Theatre: Shakespeare in a Quarry

 The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare, directed by Susan Weingarten, Shakespeare Northwest, Rexville-Blackrock Amphitheatre, Through 7 August.

OK, you can come back now. I'm done with local politics for a couple weeks. 

All the World's a Stage

The Skagit Valley is pretty far off my beaten path, but a member of my playwriting group is the director, so I and two fellow Quills decamped the far-off lands of the Skagit Valley north of the city for this production. Shakespeare Northwest is a plucky band of thespians who bring the Bard's work to life in a natural setting.

That setting is alongside Pleasant Ridge, in what looks like would once be a stone quarry. It is near the Rexville Grange, a large hall for the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, set back among the trees in the back of the property. The outdoor stage is simple bare stage with a few backdrops. The groundlings (and everyone is a groundling here) bring their own chairs. blankets, and drinks.

(And as a note, I stopped for dinner at the nearby Rex Bistro, a bustling place with a good smashburger. Just passing that on.)

The play itself is classic mix-up. Two sets of twins, master and servant, separated as babies, find themselves in the same town. They bear the same name (Antipholus for the master, Dromio for the servant) and appearance. The native Antipholus is married, the newcomer is not, but is stunned by the fact that everyone recognizes him by name, and is convinced the entire town is beset by witches. There are mixed deliveries, assignations, tasks, tokens, the Dromios are beaten for following their masters' orders, and the new Antipholus falls for the native Antipholus's wife's sister. And their original parents are on the scene, though they don't realize it yet. Hilarity results.

It is at its base a screwball comedy, and the troupe leans into it, decked out in 1930's garb. Add to that some songs from Cole Porter and Rogers and Hart, and you has more than a whiff of that decade. Abbot and Costello would fit right into this version. One of the challenges of the play is dealing with twins (A mystery is never about twins, while a Shakespeare play its a good bet). This version uses the same actor as the Antipholus (Antipholi?) and the same actor as the Dromios, and pulls it off with mild costume changes (hats and ties). 

The actors themselves were very good, though un-microphoned and outdoors, they had to project over the wind in the trees and the occasional truck on the main road. Carolyn Travis threw themselves into the roles of both new and original-flavor Antipholus with increasing frustration over the situation. Stacy Brooks as the suffering wife Adriana was excellent, as well as winning the "Sonnet Slam" at the start of the evening (five actors each present a Shakespearean sonnet - a hat is passed and winner gets the proceeds). My fellow Quill, Susan Weingarten, did an excellent job directing this, the farcical of Shakespeare's plays, and yes, it was a long trip home in the dark, but worth it.

Shakespeare Northwest's site is here, and here's the calendar of their performances. Some of which are actually down in Seattle. Worth checking out.

More later, 

The Political Desk: Summing up a Summer Primary

 What, that's it?

Yep, this year's primary is kinda quiet. The biggest ticket is US Rep for us up in the Panther Lake area, and we're looking for a replacement for County Assessor, as well as a slew of State Supreme Court candidates. 

Here are my recommendations. You don't have to  pay attention to them, and I encourage you to make your own decisions. One of the great advantages of mail-in ballots is that it gives you the chance to deliberate as opposed to being in a voting booth facing a bunch of strange names and no idea what to do. 

There are whole slew of other people's endorsements and recommendations, but I recommend people start with the Voter's Guide, which allows the candidates to present themselves in their own words (or their approved words). Sometimes its a great place to see red flags, or to reveal their personal story or preferences. You want to see who is giving money to the various candidates? Check out the Public Disclosure Commission here.

The two big sets of media endorsements are:

The Stranger. which tends to be lefty loosie, swung more away from progressive candidates this time around. Their arguments can be a little loose, and they often do not get this far south of the city.

The Seattle Times goes a little more righty-tighty, but aims at centrist and pro-business. Oddly, they've currently got their recommendations behind a paywall, which is just dumb.

And I should note that here you can find a summary of the two major papers, with notes about where they agree with each other.

Other than that?

The Urbanist does a damned fine job summing up the races and covers a lot of the races that the mains don't deal with.

