CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE: I'll leave the comments on the rest of your story on the Infernal Noise Brigade ["Enduring Freedom," Aug 18] to the INB members. But reading the parts about the Dutch and Belgians being "confronted" with the INB, I wonder if during your trip you ever stepped out of your safe American habitat/bubble and met some of those Belgians and Dutchies. You did meet my Spanish boyfriend and me in Amsterdam. And I'm Dutch (so my passport says), and though I don't share any warm feelings toward our flag or queen, I do get a bit itchy when someone hops a plane, passes through the country for a couple of days and thinks s/he can write stuff like, "there are also, the Dutch and Belgians seem baffled to discover, black Americans." Amsterdam is made up of a great variety of colors, backgrounds, and languages, and many black Americans live and work in this city. The person who told the black INB singer that his English was very good maybe did not automatically assume that s/he was chatting with a black American. We often converse in English in Amsterdam. And if one person speaks English more fluently than the other, people sometimes compliment that person.
Next time you're in Amsterdam you might want to smoke a bit less, get to know people a bit better.
Roy Pullens
INFERNAL SATISFACTIONTO MR. FRIZZELLE: I'm Mulata, one of the members of the INB who couldn't make it to Europe. I just finished the article and I have to say, "Well done."
It's a finely crafted piece and I am delighted by your sensitivity to the band, its issues and aesthetics. It might even be the best writing on us since our inception five years ago, and a lot has been put to print. Again, thank you for putting up with the madness that's inherent to the organization. I only wish I could have gone out clubbing with you and Hawtpantz in Berlin. Sounded like fun.
Oh. The only other thing I could have wished for, and what a coup this would have been for everyone, was if a flexi-disk had been included with the paper. Now that would have been a milestone. Maybe next time.
Nicht Wahr,
Mulata
HUMPFEST!EDITORS: They say that you learn something new every day. On Saturday, August 20, at Hump!, The Stranger's first annual amateur porn contest, I learned a LOT of new things. Among them:
1. The space needle is NOT to be fucked with.
2. Just how much cream filling is in a cupcake.
3. Who would win in a fight between a pirate and a ninja.
4. A dirty melon fucker shouldn't be ashamed to show his face.
5. Earthquake readiness must be everyone's top priority.
6. I need to find out where this Old School Pizza place is and start hanging out there, A LOT!
7. The more times you see a picture of that Nipper dude in a bikini top, the more unsettling it is.
8. An air collection unit can get filled up very quickly, and it needs to be emptied regularly.
9. Bad glasses and wigs are necessary in any "Jack-Off Extravaganza."
10. That there is an incredible collection of talented freaks out there who love The Stranger and have access to video-editing equipment.
Thanks to The Stranger and all the local filmmakers who submitted films to the first annual Hump! contest for all of the fun! I haven't been that entertained at a movie theater in quite a long time. Great Job!
Clint Berquist
WHERE WERE THE FAGS?TO DAN SAVAGE: I loved the Hump! festival (we were in the front row Saturday evening in peril of having our PocketPC destroyed, thankfully it was camera free and you weren't forced to smash it with a hammer). I must agree with you that it was an embarrassment that gay male action was woefully underrepresented. I'll work on my boyfriend for next year.
One suggestion: There ought to be numerous categories to vote in. I voted for a selection I thought was the most artistically disturbing but actually wanted to give props to some of my other favorites (was I alone in finding "Don't Stop Believing" the hottest laugh of the year?).
Thanks for doing this. It was a great show. And here's hoping next year Seattle gays give a bigger finger (or whatever appropriate appendage) to the American Taliban and submit some films to Hump!
Chris
RISE UPTO THE EDITOR: The level of corruption coming from the elected officials concerning the monorail is appalling ["Critical Mess," Josh Feit and Dan Savage, Aug 18]. Take Sound Transit, an over-budget boondoggle being rammed down everyone's throat. Then there's the monorail, voted for four times, being stymied every step of the way.
Having moved to Vancouver, Washington, recently, I ride the Portland MAX rail lines quite a bit. It's a decent system but has a few failings. The biggest, by far, is that it slows to a crawl when it hits the downtown core. Running at street level, the trains must be cautious of traffic and pedestrians, all the while stopping for traffic lights. Elevating the system would have eliminated all those problems.
Learn from Portland's mistakes, and elevate your trains.
C. Butler
SAVAGE STUPIDITYTO THE EDITOR: While it is a welcome development to have Dan Savage demanding the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq ["It's Over, Over There," Aug 18], I wonder if Mr. Savage still labors under some of the illusions conjured by the neo-cons he criticizes.
The unpleasant fact is that Iraq is now a failed state of our own creation, and the feeble central government has largely reverted to its former brutality. There are credible reports of widespread torture and extra-judicial executions by U.S.-trained Iraqi police and "elite" forces like the Wolf Brigade. The BBC recently reported that these methods include drilling holes in elbows and knees before execution.
Not only has this criminal act produced a catastrophe, it has not even achieved the modest goal of eliminating Saddam-style tyranny. There must be accountability. Withdraw, yes. But withdraw, prosecute our war criminals, and pay reparations.
