Unfertile ground
I want to thank Matthew Gilbert for his article on the TV show ''Inconceivable" (''Irksome 'Inconceivable' fails to deliver," Weekend, Sept. 23).
I am a registered nurse and work in an in-vitro fertilization clinic. I have a special interest in the moral and ethical issues involving children conceived by third-party reproduction. I have been dreading this show. I am worried about the misinformation that will be presented in the name of entertainment. These couples are always on the hunt for some tidbit of information that will finally help them to become pregnant, and they are not going to get it from this TV show.
There is a stigma about infertility. It is my hope that the silver lining in this show will be that it will stimulate conversation about assisted reproduction. Then, those of us who work in this field will be able to refute the misinformation and educate the public about alternative means of conception.
JANICE GRIMES
Webster, Iowa
Design flaw
Thanks to Geoff Edgers for warning me about our $500 million uninspired new Museum of Fine Arts building (''MFA groundbreaking date set," Living/Arts, Sept. 20).
Fellow artists, collectors, art lovers: Don't accept this mundane building to showcase our Sargents, Homers, and to serve as our main art homestead in Boston. Write to director Malcolm Rogers at 465 Huntington Avenue This [building] looks like the neighboring medical centers or a '40s transportation building. Tell him this is unacceptable. This won't attract tourism dollars. Every other city gets floating planes, implied movement, and impossible angles. Let's put some of that money into innovative design that's worth visiting. Please don't ignore the ''wow" factor in encouraging local attendance.
Let's rally for a 180-degree design change. Flood Rogers with alternative designs. Help him see the possibilities. Rogers's new 'hood is wrong for Boston.
KAREN NASTUK
Danvers
Not a great 'Pal'
I just reread Ed Siegel's review of ''Pal Joey," having walked out of the show at intermission ('' 'Joey' is bewitching, bothersome," Living/Arts, Sept. 21). I wish he made his points a bit more strongly. The trumpet player was off-key and had horrendous tone from the opening notes of the overture. The leading man was not only unsexy (yes, he was a reasonable dancer), but also not much of a singer. And Leigh Barrett, whom Siegel praised, was on-key, but amateurish (with a high-ish voice that didn't fit the songs or style of the show.) Having recently seen ''Abyssinia," I expected the same level of professionalism, and it was not there.
DONNA ZERWITZ
Brookline
More than a lifestyle
Joanna Weiss's review of the Sundance Channel series ''Transgeneration" was well written and will interest people in watching the series and learning about transsexuals (''A smart look at an alternative campus lifestyle," Living/Arts, Sept. 20). The article's description of transsexuals leading unsensational lives is accurate and can be globalized to include many, if not most transsexuals. When we are portrayed on the small screen we usually tend to be used as plot devices in dramas or as comic foils in sitcoms.
My only complaint about the article is the headline. There is no such thing as a transgender or transsexual ''lifestyle." Using lifestyle to describe the varied lives of transgender people would be akin to using the term lifestyle to describe women or men. There is no single transgender lifestyle. There is no single female or male lifestyle. Gender alone does not make for a lifestyle.
AUTUMN SANDEEN
San Diego, Calif.
Out of his league
Good article by Geoff Edgers on Sag Harbor [Jay] Severino, who has been lying to the best and brightest about his residence since he's been in town. (''Severin set to break out of Boston," Weekend, Sept. 16).
Last winter, Neil Boortz of Atlanta went on vacation and while he was away had eight or 10 guest hosts fill in for him, the idea being that one might replace Boortz when he retires. When Boortz came back he polled his listeners, and Severin got a whopping 3 percent of the vote. I doubt Severin will be able to use his current venom on national radio. He can get away with all his rotten stuff in a local market, but the rest of America won't buy it.
RON HELD
East Sandwich
That '70s image
Not everyone who grew up in the '70s experienced sex, drugs, and Tango hangovers as a teen ('' 'Roll Bounce' slides back to the '70s with an earnest, feel-good vibe," Weekend, Sept. 23, Janice Page). Why can't anyone put out a sweet movie with blacks as main characters without someone saying that it's unrealistic? Movies that show black people shooting one another every five minutes are always seen as real. It might in fact be reality for some, but not everybody. I am a 41-year-old black woman and [''Roll Bounce"] took me back to my teen years when you could hang out at the skating rink and not have to worry about gangs and drive-by shootings.
KAY MANN
Dallas
Making it right
Thank you to Ed Siegel for this wonderful review (''In the Koch exhibit, there's a lot to love," Arts & Entertainment, Sept. 18. )After seeing the exhibit I was appalled at the previous condescending review. Sometimes it appears as though critics feel compelled to exhibit their own erudition by trashing perfectly fine cultural offerings. How sad it would be if people are discouraged from seeing this extraordinary collection. I am glad Siegel had the opportunity to right this wrong.
INGE GOULD
Winchester
