and ACTLab shows, discounts on extra tickets for friends and with area businesses, and invitations to quarterly socials and early announcements of shows. The 2016 season, the first under John Langs’ direction, promises a run of challenging, smart shows, including Sondheim’s 2
4. 5th Avenue Theatre’s Ticket Package
Choose from seven upcoming productions (including the current staging of The Sound of Music) to put together a personal calendar for the musical lovers in your life, from fan favorites like Kinky Boots to newer musicals like the 2014-Tony Award-winning A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder. Prices vary, 5thavenue.org 5. STG Broadway Season Package
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ultimate New Year’s Eve celebration.
3. Annex Theatre’s A-List Membership
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Garden and Glass transforms into the
Seattle Theatre Group brings blockbuster dancemusicals to Seattle year-round; the Broadway series in 2016 includes Bullets Over Broadway, Jersey Boys, Newsies, and Motown the Musical. Subscribers enjoy flexible ticket exchanges and discounts at area restaurants, making a night at the theater all the easier to plan and $126 and up, stgpresents.org Rodenjoy. Mar Photography
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Party includes:
• Dancing to the popular Michael Benson Band. • A delicious array of appetizers and desserts from Chef Thomas Kollasch. • Party favors and a complimentary sparkling wine toast at midnight. • DJ and photo booth in Collections Café. • Entrance to the Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibition (between 8 PM and 10 PM).
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Gift the Cook 7
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SEATTLE WEEKLY’S 2015 HOLI DAY G IVIN G GUI DE • PART THREE
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Meany Hall hosts some of the best and brightest in live dance and music, from Yo-Yo Ma and Jeremy Denk to the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Peking Acrobats. With their custom subscription plan, any purchase of tickets for four or more performances nets a 10 percent discount, allowing you to curate a series of international genius for the culture fiend in your life. Prices vary, tickets.artsuw.org • Not only is a Henry+ membership a great way for art lovers to save—what with the free admission, discounts on publications and special events, and guest passes—it also provides free admission to other local museums, including the Burke and the Japanese Garden at the Arboretum, as well as other museums throughout North America, from MOCA in L.A. to the Gardiner in Toronto to Atlanta’s High Museum. It’s perfect for the art lover who is frequently on the road. $150. henryart.org 8. NWFF Location Scout Membership
Filmmakers, students and cinephiles reap many
•
root regularly for the home team. Prices vary widely, based on the plan you choose and the seat locations, but range from around $300 up to around $1300. The total is a deep discount compared to individual ticket purchases and guarantees the same seat each time. seattle.mariners.mlb.com 10. Sounders Season Tickets
Sounders season ticket-holders reap numerous benefits, including online presales for single matches and US open matches, discounts at pro shops, and priority seat selection for future season ticket purchases. For the Sounders super fan (or fans) in your life, what could be better? Prices vary. soundersfc.com
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Out of This World Gifts for kids ages 12 to 17. By Jacob Uitti
Sunday Brunch Check Dates • 3242 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle Star Wars Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual
SE ATTLE WEEKLY’ S 2015 HOLI DAY GIVI NG G UID E • PART T HRE E
The Mariners offer four pre-packaged ticket
The Gift of Going
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rewards from a membership at Northwest Film Forum, the local heart of independent film in Capitol Hill. At the Location Scout level, discounts abound on equipment, workshops, drinks in the lobby, venue rental and, of course, tickets. (It can be applied to up to four people at the same address, too.) Add in free popcorn and invites to exclusive events and you have a perfect gift for a family of film-lovers. $250. nwfilmforum.org
The Bureau of Fearless Ideas in Greenwood has a plethora of great science-fiction books for sale, so be sure to look around the shop, but let’s delve into maybe the most exciting one here: the Star Wars Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual, all about the origins of the planet-sized war machine and its top secrets. When Darth Vader and the evil Emperor conjured up the Death Star, they didn’t think its owner’s manual would fall into the hands of young Seattle explorers. Well, they were wrong! $30 at The Bureau of • Fearless Ideas, 8414 Greenwood Ave. N., 7252625, fearlessideas.org
better way to send a message to a loved one— whether a few blocks away or on Mars—than a solar-powered balloon? It’s the next-generation message in a bottle. If space is the final frontier, then explore it with a vehicle that will never run out of power so long as it’s in view of the sun. $4.50 at The Bureau of Fearless Ideas. Card Kingdom
The Ballard shop has plenty of Magic: The Gathering cards for sale, let’s just get that out of the way. But it also carries great board games, including King of• Tokyo, a giant monstersmeets-Yahtzee game for two to six players. Roll the dice, gain points, and battle as robots, aliens, and monsters to become the king of the city. It’s one of the year’s most popular games, Card Kingdom staff assures us. $45. 5105 Leary Ave. N.W., 523-2273, cardkingdom.com E
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1. MiniMaxEGG by Big Green Egg
3. Himalayan Salt Mortar and Pestle
All good things come in small packages, some say, and the coveted Big Green Egg, a cooker similar to a Japanese wood or charcoal stove or a tandoor oven, is no exception. Chefs and home cooks alike covet the Green Egg, using it to smoke, grill, roast, stew, and more. Now there’s a travel-sized MiniMaxEGG in an easy-to-grip and -pack carrier that still includes the versatile do-all cooking mechanisms of the original Big Green Egg. Take it camping, tailgating, and on family trips, so next year’s meals are as memorable as the memories made. TL $599 at Aqua Quip (3447 Fourth Ave. S., 624-4394), Seattle Home Appliance (18815 Aurora Ave. N., 542-8911), and elsewhere. biggreenegg.com 2. Hedley & Bennett Aprons
These sleek aprons give professional cooks and bartenders that stylish edge with fine construction, a utilitarian feel, and a taut pocket made perfectly for prized Sharpies. Luckily, these aprons are available to all in various customizable colors and fashions. No two are the same, from select cuts to color, embroidery,
It’s a showpiece and essential kitchen tool all in one. Whether you’re making a dip or spice mix, the mortar and pestle adds its own seasoning, and the salt is anti-bacterial by nature, requiring little cleanup beyond a wipe
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patterns, and styles that can fit the most rugged professional restaurants and busiest household kitchens. The options are endless, with fabrics and details crafted to last. TL Prices vary. Select
styles are available at The London Plane (322 Occidental Ave. S., 624-1374) and Marigold and Mint (1531 Melrose Ave., 682-3111). hedley andbennett.com
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SEATTLE WEEKLY’S 2015 HOLI DAY G IVIN G GUI DE • PART THREE
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Gift the Cook » FROM PAGE 11
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with a damp cloth. Once you’ve whittled your mortar and pestle into hunks too small for optimal use, grind the remaining salt for seasoning, or heat larger pieces to cook slices of steak and fish. It’s a showstopper in all its many uses. TL $39.95 at Williams-Sonoma, 2530 N.E. University Village, 523-3733. williams-sonoma.com 4. Aeropress Coffee Maker
We all know the best part of waking up is coffee in your cup, right? Well, Aeropress is artfully dressing up your cup-o’-joe experience with this coffee maker, which takes only a minute to brew a single cup of cafe-quality beverage. The Aeropress uses total immersion for uniform extraction, making a flavorful cup with less bitterness, and is also microfiltered for sediment-free drinking. Best of all, you can show your friends how good a coffeemaker you are. JU $34.95 at Mrs. Cook’s, University Village, 525-5008, mrscooks.com 5. Sansaire Searing Kit
Sous vide has been all the rage lately, moving from its roots in the modernist kitchen into the hands of savvy home cooks. But with meats now carefully cooked to perfection on the inside, the challenge comes in creating that perfectly seared crust. Seattle’s own sous vide peddler Sansaire teamed with BernzOmatic to introduce the Sansaire Searing Kit, a torch that delivers a wide flame at over 2,200° F, easily toasting its kitchen-torch competitors while searing meat without fear of overcooking. Point and shoot to add a golden sear to meats, or direct it toward vegetables to get a rich, smoky char. TL $159 at Sur la Table, 84 Pine St., 448-2244. sansaire.com E
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Cheese Please! » FROM PAGE 16 grilled cheese sandwich with taleggio and sherried mushrooms. For dessert, the popular chèvrechocolate truffles from Calf & Kid can round out your journey into the great cheese yonder. Make no mistake, however, a cheese bar is not the same thing as a wine bar. Though many wine bars obviously serve cheeses, they’re meant to highlight the wine. At cheese bars, the wine is merely an opening act whose purpose is to accentuate the headliner. Perhaps one day wine and cheese will put aside their egos and mutually serve each other, but progress is slow. With a split space featuring a family-friendly area out front and a 21-and-over space in back, the new bar is an opportunity for LaVigne to expand her in-demand cheese classes, which are set to start again in January. “Previously with Calf & Kid in Melrose Market, I didn’t have my own dedicated space, so I couldn’t really offer them nearly as much as I wanted to,” says LaVigne. “The one that I had before was a Cheese 101 which I did over and over and that was it, just an introductory education and tasting class, but I’m also pretty stoked about the opportunity to do some specialty ones where we focus on one region, or do different kinds of pairings, like beer and cheese.” There will additionally be “Meet the Cheesemaker” events, where people will be able to taste local makers’ offerings. A calendar of classes should be up in mid-December at the soon-tobe-created cultureclubcheesebar.com.
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Cheese bars may be a foreign concept in Seattle, but they’re common in various cities, and perfectly natural when you consider this old exchange between George and Jerry on Seinfeld: “I was living the dream. I was stripped to the waist eating a block of cheese the size of a car battery!” “Before we go any further, I’d just like to point out how disturbing it is that you equate eating a block of cheese with some sort of bachelor paradise.” If anything, Culture Club is certainly a cheese paradise, and another sign of the growing Northwest cheese scene. “Our cheesemaking scene has just exploded over the past 10 to 15 years,” says LaVigne, “and the general quality of the cheesemakers is high, so very quickly we got up to the level that Vermont and upstate New York have been at, as well as some places in the Midwest.” What hasn’t arrived quickly is Culture Club’s sign. “One thing that really sucks is that my sign company didn’t get the sign done on time,” says LaVigne, “so no one knows we’re here unless they’re walking right in front of the place—but otherwise it’s going well.” E
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A medley of styles.
BEER HUNTING
ZOEY LIEDHOLM
Beer in Bothell BY JACOB UITTI
SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
Food to pair with beer at the Beardslee Public House.
ZOEY LIEDHOLM
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Drew Cluley, formerly of Pike Brewing.
