Dec 26 - Jan 2 - Cascadia Weekly

Transcription

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The Gristle, P.6 * Fuzz Buzz, P.10 * Free Will Astrology, P.24
c a s c a d i a
REPORTING FROM
THE HEART OF CASCADIA
*
*
*
WHATCOM SKAGIT ISLAND LOWER B.C.
AMY
GOODMAN:
How many children
will it take? p.6
{12.26.12}{#52}{V.07}{FREE}
Ringing
it In:
Sounds like a
New Year, P.18
Nell Thorn:
Delectable dining in
Skagit County, P.30
POLAR
EXPRESS
Plunging into
2013, p.14
FOOD 30
a
s
c
a
d
i
a
B-BOARD 24
c
MUSIC 18
FILM 22
A glance at what’s happening this week
If your young ones are
happy with their Christmas
hauls, bring them to the
annual “Note of Thanks”
event Dec. 27 at the
Bellingham Public Library,
where supplies—and
tips—will be provided
PHOTO BY MAT T MCDANIEL
MAIL 4
VIEWS 6
CURRENTS 8
WORDS 12
GET OUT 14
STAGE 15
ART 16
If you’re
looking for
something to
get excited
about, reserve
tickets now for
hilarity-focused
New Year’s Eve
shows that will
happen at 7pm,
9pm and 11pm
Dec. 31 at the
Upfront Theatre
DO IT 2
2 ) .4[12.y}.12]
Library
Fiction Writing Group: 6-8pm, Village Books
DANCE
12.26.12
Scottish Country Dance: 7-9:30pm, Fairhaven
Library
COMMUNITY
The Lights of Christmas: 5-10pm, Warm Beach
Camp, Stanwood
COMMUNITY
Camp, Stanwood
#52.07
CASCADIA WEEKLY
2
Forget about your
holiday kitchen duties
at the annual Christmas
Eve Pasta Feed
happening Dec. 24 at
Boundary Bay Brewery
!-$4[12.y.12]
ONSTAGE
/#0-.4[12.y~.12]
Holiday Theatresports: 8pm and 10pm, Upfront
Theatre
ONSTAGE
Good, Bad, Ugly: 8pm, Upfront Theatre
The Project: 10pm, Upfront Theatre
As part of the City of Bellingham’s “Celebrate New
Year’s” lineup, kids and adults can take part in
free events such as swimming, ice skating, soccer
and more at the Bellingham Sportsplex and Arne
Hanna Aquatic Center
MUSIC
The Quick & Easy Boys, Galapagos: 9:30pm, Wild
Buffalo
DANCE
Fourth Corner Folk Dance: 7:15pm, Fairhaven
Library
COMMUNITY
Camp, Stanwood
MUSIC
Showdown at the Shakedown: 9:30pm
GET OUT
WORDS
Nature Babies: 9:30-11am, Connelly Creek Nature
Area
Guided Eagle Walks and Presentations: 10am-
Note of Thanks: 10:30am-12pm, Bellingham Public
./0-4[12.y.12]
FOOD 30
4pm, Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center, Howard Miller Steelhead Park, Rockport
GET OUT
Guided Eagle Walks and Presentations:
10am-4pm, Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center, Howard Miller Steelhead Park,
Rockport
.0)4[12.z.12]
ONSTAGE
The Met’s Aida: 1pm, Lincoln Theatre, Mount
Vernon
MUSIC
The Supersuckers: 10pm, the Shakedown
FILM 22
Wonders of Whatcom: 2:30-4pm, Fairhaven
Library
Camp, Stanwood
MUSIC 18
COMMUNITY
ART 16
Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, Love Lights: 9:30pm,
Wild Buffalo
STAGE 15
MUSIC
GET OUT 14
Holiday Theatresports: 8pm and 10pm,
Upfront Theatre
B-BOARD 24
ONSTAGE
MUSIC
Acorn Project, Spyn Reset, Boombox: 9pm,
Wild Buffalo
Scary Monster and the Super Creeps: 9pm,
the Shakedown
Falling Upstairs, Ship to Ship: 9pm, the
Redlight
COMMUNITY
Celebrate New Year’s: 6-9pm, Bellingham
Sportsplex
GET OUT
Annual Ring of Fire & Hope: 7pm, Birch Bay
Beach, Blaine
FOOD
New Year’s Wine Dinner: 5pm and 8pm,
Majestic Inn and Spa, Anacortes
New Year’s Buffet: 6:30-8:30pm, Conway Muse
/0 .4[01.x.13]
GET OUT
Resolution Run: 11am, Lake Padden
Birch Bay Polar Swim: 11am, Birch Bay Beach
Polar Dip: 12pm, Lake Padden Park
CURRENTS 8
VIEWS 6
Contra Dance Gala: 8pm-1am, Norway Hall
New Year’s Eve Salsa Dance: 9pm, Studio Z
MAIL 4
DANCE
DO IT 2
New Year’s Eve Shows: 7pm, 9pm, and 11pm,
Upfront Theatre
12.26.12
ONSTAGE
#52.07
(*)4[12.zx.12]
CASCADIA WEEKLY
Guided Eagle Walks and Presentations:
10am-4pm, Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center, Howard Miller Steelhead Park,
Rockport
WORDS 12
GET OUT
3
FOOD 30
THISWEEK
B-BOARD 24
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
STAGE 15
GET OUT 14
WORDS 12
CURRENTS 8
VIEWS 6
mail
Editor & Publisher:
Tim Johnson
E ext 260
ô editor@
cascadiaweekly.com
If you’re reading these words, you’re already well aware
the annoying apocalypse that was predicted as a result of
the ending of the 5,125-year cycle of the Mayan Calendar
didn’t come to pass and, indeed, we’re all still present and
accounted for—oh, and, just like every other year, you’ll
still have to pay your Christmas credit card bills and taxes
in 2013. Happy New Year!
VIEWS & NEWS
4: Mailbag
8: Last week’s news
10: Police blotter, Index
ARTS & LIFE
TOC
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14: To dip or not to dip
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15: Seattle stages
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18: Ringing it in
20: Clubs
23: Film Shorts
REAR END
24: Bulletin Board, Free Will
25: Wellness
26: Advice Goddess
27: Crossword
28: Sudoku, Slowpoke
29: This Modern World, Tom the
Dancing Bug
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Letters
Send letters to letters@
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30: Supper in Skagit
The Gristle, P.6 * Fuzz Buzz, P.10 * Free Will Astrology, P.24
c a s c a d i a
REPORTING FROM
THE HEART OF CASCADIA
*
*
*
CASCADIA WEEKLY
#52.07
12.26.12
WHATCOM SKAGIT ISLAND LOWER B.C.
4
{12.26.12}{#52}{V.07}{FREE}
Ringing
It In:
AMY
GOODMAN:
Sounds like a
How many children
will it take? p.6
new year, P.18
Nell Thorn:
Delectable dining in
Skagit County, P.30
©2012 CASCADIA WEEKLY (ISSN 1931-3292) is published each Wednesday by
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Editorial
6: Gristle & Goodman
DO IT 2
Contact
plunging into
2013, p.14
COVER: Photo by Dori
OFFSPRING OF
UNCERTAIN PARENTAGE
I write to disassociate Conservation Northwest
and its Whatcom Legacy Project (WLP) from an effort called Whatcom Futures. The latter is a project
of the Northwest Economic Council funded through
the Whatcom Community Foundation, and its public claims to be continuing the objectives and efforts of the WLP are false and deceptive
Whatcom Legacy Project was conceived, funded
and staffed by Conservation Northwest starting in
2007. It featured a diverse steering committee and
vigorous public outreach, with the goal of achieving a community-supported vision for Whatcom
County in 2100. This vision was to be a map showing broad agreement on areas of open space, working forms and forests, industrial growth, etc. We
sadly didn’t have the funds to continue past 2010.
Whatcom Futures claims to have taken up where
WLP left off. Its core committee has some of WLP’s
old steering committee members. But other WLP
core participants were excluded. I never heard of
Whatcom Futures until a recent newspaper article
about its draft product. The group never reached
out to me for participation, ideas or even WLP
products or (modest) residual funds.
While Whatcom Futures includes heavy participation from (and outreach to) the building
industry, it includes not a single representative
of a conservation or environmental NGO.
Does this mean the products of Whatcom Futures are biased or dangerous? I’d encourage you
to read their draft document yourself and voice
your opinion to the NWEC.
I will say that when a process smells funny,
there’s often a reason. There is much in their out-
reach process and draft document that doesn’t
sit well with me, including the subtle hint of a
coal train running through it.
—Mitch Friedman, Executive Director
KOOKY KABUKI
Our economic situation is theater of the absurd. No one seems to notice that President Clinton had a budget surplus that President Bush
turned into a huge deficit by his war of choice
in Iraq and other budgetary moves. Almost every Republican in Congress backed every budgetbusting move. Now they are practically religious
zealots about balancing the budget.
This makes me wonder if their motivation is
principle or politics. Luckily Bush didn’t privatize social security.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman
thinks now is a time for government stimulus,
partially because corporations are investing
overseas. Their profits often end up in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. If corporations are
private citizens for election donations, why not
tax them like us?
Bernie Madoff and few others are jailed for financial shenanigans while millions of hardworking Americans lost their savings. Why prosecute
Bernie? Simple: he screwed the one percent.
Locally, convoluted corporate tricks by Homestead NW, and at Semiahmoo and Galbraith
Mountain, resulted in hundreds losing their savings and no one going to jail.
But people are incarcerated for stealing a pack
of cigarettes. No wonder many Americans want
to push Congress over that cliff.
—Harvey Schwartz, Bellingham
FOOD 30
B-BOARD 24
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
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CASCADIA WEEKLY
VIEWS 6
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CURRENTS 8
Decemb
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CASCADIA WEEKLY
#52.07
12.26.12
DO IT 2
MAIL 4
VIEWS 6
CURRENTS 8
WORDS 12
GET OUT 14
STAGE 15
ART 16
MUSIC 18
FILM 22
B-BOARD 24
FOOD 30
THE GRISTLE
6
SMALL BEER: Giving the incoming governor some cover, Governor Christine Gregoire proposed a more generous gambit to state revenues in her recommended
budget for Jay Inslee’s administration than she ever
recommended for her own administration. In her final
budget proposal before leaving office, Gregoire last
week proposed a creative mix of spending cuts, reform savings, fund shifts and revenue adjustments to
balance the state’s nearly $1 billion 2013–15 budget
shortfall.
The governor released her plan for making a $1
billion down payment toward meeting the courtmandated increase in basic education funding. She
laid out capital and transportation proposals to meet
critical infrastructure needs in communities across
the state.
Gregoire noted that a budget based only on spending cuts would force the closure of a number of state
parks, eliminate food assistance programs for vulnerable citizens, and impose cuts on the order of $152
million on public schools and higher education. She
also recommended continuing to suspend voter-approved salary increases for teachers
“We have cut billions of dollars in spending and
made major reforms since the start of the Great Recession,” Gregoire said. “A budget that relies only on
existing revenue would not only jeopardize essential
services—I’m convinced it would also hinder our economic recovery.”
“The governor’s budget is a stark example of how to
fail at meeting Washington state’s needs,” commented Remy Trupin, executive director of the Washington
State Budget & Policy Center. “If adopted, this budget
would keep our state mired in a recession. It is clear
that a budget without revenue is unsustainable and it
is dangerous to our economy and our future.”
Perhaps it goes without saying, but spending cuts
that inflict harm on large numbers of people and teeter the state economy are not addressing “waste” and
“inefficiency.” They are scraping at the bottom of a
bankrupt cask, threatening to tear out the bottom.
The easy cuts—the easy efficiencies, the recovery
of meaningful public monies—were made long ago,
budget analysts agree. Now the cuts themselves become inefficient. They no longer recover meaningful
amounts of public monies. They no longer prioritize
public policy. They just hurt.
New revenues are required but, in our dysfunctional
adversarial political system, those revenues can only
be acquired by equally inefficient means and in nonmeaningful amounts—taxes on soda and chewing gum,
while prosperous companies and individuals pay at (by
far) the most regressive tax rates in the nation.
In her budget, the governor proposed $131 million
in new revenue from the repeal of sales tax breaks
on purchases of candy and gum, and eliminating a
tax break on fuel used by oil refineries and lumber
mills, with additional marginal consumption taxes on
soda and beer. Sources of significant revenues remain
unmentioned.
Jay Inslee declined to directly comment on Gregoire’s proposed budget, issuing instead a brief statement that thanked her administration and her commitment.
Inslee indicated his office would lay out his own
budget priorities; however, we might predict they’ll be
no more bold or transformative than Gregoire’s.
views
OPI N IONS
T H E G R IST L E
BY AMY GOODMAN
From New Town To Newtown:
WILL NEW THINKING LEAD TO NEW CONTROLS?
he initial shock of the latest semi-automatic-weaponfueled massacre has passed,
but the grief only grows. Now the
funerals occur with a daily drumbeat. It will take not 27, but 28
funerals, as the Newtown, Conn.,
shooter, Adam Lanza, took his own
life after slaughtering his mother at
home, then 20 children, aged 6 and
7, and six women at the Sandy Hook
Elementary School who tried to protect them. Since President Barack
Obama took office, there have been
at least 16 major mass shootings,
after which he has offered somber
words of condolence and called for
national healing. But what is really
needed is gun control, serious gun
control, as was swiftly implemented
in Australia in 1996, after another
gunman went on a senseless shooting spree. That massacre occurred
in Port Arthur, Tasmania, and the
shooter was from nearby New Town.
On April 28, 1996, Martin Bryant, a
troubled 28-year-old from New Town,
Tasmania, took a Colt AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to the nearby tourist
destination of Port Arthur. By the
time he was arrested early the next
day, he had killed 35 people and
wounded 23. The reaction in Australia was profound, especially since it
was a nation of gun lovers, target
shooters and hunters. The massacre
provoked an immediate national debate over gun control. Strict laws
were quickly put in place, banning
semiautomatic weapons and placing
serious controls on gun ownership.
Since that time, there has not been
one mass shooting in Australia.
Rebecca Peters took part in that
debate. She is now an international
arms control advocate, and led the
campaign to reform Australia’s gun
T
laws after the Port Arthur massacre.
