This just in: The Seattle Fun Forest is no longer fun.
Actually, everyone who lives here already knew that, but it seemed like (much like the monorail) it would remain a neglected, sorry part of Seattle forever. However, it would appear that on Labor Day 2009, the haunted amusement park in Seattle Center is being dismantled. You have a little less than two years to needlessly risk your personal safety on the rickety roller coaster or place your life into the hands of apathetic teenagers on the log ride.
I want dibs on their mini golf course. That colorful burro would look fantastic in our back yard.
MySpace Meme that's almost as interesting as a Mark-scribed one.
*I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments. What do you pick?
1. Produce—> Fuji apples
2. Bakery —> Crusty whole grain bread
3. Meat —> Facon or eggs
4. Frozen —> Dijourno Pizza
5. Dry goods —> Grits
*Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?
Assuming I'm allowed to wear a bra, underwear and shoes…
1. Black flowy skirt
2. Black cami
3. Thick hoodie
*If I were to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the workday, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
1. That's bullshit.
2. What the fuck?
3. Unbelievable!
4. He/she said what?!
5. He/she did what?!
*So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you'd probably be in a pretty irritable/bad mood?
1. Some sort of exercise.
2. Caffeine.
3. Shower.
*What are 3 things do you have in your room/house that have been with you for the longest amount of time?
1. Fred, the teddy bear who belonged to my father.
2. My Winnie the Pooh baby blanket.
3. My Catwoman action figure.
*If you were only allowed to listen to 5 albums for the rest of your life, never adding anything else, which 5 could you listen to & be content with?
That would be a nightmare, but for the sake of argument:
1. The Clash – S/T
2. Elliot Smith – XO
3. The Dandy Warhols – Welcome to the Monkey House
4. Built to Spill – There's Nothing Wrong With Love
5. Weezer – Pinkerton
*You're driving down the road, and suddenly you're hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?
1. Hummer Limo
2. Small woman in an S.U.V.
3. Ignorant Republican bumper sticker
*Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
1. Smoke/watch terrible movie/TV show
2. Clothing shopping (I hate shopping with other people)
3. Photoshop project
4. DDR marathon
5. Me time
*We're going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
1. Monkeys
2. Elephants
3. Water mammals
*You just scored tickets to the taping of any show of your choice. You can pick between 5, so what are you deciding between?
I'm altering this question to say that the time continuum is at your disposal.
1. Colbert Report
2. The Price is Right with Bob Barker
3. Late World With Zack
4. The Gong Show
5. Conan
*You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?
I don't like mixing ice cream, but for the sake of argument:
1. Green Tea
2. Coconut
3. Vanilla
*Somebody stole your wallet. In order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?
1. Driver's License
2. Credit Cards
3. Belle and Sebastian Tip Chart (I would want that returned more so than the credit cards)
4. Completed punch card from Beba's Deli all ready to reward me with a free sandwich
5. Receipt from Fat Burger which says the order is for someone named Christ (a perplexingly awesome misspelling of “Chris”)
*You are at a job fair, and asked about what areas in which you are interested in pursuing a career. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted. What 4 careers would be fun for you?
1. Restaurateur
2. Comic Book Artist
3. Band Frontwoman
4. Publisher
*If you could go back and talk to the old you when you were in high school and give yourself advice on 5 things that were going to happen, what would it be?
1. Stay away from suspiciously charming men in college. Especially if they consider themselves “Artists”.
2. Learn to eat normally now. You're not fat and what you're doing to yourself will make it harder to maintain a normal weight later.
3. Start freelance writing on spec ASAP. And schmooze your ass off. Maybe then your writing career will take off before you’re 30. I know you want to make films, and you can do that, but trust me, you won't be able to turn it into a career.
4. Don't go to the Art Institute. You can learn everything they will teach you from a handful of books you can buy on Amazon.
5. Speaking of Amazon, I know you're going to London in a couple of months, but you really should go to that interview and see where it goes, because later on, it will be really REALLY hard to get one.
