Why Must They Always Leave?? After winning the Stranger Genius award in art last year, Rodrigo Valenzuela has accepted a Core fellowship at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, for the next two years. It’s a prestigious program, with studio, health insurance, pay, and the option to teach at Rice University. Almost all the artists who go through the program have studied in Chicago, LA, NY, or Yale, and Valenzuela will be repping for the University of Washington (plus the excellent classical school he attended back in Chile before he came to the US). Bryan Ohno Gallery in Seattle and Upfor Gallery in Portland will continue to show his work, so we’ll still get to see what he makes. But please, let’s create reasons for him to return after the two years are up. Damn. This city will miss you, Rodrigo.

Spoil Yourself: Many of the good reasons one can not miss the new Jim Jarmusch film Only Lovers Left Alive are found in this post by the culture critic Steven Shaviro. If you are like Charles Mudede, you will read the post first (lots of spoilers) and then watch the film afterward. If you are not like Mudede, you will do the opposite. The opening line of Shaviro's post:

I have now watched Jim Jarmusch’s new film, Only Lovers Left Alive, several times. And I can’t stop thinking about it. I consider it the best film that Jarmusch has ever made.

Don't be a chicken; read the post first. It just might be better than the movie.

U MAD BRO? Last Friday brought a sneak peek at Mad Art Space, a large warehouse for contemporary art in South Lake Union that is scheduled to be finished in two weeks. It won’t necessarily be a showplace in the traditional sense. Rather, artists will be able to make large-scale pieces inside it, and people walking by will be able to watch through the long bank of windows lining the front of the building at 325 Westlake Ave N. The force behind the project is a philanthropist from old Seattle lumber money named Alison Milliman, but she prefers to stay mostly behind the scenes. The face of Mad Art Space is Tim Detweiler, former director of the James and Janie Washington Foundation. Mad Art is not a nonprofit; it is partly funded by 14 upscale apartments Milliman has built on the upper floors of the building (smart!). Stay tuned for more as it develops. The first artist in will be John Grade, working on a casting he made of a huge actual tree.

Why Not Seattle Bookstore Day? California Bookstore Day was a huge success. Let's do that here!

Proof That Ben Affleck Is a Terrible Actor: A good actor could've convinced casino staff that he wasn't counting cards.

I'll Be Bach Next Week: Each week, a new recording of one of J.S. Bach's works is uploaded to this website. (Via Kottke.)

Haters Gonna Hate Ten Percent More Than the Average: This chart of the most and least forgiving movie reviewers is interesting.

History Triggers Me: Here's a history of trigger warnings.