Where are you this Wednesday? Correct answer: you’re joining the Bus and the Stranger at HG Lodge to talk about nightlife in Seattle. Yes – your bar nights are a political issue (aren’t you starting to see a theme here?)! It’s a pretty awesome/amazing/eye-popping lineup of folks who will be answering the good questions of Cienna Madrid from the Stranger, and from you.
You should totally come through. And heckle the Busser who’s co-hosting the whole shebang. And have a drink. All to the good…
Hiding behind her bob and bug-eyed sunglasses
Hot off the press, the September issue of fashion magazines are on shelves for the picking.
The infamous September issue is traditionally the holy bible of fashion publications – as the over 700-page Vogue issue implies. It’s large and in charge, and it sets the tone for a full year of fashion theorizing (and often, far longer than a single year).
Not only have the magazines themselves made headlines, but in recent years, the actual making of this all-important issue has stepped into the limelight: in 2009, RJ Cutler released the documentary about the making of Vogue’s September Issue – thrusting the behind the scenes processes out of the shadows and into the klieg lights of public knowledge.
The highly rated drama follows editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and staff during the making of the Vogue September 2007 issue. Funny little known fact: the staff barely knew of the filming until Ms. Wintour sent out a brief email- ‘There’s a film crew coming,’ it read. ‘Clean up your desks.’
In on controversial scene in the film, Wintour was shown complaining about cover girl Sienna Miller being too “toothy” for Vogue.
No honey, stripes are not in style this season
Due to popularity of the film, the prices of the Vogue September 2007 issue reached peak prices between $80 and $115 on ebay, making it one of the most sought after Vogue issues in history.
The documentary not only boosted magazine sales, but made instant celebrities of many formerly private Voguers; Grace Coddington, the scarlet-haired creative director now has a memoir in the works.
Turns out the film was such a success that other magazines are following Vogue’s lead and getting into the documentary business. Who’s up next? Cameras are now seen around the offices of W magazine as they are filming a new documentary on the making of their September issue. The magazine’s redesign will debut for September under new editor-in-chief Stefano Tonchi.
I’ve been more impressed with the W magazine as of late, so it will be interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes.
Oh Miss Miller, you are way too toothy for Vogue!
Now, this being the second documentary about a magazine’s September issue within a couple of years, one wonders if documentaries about fashion magazines are the new reality-TV show.
MTV-are you listening? Get on with your casting calls. Call up those people from the Real World Vegas to portray magazine editors-in-chiefs. The future of our television/online viewing will perhaps be in the hands of the Miranda Priestly’s of the fashion industry. Devil Wears Prada anyone?
The most obvious title “The September Issue” has already been taken by Vogue’s major documentary, so any ideas for the W magazine film?
Perhaps “Not Another September Issue”
Maybe I’m reaching out on a limb here.
Is he from Donnie Darko? Wrong set.....
Here at Hella Bus we are all for animals…
And wearing animal masks.
And dancing with animals (most preferably cute puppies).
So for this post, it’s all about photos. Of people wearing animal masks. Doing silly things. It’s one of those days… And yes, I have given you all the opportunity to see me, yes THE Helena Taflin, in a dress, on roller skates, wearing a panda mask. That is all.
Guess who
animal love connection
Wall ornament?
What a sweet couple
And let us end this animal house party with an amazing shot………
FULL ON INFINITE RAINBOW!
And now for some awesome beats “Strangers in Masks”
Snooki's Gucci is the real situation. Work it girl!
What is short, furry, and orange all over? Why it’s our favorite guidette from Jersey……Snooki! Besides forgetting who she hooked up with the night before, she has become quite the fashonista.
Last season she was seen sporting (as well as spilling large quantities of vodka in) her Coach purse. But this season miss Snooki has upgraded her goods.
She has been toting a Gucci purse from club to bar to face-planting on the sidewalk .
Designer labels usually pay celebrities millions to endorse their products, as well as give them the occasional gift of a purse or necklace in hopes of selling it to the masses. Great way to advertise. Can I get in on this as well?
