Letters

The Final Blow

Regarding Tara Murtha’s recent cover story about budget cuts to the city’s only domestic violence shelter:

I am a survivor of domestic abuse and I just wanted to thank you for your article. It was respectful, serious and uplifting all at the same time. I hope women and families see this and realize that even if they are in jeopardy, there are people who want to help them. Stephanie Price seems like an amazing woman and I have contacted her to see how I could help.

Wonderful story! I want to thank the women featured in the story for sharing their stories so that other women can be inspired. I hope our communities will continue to learn more about domestic violence and how we can help women better their lives.

I have been a volunteer activist dealing with crime victim services for more than 34 years in Philadelphia and have worked many times with battered women who are seeking help. Domestic violence has become a regular thing on both sides of the fence and should be treated as a priority offense with funding for those that provide services to persons suffering from domestic abuse.

This story was very touching and real. I have the pleasure of working with Stephanie and she has helped me every day in anyway she can. We share a lot of laughs and I can count on her to make my day. I am not only proud of Steph, but inspired to do my job better to help all the “Stephanies” out there.

Book Ending the Deal

Regarding Christopher Wink’s recent article about the halted expansion of the main branch of the Free Library:

What only librarians who work in the system know is that the “expansion” makes much less room for books. When the FLP decided to expand the administration it asked librarians at Central to weed one-third of their (flagship, unique) collections. This is a disaster for researchers and readers who rely on Central’s collections.

What many librarians would prefer is to take over the Family Court building which already matches Central for design, is the greener option (only renovation is needed, and maybe a skybridge to connect) and could effectively double the space rather than reducing it, for collections.

Finally, in our enthusiasm for technology, let us not throw out the baby with the bath water. Most books are best read in hard copy, and please do not believe that we will eventually be able to find all that we would like to read on the Internet.

I was at the library last week. I’m not sure the expansion is a necessary ingredient of the Philadelphia ego. Chasing technology as an improvement when the city is not flush is foolish. I can’t imagine it’s a good thing to chase down short attention spans.

Before building it the city should do an evaluation of how much is actually part of the library and not transitory technology.

Dark Spells

Regarding Adam Erace’s recent review of Pennsport eatery the Witch:

I live right down the block from Witch and have been in for dinner and for brunch. (Check out the build-your-own Bloody Mary.) I have enjoyed all of my meals. Granted, I am no critic, but I know good food when I taste it. The staff can be a little here and there at times, but all in all I welcome it in our neighborhood. The prices are right and they have a friendly staff to boot.

Interesting article, although not my experience at all. I have eaten at this new restaurant several times and found it to be completely consistent. I have a few favorites, one of which was mentioned in the article, the duck. I personally found the barley to have a sweet apple cider flavor, with diced apples and sweet onions. And I have also had the acorn squash soup, which to me seemed to be the right balance of flavors, very seasonal. The lamb chop appetizer is to die for; I wish it came as an entree! This place is definitely worth the visit.

My family and I really like this place. My experience with the haricot vert was the opposite—they were cooked nicely with a slightly crispy piece of bacon wrapped around them. The lollipop lambchops were probably the best I’ve eaten anywhere.

I’ve invited a group of colleagues to dinner and they each gave rave reviews. Two have since taken their wives to dinner there. I agree that the walls seem a little dated, but all in all, it’s a warm atmosphere and the food is fantastic. I highly recommend people check it out.

Stereo Killed the Radio Star

Regarding Brian McManus’ recent column about driving traffic by dissing singers:

The unheralded and forever uncompromising artist here is Billy Joel. He knew when to walk away at the top of his game. He had the balls to just say, “Fuck it. I don’t want to play this stupid game anymore. Take this job and shove it.” But of course no one will give him credit for that, just as no one will give him credit for anything.

Who’s Smarter Than a Math Geek?

Regarding Jeffrey Barg’s recent Angry Grammarian about using “negative” or “minus” when defining degrees:

Sorry for being the math nerd, but “minus” and “negative” are not equally mathematically correct. “Minus” is the word used to describe an operation, namely subtraction. While the minus sign is used to indicate a negative number, it is not proper to use the word minus when referring to negative numbers.

It seems clear that as temperature is given on a numerical scale, whatever your objections to it are, “negative” should be used. If style guides disagree, they are mathematically imprecise, though that is not necessarily a problem.