Correspondence
CORRESPONDENCE Sickened, Disgusted, and Nauseated Although I have noticed that your publication does not include a regular letter section, and have therefore little hope of seeing my statements in...
...Thus, it is not a matter simply of to smoke, or not to smoke, which one faces, but a much more profound and comprehensive question of social courtesy itself...
...For nowhere does Mr...
...His boyish charm is at its best when slightly dusted with confusion...
...The rest of us, poor unfortunates with palates that are trained or ripe for discriminating experience, have to reach much further...
...Finally, one does not invite a guest to dinner according to their nasty habits, as Mr...
...Instead, he presents an absurd list of reasons why abstainers should support this "vendetta" against those who light up...
...The convoluted and self-conscious writing of RET who tries to make injustice funny, and fails...
...But then, on occasion, so do mountain-climbing and skydiving...
...Goodman even suggest the true reason for the pleas of nonsmokers: a real physical revulsion to tobacco fumes...
...This obviously is not so...
...For someone to say, "I no longer ask the woman next to me at a dinner party if she minds my cigar for fear that she will tell me she does," is to expose an overall lack of respect and consideration...
...I am always saddened by the realization that there are poor souls in the world whose genes conspired to deprive them of an acute palate...
...Its purpose was to heighten the experience of beer drinking for those who could appreciate fine brew, but who had never thought to do so...
...I must take issue vehemently with Walter Goodman's article, "In Defense of Smoking" (April 1979...
...One lost in the desert for an extended time without water would be thrilled with any beer, but then again a pool of stagnant water might be extremely attractive, given enough thirst...
...3) Boil down the doctrines and you have one pervasive concept: People are no damned good...
...The point is that each person has his own habits, some of which are offensive to a great many people and should sometimes be suppressed in the name of what Mr...
...It is not smokers that sicken and disgust us, but smoke...
...A good friend of mine, an economics professor, gave me a subscription to The American Spectator for Christmas 1977...
...Goodman's article is thoroughly misleading...
...Goodman defend my right to enjoy my habit...
...CORRESPONDENCE Sickened, Disgusted, and Nauseated Although I have noticed that your publication does not include a regular letter section, and have therefore little hope of seeing my statements in print, I feel I must defend my position, if only for my own catharsis...
...One does not interrupt another person who is talking...
...2) Neoconservatives are intelli gent but unwise and inhuman...
...Say, for example, I had developed the habit of spitting, which is perfectly acceptable in my circle (in modern China, spittoons can still be found at the dinner table...
...But that is not quite correct, either...
...Because even though cigarette smoke at the dinner table ruins my appetite and my meal, as does the smell of dirty ashtrays, and tobacco smoke in a car leaves me literally nauseated, on occasion a good smoke (am I a product of media seduction...
...I cannot imagine what latent guilt Mr...
...Even though it is a manufactured product, unlike a fine wine, each beer brand is a unique and subtle experience-the result of its ingredients and the personal touch of the brewmaster...
...I too have enjoyed that brew in Charleroi, Brussels, and environs, but was absolutely unable to find a decent sample in the United States-and thus reported only what can be expected in America...
...He implies that nonsmokers are radical holier-than-thou abolitionists and health nuts who, given their way, would grab all cigarettes, cigars, and pipes from the mouths of smokers and ban them from the face of the earth...
...Perhaps the sophomoric attempts at humor by R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr...
...Goodman must harbor to imagine such persecution...
...Therefore, as with any other habit that is annoying, all we expect is a little considerate discretion...
...In fact, it is ridiculous...
...One does not chew his food with his mouth open...
...Perhaps it is the overuse of "excogitated" and "inspirited...
...Harriette Behringer White Lees burg, Virginia...
...However, in the March 1979 issue I finally discovered the ultimate reasons, for my distaste: (1) Neoconservatives view them selves as the newly anointed...
...Personally, I even go so far as to sympathize with smokers...
...Goodman would support my rights...
...Accordingly, one does not blow smoke in the face of a stranger (let alone a friend...
...After all, why spend the extra money for only the prestige of a label...
...We nonsmokers don't give a damn if the person next to us wants to breathe smoke...
...Goodman, and between courses I indulged myself by expectorating (into the proper receptacle, of course), but occasionally spattered the face and clothes of the gentleman next to me (as indeed I have so often been assaulted by nauseating cigarette smoke), I wonder how far Mr...
...Perhaps his biggest problem with the book (and he seems to have a problem) is that his beloved Stella Artois came out so badly in the taste trials...
...But we don't want to, and that is our right...
...his is not a defense of smoking, but rather a defense of smoking in the presence of those who are sickened and disgusted by tobacco smoke and therefore consider those who continue to puff away indignantly, after being politely asked to stop, inconsiderate at best...
...Christopher Davis Alpine, 'New Jersey "Warping Through" I write with reference to Professor Baltzell's review of The Power of Their Glory in your April issue, wherein he claims not to understand what "warped through" means...
...It should be obvious that this refers to travel through interstellar space by transdimensional annihilation - effect or "warp" engines as demonstrated on the television series "Star Trek...
...that is his right...
...Goodman suggests, but according to their good ones...
...Ryan is the lucky one...
...Without a palate, the cheapest beer is always the best choice...
...Now, if I happened to be having dinner next to Mr...
...The Great American Beer Book was not written for those who could only strain to discriminate the qualities of one brew from another...
...One may, however, celebrate Ryan's ability to pick nits...
...Or if, rather, under the same circumstances I displayed hearty flatulent enjoyment of my evening's meal (again, this practice is encouraged in parts of the world), would Mr...
...The operation described, i.e., "warp-[ing] through all these social developments," generally occurs when impurities in the catalytic dilithium crystals cause fluctuations in the matter-antimatter reaction...
...James D. Robertson Fair Haven, New Jersey Is Injustice Funny...
...That peak beer experiences could be due to particular circumstances cannot be disputed...
...He apparently cannot fathom the situation of several brand names being used for the same recipe, or different recipes being available under the same label at the same time (in transition...
...Always, in the back of my mind, was the nagging question: Why do I dislike the periodical so intensely...
...For him, any brew will do...
...I have been a careful reader for many months...
...Yes, that was it...
...Perhaps the jabs at the Unitarian Church...
...Actually, Mr...
...Goodman calls "civility...
...looks inviting to me...
...David Thompson Senior Editor, The Tech Cambridge, Massachusetts Congenital Bad Taste I read Michael Ryan's review of The Great American Beer Book (February 1979) with great sadness...
...And at feminists...
...One does not urinate in public...
...First, the title of Mr...
Vol. 12 • August 1979 • No. 8
