Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com">le*****@oc******.com, or send to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.
SEXY BEAST
Thank you for another fine sex edition [“Love Thy Body,” Feb. 4]. Narcissistic? Yes. Salacious? No. The well-written, matter-of-fact tone raises my hopes for my repressed, prudish fellow Americans. Rexford Styzens
Long Beach
While Gustavo Arellano may take great pride in the woolly caterpillar separating your piehole from your clit-tickler [“Facial Hair of the Gods?” Feb. 4], those gabachoswho sport a full-fledged womb broom have one up on you and the Frito Bandito: we can simultaneously work the entire field of dreams sinmanos.And that includes the coughing purple starfish.
Shane
via e-mail
I was charmed and impressed by the review you included of that hidden jewel in Philip Roth's body of work, TheBreast[Cornel Bonca's “Making the Breast of a Bad Situation,” Feb. 4]. It's a strange and surprisingly beautiful book about which not very much has been said, so it was good to see it mentioned.
By the way, I teach in the literature/languages department at Orange Coast College, so I was also amused by your debunking of the OCC-Playboy connection [Gustavo Arellano's “Girls Gone Not So Wild,” Feb. 4]. I've heard the claim before from my students.
Eli S. Evans
via e-mail
I think Buddy Siegal's article about fun things to do with the scrotum is the most disgusting thing I've ever read [“Verily, the Scrot,” Feb. 4]. And so do all the friends I e-mailed it to.
Squashmen
via e-mail
JUST A BEAST
In regards to Steve Lowery's item on Robert Schuller demanding to eat on a restaurant's porch [“Diary of a Mad County,” Feb. 11]: publishing the anonymous writing from a supposed waitress posted on a questionable website is pretty lame; who's to say she wasn't having a bad night? And so what if the man wants to eat on the porch? What happened to “the customer is always right”? Funny, you on the left seem to like to find imperfections in preachers. No one is perfect, even a Christian preacher.
B. Dirk Yarborough
via e-mail
SteveLoweryresponds: First, it wasn't the waitress who determined Schuller couldn't eat on the porch, it was the fire chief. By your reasoning, a customer should be allowed to smoke crack if they so desire. But I want to talk about your statement “No one is perfect, even a Christian preacher.” EVEN a Christian preacher? As I write this, a Boston priest has just been convicted of rape and a Brea youth minister has been arrested for possessing child pornography. Add to that numerous molesting priests and bishops who cover up their crimes, not to mention the usual rogue's gallery of Jimmy Swaggerts, Jim Bakers, Jerry Falwells and Lou Sheldons. EVEN a Christian preacher? How about ESPECIALLY?
JOSEPH PARKER
Jim Larkins did an excellent job exploring a case study of a grievous failure in our mental-health-care system [“What the Devil Told Joe Parker,” Feb. 4]. Because both of my children suffered early onset of thought disorders within the past 18 months, I am keeping current with the literature on—and talking to professionals about—these devastating diseases. I believe Mr. Larkins voiced a misconception about schizophrenia that I'd like to correct: schizophrenia has a definite onset. It does not “lie dormant” or “fester” as a result of maltreatment in childhood. The prodromal period (the time before schizophrenia acutely impairs functioning) can last as long as several years. During this period, the patient experiences altered sensory perceptions and may begin to hallucinate or have delusions, as in ABeautifulMind.People with thought disorders are not and need not be “lepers.” Most schizophrenic patients are not violent, and many are isolative and gentle. Medication can help 75 percent to 80 percent of people with thought disorders function in society. That is why public consciousness of and funding for mental-health care is absolutely crucial.
Isa Lang
Orange
Your story added depth and understanding to an event nearly incomprehensible in its horror. Larkins painted a story of inevitable disaster that makes the entire thing feel even more tragic.
Lael Kovestan
via e-mail
1-2-3-4!
Sorry to hear Rich Kane's experience at NAMM's BANG! street-drumming exhibition was not a good one [“The Big Beat-Off,” Jan. 28]. However, many of his comments were without any fact, and as a businessman working for one of the show sponsors, I am a bit troubled by quite a few of his remarks. BANG! has been a very successful venture for us, and if Kane were as dialed into the industry as he seems to be, he would understand the impact that similar drum circles have had over the past few months. It's on fire! I would put our boys up to any drum-off challenge Kane proposes for good press. Have a think on it. It may just turn out to be the best thing your paper has done.
Jeff Moeller
Big Bang Distribution
Northridge
Everything u wrote on us was wrong! BANG! was a success in everyone's eyes except you! How can u be a music critic if ur a music hater? ur a negative and miserable man! Let the anger go! Ur not mad at me, ur mad at ur father!
KISS's SDC
via e-mail
HAIDL
So Greg Haidl is back in court, and the judge has bitch-slapped his lawyer. Hooray! He's given his life one hell of a swirly, and I can't wait to watch the little turd go sliding down the porcelain pipe. Greggy-poo, there's a little justice left in this system. I know there is. I can feel it. I can smell the jail time you're gonna get handed, and I relish it.
Phixamus
via e-mail
