Letters posted here are associated with the following Salon Premium Member:

janinedm

Published Letters: 43
Editor's Choice: 2

Thursday, August 30, 2007 10:26 AM
Original article: Miss dumb blond USA?

Let's let Lauren Caitlin Upton speak for herself (from Facebook, sic, sic, sic)

"All these girls are grown girls, but they sure dont act like it. They are all imature and need to grow up. I hope yall aren't planning on starting a family, because your kids would grow up in a mean world."

and

"this really isn't funny. the question wasen't to identify the US. obviously i could do that. what is with yu girls these days. why do yall feel like you have to be mean to other people to make yourself feel better.your not hurting anyone but yourself. i dont care about your little messages. they dont hurt me. so leave me alone and live your own life. stop trying to change myn."

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 01:48 PM
Original article: Miss dumb blond USA?

I can never keep up

Now responsible womanhood means defending the stupid? Does this mean that no female human can ever do anything wrong ever (unless they're hard core right wingers)? Do men defend Kevin Federline's performance of Popozao? Was the Star Wars Kid secretly admired and I missed that subtext? I'm sorry, I will never be convinced that I must tolerate fools, regardless of gender.

Friday, July 20, 2007 08:50 AM
Original article: Goodbye, Harry Potter

Hey there, Mr. Anonymous Critic-Person!

I'm the poster that referred to Rowling's prose as sturdy. Not as a "comical" observation but as a compliment. Rowling's writing reminds me of a good piece of Shaker furniture. I suspect part of the reason that her writing is so popular is that she's able to paint concrete pictures of the world she describes and the action that goes on in it. Contrast this with, say, Oscar Wilde in The Portrait of Dorian Gray (no particular reason for bringing that up other than I re-read it recently). Everybody is constantly "flinging" themselves into chairs so often, I'm surprised the characters aren't all bruised.

By they way, I'm not anonymous; you are. I wish you had the guts to show us what 30 years of critical experience can do.

Friday, July 20, 2007 08:38 AM
Original article: Goodbye, Harry Potter

I'm a Potter fan, but I have to ask...

...are some of you unacquainted with the concept of a book review and how they work? I'd refer you to the Sunday Times Book Review. http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/review/index.html As you'll see, plot analysis often comes into play.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 01:46 PM

tee hee

...but I apparently don't read them for their grammar.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 01:24 PM

This more an Arts & Culture than Technology comment but whatever...

Some of us don't only read books to find out what happens next. I like the Potter books in part for its sturdy prose. Also for it's more honest depiction of orphans (I am one; if iPhone lady can share so can I) than in the horribly navel-gazing "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." My point is, who's really shortchanging the books here? If all you care about is what happens next, then why even bother reading the book? Why not just find a synopsis Monday morning so that you don't have to waste time reading and you can go straight to finding out what happens next?

Tuesday, July 17, 2007 11:52 AM

Wow...

The author has exposed Salon to zero liability and revealed no spoilers. He simply said where one could get it if one wanted to. Don't look, don't download it. It will be fine. Nothing will be ruined for you if you stop clicking on links regarding the Potter books, 'kay?

Sunday, July 8, 2007 09:21 AM
Original article: Air head

I assume...

... that those who are citing AC as a safety concern only use it when the temp is dangerously high (above 90).

Thursday, June 21, 2007 09:23 AM
Original article: Surveying the rubble

Thank god?

I'm not okay with a music landscape that indie rock only.

Thursday, May 31, 2007 08:25 AM
Original article: Tom the Dancing Bug

Missing the point

I think the key thing here is panel 6 about cavemen being in fact a primitive species. This is why, as a minority, I actually love these commercials.

At the center of that statement, made all the more apparent by the use of cavemen, is an idea that there are certain things objectively true about the entire group. Couldn't some person say, "don't minorities have trouble with reading?" Standardized testing statistics will back them up. Does that make it sensible to assume certain things when you meet a person or a caveman? Is it any less annoying because people "don't mean any harm?"

I'm going to watch the pilot. If it sucks, I'll stop. Hasn't the awesomeness of the US version of The Office taught anyone to stop prejudging?

Wednesday, May 30, 2007 08:35 AM
Original article: The K Chronicles

co-sign on mcgruder...

...dude is hot. The soulpatch is a little off-putting, though.

Monday, May 21, 2007 09:35 AM
Original article: Michelle Obama's sacrifice

Hold up.

"Given the innate conservatism of the black community, the burden to tend to hearth and home falls disproportionately on its women, sending the message to ambitious black girls that they can't have both fulfilling careers and families."

When did you decide Obama gets to be Black again? I can't keep up.

Thursday, May 10, 2007 06:29 AM
Original article: Tom the Dancing Bug

Ooh Scandal

You mean that Jemima and Butterworth were an interracial gay couple! I want videos.

Friday, April 27, 2007 10:45 AM
Original article: Finale wrap-up: "30 Rock"

The difference is

30 Rock IS smart, Studio 60 was ABOUT being smart. It's never a good sign when the characters are describing each others genius and artistic integrity without showing us any.

Also, Sting + Lute = Cancellation. That is as it should be.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 12:29 PM
Original article: Is rap racist?

I'll make you a deal...

You tell me what I should think about race, I'll tell you how to use paragraph breaks (only one of us is guaranteed to be objectively right, though).

Wednesday, April 18, 2007 11:35 AM
Original article: Is rap racist?

I happen to *be* a Black person

I know you mean well, but that's a very good example of what I'm talking about (I think... more paragraph breaks, man.)

The idea that it's necessary or possible to "Know what Black people are like." It's outmoded and was always false. Louis Armstrong, Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Michael Jordan... how many Black people need to be forced to carry the flag for all Black people before you "get a feel for what we're like." Why, after contributing to American culture for more than 400 years, do we all have to be on our best behavior, lest some pickpocket-kid in NYC reflect poorly on my nephew in VA? Why have Black people gone along with this for decades?

I'm not saying it's *impossible* to get bad ideas from pop culture. I'm saying we shouldn't treat that as a reasonable position. I'm not (nor is Lil Jon or Ludacris) personally responsible for what prejudiced people think, they are.

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