(from City Councilmember Conlin’s office, via Capitol Hill News mailing list)

Dear Friend,

On Tuesday, July 8, at 7 PM, the City Council will host a Public Comment session on proposed legislation that would ban styrofoam and create a ‘green fee’ on bags. I’m writing to invite you to attend and comment on these proposals. The two ordinances were introduced last week and will be voted on in committee later this month. I sincerely hope that you’ll consider coming out to show your support.

The Public Comment session will take place on Tuesday, July 8 at 7p.m. in Council Chambers. Sign-up sheets for those who wish to speak will be available at 6:30 p.m. The full announcement is posted on my Council web site.

You will also find, at the bottom of that page, translations of the announcement in six different language, should you find a use for them. Additional information about the ordinances are located on the web.

Please send any requests for copies of the legislation to rob.gala@seattle.gov.

Thank you,

Richard Conlin
Seattle City Council President
Chair, Environment and Emergency Management Committee

Summer is here, how are you going to take advantage of it?

the wackness, still via siff, courtesy occupant films

There are rumors circulating that the weekend will be sunny. You know better than to let that sway you from overdosing on the last three days of SIFF, right? Below are some suggestions from us about how to avoid an unpleasant sunburn without breaking out the sunscreen. In addition to these, the festival has time set aside for repeat showings of films that win awards on Sunday afternoon; so keep an eye out for that announcement.

Sunrise [siff] : People who love film call this one of the best in the history of the medium. My interest in it is magnified by the fact that SIFF commissioned the Album Leaf, Jimmy Tamborello’s lush post-rock band, to compose and perform a new score for it during two showings at the Triple Door. [josh]
Friday June 13, 7:00 pm & 9:30 pm (Triple Door)

Letting Go of God [siff] : A film version of Julia Sweeny’s one-woman show / monologue chronicling and reflecting her conversion from Catholicism to Atheism Naturalism. If you haven’t seen this in person, heard it already on This American Life [#], or just want to experience the whole thing again with the director/star in attendance for their movie’s world premiere, this is your chance. [josh]
Friday June 13, 6:30 pm; Sunday June 15, 4:00 pm (SIFF Cinema)

the Wackness [siff] : Hip-hop, marijuana, and therapy with Ben Kingsley before leaving the NYC for college. Plus a special guest appearance by one of the Olsen twins. Mid-nineties urban nostalgia fiends need look no further. [josh]
Friday June 13, 6:30 pm (Egyptian); Sunday June 15, 6:30 pm (Cinerama)

Mysteries of Pittsburgh [siff] : Michael Chabon’s novel gets the big screen, kinda-big star treatment. This looks like one that will eventually play outside the festival circuit, but if you want to see Mena Suvari and Sienna Miller before all of your friends, check it out this weekend [josh]
Friday June 13, 9:30 pm (Egyptian); Sunday June 15, 2:00 pm (Uptown)

Jolene [siff] : E. L. Doctorow’s controversial short story about a young woman on the run from her tragic past comes to life in director Dan Ireland’s feature film that covers ten tumultuous years in the life of the determined title character as she crosses America in search of her the life she dreams of having for herself. [zg]
Friday June 13, 9:30 pm; Saturday June 14, 2:30 pm (Cinerama)

Chrysalis [siff] : A stylish science fiction noir thriller from France involving plastic surgery, mental manipulation, human trafficking, and some seriously stunning visual effects. [zg]
Friday June 13, 11:55 pm (Egyptian); Saturday June 14, 10:00 pm (Cinerama)

Bottle Shock [siff] : Bottle Shock tells the story of the first California wine to win in a blind tasting in Paris (at a time when France was considered to be the ONLY place to produce drinkable wine). I grew up in the Napa Valley and so I knew a little bit of this story going in. That included the ending. Despite that, this movie still had me on the edge of my seat crossing my fingers and biting my nails that everything would all work out in the end. I’m not sure you can go wrong with Alan Rickman in just about anything, but beyond that, this movie was incredibly moving. It is based on a true story, which is to say that the basic facts are all true. There really is a Chateau Montelena, there really was a contest, and Jim and Bo Barrett (along with Mike Grgich) were responsible for producing the winning wine. The scenery is beautiful (and was actually shot in Napa and Sonoma). I cannot tell you how strongly I urge you to see this movie. [patriciaeddy]
Closing Gala, Saturday June 14, 6:30 pm (Cinerama)

Towelhead [siff] : Perhaps it is a bad idea to choose a movie just because you love the director’s television work, but this is exactly what I did. Six Feet Under’s Alan Ball, who purportedly will be in attendence at both showings, directs this “darkly comic portrait of racial and sexual alienation lurking beneath the wholesome façade of suburban America.” [cero]
Saturday June 14, 6:30 pm; Sunday June 15, 1:30 pm, (Egyptian)

Donkey Punch [siff] : The title pretty much says all you need to know. The Midnight Adrenaline series goes out with a bang, with audiences getting to know far more about the programmers that we maybe ever wanted to find out. [josh]
Saturday June 14, 11:55 pm; Sunday June 15, 9:00 pm (Egyptian)

After the jump, reminders of previous recommendations with screenings this weekend plus a photo of Danny Glover dropping a Grand Canyon reference after Trouble the Water!

