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"As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
Kissing Jessica Stein's Jennifer Westfeldt Talks About Theater, Jon Hamm
Woman Kayaks Down 82-Foot Waterfall • Drew Peterson May Make Bail
Puppet Regime

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Laulau
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
This is my own personal nightmare. In the month after my brother moved to New York - NEW YORK!! - a gay man (who happened to be an ex of my brother's then bf) was robbed, beaten, and thrown on to a highway. I believe his family later had him taken off of life support. The situation sounds similar - in the first instance a robbery, but homophobia played a large role. I consider the kind of person who would do that (not to mention, not understand why the victim's mother might still be upset) to be an animal, not one of us. I don't believe in the death penalty, but lock 'em up, throw away the key, I don't particularly care to hear what they have to say.
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NefariousNewt
09/29/09

@Laulau: It's a fine line to tread. On the one hand, these homophobic malcontents should not be accorded the freedom to talk to the media at all, and them media should have enough brains to avoid handing them a microphone. On the other hand, the average American needs to understand that people like this are still out here, roaming around, spewing their venom, just one random incident away from committing the same heinous acts. We must be vigilant.
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NefariousNewt
09/29/09

@Laulau: And BTW, I am sorry you were so close to such an event.
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Laulau
09/29/09

@NefariousNewt a.k.a. General Awesomesauce: Thanks, that's a really good point and reminder (and put quite beautifully). My mother (middle school counselor) was talking to their school's social worker about an article in the NYT - about middle schoolers coming out, and the support they need. His response was, "I don't think that's a problem here." As my example illustrated, that's a problem everywhere, including fricking Manhattan.
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missing_piece
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
Didn't Matthew's mother ask the judge to not put her son's murderers up for the death penalty provided they promised never to do any media interviews?
They screwed that up when they did a 20/20 interview with Elizabeth Vargas (Who I've decided is an asshole for doing that), and now this.
They really are pure evil. Words can't express how disgusted I am at them.
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Cafezinha promoted this comment Edited by missing_piece at 09/29/09 11:42 AM missing_piece was starred missing_piece was unstarred

TheFormerJuneBronson
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
Hell's too good for him.
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DutchessOfDork
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
Is Virginia Foxx watching?
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JMeh
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
Perspective and not prospective, yes?
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BAngieB
09/29/09

@JMeh: It's just rude to correct her in the thread. But, yes, it's wrong.
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BornYesterday
09/29/09

@BAngieB: Why is it rude? Is there a rule about these things?
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jdawgg297
09/29/09

@BornYesterday: I don't think it's rude to ask for clarification on a grammatical slip - it could easily be confusing. I had to read the sentence a few times too till I realized that's what she meant.
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BAngieB promoted this comment Edited by jdawgg297 at 09/29/09 11:40 AM jdawgg297 was starred jdawgg297 was unstarred

BAngieB
09/29/09

@jdawgg297: It is rude to correct her publicly. There are plenty of people who won't notice, and you should let her know privately. If you noticed the error, then you knew what it should say, you don't have to bring attention to it.
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BAngieB promoted this comment Edited by BAngieB at 09/29/09 11:54 AM BAngieB was starred BAngieB was unstarred

limber
09/29/09

@BAngieB: I don't think it's rude, and as far as I know it's not breaking any site rule. If it was said rudely, maybe. But that was a pretty neutral query to both the writer and other readers.

There's nothing wrong with correcting spelling publicly, especially if it changes the tenor of the sentence. Most writers aren't that precious about being corrected about it, either -- you'd prefer to fix it than snit about being being called on it.
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Edited by limber at 09/29/09 12:13 PM limber was starred limber was unstarred

Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.
09/29/09

@limber: I can't find the link but I know that several editors have requested it NOT be called out in the comments. More than being rude (which it is, I wouldn't correct a strangers grammar in public, which is essentially what you did), it is also a threadjack in an arena where we should be discussing Mathew Shepard.
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limber
09/29/09

@Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.: If the editors (and now Katy) requested it go to the emails, then sure. Their site, their rules.

It's not like correcting a stranger's grammar in public. It's a published article, and there's a typo/spoonerism in it. Your example's much closer to correcting the spelling/grammar of another commenter, which I agree WOULD be rude.

