Letters

Sweet Smells, Sorry Screens

I love the whole movie experience; rented videotapes just don't cut it for me ["Battle of the Megaplex Monsters," by Richard Connelly, March 2]. I remember how disappointed I was when saw my first movie at a megaplex. Physics: Light decreases as an inverse square to distance.

The idiots who designed these megaplexes paid no attention to this fact. Projectors, being so much farther away from the screens, project gray, washed-out images. The worst offenders are the miserable Tinseltown theaters.

Meyerland General Cinema and Loews Memorial have the best screens, and they keep the sound at a level where one isn't scrambling for earplugs. According to the article, these may be on the chopping block soon, which is a pity.

I had hoped the Angelika would be a shining star, but its screens, too, suffer from the washed-out-picture problem. There is, however, one screen directly behind the kitchen of one of the restaurants, and the wonderful fragrance of garlic and spices makes a trip to the Angelika almost worthwhile.

I wish that the people who patronize these megaplexes cared as deeply about picture quality as I do and would force the megaplexes to improve. But the "masses" don't seem to notice or care.

Jay Francis

Houston

Trailblazers

In your article "Lights Out" [by Wendy Grossman, March 2], it was said that no fireflies are seen in Houston city limits. This is not true.

Until January I lived at Westheimer and Lazy Hollow, and jogged every evening along a path that follows Fondren as it becomes Piney Point just north of Westheimer, crossing Buffalo Bayou just south of Memorial Drive in the process. In the late-spring through early-autumn months, fireflies are visible along this jogging trail.

Mark Myers

Houston

Cross and Double Cross

How shocked can District Judge Sharolyn Wood really be to personally experience (after 18 years as a judge in Harris County) the double cross of the Hotze/Blakemore team [Insider, by Tim Fleck, February 24]? Like many who benefited from his support in the past, she has learned how fickle his support can be; she appears surprised by Hotze's machinations. Don't kid us -- she knows his agenda full well!

He's much more interested in a candidate's theological leanings than his or her legal experience. District Judge Scott Link surely knows that contributing money to Hotze's PACs could mean that pastors risk their churches' tax-exempt status by endorsing Hotze's candidates.

Just because the district attorney chose not to indict Hotze for some of his campaign activities does not mean that his tactics are ethical, let alone legal. He has just been assessed three fines by the Texas Ethics Commission for various reporting errors. Link may consider Hotze an "honorable man" and not believe that he and his compatriot, Allen Blakemore, "would conspire to direct any of these funds to anybody's campaign," but the jury is still out on that issue.

Charlotte H. Coffelt

Kingwood

Not Content with Content

I routinely look forward to reading your stories that are not covered at all by other media outlets, or are covered only superficially and/or much later. The Houston Press articles usually offer interesting insights or raise important issues. I was therefore surprised by the recent article on Peter Wareing [Insider, by Tim Fleck, March 2]. Given the seeming lack of content, I wondered what purpose was served in stating any of the following not-so-surprising revelations:

1. An opponent hoped to tar Wareing's reputation.

2. Wareing in his career has made both good and bad investments (isn't this true of nearly everyone who has invested?).

3. Wareing's father-in-law has been an enthusiastic supporter. Hence the yard signs, which were placed and then removed.

I wish that the Press had included information on Peter Wareing's record of extensive charitable work, honesty, business success and values. I think he possesses the personal characteristics necessary to be an outstanding member of the House of Representatives.

I guess it must have been a slow news week, and the Press decided to focus on innuendo.

Joel B. Otte

Houston