Days after the Newtown massacre, I
asked Peters to explain how the gun
laws changed in Australia in 1996:
“The new law banned semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, assault
weapons, and not only new sales...
we banned importation sales, we
banned ownership, so currently
owned weapons were prohibited. The
government bought those guns back
at a rate of about the retail price
plus about 10 percent. You couldn’t
get them repaired. You couldn’t sell
them. It was a very comprehensive
ban. The buyback ended up buying back and destroying more than
about 650,000 of these weapons,
which is the largest buyback and
destruction program for guns anywhere in the world.”
Like the United States, Australia’s
gun laws were a patchwork of state
laws. Prime Minister John Howard,
from the center-right Liberal Party,
took leadership to put strong, national uniform standards into place.
Howard wrote a reflection on the gun
laws last August, immediately after
the Aurora, Colo., massacre. Howard
flags a talk given at the George H.W.
Bush Presidential Library in 2008:
“There was an audible gasp of
amazement at my expressing pride
in what Australia had done to limit
the use of guns. I had been given
a sharp reminder that, despite the
many things we have in common
with our American friends, there is
a huge cultural divide when it comes
VIEWS EXPRESSED ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF CASCADIA WEEKLY
to the free availability of firearms.”
Likewise, in Britain, after the
March 1996 school massacre in Dunblane, Scotland, which left 16 children aged 5 and 6 dead along with
two teachers, handguns were quickly
banned. Statistics show that in both
countries, gun violence, murders and
successful suicides all are down.
What is possible here in the United States, as the nation collectively
mourns this latest score of innocents murdered in a moment?
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein
promises an assault-weapons ban, to
be entered for debate on the new Senate’s first day of business in January.
She says: “It will ban the sale, the
transfer, the importation and the possession [of assault weapons], not retroactively, but prospectively. And it
will ban the same for big clips, drums
or strips of more than 10 bullets.”
“The 1994 so-called Assault Weapons Ban was one of the most porous,
ineffective pieces of legislation,”
commented Paul Barrett, author of
Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun. “It
was shot through with loopholes. It
had no applicability to weapons that
were made and sold on the day before enactment. ...If Congress is not
proposing to ban weapons that are
already out there, then that leaves
millions and millions of weapons.”
President Obama has now appointed Vice President Joe Biden to chair
a commission to review possible actions. Commissions, though, too often allow the moment to pass, the
national attention to be diverted. In
Australia, the comprehensive ban was
in place within weeks, shepherded by
a conservative prime minister. How
long must we wait for sensible guncontrol laws in the United States?
How many children will it take?
THE NEW YEAR
NEW YEAR’S EVE
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#52.07
New Year’s Eve 2012
CASCADIA WEEKLY
“Without revenue, policymakers will
be faced with making new deep cuts
to all other areas of state spending.
If it comes to that, the scope of these
cuts will be unlike anything we have
seen and would result in a systematic
dismantling of vital structures built up
over the years that ensure the success
of our kids and our state’s shared prosperity,” Remy said.
Gregoire had a brief window following the collapse of Republican fortunes
in the wane of the Bush years, 20072009, in which to propose a substantial reworking of the state’s tax code,
to reorganize the way the state spends
through the tax code, to close down
certain loopholes that were producing
negligible benefit for the state, and to
rethink the way the precarious overreliance on sales tax. The last item,
in particular, keenly fails to capture
changes in the economy over the last
75 years. Since the tax was enacted in
1935, the role of goods versus services
have swapped places in the state’s economic profile, and little of that change
is captured through the tax code.
Modernizing the sales tax could immediately raise $1.2 billion in resources, according to the Budget & Policy
Center.
Note that none of the rejiggering
noted in the preceding paragraphs represents a tax increase, but increased efficiency in the manner we collect taxes
and distribute the tax burden. For all
the hair pulling and howling about inefficiency in state spending, virtually
no time is invested in increasing efficiency of collection.
Alas, Gregoire did not do the work
when she had opportunity, and that
window has now closed for that critical work, with Republican ranks swelling in Olympia.
The predicament was worsened earlier this month when two Democrats in
the state senate—Rodney Tom (Bellevue) and Tim Sheldon (Potlatch)—announced they would caucus with Senate Republicans, flipping the chamber’s
26-23 Democratic majority to a 25-24
Republican coalition majority. Senate
Republicans last year used a procedural
trick in the minority to drive the state
budget at speed into a brick wall, so
we might only imagine where they’ll
steer the jalopy in majority.
Roadmarker on the roadkill highway,
Senate Republicans have promised another procedural trick to rewrite the
senate rules from the floor when the
new legislature convenes in January,
making Tom the Senate Leader, his
payoff for selling out the voters and
caucus that elected him.
FOOD 30
THE GRISTLE
7
NEWS
DEC19-21
BY TIM JOHNSON
STAGE 15
GET OUT 14
WORDS 12
CURRENTS 8
VIEWS 6
WEDNESDAY
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office holds a training exercise at Wade King Elementary, stressing that training for
active shooter response is routine. The exercise was scheduled
for winter break, before a tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut Dec. 14, not in response to it.
DO IT 2
#52.07
Mudslides block the rail line north of Seattle faster than
Burlington Northern Santa Fe can clear them. Debris blocked
passenger rail to Bellingham on Monday. Nine additional slides
were as large as 6 feet deep and 30 feet wide and carried
100-foot trees from bluffs above the coastal route. Sections
of track were hit dozens of times last year and are vulnerable
after recent heavy rains. A mudslide south of Everett derailed
seven cars on a freight train Monday.
CASCADIA WEEKLY
12.yx.12
FRIDAY
Gun sales in the Puget Sound area have been
brisk, but dealers say the sales spike is more a reaction to last month's election than this month's
deadly school shooting in Connecticut. State records
indicate the number of concealed-weapons permits
are up. Gun store owners say they often see an uptick in business in the first months of the year, when
customers receive their tax returns.
Storms hinder efforts to remove a large dock that washed
ashore at La Push near the mouth of the Hoh River. The dock
is believed to be debris from last year's earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
12.y.12
8
Six feet of wet snow from a heavy weather system downed more than 100 trees in 24 hours near Mt. Shuksan, closing the Mt. Baker Ski Area until
roads are cleared.
A new report details the success of Bellingham's plastic
bag ban. The group Environment Washington spent one month
interviewing shoppers and store employees to see how they
feel about the bag ban. It hasn’t had any measurable deleterious effect on retail sales, which are surging strongly in
Bellingham.
12.26.12
MAIL 4
12.x.12
PHOTO COURTESY OF WSDOT
The W
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currents ›› last week’s news
A Whatcom County man receives a six-month
sentence after arming himself with a baseball bat
during a fight. In July 2011, three men reportedly
came to Peter Ballard's home in Kendall to retire a
loan. Ballard hit one man in the jaw with a bat, then
again in the back. The two other men suffered injuries to the face and head. Two men needed stitches
at St. Joseph hospital.
THURSDAY
A Nooksack man accused in the ax slaying of a 67-yearold man is arraigned on charges of first-degree murder.
Levi Eugene Joseph Charles, 25, is accused of killing Kenneth
Lee Joseph. Federal prosecutors say Charles attacked Joseph
with an ax during a burglary on Oct. 23. Joseph was a member
of the Lummi and Sauk-Suiattle tribes. He was found dead in
his house.
)*-/#2 ./+.." .
Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville selects Clifford Cook
as the final candidate for Chief of Police, after a threeday interview process conducted last week that included
law enforcement leaders, city department heads, police
department employees and others. Cook, 57, has 36 years
of professional law enforcement, including extensive experience as a senior administrator in large and mid-sized police
departments. He most recently served as Chief of Police for
the City of Vancouver Police Department, a position he held
for five years. As chief in that Washington city, Cook inherited a department accused of retaliation and discrimination
by a former officer, then weathered a no-confidence vote
from the police guild three years later. He retired from that
office in September.
Taking no break for the impending apocalypse,
highway crews reopen the Slater Road bridge. The
bridge had been closed since Dec. 1, when a truck
with an over-height load caused severe damage. The
bridge will be open to single lane traffic with flaggers for two or three more days while crews finish
more cosmetic repairs.
Mount Baker Highway, closed by heavy snow and
175 trees that fell across the roadway, also reopens
for the holiday weekend.
Oh, and the world did not end after all.
on select brands
FOOD 30
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10
FUZZ
BUZZ
WHERE WOULD
JESUS DOO?
On Dec. 19, management at the YWCA
complained to Bellingham Police that a
woman had defecated in their front yard.
Police escorted her off the property while
she detailed the religious beliefs underlying why she defecated where she did.
THE MOST WONDERFUL
TIME OF THE YEAR
On Dec. 5, an intoxicated man and his
more intoxicated brother left a bar in
downtown after midnight and staggered
back toward their boat in Blaine Harbor. ”They made it as far as Peace Portal
and Marine Drive before the more inebriated man attacked and began beating on
his sibling,” police reported. ”He may have
started the fight, but he was unanimously
declared the loser by the police officers
and medics who arrived to clean up the
mess. The bleeding, violent 21-year-old
from Neah Bay was transported to the
hospital by medics, accompanied by a
police officer who helped restrain him to
his gurney to keep him from destroying
the ambulance,” police continued, noting
the man faces prosecution for assault and
related violations.
On Dec. 4, “during an argument at home
a man decided to demonstrate his state
of mind by swallowing fists full of prescription medication in front of his
wife,” Blaine Police reported. ”He lost
consciousness shortly afterwards, and
dispatch was giving the woman telephonic instructions on how to perform
CPR when police officers and medics arrived at the house. The man was revived
and transported to hospital for evaluation and treatment,” police noted.
THE PROFESSIONALS,
BLAINE EDITION
On Dec. 9, a Blaine Police officer saw what
appeared to be an unoccupied parked vehicle at a gas pump downtown. ”As he
approached the car, the driver who had
been slumped down in his seat sat up and
started to honk the car's horn. That's a
classic if melodramatic way for a lookout
to alert his accomplice that the police
have arrived,” police helpfully noted,
“but if something was afoot nearby it fled
before doing the deed. The driver claimed
the horn honking was accidental and he
was waiting to meet a friend who was detained at the border. Car and driver left
the area a short time later.”
On Dec. 11, Dispatch reported a 911
hang-up at a business in Blaine. ”Police
arrived just a couple of minutes later and
found everything looking peaceful at the
office from which the call originated,” officers noted. “Two busier-looking gents
directed police to a third man in a corner
office, who was looking like he wanted to
be somewhere else. It turned out that the
manager's unique phone dialing technique
had caused a couple of other 911 hang-up
calls earlier in the week.”
index
THIGHMASTER
On Dec. 18, a caller reported a man had
accessed the fire escape in the Bellingham Towers building and climbed up 14
floors. The man then climbed back down.
HOODIES AMONG THE
GOODIES
On Dec. 18, store security at Bellis Fair
Mall observed a man shove four Adidas
hoody sweatshirts into a Macy's reusable
bag, which he also stole. He then exited
without paying for the items. When approached by store security, he ran.
On Dec. 18, a man desperately in need
of a home pregnancy test stole one from
the Rite Aid store in downtown Bellingham. When confronted outside of the
store by security, the man took off running like a bunny.
zxzz
Estimated population of the United States on New Year’s Day, 2013.

xy
One birth is forecast every 8 seconds in
the United States.
One death is forecast every 12 seconds
in the United States.
¹}
¹xz
Value, in billions, of U.S. toy imports,
including stuffed toys and dolls, puzzles
and electric trains from China, between
January and September 2012. China
was the leading country of origin for
stuffed toys coming into this country,
as well as for a number of other popular
holiday gifts.
Value, in billions, of U.S. imports of
Christmas tree ornaments from China
between January and September
2012. China was also the leading
foreign source of artificial Christmas
trees shipped to the United States
($139.9 million worth) in the same
period.
x
}{{~
Estimated amount of tweets broadcast
per minute on Twitter in 2012.
Content posts shared per minute on
Facebook in 2012.
y
|~x
Two million search queries were
performed per minute on Google in 2012.
Websites created per minute in 2012.
x|
}~
Billions of minutes (almost 20,000 years)
Facebook users spent online per day on
the social network in 2012.
Percent of social network users who
say they mostly share views on music
and movies. Only 47 percent said they
share community issues.
ROCKING THE BOAT
On Dec. 16, a couple sleeping aboard
their sailboat in the Blaine marina
were awoken at 1:30am by two people
thrashing about on the deck. ”They
yelled out at the intruders to interrupt
whatever crime was being committed
overhead, and the thrashing trespassers abandoned ship and ran away as
the live-aboards called 911,” police reported. Blaine officers and U.S. Border
Patrol agents arrived in time to apprehend the two adults leaving the area.
A witness positively identified the intruders as a 25-year-old woman and a
24-year-old man. “The pair eventually
explained that they had climbed around
the locked Gate 1 marina entrance to
get onto the floats, intending to board
a vessel and commit romance,” police
explained. ”They claimed they set the
boat to rocking only after no one answered their knocking.” They were cited
and released to their evening.
On Dec. 17, Blaine Police were summoned to the Semiahmoo Marina by a
resident who reported someone siphoning fuel. ”The victim explained that
sometime during the past month or two
someone had stolen gasoline from his vehicle in the marina parking lot,” police
reported. “In the process they damaged
the spout and filler line for his car tank,
causing about $200 damage.”
SOURCES: U.S. Census Bureau; USCB Foreign Trade Statistics; AllTwitter; Pew
Research Center
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COM M U N I T Y
L E CT U R E S
BOOK S
WOR DS
THURS., DEC. 27
NOTE OF THANK S: Kids can
converge to give props to those
who gifted them at Christmas
at the annual “Note of Thanks”
gathering from 10:30am-12pm
at the lecture room at the
Bellingham Public Library, 210
Central Ave. Entry is free and
materials will be provided.
FILM 22
778-7200 OR WWW.COB.ORG
REVIEWED BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER
MUSIC 18
Blasphemy
CASCADIA WEEKLY
#52.07
12.26.12
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PHOTO BY CHASE JARVIS
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ART 16
SHERMAN ALEXIE’S TWISTED FAIRYTALES
nce upon a time, fairytales were your favorite reading matter.