@BAngieB: not hard to understand. If you'd told JMeh to take it to the emails, per site policy, then that makes sense. But you editorialized and said it was rude, which is a bit much for a word choice query.
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Edited by limber at 09/29/09 2:41 PM limber was starred limber was unstarred

bluebears
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
I just don't have any words for that sort of defiant remorselessness.
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NefariousNewt
09/29/09

@bluebears: I do: Rot in Hell.
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Edited by NefariousNewt at 09/29/09 11:56 AM NefariousNewt was starred NefariousNewt was unstarred

midwestdesigner
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
It's easy to picture the bad guys as insane brutes who don't even get what they've done, but from the linked article, this guy has a very clear view of what he did and the aftermath (especially the last quote about being the posterboy for hate crime). That makes it more chilling to me; that he "gets" it and still doesn't feel remorseful. (He said he doesn't feel remorse about Matthew, and although he feels bad his mom lost her son, he says she won't shut up about it 10 years later, so ... not so much.)
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Hooplehead
09/29/09

@midwestdesigner: I was fortunate to attend a meet and greet with Mrs. Shepard, and she was amazing. She's not a professional speaker and was clearly nervous about talking to all of us. But she was so tough and so brave in the face of such horror. It was humbling just to be around her. I cannot believe that the murderous, bigoted scumbag who ripped her life apart has the audacity to tell her to "shut up about it."
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Edited by Hooplehead at 09/29/09 12:28 PM Hooplehead was starred Hooplehead was unstarred

midwestdesigner
09/29/09

@Hooplehead: Wow. I am sure that was a powerful evening, to say the least. I really hope this new part of the play brings more light to crimes like this and Mrs. Shepard's work.
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Hooplehead
09/29/09

@midwestdesigner: She was amazing, and brought tears to my eyes more than once. She was just so straightforward and honest. My favorite line of the night was that she didn't consider herself an activist, just a mom who was really pissed off that such an injustice could be visited on her kid. And determined that it wasn't going to happen to any other families on her watch.
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CissyPants
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
I read the entire article and am pretty blown away by this man. He has no remorse, and thinks that he's doing better in prison than he was on the outside? Really?

He says that it's been 10 years and Shepard's mother needs to get over it. He savagely beat her son and left him for dead just because of his sexual preference.

I don't use the term often, but this man is pure evil.
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Snowbunny
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
That is going to be a crazy hard part to play. Hats off.
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BAngieB
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
And the script from MY perspective? "As far as Aaron is concerned, he WILL have remorse when God gets a hold of him."
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CurtCole
09/29/09

In reply to "As Far As Matt Is Concerned, I Don't Have Any Remorse"
At least Greg Pierotti, of the Tectonic Theatre Project, is involved. Hopefully it will be as honest at their previous play 'The Laramie Project' was.
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Her Grace
09/29/09

@CurtCole: Agreed. I have high hopes with Pierotti involved.
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sylvie calls shotgun!!
07/27/09

In reply to Kissing Jessica Stein's Jennifer Westfeldt Talks About Theater, Jon Hamm
"How'd I land him? Lemme tell you, it wasn't easy. You see, a flock of geese were sucked into and took out his right engine - causing him to go into a tail spin, like this. [contorted face and arms flailing in 360 degree circles] This caused the cabin pressure to drop and the oxygen masks to deploy. Luckily, we were nearing a field of marshmallow fluff, next to a graham cracker bridge and a river of chocolate. So, I dumped the fuel tank; radioed to control that we were making an emergency landing; pulled up on the controller like this [exaggerated pulling up motion], and hoped for the best. As you can see, I was able to land him fine and the marshmallow fluff did not get overly scorched. Now, do you have another bullshit question which requires a bullshit answer?"
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cmd
07/27/09

@sylvie calls shotgun!!: delightful!
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Lymed
07/27/09

In reply to Kissing Jessica Stein's Jennifer Westfeldt Talks About Theater, Jon Hamm
"If you call sitting at home with a glass of wine and the kids while he's in the city cavorting with coworkers and screwing clients then, yes, I'm lucky."
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ragincajun67
07/27/09

In reply to Kissing Jessica Stein's Jennifer Westfeldt Talks About Theater, Jon Hamm
Oh, Jenny, I've been in your shoes and it is annoying. Allow me to share my 5-part plan for dealing with those numbskulls.

1) Pause. Pause a while, at least a beat too long to let them know that they have Crossed A Line.

2) Smile. Put them at ease, show them that you are still friends (heh, suckers!)

3) Lean in. Way in, into their personal space, right up to their ears. Don't be shy, hell, they've been speculating about your sex life, they WANT to smell your perfume.

4) Deliver The Line. The Line should be concise, funny, suggestive, unexpected, with just enough "fuck you" in there to show that you are in charge. The Line should be delivered in a wry whisper, with undertones of pure steel, drawl a little if you think you can sell it. You're a good writer, Jennifer, and I trust that you will come up with something awesome. Until inspiration hits, feel free to borrow one of my favorites, "Well, I do give EPIC head."

5) Walk away. Victorious. But not giving a damn.
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nyc-caribbean-ragazza
07/27/09

In reply to Kissing Jessica Stein's Jennifer Westfeldt Talks About Theater, Jon Hamm
Why would people say such a thing? Sigh. For all we know she was supporting his broke actor's ass until he finally received his "overnight" success with Mad Men.

Kissing Jessica Stein was fantastic. It also introduced Mr. Michael Ealy. I need to buy that DVD.
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