Washingtonsupremecourt.org does a great job summarizing the state of the state's supreme court, 

The Fuse Progressive Voters Guide weighs in, giving their choices and why other candidates may not have made the cut. Here's the link for King County, but you can search around for other locations as well. 

The Lefty Cheat Sheet does a good job gathering together all of the endorsements of the center-to-left crowd, for your viewing enjoyment.

The Sierra Club's notes are here. The state GOP talks about their chosen judges here. The King County Dems talk here. 

And with all of that out of the way, here's what I put down. You can find my rationale and rationalizations in the earlier entries.

US Representative District 9: Adam Smith 

State Representative, District 11: Ashley Fedan

King County Assessor: Robert Foxcurran

Washington State Supreme Court:

Position 1: Colleen Melody 

Position 3: Mike Diaz

Position 5: Theo Angelis

Position 7: Debra Stephens

And that's it for me. The deadline is 4 August, and I strongly advise voting early because of all the craziness at the National Level. And if you no longer trust the post office, here is a link with your friendly neighborhood voting drop-offs.

OK,  I went to all the trouble of providing all the links. Now go out there and vote!

More later,

The Political Desk: The Supremes

 This, surprisingly, is the big ticket item for this election. Washington State Supreme Court judges are elected as opposed to appointed, and we have no less than five races going on right now for nine positions. This site does a pretty good job laying out the state of the court, along with their websites, cash raised, and endorsements. And the more conservative factions in the state are throwing some cash behind the more conservative candidates who are running. Because one thing we need in this country are more conservative judges.

We have five positions up this year. One has just two candidates, so is not on your ballot, and is to fill an open slot from mandatory retirement (something else WA state does for its justices). Two are special elections for positions that have been temporarily filled. One is an open seat because of a retiring judge, and the last one is just a regular election. The candidates are:

Position 1: Colleen Melody was appointed at the start of this year to replace the retiring Mary Yu. However, she's shown her chops and her law, impressing the Times and even the persnickety folks at The Stranger with the depth of her legal knowledge. So, yeah, Colleen Melody.

Position 3: The current incumbent is not seeking re-election. Mike Diaz comes with a hole heaping pack of experience, endorsements, and knowledge. Yeah, he knows his stuff.

Position 4: The current incumbent has hit mandatorily retirement. This position has just two candidates, so I'll save any comments for the general, except to note that the Lovely Bride worked very hard not to accidentally skewer one of the candidates at the recent Mercer Island parade. But that's a story for another time.

Position 5: Theo Angelis is another appointment, replacing retiring Barbara Madsen. He's still the new kid here, but I'm going to recommend him in any event. Sharonda Amamilo is also good.

Position 7: Chief Justice Debra Stephens is up for re-election, and, well, she's done a good job over all these years. Yeah, let's keep her. 

And that's it. One more post, and we'll be done.

More later, 

The Political Desk: Assessing the Assessor

 A single county position is up this year, and with it comes scandal. The King County Assessor's office is responsible for setting the taxable value (valuation) of residential, personal, and commercial property for property taxes. They do not have influence on what those taxes are (though they have opinions) but are responsible for setting the base number that those taxes are based on.

Here's the current scandal, the current County Assessor, John A Wilson, has served long and well, and has on occasion ran without competition. However, of late he has been hip-deep in personal problems, including stalking and harrasing his ex, at one point being fitted with an ankle monitor to track his migratory habits. The surprise here is that he hasn't stepped down before now (because we kinda take that sort of thing serious in these parts) but he has stated he will not run for re-election. So we have four candidates that are are up for his position. 

Al Dams is the Chief Deputy Assessor under the current guy, and has been keeping the lights on over there while his boss was posting taunts from his hot tub. He points out there will be no ramp-up period for a new guy to get his bearing. He has a bunch of endorsements.

Rob Foxcurran was the Senior Appraiser of the City of Seattle, and, as such has been deeply involved in valuations of properties in the city. He also has a whole pack of endorsements.

