Letters to the Editor

BRAVO to Emanuela Aureli for her wonderful letter [opinion, Feb. 20: “Guns vs Sex”] about all the hoopla you all have received around the Barbie/Ken photos [

]. I agree with her wholeheartedly. There are so many more violent images in the general public that are far more offensive.

From my side, being that Newtown/Sandy Hook, Conn., is my home town, I find it far more important that we concern ourselves with gun control and mental illness than how we play with our Barbie and Ken dolls. I, for one, did far worse sexually charged things [with] my Barbies when I was a kid! (I’m 60 now.)

I loved these photos—so much so that I have kept that issue just for the photos—parts of which may even show up in my recycled artwork.

Also, BRAVO to Annie Leibovitz, also a mother, with her comment on said photos; she’s “seen worse things done with Barbie dolls” [

]. Nuff said.

PS. God Forbid these folks who have complained that their children actually read an issue of the Reporter and see/read Savage Love! OMG

Cyndi Saint
Santa Fe

I met George [Koumantaros] in July, 1971 on one of the dirt roads outside of Barry’s Bay, Ontario [

].

I was with my then-wife Teri and baby Eli in our Volkswagen minibus on our way to a big party put on by the Canadian Whole Earth Catalog people.

Rounding a sharp curve on a muddy track deep in the north woods, the headlights illuminated a 1940s Trailways bus rolled on its side. I got out, climbed up, pried open a window and shouted out into the darkness, “Is anyone there?” A voice replied, “Yeah, what’s the problem?” My flashlight spotlit George and Penny at rest on a mattress on the side of the bus below me.

I recognized [Koumantaros] as the guy I moved a piano for the previous winter. He said, “We’re trapped, the door’s stuck in the mud, send a wrecker and let us go back to sleep.”

Returning to the VW, Teri piped up, “That was George Taros from THOG!” Bon voyage, George.

Joe Cowan aka Joe Truck

The ONLY reservation I have in [Rev. Gail Marriner] signing the first [same-sex marriage] certificate if/when NM passes an equal marriage rights amendment is: What about the rest of the US citizens who still cannot get married and aren’t protected by such an amendment [

]? I understand that you could then expand that argument further, and thus, she must stop somewhere. However, we cannot vote or in ANY way control what happens in other countries. However, we can in our own country.

As long as there are ANY states that are blocking same-sex couples from marrying and receiving the same benefits and freedoms afforded to heterosexual couples, then none of us are equal. I would (were I this minister) feel compelled to fight for marriage equality for ALL American same-sex couples, not just the ones from my state. But that’s just me.

Henrico Juancito Chihuahua Consuelo Mocito
sfreporter.com

Okay, so I’m the guy who sort of enjoyed this movie [

]. It is not nearly as bad as  you suggest, although it is rather sexist and has a stupid scene that anyone of [Native American] heritage will find idiotic and insulting...but how is that different than most of the “comedies” that come out now, such as the FAR worse Identity Thief?

It does have some clever scenes and writing, and so, OK, it does have some flaws; but I think the real issue here is that: A) You didn’t finish it, something a reviewer must do before writing about it, and B) You seem to have bones to pick with [Charlie] Sheen and [Roman] Coppola, or all Coppolas.

I won’t watch it again, but for the 79-minute running time, it did fare OK for me.

local reviewer
sfreporter.com

I am distressed at the downturn the film section has taken in the Reporter. David Riedel writes what seem to be blog entries, not movie reviews. A movie review, like all critical writing, should present an argument, not a forum for the personal taste of the reviewer. The “ratings” system is juvenile. I suggest a good look at Devin O’Leary’s film section in the Alibi, which covers a far broader range of movies with wit, intelligence and engagement with the local film community.

Steve Kostelecky

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Santa Fe Reporter