ouch my eye photography
Related Content
More About
WEDNESDAY
STAGE
THE ATOMIC BOMBSHELLS
They bump. They grind. They're at the front line of the ever growing Seattle burlesque scene. And they send us photos like this. What's a paper to do? The Bombshells' brand of sass and sparkle packed 'em in at the Mirabeau last time around, so someone wisely thought to give these women another chance at filling the club with good, not-so-clean, feathery fun. Exotica, their latest eye-catching effort, promises "a world of voodoo vixens, Polynesian princesses, and tiki temptresses," still hosted by the lecherous Vincent Drambuie. 10 p.m. every Wed. Open run. $10. Mirabeau Room, 529 Queen Anne Ave. N., 206-217-2800. STEVE WIECKING
FRIDAY
FILM
LA JETÉE/ TWELVE MONKEYS
The Weekly's own Tim Appelo will introduce this sci-fi double bill. Chris Marker's 1962 short, La Jetée, composed entirely of still photographs, is one of the best and most haunting time-travel movies ever made. Then Terry Gilliam took it as his inspiration for 1995's Twelve Monkeys, which stars Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt (pictured). Not strictly a remake, the plague-themed film has resonance with AIDS and environmental catastrophes. Protagonist Willis, dazed and unsure of his mission, keeps trying to sort out his scrambled temporal frame. As in La Jetée, there's the poignant feeling that in order to make sense of the past—or redeem it—he must sacrifice himself. 7 p.m. Fri., March 18. $4–$6. Science Fiction Museum, 325 Fifth Ave., 206-724-3428. BRIAN MILLER
FRIDAY
BOOKS
STEVEN PINKER
Boasting the best hair in science, the Harvard professor has been bestowed with something called the Walter P. Kistler Book Award for his The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature (Penguin, $16 in paper). In it, he argues that infants come hardwired with certain cognitive assets. Does that deterministically mean some people are innately superior to others? Not exactly. His thesis, contra the politically correct tabula rasa crowd, is that the same sort of fixed brain structures that predispose us to grammar are also the product of natural selection— therefore variable. Yet he hedges that biology isn't destiny, even if less glamorous, non-prize-winning bald scientists in the audience may disagree. 7 p.m. Fri., March 18. Free. UW Kane Hall, Room 130, 206-634-3400. BRIAN MILLER
SUNDAY
COMPETITION
REGIONAL SPELLING BEE
Between Myra Goldberg's 2001 novel, Bee Season (soon to be a movie starring Richard Gere), and the widely, wildly praised 2002 documentary Spellbound, it's clear that the spelling bee has officially staked its claim on American pop culture. And while neither Goldberg's Jewish mysticism nor lovable nerds like Spellbound's Harry Altman (pictured) may figure into this showdown among 90 spellers from middle schools in King and Snohomish counties, you can still expect plenty of agonizing defeat and one thrilling victory. The winner goes to Washington, D.C., in May to compete in the national bee. 1 p.m. Sun., March 20. Free. Town Hall, 1119 Eighth Ave., 206-652-4255. NEAL SCHINDLER
TUESDAY
MUSIC
GIFT OF GAB
Apparently, Blackalicious haven't broken up, which is good news—that Bay Area duo has made some of the indie-rap world's most indelible music, particularly 2002's Blazing Arrow. But it's also good that members Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab spend time away from each other, because it means we get albums like Gab's 2004 bow, 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up (Quannum), produced by Seattle's own Jake One and Vitamin D. Gab's good-humored flow and laid-back stage presence is always a boon for local venues, too, and this show—also featuring Latyrx and Maroons MC Lateef the Truth Speaker and Ayinde Howell (who's celebrating a CD release)—should be way fun. 8 p.m. Tues., March 22. $15 adv. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 206-324-8000. MICHAELANGELO MATOS
