Un-a-Frey-ed of the Truth

Thanks for Jerry Stahl’s Pearls o’ Whizdum regarding the James Frey fray [“Free James Frey,” Jan 27-Feb 2]. Once again, he articulated what many of us were simply incoherently mumbling to ourselves while reaching for that midnight doughnut: It’s what the people want — sensationalism — and who hasn’t sensationalized their own story somewhat, at some point? I’d like to add, from my sugar-induced coma, that Frey did his job; he not only brought in readers, but he got the queen of all readers. And in exchange, Frey will have his claim to have invented a new genre of literature. Obviously, Stahl wrote the piece before Oprah’s public spanking of Frey. So Ms. O felt duped, boo-hoo, boo-hoo. Just about everyone on this planet feels duped every single day by someone, somewhere; if it’s not a talk-show host telling us what to read, it’s an old movie actress telling us what to do about our embarrassing incontinence. James Frey’s exaggerated drunk-a-log is of no consequence. Oprah’s integrity is still intact (but thanks for the apology all the same). The “underlying redemption” in all of this must be the public flogging Oprah gave and the relative betrayal felt by that Bushoff situation in D.C. Get a grip, people. Is this a discussion about truth or a distraction from facts with consequences?

Mary Ann Cherry

Los Angeles

Goin’ to the Chapel

In your article about same-sex weddings [“We Do, too!” Feb 10-16], I was surprised and disappointed that there was no mention of Unitarian Universalist congregations in the L.A. area. We have been performing same-sex ceremonies since 1971, when our denomination passed a resolution urging its clergy to perform such. I am the senior minister of Neighborhood Church in Pasadena and have officiated at a number of same-sex weddings. We proudly display on our sign facing the street that we support the right to marry.

Rev. Jim Nelson

Pasadena

Protests Past

During the summer of 1969, I used to go and sit outside a Grand Union supermarket with a bunch of young people who were protesting the sale of nonunion grapes from California. That was in NYC (Greenwich Village, to be exact). Over the years I’ve read so many accounts of the continued exploitation of farm workers that I thought the union had ceased to exist. The article by Marc Cooper saddened me [“Gag Me With a Grape,” Feb 10-16]. His description of the UFW today reminded me of the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta, where family members collect large salaries, but don’t appear to actually do anything related to civil rights.

John Ryan

Los Angeles

Site Specific

Hi, there. This is my first visit to your redesigned Web site. I am a longtime reader, and frequently surfed the previous version of your site. My number-one destination has always been the Calendar section, and specifically the films playing in Revival Houses and Film & Video Events. I have been bouncing around your site now for over 10 minutes, and I can’t locate those categories. I’m not looking for a pick of the week, I want to see all the revival flicks playing around town this week. And perhaps I’m just looking everywhere except in the right spot, but your new layout isn’t helping me locate what I’m looking for.

Paul Russell Laverack

Los Angeles

Editor responds: We heard you and we fixed it. You can now find the listings for a specific section in the side menu titled “Go.” For instance, all the film and video events are in that section under the Film menu. You can find our Jazz and Blues listings in the Music menu.

Correction

The review of a show at Kantor/Feuer Gallery by Luis Gispert and Jeffrey Reed that ran Feb. 10-16 in the art section erroneously stated that some of show’s material was created by Gispert alone. In fact, all the work is collaborative. We regret the error.

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