Feedback: ‘Shining a light’ on more than the Jan. 6 hearings

Funny, not funny

Television critic Lorraine Ali’s column [“A Sense of the Absurd Weakens the ‘Big Lie’,” June 14] might have been funny except for one thing.

There’s nothing funny about what happened or what is being revealed.

John Snyder

Newbury Park

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Lorraine Ali has been watching too many silly sitcoms, as evidenced by her skewed “review” of the Jan. 6 hearings.

A presidential advisor being inebriated, a witness’ wife going into labor, outright lies being compared to the Keystone Kops. Hilarious? I don’t think so.

Offset by witness Chris Stirewalt’s family being threatened, the frightening footage of the day in question, and the very real possibility that we could’ve had this charlatan for another four years makes this the most serious television I’ve ever seen.

Ali should go back to what’s important to her: silly fiction.

Eileen Flaxman

Claremont

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Lorraine Ali nails it when she writes that Trump’s “big lie” is really all about the “big ripoff.”

Case in point, $60,000 of small-donor “stop the steal” money funneled to Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, ostensibly for a 2 1/2-minute speech whipping up the crowd on Jan. 6.

Doing the math, that would make Guilfoyle’s pay rate $1.44 million an hour. That’s money conned from thousands of Trump devotees for whom donating 20 bucks is a big deal, grifted to a woman worth upwards of $25 million.

This should be a wake-up call for all those low-wage MAGA-ites who think Trump cares about making their lives better. The only thing he actually cares about is parting them from their money.

Tim Paine

Burbank

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The Venue is the thing

I really enjoyed the article regarding “The 55 Best Places to See Live Music in Southern California” [June 12].

I’ve had great experiences at many of these venues, with one exception, SoFi Stadium. I attended a Rolling Stones concert there and the acoustics were horrible. The sound would bounce off the roof and it was difficult to clearly hear the instruments and vocals.

I will not go back to a concert there.

Bruce McGarvin

Palm Desert

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This list didn’t include two of the most important and world-renowned venues in Los Angeles: The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Maybe the authors of that article don’t think Beethoven wrote music?

Geoff Kuenning

Claremont

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Thanks for shining a light on so many corners of the Los Angeles music scene but there is an only-in-Los Angeles omission that I must point out.

Every Wednesday night, some of the most talented jazz players from all over the country (and globe) perform as part of the Just Jazz Concert Series at Mr Musichead Gallery.

It is a truly intimate room where the band is surrounded by images from some of the greatest music photographers to have ever picked up a camera.

Curated by LeRoy Downs, the Jazzcat himself, every performance begins with an artist interview, revealing creative inspiration and musical context.

This is a remarkably personal venue and concert series that could only happen in Los Angeles.

Jim Brock

Los Angeles

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Classical music is here. Where are the reviews?

I have attended three major performances at the Music Center in the past six weeks, all of which should have merited coverage yet none were reviewed by the newspaper of record in the city of their performance.

A brilliant recital by pianist Daniil Trifonov, winner of Musical America’s 2019 Artist of the Year award, among many other accolades; Gustavo Dudamel, conducting Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony along with the world premieres of two works commissioned by the L.A. Philharmonic; and a vocally stellar production of Verdi’s Aida presented by the LA Opera.

There are so many articles and reviews of artists and groups who will be the answer to “where are they now?” trivia questions a year from now that there appears to be no space for the critical recognition of local world-class performances of classical music.

Why do performances such as the three mentioned above not merit serious critical recognition by this newspaper? I am truly baffled.

Bob Bookman

Los Angeles

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This chef’s tale should be shown everywhere

Letter writer Joy Jenks is spot-on in her assessment of the extraordinary work being done by Chef José Andrés’ and his colleagues/volunteers at World Central Kitchen, “Good Eating” [June 6].

Disney, however, should be making Ron Howard’s documentary “We Feed People” as widely available as possible, rather than restricting it to its streaming channel.

Movie theaters, broadcast TV, basic cable TV — as many folks as possible should be exposed to this noble endeavor, but by offering access only on Disney+, the producers are putting severe limits on its impact.

Beryl Arbit

Encino