Find the best THC drinks of 2024. We reviewed popular THC beverages & chose what we think are the top picks for different needs & budgets.

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Goodnight, Sutherland. I will always remember you.

by Charles Mudede

I couldn’t believe my eyes. A Hollywood-looking film set in my, of all places, Harare neighborhood. Parked trucks; gear (lights, camera tracks, audio recording devices, so on and so on); lots of people doing this and that. After watching this activity, I gathered the courage to ask a tall man standing with a walkie-talkie what was cutting. A film, he says. I can see that, I say, but what kind of movie is going down? It’s a big one, he says. His walkie-talkie erupts. He listens. It doesn’t concern him. Someone else is called for. We resume talking.

The film has real movie stars, he claims. “From America?” I ask. Yes, America. The name of the film? A Dry White Season. The name of the stars? Marlon Brando, Susan Sarandon, and Donald Sutherland. My amazement is as bright as the sun in the sky. How is this even possible? A film with real Hollywood stars, only a K or two from my digs. I spot Donald Sutherland exiting a car. I just can’t believe my eyes.

With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away. I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more… pic.twitter.com/3EdJB03KKT

— Kiefer Sutherland (@RealKiefer) June 20, 2024

A few days later, I was on the film set for A Dry White Season. Connection of a connection of a connection got me a small job as a helping hand for the person working for the person working for the cinematographer (Pierre-William Glenn or Kelvin Pike?). That’s how it happens in Harare, and, to be honest, the rest of the world.

So, there I am in the middle of a massive movie set. Donald Sutherland is doing a scene. He has to walk from the door of the house (lights all around him) to the mailbox. Something bad is about to happen. The story requires some tension in this scene. And here, I learn what this art is all about. How it all comes together on the screen. The machine behind the grand illusion. Action is called by the director, Euzhan Palcy; Sutherland, playing a Boer, Ben Du Toit, opens the door, walks out of the house, and walks to the mailbox. Cut. He walks back into the house. Closes the door. He has to do it all over again. Action! Cut! He has to do it again, and again, and again. Finally, the director is happy with what she’s got. Sutherland relaxes and talks with the director as people prepare for the same shot but from a different position.

All of this happened in the fall of 1987. Donald Sutherland, the great actor, died today at the age of 88.

RIP Donald Sutherland (1935-2024)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Director: Philip Kaufman pic.twitter.com/UNpVTmiQhx

— DepressedBergman (@DannyDrinksWine) June 20, 2024

The news of his parting sent me back not only to the Harare set of A Dry White Season—the first Hollywood-financed flick directed by a Black woman, thus making Sutherland the first (as far I can tell) white Hollywood actor directed by a Black woman—but to the dinner I had with him and the production team at a Chinese restaurant in Harare. It was on, if my memory is true, the second floor of a building in a strip-mall. My sister, who also finagled a small job on the film, was also at this dinner, at the table with Sutherland. He kept asking us questions about the city. He was too busy to explore Harare. What could we tell him about it? We told him everything we could. 

Not long after that dinner, after I left Harare, I saw him on Sounds on Saturday—a show that featured music videos. How had I forgotten he’s the father in my favorite Kate Bush tune, “Cloudbusting”? Indeed, “I wake up crying…” Goodnight, Sutherland. I will always remember you.

The Stranger

Floridians Worried About Governor Leaking Health Info

Floridians worried about Governor leaking health info after shocking email promoting what a great job he is doing!

The post Floridians Worried About Governor Leaking Health Info appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

The Fresh Toast

The Stranger’s morning news roundup.

by Rich Smith

The gays win again: Newcastle’s city council voted two weeks ago not to raise a Pride flag at City Hall. At the time, Mayor Robert Clark said raising the flag would lead to a slippery slope—if they raised the Pride flag, then they’d also have to raise the Hamas flag, a MAGA flag, or even an Antifa flag, KOMO reports. After a flood of people spoke up during public testimony and called bullshit, the council reversed that decision in a 4-3 vote Tuesday and the City put the flag up. But before the vote, the mayor railed against the “hate” in the “midst” of the pride movement and registered his staunch opposition to recognizing the ongoing legacy of slavery and Jim Crow in contemporary society as well as any attempts that seek to repair it. 

