Unsurprisingly, abortion is an important issue to Washington voters. David Ryder/Getty

Comments

1

I am so, so sad about Desus and Mero. I LOVE their interviews and the rotating sneaker wall during lock down was a joy to my shoe obsessed heart. I truly hope that this isn't due to bad feelings between them and I will miss them so much!

3

Lol, what exactly has the Seattle art community done for Amazon warehouse workers?

You all do know all these young tech workers help keep the area blue, right? But oh my god they may be making six figures, that means by default they have no artistic merit or creativity and must be ridiculed or ignored.

This kind of shit makes me ashamed to be a liberal.

4

• Throwing axes is a bar is stupid.
• Howard Schultz is a traitor.
• There are artists who work in Amazon warehouses.

5

Please circle which jobs artists are allowed to have:

Jeff Koons: Wall Street Commodities Broker
Richard Serra: Furniture Removal Man
Barbara Kruger: Graphic Designer at Conde Nast
Mark Rothko: Elementary School Teacher
Ai Weiwei: Blackjack Player
Dorothea Lange: Photo Finisher at a Supply Shop
Keith Haring: Busboy
Corita Kent: Roman Catholic Sister
Paul Gauguin: Stockbroker
Jackson Pollock: Babysitter

6

"Washington is so fucking puritanical about alcohol."

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like modest safety requirements are a good idea when people are getting drunk and throwing axes.

10

if the poll only allows for 1 top concern, then slow-motion disaster/existential threat ACC is going to fall by the wayside as more immediate crises take precedence. what would you prioritize: you foundation is settling differentially, or your house is on fire?

12

Weird. Most the tech bros I've know were very proud of Libertarianism, being pulled up by their bootstraps and all.

Liberal isn't how I'd describe them as they 1) universally hate taxes, 2) universally hate any kind of "law" that might interfere with their "freedom" like speed limits on public roadways, and 3) are pretty sure everything the government does should be left to private industry or abandoned entirely.

Whatever. Liberalism isn't a thing anyway. There is only Conservatism and those who oppose it.

13

One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Washington way back in the day was how post-Prohibitionist the liquor laws were and how in love with power the Liquor Board was – always creating and enforcing laws that kept themselves necessary. They almost shit their britches when voters said, “Enough,” allowing liquor sales in stores that weren’t dingy, inconvenient, limited in scope, access, and availability. And this is from a guy raised in the buckle of the Bible Belt where part of my childhood was spent in a dry county and the bigger part in a city where, if you wanted a bottle of hooch, you had to drive to the Black part of town.

Then I moved (ran) to California where I could get a half gallon of Stoli if I wanted at Thrifty Drugs at one A.M. Even on a Sunday.

I don’t even drink anymore, and I realize there probably has to be some oversight regarding liquor, but the Washington Control Board is still full of its own shit.

I don’t think the era of good coffee shops is over. Most everyone enjoys a good shot, but I think the era of $8 lattes and $6 muffins may be coming to an end – at least on the scale it has been done. Just too expensive these days. Howard probably knows this. He and the board have gotten very rich. It was a quite a run for them. You know the old joke:

“I’ll meet you at Starbuck’s.”
“Wait…which one?”
“The one on Broadway.”
“Which one on Broadway?”

Please don’t get me wrong. I’m no fan of Gates or Bezos - or the way the two rocket ships they helmed changed the face of Seattle (unintended consequences aside), but it just goes to show you how true that old adage is: People are willing to forgive just about anything other than success. I admit that some of my animosity may be based on jealousy. I would have loved being a cafeteria worker or a janitor (before cafeteria work/housekeeping was contracted out) at Microsoft around, say, 1991 when everyone there got stock options, or buying a bunch of Amazon stock at around $1.05 a share back during the dot com bust. Sigh.

We really are going to have to give up gas, oil, and coal before we cook ourselves to death. Right here, right now. I can’t even imagine London being 107 degrees F. Fuck.

