And now from The Stranger

There was a request a while ago to add some Seattle flavor to the mix. So, here is what The Stranger had to say this week (in part):

SATURDAY, MARCH 26 Nothing happened today, unless you count the 58 minutes Last Days spent gaping in awe and horror at Mr. Romance, the Oxygen network's new reality show searching for the next romance-novel cover model, hosted by goose-struck male supermodel Fabio, who opens the show with a personal recollection: "People ask me, 'Fabio, can there be another Fabio?' No--but there can be another Mr. Romance." As for the competition: For fans of the male package, it's a 15-car pileup of delights. Extra weird twist: The whole thing's produced by the original Mr. Romance himself--Gene Simmons of KISS. No, we are not making that up. Yes, you must watch Mr. Romance.

SUNDAY, MARCH 27 Speaking of negligible celebrities in negligible comebacks: Today was Easter, the annual Christian holiday commemorating the alleged resurrection of Jesus, the visionary Jewish carpenter whose large heart and hideous death have fueled centuries of comforting delusion. Meanwhile in cyberspace, fellow imaginary messiah Michael Jackson sat for a live Internet interview with Jesse Jackson, during which the frail, criminally-indicted King of Pop reminded folks he's the guy who made Thriller (Jacko's self-described disco version of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite), attempted to explain his court-disrupting medical ailments (previously cited as a "serious back injury," today described as a bruised lung and ribcage suffered after a slip in the shower), and revealed himself to be a scruple-free weasel. Declaring himself the victim of a vast conspiracy, Jacko claimed to be the latest of a series of unjustly accused "black luminaries," comparing his plight to that of former South African President Nelson Mandela. Dear Michael Jackson: Making a few brilliant records whose freakish commercial success enabled you to construct and maintain a vast and intricate private world where you may or may not have indulged in criminal sexual misconduct is very, very different than remaining jailed for three decades because of your political beliefs. But nice try, desperado.

•• Speaking of men who may very soon be dead or in jail: The week ends with a man masturbating on the bus, witnessed by Hot Tipper Aurora. On a late-night ride on Metro 72, Aurora watched as a fellow rider--described as an African-American man in a beige beanie--removed The Stranger from his lap to reveal his large, hard penis, which he was earnestly jerking. "Ew," writes Aurora, who promptly alerted the bus driver and fled.

(God I love this place sometimes!)