Cop stops former deputy mayor in what she called a “stop and frisk”: A Seattle police officer stopped former Senior Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell in Greenwood on Sunday and told her he was checking for stolen vehicles in the area, Publicola reports. Harrell, the mayor’s niece, stepped down in September after reported disagreements with other city leaders about public safety. She says the stop was an example of racial profiling. SPD says the stop was part of the officer’s training and “was made because the [license] plate was obscured by a dark license plate cover,” the department told Publicola.

Mass layoffs at the Everett Herald: The Daily Herald‘s new owners cut more than half of the newsroom’s jobs Wednesday in part of a series of layoffs across Sound Publishing. The company laid off two editors plus 10 reporters, photographers, and designers. The cuts leave just one photographer, no full-time designers or digital staff, and a handful of reporters and editors. Publisher Rudi Alcott claimed “readers won’t notice” changes from the cuts. Lol fuck off. 

🧵(1/5) Today, Carpenter Media Group announced layoffs affecting more than half of newsroom staff @EverettHerald, effective July 1.

This will undoubtedly harm and weaken our newsroom.

Rest assured, we will fight for each and every one of our affected colleagues.

— Everett NewsGuild (@EverettGuild) June 19, 2024

Experts assure us there’s no need to worry about the little earthquakes under Mount St. Helens: Hundreds of small earthquakes below Mount St. Helens signal increasing magma levels beneath our region’s most seismically active volcano, but the United States Geological Survey “emphasized that this increase in activity does not indicate any increased threat or danger associated with the mountain,” KING 5 reports. 

Pierce County deputies shoot, injure man: Deputies shot the man early Wednesday after responding to a call about an argument, though details are unclear. KIRO reports the 911 caller said her brother had a knife, deputies attempted to talk to him, he ran to a shed, and “deputies reported that shots were fired and a man was hit.” The man is now in critical condition.

MAX crash families seek fine, criminal charge against Boeing: Some families of people killed in two Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 say federal officials should fine Boeing $24.8 billion and pursue a criminal charge against the company. The ask comes as the Justice Department began reconsidering a prosecution that paused three years ago after Boeing struck a deal to meet certain safety conditions. Federal prosecutors said in May Boeing did not comply with the terms of that agreement. 

The weather: Yesterday was gorgeous, and today will follow suit. Expect highs near 80 in Seattle today through Saturday. 

Seattle is dying: “Rainier Square … saw robust leasing activity in the first quarter as users ate away at more of the 720,000 square feet that Amazon never occupied,” the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. 

kind of remarkable. when amazon chose not to fill rainier square, it felt like the sky might be falling. one pandemic later and it’s one of the more occupied towers in downtown seattle. good find from @MarcStilesPSBJ https://t.co/8dzIhYc3mi

— alex halverson (@AlexPSBJ) June 19, 2024

Holocaust Center for Humanity vandalized: Someone wrote “Genocide in Gaza” on the window of the Holocaust Center in Belltown and the police are now investigating the vandalism as a hate crime, KOMO reports. Quit fucking tagging Jewish institutions; you’re co-opting an anti-genocide movement with antisemitic nonsense. 

43rd Legislative District Dems condemn Democratic Congressman Adam Smith: On a podcast, Rep. Smith called protesters who shouted him down at a recent town hall and others who protested at his house “leftwing fascists” and “totalitarians” who only aim to intimidate and silence those who disagree with them on, you know, not sending weapons to Israel, a country currently slaughtering en masse people it has caged in an open-air prison for years. In a recent meeting, the 43rd LD Dems called bullshit on Smith’s remarks, censured him, and reaffirmed the rights of peaceful protesters. 

Sue Rahr is ready to lead on good vibes: The new interim chief of the Seattle Police Department tells the local Fox affiliate that she’s “getting great ideas from the front line.” Rahr describes herself as a “coach” who doesn’t plan to “strap on a gun belt and pretend that I’m still competent to work the streets” and won’t be extending her six-month stay. 

I really need the polls to do something different:

Donald Trump is currently beating Biden in the polls, despite the fact that his campaign aired no advertisements in May, while the president flooded swing states with propaganda.

And Biden’s air advantage won’t hold: Trump is closing the fundraising gap https://t.co/ygJrEvfZOZ pic.twitter.com/OImfGmHCXT

— Eric Levitz (@EricLevitz) June 19, 2024

Get off of my cloud: Wall Street freaks and Silicon Valley goons obsessed with trying to find One Weird Trick to solve every problem are paying University of Washington scientists to brighten clouds, but earlier this month yet another city told the researchers to leave their clouds the fuck alone, Politico reports. The scientists think brightening the clouds will reflect some sunlight away from the Earth and help reduce global warming, which might be true, but imagine if these philanthropists spent as much money trying to get Congress to pass a Green New Deal as they did on this shit. 

