Burnin' Rubber,
Underwater
Can Aquaman handle a Ferrari?: Want to know why "in this country, the future of monofin swimming is very dark" ("Merman," Tamara Lush, October 4)? As a "sport" it would be like watching the 100 meter dash with athletes riding Kawasakis! Hell, why doesn't the guy just ride a freaking Jet Ski? Run a marathon in the back seat of a Ferrari? Do the shot put with a howitzer, the javelin with a cruise missile???
Mr. Armas needs to concentrate more on his job .
Bruce Biggins
Lauderdale by the Sea
What Politicians Do
Can't bust a man for that, can you?: I take issue with Mike Tamburro of Hollywood ("Slimy Rats, Ahoy," Letters, October 4), indicting convicted Hollywood Commissioner Keith Wasserstrom. Did Mr.Tamburro or Bob Norman attend or watch any of the lengthy public deliberations? I used to own a home in the vicinity of the smelly waste treatment plant, so I followed the debate with great interest both on television and in person in the Commission Chambers.
I believe Keith should have been found not guilty on all counts in the Schwing Bioset controversy. I am not his fan. As a beach resident, past president of beach civic associations, and past president of my condominium, I have disagreed with Keith many times over the redevelopment of Hollywood Beach. But I believe the commissioners picked the best company to handle the messy, putrid sludge process. Keith and Mayor Mara Guilianti always prefaced their remarks with the fact that they had conflicts of interest. Their statements were ethical and allowed by the City Attorney. Over and over they argued in favor of their preference, and Keith always emphasized his personal relationship to Schwing Bioset. The Mayor and Keith recused themselves from voting. To jail Keith on conflict of interest forms filled out before the public debate started seems unjust.
Ron Clasky
Hollywood
Spare the Acid
Marya won't let go of "I am not": Marya Summers' remarks on the "2007 Biennial Art Faculty Exhibit" (Artbeat, October 4) are off base: As if unbearable budget cuts on Florida's state universities were not enough, it is truly a shame that an arts reviewer would discourage anyone from studying art at FAU. Several of the art faculty have international reputations and artworks in major museum collections. Art professors work long hours on meager pay.
That said, I would like respond to Ms. Summers statement, "It's got to mean something — that's why it's called conceptual art." I can speak only for myself and my partner, Pavel Ouporov, who team teach at FAU after 15 years of actively exhibiting and teaching in major New York City museums and university art schools. In our photographs "Seer" and "Let Go" the text clearly reads: "Seeing Reveals A Seer" and "Let go of I am, let go of I am not." Both of these phrases are not "words imposed on natural settings," as Ms. Summers says, but fragments of poetry from Nagarjuna, a visionary monk who lived in India in the 2nd Century. Each letter was hand cut from reflective material to mirror the sky and physically and carefully integrated into the water in the shape of a spiral, photographed, and then removed, not imposed on the landscape.
Likewise in our installation "Tree-Rain," we meticulously hand printed hundreds of transparent words into sheer fabric that hangs in multiple layers in front of a 13-foot photo of a massive banyan tree (sacred in Asia) to show the interconnection of language, sound, and the senses.
Suzanne Scherer, FAU Art Instructor
Boca Raton
Keep on Truckin'
Sometimes the truth hurts: Keep exposing the truth, Bob Norman ("Terrible Trio," October 4). Please take it one step further by not endorsing candidates like some other "newspapers." Rather, put out a voter's guide on the eve of the next election to really inform the voting public about where each candidate really stands, as in reaching into the taxpayer's wallets for their own benefit. Public Trust — what does it really mean? Thanks for the brutally honest journalism, and don't shirk from continuing to do so, no matter how many allegedly powerful people it may piss off.
Gavin Alford
Hollywood
The condo curtain is falling: Bob Norman is the only reporter in Broward County who does real investigative reporting and then writes it like it is. He is doing the city of Hollywood a great service by exposing our government's nefarious actions. Hopefully, large numbers of voters are reading his exposés and will vote accordingly in the upcoming Hollywood election. If we do not change elected officials and direction, we can kiss the city of Hollywood goodbye and say hello to Sunny Isles.
Cynthia Greene-Eason
Hollywood Beach
Seminoles Holding Aces
What's a governor supposed to do?: It's clear that if Gov. Crist wants the most money for the state of Florida with regard to casino gaming, he'll tell the Indian tribes "to go skin an alligator" and give more Vegas-style gaming to the "racinos" in Broward county ("Wheel of Misfortune," Bob Norman, September 27)! First, they'll be regulated, unlike the shenanigans at the Indian reservations. And they'll bring in about four to five times the money for the state's coffers than if Crist stupidly casts his lot with the Indians!!! Marco Rubio and the other panting Repukelican Neanderthals need to get their heads out of their asses on this one. How can they sleep at night, giving big tax breaks to the richest Floridians while passing up the chance to bring $500 MILLION into the state to make up for that give-away?? OOPS.. I forgot... those bastards have no consciences, so they must sleep like hibernating bears!!! Who is paying them off not to move on this at once?
Harvey Slavin
Hollywood
