IT'S PIZZA WEEK

News • Animals • Booze • Slog AM/PM • 2020

Slog PM: Buttigieg Tops; Disney+ Is Okay; Hillary Clinton Never, Never, Never Says Never

by Chase Burns • Tuesday at 5:41 pm

Never, never, never say shes never going to be president.
Never, never, never forget. GINOSPHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

Affirmative action remains banned in Washington state: Looks like conservative radio host/Crosscut columnist John Carlson got what he wanted. Although I'm still confused how he was allowed to write columns on affirmative action without disclosing he was actively campaigning against the affirmative action measure. The campaign brought him in to argue against affirmative action to the SECB. Remember when he told us that anti-white racism is "absolutely" a problem in Washington. The fuck?

Not sure what to do with this quote: But hey, all lives matter?

For a person who "never" says "never," Hillary Clinton fucking loves the word "never": Clinton hinted that she hasn't FULLY ruled out a 2020 run. She's mostly, entirely, almost ruled it out. But, as she always says, never, never, never say never. The full quote:

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Film/TV

The Mandalorian Has a Goblin Nick Nolte Riding a Giant Angry Tadpole, and I'm Not Sure What Else Anyone Could Ask For

by Erik Henriksen • Tuesday at 5:11 pm

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Lucasfilm / Disney+

What is the right level of goofiness for Star Wars?

Star Wars has always been inherently silly—very, very silly—but it's also always been deeply earnest. The best Star Wars stories are the ones that somehow manage to maintain an increasingly tricky balance—committing to bold, rewarding adventures even while embracing the wacky, Muppety weirdness that gives the series so much of its charm.

Thankfully, The Mandalorian—the astonishingly expensive flagship show of Disney+, the Disney Empire's new streaming service—does a pretty good job striking that balance. Sure, there are plenty of scenes of the titular bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) shooting and stabbing and being all "Argh, I'm a stoic and tough bounty hunter" right before he gives jerks a carbonite bath, but there's also:

• A walrus eel monster.
• Giant angry tadpoles with feet that you can ride like a horse, sort of.
• Nick Nolte voicing an Ugnaught who rides around on those giant angry tadpoles.
• Taika Waititi voicing a possibly depressed droid who seems a little too eager to initiate its self-destruct mode.
• Brian Posehn: Space Lyft Driver!
• Werner Herzog being Werner Herzog.

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Election 2019!

Poll: After Election, Seattle Is Ready to Tax Big Business and the Wealthy

by Rich Smith • Tuesday at 3:39 pm

Welcome back to the table, Amazon!
Welcome back to the table, Amazon! DAVID RYDER/GETTY

A post-election poll commissioned by two unions, SEIU 775 and UFCW 21, echoes what voters appeared to be telling us last week: the people of Seattle overwhelmingly support taxing big business and the wealthy "to pay for vital services."

Here's the memo. Here's the poll with crosstabs but apparently not with all the questions.

According to the poll, 75 percent of respondents support the council passing a law that "raises local taxes on big businesses and the wealthy to help pay for vital services." More than half of those people "strongly" back the idea.

Support for such taxes was greatest in District 4, which covers the University of Washington and surrounding neighborhoods. In that district, 84 percent of respondents say they like the idea. The weakest support is in North Seattle's District 5, according to the poll, with ~only~ 64 percent approval.

The results in both districts indicate big majorities supporting taxes on big business and the wealthy, though that District 4 number seems like cold comfort for Shaun Scott, the Democratic Socialist who lost his D4 race against capitalist and former Tim Burgess aide Alex Pedersen by 5 points. If Pedersen wants to remain in that seat, he should take heed.