SCOTUS rulings: Today the Supreme Court upheld a tax on unrealized gains, which would be good news for wealth tax supporters if Justice Kavanaugh hadn’t written the opinion so narrowly. In another ruling, the clerics decided that prosecutors can use testimony about what “most people” do against defendants. Many people are saying that’s dumb.  

Anyway, the cases I’m still waiting on are:
Trump immunity, J6 terrorists on obstruction, Chevron deference, Guns for domestic abusers, and how close to death women have to be before they are allowed to receive medical care.

Am I missing anything else big?

— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) June 20, 2024

Big news: Lily Munster’s (née Dracula) dental bridge sold at auction. The hot-tempered Munster matriarch’s mouth gear went for $1,040. Halloween is just around the corner. 

These kids don’t need Jesus, they need math teachers: On Wednesday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed a blatantly unconstitutional law requiring schools to display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms, the Washington Post reports. The law requires the displays to be “at least eleven inches by fourteen inches,” and schools must use “donated posters or spend donated money, rather than public funds, to purchase the displays.” US News and World Report ranks Louisiana K-12 education as 40th in the country. Landry says he “cant wait” to be sued. 

Moses Ten Commandments – Mel Brooks . . . pic.twitter.com/9CvtE2dvKO

— Funny Video Express (@FunnyVideoXP) April 16, 2024

Draft parity talks reemerge: Members of Congress will mull a Senate proposal to extend the selective service requirement to women, and another proposal to automatically register men between the ages of 18 and 25 for the service, according to the New York Times. Republicans like the latter proposal but don’t like the former. Honestly, making women eligible for the draft and even bringing it back sounds like a good way to make people care about foreign policy in more serious ways and reduce the power of The Blob, which would probably make the world a less violent place. 

Israel v Lebanon war heats up: Yesterday Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “threatened to invade northern Israel if a full-scale war with Israel broke out,” and Israel said that “operational plans for an offensive in Lebanon had been ‘approved and validated,'” according to the BBC. Hezbollah will stop if Israel signs the ceasefire agreement, but Netanyahu wants more war. A full-scale invasion of Lebanon could draw Iran into the war, which would draw the US into the war even more than we already are, and death and destruction would spread. 

Houthis sink another vessel in the Red Sea: Last week Houthi fighters attacked a Greek ship, and that ship has now sunk, Al Jazeera reports. Houthis have been attacking ships with drones and explosives in an attempt to pressure Israel into agreeing to a ceasefire. They’ve hit some US ships, and in response we’ve conducted 400 airstrikes on Yemen, a strategy that doesn’t appear to be working. 

I leave you with Phil Cordell’s “Red Lady.” Enjoy the sun!

The Stranger

In October of last year, a deaf transgender woman filed a complaint against three Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers for misgendering her and handcuffing her when they involuntarily committed her to a hospital in 2019.

by Ashley Nerbovig

In October of last year, a deaf transgender woman filed a complaint against three Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers for misgendering her and handcuffing her when they involuntarily committed her to a hospital in 2019. A witness, who was a pastor and friend to the woman, called the officers’ reaction “over the top and aggressive.” However, for the most part, the Seattle police officers involved followed SPD policy during the interaction, in part because SPD policies regarding interactions with deaf people fall short of US Department of Justice best practices around handcuffing deaf people. 

On April 6, 2019, three Seattle Police officers–Nicholas Evans, Brandon McDougald, and Student Officer Alexander Lam–responded to a call about a person yelling at staff and customers inside a Big 5 in White Center. Officers arrived at the sporting goods store and spoke with employees, who said that the woman, Raticia Austring, had paid for a tent and a propane stove, but she grew frustrated when employees refused to sell her a knife, according to body-worn video reviewed and transcribed by the Office of Police Accountability (OPA). Employees said Austring wrote down threats. In an interview with OPA, Austring denied threatening employees.

When officers arrived at the store, they spoke with Austring, who wrote down that she’d paid for her items. Officer Evans responded verbally that they understood she paid for the items, but that she needed to leave the store. Austring left, taking her items and walking into the parking lot, but then she walked back to the officers. A moment later, Highline United Methodist Church Pastor Jennifer Partch, who had driven Austring to the Big 5, joined them. 

