BLACK HISTORY GUIDE
A newly launched app from the Washington State Historical Society offers an engaging way to interact with and explore Black history. BLACK WASHINGTON has 50 entries (with plans to add more over time) each filled with text, photographs, maps, oral histories and other resources. Entries are broken into three categories: stories, landmarks and icons. Physical places in "landmarks" include Spokane's Calvary Baptist Church and Carl Maxey Center. The "stories" section focuses on social movements and significant periods of Black history, such as Seattle's Black Panther Party, enslavement in Washington Territory, the Civil Rights Movement and more. "Icons" contains profiles of prominent Black leaders from throughout Washington state history. Black Washington can be downloaded for free on Android and iOS devices, and is also accessible via browser at blackwashington.app. (CHEY SCOTT)
MOVING PIECES
Just about three decades ago, the idea of holding a simple video game in your hands was inconceivable to most people. Arcades were king, and some better-off homes might have had a gaming console like a Sega or Atari. But something like Nintendo's Game Boy was mostly just a daydream until its release in 1989. In the new Apple TV+ movie TETRIS, filmmakers capture the thrill of 8-bit game development while simultaneously telling an absolutely insane story of what it took to share the Soviet-invented puzzle game with the world. With scenes cleverly blipping in and out of blocky, 8-bit cartoon animation, the creative take on the true story involves KGB spies, entrepreneurial bravery and high-stakes negotiating. Enjoy just how far things have come by watching the HD movie on a phone that evolved from similar daydreaming. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
Noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online on June 16.
KILLER MIKE, MICHAEL. After absolutely killing it alongside El-P as Run the Jewels for the past decade, the Atlanta MC returns to the solo realm to prove he's still got his verbal fastball.
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, IN TIMES NEW ROMAN... The hard rock mainstay seems to still possess the same stoner grind edge on its first new album in six years.
YUSUF / CAT STEVENS, KING OF A LAND. Now 17 albums into his storied career, the singer-songwriter is still able to approach songwriting with a childlike wonder and levity on songs like "Take the World Apart." (SETH SOMMERFELD)
