Wimpy, Wanky J.R. Taylor; MUGGER Turnaround Freaks 'Em Out; What Lola Wants Is Taki; DJ Allie's Girlfriend Writes; Armond Sneaks in a Letter; More

Great job by J.R. Taylor on the Freedom Creek Festival. I was born in Aliceville, AL, and have known Willie King all my life. There is a great deal of Southern soul and blues music that is going unnoticed. Perhaps your paper would consider capitalizing on it.

Joe Hudson, Brooklyn

Nick Woulda Got Down, Bro

Next time you send J.R. Taylor to the South, how about stuffing his pockets with expense money so he can at least buy some dangerous psychedelics and explosives to spruce up his experience ("Music," 7/24)? I believe the reason the Freedom Creek Festival was so lackluster was because Taylor was hiding in his SUV sipping Diet Coke instead of mixing it up with the locals and bringing on the craziness. The problem with music writers these days is that they are no better than the jock-sniffing sportswriters or techie wankers. They're wimps and suckers who stand on the sidelines waiting for the action to happen instead of getting down to the heart of the matter.

Better luck next time.

Nick Yulico, San Francisco

Dizzy with Defeat

MUGGER: Complimenting Katha Pollitt and the Times in the same piece (7/24)? Man, those Sox losses are really getting to you. You are right, though: as much as I hate to admit it, Tony Clark has got to go. I want to have faith in him; I even put him on my fantasy team (he was unceremoniously dropped after April), but right now, I would trade him for a bucket of balls.

An ex-Bostonian and rabid Sox fan...

Michael Moynihan, Brooklyn

That Could Be Almost Anybody

Michelangelo Signorile: This is an issue about both gay priests, and cardinals and bishops who looked the other way?so you're half right ("The Gist," 7/24). By the way, I know some gay priests and they are good guys. But the fact remains that while most gay priests are not molesters, most of the molesting priests are gay. Saw you on O'Reilly. You did a good job against that fool who tried to argue the unarguable.

William A. Donohue, president, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Manhattan

Careful Reader

RE Christopher Caldwell's "Who Bought Bush's Stock?" ("Hill of Beans," 7/17). "Yes, his sale came just eight days before Harken announced a weak quarter..."

I think the quarter ended eight days after Bush made his sale, but it was significantly later when the financial results were tabulated and announced. When they were announced, the stock was at $3. It dipped that day, but recovered to $3 by the next day.

Your inaccuracy betrays your bias.

David Thomas, San Diego

The editors reply: Here's a quote from the Caldwell piece: "And, yes, the stock's value fell from $4 a share when he sold it to a dollar and change just weeks later. But it also later rose to $8. Harken see-sawed enough that it will never be certain whether Bush bailed out or 'sold into good news,' as his spokeswoman Karen Hughes has always insisted."

No, Really, They're Just Good Friends

Did Christopher Caldwell separate from his wife? First he says he hasn't seen his "member" since 5 p.m. the day previous ("Hill of Beans," 7/24), then MUGGER mentions meeting him alone at the ballpark on Saturday (7/24). In any case, it's great to have Caldwell back. He was missed.

Scott Reynolds, Manhattan

Even the Evildoers?

Michelangelo Signorile: Just so that you're "straight" (pardon the pun) on something regarding a recent topic ("The Gist," 7/10): Falwell is Christian, not Catholic, a big difference. While some may consider him nutty?and perhaps he can be too harsh at times?I, and many other people, laud him for having traditional values and standing up for them, which is getting harder to do these days with the free-for-all society that we seem to have. In some of your writing, by the way, you seem to be the one trying to find outlandish ways of tying our President to some kind of anti-gay agenda. President Bush, like Jesus, loves everyone and wants everyone to know the path to God and true love. We couldn't have a better president at a better time. Best to you?you're a good writer, I just don't agree with what you say.

Name Withheld, via e-mail

Michelangelo Signorile replies: I never said Falwell was a Catholic. I know full well that he's a radical Protestant fundamentalist.

Indian Simmer

MUGGER: You incorrectly predicted Bartolo Colon would ship out for the Bosox (6/12). I believe you'll be proven wrong on this one, too (7/24).

