Letters to the Editor
gcassels
Published Letters: 13 Editor's Choice: 2
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what is the relevance?
[Read the article: If you didn't get it, you don't know Jack]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]While I am disgusted and dismayed by the actions of Jack Abramoff and the culture of corruption he represents, I fail to see any reason why you would choose to print this personal email, other than to gloat.
What he did was wrong, and he is being punished for it. The government will monitor his correspondence, and his telephone calls. Is it really necessary for Salon to go the government one better, by monitoring his final correspondence with his friends before entering prison?
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These are directly cribbed from the art photography of Melanie Pullen
[Read the article: Corpses in couture gowns]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]http://www.highfashioncrimescenes.com/
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Berating the Masses
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]What a fine cineaste you are, Mr. O'Hehir. And a preening dick to boot!
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ad hom?
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I suppose that the same could be said of Mr. O'Hehir.
"But I do not come here today to debate the ever-so-interesting nuances of the filmgoing marketplace, nor to berate the masses for their execrable taste. (I'm sure 'Blades of Glory' is the finest figure-skating comedy since, well, that other one.)"
Is it not possible to celebrate a film like "Red Roads" without denigrating one like "Blades of Glory" and the people who enjoyed it? Both films have a place and a purpose.
There is nothing new in lamenting that art languishes while product flourishes. It is a lamentation as old as art itself, and most often made by people who wish it known that they are somehow above "the masses" that surround them. Mr. O'Hehir's comments seem very much in that vein, which is insulting and off-putting, and actually makes it more difficult for me to appreciate the intellectual arguments he makes on behalf of the films he champions.
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Yes, but...
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I agree with you in principle, Candypants. My point was that Mr. O'Hehir's comments about the masses and their execrable taste were not witty, compelling, or revealing. Rather, they were hoary and cheap.
(My calling him a dick was also cheap. In the light of day, I regret having said it, and apologize).
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This doesn't strike me as an issue of clarity, Mr. O'Hehir
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To say that you were not berating the masses strikes me as both disingenuous and revisionist, given your snarky comments on the "Blades of Glory" box office ("Three effing million! Jesus H. Christ!") and the film's place in some imagined skate-movie pantheon ("I'm sure 'Blades of Glory' is the finest figure-skating comedy since, well, that other one").
You very clearly say that the masses have execrable taste (based on the box office for a film you haven't seen), even as you loftily decline to berate them. Why berate, when mockery suffices, I suppose. You can back away from it, of course, but your original purpose in making these statements was clear, even if it was not the main purpose of your article.
Indeed, your main argument seemed to be that "Red Roads" is a fine film that deserves a wide, theatrical audience. I am sure that this is so. But why that point had to be framed by taking cheap shots at "the masses" escapes me, especially given the passion, power and persuasiveness found in the rest of your review.
God forbid I should like both "Red Roads" and "Blades of Glory." The conflict between refinement and execration might make my head explode...
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Fine writing
[Read the article: Beyond the Multiplex]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Truthfully, Mr. O'Hehir, other than my objection to the target of your sardonic tone, I agree with Holly Capote--that's fine writing.
And I do apologize for the tone of my original post. I disappoint myself some times...
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How could it not get to them?
[Read the article: King Kaufman's Sports Daily]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think this likely "got" to the Rutgers players because it was all anyone wanted to talk to them about. How could they ignore Imus when the media were so fixated?
I am they would have much preferred to talk about the amazing season they had just had, but the media were not going to allow that to happen. So their triumph was hijacked. Instead of talking about the greatest moment in their lives, they were forced to talk about the racist rantings of a radio blowhard, with his horrible name for them, for THEM, repeated over and over and over on every web site, radio station, newspaper, and TV show in the land, for days on end.
If you were caught up in such a maelstrom, in such an intense and undeserving way, might it not get to you as well?
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Just another awkward Bushism
[Read the article: "I'm the commander guy"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I listened to the clip of him saying this, and it didn't sound to me like a colloquial expression of his "Commander in Chief" title. Rather, by saying, "I'm the commander guy," he seemed to be saying, "I side with our commanders, not Congress."
That said, he doesn't side with our commanders. He hires commanders that side with him.
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This is not a good decision
[Read the article: Goodbye to Audiofile]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is extremely disappointing, as I've really enjoyed discovering new music through this feature.
I would much rather see you keep Audiofile, and jettison Video Dog, which has become nothing more than a one-note showcase for those inane Rabbit Bites videos.
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Will Americans finally rise up to stop his endless war?
[Read the article: Breaking the Iraq stalemate]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Um...no.
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You are wrong only until you are right
[Read the article: The haunting of the Democrats]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is why election season feels like an interminable in-between place, where euphoric Possibility endlessly shoulder-grapples with its logier elder, History.
Thank you for an excellent exploration of my nightmares.