The Insider: Movie puts Paul Allen in an alien environment

But who imagined that America's third-wealthiest man, Mercer Island resident Paul Allen, was so different as to be the front man for aliens bent on conquering Earth?


		Galaxaco Studios
	An actor playing Paul Allen bonds with an alien overlord, in a scene from Alex Mayer's new movie, "Paul Alien."

Perhaps only Alex Mayer, the Seward Park-based creator of "Paul Alien," a new movie that he said proves Allen is collaborating with 2-foot-tall aliens known as Skoolabugs, from the planet Zorkon.

"In a rare interview, media-shy Paul Allen admits that he plans to turn Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood into an intergalactic launch pad," Mayer says on his direct-to-DVD movie's Web site, www.paulalien.com.

The movie, a mock documentary, will be available soon through Amazon.com.

Mayer, 39, a freelance graphic designer and the publisher of the free monthly "Belltown Messenger," said he got the idea for the film when "its name just popped into my head."

He said he doesn't know whether Allen has seen the spoof or, if so, what he thought of it.

Allen didn't respond to a request for comment.

"The best response would be that he gets upset and I get publicity out of it," Mayer said. "If you're an independent filmmaker without a marketing budget, you need to get attention somehow."

SPEED DATING FOR JOB SEEKERS: The economy is picking up and so too are the strategies recruiters are using to attract job candidates.

Three fast-growing Seattle-area startup companies -- Judy's Book, Mpire and Zillow -- recently hosted a recruiting party at the Eastlake Bar and Grill in which they attempted to find the best and the brightest.

Dubbed "5-Minute Jobbing," the event was loosely based on the concept of speed dating where singles attempt to quickly determine if they are right for one another. In this case, the job seekers and employers were trying to see if they made a good match.

Annie Rihn, director of recruiting at Zillow, said that the event was a huge success with about 60 developers, software engineers and other technical workers showing up. Of the 60, Rihn said she interviewed 13 candidates and made offers to two.

The event cost just $1,000 per company -- most of which went to booze, food and the bar rental.

"We figured it is a tight market, and we are all competing for candidates, so why not join forces," said Rihn in comments made last week at the Northwest Recruiters Association meeting.

IT'S THE WATER: Are you an environmentalist who loves beer?

Olympia-based Fish Brewing Co. is rolling out Clean Water Ale, a light bodied Northwest-style pale ale that uses domestic and organic malts.

Lyle Morse, president of the 12-year-old brewery, said the name is a play on words of the Clean Water Act which is used to protect waterways throughout the United States.

And what about the water in Clean Water Ale?

"We are in Olympia, by golly, so it is artesian water from McAllister Springs," said Morse, referring to one of the legendary springs that dot the area and also helped flavor Olympia beer for years.

Clean Water Ale, which was introduced this past weekend at the Olympia Oktoberfest, will be sold in restaurants and bars with a portion of the proceeds donated to the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance.

THE HIP HOPTIONARY: Fo'shizzle my nizzle. Struggling to understand that popular Snoop Dogg saying or other hip hop terms?

Never fear. Help is on the way.

Bellevue wireless software maker UIEvolution is working with Mobile Lingo to create the Hip Hoptionary, a dictionary that allows mobile phone users to find definitions of terms such as "Def," "Phat" and "Holla."

MORE OSPREY TROUBLE: The Boeing Co. and Bell Helicopter Textron have been asked to pull an advertisement for their CV-22 Osprey that shows soldiers rappelling from the tilt rotor aircraft onto the roof of a mosque.

The ad "clearly portrays special forces assaulting a mosque, a structure dedicated to civilian worship purposes," the Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a letter sent Friday to executives of the two companies that build the Osprey.

"This advertisement reflects poorly on Bell Helicopter Textron and Boeing, and offers a questionable picture of your companies' collective opinion of Islam and Muslims," the letter said.

In a statement posted on Boeing's Web site, Mary Foerster, Boeing vice president for Integrated Defense Systems Communications, apologized for the ad.

"We consider the ad offensive, regret its publication and apologize to those who like us are dismayed with its contents," she said

Textron spokesman Michael Cox said the company decided to replace the ad when it became clear that it "caused discomfort," according to a report from Bloomberg news.

"Despite our directive to the National Journal to replace the ad, it was not replaced as requested, which resulted in its publication this week," Cox said in a statement.

The council, in a statement, said National Journal Vice President Elizabeth Baker Keffer blamed the mixup on a "clerical error on our part."

The ad has this headline: "It descends from the heavens. Ironically, it unleashes hell." The copy block for the ad says "The CV-22 delivers special forces to insertion points never thought possible."

The controversial Osprey, a program that has survived several test crashes, is not yet in operational service with U.S. forces.

In the ongoing Iraq conflict, insurgents have often used mosques around that country to store weapons and attack coalition forces.

The ad, published in the Sept. 24 issue of National Journal magazine, can be viewed at www.cair.com/mosqueattackad.pdf.

P-I reporters John Cook and Dan Richman contributed to this edition of The Insider, the P-I business staff's weekly compendium of quips, quotes, observations asides, tidbits, weird facts and gossip.

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