Luke, you insult me: Hey, Luke Y. Thompson, if you're going to review a movie, i.e., the new Star Wars episode ("Sith Is It," May 19), then stick to reviewing movies, not making judgment calls about adopted people and their families. You pointed out that George Lucas can't write a convincing love story and then supported that argument with the facts that he is divorced and his children are adopted. What exactly does someone's capacity to love have to do with having adopted children? One of my sisters is adopted, and to somehow suggest that I, my parents or my other siblings are emotionally crippled because of that is insulting. It doesn't matter how she came into the family, she's a part of it, and that's all that you need to know. You might want to think before you write next time. If I'm insulted, think about how someone who was adopted feels.
Jeremiah Hayes
Dallas
Can't find the words: Luke Y. Thompson wrote, "Note that Lucas is divorced and his children are adopted; this could also explain why he can't write a convincing love story." It's hard to say whether I was more taken aback by how insulting that sentence is or by its startlingly faulty logic. Are you claiming that divorced people can neither experience nor express love? Are you belittling the love adoptive parents have for their children or commenting on the emotional detachment adopted children must have with their parents? Are you presenting us with a list of emotional failures as an explanation for Lucas' lack of depth that begins with a failed marriage and ends with, um, an adoption?
I've been married to the same amazing woman for 11 years and have two wonderful children that I'm sure play a large part in actually making the sun come up each morning, and I can't write a convincing love story, either. Personally, I believe it's not a result of my lack of experiential foundation, but simply because I can't write dialogue.
I'm going with two assumptions, Mr. Thompson. My first, that you're a nice enough guy, leads me to my second; that perhaps you share Lucas' prevailing fault in that your work is diminished because neither of you seems to be able to put what you are feeling into words.
By the way, great article...except for that one little sentence. Unfortunately for you and Mr. Lucas, every word counts.
Scott
Via e-mail
Harmless Herb
Stoner America: Six of the 10 photos used to illustrate "Generation Rx" (by Glenna Whitley, May 19), about the death of Luke Stone, were from his single trip to "Amsterdam: stoner Shangri-la." These photos and captions mislead the casual reader to assume that drugs obtained in Amsterdam were somehow related to his death. It takes reading until page 10 to find that Luke Stone died from a combination of morphine, amphetamine, diazepam, temazepam and oxazepam, all obtained in the United States.
If you had been writing about drug use in The Netherlands, you could have written that:
··· The Dutch use marijuana at less than half the U.S. rate.
··· The age of first use of marijuana in The Netherlands is 20. In the United States, it is 16.
··· The rate of heroin addiction in The Netherlands is less than one-third the U.S. rate.
··· Since the 1970s, the average age of a heroin user in the United States has dropped from 26 to 19. In The Netherlands, it has risen from 26 to over 40.
But you weren't writing about drug use in The Netherlands, so you should have used different photos.
Suzanne Wills
Drug Policy Forum of Texas
Dallas
Denton's Fight Club
Your effin' story: While entertaining, the recent article titled "In the Blood" (by Zac Crain, May 12) seriously lacked journalistic moral integrity. If the purpose of the article was to inform Dallas-area citizens of a sport going on in their community, that is one thing. But to use repeated explicit language (the F-word, faggots and many other words) and offensive editorial jargon (example, "for Christ's sake") is showing a real journalistic immaturity. This story is very offensive and poorly written. Just reporting the facts with integrity and good moral judgment takes character and is probably not something Zac is capable of producing--which is sad.
Dell Miller
Via e-mail
Home at Havana
Can't be beat: Having recently moved from the Caribbean to Dallas, finding someplace that reminds me of my tropical home is very difficult. However, I have found a nice getaway in Little Havana on Lower Greenville. I was excited to see your paper do a review of one of my favorite spots in the metroplex until I read the article ("Little Havoc," by Mark Stuertz, April 14). Little Havana has done a fantastic job of tossing a little island attitude into a sea of corporate sameness--from their great selections of rums (especially all of the Cruzan labels) to the food that I have found to be a great representation of the beach-bar fare in the islands, to a staff that has gone out of their way to make me feel at home. If you want the same old tired margarita that you can get at every On the Border in town, fine, but if you want the best mojito made with the finest rums, Little Havana can't be beat.
Cameron Hattan
Irving
