Don’t Get Steamy in the Steam Room!
Last week’s “The Steam Room Rules” (Feb. 25-March 3) was seriously gross! I thought everyone went to the gym to get fit and maybe enjoy the pool like I do—guess things are different in the men’s locker room.What I want to know is how Jack N.D. Schvitz and his friends have quick enough reflexes to stop fooling around if someone else enters the room...getting caught could be a disaster or, I suppose, very exciting. I’ll never go to the gym without flip-flops again!
—Julie, Brooklyn Heights
The Penniless Epicure Educates the Masses
One commenter said, “Awesome heads up. Now how do you pronounce ‘Carmenere?’”While another asked, “Are the Chateau D’Yquem and Tokaji wines hard to find?” Meanwhile another tried to share his decidedly lowbrow taste with our columnist: “Josh,You are too cool!! Have you tried Ripple? Boone’s Farm? Thunderbird? I’ll bring some.”
Tickle Porn Converts the Unprepared
While I was sure I was going to be totally turned off and weirded out by this article [“Staten Island’s King of Tickle Videos,” Feb. 25-March 3] as I have been by a lot of the ridiculously obscene sex stories that you have printed in the past, most of which I wouldn’t even mention as having read to my friends (OK, you caught me, maybe I liked them a little, but I’m a mom from Staten Island, what do you want), I have to admit this one came as a bit of a surprise.
Times are tough for every one, including here in the forgotten borough, and honestly it’s great to see that this guy can make an decent, honest living, support his baby daughter and make people happy all at the same time. I may not get what people see in watching others get tickled to the point of screaming at the top of their lungs, but kudos to Mr. McNeil, even though it might be a while before I can tickle my kids again and not be just a bit creeped out.
— Laura M., Staten Island, NY
Gomorrah Review Earns Armond Another Fan
Wow, I can’t believe any professional reviewer can be so consistently wrong and sophomoric in his expressions and interpretations of film (“More Mob Mentality,” Feb. 11-17). It’s like reading a snooty junior high newspaper review by a kid who looks up a few “big” words in a dictionary to try to sound intelligent, while utterly missing some of the most important themes and narratives of film and art.The moralizing with terms like “prurient,” “obscene” and “decadent” to criticize the film—with your typical smallminded notions that depiction equates to endorsement, of course only in films with which you have some moral/political/ideological disagreement—is a recurring theme in your reviews.That you seem almost chronically unable to grasp the actual themes and narratives of films and art.You write the most uninformed, inaccurate, unintelligent, self-important reviews that I have ever read. Someone needs to fire you from this job, and then you need to get a job that doesn’t involve trying to watch or understand or explain films or art.
—rollintruth
