Who's Counting?

I'm puzzled by Al Roberts' mention of "the full five-century range of the classical repertoire" ("Voices of London," Concert File, Feb. 18). Is the work of composers prior to 1509 considered to be something other than "classical," and if so what?

In 1509, Dufay and Ockeghem were some years deceased and Josquin des Prez was nearing the end of his career. Jacob Obrecht was four years dead and Alexander Agricola only three. Heinrich Isaak, Gaspar van Weerbecke and Pierre de la Rue were flourishing.

Are the works of these composers not "classical" while the works of their pupils are?

On the other hand, perhaps Mr. Roberts believes that the production of "classical music" ceased in the early 20th century. In that case, his "five-century range" would include the 15th-century masters of polyphony, which would make a bit more sense historically.

As it stands, the article leaves me wondering, were I to attend the concert, whether I should be expecting Guillaume de Machaut or John Cage.

Michael Robinson
San Jose

Go Ask Joe

Thanks for the mention ("Is It So, Joe?," Fly, Feb. 11), but I really am not running for mayor of San Jose.

Joe Coto
San Jose

Another Cuppa Joe

My gosh, are all of the opposition candidates going to be life-long public trough feeders? Since term limits were put in place, folks who can't make it in private enterprise jump from one elected office to another.

Greg Howe
San Jose

Porn Again

If I was working at the fire house, and men were looking at porn in front of me I wouldn't feel offended ("No Getting Hot in Firehouses," Fly, Feb. 11.). I'd just be a little bit creeped out and a little self-conscious.

I'm just curious, why is it OK for the public to look at porn in the public library in plain view, but it's not OK for fire fighters to look at porn in the privacy of their own rooms at the fire house. Doesn't really make sense, but OK.

 girl_from_the_net

Line of Sight

The biggest bottleneck in people switching to digital is that they can't issue more coupons until the existing coupons are redeemed, so the coupon program has a huge backlog right now ("Analog Sendoff," Silicon Alleys, Feb. 11).

Some local stations were apparently going to turn off their analog signals on Feb. 17 anyway.

The problem for us in San Jose is that most of the San Francisco stations broadcast from the Sutro Tower, which right now is handling both analog and digital signals. Until analog broadcasting is turned off, digital can't run at full power.

Right now I can't pick up most of the San Francisco stations on digital. These stations are marginally line of sight for much of San Jose. Do I need to spend a lot of money on a better antenna? I can't tell until the digital transmissions go up to full power, which now is not going to happen until after June.

10 MHz Days

Behind the Curve

While, people have the right to believe or do what they want, i do not agree with this ("Allied in Pride," MetroNews, about LGBT Pride events in San Jose, June 6, 2007).This is only my opinion.

 

The Bible speaks against this. This has been going on for years. But is being a common practice today. I think we need to remember just how we were brought into this world. We also need to think about the future of this great country we live in.

The bible as i understand it, still has the same meaning. Nothing has been added or taking away. Again this is my opinion.

Dana Robinson
Olive Hill, Ky.