Comments

102
I met Jesse Ventura.

It was right before he was considering running for MN Governor and he was at a U of MN computer store answering questions and signing autographs. I asked him about his little cameo role as a Man in Black (along with Alex Trebek) on an episode of the X-Files and he said it was fun but tough because it had a lot of sciencey jargon to memorize.

I also saw Keanu Reeves and his sister at a chinese restaurant in LA. It was right after the first Matrix came out. They ordered a ton of appetizers, picked at a few of them, and left.

I also also caught a brief glimpse of Rudy Giuliani when I was at Times Square for New Year's Eve 2001/2002. Of course, it was a huge deal as it was the first one after 9/11 and lower Manhattan was still a mess and everyone loved Rudy. On a side note, doing the Times Square New Year's Eve thing isn't very fun.

I also also also saw Carson Daly outside the MTV building once and snapped a quick picture of him. All the tv people came out and hustled him away to whatever he was doing, but the pic is funny, like a deer in the headlights.
103
For a period of about three years, I regularly ran into Richard Belzer in New York City: several times at restaurants, passed him on the street a few times, and once in Penn Station as we were both waiting for a train. I'm sure he thought I was stalking him; I suspect my job was just close to his apartment.

He's even odder-looking in person.
104
Oh, and speaking of odd-looking people, I once had dinner seated next to Willem Dafoe. Who, in person, is tiny, and very, very strange-looking.
105
I think almost all of my "celebrity" sightings are probably politics-related. Except for that one time I saw Mike Ditka talking to a cop in Chicago (the mustaches... the accents...it felt like I was in an SNL skit).

A friend of mine got us a tour of the West Wing at the White House a few months ago... Jon Favreau (the speechwriter) passed by me walking down one of the hallways, smiled and said hello. I managed to keep my jaw off the floor, which was impressive, because (1) I am a politics nerd and (2) he is...... very handsome. To say the least.
106
I ran into Adam Jones once at the bathroom at the old Velvet Elvis during a Melvins show. Whee!
107
I've only had three close encounters with someone famous. The first time was in the late '80s when some friends and I were at Mamma Melina's to celebrate a birthday. Someone in our group said, "that guy at the table over there sure looks a lot like Paul Newman" and he did because, of course, he was Paul Newman. I was tempted to go over there, not to request an autograph, but to tell him how much I loved his roles but I (and the rest of us) decided to let him be.

In 1994, my then-girlfriend and I scored these fantastic roundtrip tickets from Seattle to Paris on Northwest Airlines ($199 RT and, no, I am not making that up) so we decided to go there over Thanksgiving weekend. We stayed in a cool hotel near Saint Germain-des-Prés and, on the day we were leaving to catch the Metro to the airport we passed by Allen Ginsberg.

My favorite time was when another girlfriend & I were in Ketchum, Idaho over Christmas, about ten years ago. While walking on the main north-south street, we passed by Arnold Schwarzenegger & Maria Shriver. About a half-hour later, we were inside a little shopping mall, on a second floor skybridge and we saw the two of them walk in on the main floor and head into a store. A few seconds later, Arnold appeared at the entrance and said to Maria, in that distinctive voice, "I'll be right back," and we both cracked up.
108
I had drinks and cigars with Richard Roundtree a few years ago at a restaurant he co-owns in Chicago.
Samuel L. Jackson's daughter went to my summer school the same year as me, so the school got him to come down and give a talk. Got a pic with him, and he's a cool dude. His daughter was kinda stuck up though.
I shook President Clinton's hand in '96. I was covering the event for our school paper so I had a primo standing area.
Oh, and I was a McGinn staffer during the election and I don't think I ever saw WiS on the staff lists.
109
Oh yeah! One of my very good friends teaches elementary school here in Eugene. She used to have Frank Black's kid in her class. He used to volunteer and would come in and vacuum her classroom. This cracked me up for some reason...
110
@103, 104 holy cow - I combined Belzer and Dafoe in one day last time I was in New York: Belzer walked past as I was on my way to the Guggenheim, and when I got to the museum Dafoe came and stood next to me in front of Picasso's Absinthe Drinker (the 1901). You are right, he is so wee.
111
@ 106 FTW. That must have been around the time Tool and the Melvins played Mercer Arena.
112
@83--I'm just running for my alt. position. It usually ends up contested, because it looks like an easy entry position. Um, maybe I should re-phrase that.
113
@ 107, since Allen Ginsburg was one of the founders of the Naropa Institute in Boulder, you could find Ginsburg stuff around town. My favorite - a guy I knew (then a proto-gutter punk, now a sommelier with his own wine shop) had some risqué photos of a young (16 or 17, maybe slightly older), mop-headed boy in the nude Ginsburg had shot - you could see his reflection in the mirror behind the boy. (He was seated so you couldn't see the kid's junk, and I don't think Ginsburg was nude but he was at least shirtless.) This was about 20 years ago.
114
@111 - it was following that tour. Melvins were on tour and Jones was playing synths for them. It was the first of two shows that day (I came back later for the Groovie Ghoulies with Meow and Saverna Park), and the next day was the last show ever at the Elvis.
115
Thanks Matt. I'm guessing that Ginsberg had a home in Paris, in that neighborhood, but he may have just been visiting a friend. The funny (to me) part about that sighting was that my then-girlfriend was a writer and she loved writers. But she didn't notice Ginsberg. I did because, although I'm not into poetry or poets, I've always been very good with faces.