You were thrilled with stories of nasty gnomes,
ogres and dragon-slaying heroes. There were princesses,
castles and white horses in those tales, as well as magic,
witches and mayhem. Some of those stories from your
childhood had happy endings, but just as many finished
in gleeful darkness.
And then you grew up. Princesses got divorced, ogres
were in the next lane on the highway, and your stories
became much, much more real. So maybe it’s time to read
Blasphemy, an anthology of short stories by Northwest
scribe Sherman Alexie.
Cousins, it’s been said, are friends we happen to be related to, and with a relationship like that, it’s natural to
want to do everything for a cousin who needs us. But in
“Cry Cry Cry,” a cousin from the Rez asks for love, support
and secrecy.
He only gets two of the above.
In “The Toughest Indian in the World,” the narrator of
the story says he always helps Indian hitchhikers. When
he picks up one scarred money-fighter standing on the
side of the road, he learns that even tough guys have vulnerable sides and picking up hitchhikers isn’t such a good
thing sometimes.
Becoming a parent to your parent is something many of
us face, but it’s particularly hard when Dad is an alcoholic,
diabetic Indian with kidney damage. Add to that, old head
O
trauma from babyhood, and one man is overwhelmed in “War Dances.”
Everyone agrees that getting an education is important to one’s future success.
In “Indian Education,” going to school is a
struggle for one young Indian boy—not because of what’s taught in the classroom, but
because of what happens in it.
And in “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” a man and his estranged wife
learn that keeping one another laughing may
put life back into their
marriage, even as one
of them is dying.
I’ve often said that
Alexie’s writing is an
acquired taste. His
stories aren’t always
easy to digest, but
Blasphemy is a chance
to sample Alexie, small
bite by small bite, until you’ve got a good
" /$/
appetite built up.
WHAT: Blasphemyby
What’s
unusual
Sherman Alexie
WHERE: Grove Press,
about these short
2012
works is they don’t
COST: $27
begin or end as do
most tales. Stories
sometimes start in the middle of a thought,
and they often exit that way. In between,
there’s melancholy and sadness, wry observations and get-you-thinking commentary—sentiments that make you feel as
though you’ve secretly been run over by a
steamroller.
The stories here—some new, some classic—also include humor that pounces on its
readers without warning, and some sudden,
brief lightheartedness amid pathos. Then, as
if to reassure us that it’s only fiction, this
book ends with a sad smile.
If you’re an Alexie fan already, here’s
something you’ll be proud to put on your
bookshelf. If you’re new to this author, take
your time with it, savor each story, and let
them hit you slowly. Like life in general,
Blasphemy isn’t always happily ever after.
FIC T ION WRIT ING GROUP:
Newcomers and drop-ins are
welcome at the bimonthly
meeting of the Lummi View Fiction Writing Group from 6-8pm
at Village Books, 1200 11th St.
Come meet other writers who
can help you get organized,
give feedback and help you
with your writing goals.
WWW.VILLAGEBOOKS.COM
SUN., DEC. 30
SEASONAL STORIES: Storyteller
Brian Flowers will share “Stories
for a New Year” at 10:30am at
the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1207 Ellsworth St. Themes
will include giving and receiving, hope and renewal.
WWW.BUF.ORG
DEC. 31-JAN. 1
HOLIDAY SALE: Get some
wickedly good deals at the
annual Holiday Sale happening
from 9am-6pm Monday and
10am-8:30pm Tuesday at Paper
Dreams and Village Books,
1200 11th St.
671-2626 OR WWW.
VILLAGEBOOKS.COM
THURS., JAN. 3
POE TRY WRIT ING GROUP:
Come meet other writers who
can help you get organized,
give feedback, and help you
with your writing goals at the
monthly Poetry Writing Group
meeting at 5:30pm at Village
Books, 1200 11th St. The group
is open to newcomers and dropins and meets the first Thursday
of every month.
WWW.VILLAGEBOOKS.COM
COM M U N I T Y
DEC. 26-29
LIGHTS OF CHRISTMAS: More
than one million lights, five
entertainment stages, activities for kids, dining options,
holiday shopping, live music
and much more will be part
of “The Lights of Christmas”
happening from 5-10pm Wed.Sat. at Stanwood’s Warm Beach
Camp, 20800 Marine Dr. Entry
is $9-$15; a pay-what-you-can
night happens Sat., Dec. 29.
WWW.WARMBEACH.COM
DEC. 26-31
LYNDEN LIGHTS: Illuminated
designs, Nativity sets, Dutch
children, poinsettias, windmills
and more will shine brightly in
light displays and decorated storefronts at “Lynden in
Lights” through December 31
throughout downtown Lynden.
354-4242
SAT., DEC. 29
WONDERS OF WHATCOM:
“Peer Gynt: The Journey of a
Lifetime” will be the focus of
this month’s “Wonders of Whatcom” program from 2:30-4pm
at the Fairhaven Library, 1117
12th St. Through Ibsen’s words
and Grieg’s music, you’ll embark
on “a voyage of personal discovery featuring an historical
introduction of the playwright,
composer and geographical
setting, and ending with Peer’s
realization of what is truly important in life.” Entry is free.
778-7323
CLASSICAL CONCERT: Pianist
Kevin Dalla Santa and French
horn player Corin Droullard will
perform original compositions
as well as selections by Brahms,
Bach, and other at “An Evening
of Classical Music” at 7:30pm at
Lynden’s Jansen Art Center, 321
Front St. Tickets are $10.
WWW.JANSENARTCENTER.ORG
MON., DEC. 31
NEW YEAR’S EVE PART Y:
Appetizers, hats, noisemakers, a champagne toast, music
by Rocky Vasilino’s band, free
parking, shuttle van service
and more will be part of a New
Year’s Eve Party from 7pm-2am
at American Legion Post No.
7, 1688 W. Bakerview Rd. The
event is open to Post members
and a limited number of tickets
will be available to the general
public. Tickets are $30 per person or $50 per couple.
734-3110 OR WWW.
BELLINGHAMLEGION.COM
WED., JAN. 2
GENEALOGY ASSISTANCE: A
volunteer from the Whatcom
Genealogy Society will be
available to help with genealogy research from 10am-2pm
at the genealogy alcove at the
Bellingham Public Library, 210
Central Ave. The event happens
again Jan. 9, 16, 23 and 30.
778-7206
THURS., JAN. 3
BROWN BAG: “Russian History
and Culture” will be the focus
of today’s Brown Bag presentation at 12:30pm at Whatcom
Museum’s Old City Hall, 121
Prospect St. Suggested donation is $3.
WWW.WHATCOMMUSEUM.ORG
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MAIL 4
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KSVR 91.7 FM
12.26.12
Women in Music
#52.07
The Chapin Sisters MaMuse Shook Twins Katrin Katya Chorover Susan Greenbaum Sophie
B. Hawkins Joy Askew Morley Irka Mateo Razia Lila Downs Joni Mitchell Caroline
Herring Judy Collins Dixie Chicks Minton Sparks Devon Sproule Red Molly Crooked Still
Naomi Greenwald Jen Gloeckner Ange & Ris Lusia Maita Susheela Raman EVolve The
Wailin’ Jennys Catie Curtis Cara Luft Amy Speace Carrie Rodriguez Sonya Kitchell
Annabella Two Loons For Tea Rickie Lee Jones Manze Dayila & the Nago Nation Angelique
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Ghost Files Strange Sea Sagas Women’s Rituals Kym Tuvim Kelcy Mae Norine Braun Joy
Kills Sorrow Sierra Hull Ocean Versus Daughter Sarah Fimm Brazilian Girls Venus Hum
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Ghost Files Strange Sea Sagas Find
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Kym Tuvim Kelcy Mae Norine Braun Joy
CASCADIA WEEKLY
1315 RAILROAD AVE. DOWNTOWN BELLINGHAM ~ 360.715.2046
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DEC 26-31st.
FILM 22
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H I K I NG
WED., DEC. 26
EVENING EPIC RUN: A
weekly “Evening Epic Run”
begins at 6pm at Fairhaven
Runners, 1209 11th St. The
strenuous runs are 1.5-2
hours in length on hilly terrain with experienced trail
runners. Entry is free.
WWW.FAIRHAVENRUNNERS.
COM
CASCADIA WEEKLY
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FRI., DEC. 28
14
BY AMY KEPFERLE
Polar Plunging
BRACING FOR THE NEW YEAR
very New Year’s Day for the past three years, I’ve
donned my hot-pink swim-skirt and run helter-skelter
from a small beach on Bellingham Bay into the icycold waters waiting just beyond the tide line.
One year I did go all the way under, but despite the vocal
and gung-ho enthusiasm from the gaggle of Lady Polar Bears
(and occasional ursine gentlemen) that I’m typically rushing
into the water with, I usually freak out about the time the
saltwater reaches my chest, and do a quick about-face back
to the beach and my oversized towel.
While I’m all for the sense of renewal that comes from
freezing my tush—and other assorted body parts—by baptizing myself in a frigid body of water, I’ve come to realize
E
it’s the camaraderie of gathering with friends
on the first day of the year that draws me back
to this litter-strewn beach every year.
I’m guessing tradition also has something to
do with it. That must explain why the annual
Polar Dip at Lake Padden and the Birch Bay
Polar Swim—which is celebrating its 30th year
this New Year’s Day—are so popular. I also
think that with so many more “plungers” taking part, it’s probably much more difficult to
extricate yourself from the pack and turn back
toward the beach.
I’d almost decided to opt out of this year’s
Lady Polar Bear Dive when I received an invitation from the friend
who started this tortuous, yet somewhat exciting, tradition. “Come
wash away your tawdry
sins with the crash of
bracing, icy brine!,”
she wrote. “Your feathers will be dampened,
your tiara will shine
// )
WHAT: Birch Bay
with ocean sparkle and
Polar Swim
you will emerge anew,
WHEN: 11am Tues.,
refreshed and ready to
Jan. 1
take on the coming year
WHERE: Birch Bay
in full lady polar bear
Beach, 7900 Birch
Bay Dr.
glory.”
COST: Free; T-shirts
I don’t know about
are available for $15
you,
but these words
INFO: www.
(somewhat)
galvanized
blainechamber.com
me
into
thinking
that
----------------------WHAT: Resolution
perhaps this year I’d
Walk & Run and Polar
go for the “full plunge”
Dip
again. Then I rememWHEN: The
bered that, two days
Resolution Walk
after 2013 begins, I’ll
starts at 11am and
the Polar Dip starts
be in a plane on my way
at 12pm
to Hawaii, where the
WHERE: Lake Padden
water is warm and the
Park
air is sultry and I won’t
COST: Free
have to immerse myself
INFO: 778-7000 or
www.cob.org
in a hot tub or steaming
shower to try to bring
feeling back to my extremities.
But even if I don’t go all the way under, I’m
dedicated to at least dipping my toes—or,
heck, both my feet—in the bay. That’s got to
count for something, and the sooner we all get
out of the water and back to my warm house
for a bacon waffle potluck and mimosas, the
sooner I can get back to the business of being appreciative for the chance at making the
most of another year.
NATURE BABIES: Kids,
adults and adventurers can
join Wild Whatcom Walks for
“Nature Babies” excursions
from 9:30-11am every Friday
in December at the Connelly
Creek Nature Area (in the
Happy valley neighborhood).
Entry is by donation.
WWW.WILDWHATCOM.ORG
DEC. 28-30
EAGLE EVENTS: From 10am4pm every Friday through
Sunday through January,
visit the Skagit River Bald
Eagle Interpretive Center at
Howard Miller Steelhead Park
in Rockport. Guided walks
will start at 11am and speakers will be feature at 1pm
(unless otherwise noted).
There will also be plenty of
eagle-viewing information,
educational displays, trained
staff and more.
WWW.SKAGITEAGLE.ORG
SAT., DEC. 29
WALK ING CLUB: Whether
you’re looking to improve or
compete, all are welcome at
the weekly Fairhaven Walking
Club led by Cindy Paffumi
starting at 8am at various
locations in Fairhaven. Walk
routes and meeting places
change from week to week.
All paces are welcome.
676-4955 OR 319-3350
SUN., DEC. 30
RABBIT RIDE: Join members
of the Mt. Baker Bike Club
for the weekly “Rabbit
Ride” starting at 8:30am at
Fairhaven Bike & Ski, 1108
11th St. The 32-mile route
sees riders heading down
Chuckanut and back via Lake
Samish.
733-4433 OR WWW.
MTBAKERBIKECLUB.ORG
MON., DEC. 31
RING OF FIRE: The annual “Ring of Fire and Hope”
begins at 7pm at Birch Bay
Beach. For a small donation,
flares will be available
at the Birch Bay Visitors
Center, 7900 Birch Bay Dr.
The event features revelers
ringing in the New Year by
lighting road flares along
the Birch Bay shoreline and
thus creating a ring of fire
that signifies hope for the
coming year.
371-5004
TUES., JAN. 1
ALL-PACES RUN: Meet up
for an “All-Paces” run starting at 6pm every Tuesday at
Fairhaven Runners, 1209 11th
St. The free event features
runs 20 minutes out and back
on two key routes—by the
water or through the woods.
Participants are divided into
groups ranging from run/walk
to seven-minute pace.
WWW.FAIRHAVENRUNNERS.
COM
WED., JAN. 2
CROSS-COUNTRY BASICS:
Sharmon Hill will lead a
“Cross-Country Skiing Basics”
clinic at 6pm at REI, 400
36th St. The class will focus
on the fundamental differences between backcountry,
telemarking and touring ski
styles, as well as proper clothing and details on where and
how to get started. Register
in advance for the free course.
647-8955 OR WWW.REI.COM
GARDEN CLUB: Learn more
about feeding, bird baths,
plants for birds and more
when reps from Wild Bird
Chalet lead a “Birds in the
Garden” presentation at the
Birchwood Garden Club’s
monthly meeting at 7pm
at the Whatcom Museum’s
Rotunda Room, 121 Prospect
St. All are welcome.
WWW.
BIRCHWOODGARDENCLUB.ORG
THURS., JAN. 3
SKI CLUB MEE T ING: Join
the Nooksack Nordic Ski Club
for its monthly meeting from
7-9pm at the WECU Community Education Center, 511 E.
