Earlier this month, the City commission that redraws Seattle’s political boundaries to account for population growth officially adopted a new map that almost completely aligns with a proposal from the Redistricting Justice Seattle (RJS) coalition, a group of pro-democracy community organizations that spent nearly a year lobbying the City to draw maps that empower renters and keep communities of color together. 

But RJS did not set out to gerrymander its way to a leftist takeover of the City–that would be wrong (but cool). So, unfortunately for Antifa, if recent city elections were held under the new maps, then there would hardly be any change to the outcomes in those races. The only place lefties might kind of have a better shot compared to last time would be in the new District 7, which covers downtown and now part of Magnolia. 

“One of the top five most satisfying movies I’ve ever seen,” I said out loud as the credits rolled at a screening of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. I was immediately ready to watch it again, but time’s running out: Netflix has opted to only allow it in theaters for a very limited time, and after tonight, it’ll vanish from big screens for a month and re-emerge on Netflix on December 23.

It is, needless to say, an extremely annoying release strategy. Should you really drop your plans and trundle down to a movie theater on a Tuesday night to watch this thing?

If it was any other movie, I’d say no. But we’re going to have to make an exception for this one because it is an experience best seen with a crowd of people so that you can appreciate not just the beautiful composition on the big screen, but the sound of gasps, belly laughs, and astonished sputtering from your fellow theater-goers.

Undoubtedly, the highlight of every fall is the four sweet days when Seattle's most psychedelic punk and rock enthusiasts drag their bodies from venue to venue in Ballard for Freakout Records' Freakout Fest. This year, there was a crisp chill to the November air, which juxtaposed perfectly with the sweatiness of the sets. Everyone huddled together underneath the Mad Alchemy's liquid light show and tripped, danced, and moshed the nights away. And—like last year—Freakout decided to extend the party into the spring.

From March 4-5, the Crocodile will be host to Freakout Weekender, a truncated version of the beloved autumn festival. Packed with bands from Seattle to Latin America to Europe, the lineup is decidedly more experimental than the psych-rock lilt of fests past. Headlining the weekend's festivities are rowdy Swedish rock band Viagra Boys and L.A. garage rockers FIDLAR. Audiences will also be privy to the eclectic, punky stylings of the LA-based Frankie and the Witch Fingers as well as Austin band White Denim's first Seattle set since 2020. 

Rail strike? President Biden said he's meeting with Congressional leaders today as the threat of a national freight rail strike—and all the other existential shit our elected leaders hedge on everyday—looms large. Last night, ol' Joe called on Congress to step in and block a rail strike before the December deadline by adopting September's tentative deal. So far, four rail unions have rejected it while eight rail unions have approved it, reports Reuters. Biden said a shutdown would "devastate" our economy. Good thing Santa rides by sleigh! 

It's the end of the line for The Willows Inn as we know it: After explosive allegations of wage theft, sexual harassment, and faking the funk came out last year, the formerly lauded restaurant on Lummi Island is officially shut down for good. According to the Seattle Times, the building has been donated to Bellingham nonprofit and Christian social service agency Lighthouse Mission Ministries, which "will evaluate the best use and value of the two parcels."

I’m a 29-year-old cis straight male. What are the ethics of having a minor cum/breeding kink? Thanks, Dan!

No one chooses their kinks—our kinks choose us—so having a kink doesn’t raise ethical issues. Acting on our kinks… making choices that impact others… that’s where ethical concerns kick in. So, if it turns you on to “breed” someone, as the gay boys (very problematically!) like to say, and you never act on it, if you just sit in your apartment wanking about it, there are no ethical issues. But if you act on this kink with another person—if you want to have unprotected sex with a woman—you need to make sure she’s aware of the risks going in and that birth control is her responsibility. And you should be fully aware—going in and out and in and out—that child support could be your responsibility. (Also, you should read Ejaculate Responsibly: A Whole New Way to Think About Abortion by Gabrielle Blair.)

Mutual aid fair tomorrow. Organizers will have clothing, food, reading material, and more at Cal Anderson Park tomorrow evening. With the weather dropping below freezing, it’s a good time to extend a helping hand to those in need.

Nothing Else Matters. Metallica’s returning to Seattle for a concert at Lumen Field, and they’re giving us plenty of notice: They’ll be here in late summer of 2024. Tickets go on sale this week, which is great news for fans of both Metallica and long-term planning.

Senator Patty Murray spent much of her reelection campaign fending off accusations from her latest Republican opponent that she somehow bears responsibility for the perceived uptick in crime across Washington state. While those allegations were both dumb and ineffective, Murray and her fellow Senate Democrats could actually take a significant step to preventing some violent crime in the next couple of weeks by passing the SAFE Banking Act.

The bill, which Democrats passed out of the House of Representatives earlier this year, would grant cannabis businesses in states with legal weed markets access to federally-regulated banks and end their reliance on cash transactions. With Republicans poised to take control of the House next year, and unlikely to engage on any Democratic policy proposals, Senate Democrats must act to pass the bill in the next few weeks before the lame-duck session expires.