Christopher Roberts is a former mayor of Shoreline and has managed big budgets and delivered on housing affordability. He is pushing transparency in office and regaining the trust of the electorate. He is also weighing in with a lot of endorsements.

Dominique M Scarimbalo is a wraith. She's on the ballot, has a web site, but has raised no funding according to the Public Disclosure Committee. Nor has she showed up in discussions from The Stranger or the Times of the candidates. According to her Voter's Guide entry, she's proudly not a politician (she runs a brewpub down here in Kent) and is protesting our current tax system overall. So if you want a protest vote of the entire system, have at.

Me? I'm going to go for Robert Foxcurran, who combines both experience in the field with a fresh face and outlook.

More later,

The Political Desk: State Positions

 After the single Federal-level position on my ballot, we slip quickly down to the list to the State Legislature. We're in the 11th Legislative District, which overlaps the heart of the 9th Congressional, and includes Tukwila and Renton and just the northern tip of Kent. We're in the northern tip, while the rest of Kent is split between the 33rd and 47th., so yinz folk will have to look elsewhere.

In elections with an incumbent, you are often looking at an asymmetric conflict. The incumbent has experience, imbedded access to the mechanisms of politics, a set of previous endorsements, and a track record in that job (which can be good or bad or sometimes both). They also have been in touch with their constituents throughout their term through mail and emails (and yes, I DO read those). Challengers, on the other hand, often benefit from the fact that they DON'T have a track record in that particular position, and can ofter their intent for once they get into office. They may often have applicable experience in the "real" world (as opposed to politics). 

Anyway, there are two representative positions in the state legislature for each district (and a state senator, but that positions is not up for a vote this time). Position 1 has three candidates:

David Hackney is the incumbent, a Democrat that has done very well in the position over the past few terms. I would put his highpoints as his recent vote for the the "millionaire's tax" and one requiring base qualifications for sheriffs. He's pushed transparency in government as well. He's pushed anti-fraud bills but they have not progressed through the chambers yet, so that's a work in progress.

Ashley Fedan is his Democratic Party challenger, a former Navy Nurse (Lt. Commander in the nursing corps). She was a precinct committee officer for the 11th District, and is running on health gace, housing and pro-working families and pro-union. That's a good platform.

Christian Rombourgh is the Republican, which I think is a good thing because most of the GOP has given up King County for dead. Christian is an ironworker who demands real accountability, reducing red tape, supporting good-paying jobs, supporting trade unions and defending working peoples. Good approach, to be honest. His web site, alas, is still under construction as I write this. 

It feels like, when the dust settles, it is going to be Hackney against Fedan, a choice between two very good candidates. I'm going to recommend Ashley Fedan, at least for the Primary.

Also, there's Position 2, which has a single candidate - incumbent Steve Berquist. This blog does not pass on endorsements for single candidates, but just between you and me, Berquist has bee doing a good job, so I'm not too bent out of shape about him not having competition this time around.

More later,

The Political Desk: US Rep. 9th District

The biggest prize on my ballot is the US Representative, 9th District. The 9th runs from Bellevue and Mercer Island down to Federal Way and Auburn and has an incredibly diverse population, strong ties to Boeing, and includes SeaTac airport.

The incumbent is Adam Smith. Nope, not the 18th Century economic philosopher, but the 30-year Democratic incumbent. He's usually challenged from the right, but most recently from the left. He is currently the head of the House Armed Services committee. He's of the Centrist Moderate breed, but has been against a swollen military budget, against the war/conflict/whatever with Iran, and has most recently come out in favor of impeaching the President. By the same token, he's partially responsible for Trump retaking the White House in 2024 by being a leading voice in advising President Biden not to run for re-election. So now we have a guy in charge who is in even worse physical and mental condition (while Biden, when he pops up in public view, is looking pretty spry for a dude fighting cancer).

His big opponent is Kshama Sawant, socialist and former member of the Seattle City Council. As a member of council, she led the charge for raising the minimum wage in Seattle. She's also a passionate firebrand who has been disciplined and arrested on occasion for public protests. The Stranger likes her because she does not play well with others and throws elbows. [Addendum: After initially posting this, I was reminded that Sawant refused to endorse Kamala Harris last Presidential election, instead popping for the Green Party candidate. So if I'm going to gripe about Smith for damaging his party's chances, its only fair to be broad-based.]