Holly St. A new/prospective
member orientation begins at
6:30pm, so show up early to
take part.
WWW.
NOOKSACKNORDICSKICLUB.ORG
SHRED-A-VISION: Wildcard
Movies bring its snowboardcentric movie, Shred-AVision, to Bellingham for a
10pm showing at the Wild
Buffalo, 208 W. Holly St. The
film features the talents of
boarders like Colin Spencer,
Manuel Diaz, Laura Hadar,
Patrick McCarthy, Nick Ennen, and many others. Doors
open at 8pm and entry is
$5-$15.
WWW.WILDBUFFALO.NET OR
WWW.WILDCARDMOVIES.COM
SEND EVENTS TO
CALENDAR@
CASCADIAWEEKLY.COM
“HAM FOR THE HOLIDAYS”
BY AMY KEPFERLE
Big City Stages
FILLING IN THE BLANKS
very year, right after Christmas and before the new
year kicks into full throttle, there’s a lull in theatrical
performances in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Every
performance of The Nutcracker is over, and all the exhausted
sugarplums want to do is hibernate for a few months.
That said, this is the perfect time to head south and see
what Seattle has to offer. Since the holiday season isn’t quite
over, there’ll still be plenty of festive decorations to take in,
and we’re guessing it’ll be a lot less harried thanks to the absence of Christmas shoppers. Following are a few suggestions
of where to go and what to see.
E
354-4325
SUN., DEC. 30
AIDA: View the Met’s unforgettable production of Verdi’s ancient Egyptian drama, Aida, at
1pm on the big screen at Mount
Vernon’s Lincoln Theatre, 712 S.
First St. Tickets are $16-$23.
WWW.LINCOLNTHEATRE.ORG
MON., DEC. 31
NEW YEAR’S EVE SHOWS:
Experience the best and worst
of 2012 through the use of
hilarity at New Year’s Eve shows
happening at 7pm, 9pm and
11pm at the Upfront Theatre,
1208 Bay St. Tickets are $15 for
the first two shows and $20 for
the third—which also includes
a champagne toast at midnight.
Reservations are recommended,
as these shows sell out fast.
WWW.THEUPFRONT.COM
JAN. 4-5
48 HOUR THEATER FEST IVAL: The 35th 48 Hour Theater
Festival can be experienced
at 8pm and 10pm Friday and
Saturday at the iDiOM Theater,
1418 Cornwall Ave. The weekend will feature a plethora of
short plays created—twice—in
24-hour increments. Tickets
are $10.
201-5464 OR WWW.
IDIOMTHEATER.COM
DA NCE
WED., DEC. 26
SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCE:
Join the Scottish Country
Dance Club from 7-9:30pm
every Wednesday for a public
dance at the Fairhaven Library,
1117 12th St. Beginners and
intermediate dancers are
welcome, and no partner or
experience is needed. Drop-in
fees are $8, but those who are
MON., DEC. 31
CONTRA DANCE GALA: Join
the Bellingham Country Dancers for a New Year’s Eve Contra
Dance Gala from 8pm-1am at
Norway Hall, 1419 N. Forest
St. The Syncopaths, a national
hot contra dance band, will
provide the tunes, and Marlin
Prowell will do the calling. Entry is $10 for students and $15
for adults, and party favors
and non-alcoholic beverages
will be provided. Bring finger
food to share.
WWW.
BELLINGHAMCOUNTRYDANCE.ORG
SALSA DANCE: A salsa class,
performances by Rumba Northwest and live Latin music and
dancing can be experienced at
a New Year’s Eve Salsa Dance
starting at 9pm at Bellingham’s Studio Z, 311 E. Holly
St. Alcoholic beverages will be
available at the adjoining bar,
Stella. Entry is $10.
WWW.RUMBANORTHWEST.COM
THURS., JAN. 3
BALLE T BELLINGHAM: Teen
and adult ballet classes, creative movement and pre-ballet
classes start this month at
Ballet Bellingham, 1405 Fraser
St. Enroll now to be part of the
spring performance of Alice in
Wonderland. Prices vary.
WWW.BALLETBELLINGHAM.COM
CINDERELLA AUDITIONS:
Plan now to attend open
auditions for Northwest Ballet
Theater’s spring production
of Cinderellla. Auditions begin
at 1pm Saturday, Jan. 12 at
the company’s headquarters
at 1417 Cornwall Ave. Dancers
who are 7 or older are invited
to audition.
WWW.NORTHWESTBALLET.ORG
B-BOARD 24
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
LINE DANCERS: Western Line
Dancing classes are offered at
6pm (beginners) and 7pm (intermediates) every Friday night
at Lynden’s Ten Mile Grange,
6958 Hannegan Rd. No experience or partner is needed. Cost
is $5 per class.
STAGE 15
FRI., DEC. 28
GET OUT 14
733-8855 OR WWW.
THEUPFRONT.COM
380-0456
WORDS 12
HOLIDAY THEATRESPORTS:
Watch teams of improvisers
give a seasonal take on classic
and new games at competitive
“Holiday Theatresports” shows
at 8pm and 10pm at the Upfront
Theatre, 1208 Bay St. Tickets
are $8-$10 and additional
shows happen Dec. 28-29.
CURRENTS 8
DEC. 28-29
VIEWS 6
Sure, you may be sick of the holidays
and all the schmaltz it engenders, but
Ham for the Holidays: Ham-ageddon! isn’t
your typical seasonal stage offering.
Taking place at the Theater Off Jackson
in Seattle’s International District, the
show features Dos Fallopia (Peggy Platt
and Lisa Koch) reuniting to make things
funny before the end of the world arrives (if you’re reading this, the world
didn’t end). Expect music, nuns, skits
and weird crafts. There’s plenty of adult
humor and “gay/lesbian/flaming liberal”
content, so you might want to leave the
tots at home. Shows happen Dec. 26-30
and tickets are $10-$35. More info: www.
theateroffjackson.org
If you’ve never been to Unexpected
Productions’ Market Theatre before,
you’re still likely aware of the giant
wall of chewed gum that announces its
entrance just below Pike Place Market.
Well, it’s time to pass by the gum and
head inside. This coming week, in addition to a Duo Showcase (Dec. 26) and
Improv Happy Hour (Dec. 27-29), viewers can still catch “A(n Improvised)
Christmas Carol (Dec. 27-30). If you’re
yawning because you can’t bear to see
another version of Scrooge and company do their thing, don’t worry. As this is
an improvised show, the audience will
help twist the plot to their own agendas—making each show entirely different and sure to please. Tickets to the
Christmas Carol gig are $5-$15, and reservations are recommended. More info:
www.unexpectedproductions.org
If you’re looking for more of a familyfocused escape to the big city, showings
of The Wizard of Oz will be happening
through Jan. 6 at the Seattle Children’s
Theatre, located within strolling distance of the Space Needle. “Wonderful
songs and a wonderful story welcome
children of all ages to this magical, mystical place,” artistic director Linda Hartzell says. And who doesn’t love the story
of a tornado, good and bad witches, flying monkeys and the search for home?
P.S. Younger children may be alarmed by
the flying monkeys. Tickets are $25-$36.
More info: www.sct.org
Many other options abound, but these
were a few that stood out to me. Venture
forth, and return home soon for a full
schedule of theater in 2013.
FOLK DANCE: Learn more
about Balkan, Romani, Greek,
Turkish and Israeli folk dancing
when the Fourth Corner Folk
Dancers meet from 7:15-10pm
every Thursday at the Fairhaven
Library, 1117 12th St. All ages
are welcome, and no partner is
necessary. Suggested donation
is $5 (first-timers are free).
MAIL 4
733-8855 OR WWW.
THEUPFRONT.COM
THURS., DEC. 27
DO IT 2
PROF I L ES
WWW.BELLINGHAMSCD.ORG
12.26.12
DA NC E
GOOD, BAD, UGLY: Watch
“The Good, the Bad and the
Ugly” at 8pm every Thursday
at the Upfront Theatre, 1208
Bay St. At 10pm, stick around
for “The Project.” Entry is $7
for the early show, $4 for the
late one.
#52.07
T H E AT ER
THURS., DEC. 27
showing up for the first time
will gain free entry.
CASCADIA WEEKLY
staGe
STAGE
FOOD 30
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B-BOARD 24
G A L L ER I ES
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
STAGE 15
GET OUT 14
RESTORING A CALDER TAPESTRY
WORDS 12
CURRENTS 8
VIEWS 6
MAIL 4
DO IT 2
12.26.12
#52.07
CASCADIA WEEKLY
E X H I BI TS
ALLIED ARTS: View “Contemporary
Representational Painting” through
Jan. 2 at Allied Arts, 1418 Cornwall
Ave. The multi-artist show features a
group of Whatcom County representational painters who have been meeting
monthly for years.
GOOD EARTH: Carrie Selting’s “Earth:
Inspired” will be highlighted through
December at Good Earth Pottery, 1000
Harris Ave.
WWW.GOODEARTHPOTS.COM
HONE Y: Ken Osthimer’s platinum
prints can be viewed at through January at Honey Salon, 310 W. Holly St.
WWW.HONEYBELLINGHAM.COM
WWW.ALLIEDARTS.ORG
BY AMY KEPFERLE
16
OP E N I NGS
ONGOI NG
Expanding
the Arts
GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING
t places such as the Whatcom Museum of
History and Art and Western Washington
University’s Western Gallery, there’s often
an overflow of permanent art
the entities have been gifted
or purchased that they must
keep careful track of—whether
it’s via climate-controlled storage or simply finding a place to
keep it safe—being as there’s
never enough space to show all // )
WHAT: PAC
of it at once.
Thanks to a donation of Galleries
WHERE: 516
$250,000 from Seattle art pa- High St.
tron Virginia Wright to WWU INFO: 650-2829 or
last spring, the university’s ex- www.wwu.edu
panding collection of Northwest
art has found a new home in the school’s Performing Arts Center.
One new gallery would be something to get
excited about, but Wright’s cash infusion means
there are now three new places to see works of
art—and better yet, they’re in a building where
A
there’s already a healthy appreciation
of the arts via the study and performance of music, theater and a variety
of other creative explorations.
According to a recent press release,
the monies allowed the university to
create new gallery spaces in the Mainstage and Concert Hall lobbies to display select pieces from its recently
expanded collection of Northwest art,
as well as renovating a third existing
gallery, which is currently housing a
rare collection of tapestries by Alexander Calder.
In addition to Calder’s rare tapestries—which, thanks again to Wright’s
funding, were carefully restored in
advance of their debut at the new
space—the new PAC Galleries highlight
approximately 75 of the 208 paintings,
sculpture and works on paper that were
gifted to the Western Gallery in 2010 as
part of a joint gift of the Safeco Insurance Co. and the Washington Arts Consortium. They include pieces by noted
Northwest artists including Guy Anderson, Morris Graves, Richard Gilkey,
William Ivey, Lee Kelly, John Koenig,
Alden Mason, Nancy Mee, Carl Morris,
and Frank Okada.
“It’s a common conundrum, but the
Western Gallery has more art than it has
space to display,” Daniel Guyette, dean
of WWU’s College of Fine and Performing Arts, said last March when the gift
from the Wright Family Foundation became available. “Improving larger, public spaces like these lobbies will help us
share our wonderful collection of Northwest art with the community.”
At a Dec. 14 ceremony, Western President Bruce Shephard and Guyette were
on hand to cut ribbons and host a brief
program honoring Wright, who, without
a doubt, made the new PAC Galleries possible. Members of the Safeco Insurance
Co. and the Washington Arts Consortium
were also on hand, and were recognized
for their generous contributions as well.
Thanks to these gifts that will keep on
giving, those who’d like to view pieces
by some of the Northwest’s most recognized artists have only to step into
WWU’s Performing Arts Center to do so.
After all, expanding the arts is always a
good thing, and so is sharing them.
AMADEUS PROJEC T: Works by Jim
Lourie, Norma Sorby, Lorna Libert,
Brian Cypher, Denise Champion and
others can be viewed at a 2012 Retrospective through December at the
Amadeus Project, 1209 Cornwall Ave.
WWW.THEAMADEUSPROJECT.ORG
ART ISANS NORTHWEST: View works
from as many as 100 Whatcom County
artists on a regular basis at Artisans
Northwest Art, Crafts & Eats, 1215
Cornwall Ave.
733-1805 OR WWW.
ARTISANSBELLINGHAM.COM
J’S GALLERY: Works by Jay Bowen,
Ed Kamuda, Tom Pickett, Roger Small,
Chuck Bankuti, and others are currently on display in La Conner at J’s
Gallery, 101 N. First St.
WWW.JAYBOWENGALLERY.COM
JANSEN ART CENTER: Sign up for
classes and workshops at Lynden’s new
Jansen Art Center, 321 Front St.
WWW.JANSENARTCENTER.ORG
MAKE.SHIFT: “Pinups,” a multi-artist
gallery show comprised entirely of oneinch buttons, shows through Dec. 29 at
Make.Shift Art Space, 306 Flora St.
WWW.MAKESHIFTPROJECT.COM
ART WOOD: “Fantastic Holiday Treasures” can be seen through December
at Artwood Gallery, 1000 Harris Ave.
WWW.ARTWOODGALLERY.COM
BELLINGHAM RAILWAY MUSEUM:
The museum is open to the public from
noon-5pm Tues. and Thurs.-Sat. at
1320 Commercial St.
393-7540
BLUE HORSE: Photographic prints by
Suzanne Steel, impressionist works by
Janet Hamilton, a new collection of oil
paintings by Valerie Collymore, works by
Erin Libby, and figurative abstracts by
Dotti Burton are currently on display at
Blue Horse Gallery, 301 W. Holly St.
WWW.BLUEHORSEGALLERY.COM
CEDARWORK S: Peruse and purchase
a variety of Native American art from
10am-6pm Wed.-Sat. at the CedarWorks Art Gallery, 217 Holly St.
647-6933
CHUCK ANUT BREWERY: Mike and
Kim Gardner’s photographs will be on
display through Dec. 29 at Chuckanut
Brewery & Kitchen, 601 W. Holly St.
