Boyz a drag: Going to see the Bent Boyz perform inspires conflicting emotions [Jeannette Batz, "Kingdom Comes," January 1]. On one hand, it is important for queer St. Louisans to be unapologetically visible, and the Bent Boyz are handsome public faces. However, as drag-king troupes go, they aren't the most talented boys around. In fact, when I've gone to their shows, I have only been drawn away from the desire to drink myself to death (out of boredom and vicarious embarrassment) by the troupe's outrageous emcee, Kenya. She's the girl without the glued-on mustache who has enough humor and sex appeal to make up for the group's lack of charisma (and their inability to dance). She brings the dollars to the boxers. She's the Mexican who has it all, (who gives it all for a bunch of Backstreet wannabes), and she wasn't even mentioned in your article.
Krithika Shetty
St. Louis
Peel It
Art or spoof? For a second there, I thought I must have picked up a copy of the Onion by mistake. Then I started reading Eddie Silva's article ["Sunny, One So True," December 25], and I realized it's just that I'm in St. Louis.
Joseph Papendick
St. Louis
Even Hand
Stupid knows no party line: Jim Nesbitt, in his recent column on disgraced former Senate majority leader Trent Lott ["Stupid Racist Tricks," January 1] made a good point about politicians who pander -- sometimes to the basest instincts among us. In the interest of fair play, it would have been nice had Nesbitt pointed out that [a prominent Democrat] spoke to the same organization, too. Or maybe that's something you liberals would rather cover up.
Fred Beaumont
University City
Big Goober
Give him a hankie: In his review of About Schmidt ["Schmidt Happens," January 1], Robert Wilonsky writes about the title character: "Warren's [life] is precisely the mundane, exasperating, unrewarding life lived by people who don't review movies for a living...." Give me a break, Robert! It may surprise you to know that there are plenty of folks out in the real world doing real work and making a real difference -- none of which includes writing snotty movie reviews for the once-fine RFT.
Joanne Mahler
St. Louis
Orbit Ball
A home run could be manslaughter: Eddie Silva is right on target in his criticism of the uninspired, "retro"-inspired design of a new ballpark for the St. Louis Cardinals ["The Scarlet Letter," January 1]. In this, he seems to be aligned with Robert Duffy, the esteemed Post-Dispatch architecture writer. During the controversy over public financing of the stadium, aesthetic arguments took a backseat to crass and mundane pocketbook debates. Now that the primary source of funding appears to derive from the private sector, it looks like the public won't have a say in how the ballpark is designed. That's a shame. I submit that St. Louis needs to gamble on something truly adventurous, borrowing on the latest advances in technology and science, to reassert its national standing. Surely by tapping the resources of the engineering school at Washington University, St. Louis could design and have the first levitating stadium in professional sports -- a park literally floating in the clouds, with fans arriving and departing via Jetsons-like rocket cars. It'd be a perfect complement to the futuristic ribbon of silver that's graced downtown since the mid-'60s. Hitting a home run from such a park would be truly exciting, given that the horsehide missile could potentially claim a casualty or two. It's time for St. Louis to break with its stodgy image and do something truly bizarre.
Wayne Wright
via the Internet
Electron Address
Where are they from? I was wondering if the people that submit letters "via the Internet" are actually from somewhere? I realize this question may violate rule number five (we will not answer questions of a general nature) and may forever remain unanswered.
R.M. Reinhardt
Webster Groves
Amazing Combo
He just kept grinning: Just finished your column [Robert Wilonsky, "Fear Factor," January 1]. It is absolutely right on. You put "bottled water" and "sex with yourself" in the same sentence as John Ritter! I have always said that he is the product of an experiment gone bad -- very bad. [Also] I never did "get" Seinfeld. Perhaps I should look at the endless reruns to see if I can figure it out. Finally, I thank you for writing a column that kept me laughing out loud the entire journey. As Mick Jagger says in his latest "hit," "Don't stop!"
Earl Sigoloff
Creve Coeur
Trashy Spell
You could look it up: Thanks much for the nice coverage and picture [Rose Martelli, "White-Trash Christmas," December 25]. We do appreciate it wholeheartedly. Just a note for possible future reference, the name is Linda Spall. Not Spell, but Spall. Thanks, though, for the nice article.
Linda Spall (not Spell)
St. Louis