CATHY LALLEY
S
omething is happening in Bothell, and the new Beardslee Public House is smack-dab in the middle of the action. The pub, owned and operated by chef/ entrepreneur John Howie, who also owns five other restaurants in the Seattle area, is a 10,000-square-foot restaurant and brewery run by master brewer Drew Cluley, who has spent time at Pike Brewing (as head brewer from 2006–2011), Big Time, and Pyramid. Walking into BPH, the expansive dark-wood interior is impossible not to appreciate, made in part from a sequoia tree felled in development of the new downtown-Bothell square, Beardslee Crossing, a mixed-use commercial and residential project aimed at serving the growing Bothell community, which includes UW-Bothell. Downstairs in the brewery, the scent of yeast and malt pleasantly fills the air. That’s where I meet Cluley, hard at work amid his giant beer tanks. Dressed in a gray T-shirt, with long, gray hair and a barrel chest, the man practically blends into the equipment. Despite coming from Seattle beer royalty at Pike, Cluley expresses joy and gratitude for the chance to be a part of this new project. “Being able to build this from the ground up,” he says, “—that was too good to pass up.” And he’s doing good work. Sampling the beers he’s made reveals some standouts in the light-to-mid-range styles: His Widow Maker Wit is clean, lacking the dramatic (and at times off-putting) upshot of flavor in the nose many wits suffer from, yet still with a desirable summery wheat profile. Cluley’s Four Ginger IPA, made with Thai, pickled, candied, and fresh gingers, is also a star. But what sticks out most for me are the smooth and approachable dark beers he’s concocted. Generally, I am not a fan of ESB or pumpkin ales—I find ESBs often too thin and unbalanced and pumpkin ales too thick, syrupy, and malty—
but Cluley manages both styles expertly. They are beers you actually can drink whole pints of without feeling overwhelmed or bogged-down. His Cascadian Dark Ale, known by its other name, Black IPA, is also rich and smooth, and his porter—a style which can often be too earthy and rugged on the tongue—is crisp. “I drink beer year-’round,” says Cluley; “I drink stouts in summer, session ales in winter. I wanted our beers here to be on the dry side as opposed to other breweries who make overly aggressive beer. When I came here I toned things back because I wanted to pair the beer with food.” Two appetizers that pair well with Cluley’s dark beers are the stout-infused deviled eggs and the housemade brewing-grain pretzels with smoked gouda sauce. Moving forward, Cluley explains, the pub’s brewery will experiment with more beers, like an Oatmeal Cookie Stout he made for Thanksgiving. “There’s time in the future to be extreme, if we want,” he says. “But I wanted to make sure we opened with easy, approachable beers, yet not be at all boring.” E
beerhunting@seattleweekly.com
arts&culture
CONVERSATION22 REVIEWS23 CALENDAR25
The Girls’ Guide to Faking an Interest in Sports How to hustle drinks, make new friends, and possibly meet a worthwhile dude amid the Seahawks throngs.
W
hen I moved here two years ago, I asked, “Who is this player number 12, and why do people love him so much?” I kid, because I am a millennial sports fan, a woman who cultivated conversant fandom through careful study—and a teensy amount of trickery (i.e., fake it until you make it). A college-aged female coworker recently said she refused to date a Seahawks fan. She preferred someone who appreciates art, music, and writing. I told her, “Honey, the two are not mutually exclusive. If you want to meet a man, meet him halfway, because most men enjoy sports. That expands the pool of dateable men beyond skinnyjeaned hipsters and bearded vegan baristas.” Sadly, she evoked images of my elitist, er . . . younger self, who would have shunned anyone donning a 12 jersey the way a theater major avoids a frat house. In my early 20s, I didn’t want to date some football-loving douchebag. Only
later did I come to realize how self-defeating and unreasonable it was to judge the vast majority of men by their benign weekend hobby. Ironically, I caught the sports bug early. As a
Michigan tween, my first visit to Chicago coincided with Super Bowl XX in 1986. Back then I enjoyed football, loved going to games, and wanted to be around masculine energy. After college, I began spending Sundays in the pub, learning that getting excited about games converted to free drinks. Call that Lesson One. Lesson Two: Sports have an intensely social aspect that women (and hipsters) tend to vilify. Despite knowing nothing about NCAA basketball, I joined a March Madness office pool under the mentorship of acquaintance who became my betting guru—and later boyfriend. He taught me how to wager and why. I cheered and moaned because I had money on the line, and I met masses of men who bought me count-
less cocktails. I connected with people. (Also, my brackets won, forcing my coworkers to demand a recount.) I even became involved in a “Last Man Standing” bet at my neighborhood bar. Come baseball season, I learned to read box scores, obsessively, to follow my beloved Tigers. I appreciated baseball and could knowledgably chat to almost any man about it. Which brings me to Lesson Three. While my betting-guru boyfriend was ultimately left behind in Chicago, let me say this to my neophyte Seattle sports sisterhood: Knowing sports gives you cred as a cool chick with a large percentage of men. In September, when a store clerk asked me who I thought would win the Hawks/Packers game, I replied, “The Pack doesn’t lose at Lambo.” (Predictably, the Seahawks suffered a double-digit loss that week.) I can connect with sandwich artists, bartenders, and people on the bus because I know football.
Do you want to expand your horizons when it comes to dateable men? Here’s my seven-point action plan. Find a TV-based ball sport you can tolerate or—maybe—even like. Absent a new NBA franchise, that means the Seahawks, Mariners, or Sounders. Then belly up to the bar. You will not meet anyone while giggling in a booth with a gaggle of girls. And remember that tennis, golf, and figure skating are not viable options, since those are not competitions guys watch (or cheer about) in bars. The intention is to meet dateable men. Educate yourself. Read. I recommend the sports/humor website Deadspin. Sometimes, in the doctor’s office waiting room, I also pick up Sports Illustrated. Ask questions. Inquiries are a more efficient aphrodisiac than copious cleavage. To a guy, the only thing sweeter than mansplaining is sportsplaining.
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
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BY ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE
» CONTINUED ON PAGE 20 19
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» FROM PAGE 19 (Again, I was Eliza Doolittle for my betting guru b.f.) Powered with passion, a dude will enthusiastically convey everything you want to know—and more—about a player, team, or game. Let him. You might learn something about his personality and, possibly, his values. Don’t be afraid to not know something about sports. If you have the slightest bit of knowledge, you have opened the door of conversation. Again, dudes dig this. In fact, you have given a bashful guy a chance. Are you eyeing that adorably dorky guy sporting a Sounders scarf, playing darts and downing pints with his bro-grammer friends? Mention to him how you visited Old Trafford during your last trip to England. He will be wowed—and maybe purchase you a craft cocktail. Learn the timing. A friend recently summed it up thusly: “It is all about knowing when to cheer and when to be quiet.” For example, the last two minutes of a Hawks game will seldom only be 120 seconds. During this time, DO NOT SPEAK. Waiting wordlessly for them to run down the clock can be painful, but any man will appreciate it. When in doubt, go get a snack or refill a beverage. When the Hawks lose, men revert back to their tremulous 9-year-old sulking selves. This offers an opportunity to sweetly soothe them. Conversely, when they win, guys run around screaming like overjoyed toddlers. Let them. Smile and be indulgent. Don’t judge a man by his sports jersey or face paint. I was recently on a date with a dude who stopped following football. To me this was more off-putting than a guy wrapped in a 12 flag. It indicated a lack of passion and commitment. If he can give up on the Hawks during a season of injury and ill fortune, will he give up on me? Look, guys do goofy things to express their devotion. If they’re able to go gaga for a sports team, they can also be unbridled in their enthusiasm for you. Unless you have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—say, matinee tickets to The Book of Mormon—do not ask them to skip the game and watch it later on DVR. This is like them asking you to miss the red-carpet preshow to the Oscar telecast. It just isn’t the same after the fact. An invitation to Safeco or the Clink is on par with dinner at Canlis and tickets to The Nutcracker. If a guy asks you, even casually, if you’d like to catch the M’s or Hawks at home, you must say yes. Put on your favorite jeans, a cute T-shirt, and casual shoes (no heels) and enjoy a ballpark frank. Wanna score major points? Secure the tickets yourself and ask him. In conclusion, for the average straight guy—
even evolved ones—loving sports is a fact of life. So, ladies, my advice is to not compete with their precious Sunday-afternoon sports and TV rituals. If you can’t embrace it as a shared pastime, there’s the museum, a matinee, or the mall. Where you will find precisely zero single, dateable men. This Sunday, instead find a sports bar and watch the Seahawks—hopefully—beat the Ravens in Baltimore. If you follow my action plan, you’ll have better luck than with 100 right swipes on Bumble. E
arts@seattleweekly.com
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Age Is Just a Number (or a Position at the Barre) A middle-aged journalist tries to settle the score with a ballet world that once rejected her. BY SANDRA KURTZ
IN THE HEART OF THE SEA in 3D / 2D SPOTLIGHT
THE GIRL IN THE BOOK
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SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
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L
Kessler at age 8 (left) and today.