Starting Dec. 29, Evan Whitehead will
show his colorful paintings, which
feature the Northwest.
WWW.CHUCKANUTBREWERY
ANDKITHCHEN.COM
MONA: “Pilchuck: Ideas” ad “Circular
from the Permanent Collection” will be
on display through Jan. 1 at La Conner’s Museum of Northwest Art, 121 S.
First St. Admission is $3-$8.
WWW.MUSEUMOFNWART.ORG
QUILT MUSEUM: “Material Men:
Innovation and the Art of Quiltmaking” and “Best of the Festival” shows
through Dec. 30 at the La Conner Quilt
& Textile Museum, 703 Second St.
Entry is $5-$7.
WWW.LACONNERQUILTS.COM
SK AGIT VALLE Y COLLEGE: Cynthia
Camlin’s “Glacial Speed” can be seen
through Jan. 13 at the Skagit Valley
College’s Campus Center Gallery. The
exhibit interprets environmental
change through visual metaphors.
WWW.SKAGIT.EDU
ST. JOSEPH: View a “Healing Through
Art” group exhibition of plein air
paintings at “The Open Air” through
Jan. 13 at the St. Joseph Medical Center cafeteria, 2901 Squalicum Pkwy.
733-5361
VALERIE’S GALLERIE: View figurative art and much more at Valerie’s
Gallerie, 220 E. Maple St. (in the alley
by Honey Moon).
389-0308
FISHBOY GALLERY: Check out the
contemporary folk art of RR Clark
from 1:30-5pm every Mon.-Fri. at the
FishBoy Gallery, 617 Virginia St.
714-0815 OR WWW.FISHBOY
GALLERY.COM
WHATCOM ART GUILD: From 10am6pm every Friday through Sunday, stop
by the Whatcom Art Guild’s Art Market
at Fairhaven’s Waldron Building, 1314
12th St.
WWW.WHATCOMARTGUILD.ORG
FOURTH CORNER FRAMES: View
“Retro Ride” through January at
Fourth Corner Frames, 311 W. Holly
St. The exhibit takes “a nostalgic look
back at the art of the 20th century,”
and includes everything from colorful
graphic art posters to mid-century pop
art and beyond.
WWW.FOURTHCORNERFRAMES
ANDGALLERY.COM
WHATCOM MUSEUM: “Wild East Meets
Wild West: Photos from Nakhodka,
Russia,” “Romantically Modern: Pacific
Northwest Landscapes” and “California
Impressionism: Selections from the
Irvine Museum” can currently be viewed
at the Whatcom Museum’s Old City Hall
and the Lightcatcher Building.
WWW.WHATCOMMUSEUM.ORG
FOOD 30
B-BOARD 24
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
STAGE 15
GET OUT 14
CURRENTS 8
WORDS 12
VIEWS 6
CASCADIA WEEKLY
#52.07
12.26.12
DO IT 2
MAIL 4
!
! !
17
Rumor Has It
FOOD 30
music
I SUPPOSE IT is time to make known my New Year’s
FILM 22
B-BOARD 24
SHOW PREVIEWS › › RUMOR HAS IT
New Year, New You
WHERE TO RING IT IN
DO IT 2
MAIL 4
VIEWS 6
CURRENTS 8
WORDS 12
GET OUT 14
STAGE 15
ART 16
MUSIC
18
MUSIC 18
BY CAREY ROSS
CASCADIA WEEKLY
#52.07
12.26.12
ACORN PROJECT
18
egardless whether 2012 treated you well or put you through
the wringer, it is coming to an end. Maybe your year was
such that you’re sad to see it go, or perhaps you’ll be planting your figurative foot on its proverbial hind parts in an effort to
usher it into history, but it’s likely come Dec. 31, you’ll do something
to celebrate its demise. Of course, along with the celebrations that
come when one year sunsets into the next is the potential for a midnight makeout. As always, I’m only too happy to point you toward
some options for ringing it all in.
R
BOUNDARY BAY BREWERY: A longtime bastion for all things celebratory and holiday in nature, this Bellingham institution is an
excellent place to make merry on just about any occasion, New
Year’s Eve included. No word on whether the lighted keg will be
dropped at midnight this year (I’m going to go out on a limb and
guess it will), but Jasmine Greene and Luke Warm and the Moder-
ates will most definitely be on hand to
entertain the assembled masses.
WHERE: 1107 Railroad Ave. INFO: www.
bbaybrewery.com
CONWAY MUSE: I can think of far
worse places to celebrate the close of
2012 than at the warm and inviting
Conway Muse. Go for dinner and stay
to do a little dancing to music by the
Mark DuFresne Band, Matney Cook and
the Mudflat Walkers, and Sky Colony.
Dinner seating is limited, so reserve
now.
WHERE: 18444 Spruce St., Conway
INFO: www.conwaymuse.com
resolutions. Start the year off proper, and all that.
Except I’m not going to do that.
Mostly because I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions, but also because I made a very public (as in,
printed in this column) and very specific (as in, to see
more shows featuring local bands) resolution last year—
and then promptly incurred an injury that kept me mostly housebound for the first few months of 2012.
I’m all healed up now, and not in any mind to
tempt fate a second time. No thank you, New Year’s
resolutions. I’m keeping my good intentions to myself this year.
One thing I’m not keeping to myself is that the Jan.
25 Big Business show at the Shakedown is shaping up
to be a quite a night. Along with the Biz (a nickname I
hope they neither answer to nor respect), the mighty
Sandrider has been added to the bill. The Seattle
band has been attentiongrabbing owing to both its
music and personnel (two
parts
Akimbo—drummer
Nat Damm and guitarist
Jon Weisnewski—and one
part Ruby Doe—bassist
Jesse Roberts), and I speak
BY CAREY ROSS
from experience when I say
watching Damm command his sparkly, sparkly drum
kit is a pleasure unique unto itself.
Also in the realm of drummers I love is Aaron Roeder—indeed, he may sit at the top of the list of drummers I love (my viewpoint potentially suffering from
the bias that he also happens to be one of my favorite people on Earth). However, chances to see Roeder
play drums these days are almost nonexistent. Which
is why I’m so excited that one such chance has materialized on our musical horizon.
If I told you the Mono Men were going to play a
show in February in Bellingham, would that excite
you? What if I told you Fireballs of Freedom would be
joining them? Would you shake your head in disbelief
and think you’d suddenly time travelled? Me too.
Oh, it’s happening. February 22 at the Green Frog, to
be exact. You’re excited now, aren’t you? So am I.
While they’ve done it before (although not for some
time), the Mono Men are one of the last bands I thought
would ever get back together to play a reunion show.
The reasons for this being that 1. The band (comprised
of Dave Crider, Dave Morrisette, John Mortensen, and
Roeder) stopped playing shows long enough ago that
they’ve become entrenched in things like Real Families and Real Jobs and Real Lives, and if they’ve still got
a musical itch, they’ve gone on to scratch it in other
projects. 2. Until they were somehow enticed to get
the band back together for the Feb. 22 show (which I
suspect might have something to do with their desire
to play what they know will be a highly memorable
show with Fireballs of Freedom), they have steadfastly
refused all our begging to take the stage once again.
And lo, we have begged.
As with most things of this ilk, I prefer not to too
carefully consider what catalyzed the Mono Men back
onto a stage near me. However, unlike the impending
gathering involving my fellow high school alumni, this
is one reunion I do not intend to miss.
B-BOARD 24
FOOD 30
EDISON INN: Even Edison knows how
to get a little New Year’s Eve action,
and the ever-hospitable Edison Inn
is only too happy to oblige. Along
with shuffleboard and oyster shooters (which have drawn me to the tiny
town time and again), they’ve tapped
the Clouds to provide the soundtrack
to their soiree, which should keep the
room rockin’ well past midnight.
FILM 22
WHERE: 5829 Cains Court, Bow
INFO: www.theedisoninn.com
ART 16
MUSIC 18
MUSIC
18
THE GREEN FROG: If you happen to
be someplace with a stage in Bellingham and beyond, and the High, Wide
and Handsome Band is playing on it,
odds are, it’s a holiday. This time, the
seldom-seen but always-welcome band
will make the Green Frog their holiday
headquarters, and will be only to happy
to help you start 2013 just right.
STAGE 15
WHERE: 1015 N. State St.
INFO: www.acoustictavern.com
CURRENTS 8
WORDS 12
GET OUT 14
THE REDLIGHT: It is likely I will wander
all over town come New Year’s Eve, in an
effort to make all of Bellingham’s business my business, but I will no doubt
end up at the Redlight for it’s New
Year’s Eve Party/One-Year Anniversary
show long before the stroke of midnight. Why? Because a trio of bands—
the elusive and much-sought-after (at
least by me) Ship to Ship, Falling Up
Stairs, and Squints Palledorous—have
been tapped to help us kiss 2012 goodbye in proper musical fashion.
WILD BUFFALO: It indeed may be possible to celebrate this particular holiday
without Acorn Project, but the band’s
string of New Year’s Eve shows suggest
that’s a possibility we won’t have to
face anytime soon. As established party-starters around these parts, it’s safe
to say they will not let New Year’s go
unrung. And if you’d like to join them,
buying a ticket before you show up at
the door is strongly advised.
WHERE: 208 W. Holly St.
INFO: www.wildbuffalo.net
MAIL 4
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12.26.12
WINES & SPIRITS
#52.07
INFO: www.shakedownbellingham.com
Lakeway
CASCADIA WEEKLY
THE SHAKEDOWN: Probably, if you
could ring in the New Year with anyone, it would be David Bowie, right?
I mean, why not? Well, Bowie is undoubtedly doing something weird to
usher in 2013, but not as weird as playing a show at the Shakedown. However,
Scary Monster and the Super Creeps will
do their level best to channel Ziggy
and his much-ballyhooed stardust, and
you may just find yourself dancing your
way from one year into the next.
VIEWS 6
INFO: www.redlightbellingham.com
19
%#)&'(&$""%"
)*&!!#"
FOOD 30
B-BOARD 24
musicvenues See below for venue
addresses and phone
numbers
FILM 22
MUSIC
18
MUSIC 18
ART 16
STAGE 15
GET OUT 14
WORDS 12
CURRENTS 8
VIEWS 6
MAIL 4
DO IT 2
12.27.12
12.28.12
12.29.12
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Blue Horse Gallery
Boundary Bay
Brewery
12.30.12 12.31.12 01.01.13
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
New Year's Eve Party
w/Jasmine Greene
Band, Luke Warm and
the Moderates
Paul Klein
Bad Dogg Blues Party
Aaron Guest
Brown Lantern Ale
House
Cabin Tavern
Commodore Ballroom
Wandering Souls
w/DJ Ontic
Amish Warfare, more
Worthy Fest tryouts
Metalmucil, more
Gogol Bordello
Gogol Bordello
Open Mic
Karaoke w/Amy G.
GOGOL BORDELLO/Dec.
28-29/Commodore
Conway Muse
Nick Moyer
Holiday Jam Session
Cyndy's Broiler
Jam Night
Trainwreck
Edison Inn
Steel Panther
Steel Panther
New Year's Eve Gala
w/Mark DuFresne,
more
w/Tequila Rose Band
Trainwreck
Chris Eger Band
Ron Bailey, Caela and the
Dangerous Flares
w/The Clouds
Blue Horse Gallery 8)PMMZ4Ut | Boundary Bay Brewing Co. 3BJMSPBE"WFt]Brown Lantern Ale House$PNNFSDJBM"WF"OBDPSUFTt
]The Business$PNNFSDJBM
"WF"OBDPSUFTt
| Cabin Tavern8)PMMZ4Ut]Chuckanut Brewery8)PMMZ4Ut]Commodore Ballroom(SBOWJMMF4U7BODPVWFSt
]Conway Muse
4QSVDF.BJO4U$POXBZ
| Cyndy’s Broiler OE"WF/84UBOXPPEt
$7700 In Cash
Giveaways On
New Year’s Eve!
Cash drawings,
Best of 2012 Buffet,
Fantastic Ice Sculpture Bar,
live music from
The Guy Johnson Band,
and more!
Make your plans today!
GET READY FOR NEW
YEAR’S WITH $1000
HOT SEAT PICKS!
Choose your own mini mirror ball
and win up to $1000! Random Hot
Seat drawings from 6pm to 10pm
on Friday, Dec. 28 and Saturday,
Dec. 29. Just be actively playing
and using your Winners Club
Card at the time of the drawings!
CASCADIA WEEKLY
#52.07
12.26.12
12.26.12
20
Where the fun and food never ends!
P P P' G H H D L : < D < : L B G H L ' < H F
2 0 . ) G H K M A P H H = K H : = E R G = > G P :
1 0 0' 0 0 0' 2 1 - 0
12.27.12
12.28.12
12.29.12
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
DJ Little
Triple Crown
DJ Boombox
S.I.N.
New Year's Eve Bash
Robert Sarazin Blake; High,
Wide and Handsome Band
Live Music
Live Music
Live Music
Country Karaoke
JP Falcon Grady
The Electric Soul Society
Southbound
Old World Deli
Royal
Rumors
The Shakedown
DJ Clint
Rattletrap Ruckus
Fidalgo Swing
DJ Ryan-I
Bar Tabac
Karaoke
Ship to Ship, Falling
Up Stairs, Squints
Palledorous
CHERRY POPPIN’ DADDIES/Dec.
