A FAN OF ANN(E)S
RE: Author Ann Romano’s One Day at a Time column, weekly, in which she tells it like it is about the week’s news and celebrity gossip, which sometimes involves Anne Hathaway.
DEAR ANN [ROMANO]—I just wanted to write you to let you know how sorry I am that I wrote you a nasty letter a couple of months ago, in which I ragged on you for making a few of your trademark hilarious comments about Anne Hathaway. So you don’t like Anne Hathaway. At least you’re funny about it. Your column and Mr. [Denis C.] Theriault’s articles are what make the Mercury what it is. So please continue writing your excellent column and cracking me up on a weekly basis, and please accept my apology for the nasty letter I wrote.
Jan
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FINE PRINT
RE: “Fresh Eyes” [News, Nov 13], in which author Dirk VanderHart sought comments from the two leading candidates for each open seat on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners (not all the candidates) regarding problems with the Morrison Bridge.
TO THE MERCURY VIA VOICEMAIL—Hi, this is James Rowell. I am running for county commissioner. You never put my name in the paper in this last paper about people who where running. You put down Brian Wilson and Jules Bailey and Jim Francesconi and Deborah Kafoury. You didn’t ever mention James Rowell. Your paper is biased and unfair.
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SLEEPING ON THE SOUTH
RE: “You Better Move On” [Film, Nov 13], in which author Ned Lannamann unfavorably reviews Muscle Shoals, the documentary about the Alabama town where some of the greatest hits of the ’60s and ’70s were recorded.
Ned Lannamann, you must have fallen asleep during the movie and had to make this drivel up. There was a theater full of people that liked it when I saw it. The movie’s stories are about the history of the Muscle Shoals sounds and the grit it took to bring it to the world. Maybe you just don’t get grits… it’s a Southern thing. I think your readers should make up their own minds since we obviously disagree here. Hopefully Portland moviegoers will ignore the critic there and be able to enjoy the story anyway. I have no affiliation with the movie or with any of the people connected with the film. I just enjoyed it and think others will, too, if they are not misled by a critical review.
posted by Eric Schlanser
MUSIC EDITOR NED LANNAMANN RESPONDS: That is nice that you liked it, Eric, but by accusing me of sleeping through it, you’re ignoring the movie’s very substantial problems. Why did the Rolling Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd eat up the lion’s share of screen time when artists like Arthur Conley, the Staple Singers, Laura Lee, James and Bobby Purify, and R.B. Greaves are barely mentioned, if at all? The movie was junk.
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F WORD
RE: “Don’t Be a Dick, Anti-Feminists” [Blogtown, Nov 15], in which columnist Barbara Holm considers what it means to be a feminist.
The feminist movement was very necessary and I’m glad it evolved. [Women] shouldn’t be categorized by their looks, weight, hairstyle, wardrobe, or cosmetics, but for their character, wit, energy, and emotion, just like men. Real heroes in history were Sojourner Truth, Jane Pittman, Susan B. Anthony, all the suffrage advocates, Dorothy Day, Rosa Parks, and the list goes on, but they’re not really recognized as such. You’ve come a long way baby, and the road is still ahead.
posted by seentoomuch
I bet if we changed the name from “feminism” to “egalitarianism,” a whole lot more men would be on board with it. Just a thought. Since, you know, if we had an ideological movement called “masculinism” whose stated aim is equality for everyone, there’d probably be more than a few women who would be reluctant to adopt the label, even if they agreed with the aims and goals of the movement.
posted by Snagglepuss
INTERESTING HYPOTHESIS, Snagglepuss. Let us know how it goes. In the meantime, you get two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater for your letter/comment of the week! That place is filled with feminists and egalitarians, though the characters onscreen are often not.
Portland Police Corruption. Hello my name is Sabrina Haskins. I am writing about the corrupt practices of the Portland Police Bureau. The Portland Police have a history of corruption and racial profiling and discrimination against minorities. I raised my sons as a divorced single parent. They were taught morals and rules to live by. My sons are 22yrs old and 25yrs with no criminal past or police record. My sons made a conscious decision to live this way. On Sept 02 2013 my son Carlos Smith-Haskins left home at 4:30 am as he had done before to walk to the store to get a slurpee. On the way he stopped to relieve himself in some bushes on the side of a house. My son was called to the sidewalk by a Portland Police officer. My son complied. The Portland Police ask my son” What are you doing with those bikes”.There was a Uhaul moving truck in the driveway of the house and my son looked and noticed some bikes were behind the moving truck laying on the ground close to the front door. My son Carlos replied” Those are not mine”. My son was arrested. Upon walking my son Carlos to the police car, the arresting Portland police officer stated to the other officer” This is what Al Qaieda looks like. Referring to my sons appearance. My son Carlos was racial profiled and wrongly arrested. The Portland Police have falsifed the reports and falsified evidence against Carlos. My son Carlos has been wrongly charged with Burglary of a bike store, and has been wrongly Indicted on the charges for a crime he did not commit. My son Carlos Smith-Haskins is innocent of all charges. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Portland Police Bureau has violated his civil rights and racial profiled another minority. We need help to get the word out that my son Carlos has been targeted and wrongly accused by the Portland Oregon Police Organization. The Portland Police Bureau must be legally made to be held accountable for their continued illegal practices. My son Carlos Smith-Haskins trial is scheduled to begin November 25 2013 for a crime he did not commit. My email address is turspr@yahoo.com
Jane Pittman was a fictional character.
Dear WM. Steven Humphrey,
There is a glaring error in Number 4 of your Holiday Wish List. A “Diabetic Hypo Kit” would never include an insulin syringe. “Hypo” refers to hypoglycemia, or, in layman’s terms, a low blood sugar. As insulin is a synthetic hormone that lowers blood sugar, the syringe in question would most likely be a glucagon syringe.
Sincerely,
Portland area Type I Diabetic (IDDM since 1987)
If you’re including Jane Pittman, then I nominate Pippi Longstocking.
@PPos – I think the “Hypo” in Steve’s kit was short for “Hypodermic Needle.”
@Ned – Are you kidding? Why did the Rolling Stones and Lynrd Skynrd get more screen time then all those other bands that no one has heard of and no one cares about? Is that a serious question? Did you give this movie a bad review just so you could masturbate with your “superior” knowledge of unsuccessful bands?
@Reymont – You sound like the kind of person Muscle Shoals was made for. You should go see it; I bet you would really like it.
Snagglepuss is a fictional character.