I know that in the entertainment industry you have to be aggressive with salary and working conditions demands because everyone tries to screw you and you are a commodity whose lifespan is probably be limited. Fame flickers, as does public appeal. So, yeah, I understand. But I've seen so many show biz careers go down the tubes when someone gets a whiff of their own press and starts believing they are bigger than they are. Too bad and shame for not respecting the people who are making you famous - the ones that brung ya.

14

I agree MoM’s presentation of their idea was awkwardly expressed, but the pushback was ugly, class warrior bullshit full of braindead stereotypes and, for the arts community, an unfortunately common exclusionary attitude.

16

Microsoft has genuine ties to the local art community - buying a lot of it over the decades to adorn, and provide landmarks to navigate, along its hallways and lobbys. And Mimi Gates ran SAM for years. @14 is correct.

17

Kinda wish MoM had gone ahead with the show, and selected the most cringe-inducing pieces on offer from the Lanyards. I mean I've had a glimpse or three of the art they do on the side, and hoo boy, yeah, the world should definitely see it-- just not for the reasons they might assume.

19

@13:

You can thank the once-powerful Washington Restaurant Association for our historically restrictive "post-Prohibition liquor laws." When the 21st Amendment rescinding Prohibition was ratified in 1933, the State began looking at ways to regulate the uncontrolled sale of beer, wine and spirits that followed in the wake of Repeal. The result was the Steele Act of 1934, which created the State monopoly on the distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages. Originally, the Act only allowed limited public sale for on-premises consumption in restaurants, hotels, taverns, drug stores, soda fountains, on trains and airplanes, and in private clubs (although it did carve out a number of special permits for private functions, such as banquets.) In 1948, when the Board considered expanding this to include the sale of hard liquor, a group of well-to-do restauranteurs, who had formed the WRA in 1929, began exerting pressure on the legislature to cut out taverns from being able to sell distilled spirits, citing the "flagrant violation" of such establishments flouting the "blue laws" still in effect at that time prohibiting most businesses from being open on Sundays, and thus creating a monopoly for their industry, which remained in effect until the early 1990's (and despite a second, also unsuccessful public attempt to repeal the restrictions in 1960) when the regulations were finally relaxed (the corresponding blue laws weren't repealed until 1966.) Since then there have been several attempts to break the State monopoly, but none made the cut until the passage of Initiative 1183 in 2011.

And it's worth noting the results have been decidedly mixed. Sure, you can now buy a half-gallon of cheap vodka at your nearest Safeway store at 12:00 a.m. on a Sunday, but without state control of pricing, you're going to pay whatever the retail establishment deems acceptable, while still being on-the-hook for the 20.5% in taxes (it's also notable that restaurants, taverns, distilleries, et al are charged only 13.5% for selling on their premises - and they upcharge way more in addition).

As for selection, IMO, it's gone way downhill since the passage of I-1183: many specialty items, such as small-batch single-malt Scotches and Caribbean rums for example, that were easily obtainable (and relatively affordable by today's standards) through the State-run stores are now virtually non-existent, as retailers opted for cheaper products with higher-volume sell-through.

So, sure, you can get lots of the cheap stuff, and some of the middle-shelf stuff, but true top-shelf is not only harder to get, it costs considerably more. I personally don't see that as a victory in the larger scheme of things.

20

@19 - the sky-high liquor taxes here are because we don't have a generally applicable income tax. Get that one passed & we ca have all the cheap booze we want.

22

@19 - Always amazing, C. Thanks. But I still prefer to pick up whatever I want where I'm buying stuff for the barbeque or taco night. Please don't make me drive somewhere else. And personally, I could never get the size of Absolut I wanted in a Washington State Liquor store. But I enjoyed your contribution, as usual.

24

you don't want an errant hatchet taking out someone's drink do you?

25

There were several entries in this news round-up where the author failed to add "lol" and that's a real missed opportunity.

