March 6, 2003 · VOL. 12, NO. 25

FRONT OF BOOK Letters: For the second week in a row, a full page of complaints from readers.... Last Days: Brilliance.... NEWS Skimmed.... FEATURE #1 A gaggle of Stranger "writers" tackle the subject of a proposed smoking ban. Offering neither insight nor intelligence, the entire package is little more than squandered space.... FEATURE #2 Something called the "2003 Musicians' Directory," which smacks of little more than "advertorial" content. Isn't such advertiser-friendly fare something The Stranger routinely criticizes the Seattle Weekly for printing?... FILM Bradley Steinbacher offers a lengthy diatribe against U.S. foreign policy in the guise of a film review. How much editorial real estate does Mr. Steinbacher have to blemish before The Stranger removes him from its film section (and, for that matter, from the entire paper)?... BOOKS Didn't read.... ART Also didn't read.... THEATER Didn't read either.... FOOD In a stunning turn of events, notoriously restaurant-friendly Min Liao offers words of disdain for an establishment. One can easily imagine her weeping uncontrollably while typing such harmful words as "woefully uneven".... MUSIC Skimmed.... ETC. It's My Party: Didn't read.... I Love TV: Didn't read.... Nightstand: Last week I speculated as to how long it would take for The Stranger's long-standing policy of ineptness to ruin talented former Seattle Weekly writer Christopher Frizzelle. At the time, my best estimate was two to three weeks. This week's column ends the speculation. The final result: one week.... Control Tower: Didn't read.... Savage Love: Dan Savage proves once again that he is little more than a bully. A big gay sex-advice-columnist bully.... Celeb I Saw U: Too gay....