If they don't, they're giving up on their last chance to remove the juicy target of piles of cash from the nation's dispensaries for at least the next two years.

Shake yourself out of your turkey-induced stupor because the holiday season is officially in full swing. This week brings top tier events from The 1975 to Patti Smith and from A Christmas Carol to A John Waters Christmas.

MONDAY

LIVE MUSIC

Peach Pit
Vancouver, BC's Peach Pit will serve up some riff-heavy indie pop that they describe as "chewed bubblegum pop" for a headlining show supporting their third album, From 2 to 3. Acclaimed indie-rock trio Sunflower Bean will open the show with songs from their latest album Headful of Sugar.
(Moore Theatre, Belltown)

Joe Rudko is a Seattle-based artist whose primary work is geometric collages made from found and repurposed photographs. He received his BFA in Photography and Drawing from Western Washington University in 2013. His work is in the permanent collection of the Getty Museum, Portland Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and, most recently, the Morgan Library & Museum in New York. In our interview we talk about distorting perceptions, breaking rules, and the strange power of memory.

I’m a little obsessed with speculating on your process, which seems thrillingly methodical and painstakingly precise. Can you reveal a bit about the steps that go into a new piece of work?

Le tits now. Here comes snow! Maybe. It’s looking unlikely, but there’s a slim chance we may get a couple of inches of snow on Tuesday, though it probably won’t stick once temperatures get up in the 40s. As a reminder, landlords are responsible for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks in front of their buildings. If your landlord can’t be bothered to meet their obligations, please send pics to me so we can name and shame them as we did last year. (There is no option for reporting unshoveled sidewalks on the city’s Find It, Fix It app, which appears to have been created exclusively for us to complain about all the things it can’t do.)

Hawaii is blowing up a little bit. Mauna Loa is erupting this morning for the first time since 1984. A heavy amount of ash is falling on the island, but there’s no threat of lava floes for now.

Would you kids keep it down? If any of your local podcaster friends look particularly frazzled this morning, it’s because a bunch of troublemaking joyriders made a real racket around town this weekend. I tried waving my cane at them and giving them the glare of a lifetime but to no avail.

Are you in the Seattle area hearing helicopter passes? They are our UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters rehearsing for their flyover at the Seahawks game this afternoon! They flew up from @JBLM_PAO this morning to work on their timing. pic.twitter.com/CiNNqnU6C4

— Raptor Brigade (@16thCAB) November 27, 2022

What’s the move: If you got a freebie four-day weekend this weekend, first of all, fuck you. And second of all, our sister site, EverOut, compiled a handy dandy list of all the cool and inexpensive things to do around town for the remainder of your holiday weekend. I will probably take my parents to something basic like Magic in the Market on Saturday, but I promise there are way cooler things on the list, too! 

ICYMI: Council Member Sara Nelson tried to justify a vote against funding the Northwest African American Museum, implying that the museum director told her that the museum is against the amendment because it would take a tiny portion of SPD’s budget. The director was not against the amendment and she doesn't care where the money comes from. Nelson “egregiously misconstrued” the director to fit her narrative.  

There's been a lot of banning (and also unbanning) going on at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. But the ban that serves as the point of departure for this post concerns English football fans who attempted to enter a stadium in crusader costumes. The right-wing NY Post reports that FIFA warned these Brits "not to go medieval by wearing 'offensive' crusader costumes during the highly anticipated match against the US on Friday." But of course the costumes, which have been worn at other World Cup events, are offensive to Muslims.

History, it seems, is not something you can easily toy with. Witches were actually burned at the stake, the expulsion of Jews from Spain occurred during the Inquisition, European crusaders slaughtered "men, women and children in their victorious entrance into Jerusalem" in 1099. 

During the Seattle City Council’s final round of budget negotiations, Council Member Sara Nelson argued against an amendment to reroute $500,000 from the Seattle Police Department’s advertising budget to the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM) for badly needed repairs, claiming the President and CEO of the museum told her in a phone call that she was “disappointed” the funding would come at the expense of SPD. 

However, LaNesha DeBardelaben, NAAM President and CEO, said Nelson “egregiously misconstrued” her response, adding that the museum had “no preference” about the funding source.  

Nelson did not respond to my request for comment. I will update if she does. 

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it's officially time to start celebrating the holidays. This year, we're bringing you a brand-new holiday tradition: The Stranger + EverOut's Inaugural Holiday Drink Week!

Here's the lowdown: From December 5–11, some of the finest bars and restaurants in Seattle will have specially crafted, original holiday-themed cocktails on their menus. They'll only be available that one week, making for a one-of-a-kind booze-tacular.

There will be a total of 16 custom libations at places across the city. From peppermint cocktails to winter warmers to tropical drinks that'll make you forget about the rain for a while, you'll want to try them all.