(more…)

photo via islands [myspace]

Our once venerable Daily Agenda has been a bit absent-minded lately, but I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t at least remind (or inform) you that Islands, consistently my favorite of favorites, are playing tonight at Neumo’s. Born from the ashes of the beloved but short-lived Unicorns, Nick Diamonds and company have made the transition from an almost-solo calypso project to a real live band full of wonderful instruments. Their latest album, Arms Way, is like a collection of campfire stories set to eclectic and inventive pop music. On stage, the band is theatrical, spooky, and compellingly watchable. The last time I saw them, woodwinds dueled with violins; Busdriver came out to rap for a song, and Diamonds appeared in white face paint with a bloody shirt as ringmaster. If they’re nice enough to play “Swans” expect more than a few interpretive dance moves from the crowd.

With Despot, Crayonsmith, Sister Suvi. $12, 8pm [neumos]

photo by Paula Thomas [flickr] via our group pool [#].

• Ladies and gentlemen, the Reader of the Year is from Seattle and she smokes and reads in the street in the rain. [omnivoracious via maudnewton]
• Fleet Foxes = 9.0 [pitchfork]
• Hot, hot, sexy food. [chs]
• the P-I discovers Metro. [seattlest]
• Anthony Bourdain came to Seattle, ate food at the Corson Building. When are the rest of us invited? [citizenrain]
• the Jesus and Mary Chain are coming to town. [tig]
• Closing time means marching band time on Capitol Hill. [hillku]
• Official bootlegs for mobile phones? Pearl Jam tears the fabric of the universe just a bit. [bigblog]

Honestly, I don’t mind the rain. It requires a bit more vigilance when riding a bicycle or driving a car but there are many good things about a rainy day. Have you noticed how clear our sky is after a good rinsing? The air smells so crisp and good. It helps keep down the dust. I get fantastic photo opportunities. I love this region and wouldn’t move for anything.

Looking ahead, we’re going into a pretty good weekend. It looks like we’ll have 70-degree weather through Sunday with minimal chance of showers, so get out and enjoy it. There’s plenty to to this weekend. I’m having a Hotluck to celebrate a school milestone. Capitol Hill is having a garage sale. There are a plethora of Farmer’s Markets (trust me, grab some fresh asparagus or sugar snap peas while they are in season), SIFF continues through Sunday, and many more events.

Have a heads up on an event? Let us know in the comments.

Jacob Hand, via WHY? [myspace]

1. I still have a pair of tickets to give away for the Teenagers + Handsome Furs at Neumo’s on Saturday. This show will be better than whatever you were planning to do otherwise. So send me your name (seattle.metblogs at gmail dot com). It will only be used for the purpose of this contest, safe from the leering eyes of marketers.
2. We are having a meetup at Smith tonight. There will be cupcakes.
3. Mount Eerie is playing tonight at the Vera Project. The last time he was in town we all sat quietly on the floor while he played quiet acoustic songs in front of a screen showing projections of industrial and nature scenes. Other times, there are singalongs or impromptu bands formed. Phil Elverum’s shows are reliably wonderful. I’ve been looking forward to this show since I saw a hand drawn poster appear a block from my apartment a couple months ago. He might have copies of Black Wooden Ceiling Opening at the merch table. Really, there is no reason for you not to go, other than the possibility that you are heartless and don’t like good things. WHY? is headlining. What else do you need to know? Nothing other than that the show costs $9.

King County’s animal shelter system needs major reforms, according to an expert consultant and a citizens’ advisory committee. The King County Council will hold a special Town Hall Meeting on Monday, April 14 to get public feedback on proposals for reshaping how the county cares for animals.

The King County Council will hold a special Town Hall Meeting on Monday, April 14, 6:30 p.m., at the Highline Performing Arts Center at 401 South 152nd Street in Burien, to take public comment on the joint proposal and hear other views. Prior to the Town Hall, King County Animal Care and Control and the Seattle Humane Society will host a pet adoption fair outside the Arts Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. Only certified service animals will be allowed inside the facility.

More information is available here.

Tonight is one of those murderously complicated music-going decisions that turns out to be much easier than you thought thanks to circumstances beyond your control. Through the miracle of self-release to indie-distriubtion, it’s likely that both headliners will probably have the honor of having the same album showing up on 2007 and 2008 year-end:

• In one corner, Upper East Side Ivy meets Kwassa Kwassa and wraps it around Western Euro classicism and turns up with infectious pop songs. Vampire Weekend seem to have catapulted from a CD-R band to SNL musical guest status in no time flat. While I disagree with them about the utility of the oxford comma, with the release of their official full-length eponymous disc this winter, I have forgiven them that point and fallen happily under their spell. The lineup is further sweetened by the presence of YACHT, Jona Bechtolt’s (flickr-blockr and macbook air envelope case inventor) solo glitchrock performance art spectacle. $10, 8pm [neumos]
• Bon Iver is what happens when Justin Vernon packed up his possessions and song ideas and spent a snowy winter isolated in a cabin near a Wisconsin artist colony. For Emma, Forever Ago is now out on Jagjaguwar and it is a work of solitary, haunting, yet accessible layered beauty. Stark and mostly acoustic, it is the perfect album for sitting on a train, reading a novel by Per Petterson in the rain. (Or maybe this is just me. Your ideal transport and reading material may vary, but the songs are fantastic either way.) With Phosphorescent, who, the last time I saw him/them played an entire set built of masterful loops with a creepy doll watching the audience the whole time. $10, 8pm [nectar]

Damn geography, time, and space for not allowing it to be possible to see both of these shows. But the choice is probably not so complicated. Vampire Weekend is sold out, Bon Iver isn’t quite yet. You do the math.