Seth Kolloen

The documentary Crude tells the story of a multi-million dollar lawsuit filed against Texaco by indigenous Ecuadoreans who claim that oil exploration destroyed their environment and gave them cancer.

A lifetime ago, I lived in Ecuador, on a oil exploitation site, for six months. I was not there to dig for oil; I was following spider monkeys as a field assistant on a primatologist's research project. The oil company's road provided access to the site.

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By this time, the oil companies had largely cleaned up their act. Sure, sometimes the ground would steam from the heat of the oil pipeline running beneath it, but you didn't see the large scale dumping apparent in Crude, which is centered in the part of the Amazon that was still jungle 30 years ago, when American oil companies started drilling there.

They and subsequent exploration companies, including the government-run PetroEcuador, did not do a stellar job of cleaning up their mess, and now lawyers, indigenous rights activists, and documentary filmmakers and Sting's wife are involved.

Filmmaker Joe Berlinger doesn't editorialize. As in his previous documentaries, including Brother's Keeper (about two mentally-deficient brothers accused of murder) and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (about tension within the rock supergroup), he lets the principles of the story speak for themselves. Which is probably why his documentaries are the only ones I can stand.

Give Michael Moore this movie and he's showing up at Texaco HQ with a oil-slicked capybara. Berlinger shows us an indigenous Ecuadorean preparing to testify at the Texaco shareholders' meeting--but he also shows you a New York City lawyer writing the indigenous man's speech the night before.

The movie's most touching scene shows a indigenous woman who is trying to raise money for her teenage daughter's cancer treatment. She tries to raise chickens, but the chickens die from drinking the contaminated ground water--the water that she believes gave her daughter cancer in the first place. Mom cries from powerlessness and fear. You cry too, and silently vow to drive a lot less.

It's a fascinating story, going from court arguments in the rain in the middle of the jungle, to the slum-like home of the lead Ecuadorean lawyer, to conference room of an American law firm, to a Sting concert at Giants Stadium. None of these threads are superfluous, they are all part of the story--a story which, at its heart, is just a bunch of people who need clean water or they'll die.

 

• Crude is playing at the Varsity in the U District today through Thursday. Visit the completely stupid Landmark Theaters site for showtimes and tickets.

Soon-to-be Division I basketballers Seattle U showed off a sharp-looking new court last night at KeyArena, part of a ticket-sales-event cum media-event cum scrimmage. One benefit of KeyArena for the Redhawks: the seats are already red. All that was left was to create a Seattle U court, which was painted over the summer and laid down for the first time just in the past few days.

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Pretty sweet, huh? Up in the media room, they had sandwiches and beer, and also longtime sports radio host Dave Grosby, who'll be doing the play-by-play of every Redhawks game, home and away, on 710 ESPN.

This won't be Grosby's first time with nascent DI program; as a teenager, his radio-executive Dad got him a gig as play-by-play man for Iona University. Iona was coached by a young, unknown go-getter named Jim Valvano, Valvano took the Gaels from DI upstarts to nationally-ranked in just a few seasons.

Charles Garcia, Seattle U's top player

"He was a master recruiter," Grosby told me. "He got (future NBA star Jeff) Ruland when top schools wanted him."

Recruiting is the key, in Grosby's view, and because Seattle U has hired one of the best recruiters in college hoops as their coach in former UW assistant Cameron Dollar, he thinks they could be winning sooner than people think.

One benefit of Dollar's recruiting prowess was on display down on the new court: forward Charles Garcia. The JC transfer, originally scheduled to attend Washington, went to Seattle U instead and will clearly be the focal point of this team. Garcia is 6-10, but fast and athletic. He can guard in the perimeter and in the post, and can score inside and out. He will be the most talented player on the floor in many of SU's games this year (especially against Harvard) -- a benefit the school rarely had last year.

Garcia is fun to watch--as tall and athletic as he is, he can play above the rim to an extent not seen in Seattle U basketball this century.

The ticket sales part of the event seemed to be going well. At halftime of the scrimmage, Seattle U AD Bill Hogan announced that they'd sold 100 season seats at the event. My Seattle U alum friend is getting on the phone today to buy seats, he wants "to get in on the ground floor of this, then in 20 years, once SU is the new Gonzaga, I will be sitting pretty." (Literally!)

There are scads of sweet seats available, and at a very, very reasonable price--$40 gets you a season ticket in one of the first few rows behind the basket. With 13 home games on the schedule, that's barely $3/ticket. Or be a "high-roller" and get two seats at center court for just $225. Here's the link to their ticket page if you're interested.

And who knows, you could find yourself sitting next to Seattle U legend and former NBAer Tom Workman!

