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News • Slog AM/PM

Slog PM: Minneapolis Builds Defense Fortress, Union Says Amazon Interfered in Vote, Welcome to Boba-geddon

by Nathalie Graham • Monday at 5:55 pm

The city is preparing for a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
Minneapolis prepares for a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The jury deliberates: As Matt Baume wrote in Slog AM today, the arguments in the Derek Chauvin trial are over. The jury started deliberating this afternoon. Meanwhile, in anticipation of a verdict, Minneapolis has turned the downtown Hennepin County courthouse into "a fortress," according to NPR. It's "surrounded by tall fences topped with barbed wire." Did they take notes from the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct? Buildings are boarded up, military vehicles are stationed nearby the courthouse, and the National Guard is doing armed patrols.

And there's a security perimeter outside the other killer cop's home: The city of Champlin, Minnesota spent $9,000 to defend the home of Kim Potter, the officer who shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

A censure for Maxine Waters: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy introduced a resolution to censor Congresswoman Maxine Waters because of comments she made at a protest over the weekend. Waters encouraged Minnesota protesters to "stay on the street" and "get more confrontational" if the jury doesn't find Chauvin guilty for the murder of George Floyd. "I hope we get a verdict that says guilty, guilty, guilty," she told reporters, according to CBS News.

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Film/TV • Unstreamable

The Heartbreak Kid Is Unstreamable

by Chase Burns and Jasmyne Keimig • Monday at 4:55 pm

I would also immediately divorce my new bride for Cybill Shepherd.
I would also immediately divorce my new bride for Cybill Shepherd. Courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment

Unstreamable is a weekly column that finds films and TV shows you can't watch on major streaming services in the United States.*

THE HEARTBREAK KID
USA, 1972, 106 min, Dir. Elaine May
An exercise in white ridiculousness.
An exercise in white ridiculousness. Courtesy of Anchor Bay Entertainment
Kelly Corcoran certainly feels like the sun in Elaine May's The Heartbreak Kid. She's hot, piercing, emits a strong gravitational pull, and her attention seems life-giving. When we first glimpse Kelly (Cybill Shepherd), it's during a blazing morning on Miami Beach after the hapless and newly wed Lenny (Charles Grodin) catches her eye. She stands over him as he lays in the sand, her blonde head eclipsing the sun as she teases, "You're lying in my spot."

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EverOut

The Best Things To Do from Home in Seattle This Week: April 19-25, 2021

by EverOut Staff • Monday at 4:20 pm

This weekend only, queue up Seattle Operas performance of Jonathan Doves Flight, performed and filmed at Tukwilas own Museum of Flight.
This weekend only, queue up Seattle Opera's performance of Jonathan Dove's Flight, performed and filmed at Tukwila's own Museum of Flight. Philip Newton

We're here to guide you through another busy week on the internet, from a 420 Digital Disco with SassyBlack and Ilana Glazer to Scarecrow Video's Oscar Preview Night leading up to the award show on Sunday, and from a conversation with debut memoirist Michelle Zauner and YouTube sensation Maangchi to the premiere of Seattle Opera's Flight. See them all below, and explore our guide to COVID-safe in-person things to do in Seattle for more options. 

MONDAY

READINGS & TALKS
Melissa Bahen: Farmhouse Weekends
Melissa Bahen, cookbook author and founder of the blog Lulu the Baker, will chat about her new cookbook Farmhouse Weekends with baker Courtney Rich of Cake by Courtney.

Read on EverOut »
Economy • Race

White Seattle Times Columnist Mocks Black Liberation, Claims Seattle Only Exists to Make Money

by Charles Mudede • Monday at 3:45 pm

Exactly what are we doing in Seattle? Why are we all here?
Exactly what are we doing in Seattle? Why are we all here? Charles Mudede

I want to begin right here, with the word "woke," which white writers and commentators on the right love to mock at any opportunity. An example of this kind of mockery can be found in Jon Talton's pro-business piece, "A new focus at Seattle’s chamber faces an old roadblock at the City Council." After claiming the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce was somehow doing the Council a favor by not endorsing candidates this year, he wrote: "Whether the 'woke' City Council will accept that branch is a big question."

So, what is the meaning of this dismissal? Why is a white man like Talton so keen to trash a word that actually describes a major and very painful part of the black experience over the past 400 years? Because Talton is precisely in the group that constructed many of the ideological structures that de-valued black life, black culture, and black appearance, all for the purpose of justifying the extraction of free labor from black Africans (the foundation of the USA's economy).

