Just because the closure of the viaduct is in effect doesn't mean one should avoid going to the West Seattle neighborhood. Jenise Silva compiles five of the best reasons to head out to our city's neighbor to the West. more ›

We said it before and we'll say it again: the teenager has come into it's own. This year's 16th annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival has had some of the strongest programs we can remember, and is truly establishing itself as a can't-miss event. The week has included plenty of entertaining flicks, along with several poignant documentaries chronicling the AIDS epidemic including The Grove and We're Still Here. more ›

We don't even know what to say about this one. It was just hanging out there in our Flickr pool, waiting to be posted. Cheers! more ›

• A couple of Seattle's finest neighborhood blogs are also covering Nickelsville. Blogging Georgetown and West Seattle Blog are both giving thorough coverage to the story.
• Did someone say gumbo? Honest to god, Louisiana-made gumbo in Seattle? Hallelujah! The Central District News has a glowing (tummy-grumble-inducing) review.
• Ballard High graduate Jean Smart won an Emmy last night and MyBallard celebrates the news. In other once-local celebrity news, according to the Big Blog, UW Alumni Anna Faris will host SNL this weekend.

Until this moment, Douglas Carter Beane's off-Broadway-then-on-Broadway, poison-pen skewering of the capacious Hollywood closet was more likely to play at ACT than the more classics-minded, genteel Intiman. (In fact, director Fracaswell Hyman's last Intiman outing was To Kill a Mockingbird.) It turns out last season's Prayer for My Enemy was not a one-off experiment with a play whose characters know what a cell phone is. more ›

Seattlest woke up this morning to an email from the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee, announcing a cocktail party to raise money for Barack Obama's Victory Fund. The special guests? Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo and Justin Chambers. (Was T.R. Knight unavailable?) If you want to get some froofy drinks and partake of what will surely be yummy hors d'oeuvres, and you've got an extra $250-$10,000 you can afford to just give away, you should RSVP. With Obama being down in the polls and saying smart but easily mock-able things about tire pressure gauges, he could use a little extra cash to solidify his taking over the free world. more ›

In terms of identity, Chad Goller-Sojourner either hit the jackpot or got the short end of the stick, depending on one's perspective: a gay black man raised by a white family with a "girl's" eating disorder. more ›

Yesterday, one of the largest mainline Protestant Christian denominations--the Presbyterian Church (USA)--voted at their General Assembly to end the ban on ordination of gays and lesbians. The vote was 54% to 46%, an impressive margin for a denomination that has been roiled by bitter conflict over this issue for a solid thirty years. Technically worded, the vote dropped the rule that "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between and a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness" was an absolute requirement for ordination. It will take another year for the nation's 173 presbyteries, or geographically grouped churches who have a shared governing body, to vote individually to approve a change to the PC(USA)'s constitution. But as of right now, a church--yes, even a church in the moderately conservative Presbytery of Seattle--may on a case by case basis overrule the ban and ordain gays and lesbians. This is huge news! more ›

Safeco Field is a family park. Lesbian kissing, "Yankees Suck" shirts, and winning streaks are all frowned upon. more ›

The Seattle Men's Chorus has announced its 2008-09 season and it includes (gay gasp!) Debbie Reynolds. As a girlfriend of ours (the platonic kind) noted, "I bet those men about had a heart attack." Also in the 08-09 season: a Christmas concert called Fruitcake which, according to the press release, will be "soaked in spirits; with a bit of spice, nuts, and fruit tossed in for fun." The release also said the show will contain "music, laughter, and tears." We're not so sure what those boys will be crying about, but okay. more ›

Seeing it is oddly like watching a engrossing foreign movie--and not just because of the supratitles above the stage. A score by Aziza Sadykova, voice-over narration, and live sound effects (echoes heighten outcries) add to the immersion you get from high production value. And though the story about a boy growing up gay in a sexually repressive society isn't all that unfamiliar a scenario, the familial haggling over bride-price and discussions of the finer points of Sharia law are. more ›

It's leap day. Or, uh, leap year day. Or, the day that only happens once every four years: February 29. So get your leap on. more ›

It seems like it was just last week that we were gushing over the Bottleneck Lounge. Oh yeah, that was just last week. Well, we're talking about them again. In honor of the Gay Superbowl, the Central District bar is hosting a party: more ›

