Letters to the Editor

Winning play

Thank you for your interest in our baseball team (“Hard and fast,” MT, July 12-18). I hope one day the world realizes that we too can play the game with a passion rarely seen by our professional male counterparts in the modern game of baseball. For them, it is all about money and contracts. We don’t get paid one red cent, we play for the sheer enjoyment of this great American pastime.

It was nice to see our picture in the article, and read about our frustrations in the past of not being able to play. Look at us now. We are having a blast — the media coverage is just what our game needs. We need people to realize we can indeed play; all we need are more fans to come and watch us, and offer us their support. Thank you again for your article, you did a fine job. —Kris (Lefty) Raniszewski, Newport

No-name Mills?

I’m glad to see that Marc Christensen actually read my piece on Jeff Mills in URB magazine (“Wax-beat word buffet,” MT, June 28-July 4). It’s funny that you call it a “beginner’s guide,” since that’s exactly what it is (and what the editors at URB requested). Astute observation, my friend. Besides, I know all too well how it is to be in Detroit and way too close to the scene not to realize that outside of that bubble exist far more people who don’t know squat about these artists.

Here in LA (and in countless cities across America), someone like Mills is basically a no-name to a majority of the scene (it’s all about trance jocks like Paul Oakenfold and Sasha & Digweed, kid). If we ever want to change that, the first step is to simply introduce people like Jeff Mills in a manner they can easily understand (a tactic that works wonders). And trust me, it wasn’t at “face value” that I “accepted” that Mills gets no respect in Detroit (which is hardly what I was trying to say). The fact of the matter is that he can’t sell enough tickets to simply break even in his hometown, while outsiders like the aforementioned Oakenfold and Frankie Bones attract more people than their venues can accommodate. These are points he brought up, since he’d love to do more things in Detroit. But he’s still Jeff Mills, and shouldn’t have to take a hit just to appease the very few that care enough to support such a gig. But hey, whatever. No worries. The stuff you wanted to read — the ‘juicy’ bits, as you’d call them, are the precious words captured forever on my interview tape and in my memory, much too deep and complex for a “beginner’s guide.” Hey — maybe you’ll get to interview him yourself someday! I look forward to that article. Regardless, thanks for the press. Like my man Gene Simmons once said, there’s no such thing as good or bad press — all that matters is your name’s spelled right. On that point, you were right on the money. Thanks again, bro. —Scott Sterling, [email protected], Los Angeles

Rebuilding a city

I was one of the 13 Carleton University students that came down to live in Detroit and renovate the building for the SDBA (“Post-industrial deluxe,” MT, July 5-11). I have kept a close eye on the project over the last five years and it is exciting to see the space get the attention that we feel it deserves.

We worked long, hard days (often seven days a week) through rain, snow and wind. When we left that December we had brought the project to substantial completion for less than a dollar a square foot.

We came armed with our own tools and a curiosity of how things come together to inform and create a space. We submerged ourselves into the project and as a result we were adopted by the local residents who saw this group of students as a real part of their community. They set up patrols on Halloween weekend to ensure that the site would remain as we left it.

I have been planning a trip down to see the space and I would love to get the majority of the group together for a reunion of sorts though most of us are scattered around the globe as architects tend to be. —Rob Dyson, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Erratum

The article “No room” (MT, July 19-25) incorrectly identified the person who runs the REACH program at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church. He is Silas Norman. REACH stands for Reinforcing Education for AIDS and HIV and Cultivating Health Awareness.