Marilyn uh-oh: Regarding Kenny Be's Worst-Case Scenario in the December 4 issue, "A Most-Grave Situation," here's a letter to Marilyn Musgrave:
I am saddened by your attempt to devalue me as both an American and a beautiful creation of God. My main issue with you is that you were elected to represent the entire state of Colorado. You are wasting taxpayer dollars and taxpayer time with your attempts to push America back to the nineteenth century. Perhaps the solution to the so-called gay agenda is to round us all up and intern us like the Japanese-Americans during WWII or simply exterminate us like the Jews. Then you could rest easy, knowing the world is safe for marriage between a man and a woman.
The best part of America is that nobody has to like or condone who I am and what I do for it to be right for me. Does taxation without representation sound familiar? How about Amendment 2, or separation of church and state? Sounds like you need to go back to school to learn what America is really about, Marilyn. And while you're at it, find yourself a homo to hang with. You'd make a perfect fag hag.
David Kittridge
Westminster
A matter of convenience: David Holthouse usually does a good job of covering all the angles of pressing issues, but in "That's the Ticket," in the November 27 issue, he barely made mention of Ticketmaster, the greatest ticket-scalping success story ever.
About three years had passed since I last bought concert tickets, when I made a purchase through Ticketmaster's call center in June. In addition to the face value of my tickets, I paid a facility charge, a convenience charge, an order-processing fee and a shipping fee. My grand total was nearly enough to buy four tickets at face value, even though my order was for a pair. I also had to listen to three sales pitches for Ticketmaster's "sponsors" before receiving my order confirmation.
If Ticketmaster can charge convenience fees for buying tickets in advance, why can't the guy who's freezing his ass off outside the Pepsi Center charge a convenience fee for personally delivering my tickets the moment I arrive?
R.J. Andrews
Broomfield
Rules of the game: In his scalping article, Holthouse states that eBay does not regulate ticket sales. In fact, it does: See http://pages. ebay.com/help/policies/event-tickets.html.
Meghan Murphy
Denver
David Holthouse replies: Meghan Murphy is correct that eBay technically prohibits sellers who live in areas where scalping sports tickets is illegal from auctioning tickets for more than face value. But that's merely the official policy. In practice, eBay bidding for tickets to the Los Angeles Lakers game here next month is heated and already well over face value. The same is true for dozens of other hot tickets in states where scalping is prohibited.
Ramblers anonymous: Regarding Jason Sheehan's "One Night in Bangkok," in the December 4 issue:
I feel cheated that Westword continues to print Jason Sheehan's narcissistic ramblings under the guise of restaurant reviews. His navel-gazing bores me, but if the editors think it makes for good reading, Sheehan could be given his own column, in which he'd describe his credit history, his pot smoking, his parking spots and the weather in Tampa, Florida.
Please give the Cafe review space back to a writer capable of scrutinizing restaurants, not just himself.
Kelly Bastone
Denver
Sowing the seedies: Just read yet another enveloping, hilarious installment of Sheehan's reviews with "One Night in Bangkok." My Peet's coffee was so much more aromatic as it sprayed out of my nose at the "crabs" line. I keep thinking that all of the interesting, seedy-insider info woven into such earthy, transporting stories will be exhausted by the next time I pick up my new Westword and flip to Cafe first, but Sheehan keeps on satisfying.
Thanks for bashing the highbrow when it's warranted and never hesitating to dive in and enjoy the lowbrow. It's better there, anyway!
Mary Reid
Denver
Exit, stage left: I am just writing to say that for the past two weeks, I have really missed Nate Stone's At the Show cartoon. I hope it has not been discontinued. At the Show and Jason Sheehan's food review are my favorites; I look forward to them every week.
Erica Ramsthaler
Denver
Editor's note: Nate's on an extended vacation with his wife, and he took At the Show along for the ride. It will return in the new year.
No reservations: Regarding Robert Wilonsky's "Indian Giver," in the November 27 issue:
I found this review of The Missing to be overly critical of the Native American aspects of the movie. There is nothing archaic or racist about how Native Americans were portrayed. The use of real speakers of the Apache language and the depiction of traditional religious beliefs allow the movie to accurately portray Apache "folklore." Some of those beliefs are still held today by many Native Americans on and off reservations in the Southwest, including my own, Din.
