Letters to the Editor
Tobbar
Published Letters: 148 Editor's Choice: 8
-
Excellent movie, review
[Read the article: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Usually I don't agree with S.Z.'s take on movies, and I waited to see this movie ...okay, I watched it twice... before reading her review.
And for once I think she watched the same movie I did. While I would have liked to see more of the elements from the book in the movie, I was very happy with it, and like SZ, see it as a powerful movie about growing up.
One of the criticisms I've heard of the movie is that the new Dumbledore isn't 'right'. Although I think Richard Harris was perfect, Michael Gambon brings an energy and urgancy to the character that is appropriate. And he ties it back to the growing-up-thing. One of the scary things about growing up is realizing that your parents and teachers, the already-grown-up, don't always have the answers.
Gambon's Dumbledore is aware of the gravity of the situation, of the past, of the future, and through a myriad of small cracks, he reveals it to Harry.
-
Settle it in Thunderdome?
[Read the article: Honor killings in the liberated Iraq]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't know a lot about these honor killings (and I don't agree with them)- but the impression I get is that the culture demands a violent response to rape. You can either try to kill the rapist (and have to deal with his cousins and brothers) or kill the victim ... aaaaaand so a lot of victims die.
A more important issue to me is what (if anything) can be done to change the situation?
-
The Lesson of Kong- Don't Fool With Established Sacrificial Protocol
[Read the article: "King Kong"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Hmmmmm... someone with the name angryblackbitch is angry at something... I am not shocked.
But I am a little curious if I'm the only person who remembers that the natives were going to sacrafice one of their own women to Kong until the movie crew showed up on their island.
...I'm not sure if it was the 1930s version or the 1970s, but I distinctly remember a young native girl dressed in bone and shell finery, getting snatched up by someone when Kong breaks through the wall.
It was always my assumption that they were sacrificing women on a fairly regular basis, and Faye was a nice substitute for one of their own.
As to Kong's behavior once he has the white woman, well, we have have no idea what he did with the native girls. Probably carried them around for a while until the other denizens of the island got them, or else he got tired of them. Could have eaten them, too, I guess.
However, what I think can be safely assumed, is that none of the other sacrifices were as badly botched as this very last one- people with guns and whatnot chasing Kong in the jungle and trying to get the girl back.
-
Unless this house is on fire-
[Read the article: The real war on Christmas]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A good article, a lot of good comments, but one strategy for dealing with this stuff has not really come up. Go on and fight about it. Argue it out. Scream, if you must.
In my experience with such things, these people (family memebers included) are just simple bullies. They use the same schoolyard bully techniques- the sudden attack, the threat of 'outnumbering' you, all the classics. Plus, of course, it's the holidays, which means if you slap 'em down, YOU are the bad guy (and bullies are experts at this- crossing your 'line' but not everybody's 'line').
Three words: So. Be. It.
I've grown accustomed to the bad guy role in recent years, as I too have suffered and retaliated from this political badgering. I'm the bad guy at my in-law's because I told my father in-law that, unless something in this house is on fire, not to ever raise his voice to me again.
I'm the bad guy at my parents' house since I made it clear that, if they ever cut me off in mid sentence again, I'll leave.
I'm the bad guy at my brother's house since I said, unsmiling, that his tone is not appropriate for this particular gathering.
You'll note that I don't bother arguing the pros and cons of the death penalty or the quagmire in Iraq, the debacle in New Orleans. I attack (counter-attack, to be honest) on their tone, on their attitude, on the fact that I didn't drive six hours to be greeted with this shit.
They sputter, they sulk, they stew, then the apologize or change the subject (I chalk that up as a win!).
Bullies thrive on weakness, on hesitation. Anything else ruins the fantasy. Ruining fantasies has become the best part about Christmas in the past few years.
I get away with it all because I'm a reasonable guy, and they all know it. They attacked me- and they know it. Wierd thing is that I'm still invited to the all the gatherings, and we sometimes even talk politics. But I've made it clear that they don't want to lower the tone of the debate with me.
Merry Christams. Drive safe. Mix it up.
-
Feel the rage!
[Read the article: Reformed school girl]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A bit of my own experience. The only thing that exremely religious people (of all sects and faiths that I've encountered so far) have in greater abundance than ignorance is arrogance.
They don't need knowledge, or good hygene, or a bow to social norms as to when to shut up, they have (T)ruth!
Anyway, for accounts of 'former insiders who will explain fundamentalism while allowing us to chuckle at it' I suggest you check out exchristian.net.
A typical example: http://www.exchristian.net/testimonies/2005/12/fantasy-versus-reality.html
-
The economics of food porn
[Read the article: Food slut]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It just occured to me that what may be behind the trend of 'more pictures, less information' in the food journalism (and perhaps all other aspects of journalism) is simple economics.
It may be much cheaper and easier to get digital pictures (and all the ease of sizing and placement that the media implies) than to pay people to write words.
Just a thought.