Four years ago, President Bush announced his Vision for Space Exploration; we would, he said, aim to return to the moon by 2020, develop an "extend[ed] human presence across the solar system," and build new vehicles to take us where we want to go in space. Part of that plan was a request to NASA to complete the International Space Station, retire the current, aging space shuttles (to be replaced by a new Crew Exploration Vehicle) and to close the space shuttle program facilities across the country by 2010. The time is drawing steadily near for Congress to reaffirm that course of action. King5 tells us that Seattle's Museum of Flight, on East Marginal Way, could be home to one of those shuttles in a year or two, and that, of course, would be downright really frickin' cool. more ›

A local artist, Deborah Lawrence, created a beautiful, swirly, red-and-white collage Christmas ornament for the White House Christmas tree and shipped it off east at Jim McDermott's request. The ornament was then chosen out of many and hung on the presidential Douglas before the Deciders realized it was decorated with text in support of somewhat radical left politics--including, as the P-I notes, positive sentiments towards the impeachment of President Bush. So sneaky! So delightfully devious! Too bad the grownups in charge said it was inappropriate and took it down, even after they initially said it was okay, thereby confirming that they are total killjoys. UPDATE: Now KIRO has an interview with the communist artist in question. more ›

• A Central District woman got quite the hilarious scare yesterday morning when she spotted a silent smiling "intruder" while walking her puppy around the block. It turned out to be a life-size cut-out of GWB, stuck in neighborhood bush. But let's be honest, it would scare the bejeebus out of us too...especially in the dark!
• MyBallard covers the proposed car camp for homeless residents in Ballard.
• You've got just over two weeks to film and send in your submission for this years HUMP! We've gone the past three years and other than being unpleasantly surprised by a few familiar faces, we look forward to each year's entries.

It ain't easy being Scott McClellan. He's considered a traitor, snitch, and turncoat by the right, while the left decries him for not blowing the whistle sooner—either way, he's not getting many Christmas cards this year. more ›

"True Love" by Slightlynorth more ›

The New York Times reports that our esteemed politicians have agreed on "an economic stimulus package", which sounds pretty high-falutin', but it basically amounts to cutting everyone in America a check. more ›

Not that there's anything remarkably surprising about this. Most of us here in this hippy haven understand full well that the War in Iraq was forged under false pretense, and there have been plenty of news stories in the past five years to back up our suspicions. more ›

When you call your memoir Avoid Boring People, as Dr. James Watson did, and then go around the country talking about it, you've set yourself up for a rather easy dig. more ›

If kaboom-style fireworks aren't the bang you're looking for, stop in at ACT for the theatrical fireworks of David Hare's Stuff Happens, reviewed here. It's the play about Iraq and the rockets' red glare, the difference between the spark of liberty and the blinding torch of neocon ideology. (The title refers to Donald Rumsfeld's disingenuous retort to questions about U.S. forces' disregard of post-"liberation" lawlessness.) By all accounts, it's a thought-provoking (almost 3-hour) imagining of what it was like being "in the room" as the decisions were being made, and confronts us with the outcome of those decisions, ready or not. more ›

Watching David Hare's dramatization of the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq last night at ACT, we were reminded of an email exchange we had that summer with an old college friend. Our friend, a Brit, was at the time starting her career as a history teacher, and if we recall correctly, we wrote her something to the effect of, "You know why World War I started, you know why World War II or Vietnam or Korea or the Falklands started...but in ten years, when your students ask you, 'Why did we invade Iraq?', what are you going to say? What's the explanation going to be?" Her despairing response: "They already are asking. And I don't know what to tell them." more ›

Dammit, she auditioned in Seattle. Can't we claim her? more ›

Kurt Vonnegut, up there with Twain and Melville and Kesey as the most original American novelists ever in the history of writing stuff, died tonight. He was 84. He'd been in the hospital since a fall a couple of weeks ago. Attention kids: this is what happens if you chain-smoke for 73 years. more ›

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, more ›

From time to time we residents of this unique/Northwestern/American city develop blindspots into which it's difficult to see. Jonathan Raban has made a good go of assisting us in these situations --sometimes just by nudging the mirror a little-- so we contacted him hoping he could help with a little perspective on our viaduct dilemma. He doesn't disappoint. Discussed are the Viaduct, the waterfront, South Lake Union, Aurora Ave North, the Tube, traffic, money, legacies, neuroses, wagers against the future, Seattle's misconceptions, Seattlest's misconceptions and, finally, Jonathan's upcoming books. more ›