In September, Spirit, the old Husky mascot sustained a shoulder injury and retired early rather than watching the UW football team’s painfully losing season. At last, the long search for a new UW mascot and the contest to name it has come to an blessed ending.
The people have spoken and the newly chosen puppy, picked in what we can only assume to be a process like the mysterious used by The Others to choose their leader, has been unfortunately dubbed “Dubs”. Early this week, his own homepage [gohuskies] and had his first face-to-face with the media. There, he romped around on the track, sat prettily for treats, and generally charmed reporters.

There’s a video of the whole adorable affair on the website. Go ahead, watch it and melt. Let’s hope that Spirit has a happy retirement watching the new kid cheer on a team that has a slightly better season. [gohuskies]

The UW Police Department is investigating a reported case of indecent liberties that occurred on January 9, 2009 at 8:30 a.m. in a men’s restroom in Odegaard Library. A male victim entered the 3rd floor restroom and noticed the male suspect loitering by the sinks. The suspect started a conversation with the victim describing his own height and weight, and asked the victim how tall he was and how much he weighed. He asked several flirtatious questions while approaching the victim. The victim attempted to leave the area, but the suspect would not move. The suspect again asked the victim how much he weighed, said “let me check,” and grabbed the victim in several places. The victim stated that someone entered the restroom, which allowed him to escape. The victim was not injured in the encounter.

Condolences to the victim of this genuinely creepy encounter, without which we may have never learned the term “indecent liberties”. The rest of us should be vigilant for the suspect — a tall, dark-complected male with a “buzz” cut, strong accent of origin unknown — who was last seen carrying a small toiletry bag and using his apparent difficulty in judging size and mass from sight alone as a pick-up line.

presumably this dog has a real name.

The University of Washington’s football team has yet to win a game this season. Perhaps sensing the shape of things to come, the official Husky mascot (an Alaskan Malamute called Whitepaw’s Arlut Spirit of Gold Dust, a.k.a. “Spirit”) suffered a “shoulder injury” and has avoided leading the team out of the tunnel, wandering the sidelines, feigning interest in the game, and napping under the bench. Maybe his absence is the cause of the team’s ill fortunes or perhaps he simply couldn’t bear bear to spend his sunset years watching a losing team.

Either way, the school was already on the lookout for a replacement to replace Spirit upon his retirement at the end of the season. In parallel with the search to select a new dog, the athletics department has been polling fans to choose its new name. My assumption that the name should reflect the actual dog just shows how little of collegiate mascotry I comprehend.

The field has been narrowed down to three names: Spirit, Sundodger, and Dubs. [gohuskies] Although it’s very “the king is dead, long live the king” / “Snowball Two” I have to say that given the options rechristening this new dog with the old one’s name is the least objectionable.

photo via macarthur foundation

Earlier this month the Stranger crowned their latest crop of local geniuses with $5,000, a cake, and a big party at the Moore. Today, Seattle has another “genius” in our midst thanks to the MacArthur Foundation’s new list of fellows, each of whom receive $500,000, paid quarterly over five years [macfound]. At least a half-million hearty congratulations, then, to University of Washington geomorphologist David Montgomery[#], whose studies of the earth’s surface and environmental change have considered the local, global, and interplanetary level put him in good company with the music critic, saxophonist, fiber artist, urban farmer, fiction writer, epigrapher, and others who won this year’s grants. [#]

In addition to being an inspiring award, it also sounds like the makings of the best cocktail party ever.