ike a Venn diagram, Lauren Kessler’s Why make Nutcracker the subject of your new memoir Raising the Barre (Da book, as opposed to Swan Lake or Giselle? Capo, $25) sits at the intersection of I understand that this is not the true aficiotwo different popular genres: selfnado’s ballet, not the ballet lover’s ballet. But it actualization and behind-the-scenes reporting. is the single most popular ballet on the globe. An Oregon journalist and author whose recent It was my first ballet: When I was 5 years old, work has included the conflation of science and my mother took me to Lincoln Center to see snake oil that is the anti-aging industry, Kessler The Nutcracker, and we went every year after had been contemplating what it might that. It’s an easy story ballet. And it’s take to live both a long and a rewardprobably the only ballet I could dance ing life. The project she settled on in, because it has adult parts. It is revealed in her subtitle: “Big Third Place Books was important to me that I wasn’t Dreams, False Starts & My Midjust standing around in a fancy 17171 Bothell Way N.E., 366-3333, Life Quest to Dance The Nutcostume and pretending to clink thirdplacebooks.com. cracker.” After her 12-year-old self a glass—that I actually had dancFree. 7 p.m. overheard her mother and New ing to do. Thurs., Dec. 10. York ballet teacher having “the talk,” A theme in your prior work is where it’s explained that Kessler likely aging, or how we deal with our own won’t have a career in dance, she stopped aging. How does this project connect taking classes and joined the audience. with that? Four decades later, in an effort recalling There is an ongoing, wonderful challenge George Plimpton’s participatory journalism, to keeping yourself open and inviting change. she tried to win a dancing role in Eugene Ballet Not reacting to change, because change hapCompany’s production of Nutcracker (profespens whether we want it to or not, but inviting sional, not amateur). Though of an age when most change and inviting challenge. That’s what professional dancers have already long retired, she keeps us curious and resilient and interesting returned to ballet class with determination and people, and that’s the kind of person I want humor, as we recently discussed by phone. to be, way into my old, old, age. And you have to exercise that. In the way we think about exercising our muscles, or doing puzzles to SW: What’s better or different about dancing exercise our brains, we have to exercise those now, compared to during your girlhood? personality traits like resilience and curiosity Reviving that passion from all those years and going after new experiences. It’s hard and ago. Though the body responds in different and awkward to put yourself back at the beginning perhaps less wonderful ways to the discipline of of a learning curve. The older you get, the less ballet as you get older, the mind, the psychology, confidence you have about being at the beginand the emotions I can bring to this work now— ning of a learning curve. there’s no comparison. Understanding what it takes to work your talent, to stay with it, to have So you recommend that we jump into a new passion but also perseverance—that’s not anygame, whatever that game may be? thing I understood when I was younger. I underWhat I say about that is, step up. Yes, it’s stand it now because of my work as a writer. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s a good kind of discomone thing to want something, and it’s another to fort. If you can stay with it, the beginner’s mind do it every single day, when you don’t feel like it, is the open mind. The expert’s mind is in a comwhen you’re hurting, when life gives you other fortable space; you can take a deep breath, but things to think about. The kind of passion that the line between being comfortable and being is connected to hard work and perseverance is asleep at the wheel is a thin one. E something I appreciate now about dance. books@seattleweekly.com
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e’re in the oil business!” snarls Captain Pollard, born into a wealthy Nantucket whaling clan, at his far more seaworthy first mate. Yet Pollard (Benjamin Walker), whose family bought him the command, doesn’t need to remind Chase (Chris Hemworth) of his place. He was born off-island, then effectively orphaned, yielding a huge Chase (Hemsworth) chip on his very handsome inevitably learns to respect the whale. shoulder. But both these mariners are joined in greed God? Our arrogance? Our greed?” No, replies during the ill-fated 1819 voyage of the Essex, as Pollard, it’s man’s mission “to bend nature to our related in Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 National will.” And to keep the investors happy. Book Award winner In the Heart of the Sea. If Given that Moby-Dick and the Essex sagas are you haven’t read it, no matter; neither have I, female-free, Howard aggressively adds domestic though my copy of Moby-Dick is well thumbed. scenes for holiday filmgoers. Chase has a pregIn his typically sincere and redemptive adaptanant wife back home, so we know he’ll survive tion of Heart, director Ron Howard makes Herman whale attacks and 90 days in a life raft. (Always Melville (Ben Whishaw) a character and framing dull; no movie can make starvation interdevice, who in 1850 seeks out the traumatized esting—and where are the circling last survivor (Brendan Gleeson) of the sharks?) Thirty years later, the wife of Essex disaster. (In fact, Melville drew former cabin boy Tom (Gleeson) on several such accounts.) So liberties Opens Fri., Dec 11 cajoles him into telling Melville are being taken in the service of an at Sundance, Meridian, his true story—cannibalism and entertaining, uplifting IMAX 3-D Pacific Science Center, all—in the service of healing, and others. Rated PG-13. yarn, but Howard’s real challenge is 122 minutes. though that modern term is never this: No one in the year 2015 wants uttered. Their marriage is saved! to see a movie about sentient mammals being slaughtered for their oil (used for lamps in those pre-electric days). But it’s the storytelling that counts. Howard tries several strategies to distract us Unusually for Howard, one of our finest oldfrom such eco-horror. First, action: This being school Hollywood craftsmen, Heart is a very meta a 3-D movie, there is much sharpening of haraccount, constantly reassuring and validating itself. poons later to be thrown at the lens. And Thor, I Old Tom and Melville regularly discuss the narmean Hemsworth, never looks more dashing than rative, and the very value of narrative. In search when poised in the bow, about to toss those lethal of a hit novel, Melville confesses the doubts of iron darts at his prey. Chase and crew also reguan uncertain artist (yawn), while Tom drowns his larly scramble up and down the rigging of their PTSD in the bottle—and ships-in-a-bottle, which sailing ship, which is rocked by gales and colossal betoken the screenwriters’ reductive art. In the postCG waves (somewhat improved from The Perfect scripts, Howard presents Moby-Dick as the triumph Storm). And when Chase does stick a harpoon in it was not; though praised by Melville’s buddy a sperm whale’s back, their skiff surfs along behind Hawthorne, it was a commercial flop. In an odd, it, the men cheering in delight. “It’s a Nantucket half-satisfying way, the film confesses its obsolessleigh ride!” he whoops. Well, that, or a Red Bull cences and contradictions. In fact, we and Howard commercial, or a Point Break trailer. are rooting for the whale, that pod protector and Class conflict also looms large. Pollard is a patriarch, the good father Chase never had. snide one-percenter with the industry behind Jaws this is not. Nor does it much resemble him. Chase is a populist who treats all the crew— January’s coming survival account The Revenant a few African-Americans among them—fairly (aka Leo versus the bear), also based on real events and protectively. (My favorite line has Pollard of the 1820s. The shark had to die, the grizzly reprimanding Chase, “Damn your impertinence!”) has to die, but this white whale is an emblem of Nantucket is depicted like pre-crash Wall Street, sullied conscience (as in Melville’s book). Each boiling with shares and speculation. Howard harpoon Chase flings comes back at him. When also has to acknowledge modern environmental Howard’s camera dives below the water, we see concerns. Nineteenth-century whaling is resource the terrified whale calves swimming alongside management at its worst, its rapaciousness deservtheir wounded mothers. (So like Bambi!) Mobyedly near collapse. When Moby-Dick strikes Dick is the father that Chase hopes to be. E back, Chase asks, “What offence did we give bmiller@seattleweekly.com
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Maria (DeLohr Helland, center) surrounded by her minions.
a bit miscast, lacking the gravitas we’ve come here’s no family-friendlier time for to expect of this character—perhaps because he the performing arts than the holiseems more casual than martial, a figure from days. While Nutcracker is a splendid 2008 instead of 1938. That said, when the two no-brainer, its longstanding seasonal have their first dance and, soon after, first kiss, presence affords those with kiddos—or anyone there’s a palpable chemistry, which pleasantly looking for a festive night out—the chance to surprised me. try something that’s not perennial, like The children are all adorable and The Sound of Music. It’s partially a exactly what you’d expect, with an credit to the original Richard Rodgexceptional performance from ers score itself, as well as to this 5th Avenue Theatre Liesl, the eldest (Shaye Hodgins), locally cast production, that the 1308 Fifth Ave., 625-1900, whose voice stood out as one of 60-year-old musical manages to 5thavenue.org. the loveliest. Likewise Jessica keep the audience rapt through $29 and up. Ends Jan. 3. Skerritt plays a far feistier, more 38 songs. And it’s not just because complicated Baroness Elsa than they’re songs you grew up with and we’re used to. This thoroughly modknow intimately; even my 8-year-old ern woman in stylish trousers not only daughter remained spellbound until the conveys superficiality and disdain for the chilvery end (an hour and a half past her bedtime). dren and Maria, but a subtle world-weariness By including all the songs, the musical must, (despite her ultimate refusal to take a stand necessarily, lose some plot nuances from the against the Nazis). Oscar Hammerstein book—otherwise the show would last all night. When Maria comes to the von Trapp home and meets the children, Act 2, of course, brings in the story’s darker there’s only a perfunctory struggle to win them elements—without frightening the kids. (The over; in just one number, she’s got them under 5th is officially calling this production Rodgers her thumb. As such, the pacing is always at the & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, suggesting mercy of the music, which can feel hollow at some tinkering with the 1959 original.) This times, but that hardly matters in such a beloved, staging, directed by David Bennett, manages to crowd-pleasing musical. Where doesn’t it sufimpart the ominousness of Germany’s occupafer from this? Scenes at the abbey, where Anne tion of Austria. A huge red Nazi flag hangs Allgood’s Mother Abbess practically steals the boldly—the one with the “black spider,” says show. (Indeed, she received a standing ovation on one of the von Trapp children—when the family the night I attended.) Not only do her interacsings at the Kaltzberg Festival. tions with Kirsten deLohr Helland’s Maria feel And the ending, one of the most surprising charged and authentic, but her voice is a marvel, parts of an otherwise perfect, predictable producleading a legion of nuns in several numbers. Her tion, doesn’t leave us with the family gaily cavortchill-inducing crescendos had me seriously coning over the sunny hills of Switzerland. Instead, templating going to church. after the family has fled the abbey, it culminates DeLohr Helland gives a solid, admirable perwith the haunting voices of the Mother Abbess formance (let’s face it: It’s a challenge to match and her forlorn nuns—a reminder of the horrors the sheer exuberance of Julia Andrews), but that follow the happy ending. E Hans Altwies as Captain Georg von Trapp feels nsprinkle@seattleweekly.com
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PICKLIST gesticulating like the spectral figures she raps about. Headlining is Biome, a producer whose killer techno lives up to her name. Clanging and churning in biological rhythms, the tracks evoke images of protozoa squiggling under a microscope. With M44GN4$, WINGEDU.
Glass Box Gallery, 831 Seattle Blvd. S. (Inscape Bldg.), glassboxgallery.com. RSVP before Thurs. to rosegoldseattle@gmail.com. $10 (all ages). 9 p.m. KELTON SEARS
Georgetown Art Attack
DECEMBER 9
Wednesday Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 877-784-4849, stgpresents.org. $21–$27. 7 p.m. MARA SILVERS
DECEMBER 10
Thursday Land of the Sweets
Most productions of The Nutcracker are definitely family fare, but Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann have been presenting a decidedly adult version of the show for the past 10 years. Their burlesque Nutcracker is full of salacious fun in the best tradition, with showgirl snowflakes, a King of the Rats with tearaway pants, and Verlaine herself as the Countess of Coffee, stripping in a steamy cup. If you’re a bit bored with the traditional fare over at PNB, this is a zesty alternative to the G-rated version. (Through Dec. 27.) The Triple
Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, Verlaineand McCann.com. $35–$65. 7 & 10 p.m. SANDRA KURTZ
Most aspiring gardeners are of the opinion that without green thumbs, they won’t get very far. Actually, as the married authors Montgomery and Biklé argue in The Hidden Half of Nature (Norton, $26.95), botanical growth is much more about compost. And microbes. When this geolomorphologist and biologist, respectively, are confronted with resolute glacial till instead of lush and ready-to-nurture soil, they fear that their Seattle garden is bound to flounder. However, after putting their minds where their trowels are, they discover that even this inhospitable plot can be turned into a thriving ecosystem—if the “microscopic soil life” can munch on organic matter. After many truckloads of creative nurture, Montgomery and Biklé soon find that they might be receiving as much revitalization as they’re giving. Even if you’ve never entertained a single thought about “the parallel roles of microbes in maintaining the health of plants and people,” this book is an accessible and illuminating read. Half of Nature touches on everything from GMOs to modern medicine, all of it rooted in dirt. University Book Store, 4326 University
Way N.E., 634-3400, bookstore.washington.edu. Free. 7 p.m. MARA SILVERS
DECEMBER 11
Friday
It’s a Wonderful Life
It’s funny to think that the Christmas movie we all hold near and dear to our hearts not only met with mixed reviews, but also ended up losing RKO a half-million dollars in 1946 (about $6 million today, which buys a lot of socks). But like the bottomed-out George Bailey (memorably played by James Stewart), there was hope for this little movie that could.