Seattle songwriter Ali Marcus asks me to bring a guitar to the lesson she's going to give me, which worries me a little because my guitar is embarrassing. It was a birthday gift from my mom to my sister. Fifteen years later, I've ended up with the thing: a cheapo classical guitar with nylon strings. I play Beatles songs on it, with guidance from Chordie. Which in itself is slightly embarrassing. Sometimes I sing songs I wrote after a long-ago breakup. Those are very embarrassing. I never, ever, play for anyone but myself.

Ali Marcus plays Portland farmers markets and Brooklyn lounges and Santa Cruz crepe shops and Guemes Island general stores. Saturday she's playing at a farm. I think she just loves playing music, which is why when we sit down for the lesson, in the living room of the two-story Greenwood house she rents a room in, she seems to be having fun despite having to instruct a dunderhead writer playing a love song built around a football metaphor on a crappy hand-me-down guitar.

"That was really good," Ali exults after I finish the first-ever public performance of "Mr. Instant Replay Referee." (Don't ask.)

We start talking about how a song writer like herself might take the (extremely) basic structure of this song and turn it into something more interesting.

She gives me a brief but very helpful primer on the basic chord structure of songs--something I understood innately but never comprehended on a conscious level. Then she explains what notes go into the chords and how to change them up to give your song a different style.

She has me play my song in minor keys instead of major ones. I'm dubious but try.

"Wow! I never even knew you could do that," I say. "Gives it an entirely different atmosphere. Sounds sort of ominous now."

I ask if this is what she does when she writes songs--fiddle around with different chords to find the effect she's looking for. The answer is affirmative.

"I usually start with words and then build a song around them," she tells me.

Later Ali shows me the master list of songs that lives on a wall above her futon bed. Each song gets its own yellow note. She arranges the songs in the order she wants to play them in shows, so the yellow notes are arranged in long vertical lists.

Down below, not living in any list, are a group of about eight songs. I ask what they are.

"These are the songs I will never play again," Ali tells me.

But she'll take bits and pieces from them--melodies, lines, words, chords--to make new songs.

"Like recycling!" I offer.

Lesson over, I gather my notes and return to a brighter songwriting future. I think my audience (that is, me) is going to be impressed.

 

• Ali will be playing many of her songs--some recycled, some not--at Fall City Farms on Saturday. She'll be playing closer to Seattle on November 14, at the new Empty Sea Studios in Phinney Ridge. She also gives private lessons. If you're interested, hit her up at alimarcus (at) the gmail service.

The Mariners' accountants are staggering into work late yesterday morning after a night of wild celebration--the team announced Monday that veteran catcher Kenji Johjima, who lost his starting job this season, has decided to opt out of the next two years of his contract, which would've paid him a total of $16 million.

"He walks completely on his contract here, and we start fresh," Johjima's agent told the Times. The Mariners now owe Johjima nothing, not even COBRA coverage.

Why would Johjima do it? This was my question to childhood friend David as we watched the two amazing baseball playoff games Monday night at the Roanoke.

"Well, he's already made a ton of money," David said.

True. Johjima played 11 years in the Japanese league, and made more than $25 million in his four seasons as a Mariner. But. Still. $16 million! How can you walk away from that?

Mariner GM Jack Zduriencik repeatedly characterized Johjima's choice as a "personal decision"--as if there is any other kind. The real question is, why make it? Why give up, essentially, a winning lottery ticket?

1) Maybe Johjima wanted to play every day.

He wasn't going to here, not with the M's ready to audition 25-year-old Adam Moore. The M's also have defensive specialist Rob Johnson, who both Wakamatsu and the pitching staff seemed more comfortable with. In Japan, he's got teams falling all over him.

2) Maybe Johjima felt honor-bound to ditch his absurd contract.

The three-year extension Johjima signed in April of '07 was ordered by Japanese management. (Don't get too down on those dudes, they also ordered the M's to sign Ichiro.) Maybe Johjima felt that he wasn't holding up his end of the bargain?

3) Maybe there's something more titillating going on.

The last big Japanese star to abruptly leave the Mariners, Kaz Sasaki, said he was ditching a guaranteed $8.5 million to spend more time with his family. Instead, he wanted to spend more time with this foyne model/actress, who he divorced his wife for and has already had two kids with. 

I don't suppose we'll ever know what prompted Johjima to walk away from $16 million--maybe it was a combination of things. Still...I'm trying to figure out what would make me walk away from that amount of money and I'm having a tough time figuring it out. Props to you, Mr. Johjima, for not being a slave to the businessman.