29/Wild Buffalo
The Bow Diddlers
The Fonkeys
New Year's Eve w/
Gertrude's Hearse
Karaoke
DJ Jester
DJ Jester
DJ Jester
Betty Desire Show, DJ
Postal
Throwback Thursdays w/DJ
Shortwave
DJ QBNZA
DJ Mike Tolleson
DJ Kommodore, DJ
Special K
Showdown at the Shakedown
The Comettes, Christopher
Nunn Band, Slacks
Kodiak, Forteana, Eternal Bad
The Replazementz
The Replazementz
New Year's Eve w/
City Zu
Freddy Pink
Freddy Pink
New Year's Eve Gala
w/AM/FM
The Sonja Lee Band
Telefon
w/Spencetet
Skagit Valley Casino
Skylark's
Chad Petersen
Temple Bar
Karaoke
Karaoke
The Supersuckers, Cutlass
Supreme, Lonebird
DJ Postal, DJ Shortwave
New Year's Eve w/
Scary Monster and
the Super Creeps, DJ
Cymantics
Bar Tabac
The Underground
DJ BamBam
The Village Inn
Wild Out Wednesday
The Quick and Easy Boys,
Galapagos
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
MUSIC
18
DJ Dgas
GET OUT 14
DJ Little
Silver Reef Hotel
Casino & Spa
Wild Buffalo
Monkey Wrench
WORDS 12
DJ Dgas
Redlight
Rockfish Grill
Boogie Sundays
Cricket & Snail
Paso Del Norte
Poppe's
New Year's Eve w/DJ
Ben Brown
ART 16
Open Mic w/Scot Casey
Townes Van Zandt and
Hank Williams Memorial
Jam, Soul Night w/DJ
Yogoman
STAGE 15
The Offshoots
The High, Wide and
Handsome Band
VIEWS 6
Main St. Bar and Grill
DJ Lawless
Slow Jam (early), Open
Mic (late)
MAIL 4
Honeymoon
Karaoke w/DJ Steve
Keaton Collective
DO IT 2
H2O
The Clumsy Lovers
DJ BamBam
DJ BamBam
Karaoke
Open Mic
Free Friday Funk Jam, DJ
Booger
Cherry Poppin' Daddies, The
Love Lights
CURRENTS 8
Green Frog
Lost Highway Band
Keaton Collective
THE SUPERSUCKERS/
Dec. 30/Shakedown
Swank! w/Acorn
Project, Spyn Reset,
Boombox
The Green Frog /4UBUF4UtXXXBDPVTUJDUBWFSODPN | Edison Inn $BJOT$U&EJTPOt
| Glow&)PMMZ4Ut]Graham’s Restaurant.PVOU#BLFS)XZ(MBDJFSt
| H20, $PNNFSDJBM"WF"OBDPSUFTt
| Honey Moon/4UBUF4Ut]Jinx Art Space 'MPSB4Ut| Lighthouse Bar & Grill 0OF#FMMXFUIFS8BZt
3200 | Main Street Bar & Grill .BJO4U'FSOEBMFt
]McKay’s Taphouse&.BQMF4Ut
| Nooksack River Casino.U#BLFS)XZ%FNJOHt
| Poppe’s
-BLFXBZ%St| Paso Del Norte 1FBDF1PSUBM%S#MBJOFt
]The Redlight /4UBUF4UtXXXSFEMJHIUXJOFBOEDPGGFFDPN]Rockfish Grill $PNNFSDJBM"WF"OBDPSUFTt
]The Royal &)PMMZ4Ut]Rumors Cabaret3BJMSPBE"WFt| Semiahmoo Resort4FNJBINPP1LXZ#MBJOFt
| The Shakedown /4UBUF4UtXXX
TIBLFEPXOCFMMJOHIBNDPN]Silver Reef Casino )BYUPO8BZ'FSOEBMFt
]Skagit Valley Casino Resort /%BSSL-BOF#PXt
]Skylark’s Hidden Cafe UI4Ut
3642 | Swinomish Casino$BTJOP%S"OBDPSUFTt
|Temple Bar8$IBNQJPO4Ut] The Underground &$IFTUOVU4Ut | Underground Coffeehouse 7JLJOH6OJPOSE
'MPPS886 | Village Inn Pub /PSUIXFTU"WFt | Washington SipsTU4U-B$POOFSt
] Watertown Pub $PNNFSDJBM"WF"OBDPSUFTt
| Wild Buffalo 8)PMMZ
4UtXXXXJMECVGGBMPOFU]5PHFUZPVSMJWFNVTJDMJTUJOHTJODMVEFEJOUIJTFTUFFNFEOFXTQSJOUTFOEJOGPUPDMVCT!DBTDBEJBXFFLMZDPN%FBEMJOFTBSFBMXBZTBUQN'SJEBZ
12.26.12
Graham’s
TUESDAY
#52.07
Glow Nightclub
12.30.12 12.31.12 01.01.13
FOOD 30
12.26.12
CASCADIA WEEKLY
See below for venue
addresses and phone
numbers
B-BOARD 24
musicvenues
21
B-BOARD 24
FOOD 30
film
STAGE 15
ART 16
MUSIC 18
FILM 22
MOVIE REVIEWS › › MOVIE SHOWTIMES
GET OUT 14
,
VIEWS 6
CURRENTS 8
WORDS 12
Django Unchained finds
Tarantino in fine form
and carting out his
signature staples: bloodspurting shootouts,
cheeky dialogue, movie
references and a quirky,
killer soundtrack.
MAIL 4
DO IT 2
12.26.12
#52.07
CASCADIA WEEKLY
22
toph Waltz) as they tangle with all sorts of
Southern characters while bagging “most
wanted” bad guys and searching for Django’s wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington).
The trail Django and Schultz follow—at
one point juxtaposed against the hilarious
accompaniment of Jim Croce’s “I’ve Got a
Name”—leads to gory choreographed shootouts, an encounter with a slick but dangerous plantation owner (Don Johnson,
delivering one of his most successful performances), right up to the main prize: the
Candyland plantation, run by evil dandy
Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio)—a sicko
who, for sport, holds bloody “Mandingo”
fights in his swanky parlor.
Playing against those boyish good looks,
DiCaprio makes Candie a charismatic monster; it’s a pleasure to see him branch out
from low-hanging-fruit roles of leading
men. Here, he demonstrates just how well
he can pull off portraying a loathsome cur.
However, the scene-stealer is Tarantino
go-to guy Samuel L. Jackson as Candie’s
right-hand man, Stephen, a slave who’s
REVIEWED BY RANDY MYERS
Django Unchained
A BLOODY GOOD TIME
jango Unchained, Quentin Tarantino’s big smooch to exploitation movies, spaghetti Westerns and classic revenge flicks, will
divide and outrage audiences. Hallelujah to that.
The excessively violent, persistently provocative and daringly entertaining epic never shies away from the sensational. A pack of vicious
dogs chews apart a slave. A naked black woman gets yanked from her
underground prison. A man savagely beats another with his bare fists.
Ugly images, yes, but this is no empty-headed wallow. While in many
regards, Tarantino is an enfant terrible—just look what he did with history in Inglourious Basterds—he’s also a bold artist with a deep passion
for movies and filmmaking with blood and guts.
For the most part, Django Unchained finds Tarantino in fine form and carting out his signature staples: blood-spurting shootouts, cheeky dialogue,
movie references and a quirky, killer soundtrack. The film’s Christmas Day
D
release date is conspiring against it, and given
the horrific tragedy that unfolded last week in
Newtown, Conn., the collective tolerance for such
in-your-face cinematic extremism likely will reach
a new low. Yet Django shouldn’t be branded as
trash, then summarily reviled and dismissed. Under the guise of a hilarious exploitation flick, it
has big, if not always fully realized, ambitions.
Its most audacious goal is to make us bear
witness to the ugliness of racism and the pure
horror of slavery.
Set two years before the Civil War, Django follows unshackled slave Django (Jamie Foxx) and
bounty hunter King Schultz (Oscar-winner Chris-
averse to any change in the master-slave
dynamic. With his stooped posture, baffled
expression and weirdly righteous outrage,
Jackson makes Stephen the film’s most fascinating character.
He’s certainly more interesting than Django, a stock, one-dimensional Tarantino character—much like Uma Thurman’s the Bride
in Kill Bill—with a single-minded purpose.
The Oscar-winning Foxx expresses Django’s
simmering and eventually seething fury
with steely-eyed intensity, but the role—
as written by Tarantino—doesn’t allow for
much more than standard vengeance. The
supporting parts are better drawn, including Waltz’s kooky dentist/bounty hunter.
These unique characters, combined
with the stunning plantation set pieces,
frequent humorous bits (Tarantino has
a terrific cameo) and rich Tarantino dialogue, not to mention well-staged action
sequences, make Django one of Tarantino’s
finer efforts.
Does it always work? No. But Tarantino’s
brazen Django is one bloody—with the emphasis on bloody—good time.
film ›› showtimes
Taking Reservations for Holiday Parties
Chasing Ice: It’s one thing to know the planet is
warming, it’s quite another to get an actual sense of
XIBUUIBUNFBOT5IJTEPDXIJDIGFBUVSFTUJNFMBQTF
sequences of the melting of some of the largest and
most remote glaciers on Earth, presents climate
change in a fashion too stunning to be ignored.
★★★★6OSBUFEtISNJO
1JDLGPSE'JMN$FOUFS%FD!
Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D: When my mom
got my dad to go to a Cirque du Soleil show is when
*SFBMJ[FEIPXNBJOTUSFBNUIJTPOFUJNFMJUUMF
known entertainment phenomenon has become.
/PXJUHFUTUIF%DJOFNBUJDUSFBUNFOUCVUFWFO
without the extra dimension, these performers are
nothing short of incredible. ★★★6OSBUFEtIS
NJO
#BSLMFZ7JMMBHF4FFXXXGBOEBOHPDPNGPSTIPX
times.
Django Unchained: See review previous page.
★★★★★3tISTNJO
times.
Guilt Tr ip: Raise your hand if you want to see a
SPBEUSJQDPNFEZTUBSSJOH4FUI3PHFOBOE#BSCSB
Streisand. Now keep your hand up until we’ve all
properly shamed you and you’ve learned your lesson.
★1(tISNJO
times.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Why one
TIPSUBOECPSJOH
CPPLIBTUPCFCSPLFOJOUPUISFF
parts is beyond me, but if anyone can take the story
and transform it into something magical and new, it’s
Peter Jackson. ★★★★1(tISTNJO
times.
Jack Reacher: While Tom Cruise has been acting
steadily since his personal life began to overshadow
his professional one, this is the first film he’s made in
which he seems ready to resume his rightful spot at
the top of the cinematic heap. And in Jack Reacher,
he’s found a character he can ride all the way to fran
chise glory. Welcome back, Maverick. ★★★★1(
tISTNJO
times.
Les Miserables: The cinematic adaptation of this
monster of a musical brings with it an almost unbe
MJFWBCMFBNPVOUPGIZQF%PFTJUMJWFVQUPJU (JWFO
the considerably nimble talents of singing/dancing/
acting Hugh Jackman and the inspired direction of
Tom Hooper, it’s safe to say the Hollywood musical
may never be the same again. ★★★★1(tIST
NJO
times.
Life of Pi: Hollywood can always be counted on to
adapt an insightful and visionary bestseller in such a
way that it is no longer rendered either insightful or
visionary. Thankfully, this one is directed by Ang Lee,
so what it lacks in power it makes up for in poetry.
★★★1(tISTNJO
times.
Lincoln: This is only the greatest actor in all the
MBOE%BOJFM%BZ-FXJT0TDBSXJOOJOHNBDIJOF
becoming the embodiment of the greatest president
JOUIJTDPVOUSZTIJTUPSZ"CSBIBN-JODPMOTMBWFSZ
FOEJOHTVQFSIFSP
.VDIMJLF%BOJFM1MBJOWJFX*GFFM
pretty certain Lincoln was a man who’d be only too
willing to drink your milkshake. ★★★★1(t
ISTNJO
times.
Monsters Inc. 3D: It seems that the string of
BOJNBUFENPWJFTHFUUJOHSFSFMFBTFEBGUFSSFDFJWJOH
UIFSFUSP%USFBUNFOUJTHPJOHUPCFOFWFSFOEJOH
Samsara: From the makers of Baraka comes this
stunning visual picture of the world as you’ve never
TFFOJUCFGPSFJOFODPSFTIPXJOHTBGUFSJUT%PDUPCFS
run. ★★★★1(tISNJO
PFC’s Limelight See www.pickfordfilmcenter.com for
showtimes.
Skyfall: This movie is about some spy stuff and
whatever, but what I’m trying to say here is, take
PGGZPVSTIJSU%BOJFM$SBJH★★★★1(tIST
NJO
times.
This is 40: Judd Apatow, with his brand of
tenderhearted toilet comedy, is easily the funniest
filmmaker working in Hollywood today. Reunited with
Tinseltown’s most unassumingly accomplished come
dian, Paul Rudd, this is a movie that crackles with
humor and humanity. ★★★★3tISTNJO
times.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Par t 2:
Since the last installment of this thinly veiled ab
TUJOFODFTBHB,4UFXTBOE&1BUUTPXOTBHBUPPLB
UVSOGPSUIFTPSEJEEVFUPBOPUTPUIJOMZWFJMFEMBDL
of abstinence on the part of a certain lady vampire.
Will the Twihard Nation punish this glittery duo with
EJNJOJTIJOHCPYPGmDFSFUVSOT 4FFNTVOMJLFMZ★★★
1(tISNJO
See www.fandango.com for theaters and showtimes.
Wreck-It Ralph: Poor Ralph is sick of being a
WJEFPHBNFWJMMBJOTPIFIBUDIFTBHBNFIPQQJOH
plot to improve his pixellated rep—and in doing
so, unwittingly unleashes chaos and confusion.
Undoubtedly, hijinks ensue. ★★★★1(tIS
NJO
Due to constraints imposed by our holiday deadline,
movies and showtimes for Bellis Fair were unavailable at press time. Please call 676-9990 or see www.
fandango.com for up-to-date information.
