_______________PRYOR KNOWLEDGE BY JILL NELSON (11/24/98)
	Reading the front-page title of Jill Nelson's piece on Richard Pryor, one would think that he was not the most influential comic of his generation, and that his name still needed a modifier. In fact, while reading the work itself I was convinced that Nelson would somehow connect Pryor's genius to Bruce's -- perhaps noting that Bruce was a strong influence on Pryor's career, or on his comedic method. I found no such connection. Since in many cases the titles of hard or soft news are not always determined by the author, I don't know who to assign responsibility. But I will say this: Calling Richard Pryor the black Lenny Bruce is like calling Michael Jordan the black George Mikan. Who's George Mikan? My point exactly. -- Lester Spence
_______________KEN STARR'S STRANGE SEXUAL PERSONA BY CAMILLE PAGLIA (11/25/98)
	I am surprised that Camille Paglia could fall into stereotyping Kenneth Starr's sexuality on the basis of seeing him on television and noting certain mannerisms. Haven't gays and lesbians always complained about stereotypical images of what a gay or lesbian person looks like and acts like? Has Paglia ever met Kenneth Starr? Although I normally hold her insights and ideas in high regard, I think she is off base here. -- Richard Terrell Lincoln, Neb.
_______________STAR DRECK BY CHARLES TAYLOR (11/20/98)
	Usually coherent Charles Taylor talks out of both sides of his mouth in his review of "Celebrity." Apparently we are to believe that as the psychiatrist in "Zelig," Mia Farrow was actually playing Woody Allen, even though Taylor later refers to Allen as Zelig. We are also informed that Alan Alda, Angelica Huston, Judy Davis and unnamed others "carved places for themselves" that exceeded the filmmaker's intended nondescript part that could have been played by just anybody. I can just imagine Alda scheming to wrest creative control from Allen, who Taylor also accuses of being a control freak. Out of nowhere, here comes Alda, taking charge like Steve Jobs emerging from the executive washroom at Apple with the iMac under one arm. No chance, I suppose, that "Manhattan Murder Mystery" -- which Taylor bizarrely rates as Allen's best movie in 20 years -- reflected Allen's own vision of the story. I'm tempted to think Taylor's careless and contradictory review is a kind of satire, cleverly disguised as an unflattering review of a satire. But more likely it is a sophomoric rant that could have been phoned in by -- well, by anybody. -- Hal Dasinger
_______________THE COPYRIGHT BOOMERANG BY PETER WAYNER(11/20/98)
	I use a scanner and photo editing software to put pictures of my baby's ultrasounds on the Net for my family to see. What's to protect my right to do that if they outlaw the technology used to copy images and sounds? I have relatives out of state and overseas that it would be impractical and costly to send pictures and audio tapes or video tapes just so they can see another member of the family. I'm not about to give up my scanner, its software and the microphone connected to my computer, used to keep in touch with my family, just because some Hollywood mogul is worried he'll lose a little chump change. -- Ryan Grange
_______________THE LAST HURRAH FOR WEST COAST FINANCE BY KEVIN KELLEHER (11/25/98)
	I was very interested by the premise of Kevin Kelleher's article "The last hurrah for West Coast finance." Unfortunately the article seems to be lacking substance. Mr. Kelleher makes a number of statements about the West Coast financial firms but does absolutely nothing to back them up. I was particularly curious about the following quote: "In January, Bill Hambrecht left Hambrecht & Quist, and this summer, Sandy Robertson left Robertson Stephens. All three men were the victims of their respective success. All three lost control of their company to more powerful interests." I wondered what powerful interests Bill Hambrecht lost his firm to -- seeing as how Hambrecht and Quist is still independent, and Bill Hambrecht is still the largest shareholder. Perhaps we need a little more evidence besides how fast Huey Lewis and the News leave the stage before we lay the West Coast financial institutions to rest. -- Eric Thomas Black
_______________HELL NO! WE WON'T GRADE! BY SEAN McMEEKIN(11/30/98)
	Sean McMeekin's article on TA unionization ends with what is, I suppose, intended to be a frightening image: the shrinking of graduate programs. However, if there is already a glut of Ph.D.s, particularly in such fields as English, cutting back on graduate programs may be exactly what is called for. As a former TA, I am grateful for the education I received and would not want to trade it for an equivalent time in ordinary work experience. But a great deal of what goes on in graduate programs is training and indoctrination for the job of being a professor, a job that, increasingly, does not exist for most of us. As it currently stands, the system is clearly broken, and drastic change is not only needed, it is inevitable. Personally, I applaud the workers at the University of California for putting themselves on the line to try to improve the situation. -- Mike Terry SALON | Dec. 2, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY BY ALAN WOLFE

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