Don’t Miss

Is it really necessary to poke your readers two times every week with, “Don’t miss…” in The Week Spot?

“This week, don’t miss A Night of Brazilian Samba and Choro…”

“Don’t miss the Independent Spirit Award-winning film…”

or last week:

“Don’t miss the S. B. Museum of Natural History’s larger-than-life…”

“Don’t miss their performance this week…” (Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars)

Same thing the week before.

It’s obnoxious, like one of those annoying people who likes to tell others how to live their lives. I’ll go where I want to go, thank you.

Does anybody at The Independent read The Week? It may seem like it’s not important, but it sets the Independent apart from other local papers. Your events listings for Christmas Day were hilarious. Every recurring event was listed, as if it were just another Friday. Maybe the whole staff got drunk or left town.

Cruise control may not be the best policy for events listings in an arts and entertainment newspaper. It affects the paper’s credibility. Common sense might help, or paying more attention to what’s really going on in this active, interesting community.

I drove out to the Isla Vista Theater on Saturday, April 24, for a 7:00 showing of a film The Independent listed about the Bank of America burning, only to find out that it had actually been shown somewhere on campus three hours earlier. I’m not suggesting that it was your paper’s fault, but it was odd that I wasn’t even mildly surprised as I walked back to my car.—Douglas Gillies