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EverOut

Tell Us Something Good, Shota Nakajima

by EverOut Staff • Monday at 2:05 pm

Chef Shota Nakajima, whos featured on the current season of Top Chef, announced today, April 19, that hes reopening Taku on May 5 after nearly a year of closure.
Chef Shota Nakajima, who's featured on the current season of Top Chef, announced today, April 19, that he's reopening Taku on May 5 after nearly a year of closure. Stephanie Forrer

For the latest installment of our "Tell Us Something Good" celebrity recommendation series, we talked with three-time James Beard Award semifinalist Chef Shota Nakajima, who announced today that his beloved Capitol Hill restaurant, Taku, will reopen on May 5 with a new karaage concept after being closed for nearly a year. He told us about the reopening, his upcoming Cooking with Friends auction event this weekend, and, of course, his appearance on Top Chef Season 18. Plus, he shared some of his favorite Seattle restaurants and cafes, tips on how to forage mushrooms, and even a recipe for horsetails. 

This interview has been edited for clarity and concision. 

What was it like being thrown in with this group of talented people after months in quarantine and this very tumultuous year? 

Number one, I’m very grateful. I was at the stage where I needed to figure out what I wanted to do. I was trying to find where my ambition was. I was starting to get lost, and this was a very good wake-up call, a good way to get myself back into it and challenge myself. 

It was a crazy year, but I'm very happy with 2020—not really financially, but mentally. It's been one of the best years, because I've been able to stop and come up with a game plan for the company I’ve always told my employees I’ve wanted to run. I feel like having that stop helped me clarify the direction I want to take. 

Read on EverOut »
Film/TV

Sasquatch Documentary Is a Bait & Switch of the Best Kind

by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey • Monday at 1:15 pm

Sasquatch: Admittedly, those are some big feet.
Sasquatch: Admittedly, those are some big feet. Hulu

At first glance, the Mark and Jay Duplass-produced Sasquatch looks like a fun, nutty peek into the Bigfoot mythos of the Pacific Northwest—and elements of this are certainly included. However, in this fascinating documentary series, the hairy, titular character primarily serves as a vehicle to lure you into a truly chilling examination of the Northern California cannabis trade.

In 1993, while visiting an "Emerald Triangle" weed farm deep in the California forests, investigative reporter David Holthouse witnesses a very odd exchange: Two traumatized pot workers tell of discovering the bodies of three murdered people, horrifyingly mutilated, and surrounded by cannabis plants which have been carelessly tossed all over the crime scene. Since nothing points to the murders being related to a "rip-off," and due to the proliferation of local Bigfoot legends, the workers are absolutely convinced the people were killed by a rampaging Sasquatch monster.

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Weed

How to Clean Your Nasty-Ass Bong

by Katie Herzog • Monday at 12:00 pm

glass-cleaning_mag.jpeg
Anthony Keo

This was originally published in October, 2019. We're re-upping it for this week's festivities.

Welcome to class. There are three basic ways to clean your nasty-ass glass pieces, and today we're going to go over all of them. But first, you may be wondering: Why would I ever need to clean my nasty-ass glass pieces? Well, Mr. Bezos, not everyone can afford to buy a new Chihuly every time their bong, bubbler, or pipe clouds up.

Your nasty-ass glass pieces look like lung cancer and smell like old plant water. Cleaning them won't just make your weed taste better, it will actually make your pieces smoke better, too. No wisp of THC can get through a clogged up glass piece, so this chore, unlike taxes, is not optional. Now, let's get started

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Film/TV • Weed • SPLIFF

This Saturday: Watch the New SPLIFF Film Fest with 🌟Me🌟

by Jasmyne Keimig • Monday at 11:00 am

It's finally fucking here, everybody! No, not spring, but this year's SPLIFF—the weed-tastic short film festival that celebrates our favorite little green plant. The fest kicked off last weekend and runs through this Saturday, April 24. It features shorts (all under 4 minutes and 20 seconds *wink*) that explore the healing, psychedelic, stressful, spiritual, sexual, and fun aspects of cannabis. This year, there's stop-motion animation, light horror, memoir, narrative shorts, and bouncing boobies galore.

Tickets are $20 and you have to be 21+ to watch. I recommend partaking in a little cannabis for the occasion (if that's your jam)—like a nice, warm, cerebral kind of high. And while we can't physically watch these films together, that doesn't mean you have to sit in front of your screen alone.