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We spotted an older Volvo sporting a "Nuke Gay Whales for Jesus" bumper sticker turning left onto Mercer Street in front of the newly remodeled Pagliacci on Lower Queen Anne this morning. We would have taken a picture but we were too busy shitting ourselves at the sight of the sticker to pull it together. Apologies all around. more ›

No. But that doesn't make this factoid from a political campaign article in today's any less disturbing: more ›

While we're finding you writerly folk some jobs, why don't some of you look into the Puget Sound Business Journal: they've got two staff openings: the banking, residential real estate and economy beat and sports, retailing and marketing and media. more ›

Well, it's been a month, and that can only mean one thing: time for the next free edgy youth culture documentary, care of Scion. Last time around, the topic was blood diamonds in hip hop; this time it's all about nightclubbing in the late '80s NYC queer community. more ›

Were we a closeted German lesbian, we’d totally bring Jens Lekman home to Daddy. The fair-haired, fey-mannered 26-year-old Swedish songsmith could definitely play the part of doting boyfriend, while his self-deprecating shy charm and boyish good looks would overwhelm any parental attempts to suss out the real nature of our relationship. To that end, during last night’s sold-out show at Nectar, Jens introduced "A Postcard to Nina" with the true story behind the song, in which his gay penpal in Berlin ambushed him into being her beard (or merkin, if you prefer) for the sake of pleasing her Catholic father. It was pitch-perfect Jens Lekman—walking the fine line between precious and twee, somehow managing to be sweet without giving you a toothache. That’s essential for a singer-songwriter who has deadpan lyrics about asthma inhalers and slicing avocados, and (just once) rhymes "number two" with "coochie-coo," all without inducing groans or eyerolls. more ›

We really don't feel it's the day after an election until we overhear people talking about how they forgot to vote, didn't know there was an election, and how they'll definitely vote next time. more ›

After kittens yawning and cross-species friendship, dear sweet Jens Lekman may be the most precious thing found in all of nature. The Gothenberg Swede makes orchestral pop songs in the vein of Morrissey or the Magnetic Fields without even being gay (just European). To promote Night Falls Over Kortedala, one of the best reviewed albums of the year, Jens has been touring around the States with his almost-all-girl backing band: more ›

When we sat down to do our endorsements we reached a disturbing conclusion. We cannot, in good conscience, vote for anyone. more ›

All of Seattlest will be struggling to remember that Sunday is the day we turn our clocks back one hour. We hope you remember too. more ›

What better way to raise money for cancer than a good old-fashioned moustache pageant? Seemingly classy-ass Monsieur Moustache is tonight at the Capitol Hill Arts Center, with the proceeds going to help pay the leukemia treatment bills of local waiter extraordinare Nick Farina. (Proceeds will also be shared with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.) Nick's not the only guy out there with over a million dollars in bills (since, you know, our system's fucked), so the organizers are hoping to make this an annual benefit to raise money for cancer patients and organizations. more ›

The Stranger has endorsed a No vote on the RTID Proposition 1 (along with the Seattle Times, but thankfully with more logic and, er, research). Their reasoning? "Rather than letting compromised politicians tell us what's possible, the people should tell the leaders what's needed: more light rail without massive roads expansion." more ›

It's still raining, but that's not stopping us this weekend. As we get ready to head out the door, the Seattlest staff is once again sharing our weekend plans in the hopes that we'll see you along the way. more ›

A few weeks ago, Nobel Prize Laureate and co-discoverer of DNA Dr. James Watson blew through town, reflecting on how he's stayed away from stupid people, then delving into his now-customary slurry of sexist patois. Apparently he waited until he got across the pond to London to pull out the big guns:

The 79-year-old geneticist said he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours -- whereas all the testing says not really." He said he hoped that everyone was equal, but countered that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.”

Seattlest likes parks. Especially the big ones with plenty of room for family picnics, Frisbee, flag football and lots and lots of gay sex. more ›

Last night, in the face of too-cold-too-soon autumn weather, we corralled our friend (and friend of the Slog) Carollani into her badass newish car and headed over to the 5th Avenue Theater for the official opening night of --a Broadway-bound musical playing now through Sept. 30. more ›

Seattle. Portland. Which one's better? You may say: "How can you choose? Each has their good points. It's like asking which religion is better." Guess what, asshole, that Negative Nellie attitude is the reason nobody ever asks for your fucking opinion. Jerk. To the debate! First up, it's a pro-Seattle opinion. more ›