Now the games have gotten dirty. Companies of exclusive products are sending Snooki free merchandise… from their competitors.
Snooki is a “pawn in a reported raging style war” — with the weapon of choice being fine leather goods. She is getting the cue from those Russian spies by becoming an unaware passed out sleeper cell for the high end fashion industry!
Lets take a flashback to 1944 and the British hoax operation code-named “Copperhead”. An Aussie actor, M. E. Clifton-James, impersonated Field Marshal Montgomery on a highly publicized visit to Gibraltar and North Africa. This was a hint to the Germans that the Allies were planning to invade Southern France. And in the famous words of Borat….. “Not!”
Yes, I still quote Borat for I think the movie is horrendously funny.
Lets take another time travel (a little less far back) to a previous post on the philanthropic initiatives of companies to sell their product. So on one side of the spectrum we have those who sell for “greater good” and on the other side we have those who give competitors’ products to less than likeable stars so the value of said product will decrease thus causing an increase in their own product’s sales. That was a mouthful.
Is this Micro-Economics for Devious Marketing 101?
Let the conniving games begin!
No hair pulling please, Snooki’s manicure might get chipped….
Yes, that’s a long post title, but it’s worth every digital penny! On Thursday (tomorrow), the Bus is taking the Washington Buzz to West Seattle for three very explicit reasons: 1) to celebrate the awesome and amazing success of the Bus’s three primary candidates – Joe Fitzgibbon, Andy Billig, and Nick Harper, 2) to toast you, our favorite awesome volunteers, whose doorbelling and phonecalling made it all happen, and 3) to have an honest-to-goodness birthday party for Joe Fitzgibbon, as he grows to the ripe old age of 24.
The grand news: it’s all-ages! AND you can still get booze. It truly is the best of all worlds.
See you at the West 5 High Five!
Thursday, August 26th – 6 to 8 pm
West 5 (4539 California Ave SW)
ALL AGES!
Get it? Talking Heads. Punditry. New Wave. All of it.
On a gorgeous primary morning last week, the Bus took some time to sit down with the good folks at CityClub to talk about what how we do the do that we do. And by that we mean voter outreach. We were on the panel along with some notable political figures in Washington, including Dan Brady, the Chair of the Washington State Republican Party, Bill Broadhead, owner of the Mercury Group and the master strategist of Mayor Mike McGinn’s 2009 campaign, and Keli Carender, the founder of the Tea Party.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Take a looksee, and let us know what you think!
It really is an exciting time here in the Republic of Buslandia, not only was the primary totally awesome, but now we get to officially announce that we’re hiring for a ton of positions statewide! The full list is below, and yes, we want you to apply.
In broad strokes, these positions are the key folks who will be registering young people to vote, and then turning them out to vote in November. That means these folks are the ones who are going to be making all the difference come this Fall. More details on each position are in the descriptions and applications, so check them out and apply/spread the word!
Phew. Feels a tad like November, doesn’t it? Some primaries go softly into that good night. Others – notably our current 2010 version – go out with a bang.
So now that the returns are (in large part) in the door, what can we say about the state of the Bus, the state of you, the awesome volunteer, and the state of our state? Let us begin.
The State of the Bus: behold the rise of young politics.
Let’s just come straight out and say this first and foremost: young people have never mattered more in Washington State politics. Sure, we could quote our recent op-ed in the Seattle Times about voting trends, but there’s an even simpler metric to go by: young candidates, across the board, owned this primary election. In the three primary races the Bus was working on, Joe Fitzgibbon in the 34th Legislative District, Andy Billig in the 3rd Legislative District, and Nick Harper in the 38th Legislative District, the younger candidates came through the primary across the board. The Bus is proud that young people are headed towards elective office, and we’re glad that with each election, more and more campaigns realize that young people are a key constituency to be considered and valued. Pow!
The State of You: every door counts.
Did you know that you were the most important person in the primary? It’s true. In each of the Bus’s three primary races, the difference between the top two vote-getters was razor thin: as close as 21 votes, and no more than 246. Oooooweee! Bus volunteers knocked on thousands of doors, and made thousands of calls – more than enough to be decisive in each of these races. Your work as a volunteer is what made these races so competitive, and as we take a deep breath and look towards the general election together, know that your time and energy is going to be as important, if not more. It’s an exciting time – and you’re the reason it’s happening!
