MISC. WORLD for 7/5/99 Mark Down? FOR A RELATIVELY-SHORT but seemingly-endless time, the innocent citizenry of a once-remote place were under seige. A would-be dictator, operating under the barest semblance of lip-service to democracy, fought with every means available to impose his personally-defined concept of civil order upon the populace. In motion after motion, he declared one specific segment of the population to be the only true and deserving citizens, and classified all the others to second-class status, to be harassed and "persuaded" to get out. But then, a glimmer of hope appeared. The long-trod-upon people began to cautiously rejoice. Mark Sidran's reign might finally be ending. Yeah, so this joke-comparison between overseas horrors and the machinations of Seattle's city attorney are grossly distasteful. But that's the best way to describe what happened last Tuesday. Here's what happened. Essentially, a U.S. District Court judge ruled that a state law dating back to the post-Prohibition years, directing the Washington State Liquor Control Board to regulate "Added Activities" such as live entertainment at bars and nightclubs, was unconstitutional. So now, the Liquor Board and local governments can't tell bars what entertainments they can or can't offer their customers. Immediately, it means no more telling bars to stop playing music that might attract black people. Sidran, who can't stand the existence within the city limits of anybody who's not an upscale, lily-white, professional-caste baby boomer such as himself, won't get to use "Added Activities" to shut down black clubs or "persuade" them to move to white-oriented fare. This also means no more liquor-board crackdowns on nudie art-pix at the Virginia Inn, no more worries about bad-word censorship at comedy clubs (as if anybody still goes to those places), and maybe, just maybe, looser dress codes at fetish nights and leather bars. It doesn't mean bars can start regular stripper formats, however; that's still covered under those increasingly-draconian "adult entertainment" laws in Seattle and other localities. See the current issue of the journal Gauntlet for many tales of anti-strip-joint crackdowns across the country. What will happen next? The Liquor Board apparently isn't interested in promoting new legislation to replace the overturned "Added Activities" rules. Sidran's own, even-more-draconian "Added Activities" proposal (which, in its current draft, had depended upon regulatory precedents in the now-overturned state law) will probably die in the Seattle City Council; though he might still try other means to enforce Mandatory Mellowness via stricter noise and public-nuisance ordinances. So the Sidran menace ain't really over yet. But, between the end of "Added Activities" and a council increasingly fed up with his continuing attempts to be a de facto municipal head of state, he might find himself stuck in the uncomfortable position of having to work for the city rather than trying to run it. The city attorney's job is an elected position. Nobody ran against Sidran last time. Let's get someone to run against him next year. Someone who'll be a good government lawyer, and not some strong-arm enforcer of "civil society." TOMORROW: If we can't have fewer cars, let's at least have more smaller ones. Recent highlights: The end of Mark Sidran's reign of terror? A 1973 book asks the still-relevant question, 'Is America Used Up?' Why the Mariners' latest management gaffe might be one of the last rounds of bigtime stadium blackmail we'll see. More reasons to love Pokemon, so complicated grownups don't get it. ArtsEdge butts up againstFocus on the Family; no fights reported. The final weeks of Another World show how soap operas as a whole might be saved. Some important disciplinary times and lengths for the true pop-cult artist. A new visual-art zine with no pictures; plus the anomie of Starbucks' in-store magazine Joe. Are Seattle singles too PC for their own good? A U.K. social critic looks at "sexual liberation" and finds consumer-narcissism and fear of intimacy. Archives: 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, and 1986-94 columns Longer articles and essays Background info about MISC. Media Hints at some of our future projects

CLARK'S CULTURE CORRAL BOOKS, MOVIES, MUSIC, ETC. REVIEWED AND SOLD Currently Featured: Romantic and ethereal music from Rusty Willoughby, Marc Olsen, and Jeff Grienke and Anisa Romero. Archives: Literature and art Nonfiction and cultural criticism Movies and videos Music and noise Books Popular Music Classical Music Video (Support MISC. Media; make your Amazon.com purchases thru this link.) X-WORD PUZZLES (UPDATED FRIDAYS) This Week: Going to the X-Words! MISC. TALK DISCUSSION BOARDS Does Seattle suck? Why/why not? Stake your case. SLIGHTLY WEIRD FICTION Currently Featured: 'I had to escape Family Day. I just didn't know how...' THE BIG BOOK OF MISC. The best Misc. items ever, now in one handy collection. Read more about it here. Get it here. LOSER THE REAL SEATTLE MUSIC STORY The most complete account of the early-'90s Seattle music scene. Pre-order your copy of the updated second edition. CYBER STUFF Cool, useful, and odd sites. THINGS I LIKE My favorite people, places, and things. Plus a few things I hate. FLY THE MISC. Media FLAG! Download a MISC. Media link button and wear it on your website. MISC. MEDIA UPDATES As of June 14, 1999, your doses of pop-cult confusion are titled MISC. World and come every weekday. The shorter "MISC." title lives on in The Big Book of MISC., now shipping. As of April 29, 1999, we've a new URL. Set your bookmarks to http://www.miscmedia.com. To learn about these and future changes, join the Misc.-l mailing list. Email to Majordomo@lists.speakeasy.org. Leave the "subject" line blank, and in the body of the message write: SUBSCRIBE MISC-L (your email address) Questions? Suggested topics? Email to clark@speakeasy.org. Joe Newton drew the caricature at the top of this page. Charlotte Quinn helped design the site.