Times readers don't want to believe in Comedy Store ghosts
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Television critic Lorraine Ali, reviewing a so-called ghost-hunting show [“It's All in the Thrill of the Hunt,” Oct. 30], wrote, “Go ahead. Make fun of us. But I’m officially freaked out because I definitely felt something.”
What she probably felt was the rationality rushing out of her brain.
It’s a shame that this participatory “journalism” took the place of an actual television review, where she might have done research and pointed out that no “apparition” has ever been captured on film instead of claiming it “rarely” so.
Will she be interviewing Santa Claus next month?
Dave Suess
Redondo Beach
::
I understand the desire to entertain on Halloween, but ghost hunters who believe they are being scientific or using scientific equipment are not really.
It’s human nature to rush to judgement and mistake strange events for ordinary ones which is, of course, the reason for the scientific method.
The TV ghost hunters have no background in physics, forensics, electronics engineering or any serious investigations. They are amateurs.
Some example questions I would have asked them are: If ghosts can be seen in the dark, why not turn on the lights to get a better view? Darkness only leads to human misinterpretation of what the eyes are really seeing.
Do you have any clear images? Fuzzy ones are poor evidence. Walking around and talking to a spirit is not as productive as determining the exact direction of a sound and going to that location. Why not use a simple process, even for a high school physics student, with two microphones instead of just one? Then did the sound actually come from an empty corner or is it a faint TV sound from next door
Tom Gingell
San Diego
Open letter is well-timed
“John Leguizamo’s Open Letter to Hollywood” [Nov. 1] alleged an underrepresentation of Latinos in film, and comes at an interesting time: the 100th anniversary of “The Sheik,” starring Rudolph Valentino, the biggest star of his time.
Hollywood history includes Ramon Novarro, Dolores Del Río, Lupe Velez, Cesar Romero, Carmen Miranda (at one time Hollywood’s top paid star), Merle Oberon, Ricardo Montalbán, Desi Arnaz (who revolutionized television), Rita Moreno, Fernando Lamas, Edward James Olmos, Rosie Perez and others.
The very phrase “Latin lover” is synonymous with Hollywood.
Kevin Dawson
Los Angeles
All there is to say about music
Regarding “A Revealing, Special Kind of Bonkers” [Oct. 31] All that really matters about song is this: Music is in the ear of the beholder.
John Whiteman
San Diego
When Jerry Lee Lewis tread the boards
Regarding “Rock 'N' Roll Wild Man Jerry Lee Lewis, 1935-2022” [Oct. 29]: In 1968, I attended the Center Theatre Group production of the "Othello"-based, rock musical "Catch My Soul" with Jerry Lee Lewis as Iago. That’s right, Bard fans, Jerry Lee Lewis as Iago.
Lewis held the mesmerized audience in the palm of his hand with his piano-pounding, catwalk-strutting performance. This rarely mentioned run was an evening of surprising artistry and theatrical joy from the “washed-up” rocker.
Wherever he is now, you can bet there’s still “A Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”
Janice Johnson Barnum
San Gabriel
A view from the cockpit
Your article regarding the VNY Airport and proliferation of private jets was very one-sided.
As a former pilot who flew out of VNY Airport for 30 years, the complaint about noise is very old news. Residents around the airport have been complaining incessantly about the noise for as long as I can recall. As the article stated, VNY Airport has been active since 1928. It’s not the Airport’s fault that developers routinely built more and more homes close to the airport’s boundary. Those who purchased homes in proximity to the airport should have known that they would be subject to the noise of aircraft taking off and landing. To complain about its existence after the fact is ridiculous.
The airport serves a vital need for private air transportation and it is a lucrative cash cow for the city and county of Los Angeles.
Chuck Groel
Lake Sherwood
When Leslie Jordan tread the boards
Regarding “He Exuded Himself, One Post at a Time” [Oct. 26]: Many years ago as a theater writer for a small newspaper, I had the opportunity to review Del Shores’ play “Southern Baptist Sissies.” Leslie Jordan played a supporting role as a barroom gossip, and he was double-over hilarious, stealing the show. I didn’t know of him before seeing that show. After delivering that roll-in-the-aisles performance, I could not forget him.
Ben Miles
Huntington Beach
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
