Letters from the Issue of August 24, 2006

"I'm close to a million dollars in debt on this film"

The Key to Magic

We got the answer: Great article by Josh Schonwald, "Metal Magic" (August 17)! Well written and some really great phraseology. Does Trixx do corporate shows? How does one track him down short of looking for a battered single-wide in the Middle Keys?

Pete Foley
Atlanta, Georgia

Editor's note: Just wave your magic wand and say Shazam.


Habañero Pepper

Wrong, wrong: Thank you to Frank Houston for making the time to see and write about Love & Suicide ("Cine Havana," August 17). All of us filmmakers wish everyone first sees our films on the big screen, with an audience's response. There were some minor oversights in the review:

1. I was born in Cuba, and I still have family there.

2. It is the character Tomas, not Alberto, who is swarthy, et cetera, in the hotel room.

3. "Life will never outlast time" is a common quote in Cuba that seems to carry the day for everyone dealing with the island's circumstances. "La vida nunca le gana el tiempo" — it's pretty accurate, if not a truth of life.

Also, I would like everyone to know, and Mr. Houston pointed to it, that this film has been and is still a labor of love for everyone involved. It is a love story to Cuba.

I'm literally close to a million dollars in debt on this film. Add a family of five kids to support on an indie filmmaker's paycheck, plus the U.S. government's hand around my neck for going to Cuba, et cetera. Then include the inside knowledge that we couldn't use 60 percent of the footage. We are also competing against studio films and multimillion-dollar independent films for screen time. Knowing that, we realize it's a miracle this little Cuban film is even being seen in theaters.

Most important, everyone involved is extremely proud the world is seeing Cuba in the raw, with no political agenda. On behalf of everyone supporting Love & Suicide, we are all appreciative New Times took the time to review it.

Luis Moro
Los Angeles

Viva Cuba: Love & Suicide is a moving, well-crafted film both in story and feeling. Most Americans need to see such a film to appreciate our Cuban brothers and sisters and what they've gone through in this very timely story. I highly recommend it.

Larry VanZant
Madera, California


Foot Fetishists, Unite

He'd give a man a foot massage: Bitch, speak for yourself about "The Scourge of Mandals" (August 10). Some of us out here really appreciate that in Florida men wear flip-flops year round. Just this week, when you were raggin' on masculine feet, I was busy enjoying the scenery on Lincoln Road. Masculine feet might be big and hairy, but most are not scaly and some are even nicely pedicured and cared for.

I and quite a few other guys appreciate the sensuality of feet. Whether up close and personal (as in foot massage) or just observing the great variety of attractive flip-flop displays on the public walkway, we appreciate the intricate beauty of certain feet. Some feet have such graceful contour of curves from heel to toes, and toes that line up in an arch of orbs like so many berries waiting to be savored. But I digress.

Although your article was critical of male feet in flip-flops, I should thank you for showing the seven pics of such. All but the center one were quite attractive. I wear flips year round — everywhere.

Rob Boyte
Miami Beach

Shut up, Bitch: Mandals: Are you kidding? Please tell me you really didn't have an article about men wearing flip-flops on the front page of your newspaper. I live in Florida so that I may wear my flip-flops all year round. It makes me happy. As a law-abiding, caring, giving, educated, and professional male, I will wear anything I want anywhere I choose to. The human body is not ugly. Your outlook is.

Matthew Glass
Fort Lauderdale

C'mon, put 'em up; we'll knock ya down: I've been a loyal New Times reader for the past twelve years. Today I'm surprised, shocked, and saddened by the lack of journalistic creativity you've shown by publishing a dull, boring, and sarcastic article like "The Scourge of Mandals" in The Bitch. Come on! What the hell is going on in your editorial department? Is that the best you have nowadays? Sandals and force-feeding ducks? What happened to the fine investigative articles and top journalists? Jim DeFede, Robert Andrew Powell, and the Kulchur column — those were the days of solid, entertaining, witty, interesting journalism. Not only are The Bitch's columns boring, biased, obtuse, and whiny, but also you have the audacity to make it a weak, disgusting Ren & Stimpy copycat cover story. Come on, New Times, you can do better than that!

Juliana Gonzalez
Miami


Water Whack

Let's see more of 'em:Regarding Emily Witt's "Water Fight" (August 10). I read the New Times specifically for pieces like this. Keep up the good work.

Emily Eisenhauer
Miami


A Writer Speaks

And he likes us: I really enjoyed the Rampage article "Abstrack Art" (August 10) by Camille Lamb. I found it very inspirational, and it's nice to see local people succeed. I would have loved to have read more about the struggles they went through to get where they are. I'm an author whose book was recently bought by Warner, so I look to articles like yours in New Times to show me that anything is possible and that, as corny as it may sound, dreams do come true.

Jeff Rivera
North Miami


Ban Binge

He's a diplomat: Regarding "Commie Book Ban" by Rob Jordan (August 10): It is unfortunate that so much time and expense are being wasted to ban the children's book Vamos a Cuba (Let's Go to Cuba) from school libraries. May I suggest a compromise? Simply change the title to Vamos a Cuba a Ver Castro Morir. (Let's Go to Cuba to Watch Castro Die).

Glenn Terry
Coconut Grove

She's a zealot: In reference to "Commie Book Ban": I am an avid supporter and defender of books and free speech. Having read books like Fahrenheit 451, I understand the need to have all sorts of different voices to learn from. Unfortunately this is not a different voice but an all-out falsehood. It's one thing to talk about the realities in Cuba in a way that will not scare five-year-olds, but it's another to tell them complete lies about a system that has been oppressing people for more than 40 years. It's the same brainwashing I received in high school about Plymouth Rock and the massacres of Indians. It is twisting the truth. I believe we should always remain true to history; otherwise we as a society and as a race will never evolve to higher ways of thinking. Without teaching about the wrongdoings of the past to our future generations, how will we ever learn to become better people?

Tanya Diaz
Via the Internet


Ant Fun

Oooold ant fun: As an avid gamer, I enjoy your reviews. In Luke O'Brien's article "Ant Wussy" (August 10), he mentions there is a great game to be made about ant life. I wanted to point out there is a 1991 PC game called SimAnt that fits that description. I played it endlessly in my early high school years and wish I still had a copy.

I found this link for it: http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=983.

If you have the opportunity to try it out, I think you'll find it's quite entertaining and still holds up after more than fifteen years. Cheers!

Mark Pidal
Miami


The Saddest Profession

Breaks hearts on the island: I agree with Chuck Strouse's stance on the doctoring of the photo in question in his article "Listen Up, McClatchy" (July 27). I think it represents laziness on the part of those involved, because I'm certain that such images would not be difficult to capture in Cuba today. Just ask anyone who has been there in the past ten years.

It is a fact that Cuba has become a "sex-travel destination" for Americans and Europeans, and the government sees it as just another source of revenue, whereas for the jineteras it is just a way to survive.

Gabriel A. Costa, MD
Via the Internet


No Relation

Artistry returns to the big screen: Excellent article, "Undercover of the Night" (July 27) by Scott Foundas. I also enjoyed Michael Mann's latest montage version of Miami Vice because of its departure from the ordinary Hollywood action movie — even though at times it bordered on an episode of Cops.

Paul Mann
Miami Beach


Corrections

The August 8 Rampage column, "Quiet Please," misstated the address for Privé. It is 136 Collins Ave. And "Tour de Dope" (July 27) misidentified Ben Johnson's nationality. He is Canadian.

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