DEAR DAVID SCHMADER: Your pre-9/11 columns have never failed to make me laugh when I've needed it most. This week's column [Sept 20] was a complete double shot on the rocks of truth. Just what I needed. Thanks for writing such personal, honest, and articulate commentary on that week's horrible events. I feel less alone now.
Suzanne R. Sweeney, via e-mail
BRIAN GOEDDE: Just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading your interview with Boots Riley, and give you big props for calling him out on his blind hypocrisy ["The Coup's Bomb," Sept 20]. He still didn't seem to get the point, even when you were waving it in his face, but at least you had the balls to say what needed to be said. Thanks, man.
Houston, via e-mail
BRIAN GOEDDE: Your interview with Coup about the album cover was on target. Did you also ask them if they, with their espousal of socialism and enmity for capitalism, had determined to distribute to the general populace all their earnings but what is required for the barest of living necessities? After all, that's what socialism means. I doubt they have the slightest idea what socialism would do to their lifestyles.
Anonymous, via e-mail
DEAR MR. MATT BRIGGS: It seems that you have embraced your inner wussy in true Seattle fashion ["Welcome to Seattle," Sept 20], reaching for glory and cowering in fear at the same time. It wasn't evil terrorists that shut down the Space Needle, it was our incredibly pussified mayor. The Port Angeles explosives were headed for LAX, not your flaccid little space dildo. It is a comical tragedy to watch this town (not city) struggle with conferences and celebrations. It reminds me of George Karl bawling on TV after the Sonics were ousted from the playoffs a few years ago. How can an entire city be so arrogant and sensitive at the same time? I like the way you write--you just need a real topic. If you live in fear, then the terrorists have won, even if they don't blow us up.
Don Carter, via e-mail
DEAR EDITORS: The Stranger is growing up a little bit, and that's a good thing. You're always going to be silly, but I like your September 11-oriented articles. The "New Patriotism" article [Sean Nelson, Sept 27], with its "stay tuned to this bat-channel" ending, deserves a loud "ATTABOY!"
Thornton Kimes, Seattle
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I am a student at Cornish College of the Arts. I read your paper religiously, despite the fact that many of your articles are either grossly misinformed or just plain dumb. Hey, I usually like that kind of thing. But when I opened your most recent issue, I noticed my school making the "headlines" ["Art Walk," Amy Baranski, Sept 27]. I have heard rumors for a while about changes being made to Cornish's campus, because of the fact that our disciplines are pretty divided: The Dance and Music departments are at our south campus, while Art, Design, Theater, and Performance Production are at the north campus. There are a few exceptions to this because we have rental sites throughout the Capitol Hill community, but generally that's how it is. With the campus split this way, it makes it hard to interact with students at "the other campus." This interaction, or collaboration between different art forms, is something that a lot of artists find pertinent to a good art education. It expands your knowledge of art in general, which in turn broadens the meaning of your own art. Needless to say, when I heard about the possibility of a move that would bring these two campuses together, I was excited. But no official decision has been expressed to the school as a whole, because that decision HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE. And the actual move couldn't even take place for at least another five years. When I saw the headline "Cornish: Art School Leaving Capitol Hill?" my first reaction was to be angry that I had to hear about this decision through a free paper, and not directly from our administration. But then I actually read the article and was instantly relieved. The fact is, Amy Baranski (who I hear is just an intern?) wrote a completely uninformed article, making something that would be a good move for a local school, sound like a devious plot to undermine the good of the community. Congratulations on printing yet another grossly uninformed article.
A rumpled art school student, via e-mail
THE STRANGER: BIG IN KITSAP CO.
DEAR STRANGER: THANK YOU SO MUCH for the great illustrated article on Jeffrey Steinborn and how to avoid being busted for pot.
[Steinborn is] the 900 lb. guerrilla [sic] in that area of law, and he's a tireless defender of potheads caught up in the Drug War madness. If they really wanted to make the environment safer, they'd focus on meth-heads and alcohol abusers.
[At my office] we have a weekly office meeting each Friday with about 30 real estate agents and mortgage staff. I announced the article this morning, gave a brief pitch about Jeffrey's national reputation, and held the spread open for all to see. I also identified the two locations in our small town that carry The Stranger.
I also stated that I would never imply that ANYONE in my office would ever do anything illegal. (About half are herb-friendly.) I picked up several copies and discreetly distributed them around the office after the meeting.
I figured it was a viable risk. It was. The owner/broker even came up to me after the meeting to suggest the name of an agent who would benefit from the information. Your readership just expanded exponentially in Kitsap County.
Anonymous, via e-mail
EDITORS: Compliments to The Stranger for packaging a back-to-school guide with a novel twist--specifically the alumni testimonials (Sept 27). I'd like to expand and clarify a few of the thoughts shared regarding the Art Institute of Seattle.
Our priority is to prepare students for successful, creative careers. While one may have an opportunity to study the great masters, we are not a fine arts school. Our goal is to provide students with the skills needed to begin marketable careers in design, media, culinary [arts], and fashion. So yes, graphic design students will learn to create corporate identity collateral, and fashion students will develop and construct garments that please mainstream audiences. But this doesn't preclude imaginative, bold, and innovative choices, and many Art Institute students and graduates have achieved notable recognition--from award-winning animation to top honors in local and national design, modelmaking, and culinary competitions.
School-sponsored housing is available in two Belltown-area apartment buildings, one of which was renovated in the last year; the other building is less than five years old.
Ultimately, it comes down to the individual. The more effort one puts into his or her education, the more one is likely to gain.
Kelly O'Neill
Public Relations Director
The Art Institute of Seattle, via e-mail
EDITORS: I was very disgusted with the comments that were made about the schools listed [Sept 27].
I will admit that the Art Institute of Seattle is pretty easy to get into, and the school is in the business of making profit. But it is not a free ride, and you have to work hard to get anything out of that school. Sure, the housing situation pretty much sucks, and there are no beautifully manicured lawns. And there's definitely no state-of-the-art student rec center. The people that don't want to work hard are the same kind of people that would contribute to the article. I worked hard, and I achieved a great job with the assistance of the student center at the school. The people that can't take it at AIS are either Marines, or are the people that ask "Would you like fries with that?" And the writer should have also done research on the other courses that are available at AIS.