Almost 70 years later, Frank Capra’s Yuletide melodrama is still one of the most important staples of both Christmas movies and film as a whole. Upon its release, some critics tore it to shreds for its unrealistic, optimistic themes and emotions. The Scrooges of the time apparently saw no need for humor, happiness, and a hope for a better future. Yet today, when the world is so full of hate, anger, and ignorance, it would do us all good to experience some holiday cheer— and maybe even shed a tear here and there. The Grand Illusion is hosting its 45th annual screening of this true classic, so do yourself a favor and take a trip down memory lane—or discover it for the first time. (Through Dec. 31.)
Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935. $5–$9. See grandillusioncinema.org for showtimes. SCOTT JOHNSON
DECEMBER 12
Saturday TUF
A relatively new local collective of women, non-binary, and female-identifying folks in Seattle’s growing underground electronic world, TUF will be hosting its very first showcase “in herstory” tonight. And as first showcases go, it’s a definite doozy. Leading things off is Kayla Waldorf, aka Aos, a member of the Tacomaborn dance crew secondnature, recently seen on our Sept. 23 cover. Waldorf ’s minimalist, heady techno sounds as though it emanated from beneath the crust of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. If you couldn’t tell by all our raving last month, we also really dig DoNormaal, the Ballard rapper whose surreal new LP Jump or Die is easily one of the year’s best local hip-hop releases (also thanks to MC Christianne Karefa-Johnson’s wildly inventive delivery). Live, DoNormaal performs with gusto, hopping around and
attack.com for walking map and all venues. Free. 6–9 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
DECEMBER 14
Monday Billy Liar
Billy Fisher is an undertaker’s clerk in Yorkshire. He’s proposed to two different girls, is attracted to a third (his ex), and spends his time living in his imaginary world, “Ambrosia,” where he is not only a military hero, but also the ruler. It’s escapism at its finest as Billy disappoints all those around him, weaving lies like a spider web in whch he inevitably becomes entangled. John Schlesinger’s hilarious 1963 British New Wave film has stood the test of time with its cringeworthy humor, crisp black-and-white cinematography, and charming performances from Tom Courtenay (as Billy) and Julie Christie (as Liz, his ex). And naturally Liz just happens to understand Billy’s whimsical imagination, no matter how immature it may be. Moments like Billy making plans with his two fiancées to meet at the same club on the same night are the stuff of sitcoms. Yet they’re so awkwardly funny it doesn’t even matter that this trope has been repeated countless times since the ’60s. Tonight’s one-off screening is followed by 45 Years (due January 29),with Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling as a long-married couple. SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511
Queen Anne Ave. N., 324-9996, siff.net. $7–$12. 6:30 p.m. SCOTT JOHNSON E
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
Even though the trailer is eight minutes of intensity à la The Hunger Games, narrated by a man with an odd British accent, and with ads comprable to Super Bowl breaks, this year’s touring edition of the Banff Mountain Film Festival still looks pretty badass. Sundry shorts feature white-water kayaking, epic trad climbing, sled-dog racing, paragliding, and just about every other mode of human- or naturepowered transport one could think of. Whether it’s Emily Harrington crushing Golden Gate or Forest Woodward and his dad jerking tears during their trip on the Colorado River, this shorta-copia promises it all. Is it bound to feature a bunch of mostly fit, white, ruggedly attractive athletes spouting New Age platitudes in the wilderness? Yes. But isn’t that also why you want to go? (Through Fri.) The
David Montgomery & Anne Biklé
SCOTT BUTNER
Lily Verlaine in full holiday regalia.
The final attack of the year happily coincides with holiday shopping season, which means special attention should be paid tonight to the Trailer Park Mall. Unlike your highfalutin’ Pioneer Square art walks, the mall is full of affordable crafts, handmade creations, and gifts—all locally made and artisanal, we promise. On the (slightly) higher end of the cultural spectrum, Fantagraphics is launching Cheech Wizard’s Book of Me, with Mark Bodé, son of the late alternative comix artist Vaughn Bodé, who’ll discuss the latter’s art with local muralist Specs Wizard. All City Coffee features clown paintings by Edward Matlock, so the coulrophobic best stay away. Less intimidating will be Socar Myles’ bird drawings at Krab Jab and a group show at Eight and Sand featuring tarot- and nautical-inspired works. There’s also street photography at Machine House Brewery, ever more crafts at studio e, and a difficult-to-type video installation by Norwegian artist Richard Alexandersson at Interstitial, called FLOW(FLOCK(surface(FLAVOR))). For Georgetown bohemians with kids in tow, there’ll be a tree-lighting ceremony, wandering carolers, and the Choir of Sound. And for lonely singletons who can find the holiday season bleak and dispiriting, the bartenders at Jules Maes and 9 Lb. Hammer will be happy to help you drown your woes. See georgetownart
25
NURTURE • YOUR • CALLING learning how to use healthy “ I’m food to my advantage and how to share that knowledge. ” Terasak Roeksbutr, MS (2013)
Create a Healthier World Degrees Include: • Naturopathic Medicine • Public Health • Midwifery
Learn more:
calendar THEATER
Current Runs
Openings & Events
cabaret evenings return. ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., artswest. org. $30–$80. 7:30 p.m. Mon., Dec. 14 & Tues., Dec. 22.
BACKYARD ASTRONOMER A cab-
aret evening of songs from the movie musical by Maximillian Davis (slated for summer release). The Pink Door, 1919 Post Alley, Pike Place Market, thepink door.net. $10. 10 p.m. Mon., Dec. 14. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Disney’s musical love story comes to Seattle for one weekend only. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., stgpresents.org. $35 and up. 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11; 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12; 1 & 6:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER Those Herdman kids are ruin-
Bastyr.edu/Info • 425-602-3330 Kenmore, Wash. • San Diego
Give the Gift of Theatre Gift Certificates available for any value!
ing our holiday play! Seattle Public Theater, 7312 W. Green Lake Dr. N., seattlepublictheater.org. $17–$34. Opens Dec. 12. Runs 2 & 4 p.m. Sat.– Sun. and Dec. 22–24. Ends Dec. 24. DRAGON LADY Sara Porkalob’s solo show about her grandmother’s gangster past. PrimaVera Arts Center, 112 Fifth Ave. N., brownpapertickets. com. $10. 7:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13–Tues., Dec. 15. FINNEGANS WAKE Chapter two, performed from memory (you read that right) by Neal Kosaly-Meyer. Chapel Performance Space, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., waywardmusic.org. $5–$15. 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12. GARBAGE PEOPLE Brodie Kelly hosts a night of storytelling: Comedians recount their worst moments. Gallery 1412, 1412 18th Ave., brownpaper tickets.com. $5. 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12.
HOGSWATCH NIGHT BURLESQUE
A Discworld-themed show. Theatre Puget Sound, Seattle Center, brown papertickets.com. $25–$50. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11–Sat., Dec. 12. HOMO FOR THE HOLIDAYS Don your gayest apparel for this queer burlesque revue, starring BenDeLaCreme, Lou Henry Hoover. Waxie Moon, and many others. West Hall, OddFellows Building, 915 E. Pine St. $25–$37. Opens Dec. 10. 8 p.m. Wed.–Thurs., 7 & 10 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 5 & 8 p.m. Sun., plus 8 p.m. Dec. 21 & 22. Ends Dec. 27. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE The classic with a twist. The 30-person cast has never rehearsed together before, and will be cued onstage with their first line. Cornish Playhouse, Seattle Center, the1448projects.org. $25. 6:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12. ■ LAND OF SWEETS SEE THE PICK VillageTheatre.org LIST, PAGE 37. LIFE WITH FATHER The Endangered Species Project reads this smash comedy—still the Broadway record-holder for a non-musical play (3,224 performances, 1939–47). ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., acttheatre.org. $10–$15. 7 p.m. Mon., Dec. 14. CLIMBING OUT OF HOMELESSNE SS PAGE 7 | DINI THE LION IN WINTER James NG IN THE DAR K PAGE 74 | FEST BESTS PAGE 85 Goldman’s life of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Ballard Underground, 2220 N.W. Market St., the1448projects. MICRO-CITY org. $15–$20. Opens Dec. 11. 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. plus Dec. 13, 14, & 17 and 2 p.m. Sat., Dec. 19. Ends Dec. 19. RED EMPTINESS Non-verbal theater from Black Umbrella Theater Group from Bandung, Indonesia, followed by a panel discussion on “Islam, Politics. THE LITTLE THIN GS THAT MAKE A BIG DIFFEREN CE. and Performing Arts in Indonesia.” Hughes Penthouse Theater, UW campus. Free. 6 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11.
See the Glamorous, Musical Classic this Holiday Season! NOW – JANUARY 3 issaquah I (425) 392-2202 JANUARY 8 – 31 everett I (425) 257-8600
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UNNATURAL REDHEADS: A PRODUCTION! “All kinds of per-
formance styles are united under the scarlet wig of destiny!” in this burlesque show. JewelBox Theater at the Rendezvous, 2322 Second Ave., scarlettohairdye.com. $18–$30. 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12.
WILD KATE: A TALE OF REVENGE AT SEA Karen Hartman’s adventure
of teens on a boat. 12th Ave. Arts, 1620 12th Ave., cornish.edu. $5–$12. 8 p.m. Wed., Dec. 9–Sat., Dec. 12 plus 2 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12 and 7 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13.