We have two more great viewing options that include a Viewing Party Smoke Out session where drag queens and pot-smokin' reporters will guide you and a live audience on your stoned journey. Get 'em while they're still hot. Here are our next dates:

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Food & Drink

Goddess Briq House Raises Funds for an Inclusive, Black-Owned Bikini Barista Stand

by Mark Van Streefkerk • Monday at 9:30 am

Goddess Briq House wants to challenge the stereotypes of bikini barista stands and create job opportunities for BIPOC, queer, trans, and disabled folks along the way.
Goddess Briq House wants to challenge the stereotypes of bikini barista stands and create job opportunities for BIPOC, queer, trans, and disabled folks along the way. Photo by Justice Latriece

Erotic entrepreneur, educator, and award-winning burlesque performer Goddess Briq House has wanted to start a bikini coffee stand franchise for years. The executive producer of Quink Social Club and Sunday Night Shuga Shaq, the only all-BIPOC burlesque revue in the Pacific Northwest, wanted to challenge the stereotypes of a bikini barista stand and create opportunity for her communities in the process. Now, thanks to some divinely inspired alignment, the vision is closer than ever. Goddess has secured a coffee trailer, and she just needs some more funding to make it happen. A GoFundMe campaign was launched for the business at the end of March, and so far has collected over $3,800 of the $18k goal.

Briq’s interest in starting a bikini coffee business came about naturally. She typically frequented bikini coffee stands to support the workers, but one thing was glaringly obvious: “I never saw anyone who looked anything like me or any of the people I love, and that was sad to me,” she said. “ I just realized it’s a completely missed opportunity. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be able to drive through a bikini barista stand and see folks of all types of ability, of all types of shapes, of all types of sizes, of all types of shades, there’s no reason why that’s not happening. Other than of course it’s not the goal or priority of folks in ownership.”

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Slog AM/PM

Slog AM: We're Close to Going Back to Phase 2, Closing Arguments in the Chauvin Trial, and SPD Keeps Getting Into Trouble

by Matt Baume • Monday at 8:30 am

Lol at those little spurs
Lol at those little spurs, and at the late "mounted unit" in general. 400tmax / Getty Images

“Compassion Seattle” reserves the right to change its mind. Backers of a proposed voter initiative to address homelessness have adjusted the wording of the measure, re-filing it with slight tweaks and an expiration date. Wouldn’t want to be compassionate for too long, would we! The whole thing remains rather vague on funding and implementation.

King County is close to going back to Phase 2. In order to stay in Phase 3, we need to have 200 or fewer cases per 100,000 residents — currently, we’re at 198.5. We also need to have five or fewer hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, and right now we’re at 3.5 to 4. We sure do like pushing our luck, don’t we?

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Slog AM/PM

Slog PM: Cop Shoots and Kills a Person in Portland, Tim Eyman Has to Pony Up, What Are You Watching for SIFF?

by Jasmyne Keimig • Friday at 6:00 pm

TK
We want our money back, dipshit. Lester Black

Today on Slog: We had a lot of good things cooking. Here's a quick rundown in case you missed it:
  • Rich Smith chatted with teachers' union leader Stephanie Gallardo about her run for Congress.
  • Matt Baume offered up some Earth Day suggestions and wrote about Washington Trust for Historic Preservation's mission to catalogue sites of interest along our region's 3,000 miles of waterfront.
  • Nathalie Graham has one of the shortest Q&As I've ever seen with Councilmember Andrew Lewis about how he killed Lower Queen Anne.
  • I demand you go see The Earth Is Blue as an Orange right now immediately.
  • Charles dropped a long headline.
  • And SPLIFF kicks off tonight—have you bought your tickets? (If not, Chase Burns and I are hosting a watch party next Saturday. It's going to be cute!)

    • Tim Eyman has to pay up: The much-imperiled office chair aficionado has been ordered by a WA Superior Court to fork over $2.9 million to "reimburse taxpayers for Attorney General's costs in campaign finance case." And that's on top of his $2.6 million penalty for his "numerous and blatant violations" of campaign finance law. KIRO 7 notes that Eyman has been making his $10,000 a month payments "consistently," but something tells me this dude hasn't quite learned his lesson.

    Not to dwell on this, but Eyman's idiocy and greed is historical: Here's what Judge James Dixon wrote about the case: "In the history of the Fair Campaign Practices Act enforcement, it would be difficult for the court to conceive of a case with misconduct that is more egregious or more extensive than the misconduct committed by defendant Eyman in this matter.”

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    Film/TV • Race

    The Rise of Replacement Theory, the White Support for Kyle Rittenhouse, and the Justification for Homicide Are Explained in Raoul Peck’s New HBO Docuseries Exterminate All the Brutes

    by Charles Mudede • Friday at 5:00 pm

    Exterminate All The Brutes is coming to America, for real.
    Exterminate All The Brutes is coming to America, for real. HBO

    The world will certainly realize that one of the most interesting directors in the past 30 years is a Haitian by the name of Raoul Peck. He is now 67 years old. His first major feature, Lumumba, was completed and distributed in 2000. His 2016 documentary I Am Not Your Negro was nominated for an Oscar at 89th Academy Awards. But the commercial failure of Peck's brilliant historical drama The Young Karl Marx threatened to return him to obscurity right after the success of his James Baldwin doc. But for one reason or another, HBO brought the Haitian back into the light with what has to be one of the most devastating accounts of colonialism in mainstream media. It's called Exterminate All the Brutes. It has four parts. Each part exposes one of the levels of hell that white supremacy has imposed on much of the world over the past 400 years.

