DIDN’T MENTION IT HERE yet, but The Stranger has indeed run a feature-piece by me. It concerns the (slight but extant) possibility of a revival of hipness in Belltown.

A BASTION FALLS: Beginning today, the Wall St. Journal introduces a loud new graphic design featuring bigger headlines, more white space, and color every which where. It’s as much a symbol as anything we’ve seen that the business community (and, by extension, business journalism) doesn’t want to be perceived as having stodginess, solidness, continuity, reliability, trustworthiness, confidence, or understated good taste. Everything’s gotta be NOW-NOW-NOW, POW-POW-POW, all hustle and jive and hard sell.

I’ve long disagreed with almost everything written on the WSJ editorial pages; but I felt I could trust the accuracy of the matter on its news pages. Its front page had always been a form-following-function endeavor–three columns of news briefs (one on a topic that rotated throughout the week), two major news stories, and one well-written light feature. This page-one layout only changed on days when there was real, real big news (Pearl Harbor, 9/11). Now, it’s changed permanently, and will likely change from day to day.

To summarize: The old WSJ was like the reliable, grey-suited neighborhood banker who offered low-key, sensible advice on providing for one’s loved ones. The new WSJ is more like the boiler-room office that spews forth telemarketing cold calls about the latest sure-to-exponentially-rise-to-the-stratosphere tech-company IPO.