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October 31-November 6, 2002 mailbag Letters to the EditorDarwin Was Wrong(Re: "Fan-tastic Discount," Daryl Gale, Oct. 24, 2002) Vet Stadium fence climber Mr. Brennan claims to be a "devoted father." How devoted of a father can this thieving jackanapes be, given that he is gleefully raising the next generation of criminal? His behavior, like his logic, is positively simian. He's probably the same guy who pisses in the sink at the Vet because it all ends up just going down the same pipe anyway. Why doesn't it surprise me that this moron is a "union laborer"? Now there's an oxymoron for you! The last labor this chimp did was prying off a bottle cap with his teeth. The only thing more reprehensible than his behavior is City Paper giving this pinhead something to brag about to his fellow primates down at the tire swing. John Prester So Choice(Re: "Best Jazz Startup," Nate Chinen, CP Choice 2002, Oct. 24) I just wanted to drop you a line to thank you for honoring All About Jazz -- Philly. The amount of energy that Mike, our designer (we're on our third), and I expend to produce each issue is phenomenal. And we continually face the challenge of adequate funding and proper distribution. So your recognition of our efforts in a respected publication like the City Paper is truly satisfying for me. Thanks. Asim Memon (Re: "Cynic's Choice: Reasons to Stay, Reasons to Run Away," Frank Lewis, CP Choice 2002, Oct. 24) Though the observations here were mostly clear-eyed, Lewis' take on obscene real estate costs is worrisome. In cheering the fact that "people are paying $400,000 for rowhomes in some neighborhoods," Lewis sounds like an owner in one of those neighborhoods who no longer sees the big picture. He seems unaware that "the kind of problem you want to have" only belongs to a very narrow subset of people, that is, those lucky enough to already live in places that yuppies are willing to pay goofy money for. When good longtime residents are pushed out of neighborhoods due to rising property taxes and yuppie-tization, and most hardworking people can't afford to buy in even mediocre (albeit trendy) neighborhoods, something's wrong. I'm sure that real estate agents, making big-booty commissions and steering the market with willing, often greedy sellers, hope that everyone feels as Lewis currently does. Watching the market -- would-be sellers, real estate agents and willing buyers -- price people with household incomes less than $100,000 out of neighborhoods? Having to wait another five years to buy a house? Hot damn! Now that's a reason to stay! Jenn Carbin I couldn't agree more with Cynic Frank Lewis' trashing of SEPTA. An example: the R7 line to Trenton connects with the NJT commuter line to Newark and New York, among other places. Experienced travelers know this to be by far the cheapest way of getting there. But getting from Newark Penn Station to Newark International Airport, if you're flying, is a nuisance. A year ago a new Newark International Airport Station was opened, with a direct monorail connection to the airport. I wrote to SEPTA pointing out that this new station should be listed in the R7 timetable, for the convenience of flying passengers. Since then there have been three updates to the R7 timetable -- but do you think they have included this invaluable nugget of information? Of course not, whether by laziness, arrogance, ignorance or sheer boneheaded stupidity! Cyril Fleisher One Whittle Pwoblem(Re: "Whittle Me This," Jonathan Stein, Slant, Oct. 24, 2002) Bless Jonathan Stein. We know what will work for our schools. Just read the description of the Penn Alexander School. I did so and wept. None of those perks is likely to be delivered to my school and hundreds of others any time soon. Barbara McDowell Dowdall Musical Youth(Re: The Music Issue, Oct. 17, 2002) While you did a good job covering the local rock scene of yesteryear, you had a glaring omission. Philadelphia was the second city of hip-hop in the music's infant years. There were such venues as Salsa's, Kim Graves and the Cozy Nook, and the grandaddy of them all, After Midnight. You could go to the Midnight in the early and mid-'80s and on any given night see LL Cool J get his ass kicked (it happened) or share a joint with Steady B. You would have to go and check out the new skinny boy from Wynnefield with big ears that Jeff had rapping with him and when you got there you might see the Scanner Boys dancing. They were led by this kid named Rennie (I wonder what happened to him?). Or maybe you would go to Wagner's Ballroom for a Bobby Dance Super Sunday No School Monday Jam and to the Wop to hear the stoopid fresh grooves of Grand Master Nell or B. Force. I'm getting nostalgic just writing about it. Now if I could just find my Kangol. Reggie Brasby, Jr. I was shocked to see my old band's flier pictured along with the others in the collage. My band was Deviance, which you can see as the opening, opening act for the band Steel Justice. Hilarious! I don't even have a copy of that flier. I'll have you know that that particular show took place in a basement on Eighth Street. The most memorable moment for me was watching the Demented Meatballs from Hell singer throwing ground meat at the audience. Classic metal moment. Thanks for the trip down memory lane! Fred Quattrone Building Consensus(Re: "If You Level It, Will They Come?", Daniel Brook, Oct. 10, 2002) You asked the question, but who should we believe when the question is answered? Mayor Street, Councilman Clarke, the bureaucrats that have been around for years making decisions that leave us where we find ourselves today? Or the private developers with track records? Diamond Street, the first historically designated district (1986), and environs -- areas with excellent transportation and proximity -- are being demolished with no real plan! While the Neighborhood Transformation Initiative proposed to encourage the graduates from these institutions to make their home in Philadelphia, PHA and other subsidized housing developers have not been of value in that regard. Jonathan Weiss and other private developers have and will continue to have a more realistic, cost-effective approach to providing needed housing and, in the process, salvaging historical properties. With the NTI plan, the present homeowners are left surrounded by vacant lots, hoping for future development while the bureaucrats try to figure it out! The opportunity to have market-rate housing and commercial development is lost, without even input from true community participation. A pilot program to provide some of those salvageable properties to developers would be a positive start, especially on mostly intact blocks. After many community meetings on NTI, and researching the "best practices," I put my money on the developers. Judith Robinson CorrectionsRe: CP Choice 2002, Oct. 24: We incorrectly stated the amount that Italian restaurant Spezia charges for the use of Reidel goblets. The charge is $7 per table. Animal behaviorist Patricia Bentz's phone number was wrong. The correct number is 215-551-5254. One of the establishments included in "Most Welcome Culinary Invasion" was incorrectly identified. La Lupe is the name of the Mexican restaurant at Ninth and Federal streets. Re: "Drawing Borders," Arts, Oct. 24, 2002: We incorrectly stated who painted the Winding Roses mural at Brown and Uber streets. It was painted by Barbara Smolen and Jason Slowik. The Mural Arts Program has not commissioned any 30-story murals, as reported. The program does have murals high above the city streets, such as the 6,000-square-foot American flag near the Ben Franklin Bridge, although none of these works are 30 stories from top to bottom. Isaiah Zagar's mural on South Street was not sponsored by the Mural Arts Program. However, the work was part of the "Wall Power" exhibit and brochure that Mural Arts produced in 2000. Re: "Moore in Store," Naked City, Oct. 24, 2002: Moore College of Art and Design's new Art Shop will feature work only by students and alumnae, not faculty, as it was reported. Faculty who are also alums will be able to sell their work in the shop. 
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