Corey Johnson
Best in the World
I lived in Santa Fe for 15 months (the best time of my life so far) and miss the karaoke nights at Tiny's, Cowgirl, Corazón and Rize (as it was called at that time) because of the great people I met singing there [cover, April 24: "Bar Stars"].
In my humble opinion, I don't think the cult mentioned in this article has to do with the amazing group of friends and the friendly, heartwarming ambiance felt in those fun karaoke nights. This article would have been perfect without the cult thing.
Santa Fe karaoke is the best one in the whole world :)
Carmen Aros
Behind the Mask
It is hard for me not to get upset at so-called religious groups who feel the need to dictate to everyone that we should live by their rules and their rules alone [SFReporter.com, April 24: "Santa Fe City Council Votes On Gay Marriage"]. I am a believer in God and I also believe that everyone should be treated equally and fairly. It would be hypocritical of me, and of anyone else for that matter, to fight for my own rights whilst I deny someone else their rights, just because it conflicts with my religious beliefs. If you don't like gays getting married, then don't marry one. If you believe in God, then worry about your own conduct on Earth and [do] not try to control the conduct of others who cause no harm.
One cannot hide behind the mask of Christianity and then not practice what it means to be a Christian. Persecution of others is not Christian!
Ruby Chung
How Myopic
So, developer Joe Miller says "water is a "nonissue" [news, April 17: "Water Fight"]. Will it be a nonissue when residents turn on the faucet and nothing comes out but water rights? Will it be a nonissue when we are trucking in water to drink, or for bathing, watering gardens? What will native wild animals do for water? They need it to survive, too.
The county's Sustainable Land Development Code is about development, period, but it uses the ever-trendy buzzword "sustainability" to push its real estate development through. It's clear that county politicians will find another way to steal water from another ecosystem, just as the Buckman Direct Diversion Project has done.
There is no more "new water." It is just stolen from somewhere else; nature and wildlife suffer as a result. Developers and politicians do not care, because it's all about endless growth for profit and power.
We are not the only species living here. We just act like we are. How myopic and selfish.
Rosemary Lowe
Take That, Bitches!
I surmise, from reading [Arts Valve, April 17: "Southwest Bares"], that several big-city trendoids came to our sleepy hamlet to show us Santa Fe hicks "what it's all about." I talked to several gallery owners and employees whose minds were opened—just like the article said—when they realized that they had been misled and manipulated by people who wouldn't recognize ethics if it bit them on their cutting-edge asses.
Furthermore, "famous" art director [Eric] Radack's and "internationally renowned photographer" Spencer Tunick's (You know these guys? Neither do I) self-serving drivel about porno, something young and healthy, and them being anti-creep is about as convincing as the Southern Baptist who claims to watch porn to better understand Satan's tools (tool?), as well as overstating their belief that they, being hipsters, get it and the rest of us are way too uncool to understand.
As for photographer Anne Staveley's comment about artists here sitting at home doing their thing, how in the hell does she think that art gets created in the first place? Certainly not by idiots dropping trou and running down the street. Radack's art, by the way, has already been done better by Dadaists, hippies and new-wavers, among others, and has always been equally lame and stupid. Drunken frat boys and college chicks with plastic tits create better art at Spring Break, and hasn't he ever heard of Girls Gone Wild DVDs?
As a true believer in great art, I'm sorry they didn't go to the Catholic church to offend as many people as possible. Imagine Radack's surprise when he discovered that many of those good Catholics are also cowboys, construction workers, cholos and bikers. Imagine hipstertwits scrambling naked through the streets of Santa Fe. Take that, bitches! Hell, I'd have paid money to watch that performance.
Ed Fields
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