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Books • Music • Retail

Hex Enduction Records & Books Might Be the Best Reason to Go to Lake City

by Dave Segal • Tuesday at 2:55 pm

A little slice of analog heaven.
A little slice of analog heaven. Dave Segal

Hex Enduction Records & Books opened in Lake City on November 9, and it seems like the start of something fantastic for Seattle's cultural life, if my initial trip there is any indication. Run by Dean Whitmore and Gabi Page-Fort (both of whom play in the art-rock group Tissue) and Tom Ojendyk (owner of the Dirty Knobby label), Hex Enduction is an extremely well-curated emporium of new and used vinyl recordings and books. I dropped $221 there and could've easily spent a grand, if I were in better financial shape. Quick first impression: Hex Enduction ranks among the top three record stores in Seattle.

The musical focus is on rock (predominantly psych, prog, and indie), jazz (heavy on Miles Davis, Sun Ra, the Coltranes, Don Cherry, etc.), folk (largely in the vein of John Fahey and Robbie Basho), world (killer Sublime Frequencies selection), blues, and country, but I found four excellent Italian library-music LPs, too, and you'll find some funk and soul gems, as well. Books are focused on international novels, poetry, Pacific Northwest subjects, and vintage mass-market paperbacks. I also spotted Paul Hanley's Have a Bleedin Guess: The Story of Hex Enduction Hour; yes, the shop's name is inspired by the Fall's Hex Enduction Hour.

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EverOut

93 Stranger (Than Usual) Things To Do in Seattle This Week: November 12-17, 2019

by Stranger EverOut Staff • Tuesday at 2:20 pm

This weekends GeekGirlCon invites nerdy individuals to play games, make wigs, and take part in science experiments at the Convention Center.
This weekend's GeekGirlCon invites nerdy individuals to play games, make wigs, and take part in science experiments at the Convention Center. Danny Ngan

Our arts and culture critics have already recommended the 62 best things to do this week and our music critics have picked the 44 best music shows, but there are still hundreds more events happening. To prevent some of the quirkier and more extraordinary ones from slipping through the cracks, we've compiled them here—from a live debut of a Dungeons & Dragons vs. Rick and Morty tabletop game to My Favorite Craft Fair, and from the Hip Hop Nutcracker to the Harlem Globetrotters. For even more options this week, check out our complete EverOut Things To Do calendar.

TUESDAY

COMEDY
Danger Buffet: A Comedy Show!
Local comics Quinton Jones, Rachel Laurendeau, and Lucas Johnson will bust your gut with a smorgasbord of jokes.

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Media

Anatomy of Online Outrage: Northwestern Edition

by Katie Herzog • Tuesday at 1:31 pm

Northwestern University
Northwestern University Eugene_Moerman/Getty Images

On Monday, November 11, 2019, a few things happened in the world: Seven people were shot in Chicago, brush fires in Australia moved dangerously close to Sydney, Donald Trump watched Dancing with the Stars, and a student newspaper published an editorial that briefly captured the nation’s media-makers.

Actually, it was less an editorial than it was an apology. After former Attorney General and current candidate for Alabama Senate Jeff Sessions spoke at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, the Daily Northwestern covered the ensuing student protests. The paper’s coverage was not, apparently, welcome by all of Northwestern’s students, who, according to the editorial, “found photos [of the protests] posted to reporters’ Twitter accounts retraumatizing and invasive.” The students got mad, pitched fits, claimed trauma, and it didn't take long for the paper's editors to apologize and promise to do better.

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News • Weed

Vitamin E Identified as Culprit of Vape Illness, Washington Places Voluntary Ban

by Lester Black • Tuesday at 1:00 pm

Better not be vitamin E in that smoke, boys.
Better not be vitamin E in that smoke, boys. MATT CARDY/GETTY IMAGS

Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) is calling on all pot businesses in the state to stop selling any weed vaporizer cartridges that were made using vitamin E acetate, after a new federal report found the sticky vape additive is the likely culprit behind this country’s mysterious lung illness.

The ban on vitamin E is a voluntary one, according to an LCB spokesperson. It’s also not clear if vitamin E had been used by any legal pot companies in this state. The spokesperson did not say if the LCB knows of any pot processors using the substance.