The Tribe has alienated too many of its fans with its crazy moves this year, which means every game at Jacobs Field is no longer a sellout and the season-ticket base is in flux. The team cannot afford to drive more fans away during the painful rebuilding process?good Lord, even the GM says they won't contend again until 2005?so re-signing Thome is probably going to happen.

One other note: Thome is a throwback. He's not Manny Ramirez or Albert Belle, who were going to go wherever the fattest paycheck beckoned. He'll demand fair payment, but he and his agent will figure some way for him to remain with the Tribe.

Your devotion to the Red Sox is easily understood by this long-suffering Tribe fan, who still sits many nights on the couch permanently damaged, as when Jose Mesa, foolishly waving off the calls of Sandy Alomar Jr. to throw inside, allowed the Florida Marlins to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 in 1997.

Someday, perhaps, we'll meet at Wrigley Field for a World Series between the Cubs and the Bosox. Then again, that would surely be a sign the Apocalypse was upon us, eh?

Enjoy your columns. Don't always agree with them, but I do enjoy them.

Jeff Borden, Chicago

Russ Smith replies: I never predicted Colon would end up with the Sox, although who wouldn't have hoped for such a result. Actually, I was worried the Yanks would end up with Colon.

Good Point

Mike Signorile: Both "Catch Me, I'm Falling!" and "Love that South Park" are "right on" ("The Gist," 7/24). Wonderful! Let me chastely hug you for hitting the needle on the head. Great!

Kurt Irvin, St. Peter, MN

Showing Pink

Michelangelo Signorile: You pinko freak! Bush won't wag the dog. Harken and Halliburton don't have legs. Gore is going to be your candidate for president. No wonder you rant. You poor sap.

Doug Hill, Austin, TX

Va-Va-Vavoom!

Taki: By the time this letter reaches you I will be on summer holiday in Porto Cervo entertaining cutie pie Luca Agnelli to get him over his shyness and occasionally giving Gianni an eyeful to keep him going.

Don't forget to stop by. We'll go for a "skinny dip" in the club pool?in the dark, of course. I'll save something for you. I'll return to New York later in October but will be in Porto Cervo just till the sirocco blows my skirts. When I return to NY I'll begin a website, maybe called LolaClit-Click.com, with photos and sweet bedtime stories. I know all the boys in the mailroom at the Press will click in. I'll give all of you a good show, a good time.

See you in Porto Cervo, darling.

Lola Sanford, Sardenia, Italy

Dump as Claims

Michelangelo Signorile: I just read your column and feel you are only reaching the choir ("The Gist," 7/24). How can we get the mass media to report on this appointed administration? Bush and Cheney are only the icing on the cake: there is the cabinet, the SEC head, the secretary of the Army, and let's not forget the fabo five in the Supreme Court! What can anyone do to get the average American to wake up and smell the coffee? We are losing our freedom bit by bit, and most citizens are as dump as claims.

Thanks for letting me rant, but this is really scaring the heebie jeebies out of me. Keep up the good work?you are my lifeline to sanity.

Warren Faulconer, Mt. Pleasant, SC

Bass Fishing

RE Christopher Caldwell's "Who Bought Bush's Stock?" ("Hill of Beans," 7/17): I think Lee Bass bought W's stock! He is a Bush pioneer! He helped bail out Harken!!

Lou Ciabattoni, Chappaqua, NY

That You, Armond?

Matt Zoller Seitz: Road to Perdition ("Film," 7/17) is a shallow, dramatically inept movie. The good press that this movie has generated grates me. No one can self-consciously "create" a work of great myth or tragedy, nor can they produce emotion in the viewer, just because they've watched and memorized the effective techniques of old masters. Not one moment of Road to Perdition directly affects the emotions; all the sadness, pain, anger and tragedy in the film come to the viewer only after a period of thought. A better picture would have seemed less grandiose. For all the death in the film, there is no material sense of grief: no loss of control, no tears, no weight of absence. An example of how Mendes cares less for his art than the reception of his art: not showing the blood, gore, etc., of the central murders has been praised as tasteful and a welcome respite from all those horribly gratuitous blockbusters. Mendes has said that he likes to focus on the "effects" of violence on the observer; and critics, journalists, liberal parents have mostly praised this move. But without actually showing how horrible the murders are, and then by not showing the characters properly grieving, the murders seem to have not even happened, in any realistic sense; instead, the murders seem to have just been plot points in David Self's outline. So many people are killed in this movie that no one stops to look for Aunt Sarah's body?surely she was killed by Maguire, otherwise Mike Jr. would have lived with her in the end.