Over the next few minutes, Partch explained that Austring was deaf, a woman, and had schizophrenia. Partch also told officers that Cascade Behavioral Hospital doctors had discharged her from the hospital about two weeks earlier, and that she had been doing well and taking her medication up until a few days before, but then someone stole her backpack with her medication in it. Partch went on to explain that Austring was unhoused, that she’d been starting to decompensate after she lost her medication, and that the church had struggled to find a way to refill her prescription. 

McDougald then called for an ASL interpreter, who never arrived. After speaking with Partch, McDougald decided to involuntarily commit Austring, and Partch agreed.  

Meanwhile, Evans said that if Austring’s hand jerked one more time, then he’d put her in handcuffs. The transcription notes that she tried to use sign language throughout the interaction. Additionally, up to this point, nothing in the transcription indicated that Austring acted violently toward officers–at worst she asked one officer for a hug and repeatedly flipped them off. Soon after Evans made the comment about handcuffs, Austring tried to walk away, which officers had previously allowed her to do. Lam and Evans grabbed her, and Lam said, “Stay here,” a command Austring could not hear. At that point, the officers put her hands behind her back and handcuffed her. 

McDougald then radioed back to his sergeant, telling him that Austring “got pretty violent,” and he misgendered her in the process. When OPA later questioned his description of Austring as violent, he argued that she had approached officers’ faces and then tried to walk away.

After handcuffing Austring, the officers took the her to a bench and continued to give her verbal orders, according to the OPA narrative. No officers gave their commands to Austring in writing. When they got her on the bench Lam began to search Austring and did not ask Partch, who continued to try to write down things for Austring, to write and explain what Lam planned to do. Lam also did not offer for a woman officer to conduct the search. When Austring stood up and tried to resist a cop sticking his hands in her pockets with no explanation, the officers pushed Austring back down, according to the transcription. 

In the OPA narrative, Evans began to yell at Austring, and told her to “knock it off.” The OPA investigator noted that Evans appeared to be angry and told Austring, “We’re not playing games with you.” In an apparent response to Evans’s frustration, Partch reminded the cop that Austring was completely deaf and could not hear the officer. Evans said “okay,” but also seemed not to fully understand, as he made a comment about Austring being partially able to hear. When Evans later spoke with an OPA investigator, he continued to assert that Austring could at least partially hear him.

When the EMTs arrived to transport Austring to Harborview Medical Center, the OPA investigator notes in the body-worn video narrative that Austring appeared upset, and as Partch tried to comfort her, Austring began to cry. Evans told the EMTs to put a spit hood on Austring, and they obliged. Austring moved to the gurney without incident, and then the EMTs strapped her down. 

“Nothing Humane About This”

In an interview with The Stranger, Partch said she never understood why the officers became so aggressive with Austring. The whole interaction started out pretty relaxed, with the five of them standing around. Then they told Austring to sit down, or to stay, and when she wouldn’t the whole interaction took a sudden turn. 

Through an interpreter service, Austring told The Stranger in an interview that from what she remembered about that night she probably “embarrassed myself, to be honest” when she went into the store, but she never threatened employees, and she tried to explain to the officers what happened when they arrived, but the lack of an interpreter limited her ability to communicate with the cops. Then they handcuffed her hands behind her back and she couldn’t say anything anymore. 

The OPA investigator noted that while McDougald had two short, written exchanges with Austring, after that, no officer used pen and paper to communicate with Austring. McDougald said the inability to communicate with Austring led to officers putting her in handcuffs.

Austring became more agitated after the officers handcuffed her, and Partch said she remembers just writing over and over for Austring to “please calm down” and trying to keep Austring focused on her.

In a phone interview, Partch said she was surprised at how rough the officers became, especially when they “slammed” her down on the bench. Reflecting back on that night, she added that she had a very naive idea of what an involuntary commitment would mean for Austring, calling the process “terrorizing.”

“Watching how they strapped her down, and put the spit hood over her, I was just like, there is nothing humane about this,” Partch said.

At the time, Partch had hoped an involuntary commitment would mean that the officers could take Austring to a hospital and the doctors could stabilize her. And while that is what happened, Partch called it “a heck of a way to have to get your meds.” Washington’s mental health system pushes people into a point of crisis, when a walk-in clinic or easier access to medications could have avoided all of this, Partch said. 