AFTER HOURS ArtsWest’s intimate
A(N IMPROVISED) CHRISTMAS CAROL Unexpected Productions
wants your help with the rewrite. Market Theater, 1428 Post Alley, unexpectedproductions.org. $5–$15. 8:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. plus Dec. 21 & 22; 7 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 26.
CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
Caractacus Potts and his flying car are back. Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Center, sct.org. $25 and up. 7 p.m. Thurs.–Fri., 2 & 5:30 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 27. A CHRISTMAS CAROL Keep your parodies and improv shows; ACT dishes the Dickens straight up. Kurt Beattie and Charles Leggett tag-team as Scrooge. ACT, 700 Union St. $27–$37 and up. Runs Tues.–Sun. plus Mon., Dec. 28; see acttheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 30.
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A LIVE RADIO PLAY Twelfth Night
Productions offers Dickens with sound effects and organ music. Kenyon Hall, 7904 35th Ave. S.W., brownpaper tickets.com. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 13. CHRISTMASTOWN: A HOLIDAY NOIR Wayne Rawley’s hard-boiled
detective story. Seattle Public Theater, 7312 W. Green Lake Dr. N. $17–$34. Runs Thurs.–Sun. plus Dec. 22 & 23; see seattlepublictheater.org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 24. ■ COME FROM AWAY The true basis for this unlikely 9/11 musical by Irene Sankoff and David Hein is how 38 flights—carrying over 6,000 “come-from-aways”—were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. There the befuddled locals embraced travelers from around the world. It’s a show that entreats you to believe in the goodness of people—and this jaded theatergoer says it succeeds abundantly on both counts. ALYSSA DYKSTERHOUSE Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Center. $17 and up. Runs Tues.–Sun.; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Extended through Dec. 20. DINA MARTINA CHRISTMAS SHOW 2015 An all-new show of
warmth and wonder from the incomparable, indefatigable, indescribable entertaineress. Re-bar, 1114 Howell St. $22–$25. Runs Fri.–Sat., then nearly every day starting Dec. 10; see brown papertickets.com for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 31. ■ EMMA Book-It is reviving its 2009 adaptation (by Rachel Atkins, directed by Carol Roscoe) for the bicentennial of Emma’s publication. Back is Sylvie Davison as our heroine, now facing the challenge of resisting the handsome, charming Mr. Knightley (Sylvester Kamara). BRIAN MILLER Book-It Repertory Theatre, Center House Theater (Seattle Center), 216-0833. $25–$50. Runs Wed.–Sun., see book-it. org for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 3. FOR CHRISTMAS Jesus and Santa battle—well, bicker—for holiday supremacy in Nick Edwards’ comedy. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., brown papertickets.com. $15–$50. 11 p.m. Fri.– Sat., 7:30 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 20. HAM FOR THE HOLIDAYS Holiday theater doesn’t get any campier than Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt’s annual comedy revue. And yes, the Sequim Gay Men’s Chorus will return, four voices strong. ACT Theatre, 700 Union St., 292-7676. $20 and up. Runs Wed.– Sun.; see acttheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 20. HOLIDAY OF ERRORS Frank Lawler and Daniel Flint’s Elizabethan spoof. 12th Ave. Arts, 1620 12th Ave. $15–$25. Runs 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat., plus Dec. 14 &
16, plus 2 p.m. weekend matinees; see soundtheatrecompany.org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 20. LOOT Joe Orton’s dark farce from 1965. Meany Studio Theatre, UW campus, drama.uw.edu. $10–$20. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 13. ■ MY FAIR LADY The hit-filled 1956 Lerner and Loewe musical is directed by Brian Yorkey. Village Theatre, 303 Front St. N., Issaquah. $38–$70. Runs Tues.–Sun.; see villagetheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 3. (Runs in Everett Jan. 8–31.) ■NOISES OFF Michael Frayn’s uproarious farce shows us a semicompetent traveling theater company from front and from backstage. Campus Theater, Shoreline Community College, 16101 Greenwood Ave. N., brown papertickets.com. $8–$12. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 13. RUTH AND THE SEA Morgan Ludlow’s dramedy about a woman crossing the country to celebrate her last Christmas. Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., pacificplaycompany.com. $12–$20. 8 p.m. Dec. 11, 12, 17, 19. ■ SAUCED The 1937 setting is the Diamond Club for this show written by Terry Podgorski, with songs by Annastasia Workman. Nordo’s Culinarium, 109 S. Main St., cafenordo. com. $65–$99. 7:30 p.m. Thurs. & Sun., 8 p.m. Fri.–Sat. Ends Dec. 20. SHE LOVES ME In this musical romcom, two people who clash in person fall in love via correspondence. Seattle Musical Theatre, 7120 62nd Ave. N.E., Building 47, seattlemusicaltheatre.org. $20–$35. 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat. plus Thurs., Dec. 17; 2 p.m. Sun. plus Sat., Dec. 12 & 19. Ends Dec. 20. SNOWGLOBED Five holiday-themed plays. West of Lenin, 203 N. 36th St., playinginprogress.com. $10–$30. 8 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. Ends Dec. 19. ■ THE SOUND OF MUSIC SEE REVIEW, PAGE 36. TALL TALES OF THE UNNATURAL FRONTIER A sextet of stage shorts
described as “cowboy noir.” Annex Theatre, 1100 E. Pike St., pacificplaycompany.com. $12–$20. 8 p.m. Dec. 10 & 18, 3 p.m. Dec. 12.
■ TEATRO ZINZANNI: HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS The company
channels silver-screen glamour as Ron Campbell plays movie director Cecil B. DeGrille, who inspires dreams of stardom among the performers. Teatro ZinZanni, 222 Mercer St., 802-0015. $99 and up. Runs Thurs.–Sun. plus some Wed.; see zinzanni.com/seattle for exact schedule. Ends Jan. 31. THIS CHRISTMAS The holiday threatens to careen out of control (but probably won’t) in Anne Kennedy Brady’s play. Taproot Theatre, 204 N. 85th St. $20–$40. Runs generally Tues.– Sat.; see taproottheatre.org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 26. THE TWILIGHT ZONE: LIVE Three more tales from the iconic TV series. Theater Schmeater, 2125 Third Ave., schmeater.org. $22–$29. 8 p.m. Thurs.– Sat. Ends Dec. 19. ■ UNWRAPPED Jerick Hoffer and Richard Andriessen follow up last year’s cabaret showbiz-sendup pas de deux The Vaudevillians with this holiday show. Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Center. $34–$40. 8 p.m. Runs Wed.–Sun.; see seattlerep.org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 13. ■ WONDERFUL LIFE The shorter title is a clue to the recent Capra abridgement by Helen Pafumi and Jason Lott: It’s a one-man show, here starring Andrew Lee Creech, in which the storyteller takes on all the roles in Bedford Falls. BRIAN MILLER ArtsWest, 4711 California Ave. S.W., artswest.org. $17–$37.50. 7:30 p.m. Wed.–Sat., 3 p.m. Sun. Ends Dec. 27. See seattleweekly.com for many more Current Runs.
DANCE ■ PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET:
NUTCRACKER George Balanchine’s
1954 choreography is merged with new set and costume designs by Ian Falconer (of Olivia the Pig fame). This Nutcracker reflects the classical heritage that defines ballet for many people, alongside a more conventional telling of the story. It’s all very Currier and Ives, more sweet than tart. SANDRA KURTZ McCaw Hall, Seattle Center. $25–$156. Runs a lot; see pnb. org for exact schedule. Ends Dec. 28. NEXT FEST New experimental works on the theme of Utopia. Velocity Founders Theater, 1515 12th Ave., velocitydancecenter.org. $15–$50. 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11–Sun., Dec. 13. IBT: NUTCRACKER Meydenbauer Center, 11100 N.E. Sixth St., Bellevue ($25–$50). 7:30 p.m. Fri.–Sat., 2 p.m. Sat.–Sun., plus 2 p.m. Dec. 21–23. Ends Dec. 23. intballetacademy.org. CARMONA FLAMENCO Traditional music and dance. Cafe Solstice, 4116 University Way N.E. $15–$20. Doors 7:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12. THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER
Dance Fremont dances the Hans Christian Andersen tale. Shorecrest Performing Arts Center, 15343 25th Ave. N.E., Shoreline, dancefremont. com. $12–$20. 2 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12– Sun., Dec. 13.
CLASSICAL, ETC. SEATTLE SYMPHONY “Holiday
SEATTLE CHORAL COMPANY
“Peace on Earth” includes music by Vasks, Finzi, Part, and others. St. Mark’s Cathedral, 1245 10th Ave. E., seattle choralcompany.org. $25. 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11–Sat., Dec. 12. ■ THE MET: LIVE IN HD Julie Taymor’s ravishing production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. metopera. org. See fathomevents.com for participating theaters. 1 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12, 6:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 16. RAINBOW CITY BAND Music for the season, including Rimsky-Korsakov and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway, brownpapertickets.com. $5–$20. 7 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12. NORTHWEST CHAMBER CHORUS
“Our Dancing Day.” Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church, 7500 Greenwood Ave. N., northwestchamberchorus.org. $18–$23. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12. MARKET STREET SINGERS
“Mysteries and Miracles.” Ballard First Lutheran Church, 2006 N.W. 65th St. Donation. 7:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12.
Glass’ music for the film The Hours. First Free Methodist Church, 3200 Third Ave. W., smcomusic.org. $15–$20. 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12. SEATTLE PRO MUSICA Choral music from Scandinavia and the Baltics. At First Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave., 7:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12, and Bastyr University Chapel, 14500 Juanita Dr. N.E., Kenmore, 3 & 7:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 19. $12–$35. seattlepromusica.org. CHORAL ARTS “Carol of the Angels.” At St. Joseph Parish, 732 18th Ave. E., 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12, and Trinity Parish Church, 609 Eighth Ave., 4 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. $18–$25. choral-arts.org. MAXIMILLIAN DIMOFF The Cleveland Orchestra’s principal bassist (i.e., as good as they come) performs. Brechemin Auditorium, School of Music, UW campus, music.washington. edu. Free. 2 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. TURKISH SACRED MUSIC
Authentic Sufi and Sema music, with whirling dervishes. Mitchell Activity Center, SCCC, rumiseattle.org. $20–$35. 3:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. ANCORA WOMEN’S CHOIR Baltic holiday music and more with the Illumni Men’s Chorale. Trinity Lutheran Church, 1200 10th Ave. E., ancorachoir. org. $11–$16. 4 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. CANDLELIGHT CONCERTS
“Festive Baroque” includes Bach’s Fifth Brandenburg, Mozart, and more. University Christian Church, 4731 15th Ave. N.E., candlelightseattle.org. $15–$20. 7 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13.
