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WE'RE WORTH LEAVING RIVERSIDE
In March 3 Commie Girl column, Rebecca Schoenkopf wrote, “The only [comedy] venue in the county that offers anything good at all is the Irvine Improv.” But the “Meet the OC Weekly” shindig (or whatever it was called) at the Gypsy Den on March 8 offered a modest contradiction thereto. Not only did my friend and I attend, we drove out from Riverside fer chrissake for the occasion. And not for naught! In addition to the attraction of hearing live readings of the subversively witty prose that elevates the Weekly to much more than just a hipster's calendar rag with exceptionally entertaining personal ads, an impulsive curiosity about the faces behind the newsprint also lured us out to the Lab. As it turns out, Schoenkopf isn't the only one with a beautiful head on her shoulders. More important, however, there was a lot of funny, well-written stuff on the program, and it was all delivered with a mellow aplomb that made for a welcoming and very entertaining evening. My personal favorite was editor Will Swaim's first-person account of a San Juan Capistrano Catholic school swallow scandal. Jim Washburn's “moot-rendering pit” left me in stitches. So kudos, guys and gal. If you do it again next month, my associate and I will definitely take another break from the bristling Inland Empire Wednesday nightlife for a trip to Costa Mesa. It's no Lewis Black show, but it's still worth the trip!
Patrick Ampersand Riverside
READS LIKE CHINESE
Judging by her e-mail address [co**********@ho*****.com], Rebecca Schoenkopf is neither the only Commie Girl nor the first. But she is the best. I always read the back page first when I open a new Weekly; sometimes Commie Girl is the only thing I read. Her write-up of the Laguna Parade (March 10) was excellent. Thanks for keeping the royal “we” alive.
Jim Rue Laguna Beach
NOT SMARMY
You refer in the Aysha 101 sushi review to Newport Beach types as smarmy. Well, I couldn't agree more (“Winter Restaurants,” March 10). I'm from Corona del Mar, and people often lump us in with the Newport crowd. One of my neighbors recently moved from a bayfront home in Newport to Corona del Mar, and she told me, “The people in Corona del Mar are more genuine.” Hard to believe, you say, since the denizens of Corona del Mar seem just as addicted to Porsches and Mercedes. Perhaps.
Jim Lewis Corona del Mar
LETTERS TO LOU
Re: R. Scott Moxley's “Lou Sheldon's Nightmare: If Proposition 22 fails, we're all going gay!” (Cover Story, March 3). Wow! Saw your issue's cover line spewing forth the Reverend Lou Sheldon's greatest fear and thought for a brief, petrifying moment that I had stepped back a few centuries in religious and cultural tolerance. But then I remembered that this is Orange County, land of fish-heads, and just about any clown can open a “church” and call himself a man of God in these parts. What's even scarier, though, is that people actually listen to this idiot and thus give his hateful ranting credence.
I was always led to believe that Christianity was a religion that ranked tolerance–and by extension, love–of your fellow man and woman as its most valuable tenet. So you can imagine the confusion I–and perhaps more open-minded types–must feel when we hear and read about so many so-called Christians condemning anybody who doesn't happen to fill the bill of the perfect, Pat Buchanan-loving Orange County WASP heterosexual.
Speaking of which, Lou, I know a number of heterosexuals–my wife and I included–who voted no on Prop. 22, who have yet to “go gay” or feel the oppressive weight of the “Satan-inspired homosexual threat.”
R.S. Griffith Via e-mail
Please place this under the rock where Lou Sheldon resides:
Dear Mr. Sheldon: I am a 47-year-old father of five. I have always taught my children to treat their neighbors with compassion; it's the only way I could ever imagine going through life. After reading the March 3 cover story in OC Weekly, I'd like to suggest that you do the same.
Mark Aimerito Via e-mail
To the so-called Christians who make up the religious Right: Didn't Jesus come to save what was lost? Didn't Jesus call the religious leaders of the day “vipers,” “snakes,” “the blind leading the blind”? Isn't it also said that on Judgment Day, “Jesus will say to them who said, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we do wonders in your name? Didn't we cast out demons and heal in your name?' Then the Lord will turn to them and say DEPART from me ye workers of INIQUITY! I NEVER KNEW YOU!” That should make the religious REICH ponder spewing any more HATE propaganda. Let the Robertsons, the Falwells, the Phelpses, the Jacksons, the Sharptons and the Sheldons ponder what it is actually like to be Christ-like.
Lenny Westminster
Thanks for your article hinting at some of the many hypocrisies of Sheldon, a so-called man of faith whose main efforts are directed at disavowing the beliefs of others. Just one correction: purporting to prove his adherence to the constitutional requirement of equality for all, Sheldon claims to support the right of homosexuals to drivers' licenses. Not so: Sheldon has opposed the decriminalization of homosexuality in California. You can't use a driver's license in prison.
Jessea Greenman via e-mail
DEPT OF CORRECTIONS
Regarding Buddy Seigal's review of Hillbilly Down (“Kick Out the Jams!” March 10): Thank you for the wonderful review. However, my name is Kathy Robertson. I appreciate your kindness!
Kathy Robertson via e-mail
