Best of Montreal, corrected

Geez, you guys really screwed up. The picture of "Hollywood" you ran in your Best of Montreal issue [May 6] is actually a picture of Crazy Mike [Best Montreal Weirdo]. Willy, aka Hollywood and Your Brother from Another Mother, is an entirely different person and can often be found in front of the church on the corner of Ste-Catherine and Bishop. He's the man you're looking for.

Now Crazy Mike's taking all the credit where no credit is due - running around telling people how he's the number one weirdo. It's no good and Willy's going to be really pissed (off).

You know the drill: fix the mess. Go find Willy and after he swears that the money he's bumming is for alcohol, snap a shot of him sticking someone up with a banana.

» Rebekah, Willy's sister from another mister

The black bum who you shot a photo of is not Hollywood. That is the wrong black bum. Hollywood is the bum who looks like Bill Cosby who I beat up for fuckin' around with my Ireland scarf.

» Bubba

Thank you very much for once again recognizing the Vaginal Croutons' freakiness - and letting us beat Céline Dion two years in a row [#4, Most Pretentious Local Act]. However, there was one mistake: we haven't broken up, we just said farewell. Being a Vaginal Crouton is a lifelong commitment - like being an alcoholic or an elephant or one of those guys who calls the Rant Line™ all the time.

I'm sure your readers will be happy to know that we're all doing well in our current projects. Kip Rectum is singing in the Shaar Hashomiyim synagogue choir, Spongy Crackers is writing a touching children's story about a loveable sock, Asbestos Felt threw out his back at the gym and is having a wonderful time in traction, and I spend most of my time trying to pick up the babes who work at Supermarché PA on du Fort.

» Johnny Jackoff, Frontman Extraordinaire, Vaginal Croutons

Also…

Lydia Lukidis [#2, Best Fashion Designer] no longer uses the name Cosmic Angels for her designs. iSci [#10, Best Museum] is now known as the Montréal Science Centre. CKUT's Off the Hook [#1, Best Radio Show] is hosted by Orion/Revolution with help from DJ BuddaBlaze and Flow. And Milano [#4, Best Sandwich] is located at 5196 Jarry E.

Magical mystical errors

I just read the "Magical mystical Montreal" article by Kristian Gravenor about my book, The Templars' Legacy in Montréal: The New Jerusalem (Frontier Publishing, 2002) [Kristian Perspective, May 20]. Of course, I want to thank you for your interest in my work. However, the subject is quite complex, and Kristian made a few mistakes, which is understandable considering the large volume of information we discussed. If you don't mind, I'd like to take this opportunity to correct the following errors:

(1) It was not Jeanne Mance who was related to Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the legendary Knights, but Jean-Jacques Olier, the founder of the Saint-Sulpice in Paris and one of four co-founders of Montreal. Also, Mance's coat of arms was a golden tree with 12 blue apples (not a tree surrounded by apples!).

(2) The old church that was built across the ancient Indian funerary mound (and not on Pointe-à-Callières) was the first Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours Chapel, finished and dedicated in 1675. It was reportedly meant as a pilgrimage site. All that is left of this church today is underneath the existing Bon-Secours Chapel (1771) on St-Paul, and is now part of the Marguerite-Bourgeoys Museum. The mound was destroyed in the 19th century to make room for new roads. For those interested, the existing Bon-Secours Chapel houses another interesting Black Madonna brought back from France by Marguerite Bourgeoys in 1672.

(3) The first settlers were called "les Illuminés de Montréal" by the Jesuits of Quebec City; the term does translate as "Illuminati," but the correct one used back then was "Illuminés."

(4) The Templars (arrested in 1307) were accused of heresy, but eventually declared innocent in 1314 by Pope Clement V (this major discovery was made by Dr. Barbara Frale in 2001, in the Vatican's archives).

(5) Regarding the ritual involving Maisonneuve on Mount Royal in January 1643: the part that can be traced back to the early crusades was not his climbing with the cross, but the knighting religious ceremony that followed on Mount Royal - the very same ritual and the same prayers were performed for those knights who were about to leave for the Holy Land (11th–13th century).

6) Finally, Gilles Bernier took the wonderful picture of the Tetragrammaton in the Basilica.

» Francine Bernier

WE WELCOME LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!

Send your comments, compliments or criticisms to:

Letters to the Editor,
c/o Montreal Mirror,
465 McGill, 3rd Floor
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 4B4

You may also fax us at (514) 393-3173, or reach us by e-mail:

letters@mtl-mirror.com

All letters should include your name, address and daytime phone number.

If you wish to reach someone in particular, here's a list of people involved with the production of the newspaper and this site.