■ NORTH CORNER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Some Christmas music,
but also Stravinsky and a work by Laura Schwendinger. Magnolia Church of Christ, 3555 W. McGraw St., nocco. org. $15–$25. 7:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13.
A SERVICE OF READINGS & CAROLS Music from the youth choirs
at St. James Cathedral, 804 Ninth Ave., stjames-cathedral.org. Freewill offering. 7:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. SEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS Their annual holiday spectacular. Benaroya Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., seattle menschorus.org. $25–$78. 7:30 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13 & 20, 7:30 p.m. Mon., Dec. 21. ■ INVERTED SPACE This UW newmusic ensemble’s “Long Piece Fest” continues with a work by Antoine Beuger for electronic instruments. Chapel Performance Space, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., invertedspace ensemble.com. $5–$15. 7:30 p.m. Tues., Dec. 15. See seattleweekly.com for many more holiday concerts.
AUTHOR EVENTS ■ TESS GALLAGHER reads from
Beginners, a collection of early stories by Raymond Carver, her late husband. Elliott Bay Book Co., 1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. 7 p.m. Wed., Dec. 9. STANLEY B. GREENBERG offers a positive outlook in America Ascendant: A Revolutionary Nation’s Path to Addressing Its Deepest Problems and Leading the 21st Century. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 652-4255, townhall seattle.org. $5. 6 p.m. Wed., Dec. 9. DAVID GREGORY The NBC News correspondent’s memoir is How’s Your Faith: An Unlikely Spiritual Journey. Town Hall. $5. 7:30 p.m. Wed., Dec. 9. DON GEORGE The Way of Wanderlust: offers an overview of the Lonely Planet writer’s career. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, bookstore. washington.edu. 7 p.m. Wed., Dec. 9. ■ LAUREN KESSLER SEE THE CONVERSATION, PAGE 22.
■ DAVID R. MONTGOMERY & ANNE BIKLÉ SEE THE PICK LIST,
PAGE 25.
BIG HEAD TODD AND THE MONSTERS
■ RICK STEVES The cherubic travel
writer and TV host speaks. Broadway Performance Hall, 1625 Broadway, bookstore.washington.edu. Register at lifereimagined.aarp.org. 7 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 10. ROGER COHEN The New York Times writer talks on “The Future of American Diplomatic Leadership in Israel and the Middle East.” Temple de Hirsch Sinai, 1511 E. Pike St. Free. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 10. CHRIS SALGARDO Spruce up for the holidays with tips from the author of MANMADE: The Essential Skincare & Grooming Reference for Every Man. Nordstrom, 500 Pine St., 6 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11 & 9 a.m. Sat., Dec. 12. ADA CALHOUN St. Marks Is Dead: The Many Lives of America’s Hippest Street tells of this East Village thoroughfare. Elliott Bay. 7 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11.
■ THE BUSHWICK BOOK CLUB SEATTLE Authors David Laskin,
Donna Miscolta, and David Lasky are joined by musical guests. Richard Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave., 322-7030, hugohouse.org. $5–$15. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11. STACI SPROUT Calm down for the holidays with tips from the author of Naked in Public: A Memoir of Recovery From Sex Addiction and Other Temporary Insanities! Hugo House. 6:30 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12.
VISUAL ARTS Openings & Events
with MIKE DOUGHTY
1/14
THE ENGLISH BEAT with THE INTERRUPTERS
12/12
X
8:30PM
TRIBAL SEEDS with THE SKINTS + THE STEPPAS
KEXP & SHOWBOX PRESENT
BILLY ZOOM’S XMAS MIRACLE 12/18
with MIKE WATT 1/21 AND THE SECONDMEN
AN ELECTRIFYING 14-PIECE TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON
8:00PM
TRIBUTE TO NEIL DIAMOND
9:00PM
FOREVERLAND 1/9
7:30PM
SUPERDIAMOND
1/22
9:00PM
STS9
9:00PM
JD MCPHERSON with HONEYHONEY
1/12
8:30PM
1/23
8:30PM
BILL BALL Inspired to paint three
years ago at Burning Man, he shows new abstract paintings inspired by the Northwest Mystics (Mark Tobey, Guy Anderson, etc.). Also on view, works from Anna Sokolov. Opening reception, 6-7:30 p.m. Fri. Belltown Community Center, 415 Bell St., See seattle.gov/parks/centers/belltown for hours. Ends Jan. 31.
■ CAPITOL HILL ART WALK
Jake Millett shows new paintings at Cupcake Royale. The group photo show Children of Privilege opens at Dendroica. John Bavaro’s painting series BrainTree draws inspiration from the artist’s life-threatening recent stroke (!), while Chris Rollins paints more benign movie automobiles, including Herbie. See capitolhillartwalk.com for venues and walking map. 6-9 p.m. Thurs. ■ DR. SEUSS The legendary illustrator is represented with a series of prints, called Oh, The Places You’ll Go. Opening reception, 6-8 p.m. Wed. Gunnar Nordstrom, 800 Bellevue Way N.E. (Bellevue), 425-283-0461, gunnar nordstrom.com. 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.Sat. Noon-5 p.m. Sun. Ends Jan. 2. EVERYONE’S IN A salon-style group show, with small works priced for the holidays, draws inspiration from Jayson Musson’s Itsa Small, Small World. Opening reception, 6-9 p.m. Sat. The Alice, 6007 12th Ave. S., thealicegallery.com. Noon-5 p.m. Sat. Ends Jan. 16. SLASH & BURN Celeste Cooning, Joy Hagen, Deborah Kapoor, Brenda Mallory, Naoko Morisawa, June Sekiguchi, Suze Woolf, and Ellen Ziegler make use of fire, soot, charcoal, and scorch marks. Opening reception, 6 p.m. Fri. (Artist demos to follow at 6 p.m. Thurs., Jan. 7 and 28.) Kirkland Arts Center, 620 Market St., 425-822-7161, kirklandartscenter. org. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Jan. 30. ■ SMALL WORKS This holiday show includes the likes of Jacob Lawrence, Guy Anderson, and George Tsutakawa. Opening reception, 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 10. Woodside/Braseth Gallery, 622-7243, 1201 Western Ave., woodsidebrasethgallery.com. 11 a.m.6 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Ends Jan. 8.
HOODIE ALLEN
SHOWBOX AND USC EVENTS PRESENT
with SUPER DUPER KYLE + BLACKBEAR
2/5
2/6
9:00PM
2/20
9:00PM
3/30
with DELORA
9:00PM
LOGIC UNDEROATH HAWAIIAN PUNCH WINTER TOUR
IRATION + PEPPER with NEW KINGSTON
2/19 – ON SALE FRIDAY
3/24
BORGEOUS + MORGAN PAGE
9:00PM
MASTERS OF ILLUSION
MOORE THEATRE
4/4
7:30PM
CIARA
8:00PM
HATSUNE MIKU 8:00PM
4/23
WAMU THEATER
SHOWBOXPRESENTS.COM
8:00PM
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
Pops.” Benaroya Hall, Third Ave. & Union St., seattlesymphony.org. $30 and up. 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11, 2 & 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12., 2 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. UW BANDS Music from three ensembles. Meany Hall, UW campus, music.washington.edu. $10. 7:30 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 10. UW SYMPHONY Strauss, Schumann, and Sibelius (with soprano Cyndia Sieden). Meany Hall, UW campus, music.washington.edu. $10. 7:30 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11. ■ PACIFIC MUSICWORKS Likely the best Messiah you’ll hear. At Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 4400 86th Ave., Mercer Island, 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11; and Meany Hall, UW campus, 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12 & 2 p.m. Sun., Dec. 13. $10–$45. pacificmusicworks.org. ■ THE ESOTERICS For his centennial, choral music by Russian composer Georgy Sviridov, including American premieres of sacred works that had to wait to be heard until the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991. At St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 4805 N.E. 45th St., 8 p.m. Fri., Dec. 11, and Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 4210 S.W. Genesee St., 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 12. $15–$25. theesoterics.org
■ SEATTLE METROPOLITAN CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Philip
27
DOUBLE TEE & SOUL’D OUT PROUDLY PRESENT:
calendar
AND TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE APRIL 14 • MOORE THEATRE • 7:30PM TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT STGPRESENTS.ORG, BY PHONE AT 877-784-4849, AND IN PERSON AT THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE BOX OFFICE.
El Corazon E orazon www.elcorazonseattle.com
109 Eastlake Ave East • Seattle, WA 98109 Booking and Info: 206.262.0482
THURSDAY DECEMBER 10TH FUNHOUSE
HUNNY
Medici, Rego, Wiscon
Doors 7:00PM / Show 8:00. ALL AGES/BAR W/ID. $10 ADV / $12 DOS
FRIDAY DECEMBER 11TH EL CORAZON
BLACK SABBITCH (THE ALL FEMALE BLACK SABBATH)
SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
Witchburn, Zero Down, Devils Hunt Me Down, Year Of The Cobra
28
Doors 8:00PM / Show 9:00. 21+. $10 ADV / $12 DOS
FRIDAY DECEMBER 11TH FUNHOUSE
SATURDAY DECEMBER 12TH FUNHOUSE
KIDS ON FIRE
Spit In The Well, The Glaring, The Know Nothingz
Doors 9:00PM / Show 9:30. 21+. $7
SUNDAY WEDNESDAY DECEMBER JULY 22ND 13THELFUNHOUSE CORAZON BRIAN FOSS PRESENTS:
THRASHERS CORNER w/Burlington Coat
BRIAN FOSS PRESENTS:
JUICY THEDoors SNUGGLE REGIME Felony,THOMPSON Upwell, HellAND Raisers 9:00PM / Supposably, Pleasure Show 9:30. 21+. $7 Island Doors 8:30PM / Show
9:00. 21+. $7
MONDAY DECEMBER 14TH FUNHOUSE
BRIAN FOSS PRESENTS:
WINTER FRESH OUT WEST TOUR 2 FEATURING:
Thee Sgt. Major III, Sayonara, Wolfgang Fuck
Saykred, Lafurno The Leviathan, David Olivas, Plus Guests Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30. ALL AGES/BAR
WIMPS
Doors 9:00PM / Show 9:30. 21+. $7
SATURDAY DECEMBER 12TH EL CORAZON
THE BLASTERS
Gamblers Mark, Jackrabbit Starts, The F-Holes, Marieke & The Go Get ‘Em Boys Doors 8:00PM /
Show 9:00. 21+. $18 ADV / $20 DOS
SATURDAY DECEMBER 12TH FUNHOUSE
I.L.A.M.
