ERIK IS MR. COOLER-THAN-ALL-HELL!

HI!—I wanted to respond to Eric3's letter "Mr. Cooler-Than-All-Hell Henriksen" [Letters, April 2]. I heartily disagree with Eric3's assessment of Film Editor Erik Henriksen's hilarious review of Knowing ["Disaster Movie," Film, March 19], as well as his plea for Mr. Henriksen to "Please stop writing. Today." Mr. Henriksen's review was so unassailably awesome it made me actually want to see this movie. Furthermore, his review was the funniest thing I have ever read in the Mercury. Normally I would not bother to send a response about something like this, but the sentiments expressed in Eric3's venomous letter were so contrary to my sheer love of that particular review (which I read more than once just to squeeze all the hilarity out of it) that I felt the need to express an alternative option.  

-Nicole

JUST REMINDING YOU WE'RE AWESOME

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN—In response to your article on the Biltmore Hotel, my name is Gary Cobb and I am a resident in a Central City Concern (CCC) building ["Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite," News, April 2]. Over the last eight years of living in several CCC buildings, the stories I have heard from hundreds of people aren't the ones you have been printing. I've heard about people's life-changing experiences as a direct result of CCC housing and services, which have taken people from active addictions and criminal behavior into lifestyles of model citizens. I want to make sure that the general public is reminded of the great work CCC does in helping turn folks from tax users to payers.

-Gary Cobb, Community Outreach Coordinator, Central City Concern

PUNK ROCK/PR

DEAR MERCURY—I read your recent bio in Up & Coming [April 9] about the Gaslight Anthem that played at Berbati's on Monday, April 13, and was referred to by the writer EAC [Ezra Ace Caraeff] as "the great punk rock hope." Well, that is just hogwash, and they are subservious compared to the supervilous (I make my own words up) Cage the Elephant, which was not even mentioned in the article. Those pachyderm-y punks rock the socks off the battery-powered Gaslight Anthem, and deserved much more attention. So if you want a sickadalicious sound resonating from your speakers and your voice box, skip the zoo and listen to Cage the Elephant.

-Eric Langsam

BY THE NUMBERS

DEAR MERCURY—1.1: The creative class are the shoeshine boys of the ruling elite (to quote the Killdozer song). And they are an insult to actual artists and creative people. 1.2: Let's Go Outside thinks people who ride their bikes are saving the planet ["A New Slant on Dance Music," Music April 16]? People have been riding bikes in most of the Third World for a while now. The Amish ride horses and live without technology. Riding your bike to a show is not saving the planet. 2: Instead of going to Ned Ludd restaurant, go live out in the woods DIY style and build your life there ["Food from the Hearth," Last Supper, April 2]. Bring some books by John Zerzan to read by the fire. 2.1: Ted Kaczynski in his wonderful essay "Hit Where it Hurts" encourages radicals to attack biotechnology as a matter of principle. He also includes the propaganda industry, journalism (scribblers), advertising, and the rest... in other words the badly named creative class, the netocracy.

-Herb Huhe

GOTCHA, CHRISTIAN!

DEAR MERCURY—RE: "Amen!!!" [Letters, April 16]. So, someone should let this guy know about the pagan holiday of rebirth and celebration of the spring solstice that Easter is actually based on.

-Geoffro Tull

WELL... NAH. We'll just award Geoffro the letter of the week and call it good. Geoffro gets two tickets to the Laurelhurst Theater, and lunch at No Fish! Go Fish!, where anyone can get their loaves and fishes on.