ERICA: You got it right on-the-nose correct! The rest of the Seattle media is being led around by the nose by Mr. Vulcan and his promo machine ["EMPty," Erica C. Barnett, June 17]. Little Paul got to make a museum to his teen-aged fantasies. Proof that too much money, too soon, is wasted on foolish, half-baked adventures. And you're the only one brave enough to trash that ridiculous electronic device they expect you to carry around and point at exhibits. What a joke that whole place is!
L. Stein
M IS FOR (FORMER) MEMBER
TO THE EDITOR: Thanks to The Stranger for its unusually balanced package on EMP--which has really never been a museum at all, although it has been an experience as well as a project. I received a Charter Membership in May 2000, and really wasn't sure what to do with it. I mean, I could get in free, but friends and loved ones still had to pay almost $20 just to enter, and for what? However, unlike Erica C. Barnett, I find Gehry's building at least interesting (although a bar in which you cannot smoke--and must sit on barstools reminiscent of something from the gyno's office--is of questionable purpose). Ultimately, my Charter Membership proved great for getting 10 percent off in the Turntable Restaurant. Which is a really nice restaurant. But forget about anything faintly museum-y at EMP. How many times can you look at Janis Joplin's jeans? They ain't Whistler's Mother.
Lesa Sawahata
P IS FOR PAUL
TO ERICA C. BARNETT: Thanks for exposing the EMPeror's lack of clothing, something the sycophantic journalists in this podunk town all seem loath to do. The truth is, Paul G. Allen is a big kid. He collects memorabilia and with his huge wealth he is able to outbid everybody else on eBay. Rather than stow all of his treasures in a barn somewhere, he was encouraged (no doubt by some smart accountant) to open a "museum" (now TWO museums) and charge people lots of money to look at his stuff. In the bargain he gains himself a big fat tax write-off. Let's be honest: These aren't "museums" in any sense of the word, they're just Paul Allen's public storage locker. As a very rich person determined to become even richer, Allen has never lacked for smart accountants. It's the public that's dumb (as Barnum said).
It's interesting to contrast the two Microsoft founders. Bill and Melinda Gates use their money to fund AIDS research in Africa. Paul Allen buys Gene Simmons' boots. Sign me...
Anonymous (because I don't need any heat from PGA)
NO, P IS FOR PRICEY
EDITOR: Erica Barnett's piece on the failing of the EMP museum was right on target, but I think the most obvious cause is the most simple: the outrageous admission price. A family of four will pay just under $70 for a day at EMP, but only $34 at the Pacific Science Center or Woodland Park Zoo, $38 at the Seattle Aquarium, and $30 for the Children's Museum. When we decide to spend the day down in Seattle, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where we're NOT going.
Visty Lindgren
THE CULTURE OF YES
DEAR SEAN: I wanted to thank you for your article about the EMP ["In Defense of EMP," Sean Nelson, June 17]. It was articulate, thoughtful, and sincere. I find it ironic that, in a city full of music culture, those who "create" music are the last to engage in dialogue about it. I'll never forget the first time I visited the EMP. A father was talking to his kids about the Beatles, and the excitement in their eyes is something too many people in this town have lost. I especially enjoyed your article because, out of all the venues I've played in this town, the people at the Liquid Lounge were the most professional and accommodating. You and Sandeep are the only Stranger writers whose words I put stock in. Not to offend you or your colleagues, but most of them seem either too narrow in their tastes, or inherently dismissive of ideas (a culture of No).
Sameer Shukla
NELSON'S WRITE
TO SEAN NELSON: From the warm defense of the EMP's uniquely defiant structure, through the explanation of Seattle as a smug culture of No, to the spot-on reasons why the EMP has actually been a productive part of the Seattle scene (KEXP, especially), you have once again contributed an outstanding piece of writing to The Stranger. Someone needed to write it, and no one else had or was willing to. Yours is such a necessary voice in local rock write. Please keep up the great work.
Chris Estey
Bandoppler Magazine
neighbors smear
LARRY'S NIGHTCLUB
TO THE EDITOR: Very strange to read Amy Jenniges' June 10th "Pioneer Square Off." Larry's Nightclub, she reports, is deep in wrongdoing, mixing races ("The crowd at Larry's last Saturday night was at least half white") and, oh my God, selling drinks ("a cute girl in tight black pants stood outside... letting passersby know that everything was two bucks..."). Lord, what will they do next, send ugly men in baggy pants to warn away the poor? Or set stout crackers at the door to maintain Seattle's strict nightclub apartheid?
And who are Ms. Jenniges' sources? Well, let's see, we've got "one guy who works at Larry's," "one business owner," "one bouncer," "other bars speculate" (think for the moment, of a "speculating bar"), "a woman who works at another First Avenue bar" (hope she does all her "speculating" into a handkerchief), and, well, you get the drift. Only a few souls have the integrity to identify themselves by name.
