Letters to the Editor

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Mr Smith

Published Letters: 218     Editor's Choice: 8

  • Kingdom, Phylum, etc.

    [Read the article: Mnemonic for 11 planets sure beats "Roy G. Biv," "Homes"]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Kings Play Cards On Fat Girls' Stomachs.

    Not very PC, but it was 1983 after all.

  • Wow.

    [Read the article: Nine Inch Nails puts CD online for free, for mash-ups]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    At The Pirate Bay, there's 2300+ seeds for the Ghosts I files, and I downloaded all 64 MB in less than a minute. Wow.

    Interestingly, there's 1800+ seeds for the whole Ghosts I-IV collection. At $5 each, that's $9000 that NIN didn't get today.

    Regarding the music: It sounds like really well-produced suspenseful background music to a horror movie. I'll be sure to play it every time I'm investigating strange noises in an isolated farmhouse.

    By the way, Pretty Hate Machine came out 19 years ago. Dear Lord I am soooooo old.

  • Not the right terminology

    [Read the article: The ornery pride of the political journalist]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I wouldn't say that journalists are and have been "in the tank" for George Bush. That's not strong enough. I prefer the term "Journalistic Fellatio".

  • Pretty Dated Language.

    [Read the article: Sex, '70s style]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    For example, if I were to say to my parents, "I'm twanging for Bunny," they'd tell me I'll go blind.

  • He'll be back.

    [Read the article: The tragic fall of Eliot Spitzer]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    At least I hope he'll be back. To define his entire career by one event and ignore all the good he's done is unfair, and I think that now in the 20th century people can get over this.

    If he committed a crime, then he should be convicted and pay the penalty. But then he should get back into politics. Things like this never stopped Louisiana politicians, especially Louisiana Democrats, so a highfalutin' New York politician should take some notes. Heck, the mayor of my little WV town actually spent a few months in jail -- while he was acting mayor. People didn't seem too upset, actually.

  • Pollution in Beijing

    [Read the article: "The Beijing Olympics debacle has begun"]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Apparently the weekend that I was there the factories were kept operating, because the pollution was awful.

    Now I was not around for the fifties and sixties in America, when the pollution was so very bad in cities like Pittsburgh and Cleveland, but the pollution I saw in Beijing last summer was nothing like I've ever experienced. At times, the visibility was only one or two blocks. Skyscrapers became fuzzy gray above the fifteenth story. The only thing that I can compare it to is being a couple miles downwind of a forest fire. It smells (and tastes!) the same way too. Actually, a forest fire smells better.

    By the way, if you are planning on going to Beijing for the Olympics, get your doctor to prescribe you some antibiotics and start taking them the day you leave. I saw this advice on a travel site before my trip, and I laughed at it. But when I got back I was sick enough to need a full course of Zithromax. Only drink beer and soda (since they are sterilized in the bottling process), avoid ice cubes, and bring your own toilet paper.

    I'm serious about the toilet paper.

  • They always kicked my butt.

    [Read the article: The "War and Peace" of "Space Invaders"]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I'm sure the little Space Invaders had a ticker-tape parade after each time I fought them.

    The next video should be of the environmental impact of Dig Dug.

  • An idea for another useful study

    [Read the article: Can abortions lead to mental illness?]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I think that someone should study the mental state of those tormented souls who verbally abuse young women as they enter clinics where abortions are performed. What really brings that level of viciousness out in a person?

  • Dildos and Manifestos

    [Read the article: Ask the pilot]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    I've always wanted to pack a carry-on bag with a couple dozen flourescent-colored dildos and a dozen different editions of the Communist Manifesto. I'd be sure to put something actually prohibited at the very bottom, probably a huge bottle of lube.

    I think I could pull it off. I'd be sure to say, "Please, sir (or madam), be careful with that dildo! It has great sentimental value", several times at a louder than normal volume.

  • Missing Info and Timing

    [Read the article: In court, J.K. Rowling nearly cries over Harry Potter Lexicon]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that JK Rowling intends for all the profits of her own Harry Potter reference book to go to charity. That puts to rest all of the greed arguments that the Rowling haters are throwing out there.

    Also, I question the timing of this "scholarly" book. The series has come to an end, but the movies are still going strong -- the people behind the Harry Potter Lexicon are just trying to cash in. The inherent nobility of the scholarly argument can be chucked out the window. A lot of people will pay a lot of money for this lexicon. If this were about "Ulysses", I don't think the publisher would be pursuing it so fanatically, because there wouldn't be very much money involved.

  • Slight Modification

    [Read the article: Whiz-bang commercial: Awesome or awful?]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    They should make paper disposable ones -- just like dixie cups. Also, they should have a dispenser on the wall -- just like dixie cups!

  • Cool!

    [Read the article: How safe are you from the Great Flood?]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    The Washington Monument will be on an island! Also, the Mall could be landscaped into a nice Japanese garden. You could take paddle boats to travel from one museum to another!

  • Memory Foam Headrests and Lumbar Support

    [Read the article: Ask the pilot]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    Assuming you can adjust the height of it, a memory foam headrest would be great. I have a 5" wide by 15" long cylinder of memory foam (from foamorder.com, BTW) that I take everywhere. You can double it up for a bigger surface and it can be crammed into the tiniest space.

    I can't fly anymore without putting one of those airline pillows in the small of my back -- why not have an inflatable lumbar cushion built into the seat? They used to have pump-up shoes, why not pump-up lumbar support?

    And if all else fails, they should give you free ibuprofen if you request it. That works great too.

  • Holy Sh*t!

    [Read the article: High standards at the Washington Post Op-Ed page]
    [Read more letters about this article: Here]

    My grandfather fought in WWI -- on the German side. I'm descended from the Southern Aristocracy which commanded some Americans to kill other Americans, and way back I've got Native American ancestry which probably fought with those European palefaces who founded this country.

    Deport me now! Clearly I am a risk to us all! The clincher -- I don't wear a flag pin!

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