    The message of Peck's documentary, which is not at all conventional, is simple and direct. The foundation of European global dominance is nothing but death. And lots and lots of it. And it could only be this way because what was not to be found in the New World or the Dark Continent was free land and labor. The colonial project would not have succeeded if it didn't confront the natural resistance to raw human-to-human exploitation with the full force of the Absolute Master, the name the 19th-century German philosopher Hegel gave to the fear of death. We still live in a world defined by this fear.

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    Food & Drink • Things To Do • EverOut

    This Week in Seattle Food News: Queer/Bar Is Back, A New Ethiopian Restaurant Has Arrived, And Bauhaus Ballard Closes

    by EverOut Staff • Friday at 4:20 pm

    The Ethiopian and Eritrean bar and restaurant Shewa-Ber has arrived in the Central District.
    The Ethiopian and Eritrean bar and restaurant Shewa-Ber has arrived in the Central District. Shewa-Ber

    As vaccine availability increases this week, the Seattle food scene is starting to regain its optimism, and restaurants continue to reopen and announce new plans for the future. This week, Queer/Bar opens its doors again for the first time since the start of the pandemic, and RockCreek Seafood & Spirits returns. Plus, the new Ethiopian and Eritrean restaurant Shewa-Ber has opened in the Central District, and the Los Angeles-based chain Silverlake Ramen is coming to Kirkland next week. Read on for all that and more culinary updates. For more ideas, check out our food and drink guide

    NEW OPENINGS AND RETURNS
    Deja Moo
    The Tipsy Cow, a burger spot in Redmond and Woodinville, has opened this similarly bovine-themed (but more laidback) offshoot in Kirkland. The house "Deja Moo" burger features beef, Beecher's flagship white cheddar, Bibb lettuce, tomato, onion, and "tipsy sauce." Other options include the "Backdraft" (pepper jack, roasted jalapeños, Bibb lettuce, tomato, moo sauce, and roasted habanero) and the "Mother Clucker" (crispy chicken strips, pickles, red onion, shredded romaine, and "moo sauce").
    Kirkland
    Pickup, delivery, or limited indoor seating

    Read on EverOut »
    Film/TV • SIFF

    SIFF 2021 Review: The Earth Is Blue as an Orange Is So Damn Good

    by Jasmyne Keimig • Friday at 3:55 pm

    SO good.
    SO good. Courtesy of SIFF

    "War is emptiness," postulates Myroslava, a young woman living in Krasnohorivka, Ukraine.

    She's dressed in black and sitting in front of a black background, speaking her observations in front of a camera set up in her family's living room. Outside is her war-torn village, the site of steady shellings in a years-long face-off between Ukraine and Russia. As Myroslava reflects on residing in a place continually wrecked by war, her family quietly listens off-camera, bunched up in the corners of their small home.

    The kind-eyed and determined matriarch of the family, Anna, and her three other children are all part of Myroslava's film project, which tries to document their experience living in Krasnohorivka. Each family member has an equal hand in shooting, acting, and shaping the film, which makes up part of the documentary The Earth Is Blue as an Orange, now screening at the 2021 Seattle International Film Festival. Myroslava has big dreams of becoming a cinematographer, and telling her family's story is a crucial part of that.

    The coming together of Myroslava's film is expertly captured by director and poet Iryna Tsilyk who met the young woman at a film camp years prior. Tsilyk isn't necessarily interested in the politics of the conflict but instead in the family's wartime experience as civilians. The result is a remarkable documentary about this family's resilience and cinema's ability to be a means of escape.

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    News • Neighborhoods

    An Extremely Short Q&A with Andrew Lewis about Why He Rebranded Lower Queen Anne

    by Nathalie Graham • Friday at 1:51 pm

    RIP, Lower Queen Anne.
    RIP, Lower Queen Anne. Screenshot of Google Maps

    This week, Councilmember Andrew Lewis ignited a debate that I didn't even realize existed: Do people call the Seattle neighborhood that's home to the Seattle Center, the Key Arena Climate Pledge Arena, and that surprisingly fratty piano bar Lower Queen Anne or Uptown?

    On Monday, Lewis proposed an ordinance to officially rename Lower Queen Anne to Uptown. The Seattle City Council approved it in an 8-0 vote (Councilmember Dan Strauss was absent). Everyone I know—and considering the online reaction to the vote, seemingly everyone with an internet connection—calls the place Lower Queen Anne. Even Google Maps called it Lower Queen Anne.

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