We just may have found Charles Mudede's next film subject. Edward Smith, a 57-year-old from Washington, whose sexual preference leans towards the automotive rather than the bestial. Smith's self-described romantic feelings toward cars began at age 15. (Auto erotica indeed!) Since then, Smith claims to have had sex with over 1,000 cars, though he is currently in a monogamous relationship with his girlfriend--a white Volkswagen Beetle he has named Vanilla. more ›

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Early in our parenting career, we took a Bringing Baby Home class developed by UW researcher John Gottman. He gave us better parenting advice than any other resource, at least until we saw the Blue's Clues episode about being frustrated. (Stop, breathe, and think is our new mantra.) more ›

So we'll begin, the guy at the podium said, the huge black blast door in the Microsoft Auditorium at the Downtown Library eased down its track, slowly cutting off our view of the lobby, and we shivered. more ›

Back in February, a group of volunteer tutors from 826 Seattle walked into John Marshall Alternative School and asked students to write about change. After six weeks of intensive one-on-one tutoring, they left with a book’s worth. And it was with much celebration that students, tutors, friends and family filled Marshall’s auditorium Tuesday night to launch "Burning the Past," the latest collection of essays from this incredible collaboration. more ›

--Hegelian dialectics are no problem for the Stranger's Charles Mudede, but Doobie Brothers lyrics are Greek to him. more ›

The Seattle International Film Festival starts May 24. All 405 films. Tickets are on sale to members right now; hoi polloi, this Sunday. New this year is that if you buy a multi-ticket package, you can then order tickets online to the specific films you want to see. That is thanks to POP, who do SIFF's website. more ›

--Seattle Podcasting Network infiltrated Fisher Communications on election night. more ›

-Between the rat infestations, soup shortages, and unexpected restaurant closings, Electrolicious had a rough time at local restaurants over the weekend. more ›

A: What Ken Jennings writes when he autographs copies of Brainiac. more ›

All music all the time wears us out, so we decided to hopscotch around Bumbershoot this year and take advantage of the talks, arts performances, and art exhibits. more ›

As Slate will sometimes publish a book review or commentary by Armond White or Stanley Crouch, one gathers that toothlessness in a writer isn't always a condition of employment. How then to account for the uniform awfulness of Slate's film section since Edelstein's departure? How then to account for the myopically prejudicial "old boys' club" atmosphere that deems who will and who won't have "room" in an online publication that's updated daily? (And is losing money anyway.) more ›

Here we are in the home stretch of the 31st annual Seattle International Film Festival. If you haven't seen a great foreign film/documentary/indie flick, or at least an advertisement featuring aspects thereof, you only have till this Sunday to do so. Between now and then, some festival films of note (and in a nutshell) include: more ›

Weeklies: Please, enough with the dueling themed issues. Is this some weird contest of who's going to back down first? Alright, then. We give! Uncle! The readers have folded first, now can we get back to regularly scheduled programming. more ›