James Galasyn
dan meant "stealing"STRANGERS: Dan Savage was wrong to support the illegal, immoral, and unethical invasion of Iraq and is wrong to continue to wish it to "succeed"—whatever that means. He hasn't learned anything new that wasn't already known when this thing started, such as that nobody in the White House ever had a plan to end it. The goal has always been to create never-ending chaos in Iraq in order to keep Iraqi oil from threatening Saudi profits. The Bush family's best friends, the ones who run the country where most of the 9/11 terrorists came from, couldn't be more happy with the outcome.
Savage is entitled to his opinions, however. But he should get his facts straight. He writes "George W. Bush is good at one thing and one thing only: winning elections..."
That is simply not true.
It is inexplicable that those who have nothing to gain from the overthrow of democracy in America perpetuate the lie that George W. Bush is a winner. Those of us who wake up every day unable to pretend that black is white at least now have hope; if people can start to speak the truth about the Iraqi invasion that we've spoken all along, then maybe someday they'll start to speak the truth about our last two presidential elections.
David Taylor
HOMECOMINGHEY, FAGGOT: Guess I wasn't looking when you were allegedly all pro-war-in-Iraq, but I caught your mea culpa in The Stranger, and, well, I must say that you certainly articulated your new position better than others who once supported the war and now aren't so thrilled. I hate to say "I could've told you so," so instead I'll leave you with a smarmy (but well-intentioned) "Welcome home, dumbass."
Joshua Upshaw
OH MY GAWD!JENNIFER! You went all the way to Pasco and you didn't go to Out & About? ["Road Trip: 'El' Pasco," Jennifer Maerz, Aug 18.] It's the ONLY gay bar in SE Washington! You would have had fun there! Fun people, pool tables, a huge dance floor, a 200-gallon fish tank behind the bar, drag shows. I'm freaking out because my brother owns the bar and it really is a blast—it is the only place to go in the Tri-Cities where you're not outnumbered by hicks, inbreeders, or conservatives.
Sooooooo, if you're ever in the Tri-Cities (Dry-Shitties) again, check it out: OUT & ABOUT!
Soozan Larsen
COCKSUCKERSFROM JOSH FEIT'S VOICEMAIL: Yeah Josh, this is David Edelman. You referred to me in your article on the Cantwell meeting ["CounterIntel: Cantwell in Ballard," Josh Feit, Aug 18]. Let me explain something to you: I have been working for six months to build a relationship with Cantwell and her staff. I just didn't come out of the nowhere and present that list of needed medicines in Basra. I have been working for six months to build a relationship with her, and you totally mischaracterized my attitude toward her in that meeting. And, in fact it could be quite counterproductive. This is real stuff, you know, this isn't playing games. We are talking about people who are dying for lack of medicines. And I depend on people like Senator Cantwell to get what those people need....
So, I just want you to know that you have pretty much guaranteed that I will never speak to you about anything because you completely fucked with what I was doing and I do not appreciate little cocksuckers like you messing around on stuff that I have been working on for months.
JOSH FEIT RESPONDS: I don't follow, David. You say, "I depend on people like Senator Cantwell to get what those people need." And I wrote, "Edelman handed Cantwell a list of basic medical supplies that physicians in Basra are sorely missing. He wanted her to do something about it." Do you want Cantwell to do something or not?
FROM THE FORUMS ATWWW.THESTRANGER.COM
POSTED BY MANINFALL: If I'm craving teriyaki chicken and I'm not in my neighborhood, where should I go? You know your 'hood, I'll tell ya about mine. My tops:
Teriyaki Plus on 45th and Roosevelt. Consistency is what you expect at teriyaki joints, and TP delivers. Excellent flavor, the meat has visually pleasant quality and consistency. I've never found a piece of gristle. They used to give you a fried chicken wing as an extra, but now they just give you a little gyoza (still good). Bonus: Bill Gates ate there way back when, before he realized he was Bill Gates.
Sunny Teriyaki on Greenwood and 105th up north, west of Northgate. Excellent flavor. No bonuses, but the spicy teriyaki chicken is a good variation from the norm.
What's your favorite teriyaki joint?
POSTED BY GONALF: Try C.C. Teriyaki at N 85th and Greenwood. The regular chicken teriyaki is good, but the spicy is really where it's at. They also cook your food exceptionally fast. (There's a teriyaki place on N 80th that is a couple blocks east of Aurora. Those nice folks are the SLOWEST cooks in town. Don't go there unless you want to wait at least 15–20 minutes for them to cook up a simple teriyaki chicken order.)
POSTED BY DAISYGIRL: The new spot [on Broadway] where the Ben and Larry's AKA Baskin and Robbins was has very tasty food. I was shocked. It's quite nice. They cook all orders fresh and they use lots of fresh veggies. Also Pho Cyclo (sp?) across from Broadway Market is really good as well. I would recommend either place to anyone looking for cheap, yummy food.
Rant, rave, and recommend at forums.thestranger.com.
