You tried to attend the 1999.com-caliber gala kickoff at the Paramount on Saturday, Feb. 25, and maybe you even got in, but don’t let all that free booze and food (see ArtsBuzz) — lavished by the Portland moneybaggers who have launched Seattle Metropolitan — impair your judgment. Here’s a fair and balanced comparison of upstart Seattle Met, as it calls itself for short, and well-established Seattle.
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Seattle Metropolitan (March)
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Seattle (February)
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| 1. Cover headline | “65 Best Ways to Love Our City” | “40 Amazing Years in Our History” |
| 2. Issue significance | Arrival of lots of Portland publishing money. | Fortieth anniversary of the launch of Pacific Search, a Seattle ancestor—although DNA test results are pending. |
| 3. Cover story’s essence | Genius has “always been there. Seattle’s just too modest to boast about it. It’s time we did.” | “For better or worse, these people … and events … shaped our city into the vibrant, complicated and innovative metropolis it is today.” |
| 4. Gravitas/bummer stories | Interview with and profile of “intelligent design” pusher Bruce Chapman of the Discovery Intitute; an examination of the transportation bureaucracy, including opening quotes from someone at the Discovery Institute. | A guide to all the disasters we could have, including earthquakes, tsunamis, lahars, and bird flu; the possible dangers of being a member of the Mountaineers. |
| 5. Bill Gates | Appears in an article about the Washington News Council’s recent roast of his father. | Appears in the famous photo of him as a seventh-grader with ninth-grader Paul Allen at Lakeside School. |
| 6. Rock biographer Charles R. Cross | Pens an article about taking his son to see Paul McCartney. | Pens brief blurbs about Jimi, Kurt, and “Seattle Cool,” and why he moved to the burbs. |
| 7. Image of the Space Needle | Kicks off the cover story inside:
“1. Aspiration” |
On the cover and with the cover story inside: “A Fair to Remember” |
| 8. The Lusty Lady | Article, with sidebar listing “dirty dozen” examples of clever sayings on the sign. | Five examples of clever sayings on the sign. |
| 9. Chef Tom Douglas | Cooked at the gala launch party Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Paramount. | Pictured in the cover story. |
| 10. Author Tom Robbins | Mentioned in the cover story. | Writes a brief item for the cover story. |
| 11. Glass conjurer Dale Chihuly | Conspicuously absent! | Profiled in the cover story. |
| 12. Architecturally interesting libraries pictured | Ballard branch | Central |
| 13. Obligatory in/out list | “Wash-In, Wash-Out”: the Seahawks, Blackberry devices, tourists, St. Patrick’s Day, rain, space travel. | “The Pulse”: Car washes, designer handbags, comedy, marriage proposals, chocolate. |
| 14. Obligatory two pages of frivolous but photogenic stuff you can buy | Everything is green! Item: argyle dog sweater. | Item: tea brewer that doubles as a lantern. |
| 15. Profile of fascinating University of Washington bigwig | Kathleen Woodward, director of the Simpson Center for the Humanities | Philip Ballinger, director of admissions |
| 16. Pictures of people in formalwear at civic events | 7 | 21 |
| 17. Spring fashion | “Living Dolls,” a 10-page spread about clothing available for under $5,000. | “Life Is Beautiful,” a “beauty update” including best new salons and spas, and where to get designer wax jobs. |
| 18. Featured wine | From Tuscany. | From Washington. |
| 19. Multi-page timelines | Bruce Chapman’s life coincident with the rise of “intelligent design.” | The past 40 years of Seattle history. |
| 20. Back cover advertisement | A Rolex watch, available at Alvin Goldfarb Jeweler. | Diamonds, available at International Jewelers. |
