Graph Laughs To the Editor, Kudos to Stacey Richter for managing to write a terribly funny review of two films I never plan to see ("King Cup," Tucson Weekly, August 22). I laughed my ass off reading Richter's bar graph ( I don't think another film critic in the country has ever demonstrated as convincingly in a visual vein the comparative acting techniques of Cheech Marin and Randy Quaid) and the text was pretty durn good, too. Thanks for hiring a homegrown writer with a little spunk (who doesn't have to make Ed Moore/Darth Vader wisecracks to be funny). --Jeremy Phillips P.S. While I'm at it, please tell your comic page editor that just because somebody once thought of a few funny jokes 10 years ago with one-eared rabbits and became an overnight sensation with a hit sitcom media product, that doesn't make him an underground genius. Get rid of the banal Xeroxist and give some more space to an artist with something to say, like Peter Kuper. Space Case To the Editor, After reading Jeff Smith's "Red Ink Planet" (Tucson Weekly, August 15), I can imagine what he'd have to say if he'd been around when Columbus was trying to put together his first trip west: "Get a life, Chris. Of course the earth is round. So what's the big deal?" Well, Jeff, the increasing evidence of other life in the universe is a big deal. Get an imagination (and here all this time I thought you had one)! --Marcia Traer Travel Bugged To the Editor, Tom Danehy's family wants to see all 50 states before he's 50. After reading his article "Road Kill" (Tucson Weekly, August 15), I think he hit 50 long ago. He didn't seem to have much fun on his vacation: Atlantic City was a dump; the traffic, parking and law enforcement in New York City was terrible; New Jersey women were ugly; Edgar Allan Poe's home was in a bad neighborhood; and it was sad that the Hard Rock Café was next door to Ford's Theater. I took a similar vacation with my family this past summer. We had a good time. Our reaction to the placement of the Hard Rock Café and Ford's Theater was: "Great, this is very convenient!" Tom, you're getting old! You can afford to pay for parking. It's fun to argue with someone who doesn't speak English--they're at the same disadvantage you are. Try rolling your car windows down. I'll bet if you would have taken this same vacation 25 years ago you would have really enjoyed it. --Douglas R. Holm P.S. Jeff Smith is getting old, too! He would rather buy groceries than go to Mars! The Ravin' To the Editor, Perhaps Tom Danehy should actually read his favorite writer, Edgar Allen (sic) Poe. With the New Ravens football team in Baltimore nicknamed to honor its semi-resident, Poe, and all the articles in the newspapers reflecting such, I can't believe that Tom and the editing staff do not know that "Allen" is really Allan. Also, you should have clarified Poe's home issue. He did live briefly in Baltimore in various boarding houses and died there practically homeless and a very ill and destroyed man. However, most of his life as a child and adult was spent in Richmond, Virginia. Unlike Tom I would not call Poe my favorite writer. However, if you can not be accurate in such matters, quoth him nevermore. I could continue, but I am the man that is used up. --Jeff Jackson Eye Of The Beholder To the Editor, In response to Ms. Regan's review of Robert Barber's exhibit at the Jewish Community Center ("Domestic Diversions," Tucson Weekly, August 15), I must say one's view of art is certainly subjective. In contrast to her impressions, I noticed quite different reactions to the paintings. Various comments I overheard about the artwork ranged from colorful, fun, entertaining and interesting to intellectually stimulating. A group of children were fascinated and saw nothing sinister in the depiction of a rag doll. It's a shame that one critic's biased remarks may influence a viewer's decision to experience the exhibit and form their own opinion. Unfortunately, Ms. Regan seemed more determined to criticize than to appreciate the paintings of a man who has dedicated his life to creating art. --Leigh Ann Barber To the Editor I really enjoy reading your magazine--that is until I read Margaret (I HATE LIFE) Regan's "Domestic Diversions" (Tucson Weekly, August 15). She reviewed the art work of one Robert Barber at the Jewish Community Center. She was so off base, she's not even on the planet. I went to this art exhibit and I found Barber's work very colorful, three dimensional, and uplifting. She said it was dry and claustrophobic. I know art is in the eye of the beholder, but the beholder has to have a brain. I saw children laughing and giddy while they were looking at his paintings. Regan made it sound like the paintings were evil. Of all the people there, and there were a lot, most were looking at Barber's work. I heard nothing but praise. Tell Regan to take her dictionary home and find a new line of work because she doesn't know much about art. Plus, I'm pretty sure she's color blind. If your magazine wasn't free I'd ask for my money back. I just hope that review will not stop anybody from going there and enjoying a great exhibit. --Christopher Zielinski Ticket To Rant To the Editor, Regarding "Blues Druthers" (Tucson Weekly, August 22): Ah, did poor ol' Jeffy get a ticket from a mean looking cop? No, I wouldn't classify getting stopped as "fun," but only Jeff actually gets paid for the privilege of whining about it. There are too many assholes drivers as it is. I would love to see more traffic cops, at least to make a small dent in the amount of vehicular anarchy that currently exists. Perhaps Jeff would like to see more people die in accidents. Or spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs. -- Richard Trible We Want Letters! Thrilled by our brilliant insights? Sick of our mean-spirited attacks? Need to make something perfectly clear? Write: tucsonweekly@tucsonweekly.com

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