Letters to the Editor
vanwall
Published Letters: 25 Editor's Choice: 7
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What an interesting life you've lead.
[Read the article: Ten years of Salon]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It must've seemed like you were living with that particular curse. When I surfed in here nine years or so ago, I figured Salon for a minor source of quirky opinions, gentlemanly muckraking, and smarty-pants commentary. There was all that and much more, so I stuck around. I don't subscribe to many online sites, but Salon is worth every penny. Congrats on staying alive, no small feat. Thanks for the ride!
Rob in Dago
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Simply Amazing.
[Read the article: Finding "Little Nemo"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Little Nemo was once available as a big book, collected and edited by Bill Blackbeard, and I read from this to my two boys when they were little. The walking bed episode, and the live dragon-throne with Flip's cigar stunt were their faves, and they have an appreciation of fine comic art started at an early age. McCay's films were awesome too.
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More to come.
[Read the article: New light on NSA spying]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The disturbing aspect to all this for me is the increasing amount of secret infrastructure built up over the last several years, not just with staffing and personnel who are inclined to continue this kind of behavior for the forseable future, but all the actual construction that has been done, and undoubtedly still being done, of the myriad secret places and machines all over the country and beyond. These places, apparatus, devices, whatever, aren't just going to sit around un-used, even after this administration is gone - the lure to use them will always be there, like a siren's call, and as secretive and inquiring as most administrations are in their own ways, regardless of political persuasion, they will be used.
We have had a culture of the obsessive secretive forced down our throats, willy nilly, and with an obvious lack of responsibility to the succeeding administration's culpability in perpetuating, or not, this kind of intrusiveness. I'm not so sure we'll ever find out how low this administration has stooped to ensure its grip on power - after all, we have whatever's left of our country's reputation worldwide to think about - so my guess is this'll all stay hidden and buried for quite some time, with all power that state secret designations can muster. Sadly, today the bright, shining lie seems to suffice better than a bright, shining light for most folks in what passes for the United States Of America.
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Shorter is Better
[Read the article: Bond, by the book]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My personal preference for Fleming's Bond work is "For Your Eyes Only", a collection of short stories in which Bond isn't always the main dish; in fact they are somewhat eclectic in relation to the canon. I read them in high school 35 years ago, and they still stand up. Fleming actually stretched the envelope of Bond's universe a little, with some private side-work, some more character for the incidental characters that Fleming normally would avoid, and in one Maugham-ish story, Bond's slight early derring-do is no more important than a table lamp at the elegant dinner in which he realizes that still waters run much deeper than he ever imagined.
The short form actually economizes the action, and Fleming's grasp of physical territory to advance the various plots is marvelous - set pieces flow right into each other, and the women in the action stories are some of his best creations, as they are closer to reality than most of his others. Yeah, there's Fleming's sadistic side, quite apparent physically in one story - ask me about stingrays, and I don't think of the late Mr. Irwin, believe me - plus one of the best psychologically cold acts of vengeance I ever read, anywhere. Makes one wonder what he could've done without all the impetus to continue 007's Cold Warrior.
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Escaping the level gaze
[Read the article: Camille's back!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Not a particularly good move, as it means more superfluous bandwidth - I can only read so much babble before I just tune it out, a practice I will now be forced to continue, which is a sad waste of Salon's investment. Paglia is part and parcel of the mess we are in now, and had a not insignificant role in the selling of the snake oil politics and repressive policies that we have to endure for the near future. Now that she's been kicked to the curb by previously fawning mouth-breathers for (horrors!) her atypical opposition to W's War, she must need a forum to spew more bilious prattle.
Every news and opinion outlet seems to be adding a reactionary voice to their mix, so this was almost a given; I had hopes Salon would resist that trend, but the pull of facile notoriety, or perhaps ad revenue, must be sadly irresistible. Salon has on occasion deposited some of the dog droppings of other reactionaries and cluttered up my view of the finer things on Salon, and I don't mind stepping over or walking around such leavings, but I hate kicking thru the trash in the gutter as a detour. I will not cancel my subscription...yet, or if at all, without a period of close observance. A short period, I hope.
Don't disappoint me, Salon - the last six years, (strangely!) you have been a sane voice in the wide wilderness, and the cacophony from adding Paglia's ...ahem, "work".. will only add a meaningless dissonance that may drown out more important, thoughtful discourse on what's left of freedom and democracy in what passes for the good old U.S.A. I hope you got her cheap.
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Truth?
[Read the article: Porn free]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Kapo.