1. When was the last time you bowed your head in prayer (even if you didn't pray)?
In August when we were visiting Brugos' family. His aunt requested grace before eating. I did not pray, but I did mumble a polite “Amen”.
2. Name a band or performer whose final studio album was on par with their earlier releases (meaning good, not bad!). 1965 by the Afghan Whigs.
3. In what ways do you consider yourself “punk rock”?
Like Mark, I am openly atheist. I like the idea of socialism. I have 3 tattoos. I attempt to do unusual things with my hair. My favorite band of all time is The Clash. I'm listening to the Buzzcocks as I type. I'm veg. for political reasons. I ride the bus. My friend Nicole noted on Friday that Brugos and I have a lot of subversive skull imagery in our house. That last one might just make us morbid.
4. In what ways do you consider yourself a yuppie?
I own a lot of stuff. I have an increasing enjoyment for good wine and food made by trained chefs.
5. Name a food you loved as a kid that you wouldn't eat now:
Pepperoni. Soda.
6. Name a food you love now that you wouldn't eat as a kid:
Yogurt. Asparagus.
7. What is/are the best thing(s) you're doing for the environment?
Riding the bus. Being veg. Buying organic vegetables. Recycling everything I possibly can.
8. What is/are the worst thing(s) you're doing to the environment?
Not buying and using more cloth bags for groceries. (I only have one that I bring with me to buy lunch and office snacks at Whole Foods). And I'm kind of wasteful of water. I'm sure there are loads of things, that I don't even thing about right now. Halp!
9. What charities do you routinely give to?
Human Rights Campaign. Amnesty International. I don't have a regular animal charity I give to, but I usually send a couple bucks to each one that pops up in my mailbox. Any suggestions?
10. What other non-profits (art museums, public radio stations, political organizations like the ACLU) do you financially support?
KEXP Public Radio. Northwest Film Forum.
11. What do you consider to be your biggest luxuries, i.e. something a little costly that you could technically do without, but don't want to?
Soon to be my mom's hand-me-down car (the car will be cheap, but the insurance won't be). My billions of DVDs.
12. If one of your best friends decides to get married, would you rather be a member of the wedding party or just a guest?
Just a guest is fine. Being a bridesmaid is stressful.
13. Would you rather rob a bank and go to jail for 5 years (and not keep any of the money), or murder somebody and never get caught?
I'm with Mark. I pick murder as long as it's someone who deserves it.
14. Post a link to, or embed, a video on YouTube that you found very funny.
15. Where will you be this Thanksgiving?
In the Old Dominion for the first time in 5 years with my dad and step family. Brugos will get to see where I grew up and we will get to see the sun. I love friend Thanksgivings but I think this will be pretty fun.
16. What is your excitement level over next year's new Indiana Jones movie?
I think it's going to be awful (the title alone!) and so does my subconscious. In part of one of my dreams, I was in an arcade and there were all these men in Papier-mâché mouse masks holding axes. I was told they were a promotion for the upcomning Indiana Jones movie. On second thought, if those guys were in it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad…
17. What's your favorite non-English language movie? Story of Riki.
18. In all your life, what's the longest period of time you've lived at one address? How about the longest after college?
11 years on Rockport Landing Place in RVA. In Washington, I haven't lived at at any one address for longer than two years. Although Brugos and I have no plans for leaving the Bettie Page House.
19. Other than a car, any life forms, or the home itself, what's the single most valuable item in your home?
Besides my engagement ring which would come with me if fleeing from a fire or other disasters, nothing is really monetarily valuable but there are plenty of things with sentimental value. I'd probably grab my signed copies of “Life Without God” and “Perv: A Love Story” and my painting of Crispin Glover juggling a cat and a bowl of jello (the only piece of art I've ever bought).
20. Whose life would you rather live – Bruce Springsteen's or Sting's?
Springsteen. I agree with Mark, Sting is a cunt.
