Letters to the Editor
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davidsugarman
Glad you liked the Twain quote :-) A quick note—while letter writers may critique things, they are not necessarily critics in the same manner as a professional like HH.
I, for example, do have published work. I've published nonfiction, in the form of papers on information science and psychology, and newspaper articles (features, police blotter) in the early '80s. I sold my first piece of fiction last year. I've been blogging since 1997. And there's quite a lot of unpublished (unsubmitted) work, including several novels, and the novel I'm working on now that I think might actually be worth submitting. That's not counting the other artistic work I've produced and sold, in the form of paintings and jewelry.
I imagine quite a few letter writers at Salon and other publications are writers in their own right (please, forgive the pun). Not a majority, certainly. Nonetheless, there are several whose quality of writing makes it clear they're at least capable of publication.
Come to think of it, it's entirely possible HH isn't a critic of the Twain variety—perhaps she's published her own creative work in addition to her critical work. All the more reason to be caring in her criticism.
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Backing Up "Anonymous"
Been reading Salon for years, but apologies to all egos involved, I'm with "Anonymous" on this one. I have on a few (3) occasions launched into this section and, despite the often tempting leads on the Salon home page (judging by which I might think I'll get a fast, smart and savvy read on a media / society angle), about two grafs into the text, I realize I'm not getting an insightful slice, but an overwrought, overly-showy, overly-wordy self-centered rundown almost completely extraneous to the subject at hand. And pretty trivial, too.
And that's when I click out of there.
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I feel your pain, Heather
I, too, have been there. Helpless and sort-of-hungry in front of the TV, a hundred stations and NOTHING on, and what to do about dinner? I don't envy you having to watch Donald Trump - thanks to your efforts, I don't have to! And summer is coming, and the TV shows I DO watch are wrapping up soon, and then what? Re-runs? And what to do about dinner (never mind cleaning the house!)? My own solution? Send out for pizza, enjoy with a glass of wine while watching a Dirty Jobs or Mythbusters marathon. Or QVC or HSN. Or an old movie on TCM. But that's my solution, and as stated before, I don't envy you your job, Heather. A hundred stations and nothing on....(BTW, what has happened to Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters? On hiatus? What's so interesting about those crab fishermen? I can't tell one from another and the plot on every show is exactly the same. Bring back more Dirty Jobs and Mythbusters!)
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I don't have a computer
I read Salon second hand from scraps of paper brought to me by little birds. I live in a tree in the forest.
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RealName -
Love the post!
Posts like that make me long for a slashdot-style moderation system on Salon, so I could mod things up as Funny or Insightful. Thanks for the laugh :-)
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Shhh
Heather: We are all so sorry for you. I bet you couldn't survive 4 hours in the woods. Human Up.
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But there *is* more TV!
Heather, all is not lost! There are hidden gems to be found in basic cable -- and if you watch them and write about them, they won't be hidden anymore.
The Riches on F/X doesn't suck; in fact, I've enjoyed watching two Brits try to pass themselves off as Americans (Minnie Driver is winning). I've also been mystified by the whole world of the Travelers, and amused by the cons.
Speaking of which, new episodes of Hustle are back on AMC! I love a good heist, and this show is chock full of 'em, along with charming and complicated con-men (and women). Funny, inventive and clever, it's a good time.
And then there's always the unexplored terrain of kids' TV. Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends on Cartoon Network is a delight, full of plenty of visual puns and pop-culture references. And Mr. Meaty on Nickelodeon has puppets doing things you'd never imagine -- working fast-food at the mall, fighting ninjas, experimenting with genetically modified meat in order to infiltrate the ladies' restroom.
This is just what I like to watch. The shows are out there. Let your TiVo find them, and just delete them if you don't agree.
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SNL
How about some critique of the pathetic state of SNL. I know it is easy to be nostalgic for the golden days, but damn in the last two weeks I haven't laughed once. Hard to believe they keep the same writers and actors year after year. NBC sure aint what it used to be.
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Lynn, you'll blow Havrilesky's game.
If word got out at the Starbuck's that she watched Foster's, it would blow her intellectual credentials. It's a wonderful show, full of imagination, non-sexual humor and heart. Not a touch of angst, sneering contempt or overwrought drama in it. Even worse, Foster's is the only animated series completely animated in America; in Hav's cappucino crowd anything completely American is ranked with NASCAR and Charlie Daniels, foul and hellish beyond imagining and unsuited to the intellectual life.
And remember, she molds her columns around a single concept, whether that concept applies or not. She's annoyed right now, so everything she talks about has to annoy her. And if it doesn't annoy her, she'll cut it to fit, to sustain the illusion of a unified theme. God Himself could do a variety hour of wonder and joy, and she'd still be grousing about her laundry. (And since she claimed at one time to be God's social director, she'd be doubly pissed that she didn't get in the credits of the show.)
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tomreedtoon, why so fucking angry?
Good god, man, do us and yourself a favor and stop reading ILTW so that you can give your festering hatred of HH a break.
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and what is it with her coffee?
Lots of people drink lattes. I don't, but with the ubiquitous coffee shops and espresso huts, I assume that many many people do. I don't think a latte can be viewed as a pretentious drink these days.