copyright Bill Widener 2000
LETTERS FROM OUR READERS

We Wuz Robbed

Don't blame just the Academy [A&E Lead, Mar 22].

Anyone who didn't see Spike Lee's film Bamboozled didn't see last year's best movie. Both for its social message (which wasn't just about racism but more about the entertainment industry's manipulation-bamboozling-of us all) and for its actual construction, it stands head & shoulders above the rest.

In the same year that Eminem won a major Grammy award and widespread "freedom of expression" support (which I fully agree with) for exactly the sort of manipulative pretend-art that Lee satirized, the near total pretense that the film didn't exist would be ironic if it weren't such a sad commentary on our acceptance of what we're fed.

Nell Clipper

Met vriendelijke groet to you too!

Dear Mrs. Fuller,

In case you're not an editor of ACE, I'd be pleased if you could point me to an editor of your magazine.

The editors of the UFO-Nieuwbrief (UFO Newsletter, 150 subscribers) are interested in publishing a translation into Dutch of Christopher Kemp's article "Close Encounter with Jerry Black" which was a cover story in the March 22 issue. We would like to know whether you would grant us permission to publish such a translation....

Sincerely,

met vriendelijke groet,

Frits Westra

Editor UFO-Niewsbrief

OK, this isn't really a "letter to the editor," per se, but how could we NOT share it?

A Modest Proposal

I don't understand all the fuss about campaign finance reform. By now, pretty much everyone realizes that the corporations run the U.S. And, by and large, we really don't care that it is this way. If we did, Ralph Nader probably would have been elected President or maybe John McCain. This is a country of blind greed...that's how we got to where we are today. If the economy is steaming along, the great majority of people don't give a rats ass about the constitution, bill of rights or democracy in general.

Just show 'em the money!

Here's my proposal: Let's completely dissolve the Federal Government, create a corporate based board of directors to run everything, just like they do now, except will cut out the middle man. To hell with any kind of regulation, except as they see fit. Of course, we would also do away with taxes. We wouldn't need it. We wouldn't be paying the salaries of politicians who claim to represent our interests while taking millions from corporations to do their bidding. Think of the money we could save. Wait a minute...I think I've just described fascism. Oh well, it seemed like a good idea.

David Fitts

Lexington


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The Second Coming

I woke up on Monday morning, dreading the receipt of our sports column in my inbox. Not because I don't enjoy it, but because for the first time ever, I was actually afraid our sports columnist might be writing about the same topic I'd planned for this week.

Fortunately, Zurch was on a plane to and from Vegas last week, and he missed a great deal of the coverage of Rick Pitino's Second Coming.

Of course last Wednesday's press conference didn't come as news to anyone in the press (who knew all about his kids' school registrations in Louisville) - but that didn't stop anyone in Kentucky from wall-to-wall helicopter coverage of the entire debacle.

I was almost dreading the fact that I had plans with friends that night (most of whom are sports fans... season-ticket holding sports fans) to meet for dinner and then go hear a band. I knew I should probably bring along some reading material or something... to hide the fact that I had nothing meaningful to contribute to the conversation and that my eyes would be glassing over.

My basic impression of this non-event was, "who cares?" Followed closely by, "why does anybody care?"

And as is usually the case when I think I know everything... I had so much to learn.

And as is less frequently the case, I found myself marveling: hey, this is just like they say in the Bible - that part about the "little child" shall lead them. If by "little child," you mean our friend Kevin, who (at 26) is the youngest person in our social circle.

I'd seen most of the news commentary on the subject by then, and frankly, they could ALL learn a thing or two from Kevin, who offered the following insightful analysis.

He said Rick leaving UK was like breaking up with a girlfriend.

This was a real love affair, followed by an amicable breakup.

You stay "friends" in an abstract sort of way.

It's all good.

Maybe she leaves town.

Maybe she finds another boyfriend.

She might even be living with him.

You hear about it, of course. And you wish her well. Again, in that abstract sort of way.

Maybe your paths even cross once in a while, and that's ok too.

Then she moves back to town.

And she promptly takes up with the umemployed loser down the street whom everybody hates.

Not only that... everybody in town is talking about her and this Loser.

You can't get away from them.

They're everywhere you go. Everywhere you turn.

They are suddenly THE couple.

And all of a sudden, it all made sense to me.

And it reminded me that - much like a proverbial girlfriend in one of Kevin's many parables - I had written, with great confidence, upon Pitino's departure, "ohhhhhh, he'll be back."

And I was right.

Which is my favorite thing.

The reason, I wrote at the time, was a fairly graphic metaphor detailing at some length my theory that he'd never find another state that would metaphorically suck a certain anatomical appendage of his the way Kentucky would. (I think I put it in... balder terms though.)

The important thing is... the thing I don't want to lose sight of here, is: I was right.

Second Coming?

Indeed. -RR

 
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