Hasselbeck's already worn the Redskins' colors

The NFL trading deadline is today, and with even Seahawks' coach Jim Mora admitting the playoffs are out of reach, it's time to build for the future.

That future probably won't include aging QB Matt Hasselbeck: Maybe the Hawks should unload him? That's what childhood friend Jason suggested yesterday, sparking off a spirited Seahawks roundtable.

Jason: Would it be crazy to try to trade Hasselbeck to the Redskins for a couple of picks right now? They need a QB and we're not going to be good until his back is done.

Me: I like it! Except they have the same problem we do--no offensive line.

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David: This would be insane for Washington to do. They are going to have high draft picks, why would they trade those for an old quarterback who they can't protect? Bad teams should not try and get older, see the mid 2000s Mariners. So Matthew and Zorn can be reunited for ten weeks?

Jason: Remember that they are owned by Dan Snyder. He's Al Davis for our generation.

David: The phrase "owned by Dan Snyder" trumps any rational argument.

Seth: What would you take for Hasselbeck? I'd take a first round and a three.

Jason: A first plus any other round.

David: I agree with Jason, a first and anything. We have two first rounders (f*** you Denver), another second rounder would give us a nice draft.

Jason: I'm fine with that. Dan Snyder makes 2-3 horrible moves every offseason, why can't he make one more during the season--we can use the "Bringing Zorn and Hasselbeck together again will be magical" sales job.

So, there you have it--Hasselbeck to the 'Skins for a first-rounder and anything else is approved by the roundtable. Your move, Tim Ruskell.

You may have seen that the only decent play of the Seahawks game was a fake punt and pass by Hawks' punter Jon Ryan, the NFL's best Canadian. 

My Denver Broncos fan friend Cody sent this via email:

New QB? Stats do not lie...

 

You, sir, are no Rusty Tillman

I already wrote about the Huskies' unconscionable last-second blunder against Arizona State, which I assumed would be the only completely incompetent play one of my teams would make this weekend.

Instead, the Seahawks treated me to another one. After Arizona opened the game with a long touchdown drive, they blooped their kickoff short. Seahawks backup tight end John Owens, instead of catching the live ball, ran forward to block as the ball fell behind him. The Cardinals recovered and scored another touchdown, putting the Hawks in a 14-0 hole before Hasselbeck and the offense had run a single play.

You can see video of that blunder here in the NFL Network's highlight package from the game. (Where you can hear the NFL Network commentator wonder out loud: "What were these guys thinking?")

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The shame of it all is that this blunder occurred on the day that legendary Seahawks special teams coach Rusty Tillman raised the 12th Man flag. Tillman, the first person I ever heard say "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog," supervised a crack Hawks special teams unit in the 1980s, grooming Seahawks legends like Fredd Young and Rufus Porter. Can we make Tillman's appearance more than a one-day thing, maybe?

Coach Sark's approval ratings are down this week

We knew what Husky football coach Steve Sarkisan and his staff's strengths were: Motivating players. Game planning. Firing up fans.

Now, after Washington's dreadful performance against Arizona State, a game lost on the most incompetent football play I have ever seen, we are beginning to see what Sark and his staff aren't so good at: Details. Flexibility. Keeping players under control.

Let's start with that incompetent football play. Arizona State has the ball at midfield with 13 seconds left in a tie game. I'm watching the game on FSN with childhood friend Jason. We see ASU QB Danny Sullivan loft a ball deep toward the goal line. As the camera tracks the ball, we expect to see a phalanx of Washington defensive backs there to knock away the Hail Mary attempt. Instead, we see two Arizona State players alone in the end zone. One, Chris McGaha, catches the ball in stride and scores the winning touchdown. No Huskies are in sight. (Watch it yourself on YouTube.)

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The funny thing is, neither Jason or I really reacted. It was too shocking. If this had happened in a sixth-grade flag football game, you'd be a little annoyed at the kids for failing to be cognizant of the situation. But in Division I college football? Not credible. When one of us did speak it was Jason, appropriating a line from Anchorman: "Heck, I'm not even mad. That's amazing! Nick Holt just pooped a whole wheel of cheese all over the field."

Other reactions I read later on Twitter:

"Pardon me while I go put a fork in my eye."--The Times' Danny O'Neil

"That might have been the worst 1:30 I've ever seen."--KJR's ESPN 710's Mike Salk

And my favorite, from Husky hoopster Isaiah Thomas: "Daaaaaaaaaaaang."

Yup. That about captures it.

Defensive coordinator Nick Holt makes $600K/year

Holt, the assistant coach in charge of the defense, who earns a higher salary than Washington State's head coach, is most at fault for the play. His players should've had clear instructions not to let anyone behind them. Instead, two Sun Devil receivers were wide-open in the end zone. This lapse has caused message board denizens to call for his firing. (Jason emailed me last night: "Why is firenickholt.com still available? Just askin'.")

