Calendar Letters: Linda Ronstadt fans say thanks for the memories

Congratulations to Randy Lews for his beautiful piece on Linda Ronstadt [“She’s Ready to Talk,” Oct. 3]. I’m 65, and the first concert I ever attended was the Stone Poneys when they played UCLA’s Pauley Pavillion a million years ago. Your article brought back that fond memory.

The picture on the front page is absolutely fabulous.

Jeff King

Los Angeles

That Calendar photo of Linda Ronstadt really got to me because it brought back memories of all the times my late sister and I listened to Linda’s music together — and tried to emulate her haircut.

One of my first concerts was Linda and the Stone Poneys at Melodyland Theater in Anaheim in the ’60s. She came on stage barefoot and we loved it.

Nancy Roeger

Carlsbad

For 50 years one note from Linda Ronstadt gave me chills. Randy Lewis’ splendid article did the same thing.

Ed Masciana

Torrance

From the moon to the screen

Regarding “A Down to Earth Guy” [Oct. 7]: I grew up in the Apollo moon landing era, and as a boy Neil Armstrong was someone I always admired, but knew very little about. I am so looking forward to the movie “First Man,” but I am even more excited about it after reading Amy Kaufman’s beautiful article. I just want to applaud her for crafting such a finely written piece. It brought back all of my feelings surrounding that incredible achievement and of the first man to set foot on another planet. Hearing of his son’s commitment to making sure their father, their lives and the mission were portrayed accurately and the filmmakers and Ryan Gosling doing everything to make that so, made me emotional and proud of people who are trying to be accountable to history and the people who shaped it.

Jeff G. Rack

Burbank

If Neil Armstrong was a real stickler for the facts, as his sons stated in your article, he would have really been upset with the use of the United Nations flag instead of the United States flag, that Armstrong actually placed on the moon.

Ted Biondo

Rockford, Ill.

Editor’s note: The film “First Man” does not depict a United Nations flag on the moon, nor did the Los Angeles Times article suggest that it did. This is a rumor that has been circulating on the internet.

Kids can’t resist ‘The Circus’

I loved your article that mentioned the Sailor Circus in Sarasota, Fla. [“Run Away With ‘The Circus’ Here.” Oct. 9], I was one of those kids you wrote about in the first paragraph, and can honestly say it was one of the greatest moments of my young life. I participated in the circus starting in ninth grade as a “rigger.” I couldn’t even fit in the overalls they gave me. I continued on until my junior year in high school, where I retired as the catcher on the flying trapeze.

The Sailor Circus was not the most popular activity in school. We were often looked at as weirdos. That was until April, when for approximately eight shows we became rock stars among our classmates.

Norm Hoffman

Santa Barbara

‘Oppenheimer,’ the real story

Thank you for Charles McNulty’s excellent review of the play “Oppenheimer” [“Oppie Blinded us With Science,” Oct. 9]. It’s a historic crime against womankind that the great genius Lise Meitner doesn’t get her due in these retold stories. First she’s fraudulently stiffed in not receiving the Nobel Prize for the discovery of nuclear fission. Then, out of conscience, she rejects an offer to work on the Manhattan Project and her life seems to fade into the backwaters of history.

I can only hope that those seeing “Oppenheimer” can also come to learn of Lise Meitner, whose life story is far more compelling than that of Dr. Oppenheimer.

Lynn Borland

Pacific Palisades

Don’t penalize great writers

Regarding “Hey, Our Stories Count Too” [Oct. 8]: Poe, Hawthorne, Twain, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Faulkner, Roth have survived because they wrote great literature and not because they are white males. Women and minorities were wrongly prevented from doing the same, but that’s no reason now to discriminate against these wonderful writers, most of whom were every bit as subversive as Yvette DeChavez would like to be. The canon should not be destroyed, it should be expanded.

Harry Gordon

Long Beach

A fan extols ‘Star’ power

Thank you, Kenneth Turan, for your review of “A Star Is Born,” [“Stars Align,” Oct. 5]. I think I may have seen the best movie in my entire life this past weekend.

Todd M. Wallace

Anaheim

‘Venom’ was a wake-up call

What a disgusting photo spoiling Justin Chang’s review of “Venom,” [“As Sludgy as it Looks”, Oct. 4]. I had to tear off the page in order not to ruin my morning completely. Please show your readers a little more consideration.

Madere Olivar

Los Angeles

Local theaters need love too

I am a long-time L.A. Times subscriber, and I am writing because my needs as a reader are not being met.

Specifically, there continues to be a lack of coverage of local theater from this newspaper. This really ticks me off as this is one of the main reasons I would wish to support a local paper — in addition to the N.Y. Times and Washington Post, which I also subscribe to and which cover national issues and science and health far more thoroughly.

I’ve noticed that visual arts get at least twice as much coverage as the theater.

Recently the price of my subscription was raised. Please show me that it’s worth it by increasing coverage of the theater.

We could use more film and TV coverage as well — reviews, not celebrity profiles.

Deborah Klugman

Los Angeles

His work is timeless

Regarding “Leaping Into the Language of Love” [Oct. 9]: You cannot call the ballet “Western Symphony” “dated.” The genius of choreographer George Balanchine only gets more vivid with time. Go see the New York City Ballet and witness the timeless, incomparable beauty of his choreography.

That Los Angeles Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and the Miami City Ballet also feature his work is only a small part of his ongoing legacy. What other artist of the 1940-1980 era continues to impact popular culture in such a strong way? Just look at the work of Benjamin Millepied, Justin Peck and Christopher Wheeldon to feel Balanchine’s pulse 40 years after his passing.

With that said, I appreciate the L.A. Times providing quality dance criticism. Art thrives with the dialogue.

Phil Livingston

Boulder, Colo.

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