The State of the State: engaged.
The Bus is proud to be a part of a most excellent trend, which is a higher-than-usual turnout in a primary election. As the ballots continue to pour in (watch out this afternoon for another update), the Secretary of State’s office is predicting a primary turnout of 38 percent – enough to tie the recent (2006) record – and is crossing their fingers for the grand total to break 40. Now, we realize that means there’s much much more to do, but the fact that the dial is moving in the right direction, and that young people are a big part of it, is making us do the “high fiving my cousin” dance (fyi, there is no such dance. It simply sounds like fun).
The moral of the story? The wheels are in motion, the Bus is rolling, and you’re in the driver’s seat. Whether you’re in Vancouver, Spokane, Tenino or Tacoma, the Bus is going to be in your area this fall! We have miles to go before we sleep, so get your catnap in now, and let’s get ready to rumble!
Seriously, have you mailed your ballot?
It is primary night, oh what a night.
Where will you be this evening, as the ballot results flow in? Excellent question. The answer, of course, is that you should be with the Bus. Which begs a further question: just where in our evergreen state will the Bus lay its weary treads to rest? Aha. Let us enumerate.
Firstly and foremostly, the Bus is happy to be co-sponsoring the only non candidate-oriented primary party we’re aware of. It’s in co-conspiracy with the good folks of Publicola, Strategies 360, Northwest Passage, and Sound View Strategies. It’s going down from 6 to 11 at the estimable, unimpeachably amazing Five Point Cafe (415 Cedar St), and it is highly recommended you attend.
Secondly and fivemostly, various elements of the Bus’s shadowy army of volunteers will be kicking up their heels at the election night party of one Joe Fitzgibbon, noted young person, candidate for 34th LD State Rep, and all around nice guy. That particular throwdown is on the go down at the Bembow Room in the Admiral District (4210 SW Admiral Way).
Regardless of where you end up, make sure you’ve already gotten your ballot postmarked and in the mail, and that you’re near a tv or computer at 8:15 when the first bath of results will be released. Thanks to everyone for all your hard work this primary election – tonight’s a night to celebrate that which you have wrought!
And now, the song which inspired the title of this post.
The correct term is pow pow!
You know what’s beautiful? Sunshine, hot weather, the sound of birds chirping their way through a slow balmy breeze. Know what else is beautiful? Tons and tons of young people knocking on doors, and making sure their peers turn in their primary ballots! Two beautiful things, eh? Luckily, this last Saturday, those two things just happened to overlap into the awesome glory that is/was/forever will be the Magic Vote Bus!
It was, indeed, an amazing day: over 70 young people knocked on over 1,500 doors in mere hours, showing the oomph and pow (and also ka-blam) that our generation truly has. The Fellows decided to target voters under the age of forty, and target they did. The best way to get someone to vote is to ask them to, face to face, and thanks to the Fellows, young voters got the extra push they needed to get their primary ballots in on time.
A huge thanks to everyone who made it possible: to Youngstown Cultural Center for hosting the afterparty, to the amazing volunteers who came out and got the job done, and of course to the Summer Fellows, for a) organizing the whole awesome shebang, b) providing what is possibly best dramatic interpretation of the Magic School Bus EVER, and c) for proving that it is possible to devour 150 Cupcake Royale cupcakes in the blink of an eye.
And of course, if you’re reading this and haven’t turned in your ballot, remember: election day (such as it is) is tomorrow. There is no better time to turn in your ballot than RIGHT NOW ! West Seattle was served this message on a silver platter this Saturday, so get on the Bus and get your ballots in!
I can feel the canvassing power coursing through to veins.
I wouldn't mind if these beautiful faces showed up at my door...
Mr. BronSkills. Our token Canadian.
According to my research the Summer Fellows ROCK!
Did we mention there were cupcakes?
Look at all these early risers!
Is that sun???
Hella Bus 