Letters to the Editor
Engineer818
Published Letters: 4
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And incidentally, tomreedtoon...
[Read the article: "Grindhouse"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]...as a gay man, I take issue with your blanket statement to the effect that gay men allegedly hate women: no, dear sir, we just choose not to sleep with them, and as such generally leave them alone when not relating to them as other human beings -- quite different from "hating," at least whence I sit. In truth, my empirical observation leads me to conclude that the men who seem to act most hatefully toward women are the very ones who desire them the most; gay men generally don't rape women, for example. Think about it...
That said, call me dangerously desensitized, if you will, but I find the violent elements of films such as Pulp Fiction and Grindhouse (which I intend to see, FTR) to be as unrealistically cartoonish as any "Itchy & Scratchy" segment of The Simpsons, while reacting entirely differently to realistically portrayed violence (e. g., in a war movie)...but, then, I'm an adult who can tell the difference between fantasy and consensus reality, and have no wish to act out what I see, or to watch, say, a snuff film. Ultimately (at least for me), context is all: while "the old ultra-violence" (A Clockwork Orange, which I found brilliant, FTR) is not an especial draw for me -- I'm not even particularly an action-film fan, in fact -- I won't shy away from films with violent themes, or I'd have missed cinematic pleasures ranging from Rashomon (much of Kurosawa, truth be told) through Mean Streets and The Godfather (again, much of Scorcese) to Saving Private Ryan, among others. I admit to a fondness for genre films, hence the appeal to me of Grindhouse and its ilk. If these aren't your taste, believe it, I won't be dragging you to the theater with me; if they are, as the line goes, help yourself.
But, please, let's put that homophobic "woman-hating gay men" cant to rest for once and for all...
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Another significant consideration here...
[Read the article: Should I get my breasts enlarged?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A number of significant health-related issues have already been mentioned in previous postings here re LW's contemplated surgery, but I don't believe I've seen upthread the one that prompts me to write here. Having listened to my best woman-friend's concerns before getting breast augmentation some years back, I recall a concern of hers that, unfortunately for her, became a reality: that the sensitivity of a woman's augmented breasts might diminish noticeably for her after surgery. If the letter writer gains any significant sexual/sensual pleasure from her breasts in their pre-surgical state, I would advise her to weigh the potential loss of that pleasure against any benefits she might accrue after surgery. In particular, if she experiences orgasm as a result of breast stimulation, and this is important to her, she should not rush to surgery. (There is also the issue of how her breasts might feel to a lover after surgery -- but if this surgery is for her well-being on the psychological tip, this should not be a primary concern here, IMNSHO.)
That said: this is her body, thus not my issue; I wish her the best possible outcome, whatever she decides to do. (I will say here, though, what I told my friend: you're no doubt beautiful as you are, dear LW, and surgery is a nontrivial undertaking; be careful, and do what serves you best.)
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@Swanto Esquire III: apparently, nobody studies Greek myths nowadays...
[Read the article: Tangled up in Dylan]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]In answer to the question raised about "muse" being allegedly a PC locution where, say, "chick," "old lady" and suchlike mark one as a hopeless sexist: the Muses were an ennead (group of 9) of demigoddesses in Greek mythology, the daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory, and each of whom was held to preside over creativity in a specific sphere of human (read: male, at the time; la plus que change, alas) endeavor and, as such, were thought to inspire creativity in mortals. The reference to Suze Rotolo (a class act, apparently; I can't wait to read her book) as the young Dylan's "muse" was simply a learned way of saying that she doubtless inspired his songwriting (though, arguably, one could also call her sister Carla, who didn't much care for The Bob, at least a temporary muse to him, as "Ballad in Plain D" was allegedly inspired by her and not by Suze -- yes, I'm also one of those amateur Dylanologist guys fulla trivia, so su[z]e me ?;-) ).
And for those who want to wow their next dinner parties with a show of classical scholarship, the classical Muses and their associated spheres of art (or what the Greeks called art at the time) ensue:
- Calliope: epic/heroic poetry (and the chief Muse, no less)
- Clio: history
- Erato: love/erotic poetry
- Euterpe: lyric poetry and non-sacred music
- Melpomene: tragedy
- Polyhymnia: sacred music, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric
- Terpsichore: choral song and dance
- Thalia: comedy and bucolic (rustic) poetry
- Urania: astronomy
(And further muddying these Greek-mythological waters: the great Lesbian/lesbian, mortal-woman poet Sappho was once often referred to as the "tenth Muse," as what little survives of her poetry was highly regarded.)
As with Zimmerman (Dylan to you), one can never go wrong with the classics.