Play as you go: I agree with Bill Gallo that the name of the new Broncos stadium is meaningless ("The Name Game," November 23). The only thing that matters is how the Broncos play at that new stadium!
Jay Whiting
Denver
The football stadium bard: Bill Gallo -- one of the few who still thinks we should sell the name of the Broncos' new home -- plays the Shakespeare card in support of his position.
"What's in a name?" Gallo quotes the Bard, "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
I'll see him that Shakespeare quote and raise him another one: "Who steals my purse steals trash...but he that filches from me my good name...makes me poor indeed."
And when Gallo suggests that you can't transfer the beloved name of an old sports venue to a new one, I have two words for him: Comiskey Park.
Lew Cady
Denver
Practice what he preaches: I want this letter to serve Carl Kabat as a means to remain free, to live his life with conscience, effectiveness and without fear and misery (Eileen Welsome's "Send in the Clown," November 16). I want the superiors who are authorized the grace and good will to use it to retain him and his means of public witness to our times.
Father Kabat is a hero in a revelation. He should not become a man tracked on a desert.
Ronald K. Harvey
Westminster
Duty is only skin deep: Does Robin Chotzinoff read Westword? For more times than I can count on all my naked appendages, Mountain Air Ranch has placed ads with this publication asking everyone (including Ms. Chotzinoff) to visit during the annual Nude Recreation Weekend and find out firsthand what 'The Joy of Naked' is all about.
I will give Chotzy some credit. Her November 16 "Bare Facts" did nail to the wall some of the reasons to be naked. People who frequent nudist resorts/beaches/hot springs are a mix of Groovy (any body type is okay), Intrepid (it feels great) and Tennessee Williams (nothing wrong with doing it) Nakeds. We are a little of the Sporting (I dare ya) Nakeds. We admit it; that's how we usually get 90 percent of our members! But the Drunkly or Proprietary Nakeds? No obnoxious behavior or swinging allowed. Period! 'Nuff said.
I hope that next July, Ms. Chotzinoff will make a reservation to attend Nude Recreation Week. Maybe then she will discover what her two great aunts and any child knows -- that is, before they're taught guilt and shame by an adult. Nude is not lewd!
So come on, Robin, be a Sporting Naked. I double-dog dare ya!
Robert Eastwood
Aurora
Baring her soul: Hey, Robin, thanks for the smiles. But methinks you doth protest too much.
Charles Terry
via the Internet
Gas pains: Bob Burtman's November 9 article, "Paying the Price," gave me the jitters. Not only did it tell the story of the cold-blooded practices the gas industry uses in putting private station owners out of business, but it also exposes, at least to me, the real reason gas prices are going up astronomically: GREED! I live here in Colorado, the state where the worst school massacre took place 130 odd years after the worst Indian massacre (Sand Creek, for those of you who live in a cave). Psychiatrists and social workers are looking for the culprits that are destroying our youth. They point to violent video games and movies. They point to Marilyn Manson and rap. The greed that feeds the kinds of things going on at Shell and the other monsters has offspring. Those offspring go to school with our children. Case closed.
Martha Medrano
Denver, Colorado
Heavy petting: Usually Kyle Wagner is chowing down anything, starting with chicken and moving to bison and even bull's testicles (Rocky Mountain oysters). So I was very glad to see that she actually checked out an animal-friendly restaurant where no carcasses are being served ("Tempeh, Tempeh," November 16). Yeah, the WaterCourse has some faults -- or maybe it's part of the modern times that we are always rushed and stressed out.
Good things will take a while, Kyle! So kick back, relax and enjoy! What a great change in menu: I'm looking forward to more "food-without-a-face" articles.
Nicole Hugo
via the Internet
My sweet Unbreakable you: I don't want to take too critical a tone toward Bill Gallo's "Night Moves," his November 23 review of Unbreakable. (I'll never forget hearing two prominent critics reviewing a performance of a work by Rachmaninoff with scathing contempt, until they discovered that the performer [whose identity had not been disclosed to them beforehand] was -- Rachmaninoff himself! Ah, what a glorious moment for an artist who actually creates something, to hear these parasites sputtering and stammering to explain themselves afterward...) Instead, I will simply offer my own humble opinion of the film, as a budding "Shyamalanite" myself.