B-BOARD 24
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
STAGE 15
GET OUT 14
The Intouchables: It’s the highest grossing film of
all time in its native France, and was a hit with Pick
GPSEBVEJFODFTJUTmSTUHPSPVOE/PXUIJTVOMJLFMZ
CVEEZDPNFEZPGTPSUT
JTCBDL★★★★6OSBUFEt
ISNJO
1JDLGPSE'JMN$FOUFS
Rise of the Guardians: The character list for this
movie reads like one of those bad jokes you often
hear that start something like, “Santa, the Tooth
'BJSZBOEUIF&BTUFS#VOOZXBMLJOUPBCBSw&YDFQU
in this case, they won’t be walking into a bar, they’ll
be saving the children of the world. Same diff. ★★★
1(tISNJO
WORDS 12
The Central Park Five: Maybe the most infamous
case of mistaken identity in modern history, this
EPDVNFOUBSZCZUIF,JOHPG5SVUI5FMMJOH,FO#VSOT
details the Central Park jogger case, and how five
innocent teenagers came to be tried and convicted
of a crime they didn’t commit. ★★★★★6OSBUFEt
IST
1JDLGPSE'JMN$FOUFS
-&4.*4&3 "#-&4
CURRENTS 8
The Big Picture: This film treads on familiar
territory—that of a crime of passion, a faked death,
an assumed identity and all the rigmarole that comes
with such things—but because it’s French, does so in
a way that makes it seem refreshing and new. ★★★★
1(tISNJO
Pickford Film Center See www.pickfordfilmcenter.com
for showtimes.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower:#BTFEPOUIF
bestselling novel by Stephen Chbosky, this is a funny,
JOTJHIUGVMIFBSUCSFBLJOHBOEBDIJOHMZTXFFUDPNJOH
PGBHFTUPSZ)JHITDIPPMNBZCFIFMMCVUXJUIHPPE
friends and a killer soundtrack, even hell has its
moments.★★★★1(tISNJO
Pickford Film Center See www.pickfordfilmcenter.com
for showtimes.
VIEWS 6
Anna Karenina: Widely regarded as one of the
greatest novels and love stories of all time, this
cinematic rendering reunites Keira Knightley with
director Joe Wright, the duo responsible for bringing
both Pride and Prejudice and Atonement to vivid
cinematic life. ★★★★3tISTNJO
1JDLGPSE'JMN$FOUFS]]%FD!
MAIL 4
Parental Guidance: I have little to no interest in
UIJTCZUIFOVNCFSTGBNJMZDPNFEZTBWFGPSUIFGBDU
UIBUJUIBTDBVTFE#JMMZ$SZTUBMUPHPPOBQSPNP
UJPOBMQSFTTKVOLFUGPSJUBOE*mOEIJNUPCFFWFS
FOUFSUBJOJOHPOUIFMBUFOJHIUUBMLTIPXDJSDVJU
that is. ★★1(tISNJO
times.
DO IT 2
A Royal Af fair: A mad king, a disillusioned wife
and a doctor with a progressive political ideology are
the ingredients in this love triangle/story of political
intrigue. ★★★★3tISTNJO
PFC’s Limelight See www.pickfordfilmcenter.com for
showtimes.
12.26.12
FILMSHORTS
Open Dec 31 & Jan 1 regular hours
#52.07
That said, out of all the films to undergo this phe
nomenon, this has to be one of the most deserving.
★★★★(tISNJO
times.
CASCADIA WEEKLY
Get your Party Kegs & Gowler Fills
#:$"3&:3044
FOOD 30
Bock is on Tap!
23
FOOD 30
B-BOARD 24
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
100
YOGA
100
YOGA
Abby Staten offers free
“Yoga for Multiple Sclerosis”
adaptive classes at 10am
Tuesdays and 11am Fridays at
Christ the Servant Lutheran
Church, 2600 Lakeway Dr. The
classes are ongoing, and preregistration is not required.
More info: 671-2538 or [email protected]
Yoga4life, Vinyasa Flow
classes, happens at 8am
Saturdays at the Firehouse
Performing Arts Center, 1314
Harris Ave. Cost is $15 per
class, $130 for 10 or $220
for $20. More info: 255-9770
or www.yoga4lifecommunitycenter.com
A “Heart of Intention” New
Year’s Yoga Workshop takes
place from 1-4pm Sunday,
Jan. 6 at 3 Oms Yoga, 1210 Bay
St. Please bring a journal or
paper to express your intentions. Cost is $30-$35. More
WORDS 12
CURRENTS 8
VIEWS 6
MAIL 4
DO IT 2
12.26.12
#52.07
CASCADIA WEEKLY
info: www.3omsyoga.com
200
MIND & BODY
Jiva Yogi hosts a “Reiki
Share Circle” at 3pm every
third Saturday of the month at
Inspire Studio, 1411 Cornwall
Ave. Bring your favorite instrument and join to celebrate
sacred sound and spirit. Suggested donation is $5. More
info: www.jiva-yogi.net
Learn about Emotional
Freedom Techniques (EFT) at
a variety of workshops in Bellingham. The ongoing series
meet on the second Sunday
of the month at the Mount
Vernon Center for Spiritual
Living and from 1-5pm on the
fourth Sunday at the Bellingham Center for Spiritual Living, 2224 Yew Street Rd. More
info: www.eftsettings.com
200
MIND & BODY
200
MIND & BODY
NCC, DCC will provide professional opinions and options,
including identifying local resources for help with specific
problems. Please make an appointment in advance. More
info: (360) 303-3223 or www.
lifecounseling.com
munication needs. More info:
647-0910 or www.hsdc.org
The
Telecommunication Equipment Distribution
Program provides telephone
equipment to people who are
deaf, hard of hearing, latedeafened and deaf-blind so
that they may access and use
the telephone independently.
Other devices are available
for people with special com-
Co-Dependents Anonymous meets from 7-8:30pm
every Tuesday at PeaceHealth
St. Joseph’s South Campus,
809 E. Chestnut St. Entry is by
donation. More info: 676-8588
Intenders of the Highest
Good Circle typically meets
at 7pm on the second Friday
of the month at the Co-op’s
Connection Building, 1220 N.
Forest St. Len-Erna Cotton,
part of the original group in
Hawaii, is the facilitator. More
info: www.intenders.org
100+
Affordable
Homes
More than 130
Homeowners
Hundreds
of reasons
to say
THANK YOU
for your support
and
Happy Holidays!
360-671-5600, x5
www.KulshanCLT.org
Life Counseling of Bellingham is currently offering
no-cost, 30-minute consultations to assist area residents.
Bonnie Johnson, M.S., LMHC,
Curious about Lummi Island?
Angie Dixon
Colleen McCrory
at:
360-758-2094 or
lummiislandrealty.com
trilogy The Matrix, the heroes are able to instantaneously acquire certain complex skills via software
that’s downloaded directly into their brains. In
this way, the female hacker named Trinity masters the art of piloting a military M-109 helicopter
in just a few minutes. If you could choose a few
downloads like that, Aries, what would they be?
This isn’t just a rhetorical question meant for your
amusement. In 2013, I expect that your educational capacity will be exceptional. While you may
not be able to add new skills as easily as Trinity,
you’ll be pretty fast and efficient. So what do you
want to learn? Choose wisely.
the experiences I hope to help you harvest in the
coming year: growing pains that are interesting and
invigorating rather than stressful; future shock that
feels like a fun joyride rather than a bumpy rumble;
two totally new and original ways to get excited;
a good reason to have faith in a dream that has
previously been improbable; a fresh supply of Innocent Crazy-Wise Love Truth; and access to all the
borogoves, mome raths, and slithy toves you could
ever want.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): In her gallery show
SALE ON ALL ITEMS
Indian Clothes & Fabric,
Jewelry, Scarves, Blankets & Baby
Blankets, Suits, and More.
1530 Birchwood (Next to Big Lots) Bellingham (360) 647-1843
Cerise Noah
Professional,
knowledgeable,
fun & friendly
to work with.
SPECIALISTS:
24
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In the sci-fi film
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here are some of
REALTOR ®
C ALL R ESIDENT
FREE WILL
ASTROLOGY
with the fable of the golden goose? The farmer who
owned it became impatient because it laid only one
gold egg per day. So he killed it, thinking he would
thereby get the big chunk of gold that must be inside its body. Alas, his theory was mistaken. There
was no chunk. From then on, of course, he no longer
got his modest daily treasure. I nominate this fable
to be one of your top teaching stories of 2013. As
long as you’re content with a slow, steady rate of
enrichment, you’ll be successful. Pushing extra hard
to expedite the flow might lead to problems.
Learn to control pain in minutes with your own natural
abilities using self-hypnosis
when certified hypnotherapist Kathleen Boehm leads a
“Pain Reduction” workshop
at 12pm Saturday, Jan. 5 at
the Skagit Valley Food Co-op
in Mount Vernon. Pre-register
for the free event. More info:
www.skagitfoodcoop.com
Join a certified Laughter
Leader and learn more about
the benefits of social, joyful laughter exercises at the
Bellingham Laughter Club’s
monthly meeting at 4pm Sunday, Jan. 6 at the Connections
Building at the Community
Food Co-op, 1220 N. Forest St.
More info: 734-4989 or www.
worldlaughtertour.com
BY ROB BREZSNY
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Are you familiar
Skagit Valley Acupuncture’s Matt Van Dyke, L.A.c,
leads a Qi Gong workshop at
9am Saturday, Jan. 5 at Mount
Vernon’s Skagit Valley Food
Co-op. Qi Gong consists of
a series of gentle, rhythmic
exercises which mirror nature, especially the fluidity
of water. Register in advance
for the free course. More info:
www.skagitfoodcoop.com
GET OUT 14
STAGE 15
bulletinboard
Windermere Real Estate Whatcom, Inc.
(360) 393-5826
[email protected]
“Actuality, Reminiscence, and Fabrication,” artist
Deborah Sullivan includes a piece called “Penance
1962.” It consists of a series of handwritten statements that repeats a central theme: “I must not look
at boys during prayer.” I’m assuming it’s based on
her memory of being in church or Catholic school
when she was a teenager. You probably have an
analogous rule lodged somewhere in the depths of
your unconscious mind—an outmoded prohibition
or taboo that may still be subtly corroding your life
energy. The coming year will be an excellent time to
banish that ancient nonsense for good. If you were
Deborah Sullivan, I’d advise you to fill a whole notebook page with the corrected assertion: “It’s O.K. to
look at boys during prayer.”
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): For years, the gravestone
of Irish dramatist Oscar Wilde was covered with kissshaped lipstick marks that were left by his admirers. Unfortunately, Wilde’s descendants decided to
scour away all those blessings and erect a glass wall
around the tomb to prevent further displays of affection. In my astrological opinion, Leo, you should
favor the former style of behavior over the latter in
2013. In other words, don’t focus on keeping things
neat and clean and well-ordered. On the contrary: Be
extravagant and uninhibited in expressing your love
for the influences that inspire you—even at the risk
of being a bit unruly or messy.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In 2013, I hope
to conspire with you to raise your levels of righteous success. If you’re a struggling songwriter, I’ll
be pushing for you to get your music out to more
people—without sacrificing your artistic integrity.
If you’re a kindergarten teacher, I’ll prompt you to
fine-tune and deepen the benevolent influence you
have on your students. If you’re a business owner,
I’ll urge you to ensure that the product or service
you offer is a well-honed gift to those who use it.
As I trust you can see, Virgo, I’m implying that impeccable ethics will be crucial to your ascent in the
coming year.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): After Libran poet
Wallace Stevens won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in
1955, Harvard University offered him a job as a full
professor. But he turned it down. He couldn’t bear
leaving his day job as the vice-president of an insurance company in Hartford, Connecticut. I suspect
that in the first half of 2013, you will come to a fork
in the road that may feel something like Stevens’
quandary. Should you stick with what you know or
else head off in the direction of more intense and
unpredictable stimulation? I’m not here to tell you
which is the better choice; I simply want to make
sure you clearly identify the nature of the decision.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In 2013, I will
try to help you retool, reinvent, and reinvigorate
yourself in every way that’s important to you. I
will encourage you to reawaken one of your sleeping aptitudes, recapture a lost treasure, and reanimate a dream you’ve neglected. If you’re smart,
Scorpio, you will reallocate resources that got misdirected or wasted. And I hope you will reapply for
a privilege or position you were previously denied,
because I bet you’ll win it this time around. Here
are your words of power for the year ahead: resurrection and redemption.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Based on
experiments at the Large Hadron Collider, a team of
physicists in France and Switzerland announced last
July that they had tentatively discovered the Higgs
Boson, which is colloquially known as the “God
particle.” What’s all the fuss? In her San Francisco
Chronicle column, Leah Garchik quoted an expert
who sought to explain: “The Higgs boson is the
WD40 and duct tape of the universe, all rolled into
one.” Is there a metaphorical equivalent of such a
glorious and fundamental thing in your life, Sagittarius? If not, I predict you will find it in 2013. If
there already is, I expect you will locate and start
using its 2.0 version.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In 2013, I
pledge to help you bring only the highest-quality
influences and self-responsible people into your
life. Together we will work to dispel any unconscious attraction you might have to demoralizing
chaos or pathological melodrama. We will furthermore strive to ensure that as you deepen and finetune your self-discipline, it will not be motivated
by self-denial or obsessive control-freak tendencies. Rather, it will be an act of love that you engage in so as to intensify your ability to express
yourself freely and beautifully.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Genius is the
ability to renew one’s emotions in daily experience,”
said French painter Paul Cezanne. What do you think
he meant by that? Here’s one interpretation: Many
of us replay the same old emotions over and over
again—even in response to experiences that are
nothing like the past events when we felt those
exact feelings. So a genius might be someone who
generates a fresh emotion for each new adventure.
Here’s another possible interpretation of Cezanne’s
remark: It can be hard to get excited about continually repeating the basic tasks of our regular routines
day after day. But a genius might be someone who
is good at doing just that. I think that by both of
these definitions, 2013 could be a genius year for
you Aquarians.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Home is not just
the building where you live. It’s more than the community that gives you support and the patch of
earth that comforts you with its familiarity. Home
is any place where you’re free to be your authentic
self; it’s any power spot where you can think your
own thoughts and see with your own eyes. I hope
and trust that in 2013 you will put yourself in position to experience this state of mind as often as
possible. Do you have any ideas about how to do
that? Brainstorm about it on a regular basis for the
next six months.
360-647-8200 EXT. 202 OR [email protected]
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HIS BACK TO THE WALLET
My girlfriend of a year is enormously
wealthy and very generous. Despite my
protestations, she loves buying me nice
clothes and other gifts, and appears to
expect little or nothing in return except my
love. I have a professional job but much
more modest means. There’s no way I
can return her generosity in any material sense. How might I be able to give a
visible and meaningful sign of my commitment to her? She wears rings on both
hands with huge diamonds, and anything I
might be able to afford would seem trivial
by comparison.
—Underfunded
It’s a losing battle, giving jewelry
to a woman who prompts thoughts
like, “Is that a diamond on your finger
or have they discovered a new planet
and given it to you to wear?”