26

The OLCC (Oregon's version of whatever the Washington state alcohol regulation nazis call themselves) is just as bad as Washington. And I grew up in small town western Pennsylvania in the 80's where it was JUST as bad. The thing that always drove me nuts was the veracity with which they would (and still do!) treat underage drinking as if it were on par with freaking manslaughter. Like, the whole age thing is just utterly arbitrary. If you were to get caught drinking a beer at age 20, 364 days, you could have your drivers license suspended for several months (for a first offense!) Which can be a nightmare punishment for someone in a community with limited public transit and a job they need to get to. But 24 hours later and it's just a random Tuesday afternoon activity. Same goes for open container laws and I'm pleased to note that I've taken walks with my dog in the neighborhood recently while carrying an open bottle of beer, and waved to cops who seem to now have the good sense to simply smile and look the other way. Drinking and driving, causing a public disturbance, or otherwise putting innocent people at risk? Hell yeah, throw the book at 'em. But let ordinary people live their mundane lives in peaceful anonymity if they're not doing so.

Christ, why the hell don't we take all of the funding and resources that goes to enforcement of victimless and utterly arbitrary "crimes" like these and put them toward homeless services, or cancer research or whatever. Shit, put it towards a contract for a goddamn front line starting pitcher for the fucking Mariners, for fuck's sake, which would be a far better use of public funds, anything other than just chasing around neighborhood kids and pedestrians just enjoying a beverage on a hot day.

27

Copi braised in PBR, with a Velveeta glaze. Very midwestern!
I wonder if Mr Eyman would like axe-throwing after a few beers?

29

@22:

The problem being of course, that you often CAN'T "pick up whatever you want", only whatever your local grocery store decides is a fast-moving, high-profit margin item. I'm not a liquor snob by any means, but I really do miss being able to go to a State-run store for a bottle of 12 Year old Bunnahabhain Islay single-malt costing less than $50, even if I had to travel a few extra blocks to do so. Nowadays, nobody carries it, not even the large warehouse stores like BevMo! or Total Wine, because they don't sell enough of it to make it worth stocking. That was the real beauty of the State liquor stores - if it wasn't on the shelf (which was seldom) you still could order it out of the warehouse and they'd have it in a couple of days. Try doing that at your local QFC.

31

@29 - I see the problem, and I empathize. The 12 y.o. Bunnahabhain sounds like it might require an acquired taste, but it also sounds delish. Availability and price works the other way, too. I remember throwing a small dinner party where I served a dish that was featured in Gourmet Magazine (RIP). The superb recipe came from a white-water rafting lodge in Idaho - a kind of chicken enchilada casserole with lots of cheese, chopped ripe olives, and Ortega chiles in a coriander sauce. It was the kind of dish that screams for pre-dinner margaritas.

Well, the closest state-owned liquor store from work was the one right across the street from the Hilton downtown. I popped in on my way home. The cheapest tequila in the store was $30 - and this was about 1994. No way was I going to take an artisan tequila and pour it in a blender with tequila mix, ice, and triple sec. No. Never, In this case, Jose Cuervo would have been just dandy - and indeed, I had to have a friend pick up a bottle for me somewhere else on his way to my party.

But no, you shouldn't have to special order your scotch at a premium either.

32

Art: whether you love it or hate it, the purpose is to elicit a response. Artists produce work as a result of internal or external stimuli - the only aim should be to cause a reaction, argues A.C. Grayling. (https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/art-whether-you-love-it-or-hate-it-the-purpose-is-to-elicit-a-response/408595.article)

So basically MoM created art, simply by saying they were going to have an exhibit. Well done.

33

@9 …look, if you keep holding reality against that guy eventually he won’t have anything left to say.

34

@31:

It's pretty atypical of Islay Scotches in that it's far less "peaty" and has a quite delicious buttery finish - literally the only Scotch I've ever tasted that resembles old-fashioned butterscotch candy, although obviously not nearly so sweet.

As for availability in the old WSLCB stores, that's just downright weird. I'm not much of a tequila drinker, but I don't ever recall going into a State-run store and not seeing an entire section devoted to tequilas running the gamut of price-range and quality.

35

Interesting thing is that "LoL" is no longer considered a witticism at MIT or Cal Tech.

36

@18 Museum of Museums isn't a real museum: It's an art gallery with an intentionally amusingly-pompous name.


Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.