Also to the left of Mr. Smith is Melissa Chaudhry, who ran against Smith the last time and is running a grassroots campaign. She's anti-ICE (for good reason - her husband was picked up in the sweeps - she fought against them in court and won). She's also admitted that she's running as a Democrat for the primaries, and should she win, she'll switch over to the Green Party. She's an excellent candidate, but that gives me a little pause.

We also has a Socialist Workers Party candidate Jacob Perasso, who supports, well, worker's rights, and his other position (opposing the whatever in Iran. infrastructure, Ukraine) all comes from that basis. There hasn't been a lot of noise about his campaign.

Finally, we're looking at the lone Republican, Doug Basler, who pushes the idea of "common sense, moderation, and "practical solutions in a highly charged political environment" in his voter's write-up, without mentioning that his previous election-denying conspiracies as conservative talk-show host, he contributed to that high charging. 

As a gamer, I'm looking at Mr. Smith, holding the most moderate position, carrying through the general, and since we have three candidates to the left, and one candidate to the right, it is likely the more progressive votes will splinter and it will be Smith vs Basler, where the republican candate gets about a third of the total votes. 

As a voter? A lot of pundits are going for "No choice" so far here, but I'm going to put my counter on Adam Smith. Not because I agree with him on everything, or forgive him for past mistakes, but because he actually sounds like he's listening to his constituents and representing them accordingly. 

More later, 

The Political Desk: The Primary Madness Begins

 All right, he says, rolling up his sleeves. Let's do this.

This time of year, I descend into madness and talk about upcoming elections, chasing off those readers who are expecting theatre reviews, book reviews, and the occasional cavalcade of new game releases. I've been doing it for twenty-five years now, so why stop now?

And, for people who have just stumbled onto this site, I have rules, because what are we as a civilization if we don't have rules?

• I comment on races that are on my personal ballot. And those are for the northern portion of Kent, Washington, that includes Panther Lake, on the East Hill. And I like it that way. I mean, who am I to tell you what to do with your vote if I don't have skin in the game? And while I will on occasion dabble in elections beyond my normal ken, I try to keep it to a minimum. 
• For the primaries, I ignore races which have only two candidates, usually. Washington State is a top two primary state, which means that top two vote-getters go ahead to the general election. That has a tendency to reduce (but not eliminate) the power of traditional political parties. Now, they have money and the ability to get their message out, but that's not always the case. Further, because it is top-two, we often see two Democrats (and rarely two Republicans, but it happens) vying for a position.
• I really want to put good people in office. You know, folks who will do the job, even if they don't agree with me on every point. I further like people who are willing to listen to opposing viewpoints, and maybe, maybe see their own viewpoints altered as a result. And for a bunch of offices, we don't even list who is the official Dem/GOP candidate, so you have to do your own digging and see who is endorsing who.
• I don't post these on Facebook, Bluesky, or the other socials, because these are frankly my opinions and I don't feel like splattering them over the joint (there are enough people already doing that sort of this - go have at!). So if you want the very-local political dirt, you have to tune in here to this station. 
• I give other references, though that number has subsided in recent years, much to my frustration (I really miss the Municipal League). The Seattle Times tends to lean towards pro-business, centrist views, though they have a new publisher, who is son of the old publisher. The Stranger also has a new publisher (and is looking for a new editor-in-chief), and usually swings to the left, though this year they don't like much of anyone because even the progressives don't tick all their boxes. There are a few others out there, like the The Urbanist, which endorses on a wide swath of offices and for the serious lefties among you, the Lefty Cheat Sheet compiles all the various endorsements (unions, blogs, newspapers) in one place. We also get a voter's guide, which should help as well, since all the entries are penned by the candidate, or at least by candidate's people, and while there is a high percentage of "I'm honored to serve you" type of statements, there are often red flags and windows into dark souls in that mess.