The excitable Holt is surely a master motivator, but he may be in need of adult supervision during game situations--as he was at USC, where Holt did the hands-on coaching but Pete Carroll called the defensive plays. After ASU's game-winning TD, FSN cameras caught Holt lighting into Husky linebacker E.J. Savannah. Holt screamed at the camera-person to back away. Holt also may have picked up his second 15-yard sideline interference penalty of the season--the Huskies were charged with one, but the refs didn't say who caused it. ESPN's Ted Miller has called Holt out for failing to appear at a post-game press conference, though it's unclear whether reporters requested him.

Sarkisian's weaknesses showed through as well. The fateful play shouldn't even have happened, as UW probably could've run the clock out when they had the ball seconds earlier on their own ten. Or, since they had more than a minute left, they could've tried to drive for the winning score. Instead, Sarkisian tried two running plays, then a long pass that fell incomplete, giving the Sun Devils one more chance on offense. Either run out the clock or don't.

Sark's play-calling lacked flexibility. Arizona State's fast, over-pursuing defense was ripe for some misdirection plays. Dennis Erickson called three reverses, one of which, a reverse pass, went for a touchdown. Sarkisian instead tried to exploit ASU's over pursuit with screen passes, none of which were effective despite repeated attempts.

And, perhaps most egregious, the Huskies played out of control. They committed 12 penalties, totaling 124 yards. Jake Locker threw two interceptions on the same drive, deep in ASU territory. The first was called back due to an ASU penalty. The second came at the goal line on a Tebow-esque run-forward-then-pass that went directly into the hands of a Sun Devils defender.

Next up: Oregon, a team Husky rooters desperately want to beat, a program the Huskies once dominated but haven't defeated (in fact, haven't come within 20 points of) for five years. Sarkisan and co. will earn an avalanche of brownie points with a win over the Ducks. But against Oregon's potent spread option attack, discipline is critical. If the Huskies don't have it again, another Willingham-era beatdown is inevitable. And the Willingham-era discontent will begin to bubble up once again.

By per-hour sports entertainment spending, you'll have a tough time topping tonight's Hec Ed double feature.

At 6 p.m., the #4-ranked Husky volleyballers play the sun-kissed ladies of #12 UCLA. (Why is volleyball awesome? It is the only sport in which your opponent will have a player from Laguna Niguel named "Dicey McGraw".)

 

The Dawgs are coming off their first loss of the season, a five-set defeat last Sunday at then-#7 Stanford.

Tickets for the volleyball match are $9 for reserved seats and $6 for general admission, which ensures you a good seat to the main event, the nationally-televised "Midnight Madness" public Husky hoops practice.

The "Midnight Madness," which you can also watch on ESPNU, will feature a dunk contest, three-point shooting contest, and a scrimmage. (Also, and I'm less excited about this, a "team skit" (?) and "student contests.") 

The hoops event is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., but that depends on how long the volleyball game goes tonight. At 7:15, the gates of Hec Ed will be thrown open to freely admit those who are cheapskates, had early dinner plans, or simply an aversion to volleyball. (I would work to cure that. "Kim Dolphin"! Really!)

This will be Husky fans' first chance to see Abdul Gaddy, the point guard recruit ranked #2 in the nation by Scout.com. Gaddy, a Tacoma kid like fellow Husky star Isaiah Thomas, has drawn rave reviews from Husky teammates for his passing brilliance and unselfish play during summer workouts.

The event is scheduled to last an hour and fifteen minutes, but in my experience with these things I'll bet it'll go at least two hours. Afterward, Husky players will sign autographs for the fans.

We've reached the League Championship Series stage of the baseball playoffs, which will hopefully be more entertaining than the yawner that was the Divisional Series. Three of the four DSs were sweeps, the other only went four games.

The Phillies and Dodgers start their series tonight (5:07 pm, TBS) and ex-Mariner George Sherrill may end up as the key in the series.

The Phillies' three best hitters--Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and another ex-M, Raul Ibanez--all bat left-handed.

You're almost sure to see a late-inning confrontation between one of these three and the lefty Sherrill, who's holding lefty hitters to a .128 average this season.

You also might see Sherrill against the Phils' top pinch-hitter, Matt Stairs.

Other ex-Mariners still playing this postseason: Yankees SS Alex Rodriguez, Angels closer Brian Fuentes, Phillies' utility men Miguel Cairo and Greg Dobbs, and Dodgers reliever Jeff Weaver.