The other thing that irks me is this phony sense of tragic inevitability in the film. What makes great tragedy great is that the characters don't see their fates coming; they walk into them while presuming to avoid them. Road to Perdition doesn't feature one such accidental moment. How could a gangster as glum and fatalistic as Rooney ever have succeeded? In real life, no one walks calmly toward his fate. There's just so little specificity in this film: no real, lived sense of disappointment in the fathers' respective sons, no material evidence of grief. Soon enough, Mendes will be exposed for the hokey amateur that he is. And by the way, the vivid colors on display in The Emperor's New Clothes, not to mention Eric Gautier's shimmering work in Les Destinees, are far better than anything that Conrad Hall could achieve. Why mainstream critics have mentioned only Hall among this year's DPs suggests a pack mentality.

Simon Parker, Los Angeles

Solly

Christopher Caldwell: Great article ("Hill of Beans," 7/17). But can you please resist the temptation to caricature Asians with phrases like, "Rook! That's me with Lodger Crinton!"

Lawrence Wang, Manhattan

Quoth the Raven Fan

RE the article/review/slander, "Down at the Raven" by Michelle Chen ("New York City," 7/17). First of all, the name is Allie, not Ally. When he spins he goes by Jonny Metro. He spins 60s reggae on Monday nights as well as 60s soul and mod on Thursdays. He spins until closing (4 a.m.) on weeknights, and that is why he is almost alone.

As for Allie himself, he is not at all worn and crusty, and appears to look about 25. At least that's what my family thought. He does not have a yellow beard (it's flaming red) and his eyes are not at all lethargic, they are a piercing blue. His accent is not a mix of any area of Brooklyn. It is a mix of 70s Manhattan and Virginia, where his parents were raised. The reason he started hanging out at 11 was to help in the loss of his father and grandfather.

If you speak to Allie for 10 minutes or so, you do not get the feeling that all he wants is "people to listen to his records, and someone to listen to him." He plays what he likes and thinks the crowd will. If they don't like it, he plays it anyway. As for someone to listen to him, Michelle is all wrong. Allie is outspoken in some regards, but reserved in most and she has never gotten even remotely close to him, no matter what she thought.

He does not support any Irish football teams, either. Arsenal plays in London, Celtic plays in Scotland, Roma plays in Italy and the MetroStars (hence the name Jonny Metro) play in Giants Stadium. Oh, and for the "breath reeking of Newcastle Ale" they don't serve that at the Raven, never have.

As for the author of this fiction, when he saw you at the ska show he saw that you had no friends and were standing alone and looking sad. He felt bad for you, he tried to be a nice guy.

"I saw her standing alone so I decided to be a nice guy and talk to her. This is the thanks I get. She didn't even tell me she was writing this."

Well, there was no interview, no warning and a column full of incorrect and cruel statements. I hope Michelle Chen is not a journalism major at Yale. Feel free to print this so she can be made aware of her errors. Oh, as for the old clientele, I will turn 23 on July 27. Not very old.

Melissa Lorenzana, Ridgewood, NY

Michelle Chen replies: Lorenzana is right, they don't serve Newcastle at the Raven, Arsenal does play in London and Allie is a very nice guy. As for the details regarding his original motivations in hanging out at age 11, the tint of his facial hair and the circumstances under which we first met, unfortunately, a two-column article could not portray all the nuances of his personality. Nevertheless, I did not attempt to do so and never claimed to. (I also never stated that everyone at the Raven is old, being 21 myself, or that it doesn't empty out at closing time, or that Allie doesn't DJ on Mondays or that he doesn't have a DJ alias.) The piece was not the product of one night's reporting, but rather a composite sketch drawn from the times I've hung out with him over the years on the Lower East Side. I'm sorry that the article was taken as an insult when I actually intended to show my personal appreciation of someone in a way that matched his complexity as an individual.

