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Dear Charlize,

I read in the Seattle P-I that you’re spending some time in the Pacific Northwest shooting “The Battle in Seattle,” a movie based on the 1999 WTO protests.

As a local Seattleite, I’d be happy to show you around town and can share my memories of WTO to better help you prepare for this role. (I vaguely remember watching the protests on TV and not really caring about it when I was in high school -- invaluable information). Of course, our meeting *cough* (date) does not have to be strictly about business.

I’m sure you’ve already realized that your boyfriend and “The Battle in Seattle” director Stuart Townsend is horrible in his directorial-debut and is therefore an absolute tool. The writing on the wall must have been when he unveiled the movie’s title. Who would name a protest movie after an annual WWU vs. CWU football game? I’d strongly discourage dating co-workers anyway.

So, let’s meet up somewhere downtown. We can go out for dinner and then we can meet up with your costars Andre 3000 of Outkast, Woody Harrelson and Michelle Rodriguez of “Lost” for drinks later on. What do you say?

Cheers,
Paolo

P.S. I wish you would have told me about your nude scene at the Seattle Center beforehand. Nude protesting was an integral part of the WTO event and I would have applied the body paint on you myself to help you achieve a more accurate portrayal.

in

I had a good weekend. I went on a shopping spree on the company and bought myself an Xbox360... (As always, click picture to enlarge.)

I went to a cocktail party at Kenna's house on Queen Anne (additional pictures via Scott)...

and my band played a fundraiser in Tacoma.


in

I'm leaving shortly for my office holiday party. I've read a few articles about this awkward, cultural phenomenon and have compiled my own Top 10 list of things not to do at office holiday parties. Take notes.

  1. Do not skip it. You can't kiss ass if you're not there.
  2. Do not underdress. I'm wearing a t-shirt and jeans. Whoops.
  3. Do not be a wallflower or stick with one group of people. Clicks are so high school.
  4. Do not make suprising announcements, like "I'm quitting" or "I'm an ex-convict."
  5. Do not tell the same story over and over. It's an easy trap to fall into when you're making small-talk, but it can also be embarrassing when you tell someone the same story twice on the same day.
  6. Do not forget to socialize with your boss.
  7. Do not forget about the non-Christian holidays. Wear a Santa hat and hold a menorah.
  8. Do not make out with co-workers -- until after the party.
  9. Do not get shitfaced drunk. Just get regular-Friday-night drunk.
  10. Do not listen to rule #9. Go ahead and get shitfaced drunk.

in

Punctuating my previous commentary about perceptions of racism in America, I read an AP story today about the U.S. Supreme Court reviewing a case against Seattle School District 1, "asking whether Seattle's 'Open Choice' program is an acceptable move toward student diversity or another name for illegal racial quotas."

Seattle parents sued after their children were denied admission to the schools they preferred because of their race. In Seattle, students can request which high schools they want to attend, and the school district either honors or denies their request based on a number of factors, including race. The good-intentioned school district attempts to create racially diverse environments at its high schools by maintaining unspoken racial quotas, and overcompensating for society's racial divisions.

The problem with the school district is that its unspoken quotas are so low that they're noticable, which is why the Supreme Court will rule against the school district.

Rainier Beach High School (Dad's old stomping grounds) is something like 93% minority (this obviously doesn't reflect the surrounding community, which includes a sizable white, Jewish population). There's (literally) a handful of white students who request to go to Ballard High School, end up at Rainier Beach and then wonder why. Well, it's because Rainier Beach needs some white students and the school district's done such a poor job with its Open Choice program and maintaining higher, unspoken quotas (say 50/50ish?) that it's noticable the only reason the white students are attending Rainier Beach is because they're white. The same thing happens to the few black kids or Hispanic students at Ballard.

Instead of encouraging diverse educational backgrounds, the Open Choice program is backfiring. It's creating segregation. Students will choose to go to the same schools as their friends, and the cold truth is that most people associate themselves with people of their own race.

The best thing the school district can do is end the program and go back to drawing neighborhood boundaries so that students attend their local high schools. I know parts of the city are more racially diverse than others, but this will create a more diverse academic environment than the failed Open Choice program.

The school district should be responsible for equally funding high schools and attracting qualified and talented educators, not overcompensating for the way society divides itself. The school district needs to stop wasting money busing students across this city to falsely promote diversity and spend that money on the technology and resources that will help students achieve success at their local high schools.