Props to Bootsy
(Re: “It’s Bootsy, baby,” Buzz, June 2.) Hi. My name is, aw, call me Triple A. First, I’d like to congratulate Bootsy [Collins] on not becoming a statistic as far as the drug scene. Whether you know him personally or just as a fan, like myself, it says a lot to be in that genre and not be one that dies from drug overdose. Again, congrats!
Now about this mouth-eating, for those who don’t want to partake, for whatever the reason, oh, well. If you have any knowledge of the cleanliness of it, go for it, LOL! It sure won’t hurt you. Matter of fact, it probably will do a body good. It sure hasn’t hurt me all these years, and I’m 51.
To keep it real, I don’t know if it was the eating of mouth that leveled him out from James [Brown] and his strictness, but 19 is a time in a young man’s life where, if it hasn’t happened, it’s about to blow up all over, any way you look at it. A strict father from the start would have probably kept him in church, in the Word of God and on the straight and narrow! But how many in that genre do you know keep it godly? They may thank God, but without pointing any fingers, are they really praising Him?
Let me get off of that. Bootsy, I can’t follow you like I’d like to, but I just want you to know, you have a fan for life, and I mean that from my heart. I’ve been following you and George [Clinton] since at least ’73. It might have been longer, but I really can’t remember.
David [Accomazzo], I’d like to thank you for bringing me Bootsy and this writing. Bootsy, I’d like to thank you for all the years of your muzak and being yourself! Ya know, most bands try to be like other bands, but with their own twist. You, you hit the scene and never could anyone say he’s trying to be like anyone else. Please, don’t stop being yourself. Twinkle twinkle baba … keep shining.
As a Maggot, Funkateer, Clone, or any other part of funk, I must shine as only I can. Nobody can beat me, being me …
Triple A/via Internet
Ted’s has gluten-free menu
(Re: “The bison house that Ted built,” cuisine review, June 9.) I am a local and also a hipster and I love Ted’s. I love bison. You also forgot to mention in your article that Ted’s has a glutenfree menu.
Being a gluten-free, healthy omnivore, I find Ted’s to be more than just a chain. You may, however, be right that it caters to out-of-town folk, and I might just be in the nary of hipster category.
Thanks for hearing me. Christina Ricchi/via Internet
Destroying PBS
What do Boeing, AT&T, Chevron, Union Bank [Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group], Pacific Life, Antique Gallery, Toyota, the Sawaya law firm, Franklin Templeton Investments and Rochebobois of Paris all have in common?
They provide just a few of the blatant advertisements that appear on our two local PBS television channels.
Throw in the infomercials disguised as fundraisers, such as those featuring Age of Aquarius guru Wayne Dyer, snake oil pitchman Gary Null and the ubiquitous Suze Orman. Combine these with the entertainment anthology fundraisers — John Denver, Celtic Thunder, Victor Borge and the interminable Les Miserable reruns come to mind. Add a handful of entertainment promos, and make no mistake about it, if station management receives just one dollar in kickbacks from the products these programs hustle, they are infomercials, plain and simple. Only the most specious reasoning could argue otherwise.
Next, add the scores upon scores of product spots disguised as “Product X supports this program,” “Product Y is a proud sponsor of,” “A portion of the proceeds supports,” “Funding for this program comes from,” or “This program is made possible by,” and stations KBDI and KRMA appear only superficially different from the commercial network programming that pollutes our broadcast and cable channels 24/7. The stations also utilize the euphemisms “underwriters” or “enhanced underwriting” to deceive viewers about the true commercial intent of many promotional messages.
The question is, how did this miserable state of affairs come about? The original federal legislation and regulations that established public TV were written to exclude the influence of business interests, corporate or otherwise, and to make accessible on a local and national basis programming that Establishment commercial media would not produce nor air for reasons of their own.
This trend in public broadcasting is not new. For example, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) was a longtime major sponsor of the former MacNeil/Lehrer Newshour. ADM was also the most fined American corporation during the 1990s. Figure that one out.
But in past months there has been a major PBS public relations effort to gussy up public TV to make palatable to viewers the insidious commercial influences it was designed to avoid and counteract.
Destroy public TV? An emphatic no, on my part. But the financing and management must be solely taxpayerfunded. I suggest a cooperative arrangement where the federal government guarantees 75 percent of the money, states contribute 20 percent, and local governments 5 percent. Station management must be local, under public sector management, and renewable on a yearly basis.
Keep the foundations (aka tax refuges) and private sector monies out of the loop.
All federally regulated electronic media ultimately are owned by the citizens of the USA. It’s time to assert public control over these media, PBS television and radio included.
Dave Morton/Longmont
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