Ditched Comedy Class?

Excuse me, Jim Knipfel, I have a few words for you! I can't believe you would have no emotion whatsoever to this. First of all, I go to the Las Vegas Academy and I knew Levi Presley ("Daily Billboard," 7/17). Your article was the worst I have ever read. I'm a senior this year and I have been in journalism for three years and I can't believe they would allow you to put out your pitiful attempt at worthy reading. You prick.

You know what? Levi was black! So he's definitely not linked to Elvis, you fucking dumbass. How would you feel if your child did that? Oh wait, you obviously don't have any feelings. My bad.

On behalf of my family at the Las Vegas Academy, we hope one day you gain a little dignity and class, for Levi was a far better person than you will ever hope to be.

Sara Frost, Las Vegas

Care to Make It Interesting?

It would appear that MUGGER and I attended two separate games between the Yankees and the Red Sox two Saturdays ago, at least in regard to the fans (7/24). I had the good fortune to sit in box seats down near the visitors' dugout. I was amazed at the large number of Sox fans who had been able to score these prized ducats, and even more astounded at the rancor they exhibited toward NY in general and the Yankees specifically.

Two of the more obnoxious participants sat directly behind me and maintained a nine-plus-inning onslaught of profanity and vitriol that was hard to believe. Being an old fart myself, self-serving retorts were limited to the occasional "How'd you like that, you dip-stick jerkoffs?" as the Yankees snuck their way into a most improbable victory. The point being, the vaunted good-sport Sox fans were far more hateful than the brazen New Yorkers, and we allowed them to be so in "our house." On reflection I realized that this was probably because deep down we know, that come October, we will still be able to buy hotdogs at the Stadium whereas all that will be on sale up along the Fenway will be regrets?and perhaps some frozen DNA from what's his name.

John Gutierrez, Manhattan

For the Last Time

RE Christopher Caldwell's article "Who Bought Bush's Stock" ("Hill of Beans," 7/17). Cute lead, but a subsidiary is not always wholly owned. Look it up.

Yves Faguy, Montreal, Canada

Christopher Caldwell replies: Yes, but sticking "subsidiary" after "wholly owned" is wholly redundant.

At Least One Does

RE Christopher Caldwell's "Who Bought Bush's Stock?" I understand Bush's business history, but I just can't get my head around this beneficent cronyism that helped him up rung by rung. I can see being elected to, or inheriting, membership in an exclusive club of backscratchers. But are mentor members truly so altruistic they don't get their backs scratched? What kind of businessperson does that?

So what did these helping handers get, both immediately and long term? Do any of your readers ask if money laundering was going on?

Christa Hupp, Gambier, OH

Pointy Zingers

MUGGER: I write this just to say how much fun I have reading your commentaries on the media. They are always witty and pointed; I'm sure that some of your subjects may be less than enthralled. But I think you write with candor and fairness, even when you're skewering some folks.

At any rate, I thought I should relay this keen reader's delight. Cheers.

Pranay Gupte, Manhattan

Always a Pisser, Luis

MUGGER: The right wing told us that if we voted for Al Gore the economy would collapse, scandals would break out and there would be no peace. Well, I voted for Al Gore and they were right!

Luis Vazquez, Manhattan

Figured It Was One or the Otter

Armond White: It was Pinto, not Otter, who had the conscience battle ("Film," 7/24). Come on, man, you're a film critic, after all. And to J.R. Taylor: It didn't take William L. Pierce to take the "z" out of Nazi and put it (back?) into "Zocialism" ("Daily Billboard," 7/24). That's what the "z" always stood for (National Socialist, remember). It's only thanks to liberal Big Liars that we've even come to think that the Nazis were anything but left-wingers to begin with.

