weekly weekly report (part 2): SITH edition
And we’re back, with the regular * rundown of what to read in the weekly papers. Special note to those who deal mainly in newsprint: this week features a brand new design at the Stranger’s website. Although change is usually scary and bad, this version improves the readability a bit (possibly breaks all old links to the site’s archives) and introduces a “Slog” a Stranger Blog.
| The Stranger | Seattle Weekly |
| emerging themes |
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| Reading the weeklies every week is something like following a television drama. And every season needs a recurring plot arc. It’s becoming clear that this summer’s Teen Dance Ordinance / Build the Monorail / Lift the Poster Ban / etc. storyline is bound to be Broadway Height Restrictions. For a while it looked like Microsoft Hating the Gays had a chance at long-term recurring story status, but with their re-reversal of position the story seems to be cooling. This week’s issue features two brief mentions — one as an article [#] and another as a column [#]. |
Conveniently enough, the Seattle Weekly takes something of counterpoint. You can pretty much count on finding an article or column arguing against Nickels and his plans to usher in an era of more skyscrapers or density or streetcars. This week’s “Mossback” takes up the charge [#], questioning the wisdom of the city’s founders who originally called our city “New York Alki.” |
| B-story: Religion | |
| Like the reality show contestant who wins by “flying under the radar,” Religion is also vying for a supporting role in the contest for summer stage time. Popping up in the Stranger in stories about the Micah Painter sentencing [#], as a warning in “Police Beat” [#], and as a sort of feature story about young people praying like crazy [#], God could be the one to watch this season. |
The Seattle Weekly also continues its commitment to following the God story with a follow up this week on yet another weird Washington worship story [#]. Regular readers may remember the New Gnostic Church as one of the Weekly’s creepy cover stories from a couple weeks ago. I’m sure it was even accompanied by a provocative headline. |
| insert vs. insert |
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| It’s pretty amazing what the pull-out section says about the character of each weekly. The Stranger includes the already-mentioned monster SIFF Notes [#] as well as a guide to Sasquatch, which will be very helpful in navigating the way too many great acts playing at the Gorge next weekend. |
In the next newsbin, the Seattle Weekly features a pamphlet all about the Northwest Folklife Festival. My devotion to recapping the weeklies is no match for my deeply held conviction to avoid all things Folklife; so this section was immediately discarded. |
| other highlights |
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| A preview of Juliette Lewis’s band that considers her filmography as motivation to rock [#]; a tiny article about the brewing poster wars [#]; and a series of funny trading card/vignettes from Team Tinkle [#]. |
The Weekly lets everyone know about a production of Hamlet performed by tiny plastic ninjas on video [#], which sounds totally amazing; as well as a call to arms to the Seattle Art Museum to recruit a superstar curator [#]. |
| Sith Report (spoiler: two thumbs up) |
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| Bradley Steinbacher celebrates the relative kid-unfriendliness of Revenge of the Sith. Representative sentences proving his fanboy status: “It ain’t The Empire Strikes Back, but then again, it ain’t Return of the Jedi either. And let’s be clear: As atrocious as the Phantom Menace turned out to be, it was Episode VI, with its unforgivable ewoks and equally unforgivable dud of a climax (Not to mention the shameful snuffing of Boba Fett), that first spelled doom for the series.” [#] |
Brian Miller vaguely recommends a viewing of the final installation of the Star Wars mythology, too. Amid the quibbles about politics and executions, he makes some interesting points: “Sith is the greatest, grandest DVD featurette ever made; a nice setting to the jewel in the crown that is the ‘77 original” [Ed: sorry, Empire is the crown jewel of the series], “John Williams’ [sic] thrilling score actually gives all six movies more thematic continuity than their scripts”, and “There among the mourners is Jar Jar, and Lucas doesn’t even let him open his mouth. So there really is A New Hope.” [#] |
* a nice way of saying that the slow and painful war of attrition is not yet over, as far as the w.w.r. is concerned.
