I would like to know who made the editorial choice to run what amounts to a promotional piece for an upcoming film on the front page of the Sunday Post Gazette ("For 'Sex and the City' fans, it's friends that count," May 25).

What I learned from the article was that "Sex and the City" has had some cultural impact, there are groups of people that related to it and those people can't wait until the film premieres.

Interesting, but with a damaged economy, presidential campaign, crumbling infrastructure, terrorism, political corruption, crime, and substandard education (to name a few) as available material for news, does it warrant front-page coverage?

I realize that entertainment news sells. The supermarkets are stuffed with tabloids that make that point very clear, but does that mean the next time I pick up my groceries I can expect to see the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette join their ranks?

If this article is an example of the editorial judgment of the Post-Gazette, I won't be surprised.

Bob Hartley
Lawrenceville

Regarding "Rock of Aged" (May 29), it's really sad that music has degenerated into what it is now. I will be 40 this year and it is just a shame, for lack of a better word, that no performer or group has been able to capture what the "elder" groups or persons have.

To me, music started to die when Nirvana and Pearl Jam came along. Not that they weren't influential (giving credit where it is due) to new "musicians" and the death of glam metal, but it ushered in a new genre of "let's just make money" type of music.

All the boy bands and the Hannah Montanas are just crap. No soul, no meaning, no true fun, unless you are a pre-teen. I look at what is out there now -- Fall Out Boy, Jonas Brothers, etc. -- and to me it's nothing more than garage bands that will not be around in another five years or less. I seriously doubt we will ever see a "25th anniversary" tour for Fall Out Boy or the like, much less them selling out EVERY venue. And my friends and family wonder why I still listen to good ol' music.

Terry Lonchena
Butler

Thanks to Scott Mervis for writing about rock's aging status and for detailing the lack of new artist growth stemming from commercial radio programming, Internet downloading, high ticket prices that young people cannot afford, and a record industry, like many other businesses, more interested in short-term profits than long-term growth.

Pittsburgh's stagnate contemporary music scene certainly reflects the national problem, not only in the aging of talented established acts, but also in the seeming shortage of promising young heirs. One may wonder whether the unfortunate demise of most of our city's small concert/club venues was another cause or a direct result of the shortfall in bands with staying power.

Here in Pittsburgh, we may not be able to solve a national problem, but we can work to repair our regional one.

A number of individuals in our area have recognized the situation and are responding to it by creating more opportunities for musicians, by promoting audience appreciation, and by furthering the cause of grassroots music in general. As director of The Sonny Pugar Memorial, a local nonprofit, I can report that our group is dedicated to implementing various initiatives that will rekindle Pittsburgh's once bustling music scene.

One of our projects is an annual production showcasing regional contemporary talent. Our concerts also stage younger acts mentored by seasoned musicians, whose experience and talents are gifts both to their audiences and to emerging artists.

Some excellent new groups and individual artists are out there, making great music across the contemporary genres. They are the future that will help keep our region fresh and help attract young-and future tax-paying-citizens to settle in our metropolitan area. Despite the present lull in the music landscape, there is still a breadth of talent in our region that makes one believe Pittsburgh is capable of a music scene renaissance.

On behalf of the Memorial, I encourage all Pittsburgh area music fans to support our regional musicians, both old friends and new. Go to hear these artists, buy their CDs, ask the radio stations to give them more exposure, and support live music in general. All of these efforts will not only help cultivate and maintain our regional music scene, they also will help contribute to an overall healthy economy and nurture a strong cultural environment. In a robust community, culture doesn't always wear silk and pearls -- sometimes it sports denim and metal.

Annie Dorn Pugar
executive director, The Sonny Pugar Memorial Inc.

Craig Galik's letter "Ellen, spare us" (May 29) amounts to nothing more than bigotry with a sugary religious coating. There are many programs and stations devoted purely to religious views. I'm sure Mr. Galik is aware of that.

Why do religious people feel they are so persecuted? They aren't fighting to enjoy the same liberties afforded to everybody else. I've never heard of someone being beaten to death for their beliefs by a group of fanatical homosexuals.

Where is the threat? Why are gay people so hated?

Why do you, as a publication, feel the need to spread such hate speech?

I highly doubt Mr. Galik's letter would have been printed if it were directed at any other minority.

Please give more thought to what you are printing and the effects it may have.

John Pridmore
Friendship

I am writing to express my disgust that you would publish, in the comic section, a cartoon with well-known slur (homo: "Offensive slang for a gay or lesbian person," American Heritage Dictionary) as part of the gag.

While the strip is mediocre and poorly drawn (like the cheapo cartoons seen in old UHF commercials in the '60s), mediocrity is not a reason to cancel a strip.

However, blatant offensiveness is and I would not be sorry to never see this kind of tripe again.

Bard Ermentrout
O'Hara