W/ID. $7 ADV / $10 DOS
TUESDAY DECEMBER 15TH FUNHOUSE BRIAN FOSS PRESENTS:
TOPLESS
Downtown, Lindseys, Tim Held Doors 8:30PM / Show 9:00. 21+. $6 ADV / $8 DOS
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 16TH FUNHOUSE
KINGDOM OF THE HOLY SUN
QUIETER
3:30PM / Show 4:00. 21+. $8
W/ID. $8 ADV / $10 DOS
BRIAN FOSS PRESENTS:
Angry Snowmans, Lucky Boys, Dead Bars, Sledgeback LA Witch, FEELS, CMRTYZ Doors
Glacier Veins, Kathleen Parrish, Itemfinder, Plus Guests Doors 7:00PM / Show 7:30. ALL AGES/BAR
JUST ANNOUNCED 1/8 FUNHOUSE - LE SHAT NOIR 1/14 - T.S.O.L. 2/13 FUNHOUSE - FRED & TOODY COLE (OF DEAD MOON) 2/19 - THE ALTERNATIVE PRES TOUR FEAT. NECK DEEP 3/4 - ANTI-FLAG / LEFTOVER CRACK 3/5 - CANNIBAL CORPSE 4/1 - DECIBEL MAGAZINE TOUR FEAT. ABBATH / HIGH ON FIRE 4/23 - D.R.I. 5/8 - PRIMAL FEAR / LUKA TURRILLI’S RHAPSODY UP & COMING 12/18 - INTO THE FLOOD 12/18 FUNHOUSE - THE BAD THINGS 12/19 - H2O 12/19 FUNHOUSE - DANCER & PRANCER 12/20 - JASON MICHAEL CARROLL 12/21 - PITY SEX 12/22 FUNHOUSE - TOM BENNETT 12/23 FUNHOUSE - TEST APES 12/26 - SHE IS WE 12/30 - DWARVES 12/31 - SUPER GEEK LEAGUE 1/1 FUNHOUSE - MILLHOUS 1/2 FUNHOUSE - GEARS
THE FUNHOUSE BAR IS OPEN FROM 3:00PM TO 2:00AM DAILY AND HAPPY HOUR IS FROM 3:00PM UNTIL 6:00PM. Tickets now available at Ticketfly.com – no per order fees for online purchases! Charge by phone at 1-877-987-6487. Online at www.ticketfly.com. Tickets are subject to a service charge. You can also buy advance tickets at the El Corazon Box Office – open weekdays from 11:00am to 9:00pm at the Eastlake Waffle Window. There is a $2 service charge per ticket at The El Corazon Box Office. The EL CORAZON VIP PROGRAM: details at www.elcorazon.com/vip.html for an application email info@elcorazonseattle.com
CHRISTINA HICKS
SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS
MUSIC Thursday, Dec. 10
■ Local trio CHARMS is the nerdiest band you’d never know were nerds. While they don’t explicitly sing about video games or D&D, they certainly play a whole lot of video games and tabletop RPGs, all of which influence their excellent “boss-battle” inspired noise punk. Full of rumbling low-end bass synth, screeching poly-octave guitar, and crashing, hyperactive drumming, the tunes certainly sound like something that might soundtrack a fight between a swordsman and a giant levitating head with laser eyes. With King Snake, Spirit Award, DJ Chocolate Chuck. Chop Suey. 8 p.m. $6. 21 and over. KELTON SEARS
Friday, Dec. 11
Seattle’s favorite seasonal supergroup, THE MALDOGGIES, are here once again to usher in Christmas with some down-home hybrid rock. This Megazord formation—Seattle’s altcountry outfit the Maldives combining forces with Everett’s favorite sons, the swamp-rocking Moondoggies—has emerged each December for 10 years to throw a festive holiday-themed show. If Santa wears cowboy boots in your mind and you regularly spike your egg nog with whiskey, tonight’s your night. Tractor Tavern. 9 p.m. $15. 21 and over. KS Local power-poppers THE HOOT HOOTS write ecstatic, technicolor songs inspired by Adventure Time and Katamari Damacy. Unsurprisingly, seeing the band perform is sort of like watching a live-action cartoon—members wear rainbow cult robes and front man Adam Prairie dons light-up LED glasses that look like something a scientist employed by Kanye West might have protoyped. Fans of the Shins, Weezer, and being happy, take note. With The Weather Machine, Lonely Mountain Lovers. Sunset Tavern. 9 p.m. $8. 21 and over. KS
Sister Girlfriend
Saturday, Dec. 12
Local promotion and booking group Artist Home is keeping it frosty with WINTERSONG, a collaborative show featuring a number of artists from the NW music community performing winter-themed songs together. On the bill we have Seattle Weekly columnist and cosmic R&B chanteuse Sassyblack, garagerocking Sound Off! finalists Naked Giants, Fly Moon Royalty’s Adra Boo, the twee-pop stylings of Ok Sweetheart, and a whole slew of others. With St. Paul De Vence, Tim Wilson, Mike Gervais and special guests. The Pirahna Shop, 8 p.m., $12, all ages. KS
Sunday, Dec. 13
■ Born from the rubble of industrialmusic pioneers Throbbing Gristle, PSYCHIC TV rose in 1981 as the ever-evolving vessel for the schemes and postmodern rituals of noted chaos magician and visionary performance artist Genesis P-Orridge. The group’s wildly divergent stylistic forays have ranged from psychedelic pop to sample-based noise assault to acid house to founding an actual cult—the only constant being P-Orridge’s inimitable, mischievous attitude toward . . . well . . . the fabric of reality itself. The group rarely gigs out anymore, so make sure to catch the living legend while they’re here. With Ononos, Crypts. Chop Suey. 8 p.m. $20 adv./$23 DOS. 21 and over. KS ■ Despite its name, Seattle’s
SISTER GIRLFRIEND thankfully doesn’t promote incest—mostly just R&B-inflected house grooves featuring lots of male falsetto. With one of this city’s most talented jazz drummers, Chris Icasiano, sitting behind the throne, the band churns out curiously modern takes on the kind of swooning, breezy funk-lite you might’ve heard playing in a Kmart in the late ’80s, a vibe that’s coming back in vogue in our postvaporwave netscape. Speaking of: Opening the show is Mike Nike, the
new project from Dude York front man Peter Richards, rumored to be a very conceptual one-man project set in a vaguely dystopian, corporatecontrolled future full of trash. I’ve been told that for an early Mike Nike show, Richards brought a broken big-screen TV he found in an alley onstage, so get ready for some solid garbage-fi vibes. With Still Flyin’. Barboza. 8 p.m. $8. 21 and over. KS The crown jewel in what VICE declared Seattle’s “New Artistic Hope... Its Feminist Punk Scene,” TACOCAT returns home from its West Coast tour tonight with Portland rock and roll throwback act Sallie Ford. The band is having a banner year—one that kicked off with a bang when Superbowl half time performer Katy Perry utilized a beach themed set featuring dancing sharks that, curiously, looked nearly identical to the music video for Tacocat’s ode-to-menstruation “Crimson Wave”—making tonight’s show a treat for conspiracy theorists and punk feminists alike. Rumor has it that custom friendship bracelets will be on sale at the merch stand. With Boyfriends. Neumos, 8 p.m., $15, all ages. KS
Tuesday, Dec. 15
Let’s be real—even though people in their 30s and 40s still want a PS4 for Christmas, the holiday is really for the kiddos. So why not support the young folks by heading out to A VERA VITO’S HOLIDAY, a boozy Christmas fundraiser for Seattle’s beloved all-ages music and education center, the Vera Project. The snazzy soiree will feature live piano renditions of holiday classics sung by local vocalists like Amy Pinon, Whitney Ballen and Maiah M. Manser, as well as a chance to show off your own swoon-worthy vocals with some holiday karaoke. After you work up your courage with a few drinks, you can even take a photo with Santa Claus. Vito’s, 8 p.m., donations requested, 21 and up. KS
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FILM Opening Friday
THE GIRL IN THE BOOK A young
NYC book editor (Emily VanCamp) must confront the author (Michael Nyqvist) who appropriated her life in his bestselling novel. (NR) Sundance JAMES WHITE The Downer of the Year award might just go to this raw, emotional glimpse into the life of a self-destructive man (Christopher Abbott) coping with a mother dying of cancer. With Cynthia Nixon and Ron Livingston. (R) Sundance MACBETH Adapted many times over the years by many talented directors, this version from Justin Kurzel looks like it might just hold a candle to the others. With Michael Fassbender as the usurper and Marion Cotillard as his unhinged wife. (NR) SIFF Cinema Uptown, Seven Gables
Local & Repertory
■ EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Oh, God.
It’s the annual “Smell-O-Vision” presentation of the 1971 Gene Wilder-starring adaptation of the Roald Dahl children’s tale. During the same period is a quote-along version of The Princesss Bride. (G) SIFF Film Center (Seattle Center), $10-$15. See siff.net for schedule. Ends Jan. 3.