After having seen two of his films, I can only gather that Shyamalan may be one of those increasingly rare fellows whose capacity to stay focused on character results in extraordinary skill with the camera, something I don't recall seeing to this degree since Hitchcock. Rather than getting lost in "cosmologies" (however "muddled"), perhaps we can understand something more of his intention when we take notice of the beautiful and concise characterization he gives, for example, to two figures of very little significance to the plot, and with very little screen time: the secretary in the security office where Willis's character works and the babysitter who greets him and his wife on their return from their second "first date." Or the careful use of music (also like Hitchcock), or the wonderful refusal to cut for anything but dramatic reasons.
A bit more focus on his craft and less on challenging his presumed philosophical pretensions, and one might be able to refrain from condescending to the man and imputing to him the crass commercial motives that are the downfall of critics and creators alike.
John Stirling Walker
Denver
Little big men: Michael Roberts, I'm a bit surprised by your "slam" of my favorite band, Little Feat ("Legendary Feat," November 16). Being so aware of the radio situation in this country, I should think you would cut the band some slack on the "success" aspect. This band combines many genres at the same time, and that's hard to fit into the dominant "classic rock" format that this country is bombarded with. The boxed set represents the history of the band Little Feat, not the individual history of Lowell George.
How can you say, "But the decision to devote all of the third CD to comeback recordings canned between 1988 and 1998 goes too far in trying to prop up this highly questionable argument." Who the f**k do you think you are?! When did you last see a Little Feat show? If they're so bad, why does every performance, and I've seen a bunch, have folks finishing the show smiling from ear to ear? Success is a relative thing, especially in rock and roll. You should know that.
Then you said: "It's heartening that they haven't surrendered, but it would be more so if their biggest accomplishment was something other than keeping up with those mortgage payments." I could say the same about your writing! I know that they all could be making more money if they pursued studio musician gigs. I guess in your opinion this would show more of a sense of responsibility and success. I plan to contribute to their mortgage payments for as long as they ask me to.
This band has a current grassroots movement that stretches from coast to coast, and we believe that this band is truly the best band in America today. Groupies...maybe -- but it's about the music. I show no over-partiality to any of the lead vocals the band has or has had. For almost thirty years, the members of Little Feat have collectively produced a sound that makes people dance, feel good and enjoy being alive. Great soul -- full rhythmic, funky, bluesy, amazingly good stuff. For what it's worth, I'm 38 years old and I vote! I've said it before and I'll say it again: The Feat Shit Don't Stink.
Tony Robledo
Boulder
Misadventures in paradise: In Robin Chotzinoff's November 2 column on my recent misadventures, "Surrender Regis," several quotes of mine about working on TV shows in general could be misinterpreted as pertaining to specific individuals. Any such remarks in no way should be understood as applying to anyone but myself.
Rick Rosner
Studio City, CA
Fanatic club: I enjoyed Andy Stonehouse's well-written article on the Tragically Hip, "Too Smart for Their Own Good," in the October 26 issue. For those readers who wish to hear more of the Hip's works, I encourage them to visit http:// thehip.org. It is a site run by fans that distributes many recordings of the band dating back to 1988. The Hip has maintained an open recording policy and encourages people to share, provided no one makes an effort to profit from it. To quote Musique Plus (the French version of Much Music), the Hip has fanatics -- not just fans.
Owen Peters
via the Internet
Lost and found: I enjoyed Laura Bond's November 2 article about Corey Feldman, "Moment of Truth," but I wonder about one detail. Did Laura ever watch the movie Lost Boys? If she did, she doesn't remember it very well, because she states that Feldman plays a "bloodsucking vampire" in it. In fact, he plays a fanatical vampire hunter. Thanks for the article, though.
Cheryl Kasson
Denver
