• On January 23, Representative Jamie Pedersen (D-Gay) testified before a committee of his peers in favor of his own house bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Pedersen brought one of his four sons as a prop apparently intended to show that gay parents raise well-adjusted children. The child drowned out his daddy’s testimony by repeatedly screaming, “Nooooooooooooo!“
• Meanwhile, anti-gay activists are taking their rhetoric to impressive new levels by comparing gay marriage to the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln: Governor Chris Gregoire “might as well change her name to John Wilkes Booth,” said Pastor Ken Hutcherson during a January 21 Stand for Marriage Washington press conference, “because what she’s doing now is trying to put a bullet in the head of one of the greatest traditions that has ever existed and has built our society, and that is marriage between one man and one woman.”
• A well-informed source says that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is the worst movie in theaters to watch while stoned. The source adds that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the worst movie to watch while stoned with your mother.
• Under intense scrutiny, city officials say they will no longer force the homeless feeding program Operation Sack Lunch to move indoors by February 29—an order that the project’s leaders insist would shut them down—and have instead given the program six months to find a new location.
• A two-year study conducted by the University of Washington found that residents of 1811 Eastlake—a housing project that allows homeless alcoholics to drink on the premises—drink half the booze each day that they were imbibing on the streets, on average. In addition, housing them has reduced taxpayers’ costs for police, medical, and social services by 50 percent.
• Sources say that the opening night film for the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival will be Stranger Genius Lynn Shelton‘s Your Sister’s Sister—her first film since the awesome Humpday. So, yay!
• Artist refugees of the now-defunct 619 Western building are putting together a 30,000-square-foot art studio with communal living space called PiSquare (it’s in Pioneer Square, you see), and they’re looking for tenants. Check out www.pisquarearts.com for details.
• Deathcab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard is now recording PSAs for Sea-Tac Airport. “Hi, Ben Gibbard here,” Ben Gibbard will say, according to a source. “Please be aware of unattended bags. If you see something unusual, say something to a nearby airport worker or call police at 9-1-1.”