Now, Washington is mail-voter state, which means you get a ballot, you fill it out, and you mail it back (or drop it off in one of a number of drop-boxes).  I think that works. When I first moved here, we had more traditional voting, where you had to take time off whatever you were doing that day and get to a polling location. We were in Rush precinct, and the polling location was at the bottom of the hill at Meeker School. I would pop in before I went to work and would be voter #3. The Lovely Bride would show up in early afternoon and be voter #16. So, yeah, I like getting more people voting, even if they don't vote the way I want them to.

Now, some of our conservative brethren are not wild about this state of affairs. They love elections, mind you, but of the authoritarian breed, where there is one official candidate, selected for you in advance, and only certain people are permitted to vote. And opposition candidates tend to get arrested, exiled, or fall out of dangerously unsafe windows. They've already tried to get an initiative this year where they can go through the voting roles and get rid of folk they don't like (which failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot this fall, so I'd say it wasn't popular). On the National Level they've been trying to convince people that Trump won in 2020 (they've lost 60 court cases so far trying to prove that) and want the Post Office to stop delivering ballots to your home, and to stop counting those ballots if the Post Office doesn't postmark them in time. So vote early folks, while you still have the chance.

And that's about it. We are on a fairly tight schedule here  - the due date is 4 August, which is right around the corner. So let's blow through the ones on my ballot and I can get back to talking about collectable quarters.

More later, 

Book: The Old New Weird

 Three Moments of an Explosion by China Miéville, Del Rey Books, an imprint of Random House, 2016

Provenance: I picked this up at the Page Turner in downtown Kent, when I was looking for a completely different book. And that's the nature of the Page Turner in that sort of thing happens quite often.

Review: OK, I'm a fan of China Miéville, but I haven't read everything that he's written. I started early with Perdido Street Station (published in 2000), and the two other books set in the same world, The Scar and The Iron Council. I enjoyed The City and City and Kraken (which I did not review - I don't review everything here), and really liked (and reviewed) October, a non-fiction book about the Russian Revolution. So I picked up this collection of his short fiction, adding it to the To Be Read pile, and finally getting into it in the past month or so. 

And, to my lack of surprise, I enjoyed it tremendously. There are a LOT of stories here, ranging from widely-published works to stuff that was used as handouts at a exhibition in Liverpool. As a result, though you get a good feeling for how and what Miéville writes over a number of different stories. 

When Miéville first showed up with Perdido Street Station, he quickly got folded into his own subgenre- the New Weird. This was over 25 years ago, so the patina of "new" may have gotten a bit threadbare since then, but there are not a lot of other books that fit neatly into that category. Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer gets mentioned a bunch as a sister volume, and I could put The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin in that general category. Piranesi could elbow its way in as well with a good argument or two.

But genre is a slippery marketing term - it effectively says: If you liked THAT, you'll like THIS. But it also sets up it own set of walls - This is NOT magical realism. This is NOT urban fantasy. This is not old school or cozy or like a lot of other things you've seen. It is akin to all of that, but it is a thing of its own right. The Old Weird belongs to Clark Ashton Smith and Lovecraft, and it has a good linkage with that as well, but this is a different animal.

So what is Miéville's encampment of the New Weird? Well, it has strange doings - icebergs calving above the skies of London, animated oil rigs. card decks with suits that only appear once in a lifetime, or etchings on bones newly-pulled from cadavers. It has body horror, in addictive parasites to people who put on dead animal heads or medical actors who suddenly present with symptoms for future diseases.  Miévilles brand of the New Weird is very urban (usually) and Londonian (keep your wiki link open for when you hit something idiosyncratic).

Most of all (and I think this applies to the New Weird in general) - it is unexplained. No one steps forward in the story with a reason why animated oil rigs are blundering ashore like kaiju.  Even those seeking the truth discover nothing but dead ends and unsure resolutions. Miéville in his short fiction keeps his focus tight on his protagonists (who are also usually his victims), and they are awash in this unsurity as well. This may be a hallmark of the NW, or at least Miévilles patch of earth within it.

It is interesting and puzzling and amazing and horrible and wonderful. It's worth hunting down and reading.

More later,