110/Gus, this doesn't qualify as a sighting since it was a performance but I saw Richard Belzer open for Warren Zevon at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis back in the late '70s. First time I'd ever seen a comedian open for a musician, and I remember my friend and both enjoying his style of humor. (Zevon was very drunk during that performance and I believe he ended up falling off the stage while drunk during a subsequent performance on the tour.)
116
Will?... Will?... Will?
117
What - why should I feed you trolls?

It's not like you have any points that matter.
118
Nor do you, Will. Nor do you.
119
That's hilarious. You're the biggest fucking troll on Slog, Will.
120
@22

Typical 5280. Though he doesn't live in the district, the city of which it's part, the state it's in or even the same geographical region of the country, he gives a shit about Seattle insider politics because...he's has anger problems and WiS has been trolling him since forever. And, trolls win every time with 5280.
121
@119
On the other hand, hang around, 5280. Your potty mouth temper tantrums add so much to Slog
122
Oh, and just because I can -

This isn't about me, and it isn't about Will. This is about who can best carry the banner of the 43rd District Democrats to the County Party, while also being an effective and active member of the Executive Board.

In order to be effective at the County, one has to have the ability to work well with others of all different ideologies. There is a reason I'm supported by the majority of the current Executive Board of the 43rd, as well as leaders from the 36th, 34th, 37th, 11th and 5th District Democratic Organizations. These folks recognize my willingness and ability to work effectively across District boundaries for the good of my District and the Party as a whole.

Let's face it - being a progressive is pointless if you cannot get anything done. Aside from my current E-Board position (as one of our Vice Chairs), I also have served on the Elections Committee of the 43rd, Endorsements Committee for KCDCC, as a delegate to the Snohomish County Labor Council from UFCW 1001 (now 21), the Rules Committee for the Washington State Democrats 2010 Convention, the Bylaws Committee for the 43rd District Democrats, and have been active with various other Boards and nonprofit organizations - from Planned Parenthood to GLOBE (a gay and lesbian youth organization in Snohomish County).

Throughout all of this, I have cultivated relationships across the County and State, relationships that matter when it comes to being able to influence internal Party policy and stances on the issues.

In the end, this is the ultimate insider baseball business. I understand why the Stranger folks would have an interest in this over the Chair's race - Scott, once the White House follows and makes decisions based on your Twitter feed, then your race will matter. But, as previously pointed out, this is limited to PCO's, and our PCO's will make their decision on who they believe better represents the 43rd.

But what a fun ride.
123
"Hard left"??? I think of WiS more as an oblique left into oncoming traffic, while turning around in his seat to give somebody the finger.
125
Let's see - when I was working for Bobby Kennedy in 1960, I took a piss next to future Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, later forced to resign that position by LBJ. Speaking of which, I'd sure rather take a piss next to Michaelp than (s)Will in Seattle. When and where may I vote for you, Michael?
127
As exciting and important (Nationally!) as this is, I would encourage everyone that can to join with our community as we mourn the loss of life, and unite against democracy by gun, this Thursday, at Westlake Park.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/even…

128
@61/77- Every Harlan Ellison story I've ever heard has been along the lines of "I met Harlan Ellison and he was a dick." I suppose you don't write "I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream" because you're in a happy place.
129
In another anecdote that shows why you should never believe gullible Fnarf and trust teh Internetz - they have me showing a 1 hour 1 minute 24 sec run for a 10.4 mile run on Saturday - which I dearly would have enjoyed, but given the hills and mud on the Bridle Trails park, I only ran a 5 mile run in 1 hour 4 minute 28 sec.

Never trust the Internets. They lie to you.

Even the Wayback Machine.

I don't recall Harlan being that much of a dick. He did have anger issues when he drank, but a lot of his reactions seemed to me to be over-compensation. Not that I've met him very often.
130
My favorite encounter was our 1st wedding anniversary. I took my wife down to NYC for the weekend for some Broadway, and got us into Patsy's. It was the first weekend in November and snowy, and I come back from the coat check as we're leaving to find my wife in a conversation with Tony Bennett, who then chatted with both of us briefly as they finished prepping his table. Incredibly nice guy, and having him tell us a heartfelt happy anniversary was surreal.
131
When I was a delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and then when I foolishly ran for office in 2005, I met pretty much every Democrat on my ballot, all the way from PCO to Presidential candidate. I have photos of myself with our two Senators. I met a whole raft of celebrities, including Cynthia Nixon, Ben Affleck, John Cusack, James Cromwell, Jerry Springer (who I did not recognize). I, at one point or another, sat at dinner or breakfast with pretty much all the county Democratic leadership, and most of our state Democratic legislators. I met Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean.

I pretty much guarantee none of them remember anything at all about me. ;-)
132
...oh, and I got to go to Obama's party the night he gave the speech at the 2004 Convention that made him a sudden rock star. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and Jan Drago got me in. That was a tough party to get in, the music was very loud, and Obama walked in the room right behind me. I did not actually meet him, though.

Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) once stood on the arms of my chair at the Paramount before rappeling to the stage.

Such are my claims to have touched celebrity. I have a very nice postcard from Stephen King, in reply to a fan letter. Signed, even.
133
@117- That's _hilarious_. Slog commenters (or maybe you only meant what's being posted here...) have nothing to say that matters and yet you were keeping an eye on those 116 pointless comments... and respond. Only to say they're pointless. Ha!
134
Late to the name game, but I've seen Gillian Anderson naked. The truth is out there......

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