In Cuckoo, rice cookers come to life to talk about the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It makes its American premiere at On the Boards this weekend.
In Cuckoo, rice cookers come to life to talk about the 1997 Asian financial crisis. It makes its American premiere at On the Boards this weekend. Cuckoo

Where are the ugliest McMansions in Seattle? We want to know. So does this Reddit subreddit.
My candidate for the ugliest new McMansion in Seattle ... let’s have a contest! from r/SeattleWA

EARTHQUAKE: 4.5, off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula. No tsunami is expected.

It's Democrats last big day in the impeachment trial: They continue to try and persuade Republicans to pursue additional witnesses and documents, writes the New York Times. Jerry Nadler called Trump a dictator.

Meanwhile, a recording emerges that appears to show Trump demanding Marie Yovanovitch be fired: "Get rid of her!" he seems to say. "Get her out tomorrow. I don't care. Get her out tomorrow. Take her out. OK? Do it."

But Lindsey Graham thinks what we really need is to look into the Bidens.

In the middle of an impeachment trial, Trump spins the attacks to attract anti-abortion voters. He became the first sitting president to speak in person at the annual pro-life March for Life. “Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life," he said in his speech. "They are coming after me because I am fighting for you."

Oh God: Trump also unveiled the Space Force logo. It's a ripoff of Star Trek.

Blood is red, not blue: In a first, Kotex is doing away with the weird blue droplets in period commercials and using red blood. "Blood is blood," a Kotex representative told The Wall Street Journal. "This is something that every woman has experienced, and there is nothing to hide." Jezebel notes that "this marks the first time a major brand to use red liquid in ads, following smaller, leading companies like Australian brand Libra, Cora, and Bodyform."

Seattle Times frames the real victims of Wednesday's mass shooting as: Downtown business owners. Give me a break.

Dolly Parton started a meme this week: It's not particularly funny, but it's cute. She tweeted it a few days ago but it really got going over the past day or so. Seattle Public Utilities played along.



Coronavirus updates: Infections have now exceded 900 and reached Europe. Health officials are preparing for an outbreak that could last months, reports the New York Times. They also have this helpful infographic documenting where the virus has spread. Estimates currently show there may be as many as 6,000 cases. Actually, BREAKING: "Chinese health authorities reported at least 15 new deaths in one day, raising the death toll to 41 — all in China." Meanwhile, Trump thanked China this afternoon.

Cats opened in Japan today: Numbers are still coming out, but, at least based on this tweet below, Cats may have been #1 at the box office? Cats has arguably enjoyed its greatest success in Japan, where the musical boasts its longest-running production. The country has a theater built JUST for Cats that has played over 10,000 performances since it began in 1983. Based on what I can find, the Emporer of Japan and his family went to see a special screening of Cats a few days ago and said, based on Google translate, "The wonderful memory of the musical I saw while studying abroad has been revived."

More film news: Netflix announced over Twitter that The Irishman, Marriage Story, American Factory, and Atlantics will be joining the Criterion Collection later this year, which I assume means they'll be getting Criterion edition releases. I rolled my eyes at The Irishman and Marriage Story, but will gladly throw down $$$ for those Atlantics and American Factory releases. Atlantics, by the way, is about to get a rare screening at The Beacon.

Beep beep: I just got an alert that The Stranger's Rich Smith wants to contribute a blurb. Take it away, Rich:

The DCCC is going after Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler: It's been two days since Trump proposed cutting Medicare and other entitlement programs to pay down the deficit, but Rep. Beutler, who's defending her seat in Washington's 3rd Congressional District against another challenge from Carolyn Long, has yet to say whether she supports the President's desire to—yet again!—strip health care benefits from Americans. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is trying to pressure her to respond by launching a series of Facebook and Instagram ads targeting voters in WA-03. Hopefully her constituents slide into her DMs on those platforms and keep the pressure up. That's all! Thanks, Chase.

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DCCC

Lastly, a recommendation for the weekend: Performance artist and theatermaker Jaha Koo opened his show Cuckoo at On the Boards last night. Rich Smith wrote about it for this issue's performance lead. I was lucky enough to see it last night (to a totally full house) and found it funny, meditative, and open-hearted. Contemporary theater and performance art can be unapproachable, but Jaha Koo's measured timing and sincere performance is easily enjoyed. The 16-year-old in front of me loved it. So did his mom. So did I. It only runs this weekend. Go see it—you'll end up wanting to buy a Cuckoo rice cooker, which is not the point of the show but definitely a byproduct.