For those of us in Seattle, the Seattle Weekly is the perpetually moribund dying sister among our free alternative papers. It caters to an aging demographic, despite desparately trying to reach a younger one. Their heart just isn't in it; they'd much rather be reviewing a concert by aging, overweight old hats like Heart or Queensryche than engaging in a living arts scene. And they're relentlessly stupid. The current issue has an editorial by their new editor. Actually, he used to be the editor, and now he's back, the third (I think) in two years, in another sign of a stable organization. After bragging about how the Weekly refused to cover grunge, the most interesting and influential trajectory in popular music since punk, and the first that could be called a successor to punk since then, he comments, "As Boeing left town and bit the hands that built it, I looked in vain for stories that challenged free trade's impact on local culture and its preservation." A bit of background: Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago. Illinois is not a foreign country. NAFTA wasn't responsible. International free trade doesn't influence ecomonic movements withing sovereign states. Anyone who states otherwise is an idiot or a liar. The tragedy of the Weekly is that it doesn't matter.

Sometimes, they do deliver, as with this article, a denunciation of fire dancing. As an aging hipster, I find myself at many an alternakid event. At such a function, I once complained to a friend of mine that I was bored by the fire dancing, and he asked me why. I said was sick of seeing essentially the same show time after time. Now I can show him this article, which says it better. Unlike the article's author, I don't feel any sense of betrayal by the decline of fire dancing.

I'm always amazed by the arrogance and naivete of these people. Mostly young, mostly unestablished in some undefined artistic discipline, they all want to change the world and teach their peers, and think they and only they are the ones who can do so. They are convinced of the originality and importance of their art, and treat criticism as cynicism. Since their work is perfect already, they see no need to improve and develop. They will never be household names. The last such party I attended I didn't have the $10 to get in. I was self-righteously refused a free or reduced admission, because it was a fundraiser for them to go to Burning Man. I understand I don't have any right to crash parties for free. That's fine. Perfectly fair. But I do object to arrogant self-righteousness from punk kids who expect starngers to fund their vacation. That's bullshit.

The article has this great illustration by my good friend Pat Moriarty: