Savage Love Headed For Your Radio

Look out, Seattle. Dan Savage, the columnist who writes "Savage Love," a racy advice column for The Stranger, is about to take to the airwaves. "Savage Love Live," a call-in talk show, will debut at 10 p.m. Sept. 11 on KCMU-FM.

For a time, it looked as if Seattle might have to forego Savage's views on life, love and the pursuit of happiness.

Earlier this year, the advice columnist set up a production company, Virtual Empire, to put together the talk show. The company's executive producer, Thad Wilson, promptly signed up three stations outside the state (in Honolulu, L.A. and the Bay Area) to carry the show.

But weeks went by and local stations seemed to be sitting this one out.

Wilson lamented in June, "None of us can understand it. Here's a columnist who has 45,000 readers. This is a city that is on the cutting edge of the music scene, but is incredibly conservative when it comes to radio. There's a hole in talk radio you could drive a truck through."

Then came the agreement with KCMU, which will air the show for three hours every Sunday night. Wilson says Savage's radio show will be "somewhat less brash" than his column, which offers, well, no-holds-barred advice. Don't be surprised if it's the talk of the town.

X marks the spot: Generation Xers have been complaining about their image as "slackers," preferring to be identified as almost anything else (students, 20somethings and so on). Are the Generation X stereotypes fair?

The image issue is bringing National Public Radio to - where else? - Seattle, capital of the youth culture. "Talk of the Nation," the nationwide call-in show, will broadcast live from the HUB Auditorium at the University of Washington Sept. 8.

KUOW-FM's Gordon Black, who is helping coordinate, is looking for 18- to 28-year-olds to participate in the live forum. Other age groups also are invited. (For details, call Black at 685-1136.)

Catching code: Whether or not you approve of the Seattle School Board's vote to allow schools to adopt dress codes, you may have difficulty with the reasoning of School Board member Jan Shellgren.

Shellgren and Al Sugiyama were the only "nays" on last Wednesday's vote. Shellgren's logic: Parents who have bought expensive clothing for their children (starter jackets cost up to $200) might be angry if their school bans the popular jackets without warning.

How's that again?

Ethnic ethos: Northwest Ethnic News editor Sarah Sarai signs her column "Ethno Babe." This summer, as in summers past, Ethno Babe has had help from intern Vera Tung, who is here on break from Boston's Emerson College.

Lately Tung has taken to calling herself "Ethno Baby."

Name game: Make room for yet another aptronym (right name for the job). One of the personal-fitness trainers at the Seattle Club is Alison Strong.

Eye do: How do you inspire a team to win? One coach - a guy whose Richmond Junior Football League team in North King County lost every game last season - has made a promise to his players.

If they win a game this year, he's promised to take out and show them his artificial eye.

Jean Godden's column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the Local News section of The Times. Her phone is 464-8300.