Buzz Bin

by Inlander Staff


Hey, Ernie! -- You think you've grown up, huh? Well there's one thing that no one, no matter how grown up they are, can possibly resist. Felt bodies and plastic, expression-frozen faces. Oh yeah, you bet we're talking about puppets. OK, so you might be able to resist them. But there are, in fact, quite a lot of grown men and women who still play with such dolls -- and they'll congregate here this weekend for the Pacific Northwest Regional Puppetry Festival. Starting tomorrow, you can catch puppet theaters from around the Northwest performing shows ranging from juvenile choices like "George and the Dragon," to the more serious puppeteering dramatics of "Dance of Death." They'll be held all weekend at Gonzaga's Russell Theater. Shows cost $8 for adults and $5 for the little ones.





Share the Love -- One of our favorite Web sites of the past week has got to be the Onion-esque satire of www.blackpeopleloveus.com. The site features a dreadfully suburban white couple in their early to mid-30s -- he looks fresh from marinating something for dinner, she's wearing a yellow shell with a matching yellow sweater knotted around her shoulders. "Hi! I'm Sally, and I'm Johnny," their Web site tells us. "We hope you think we're as awesome as the Black community does!!" From there, visitors can see Sally and Johnny relaxing in their living room, drinking wine and laughing uproariously with a small selection of their many black friends. For a clever and subversive commentary on racism (particularly the clueless and smiley kind), stereotypes and prejudice, check it out.





Swimming With Swain -- Last year, Chris Swain completed his 1,243-mile journey down the Columbia River in an effort to bring attention to the river's considerable health and environmental problems. Last week, Swain completed a similar -- but much shorter -- swim down the 315 miles of the Hudson River. The 36-year-old Swain gargled hydrogen peroxide throughout to fight off pollutants and pathogens but still got a nasty rash. No word yet on which river he hopes to save next.





Submit, Please -- Two GU students -- Dean Robbins and Rob Grabow -- have recently announced plans to publish a book of commentary, essays and opinion by college students, and they're seeking submissions. Entrants are encouraged to send in original, well-thought-out pieces on "political policy issues in contemporary America," including short stories, essays, short screenplays, photography, cartoons and opinion pieces. What We Think is scheduled for release on Oct. 25. Deadline for submissions is Sept. 1. For more information, visit www.collegetreepublishing.com.





Publication date: 08/05/04