LETTERS

Snatching Lesser Defeat from the Jaws of Defeat?

I'm glad my friend Steve Bornfeld reclaimed his manhood (cover story, October 16). But at what cost? Steve was so happy he "won" the suit that he didn't notice he played by the system's rules. The system was the big winner. The Weekly didn't even publish the name of the apartment. Steve was delighted that he won, but he paid high-priced lawyers' fees and even a "nuisance fee" of $100 to the apartment. He was called a nuisance.

Most liberals and liberal politicans today play by the rules of their adversaries and declare victory. But isn't it a Pyrrhic victory?

Editor's note: Steve Bornfeld replies: "My friend Tony Macklin misses the point. I clearly acknowledged in the story that I lost in the tangible, i.e., financial ways that Tony notes, but the apartment complex lost more. But the real victory was the decision to fight back in the first place, regardless of the outcome or the cost, to let potential bullies know that you will not go down without a fight. It's called 'principle,' Tony, and those who evaluate its worth on a sliding scale of dollars and cents clearly need to reevaluate their manhood."

Jon Ralston's Review Nothwithstanding, Here's the Real Problem With John L. Smith's Book on Oscar Goodman

Jon Ralston's critique of John L. Smith's biography of Mayor Goodman (October 9) cited so many deficiencies that it's amazing he missed the most important one.

Granted, I do not own, nor have I read the entire book. My acquaintance with the book comes from excerpts published in the R-J. The writing was abysmal, worthy of a C- for the first effort in a freshman composition class. Take Smith's name off and no editor (hopefully) at the R-J would publish the boring, trite recitation of facts and pseudo-history. If there is a literary quality of any kind, it certainly was not published by the R-J.

This Week's Favorite Letter that Might Be—Probably Is—a Weird Put-on of Some Kind

We here at the Weekly get all sorts of letters and this is one of them. Some of us believe this letter is the result of a dare, a fraternity initiation or an expired lithium prescription. Others suspect the writer is just a high-spirited scamp with free time and a spare sheet of paper. You be the judge.

Love your magazine, read it every week. These are my people in the great stories you print. Here's a story you might be interested in printing.

I'm a 79-year-old, single, ex-Navy Seabee and retired laborer from Massachusetts, now living in Nevada because of the lovely weather. Following is a tale for only the "open minded" folks:

Each noon meal as I sat to eat and watch the TV news of the day, a big, black fly would appear and hover near my table. For fun I'd put a small crumb of my usual sandwich on the edge of the table and he'd seem to nibble on it.

One day it seemed he lifted one leg in thanks to me for his eats! I waved back and he flew off, as usual, to parts unknown. One day he did a back flip, I assumed to thank and amuse me. I clapped in thanks for his acrobatics.

One day I spilled a drop of beer from my glass and Mr. Fly came down and lapped it up. He started doing crazy flips and jumps; I do believe he was "tipsy." On of his antics he flipped off the edge of the table, landed on his head and passed on to wherever dead flies go.

I sure miss my Mr. Fly at my noon meal. Sometimes I think of all the great songs dedicated to Flies of the World, such as "Fly Me to the Moon, Come Fly with Me, and the great saying "TGIF—Thank God It's Flyday."

A Note on Local Music

Staff writer Josh Bell received the following after his October 16 review of LVLocalMusicScene's show at the House of Blues. We checked; the author is not a member of the band he's touting:

Having followed the local scene for about four years now, I appreciate someone being able to put into words what is wrong with the local bands. It seems even if the music is tight, everything is in key and technically right, I still get bored after two songs. There's just something missing I can't quite put my finger on. I guess they call it the "X factor." I'm not sure what it is, but either you have it or you don't ...

This is why I'm contacting you. I have found a band that has "it." Having read your review, you MUST see them. They are called the UTMoST. The songs are upbeat and melodic, with buttery vocals and harmonies, yet the music has been described as Punk-Metal (a new genre?).

But you must see the live show to fully appreciate them. They consume the audience.