Let's face some facts here. In any crowd, no matter the race, there's a set percentage of troublemakers--my years in the business guess four or five percent. The doormen will always screen out half of those. That leaves two and a half knuckleheads per hundred. Larry's Nightclub oftentimes gathers 200 souls within her walls. So we end the night with Larry's five stooges mixed on the front walk with the 25 or 30 losers let go from neighboring establishments, and lo and behold they occasionally fall to fighting. I guess the world hasn't changed much since Adam set up the first pop stand.
Think for a minute about the complaining clubs. We've got rock clubs (a form mostly pioneered by blacks), carping blues clubs (black folk originated both country and electric blues), jazz clubs (I don't even want to talk about this), and dance clubs (all modern popular dance comes from the ghetto). And what entertainment does Larry's Nightclub dare to offer? ONLY THE MOST MODERN OFFERINGS OF BLACK CULTURE!
Am I the only one with the sneaking suspicion that in another 20 years all those clubs will offer hiphop--presented by white entertainers--and still not welcome black customers? I know the world isn't fair, but it sure does piss me off sometimes.
Jim Hamilton
(Larry's temporary schedule compiler & disseminator)
NOT AS SUCKY AS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED
TO THE EDITOR: In Nancy Drew's article entitled "Weak" [In Other News, June 3], the Seattle Weekly's 2nd Annual Music Awards Showcase is portrayed as a financial disaster thrown together by a quarrelsome, bungling staff. On the contrary, the event was a philanthropic success organized by a staff that believes strongly in giving back to its community. Had Drew actually attended the event, she would have witnessed Seattle Weekly associate publisher Dana Faust present a check for $2,500 to the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC). Additional money generated from door receipts and a generous contribution from the Fenix Underground was donated to DESC without ceremony in the days following the event. Located in Pioneer Square, the DESC provides the most marginalized, disabled, and vulnerable homeless people with shelter, housing, and other services. On behalf of the board, staff, volunteers, and the men and women we serve every day, I thank Seattle Weekly for their commitment to the community and for the values they hold.
Daniel Couch
NANCY DREW RESPONDS: Speaking of the Seattle Weekly's philanthropic values, you might be interested to know that one of the Weekly's corporate owners, $23 billion New York-based securities firm Goldman Sachs Group, is one of George W. Bush's all-time top-10 contributors, donating a whopping $337,875 for this year's election alone. Now, that's what I call a commitment. (But is it a commitment to your values, Daniel?)
HANKS FOR NOTHING
TO THE EDITOR: When you're bashing The Terminal [On Screen, Bradley Steinbacher, June 17], don't forget the following, which is even worse than Tom Hanks' accent: It's based on the true story of Merhan Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian man who was forced to leave his country for political reasons. He was on his way to England, where he had relatives, when he was mugged on a train. The robbers stole his passport and papers, but not his plane ticket. He got on the plane, and flew to Paris, where he had to go through customs. When customs found he didn't have any papers, they said he couldn't leave the airport. They also said he couldn't get back on a plane without his papers. His homeland had evicted him, he couldn't return, and no other country would grant him a passport because he didn't have papers. The office which had originally given him his passport said they couldn't issue another one unless they saw him in person, which, due to not being allowed to leave the airport or get on a plane, he was unable to do. So he's been living in the Charles de Gaulle airport for over a decade, and in fact is still there right now.
The Terminal takes this important story about a political refugee and racist bureaucracy, and twists it into somehow being about Tom Hanks changing people's lives. By making him an Eastern European instead of an Arab, Spielberg has robbed the character of one of the essential traits by which he has been oppressed by "the system." The real Nasseri sleeps on the plastic seats in the airport, and lives off whatever food people are kind enough to buy him at McDonald's. He doesn't beg. He sits in the bookstore and reads books all day long, and has quietly gone insane. After all these years, French authorities have finally granted him a French passport, but he insists he will not leave the airport until he has an English one. It's an incredibly sad story without a happy ending.
Marianna Michael Ritchey
DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: In the June 10 issue of The Stranger, Megan Seling reported that the name of the Catch's upcoming EP was titled Hate Ball. The three-song disc, which will be released June 29, is actually called After Party. She deeply regrets the error (and the bottle of red wine that caused her to make such a stupid mistake).
Also, in last week's "New Transit Column!" we incorrectly identified Second Avenue property owner Martin Selig as the infamous Hummer owner who's backing the anti-monorail campaign. Actually, while Selig has contributed $9,000 to the anti-monorail campaign, the anti-monorail supporter who owns the Hummer is West Seattle property owner Fred Kettlewell, as we correctly reported a week earlier ["Off Track," Josh Feit, June 10]. We regret the error.