You’re actually lucky you can’t take
the spendy way out. It makes it too
easy to drag a duffel bag of cash to
the obvious places: the jewelry store,
the cashmere store, the handbags that
cost more than some compact cars
store. These items aren’t exactly horrible gifts, but a better choice is “the
gift that keeps on giving,” which, I
know, sounds like something you get
from drinking the water in Mexico. It
actually describes a feeling you give
another person—the feeling that
she’s loved—through showing her
that it means a lot to you to make her
happy, and not just on Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and days you’re trying to
say you’re sorry for doing something
you shouldn’t have.
By truly listening when a woman
talks and then using the intel you get
to make her life happier, easier and
more fun, you tell her a very loving
thing: “I’m paying attention to who
you are.” You can say this by going
out of your way to pick her up a latte
or her favorite snack; by making a $50
book with your photos and captions
about all the things you love about
her (Shutterfly.com, Apple.com); by
sending sweet, funny, 30-second
videos you shoot of yourself on your
phone; and by fixing things she didn’t
realize were unwieldy, uncomfortable or broken until you made them
better. In other words, any guy with
a spare $100,000 lying around can
buy a woman a ginormous diamond.
It takes a really special guy to give
her a bag of pinecones (assuming he’s
trying to remind her of happy times
she spent at her family’s cabin as a
kid, and not just getting rid of tree
litter he cleaned out of the bed of his
pickup).
FIFTY SHADES OF GAY
My girlfriend and I are lesbians in our mid
30s and totally committed. She’s pretty and
more feminine than I am and likes getting
male attention, and she gets it—in restaurants, bars, pretty much anyplace public.
Last night at dinner, some cute waiter dude
was flirting with her, and she flirted back
(nothing crazy, just teasing him, etc.). I got
really upset. She apologized and reassured
me that she’s just playing, and that it was
harmless because she wasn’t flirting with a
cute girl. Besides not getting why she’s into
this, I find myself resenting guys for not
respecting our relationship, or worse, not
even noticing it.
—The Girlfriend
The next time a guy comes up and
says, “Hi, I’m Jeremy. I’m your waiter,”
you could just grab your girlfriend’s
boob and say, “Hi, we’re Samantha and
Karen, and we’re life partners.” Otherwise, it’s mostly a big straight world
out there, so people won’t always get
that you’re together—assuming you
aren’t dating Rachel Maddow or sporting matching crew cuts, grandpa cardigans and combat boots.
As for why your girlfriend flirts,
flirting is a form of play—and a ploy.
People, gay and straight, flirt their
way to free drinks or a better deal at
the tire shop, to get confirmation that
they’ve still “got it,” or to flex their
charm to make themselves and other
people feel good. (No, when the supermarket cashier teasingly cards the
9,000-year-old lady, it isn’t because
he’s looking to get busy with her in
the back seat of his car.)
If there’s no reason to suspect your
girlfriend is cheating on you, or would,
and if she’s only bantering briefly, not
making you feel ignored, consider
whether it’s really her flirting you’re
upset about. (Maybe there are underlying insecurities or problems that
need addressing?) It’s generally a bad
idea to cramp your partner’s style, and
especially when you know that her “relationship” with the waiter will end
with her leaving him a tip—the monetary kind, not an idea of what it might
take for him to slide her around on the
Kinsey Scale.
©2012, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.
Got a problem? Write Amy Alkon, 171
Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA
90405, or e-mail [email protected]
(advicegoddess.com).
B-BOARD 24
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
STAGE 15
GET OUT 14
Last Week’s Puzzle
WORDS 12
of ___”
26 Palindromic Eskimo knife
29 The right side of
the Urals
31 Blue material
33 Attila the ___
34 Martini & ___
(winemakers)
36 Like some factory
seconds: abbr.
39 Statement from a
codependent tent
1 “Hey, over here!”
2 Amy of “Dollhouse”
3 Tabloid photographer, slangily
4 Like the freshest
fruit
5 Trooper maker
6 They’re tough to
convince
7 Idle of Monty Python fame
8 Sneaky security
measures
9 Down time, for
short
10 Actor Davis
11 Broadway show
purchase: abbr.
12 Actor Tognazzi
(hidden in YUGOSLAVIA)
13 “Upstairs at Eric’s”
band
18 It’s got rings
21 Completely wasted
23 Strawberry in the
field
26 “That definitely
49 Driving hazard
50 G-sharp, alternatively
52 Javelin, basically
54 ___ vin (chicken
dish)
56 The last two were
in St. Paul and
Tampa
57 “Up All Night”
network
59 Sound at the
barbershop
60 Lead-in to O
61 “Yahoo!” to a
matador
64 Part of HS
©2012 Jonesin’
Crosswords
CURRENTS 8
17 Instances where
everyone sings the
same note
19 Carry
20 “C’mon, those
sunglasses don’t
fool me!”
22 Abbr. on a food
label
24 “Star Trek: TNG”
captain Jean-___
Picard
25 “Pericles, Prince
isn’t looking good”
27 Suzanne Vega song
with the lyric “I
live on the second
floor”
28 Took off the list,
maybe
30 Words before “old
chap”
32 Brunch drink
35 ___ facto
37 Website for crafty
sorts
38 Stats on report
cards
40 Likely to sleep in
41 Held by a third
party
46 Large pie pieces
͙͝άơ

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1 Big ___ (David
Ortiz’s nickname)
5 Frappe need
8 Main man
11 Italian region big
on terra cotta
14 Bashar al-Assad’s
country: abbr.
15 ___ in “Oscar”
16 Written test
involving a sly
prison breakout?
plane’s scheduled
to take off: abbr.
69 Azerbaijan, once:
abbr.
70 Beat but good
VIEWS 6
dweller?
42 Half-woman, halfbird
43 Like simple survey
questions
44 “Don’t do drugs”
ad, for short
45 Societal problems
47 Varieties of fish
eggs
48 Part of CBS
49 Earth goddess of
Greek mythology
51 Suffix after real,
in the U.K.
53 Spider’s egg case
55 How quickly
pachyderms get
seen at the hospital?
58 Nobel Peace Prize
city
62 How pasta may be
prepared
63 Help save people,
like a trained dog?
65 Singer Carly ___
Jepsen
66 “CNN Headline
News” anchor
Virginia
67 Source of Pablo
Escobar’s wealth
68 When an air-
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STORY AND PHOTOS BY JESSAMYN TUTTLE
Nell Thorn
DELECTABLE DINING IN SKAGIT COUNTY
hen people ask me what the best restaurant in Skagit County
is, I always tell them, “Nell Thorn in La Conner.” I’ve gotten
into a few arguments about this, mostly with fans of the
Rhododendron Café, but I stand by my choice. Casey and Susan Schanen
have made a cozy, comforting restaurant with great food that’s sourced
locally and prepared with incredible attention to detail.
Do you eat upstairs or downstairs? It’s a tough choice. The slightly
fancier upstairs dining room takes reservations, which is a very useful
thing at Nell Thorn, especially on Friday nights, or when you’re taking
your parents out to dinner. But if you don’t mind the occasional wait, I
like the downstairs with its cozy English-style pub with wooden booths
and funky corner seats. There’s also a deck that’s open in good weather.
Fortunately, the menu is mostly the same upstairs or downstairs. The
menu is broken up into “appetizers,” “salads,” “delectable pub grub,”
“pasta,” and “from ocean, field and pasture.” If you share with several
other people you might be able to try something from each section, but,
alas, portions are hearty enough to limit me to just an appetizer and
one other dish.
The bread that’s brought to the table when you order is made inhouse with the restaurant’s own sourdough starter and hearty whole
grain flour. Served with a dish of good olive oil and a splash of bal-
W
samic vinegar, it’s the kind of bread that could
make a meal all by itself.
It’s impossible to skip an appetizer. A friend
of ours is addicted to the duck confit, and often
orders it for dinner. At $10 it’s a steal. My entire family is passionately fond of the Calamari
Greco ($11, or $6 at happy hour), a dish of squid
sautéed with garlic, herbs, chile and a dollop of
aioli. The fried polenta with mushrooms and Gorgonzola sauce ($11) is amazing. And I can’t say
enough about their oyster shooters (only a buck
each during happy hour), which come drenched
in spicy horseradish cocktail sauce and a drizzle
of salsa verde. Last summer we ate lunch on the
deck and went through a plateful of shooters
with glasses of chilled rosé, and nothing could
have been better.
Salads are stunningly good. I recently overheard another customer asking if they had any
salads that weren’t so “weedy,” but I appreciate
the fresh mixed greens that change through the
seasons. My husband frequently gets the steak
salad ($15.95), a huge plate of fresh greens, liberally drizzled with gorgonzola dressing, accompanied by a perfectly cooked piece of steak and
a bright green herb sauce, with fun little piles of
beets or other vegetables. When the same salad
is available with fried squid on top, I nearly always fall for it.
I’m extremely fond of the Pasta del Mar ($21),
a tangle of thin noodles
drenched in garlicky olive oil
and parsley and studded with
shrimp, squid and clams. I
could eat this forever. There’s
also a tomato sauce version.
Often there is some sort of
handmade fettuccine with wild
mushrooms or broccoli rabe.
/
WHAT: Nell
The menu changes conThorn
stantly, so it’s always worth
WHEN:
checking it over for specials.
11:30am-2:30pm
They always, always have
Tues.-Sun.,
steak frites ($24), and it’s
5-9pm every
day, pub open
a winner—perfectly cooked
from 4-9pm
hanger steak with a huge
every day
mound of fries seasoned with
WHERE: 205
“Herbs de Skagit.” The Nell
Washington
burger ($13.95), available in
Ave., La Conner
INFO: www.
the downstairs pub, is wondernellthorn.com
ful plain, but even better with
good cheese and some sautéed shiitake mushrooms. But depending on the
season or on whatever farm has brought in something unusual, there might also be lamb necks,
goat burgers, halibut with miner’s lettuce, albacore with truffled white beans and chanterelles,
rabbit with radishes and spring garlic, or nettle
ravioli, all made with locally produced or foraged
ingredients (a blackboard on the wall near the
door lists all the farms and fishermen currently
supplying the menu, and it’s a long list).
On our most recent visit I tried the lamb
shank. The meat was falling off the bone and incredibly smooth, silky mashed potatoes soaked
up the juices. Around the edge were various vegetables, lightly cooked so they retained some
crunch, the perfect foil to the tender meat. Last
winter I had a very similar dish made with goat
shank in Moroccan spices. Both were wonderful.
We rarely get dessert at Nell Thorn—usually I’m
just too full and happy—but they have a nice assortment of classic bistro desserts and many gluten-free options, as well as a list of dessert wines
and spirits. No matter how you end your meal, you
should feel extremely happy.
Leopoldretirement.com
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (PG-13) Must End 1/3
“The film is also an earnest, big-hearted ode to friends
as support and salvation, and to the talismanic quality a
favorite song, treasured hang-out, or shared tradition can
take on for a teenager.” A.V. Club
Fri - Sun: 9:25; Mon: (1:00); Tue - Thu: 9:25
Chasing Ice (PG-13) HD/71m FINAL SHOWS!
Sat & Sun: 1:15 PM
NEW PICKFORD FILM CENTER: 1318 Bay St. | 360.738.0735 | PickfordFilmCenter.org
Box Office is Open 30 Minutes Prior to F irst Showtime
Join us for a drink before your movie! Mary’s Happy Hour: 4-6pm, M-F $2 Beer/$3 Wine
A Royal Affair (En kongelig affaere) (R) 139m
“Historical drama of the highest order - teeming with big
ideas, and anchored by the nicely nuanced performances of Vikander and Mikkelsen.” Philadelphia Inquirer
Fri: (4:00); Sat & Sun: 4:00
Mon: (3:00); Tue - Thu: (4:00)
arts, entertainment, news
Samsara (PG-13) 102m - Documentary Hit Returns
“Simply put, Samsara tells the story of our world, but onscreen, it is so much more than that.” The Playlist
Fri: 7:00; Sat & Sun: (1:30), 7:00
Mon: 6:00; Tue - Thu: 7:00
FILM 22
MUSIC 18
ART 16
CASCADIA WEEKLY
#52.07
NOW SHOWING Dec 28 - Jan 3
at PFC’s Limelight Cinema
at 1416 Cornwall
Parentheses ( ) Denote
Bargain Pricing
B-BOARD 24
FOOD 30
The Intouchables (R) 35mm/112m - Must End 1/3
One of this autumn’s breakout hits returns, a perfect
selection for the holidays.
Fri: (3:25); Sat & Sun: 3:25; Mon - Thu: (3:25)
STAGE 15
Anna Karenina (R) 35mm/130m - Must End 1/3
Fri: (3:35), 6:30; Sat & Sun: (12:30), 3:35, 6:30
Mon - Thu: (3:35), 6:30
GET OUT 14
1224 Cornwall Ave.
Bellingham WA 98225
The Big Picture (NR) HD/115m - Superb French thriller
“The adage ‘It’s never too late to be who you might have
been,’ ascribed to George Eliot, is given a cruel twist
in the terrific French thriller The Big Picture. This loose
adaptation of Douglas Kennedy’s 1997 novel might
be described as The Talented Mr. Ripley for the age of
Google.” NYT
Fri - Sun: 9:00; Mon: (12:45); Tue: (12:45), 9:00
Wed & Thu: 9:00
WORDS 12
Mom or Dad want a more active
lifestyle in 2013?
The Central Park Five (NR) HD/119m
“An unusually good documentary about an outlandish
miscarriage of justice.” Chicago Tribune
Fri - Thu: 6:15 PM
CURRENTS 8
Call us for a Tour! 360-733-3500
OPENING JANUARY 4
Hyde Park on Hudson with Bill Murray
Promised Land from Gus Van Sant
---------------
VIEWS 6
That doesn’t include the exercise
classes, reading groups, penny poker,
bingo or bridge groups!
Happy New Year from Pickford Film Center
MAIL 4
This year Leopold Retirement
Residents enjoyed
52 Happy Hours, 18 parties,
17 dances, 10 concerts,
9 movies, 6 plays, 5 tours,
and 1 bay cruise!
DO IT 2
New Year’s Eve is the last party of the year!
12.26.12
Phew!
NOW SHOWING Dec 28 - Jan 3
31
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