Letters

BLAME CANADA!

DEAR EDITOR:

Reading Wendy Gilmartin's article “Canada Steals the Show” [Career-Education supplement, August 13­19] made me feel just sick about all the revenue and jobs that Canada is taking away from Hollywood. Wanting to help, I came up with an idea to make a film in the interior of British Columbia, using all Canadian talent, and donate the film's earnings to IATSE. First off, I would need a great director-producer. James Cameron immediately jumped to my mind, but I know he's too busy negotiating a real estate deal to buy up half of Marina del Rey and will be unavailable to take my calls. Well, what about getting some of Canada's finest actors to participate in the benefit? Folks like Neve Campbell, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, William Shatner, Pamela Anderson, Jason Priestley, Michael J. Fox and the like have left Canada for the great coffee shops and hairdressers of Hollywood and New York, infusing the local economies with their vast fortunes. Would any of them be willing to come back to Canada to make the film? I think what David Duchovny said about Vancouver being rainy and depressing hits a little too close to their former home.

My idea probably wouldn't be that successful. Profits from the video release would make a few hundred dollars after costs were covered. The donation, when exchanged into American currency, might come out to roughly $97.64. After production wrapped, Canadian set workers would have to return to their regular work on great American productions like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (live action, brrrrr).

Sorry, no benefit project will be forthcoming, but after some reflection, my question to unemployed Hollywood boom operators is, “If industry work up in Canada is really so great, why are you (and me and thousands of Canadians) still living in Los Angeles?”

–Angela Baxter

Los Angeles

PEACEFUL (OR SHOULD THAT BE “UNCOMPLAINING”?)

DEAR EDITOR:

I am writing to comment on the situation discussed in the article “Dr. Kevorkian, Where Are You?” [OffBeat, September 3­9]. As an avid promoter and employer of holistic veterinary practices, I am appalled at the SPCA's abuse of privilege. My Siamese cat, Samantha, had cancer. The allopathic vet gave her no more than, at most, six months to live. There was no chance of using chemotherapy or radiation treatments, as her cancer was too advanced. I wrestled with the inevitable question: Should I have Sam put down? No, I thought, there has to be something I can do for her. I had watched my mother suffer with the devastating effects of cancer ravaging her body, and there was no way I was going to watch this happen to my beloved feline daughter. I chose to go the alternative route. With a myriad of modalities, Samantha lived another seven months and died peacefully in her sleep! No pain, no difficult decisions. Pure and simple, passed away in her sleep. Yes, ultimately it was the cancer that took her, but she lived a comfortable life until the Almighty decided her time had come. In the last month, yes, she did look skinny; however, she was still playful and attentive, and ate three good, solid meals a day.

–Liz Lord

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

DEAR EDITOR:

Re: the OffBeat article “Dr. Kevorkian, Where Are You?” I absolutely support animal rights, but I agree that City Attorney Dan Ferber took this case too far. Who is to say that Freda would have been more comfortable or suffered less having undergone rigorous treatment for leukemia? My guess is that her owner, Drew Simmons, knew what was best, and would not have let her suffer more than what could reasonably be avoided. I would be interested in knowing what kind of medical treatment Freda received while in the custody of the SPCA. Bob Pena's statement regarding bringing an animal to an animal shelter rather than abandoning it is quite misleading. Bringing an animal to a shelter does not mean it will receive the treatment it needs. As a former volunteer at a very good local animal shelter, I saw many sick and injured animals. To the best of my knowledge, at many overcrowded, underfunded shelters, these are the animals that are put down, unless you have a generous individual or group willing to provide for the necessary medical treatment. Wouldn't Freda have been more comfortable in her own home with the owner she knew? If I were suffering from such an illness, I believe my choice would be to spend my final days at home with my loved ones.

–Jennifer Annis

Malibu

CORRECTION

Our apologies to Jeffrey Thorin of Silver Lake, whose name, due to a lapse in attention from this page's editor, appeared last week signed to a caustic letter from an anonymous prankster.

Send letters to the editor to: L.A. Weekly, P.O. Box 4315, L.A., CA 90078. Or fax us at (323) 465-3220. Or e-mail us at letters@laweekly.com. Letters, which must be typewritten and include a daytime telephone number for verification, may be edited for purposes of space or clarity.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.