Blessed Are the Billboards

Blessed Are the Billboards
Holy See, holy do: In response to "Selling Jesus," April 7: God bless the parish of St. Stephen's! It is so refreshing to know that there are more true Catholics faithful to the Holy See! Our parishes have been failing due to facts that were more comfortably hidden. We must begin to defend our faith, our sacraments, our families! It is not simply our bishops' duty, it is also our own, as members of the body of Christ.

Tim Nolan
Chardon

Little Guys, Big Wins
We should all be such losers: In Pete Kotz's "Econ 101" [April 21], he states that the little guy always loses. In truth, the existence of market Goliaths is proof that the little guy very often wins.

Two young individuals -- both named Steve -- once sold their Volkswagen and scientific calculator to raise $1,300. They obtained a line of credit at an electronics store to create their own computer business. Armed with innovative new ideas and working out of a shop based in their garage, they went on to create a multinational corporation. This would be Apple, a company that constantly "creates anew," as Mr. Kotz falsely claims the big guys don't do. Even Microsoft was founded by a college dropout who dredged through dumpsters to learn from the program listings others discarded.

Every large company was once a small potato. They got large by making better decisions and delivering what people value.

David Mooter
Shaker Heights

Kick out the kickbackers: Thanks for informing us of Mr. McNulty's situation ["Econ 101"]. After reading the article, I thought of a solution that could make many people happy:

1. Keep McNulty and allow him to run one of the other seven dining establishments.

2. Bid the other restaurant space out to Cleveland-area restaurants or people like McNulty. If my math is right, the university will pocket $212,000, the students will get better food, local entrepreneurs will get an opportunity to make money, and this will benefit the community as a whole. The only losers would be Aramark, Meszaros, and whoever else gets kickbacks.

Jay Demagall
Lakewood

O Yeah
Hear, hear: In response to "Missing in Action," April 21: As a metrosexual or modern man, for a lack of a better term, it is important to me not only to know how to look good in front of the ladies, but to actually know the ladies. That comes from being a good listener, which is part of being a good communicator. I listen to what my girlfriend needs as we both go on our sexual journey. "Ladies first" includes the bedroom. And when she finds her big O, it's a great feeling for me as well.

Eddie Mileti
University Heights

O for oblivious: Thanks for the insightful article on the female orgasm. Kudos to Scene for showing how truly oblivious some men can be! Keep up the good work!

Rina Urquieta
Arlington, TX

Go Ask H.I.M.
It takes two: In response to Nightwatch, April 21: On April 22, H.I.M. played the Odeon. You never would've known by the local print-media coverage. This is H.I.M.'s first U.S. tour and it's completely sold out, but the band came and went with one paragraph. Of course, Scene couldn't mention the band without mentioning Bam Margera. Yes, some of the band's popularity is attributed to Margera and his fascination with them, but many of us are fans of the music, not the association. I was hoping that one of our free weeklies would have written an article about them. Instead, no one outside their fan base is aware that they were here.

I know Scene can't write about every band that comes through our town, but c'mon. This band is selling out clubs without the benefit of radio play (at least here) or video play. I'm sorry they're not included on every station's eight-song rotation. That seems to be the only way to get any print in this town.

I'm just glad I had the chance to see them. Thanks for nothing.

Scott Sopata
Cleveland

Editor's note: We planned to run a feature story on H.I.M. and had two interviews scheduled. The band blew us off both times.

Smash Hit
Beating the break-in blues: A friend just passed on Tom Francis's "Hail to the Thief" [March 24] about the CD theft -- perhaps because someone shattered my car window and stole my stereo, a tool kit, and some running shoes a few weeks ago.

His story has been the only thing that's made me laugh through the whole experience. Well, that and my neighbor's story about her car being stolen a few years ago. When it was recovered, she found that the seats had been torn out and replaced with a green lawn chair. I'm sure that'll turn up in a Ludacris video soon.

Vanessa McDaniel
Columbus

Correction
In the April 14 feature story, "The Lies That Bind," Scene reported that Mark Ducic had been in jail for stalking his ex-wife. This was incorrect. He was in jail on charges of stalking an ex-girlfriend, Alexis Colerco.