Warren Yazzie
via the Internet
Banking on the future: I applaud Michael Paglia's "No, Thanks!" in the November 27 issue, which indicts the carpetbaggers and out-of-towners who consign our finest historic buildings to the dustbin for their own short-term benefit. Sadder still are the toothless or non-existent ordinances that make this destruction not just possible, but probable. Our cities and towns need to find ways to save important buildings on behalf of those citizens with a long-term commitment to their communities.
As a Colorado native and fourteen-year city resident, I can testify to what a great place Englewood is -- a friendly and livable small town of largely modest homes and shops. Incorporated in 1903, almost every building here dates to the twentieth century. All the more reason that the bank building at 4301 South Broadway should remain, a monument to one of Colorado's greatest architects of the twentieth century -- William Muchow -- and a testimony to the post-war wealth and stature of Englewood.
But Michael shouldn't forget that Englewood has at least one other fine building of statewide, if not national, significance. That's the Colonial Bank, designed as the Key Savings and Loan by Charles Deaton, architect of the legendary "Sculptured House" in Genesee.
Owners Jerry and Diane Gartner, president and vice president of Colonial Banks of Colorado, lovingly care for this regional landmark. They live south of Englewood, but Diane works in town every day, managing the branch. Through the generosity of the Gartners, the building is frequently used for community events and houses the Englewood Chamber of Commerce.
Colorado's Colonial Bank and Nebraska's Commercial Federal Bank have very different ideas of what business and community service are all about. Commercial Federal should find an empty lot for its new drive-thru bank. Englewood City Council and Community Development Department, please save this significant historic building!
Diane Wray
Englewood
Preserving the past: The insightful "No, Thanks!" was brought to my attention by a concerned citizen in Englewood. Michael Paglia points out a dilemma I often encounter, both as a technical advisor for Colorado Preservation Inc. who runs the Endangered Places Program (Colorado's Most Endangered Places List) and as a Denver native. Wrecking-ball operations (and other forms of demolition) are very often carried out by temporary and/or absent owners. The purpose of CPI's Endangered Places Program is to find solutions in situations where significant historic resources are threatened. Out of the 44 sites we've listed since 1998, 35 have experienced progress, up to and including several saves. (Nomination forms for Colorado's Most Endangered Places List can be found at www.coloradopreservation.org.)
CPI relies on the public to let us know about threatened historic sites. We will look into the Englewood bank building and Denver aquarium projects. Thank you!
Patricia Holcomb, technical advisor
CPI Endangered Places Program
I did it Mao way: Regarding Michael Roberts's "Well Red," in the December 4 issue:
Despite his ignoble departure, you still gotta doff your rug to Justin Mitchell, former Rocky Mountain News music scribe; it sounds like he's having a helluva time. Now he just needs to keep his mind on his driving, his hands on the wheel and his snoopy eyes on the road ahead. Westword's media maven soft-peddling Mitchell's post-Denver bona fides is another issue. If a conservative newspaperman made his bones covering the Risen Elvis at Burger King, a lefty like Michael Roberts wouldn't -- couldn't --contain his braying dismissal. For a fellow traveler, though, it's just one more stop on a long, strange trip. Dude!
Mitchell is no Walter Duranty. His tap dancing around Chicomm (can you still print that word?) censorship can be excused. Meanwhile, back in the States, Roberts is smokin' in the boys room. Good liberals like Roberts meet any hint of censorship, no matter how tortured its definition, with roars of outrage. Recently, his panties were painfully knotted over the "censorship" endured by our own poor, repressed Chicks and Hollywoodistas and over Clear Channel's "censorship" of any hint of a lefty perspective amongst its yakkers, like those reprobate red baiters Scott Redmond and Peter Boyles. Yet real censorship under a truly repressive regime -- one with 65 million happy customers already in mass graves! -- is chuckle material?
Meet the new bosses, same as the old bosses. Only now, they don't bang their shoes on lecterns; they smile and bow. And why not? The same useful idiots are still telling us not to worry, be happy!
JM Schell
Arvada
Riff stiff: I'm with Reno Divorce -- we played the Riff Disaster Fest, too. I just wanted to say thanks to Dave Herrera for doing his November 6 and November 13 Beatdown columns on that show. It's nice to see that someone is trying to get to the bottom of what's happening and exposing it to the public, because no one is talking to the bands.
We didn't get paid, either, and I have spoken to several other bands that have not been paid or had phone calls/e-mails returned. Reno Divorce has toured the U.S. and Europe and never had any trouble getting paid a guarantee -- until now. I figure they at least owe the bands an explanation, if not the cash we were guaranteed.
So, thanks!
Andrew Erich
via the Internet
