We finally made the (arduous!) four-block trek down to the Frye to check out "Anxious Objects: Willie Cole's Favorite Brands." The exhibit highlights the last 20 years of Cole's work, heavy on the mixed media sculptures he's famous for. Cole takes ratty, disposable, everyday domestic objects and transforms them into pristine pieces that mimic symbols from South Asian and African art: scorched ironing boards become Domestic Shields, detached gas pump nozzles arc up from the floor like vipers ready to strike, and hundreds of thrift store high-heeled shoes transform into masks and dragons and mandalas. Cole's understanding of the forms and symbols at work in African and South Asian art shines through everything; the shapes and styles he evokes are spot on, no matter the medium. We had no idea irons could be so sexy. more ›

If you loved that great feeling you got in your heart from being charitable after the tsunami and Katrina, well, get ready to give a little more. There was that big ol' earthquake in Kashmir a couple weeks ago, remember? Apparently, most people don't, because the international fundraising is not at the levels it needs to be. While the media has been going on and on about how we're all shell-shocked from "disaster fatigue," Seattlest is thinking that's a lame cop-out (and a condition that could be easily cured by a few stiff drinks). It seems much more likely that, especially in the wake of our own disasters, a great deal of us could care less about 50,000+ dead brown people. more ›