One of the blogs I frequent is the “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks. If you have any sort of punctuation schooling, the premise should be self-explanatory. I finally found the perfect submission in the bathroom at a cemetery in Hollywood. It was published today.
Competition for Party Crasher is fierce on Halloween so we were lucky that Scaraoke was one of 3 parties mentioned in the column this year. The picture isn't from our party, but I'm certainly not going to complain about being usurped by such a lovely hairy man chest.
I know a lot of people are over the LOLCat phenomenon, but since I have been obsessed with anthropomorphic cats for as long as I can remember, I doubt I shall ever tire of it. Not while things like this are being made:
Of course there is a huge difference between the earnest, artistic indie biopic (e.g. “24 Hour Party People”) and the one-dimensional, star-studded, bordering-on-absurd spectacle of the Hollywood biopic (e.g. “Ray” and “Walk the Line”). Perhaps it's because Hollywood sees musicians as cartoony cautionary tales whilst indies attempt to humanize their subjects. Or maybe it's simply because the British actually know how to make a biopic.
Regardless of the reasons, Control is a remarkable film. The life and death of Joy Division front man, Ian Curtis, is based on the biography “Touching from a Distance”, which was written by his widow. The stunning black and white photography is perhaps a nod to the most iconic shots of the man. The photographic resume of director Anton Corbijn, who is actually responsible for taking many of those iconic shots, makes him the perfect man for the job.
The casting is also spot on. Because there aren't many videos of the real Ian Curtis, and because actor Sam Riley is a relative unknown, there are many moments in the film which feel like a documentary. Riley's angst-filled cigarette smoking and collar-up street walking are like a poster come to life. It will be difficult for me to watch him in any other role.
Samantha Morton is also incredible as Curtis' devoted cuckquean housewife. Despite her being the only recognizable actor in the film, it's impossible not to get drawn into her character. Ditto for Alexandra Maria Lara as Curtis' Belgian journalist mistress. Her big sad eyes prevent you from hating her for her part in the affair. Your heart positively aches for everyone involved in the love triangle that played no small role in Curtis' suicide.
This is an important film because it shows that not every depressed musician who offed himself was a selfish, drug-addicted asshole. Some of them had legitimate reasons for their melancholy. Ian Curtis was a sensitive kid who's formative years were spent in a working class town in the 70's, way before Hot Topic and MTV made being sad cool. He married and became a father before he was emotionally mature enough to do so. He is correct when he admits he's not a good father. But him admitting it indicates that he could have become one.
And then there were those pesky epileptic fits for which there was no cure, only hordes of medications with crippling side effects. Before he takes his own life, Curtis writes that the fits are worsening all the time. When he wakes up from a particularly violent episode on his last day, the pain is so bad that it brings him to tears. Not that suicide was necessarily the right choice. But in this case, it may not have been so far-fetched.
The film ends with heart wrenching shots of those closest to Curtis, processing the wherefores of losing their friend. Thanks to Anton Corbijn allowing his audience to get to know Ian Curtis intimately for 2 hours, we have some inkling of how they must have felt. The impact is staggering.
I don’t usually get this way about high-end restaurants, but I’m kind of obsessed with Qube. It’s largely due to the fact that they have tons of ways to accommodate people on a budget. For starters, their happy hour menu boasts $2-6 bar bites and drink specials. Then they have monthly food and drink specials which offer different combinations of drink and plate specials for reasonable prices. Their regular menu is a rotating 3-course offering. You can order any combination of 3 dishes from the surf, turf or vegetarian menu. For most people, splitting one of these 3-course delights is plenty of food. And by the way, the food is outstanding. At first, I distrusted the hoity-toity sounding “Asian Food with French Culinary Training” theme. But these guys pull it off without heirs. It’s as tasty as it is beautiful, and it’s served with friendly enthusiasm. Dude. QUBE.
Effed by the Wind 