Vitamin E acetate, a sticky additive usually found in food products, has long been suspected as the cause of America’s mysterious vape lung illness, which has sickened 2,051 and killed 40 people across the country. But the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) gave a lot more evidence for that theory in a new report released on Friday that found vitamin E in 100 percent of lung samples taken from sick patients.

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Savage Love

Why Are Dominatrixes So Expensive? ProDomme Twitter Weighs In

by Dan Savage • Tuesday at 12:30 pm

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Why are dominatrixes so fucking expensive? I live in a big city with lots of Doms and they're all $250/hour or more. On top of that, many of them ask for "tributes" on their websites and strongly imply that the hourly rate is just the beginning of their charges. Now, I'm sure there are expenses involved in the business and I don't know much about being a dominatrix, but it seems to me that your average Dom would get a lot more business if she lowered her rates a little so many people would not get priced out of the market. After all, basic economics tells us that non-essential services are price-sensitive.

Doesn't Only Money Impede Natural Advancement To Ecstasy

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Books

A New Short Story for All the People Who Liked "Cat Person"

by Christopher Frizzelle • Tuesday at 11:51 am

Learning in high school about body positivity and gender norms and the cultural construction of beauty led him to believe that adults aren’t obsessed with looks. This turns out to be untrue, even among his new female friends, who complain about how shallow men are.
Learning about body positivity "led him to believe that adults aren’t obsessed with looks. This turns out to be untrue" even among women "who complain about how shallow men are." iStock / Getty Images

Two years ago, I was on Twitter in my apartment on a Saturday, trying to leave my place to go grocery shopping, when a tweet about a short story called "Cat Person" caught my attention, and I clicked through and started reading and could not stop. I stayed glued to my couch until I'd read the whole thing. So, apparently, did the rest of the internet.

A similar thing happened this last weekend. Different story, different author, different publication, but for the first time since "Cat Person," I experienced that same couch-lock once I was two or three paragraphs into it. I had planned to be doing something else; those plans went out the window. The story this time was called "The Feminist," and here's the first paragraph:

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Religion

Port Townsend Witches Take on Notorious Survivalist and Gun Dealer

by Katie Herzog • Tuesday at 11:22 am

Port Townsend, Washington
Port Townsend, Washington wwin/Getty Images

At 11:11 on 11/11, self-described witches in Jefferson County gathered together—if not in body than in spirit—for a mission. That mission: to get Jefferson County, Washington, off of Facebook.

Why would witches try to get a Facebook page shut down? We'll get to that in a moment, but first, some background.

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Film/TV

Disney+ Is Here. Good Luck Resisting It.

by Ned Lannamann • Tuesday at 10:38 am

The Mandalorian.
The Mandalorian, coming November 12 on Disney+. LUCASFILM / DISNEY+

If by some miracle you’ve managed to avoid any discussion about the streaming wars, know this: After months of anticipation, they officially broke out on November 1 when Tim Cook & Co. launched the Apple TV+ service with a small, strange slate of original programming. Things escalated recently with the unveiling of details around AT&T WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, which arrives in May and will host a sizable back catalog of Warner Bros. movies and TV in addition to tons of new shows.

But the biggest buzz has been around the Disney/Fox conglomerate’s gladiator in this death match: Disney+, which enters the arena on November 12 and reportedly already has more than a million subscribers in the United States. What will those subscribers get when the service debuts? Virtually every movie Disney has ever released except Song of the South (great news for fans of cinematic masterworks such as That Darn Cat! and The Black Cauldron); 15 years’ worth of National Geographic documentaries; almost all of the Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar stuff; and a batch of new content that will only metastasize in the coming months.

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Food & Drink

Date-Night Pizza in the Middle of Winter

by Rich Smith • Tuesday at 9:50 am

When the pizza comes out of the oven, the cooks cut through the yolks so the golden goodness runs all over the pie.
When the pizza comes out of the oven, the cooks cut through the yolks so the golden goodness runs all over the pie. Ashley Wong

No serious conversation about comfort food can be had without a discussion of yolk lava.

