Made Him Smile
Re: “Smile Again,” by Eric Snider (Oct. 20-28)
What a surprise to see the Weekly Planet devote a cover story to Brian Wilson's Smile (or as some diehards prefer, Smile). The Brian Wilson timeline was a nice touch for fans, and from the amount of detail presented I gather you must be quite a fan yourself. I was very surprised to read that the Pet Sounds tour was a failure. I suppose even the evangelistic fervor of that album's devotees (myself included) can't sell out a hall. A huge shame that is (and a likely reason for pricier tickets on the Smile tour). Meanwhile, I really liked your review of the Smile disc itself. As a Wilson fan, I share a lot of your observations, and I find the finished product fascinating but not awe-inspiring. I particularly considered the final of the three movements troublesome. First, because the theoretical suite of "elements" tunes is broken up with "On a Holiday." And then, even though thematically appropriate, the nearing-the-end track "In Blue Hawaii" is a complete disappointment. Not to mention that tune sounds like a half-hearted attempt to add a new song to Smile that never existed in the first place ("Is it hot as hell in here/ Or is it me/ It really is a mystery" really makes me groan). But still, this is Brian Wilson, and it is quite a thrill to imagine that after all these years, we can go to a show and see a band perform the infamous Smile — in its entirety. And that's worth so much more than the CD itself.
Derek Miner
Via e-mail
Reporters, Heal Thyselves
Re: Talk of the Town: “Bush: The Only Media Choice for President,” by John Sugg (Oct. 20-26)
I love your statement: "He's the perfect president for a nation where the last vestiges of journalism are being transmuted into mindless entertainment." In a nation where the media thinks the president is responsible for everything — obviously you would think that he is responsible for the mindless rambling of Journalists. I am amazed that in a country where journalists have more freedom to do good and bad, and have more capability to damage a nation by poor reporting than the political parties ever dreamed of having … that you would choose to use your talents in a way comparable to most music critics. Continuous critical ramblings without constructive suggestions have never ever helped solve even the simplest of problems. You write in a style that can only make one wonder where you left your desire to contribute to the well-being of your readership. Use your skill and talent to write something meaningful instead of (bad) off-Broadway comedy. Our country suffers from the lack of good professional journalism. Too many journalists have become star-struck and have the same mistaken view that most of the Hollywood actors have, that just because they have a huge access to mass media they are suddenly the experts on everything in the world and their opinion is somehow better or more meaningful than others'. Wrong. Wrong.
Think about it, John. The President isn't taking away your ability to think and reason — only you or the other people in your profession can do that. Use what you have to improve the image of your profession. That would serve the nation far better than anything you can do by trying to influence the elections with your own personal views.
Jack Neel
Sarasota
I just read your article about Bush being the best candidate for mindless media. I really loved it! It is very true! Americans these days seem to enjoy drama and controversy. If things got good all of a sudden, we would have nothing to argue about. I honestly believe that it is sad that, at the young age of 22, I look around thinking of my fellow Americans as ignorant, unintelligent waifs. This whole election makes me want to throw up. The fact that people still believe everything Bush says and are voting for him has me more than astounded. They are basically taking a gun and shooting America in the head, if you ask me.
Well, I just wanted to write you and say "thanks" for being truthful. I respect your humor, considering you are part of the media yourself. It's nice to see people who aren't afraid of Bush working in our media. I don't know what's so scary anyway. His Vice Troll is much more intimidating.
Allison Bowyer
Tampa
Elvis Lives, Begorra!
Re: Talk of the Town, “Love Me Tender,” by John Sugg (Sept. 29-Oct. 5)
What a cheap and nasty article you wrote about your Elvis tour. Elvis Presley is the stand-alone icon of the century, and his many millions of fans tired of such racist and snobbish stuff many decades ago. City after city honors Elvis. We Beethoven and Elvis fans have e-mail now, so hacks beware.
Maurice Colgan
Dublin, Ireland
Beauty Is …
Re: “The Power of Beauty,” by Adrienne Golub (Oct. 13-19)
I very much enjoyed your excellent piece on Miriam Schapiro! Congratulations to you, and to the Weekly Planet for giving you adequate space to describe Schapiro's astounding work and career.
Sandra Sider
Ph.D. candidate, Institute of Fine Arts, New York University
You could feel the passion and excitement in this story. And the graphics were excellent. Thanks for helping me get to "know" Schapiro.
Sue Gridley
Via e-mail
Sing Virgins Sing
Re: “Best of the Bay: Best Karaoke Ringers” (Sept. 22-28)
The story about Wilson's Lounge was a good article — kind of funny, but nevertheless karaoke was mentioned, and we thank you for that.
In case you are not aware, karaoke has been around about 25 years on the Gulf side, and about 35 years on the Atlantic side of Florida. There is a huge following of karaoke singers — some good, others working on it, but over all I have found that they really enjoy themselves, not only singing, but rooting others along who are karaoke virgins, singing for the first time. Oh yes, did I forget to mention? We also like to dance. We do have some really good karaoke systems around St. Petersburg, including Brandy's, Cell Block and Bottles Pub, which for us is very important.
Shirley Devine
Pinellas Park
Fresh Faces
Re: “Best of the Bay: Readers’ Picks”
I'm 20 years of age and a Tampa resident for over 18 years. Since I can remember, my sister and I loved going through "Best of the Bay" and picking out what we agreed/disagreed with. Crystal, my sister, no longer lives in Tampa so I was cutting out some clippings for her from this year's Bests and I came across "Best Gourmet Market: Fresh Market." The Fresh Market happens to be my place of employment, which I might add is a kickass job and I was so excited to see we were voted.
In the column about the market I noticed we got mad props for good food, which is expected, but nothing was said about the people who make it happen. It wouldn't be the same place without us. So I am here to tell you who to see: Jason in produce. He's a funny dude who knows his fruits and vegetables. (Whatever you do, don't leave your little sample cups around because he hates that.) Daisy in the floral department. (Yes, her name is Daisy and she works for floral. Don't say anything about her name because she gets it every day.) Terry or Shannon in the candy and coffee department, Rose or Jim in the deli, Rex in seafood (I bet you 10 dollars he'll mention his wife, or make googly eyes at your baby.)
Then you've got the Meat Dept …
Amber Desilet
Tampa
Editor's Note: Sorry, Amber, we didn't have room for the bakery department, the cashiers, the store manager, etc., but we get the idea … you really, really like Fresh Market! Which is something Best of the Bay voters seem to agree with you about.
CORRECTION
In last week's "Scene & Herd" column, Scott Harrell incorrectly implied that a botched medical procedure had occurred at Tampa General Hospital. The procedure, in which a surgeon amputated the wrong foot of diabetes sufferer Willie King in Feb. 1995, occurred at University Community General Hospital, not at Tampa General. The Planet apologizes for the error.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 1, 2004.