After that night, Partch visited Austring at the hospital. Austring thought Partch’s arrival meant she could leave, which made her happy, but she ended up spending two weeks at the hospital before doctors would release her back to Highline United Methodist Church. Austring lived at the church for about two years, during which time the church worked hard to connect her with case workers, finally securing her a housing voucher. Now Austring lives on her own. 

Still, Austring called the way SPD handled her that evening “wrong.” In 2023, she decided to file a complaint against the officers.

The OPA investigated and found the officers violated policy in not fully documenting Austring’s side of the story, for leaving some of her money on the ground, and for McDougald failing to address Austring by her correct pronouns. The OPA found the evidence inconclusive on whether Evans had a duty to offer Austring a woman officer to search her instead of a man, because the OPA determined it was unclear whether Evans knew Austring was transgender. The OPA did not investigate Lam, as he was only a student officer at the time.

Regardless of the OPA findings, the officers cannot face any discipline as the department’s contract with its police union prevents SPD from taking any disciplinary action for complaints that are more than four years old, unless the complaints involve criminal conduct. The involuntary commitment happened in April 2019, and Austring did not file a complaint until October 2023, missing the window by about six months. The OPA did recommend more training on professionalism for McDougald. 

Update: SPD responded with a copy of the internal handbook for officers, which tells officers to consider handcuffing deaf people in front of their bodies rather than behind them, to allow a deaf person to communicate via sign language or in writing. Nothing in the OPA indicates why officers handcuffed Austring behind her back. 

The Stranger

Watching Porn Can Lead To Three Relationship Issues

While 66% of men do it, too much watching porn can lead to three relationship issues. Here are suggestions.

The post Watching Porn Can Lead To Three Relationship Issues appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

The Fresh Toast

See someone? Say something!

by Anonymous

Fat Shack Sunday after 10p 6/16

You were there with 3 friends. We kept making eyes while you were waiting to order, and especially when you walked to your table. We sat back to back.

Scooter Cutie in Apartment Elevator

I was rushing to dinner when I got off the elevator while you got on w/ your scooter. Made eye contact and both did a double take as the door closed

t dock cutie

to the cutie in the blue two piece & white crocs at t dock on friday: i was reading across from u in a black bikini. what book were u lost in?

Three cool d*kes (?) on the bar at the DIIV show

Cool seeming dyke looking individuals at the DIIV show. My girlfriend and I (lesbians) were behind/ next to y’all and wanna be friends :~)

Southgate Karaoke

You: short fire red hair singing Chappell Roan at queer night. Me: instantly swooning. Skate together next time?

City Market man with a golden dog

Me in a red leather trench, on the way to a date. You stopped me with a sweet & simple compliment. I wish the date would have been with you instead.

Shooting bubbles out of your car in Denny traffic

You light worker, you. Rebelliously shooting a bubble gun into otherwise enervating traffic on the Denny bridge, and I’ll never know why. Thanks girly

Neon Pink Fixie Goddess

You: Riding your bike up Harvard Ave from the University Bridge on 6/9. Me: Driving and my heart skipped a beat. Would buy you a cold bevy anytime.

Is it a match? Leave a comment here or on our Instagram post to connect! 

Did you see someone? Say something! Submit your own I Saw U message here and maybe we’ll include it in the next roundup!

The Stranger

Marijuana and Mysticism

Summer solstice is a time to connect with the planet, the sun, spiritss. Here is a guide to marijuana and mysticism.

The post Marijuana and Mysticism appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

The Fresh Toast

Plus, (G)I-DLE and More Event Updates for June 20

by EverOut Staff

Pop princess Sabrina Carpenter is going on tour this fall ‘cause she’s a singer—we can’t wait to hear her “Nonsense” outro for Seattle. Eighties alt-rock phenoms the Psychedelic Furs and the Jesus and Mary Chain have announced a joint tour with a stop in Seattle this October. Plus, K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE is bringing their i-DOL tour to Tacoma. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use.

ON SALE FRIDAY, JUNE 21

MUSIC

Abhi the Nomad
Neumos (Sun Sept 29)

Andra Day
The Showbox (Tues Sept 24)

Asim Azhar x AUR: The World Tour 2024
The Showbox (Sun Aug 25)

The Stranger

Put down the Dasani, and step away from the bottle.

The post Watch: A ‘water sommelier’ pairs joints, bongloads, and dabs with the right H20 appeared first on Leafly.

Leafly