Ongoing
■ BROOKLYN Burnished by what
you might call sentimental realism, this lovely adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s 2009 source novel has young Irishwoman Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) sent to America by an older sister. Our heroine is determined to escape the narrow confines of Enniscorthy, where the stifling social codes seem almost medieval—though the year is 1951. Immediately established in a Brooklyn rooming house and a tony department store, it might seem that Eilis is an innocent. Yet, partly because of Ronan’s assurance, Eilis already seems wise to the world. Sensitively adapted (by Nick Hornby) and directed (by John Crowley), Brooklyn is respectful of all the minor players in Eilis’ adventures—which oughtn’t be surprising but somehow is. (Jim Broadbent trenchantly plays a priest; Julie Walters adds spice to the twinkle of Eilis’ landlady.) And while there are traces of melodrama, there’s a notable absence of blarney. BRIAN MILLER (PG-13) Pacific Place, Sundance, Lynwood (Bainbridge), Kirkland, others
CHI-RAQ Spike Lee is upfront about the hybrid artifice to this broad, clumsy Chicago tale: Samuel L. Jackson’s cheerfully cynical narrator Delmedes steps in and out of the action to explain how we’re watching an update of the Greek comedy Lysistrata and to caution that most of the dialogue is in rhymed couplets of verse—not unlike modern rap. The plot, as we know from Aristophanes, will be women going on a sex strike to keep their men from war. Our heroine (Teyonah Parris) begins as a blissfully ignorant young woman, smitten with rapper/gangster Chi-Raq (Nick Cannon) and untroubled by conscience. After a near-miss rival gang attack, Lysistrata is roused to blockade (“No peace, no pussy!”), mentored by a wise neighbor (Angela Bassett), aided by sassy young women who wear rival colors of purple and orange, and shamed by a grieving mother (Jennifer Hudson) whose young daughter caught a stray bullet. An uncomfortablelooking John Cusack shows up as a crusading priest, and politicians (D.B. Sweeney, Harry Lennix) are treated like fools. This is not a subtle film; it shouts more than it insinuates, and only the musical sequences take flight. MILLER (R) SIFF Cinema Egyptian, Ark Lodge, others ■ SPOTLIGHT Arriving at a time when our culture appears to have embraced the idea that it is better to believe what you want to believe and that “the media” is not to be trusted, Spotlight creates excitement out of the day-to-day business of recognizing uncomfortable facts. Tom McCarthy’s extremely well-cast ensemble drama follows The Boston Globe’s Pulitzer-winning 2002 exposé of the Catholic church’s cover-up of widespread sexual abuse of minors by priests. He relates the story from the multiple viewpoints of editors (John Slattery, Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber) and reporters (Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Brian d’Arcy James). The approach allows us to see how the scandal permeates every level of Boston society. Given such explosive material, McCarthy (The Visitor) mostly lays off the hard sell. (If anything, Spotlight is a little too respectable; McCarthy and coscreenwriter Josh Singer hit each scene exactly on the button, and then move on to the next one.) This movie excels at digging into the nooks and crannies of deep-seated corruption and making those shadowed places come to credible life. (R) ROBERT HORTON Meridian, Lincoln Square, Sundance, Ark Lodge, others
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START FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11 Seattle Weekly
SEATTLE SEATTLE Landmark’s Seven Gables Theatre SIFF Cinema Uptown (206) 632-8821 (206) 324-9996
SEATTLE WE EKLY • DE CEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
Johnny Depp made the most of the opportunity given him by Tim Burton in this dark suburban fairy tale. In their first collaboration, Depp plays a gentle, misunderstood monster literally stitched together by mad scientist Vincent Price, whom Burton revered and here gives a lovely career coda. Diane Wiest is the woman who rescues Edward, and Winona Ryder the girl who loves him. (More could be written on that topic, but not here.) In all, the 1990 film represents Burton’s first fully realized personal and grown-up feature. (PG13) Central Cinema, $7-$9. 9:30 p.m. Fri.-Tues. & 7 p.m. GREMLINS Watch as Phoebe Cates and Zach Galligan (where is he now?) battle ill-behaved green puppets in this 1984 sci-fi comedy, basically a Yuletide riff on the old Star Trek “The Trouble with Tribbles” episode, effectively reworked by writer Chris Columbus, director Joe Dante, and executive producer Steven Spielberg (who, we hear, has since moved on to better things). (PG) Central Cinema, $7-$9. 7 p.m. Fri.-Sat. plus 1:30 p.m. Sat. & 7 p.m. Mon. ■ NIGHTFALL Concluding SAM’s noir series is the 2007 true-crime tale Zodiac. What interests director David Fincher most is not the hooded madman with the crosshairs logo, but rather the cops and reporters who doggedly pursued him, who allowed the case to take control of (and in some cases destroy) their lives—the Zodiac’s collateral victims. Screenwriter James Vanderbilt (of the recent Truth) hopscotches between the Zodiac killings them-
selves (brutally efficient attacks on young couples), the multiple police investigations in the various counties where the murders took place, and the parallel inquiries being made by disheveled San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.), who is eventually aided by the comically wholesome rookie cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), upon whose 1985 book the movie is based. Fincher’s formalism—a triumph of lighting, costumes, and production design—is exhilaratingly of a piece with its content. In Zodiac, every fluorescent-lit medium close-up, every corduroy jacket, and every shade of goldenrod or taupe has the effect of pulling you deeper into the movie’s narrative thicket. As Zodiac moves into the ’80s and ’90s with the case still unsolved, lives descend into drunken despair, careers are ruined, marriages fall apart. SCOTT FOUNDAS (R) Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 6543121, seattleartmuseum.org. $63–$68 series, $8 individual. 7:30 p.m. Thurs.
WEINSTEIN CO.
Michael Fassbender in Macbeth.
Seattle International Film Festival May 19 - June 12, 2016
29
odds&ends
HIGHER GROUND
Reefer Madness 2.0 BY MICHAEL A. STUSSER
T
he “Just Say No” campaign kept me off drugs. NOT! Still, I appreciate Nancy Reagan for using ignorant scare tactics to at least try to keep kids like me away from the Devil’s Lettuce.
SHIN
NA CA
SEATTLE WEEKLY • DECEMBER 9 — 15, 2015
BRIAN
30
Drugs are for adults, and having a dialogue about that notion is important. The conversation does not, however, require a sizzling egg to represent your brain on drugs. Drug Abuse Resistance Education campaigns, aka DARE, were all the rage in the 1980s and ’90s, sucking up hundreds of millions of tax dollars on TV spots, branded backpacks, stickers, and even cartoons featuring Daren the Lion. At its peak, the program was deployed in 75 percent of American schools, with police officers leading classroom discussions and assemblies that students absolutely loved—not because of the content, but because it got us out of math class. According to dozens of published studies, not only was the DARE program expensive (costing more than $200 million in 1995 alone), but, most important, it didn’t work. Kids didn’t say no, and worse, the DARE challenge often had a “boomerang effect”—it made young people more curious about the forbidden fruit, and actually correlated to higher rates of drug use for those exposed to the program. This isn’t to say that tax dollars shouldn’t go into campaigns informing young people about the ongoing dangers of many street drugs. Adolescents are presented with all kinds of truly terrifying choices these days, with marijuana being the least of a parent’s worries: popular poisons today include MDMA (Molly), K2 (or Spice), cough syrup, heroin, and the worst of all, the opiates found in prescription drugs like Vicodin, Darvon, Viagra, Adderall, and more. In fact, campaigns should also be created to inform the general public about cannabis, especially as more and more states begin legalizing the plant. Colorado has launched several efforts to educate (and intimidate) the Rocky Mountain masses, including a campaign called “Don’t Be a Lab Rat” that placed giant steel cages all over Denver. Even barely legal Oregon already has an informative series called “Educate Before You Recreate.” But here in Washington, even though tax revenue from cannabis sales is specifically earmarked for drug education and treatment, we have yet to see a public-education campaign in print or on the airwaves. The Washington State Department of Health website has a link to a 30-second radio spot stating that one out of 10 teens use marijuana, and that it’s important to talk to your kids. Listeners are then referred to another site that looks like it was designed by an insane Reddit manager who just learned about hyperlinks. (“Kids, let’s gather around the Learn About Marijuana website and click on the fact sheet sub-section about motivation! . . . Kids?”)
I called the Dept. of Health and was told the staff has been gathering info for an outreach campaign for young people, and that a Request for Proposal (RFP) will be coming out soon for PR firms and ad agencies to pitch ideas. Opportunity knocks! Coming up with an appropriate and effective campaign is tough, especially given the audience: teenagers not only think they’re smarter than everyone else, but they’ll intentionally do stupid things if challenged. That’s why “Just Say No” or DARE didn’t work. (“Dare me not to? I’m doing it! ”) It also doesn’t help that none of the ancient Reefer Madness was true (i.e. ganja turning our youth into sex-crazed zombies). Recent statistics from legal states shoot down more recent scare tactics as well: legalization, driving fatalities, domestic violence, crime, and even teen drug use itself have all gone down. “The problem with scare tactics, even technologically sophisticated ones,” notes Stanford psychiatry professor Keith Humphreys, “is that marijuana use is too widespread a behavior to fool kids for long into believing that it’s invariably a terrifying experience.” Given that young people are going to experiment with drugs (including alcohol and tobacco), perhaps the best we can do is bribe them into zero-tolerance abstinence. Seriously. With hundreds of millions in taxes being gathered from legalized marijuana, let’s put a bunch of money into a Higher Ground Education Fund. Any teenager who agrees to be randomly drug-tested will receive a full ride to the college of her/his choice. All they gotta do is simply wait . . . until they’re legally allowed to use cannabis. Will my idea be green-lighted?! No! But Amsterdam wasn’t built in a day . . . Funny enough, when I look at all the current public-education campaigns, the best is probably from the folks who began with “Just Say No.” Today, the good folks at DARE have abandoned frying eggs and other fearmongering, and gone with the only thing that makes sense. Called “Keepin’ It Real,” their newest program focuses on teaching students good decision-making skills— about not just drug use, but life in general. With a broader message about smart choices in all aspects of their already overwhelming-and-hormonesaturated lives—drugs, sex, relationships, employment—it puts power back in the hands of youngsters themselves by suggesting they do their best to lead honest, safe, and responsible lives. Now that’s a challenge we should all DARE to take on. E For more Higher Ground, visit highergroundtv.com.
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Employment General
A ROSE TOWING AUCTION
Multi-Media Advertising Consultant Puget Sound Region, WA Do you have a proven track record of success in sales and enjoy managing your own territory? Are you competitive and thrive in an energetic environment? Do you desire to work for a company that offers uncapped earning opportunities? Are you interested in a fast paced, creative atmosphere where you can use your sales expertise to provide consultative print and digital solutions? If you answered YES then you need to join the largest community news organization in Washington. The Daily Herald/La Raza is looking for a candidate who is selfmotivated, results-driven, and interested in a multi-media sales career. This position will be responsible for print and digital advertising sales to an exciting group of clients from Bellingham to Tacoma. The successful candidate will be engaging and goal oriented, with good organizational skills and will have the ability to grow and maintain strong business relationships through consultative sales and excellent customer service. Every day will be a new adventure! You can be an integral part of our top-notch sales team; helping local business partners succeed in their in print or online branding, marketing and advertising strategies. Professional sales experience necessary; media experience is a definite asset but not mandatory. If you have these skills, and enjoy playing a pro-active part in helping your clients achieve business success, please email your resume and cover letter to: hreast@soundpublishing.com ATTN: LARAZA in the subject line. We offer a competitive compensation (Base plus Commission) and benefits package including health insurance, paid time off (vacation, sick, and holidays), and 401K (currently with an employer match.) Sound Publishing is an Equal Opportunity Employee (EOE) and strongly supports diversity in the workplace. Visit our website to learn more about us! www.soundpublishing. com
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