Bing or Bill

Josh Bezonsky has GOT to be kidding! Just why did you publish his review of Bing Crosby's latest collection [discs, March 6], which he wrote while thinking it was BILL COSBY's latest effort? You can't be serious! Who do you think we are?

Jocelyn Gagnon

Tell me no lies

I would like to thank Mr. Stephen Taylor for mentioning my name four times in print [(e)mail, Feb. 27]. It's so nice to see that my e-mail generated such a clever response from someone who expressed his valid points so clearly, without feeling the need to resort to taking personal stabs at me. No, Secrets and Lies is no Hollywood film. Thank you for pointing that out. However, my criticism of the film does not stem from a comparison with the Hollywood formula. My criticism is grounded in the claim that a film can be "art-house" and still be a poor film. Just because a film is "bold" and a director--what was it?--oh yes, "has guts," it doesn't mean that it merits all the acclaim that we see heralded here. If all it took was putting "real life" and "real stuff" on screen, then my friend, every second student film would be a "real prize." I would like to add that Mr. Taylor calls Secrets and Lies a film that is very much like real life, so much so that it "isn't tied up with a happy little bow at the end" (don't worry, I made sure to close my eyes). Well what Mr. Taylor mistakes as "real life" is, actually, cliché, for I am afraid that even the art-house film has a set of pitfalls, and Leigh made sure to find them. Four and four: we're even now!

Chantalle Kudsi-Zadeh

Tell me secrets

I was relieved to read Stephen Taylor's response to the attack on Secrets and Lies printed in the Mirror's letter section. I saw the film three weeks ago and was amazed by its honesty and integrity. Joanne Latimer's article and capsule review were to the point, well-written and illuminating. It amazes me that so many people would rather go sit through one of the Star Wars movies (again!) than go see a film by a talented director like Mike Leigh. Though the Oscars overlooked his previous film, Naked, thank god this year they've taken notice of his wonderful Secrets and Lies. Thank you Stephen Taylor!

Julianne Burnside

An altered dream?

We have never heard or read Coretta Scott King say in her speeches over the years what her late husband really said in a book by James H. Cowe, Martin and Malcolm and America. Mr. Cone writes that King began to make a "radical turn away from his vision of the American dream and to gaze at the horror of Malcolm X's nightmare." The failure of whites to support authentic integration made him realize, in his own words, that "the vast majority of white Americans are racist." The Vietnam war caused King to describe America as the "greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." He was moving closer to Malcolm X's views when he was assassinated in 1968 by the whites he loved and was seeking to set free of racism.

Bob White

Editor's note: While Coretta Scott King did not mention Malcolm X in her lecture last Tuesday (March 11) at Place des Arts, she did discuss her late husband's dismay and added that he was rethinking some of his philosophies in the final months of his life.

I'll be damned

Concerning March 6th 8 Days ["Go to church and be saved, you blasphemous heathens! Better yet, sleep in.]:

I think if the author of the column actually listened to words of the Eucharistic Liturgy at church, he or she would find it's all about thanking the Creator for Love, Life and the Universe. In fact, contrary to the author's assumptions about Sunday mass, not so much is said about trying to save heathens. This is probably because it's believed that not one human on the face of our beautiful planet misses out on God's love. At least, as a Catholic, that's what I and all those with whom I attend church believe.

Alessandra Bresba

A major Bloc?

Why didn't you just tell Pierrette Venne that "Sovereignty" wasn't a valid answer to question three? ["The Bloc Bunch," March 6]

Here's one question they all ought to be asked--and don't tolerate any vagueness: "What do you have to say to Canadians coast to coast and to non-francophones Québécois who feel that you ought to be kissing the Canadian flag instead of spitting on it?"

Some additional questions for the Bloc Bunch: name three recording artists (think the Juno Awards) who are not from Quebec (that means no Céline Dion!). Toronto and Ottawa are two cities in Ontario. Name five more. Was Jean-Louis Roux treated unfairly because of his swastika? Had he been a separatist, then what? What was the date of the night of the long knives? Where was Alanis Morisette born? Name Montreal's three largest ethnic communities and any two others. In what year did the Expos host the All-Star game? What is Jojo's full name? If you consider one vote above 50 per cent pro-separation (just once) valid, why do you reject the concept of the razor-thin No victory--54,288 votes, to be exact--being conclusive?

Robert Pariseau