Letters for January 22, 2004

In his review of Calendar Girls, Bob Grimm suggested that all but one “still gorgeous” woman should have “stayed under wraps.” It is a pity his narrow view caused him to miss both the beauty of these women and the point of the movie. It is also offensive that he judges the value of a movie not by the script or the talent of the actors but by whether the women involved are, in his view, gorgeous without clothing.

The calendar on which the movie was based was an international success, suggesting that Grimm’s narrow view is not universal. The human body continues to be beautiful as we age. That was one theme of the film, along with grief and friendship and loyalty, all of which might have been addressed in a more thoughtful review.

Baby Boomer women continue to be vibrant and sexual as they age, and, unlike many of their mothers before them, refuse in large numbers to “stay under wraps.” It is for this reason that movies like Calendar Girls and Something’s Gotta Give are succeeding and will be followed by more of the same. Get used to it, Mr. Grimm, and please do us all the favor of assessing more than the meat-market value of the movies you review.

Vicki LoSasso
Reno

Exploit Mars!
I was swept off my feet by the President’s commitment to a much ignored area of human endeavor, that of spreading the presence of mankind to all corners of the known universe. I was especially impressed by the President’s commitment to civil rights by launching an entire wedding party to the moon for the gay union of a mixed-race-lesbian couple. What a blast! So far, gay marriage is not illegal on the moon and hopefully, it never will be.

Of course, the President’s promise to remove all sanctions imposed on our Martian brethren following their merciless attacks on the American people during the Nicholson administration is long overdue and would contribute much to the cause of peace beyond the bounds of Earth. I commend the President for his leadership in these matters.

There is one damp aspect of the Commander in Chief’s dream that bothers me, though. That is the letting of exclusive contracts to Burn and Loot, a subsidiary of Hellaburden, for the extraction of mineral resources on Mars. I think the President is treading on thin ice here. Nevertheless, this in itself should not serve to derail a larger purpose, and certainly should not keep the President from enjoying a landside victory in the 2004 elections. At least, let’s hope not. After all, the very security of freedom-loving Americans is precisely what’s at stake.

In a nutshell, this will be one small babystep for all earthlings, one giant leap for corporate interests with close ties to the administration. What more could we hope for?

Del Williams
Reno

Rocks against tanks
I am so proud of our ally Israel. People can throw all the rocks they want at its tanks, but those tanks don’t flinch one itsy bit.

Financed by taxpayers in the United States, a tank is impervious to rocks thrown by idealistic kids, who are doomed to live like cattle or be killed for daring to express basic rage.

Yes, sir, nothing like the oppressed becoming the oppressor, arrogance as an attribute, the star of David now a Nordic rune.

In fact, if the irony weren’t so nauseating, I’d get all choked up.

Palestinian kids can throw all the rocks they want. I can live free in the most prosperous nation on Earth. My street is tank-free. Food still in the stores, house has electricity, I travel freely to my job. I don’t even get shot at.

But with pre-emptive war now the bright shining beacon of peace (Herr Hitler’s favorite form of diplomacy), why don’t we just nuke the place?

We could really fly a lot of flags then.

Craig Ayres-Sevier
via e-mail

Destroy WMDs
Congratulations to Iran and Libya for renouncing weapons of mass destruction.

The United States, currently the world’s greatest developer, manufacturer and user of weapons of mass destruction, is the greatest terrorist threat in the world. Daily, we are terrorizing, wounding and killing innocent men, women and children in Afghanistan and Iraq. During recent years, there have been tens of thousands of victims.

Also, our service people are suffering incredibly in the illegal, immoral and totally deceptive war for oil.

We should rejoin the world’s human community by stopping our development, production and use of weapons of mass destruction. We should begin to destroy them, as we demand other nations destroy them.

Walden and Betty Joura
Reno