Watching a punctured sunny-side-up egg melt into a bowl of bibimbap, or slowly flood a pan of shakshuka, or even just bless a piece of toast is one of the deepest gastronomic pleasures available to us.

And I believe the symbolism of a bright-yellow sphere suspended in a white cloud is not lost on sun-starved Seattleites. Even the word itself sounds warm, aligning nicely with its sense: "Yolk" goes all the way back to the proto-Indo-European root "ghel-," meaning "to shine."

There's a whole lot of yolk lava happening around town, from the khachapuri at Dacha Diner to the steak tartare at the Walrus and the Carpenter, but my favorite recent examples can be found in two dishes cooked in the wood-fired oven at Mioposto: the Egg and Pancetta pizza, and the Baker.

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Weed

The Right Pot for Treating Anxiety

by Lester Black • Tuesday at 8:55 am

Initial studies show CBD is good for reducing anxiety. THC is not.
Initial studies show CBD is good for reducing anxiety. THC is not. JESSICA STEIN

Jonathan Sims tried to kill himself earlier this year. The 36-year-old, struggling from crippling anxiety and depression, jumped from the roof of his West Seattle apartment building hoping the plunge would end his suffering, but it didn't. Instead of dying, he became paralyzed and now uses a wheelchair.

Sims, who asked that his real name not be used in this story, is now trying to rebuild his life—and pot is helping him get there.

"I think cannabis works so well because it is mostly relaxing," Sims said. "Everything feels more enjoyable because I have less anxiety around activities. The grocery store sounds appealing, dinner with friends is inviting, going to the movies seems fun."

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News • Politics • Sports • Science • Enviro • Slog AM/PM

Slog AM: Seahawks Beat Undefeated 49ers, Supreme Court DACA Hearing Starts, Korean River Runs Red

by Nathalie Graham • Tuesday at 8:00 am

Does Seattle love Russell Wilson as much as Russell Wilson loves God? Tough to say.
Does Seattle love Russell Wilson as much as Russell Wilson loves God? Tough to say. Thearon W. Henderson/Getty

Wow, go Hawks: The Seattle Seahawks knocked the San Francisco 49ers from their undefeated pedestal. It was quite the ball game, which is a big compliment coming from me. The game, neck and neck throughout, went to overtime. After a great drive down the field by the Hawks, Russell Wilson threw a gut-punch of an interception. The 49ers had all but sealed the deal. Except, then their kicker shanked a 47-yard field goal. The Seahawks won off a 42-yard field goal. The score was 27–24.

ICE is holding minors in prison in secret: Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been holding immigrant minors at Cowlitz County Juvenile Detention Center secretly for years. The University of Washington's Center for Human Rights wants to know who these kids are and why they're being held in prison. ICE won't release the records. Their defense? The records are private and won't be released without permission from the minors themselves. Which is hard to get when ICE won't tell anyone who the minors are. Read the rest of this story by Alex Bruell from the (Longview) Daily News.

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Animals • Amazon • Slog AM/PM • 2020 • Election 2019!

Slog PM: Amazon Will Open Its "First Grocery Store," Bear Spray Released in Goodwill, My Car Made Me a Lesbian

by Chase Burns • Monday at 5:48 pm

Only spray with consent.
Only spray with consent. Nicolas McComber / Getty

Is WeWork about to hire the CEO of Bellevue-based T-Mobile? According to people familiar with the matter, T-Mobile US Inc. Chief Executive John Legere is currently in talks to take over WeWork. It seems like an astonishingly bad idea to me, but I'm no CEO. From Wall Street Journal: "Mr. Legere has cleaned up messes before. He spent a decade at Global Crossing, leading it through a bankruptcy and to an eventual sale in 2011."

Seattle Children's Hospital closed for mold: Again. The hospital had to close all of its operating rooms from May 24 to July 4 due to Aspergillus mold. The mold is a serious problem (one kid died from it). The hospital was cleared over the summer, but it looks like the mold is back. The hospital's officials haven't said how the mold returned, reports the Seattle Times.

This is the most ridiculous car commercial I've ever seen: Paging Mudede.

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