Did The Exorcist spawn TV evangelism?

Regarding your Linda Blair interview ["Demon seed," Oct. 12], I thought she had died of colonic blockage and subsequent peritonitis sometime in the early '80s. One point needs to be raised as well in reference to the original Exorcist, which typical middle-class silence makes all the more apparent: more than any other single factor, that idiotic film single-handedly created the American fundamentalist Christian movement.

Jerry Failwell, Jim and Tammy Faye, Pat Blubberson and all the rest of these penny-ante shills and God-vendors saw their Genesis as a direct result of one of the most hilariously klezmerific (was there anyone connected with this film that was NOT Jewish?) spoofs on Jesoid suggestibility of all time.

The triumph of The Exorcist as a tool for social engineering proves yet again that nothing has changed since the Dark Ages. Christendom is still as wand-waving and superstitious and witch-burning as the day it crawled out of its cave to smear its fecal extrusions all over the brains of the world. Make a million in first-week receipts, guys.

--Walt "Bugsy" O'Brien, unrepentant Trotskyite in Everett, Washington, USA (and missing Montreal terribly--j'ai besoin d'un Molson au Stanley Street Pub, près de Chapters et Odyssey Books!)

Rockumentary confusion

First, thanks for that great Wesley Willis story ["A song a day keeps the demons away," Oct. 12], written by Johnson Cummins.

Second, I don't know how journalism works, but just for the record, I don't think I actually said any of the stuff that's attributed to me in that article.

All my friends are calling me and saying "Hey Daniel (my name is Daniel, not Dan), what a great article--that doesn't sound like you at all," and I have to say "Well, that's because it isn't me!"

The gist of everything is correct, but I just don't talk like that. So I just need to clear that up for all of my fans. That's all. Thanks. [Ed's note: Johnson doesn't know how journalism works either, which is part of his peculiar charm. But for the record, he stands behind the thrust of his quotes.]

--Daniel Bitton, Wesley Willis Rockumentarist

Home-schooling follow-up

I think you should follow up your home-school story ["Bill 101 hits home," Oct. 5] with some accurate facts regarding the law and home-schooling in Quebec. For further information, the QAHBE (Quebec Association for Home-Based Education) can provide you with the legalities of home-schooling and in the language of choice!

As well, the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) has represented many Quebecers faced with threats by school boards, Youth Protection etc. and they can be reached at (403) 528-2704.

Your story tells the plight of one woman, who contacted a lawyer who apparently had no knowledge of the laws regarding home-schooling!

Please research this and print a rebuttal of some sort for those of us who home-school or are thinking about it seriously. Home-schooling IS a viable option in Quebec!

--Shari Van Hove

Metro recycling

Philip Preville's article ["Thing: Reprocessed Paper," Oct. 12] was very informative. I think we could vastly increase the amount of recycled newspaper every week by putting newspaper recycling boxes in metro stations.

At present, thousands of newspapers get thrown into the general garbage every day and end up not getting recycled. In Toronto, newspaper recycling boxes have been part of the subway landscape for quite a while. It may be time to give the devil its due and adopt an overdue recommendation.

--Manish Patwari