Nathan Lamm, Flushing

You're Either With Us or Agin Us

Michelangelo Signorile: Although you have made some valid points about why Jews should not align themselves with the religious right ("The Gist," 7/17), among them being their alliance with Islamic fundamentalists in the UN, I can understand why, given the left's recent expressions of virulent anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment, many Jews are switching political allegiances. The anti-Semitism coming from the left, such as the riot at SF State, as well as anti-Semitic and anti-Israel rhetoric coming from many other universities and academia, is the reason many of us have become alienated from them. As long as the left aligns itself with those in the Middle East whose goal is to perpetrate another holocaust against the Jewish people, you can't expect us to remain in their camp. Much of today's anti-Semitism is being expressed by the left while conservatives are defending Jews and Israel. That is something I am noticing from my own personal experience. Also, being that much of the world opposes the Jewish state, we will take friends anywhere we can get them.

Laura Liebman, Bloomfield, NJ

Well, When You Put It That Way

Please continue presenting columns by Taki. He's one of my favorites!

Bob Hillier, Wharton, NJ

Those Evil Jersey Arabs?

How could Taki be so right about monstrous African and "Belgian" dictators/hypocrites/thieves ("Top Drawer," 7/24), but so wrong about Israel, which he continuously bashes? Taki, I grew up with many a Greek here in Jersey. Most were more pro-Israel than I, having suffered Arab neighbors in the old country. Get wise. Walk through Tel Aviv or Athens or Paris or New York, and the greatest threat to you would be from an Arab.

Barry Schechter, E. Brunswick, NJ

More Tulipomania

MUGGER: Excellent column. I'm sure the last person to buy a tulip bulb also lost his "retirement."

John Gridley, Sioux Falls, SD

Spec-ulation

Taki: "Sovereign nations are supposedly immune from foreign lawsuits, but all that went out the window when Uncle Sam stopped recognizing the seven state sponsors of terrorism in 1996. Although the Saudis are not on the list, I cannot see anyone in the Bush administration pulling strings to keep them off" ("Top Drawer," 7/17).

Get some glasses, 'cause that's exactly what will happen.

Bill Skeels, Amelia Courthouse, VA

Bronx Jeer from the Mountain State

RE MUGGER's 7/17 column. Major props for this paragraph:

"A glutton for bad baseball news, I clicked on the computer to assess the final damage from the Yanks' game, only to find the Indians had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and were down by just a run, 7-6. And then Bill Selby, just recalled from the minors, hits a grand-slammer off Mariano Rivera to shock all New York fans and win the game for the Indians 10-7. I immediately turned to the YES station to gauge the reaction of the insufferable commentator Michael Kay, and that alone salvaged a crummy afternoon."

I live in West Virginia, and watched it on Fox Sports Ohio. We live in grand times. Cheers.

Don Surber, Poca, WV

We Know What You Mean, Vern

MUGGER: Offerman stays because three of the pitchers do not speak English; he is the only translator and must be in the lineup for mound conferences (7/24). He should be released anyway for trying to steal third with the left-handed batter up and a chance to get another run. Thome is a free agent after this year and unless he would sign a new contract, I would not give up much for him. The Sox owners would never pay what it would take, anyway. Of course, if the Indians would just let us take the rest of his salary this year off their hands, that would work. There is going to be a strike anyway, so I do not think it matters to them. Bad news for us: the Boss only paid $10 million for the Yanks. They are paid for and now worth a billion. All that equity. Sox franchise-swapping owners (FOB?Friends Of Bud) paid $700 million and are mortgaged to the hilt. Good news: next BLOHARDS luncheon Sept. 4 at the Seventh Regiment Armory. Go Sox!

Vern Trotter, Manhattan

Dude, You're Wigging Us Out

MUGGER: Thought you were cutting-edge cool, so why can't you direct some Web-savvy cool cat to fix the www.nypress.com hangup? Don't pull a Red Sox el fade-o. And pissing Drudge off, equals why? Your guys need him, not your resident lefty. But hey, you're tough and will stand in front of...and shadow box it 'til you're dead?my kinda guy. Not too bright, but hey, NY/Baltimore rules, not to mention big family/sibling little guy male rules. Bite 'em and never let go.

I always like the way you advise our president. Please do not be offended by any objectiveness in my rant. Big MUGGER fan (and shall remain so), Hawk.

Who wouldn't like to have to reside in New York, NY, to read your stuff (plus Taki and others)? Please fix it.

Frank Sebek, Cerritos, CA