RE: Millennium Mess [November 1999]
We Know When to Party
Hurray! I've been arguing this point all year - with very little success. It seems so blatantly simple, I just couldn't understand how otherwise intelligent people could be so ... well, stupid! All my family members, including three university-educated grown children, refused to acknowledge that the new millennium does not, in fact, begin until January 1, 2001. My husband believes, and argues, that I must be the stupid one, since popular consensus goes against me on this issue. Well, I don't think so - but what the hey ... I've just decided to give in, and celebrate twice! I KNOW that this December 31st we will actually be celebrating the coming of the LAST YEAR of the last century in this current millennium - and that NEXT December 31st (2000) will be the very last day of the 20th century, thus ushering in the third millennium. The commercial end of this thing will be milked for all it's worth! Anyhow, thanks for putting OUR perspective in clear, concise, no-brainer terms! I'm going to be sending copies to several friends and relatives! viewpoint.
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As Simple as 1, 2, 3
Hey, I'm glad you wrote an article about this millennium in 2000 thing. It's a pet peeve of mine as well. The worst part is that "smart" people/companies are doing it - CNN, A&E, The Learning Channel, encyclopedia companies. I go to the book store and see "Millennium Edition" books, even a local elementary school I just found out has had a poster counting down to the "new millennium" in order to teach the kids math/counting! It makes for great irony that they miscounted in an attempt to teach counting, but it also makes me quite angry. I'm hoping, and thinking as well, that we'll see millennium talk next year as well - from the smarter people.
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Not Crazy
Thank you SOOO much for printing this article.
I have been laughing for a long time (and have started to wonder if I was crazy) since I was one of the very few people who said that the new millennium didn't start until Jan 1, 2001.
I am glad to know that this magazine, unlike the rest of the Western Hemisphere, has enough intelligence to realize when the new millennium actually begins.
Thank you
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RE: Fight Club review
Political Lesson
Your description of the organization that Tyler Durden raises in the last part of Fight Club as "fascist" is an intellectually sloppy misnomer. Fascism has a meaning, and that meaning is NOT "anything violent and undesirable." If anything, Durden's group is anarchist in nature, which is about as far from fascism as you can get.
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RE: For Love of the Game review
Delve Deeper
This is the first review I've read by you, so I don't mean to single you out particularly. But, I am troubled by the slash and burn mentality of present day media's film critics.
I'd like to make a case for the long view. In general, I think film critics make judgements based on one viewing of a film, and they quite naturally compare the film to whatever else is currently out there. They do not look at a film and think about where it fits in a body of work and whether or not it shows maturity on the part of the film maker and the cast. Here is how I test a film: how will this film look to me in ten years? Will it still have an impact on me, or will the message be subverted by hip style, foolish dialogue, unnatural performances or amateurish special effects, etc. An example of this is Titanic and L. A. Confidential. One viewing of Titanic told me that the cadavers bobbing about in the tank would look ridiculously unreal in ten years; L. A. Confidential style is never going to obscure the intricate and painful story. No comparison about which film has legs.
I think Kevin Costner, perhaps even inadvertently, is creating a statement about American culture that is admirable and film critics are so captivated by this slash and burn mentality, they are missing it. Take a look at his films, and see what they say about American society and our culture: they explore cherished, important and often troubling aspects of the American experience, the institutions of our government and the glue that holds together our society.
When you look at For Love of the Game this way, the long view, it looks different. It looks like a pretty decent contribution to a body of work that is ongoing, so let's stay with Costner and Rami, and see where they are going.
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| SHORT TAKES
I am often looking at the variety of magazines to be found on the Internet and have found Renaissance to be a damn good one...Complete rubbish. Clearly a magazine to avoid...Just a note to say you have a fine, insightful and well written magazine here...I have read a significant number of the poems you have published, delving into the archives, and found the majority of them to be of far less accomplishment than the prose pieces in your magazine, from the reviews to the essays...I found the article mildly amusing but not necessarily worthy of any special attention. |
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DECEMBER 1999 | VOLUME 3,