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I've worked in the motion-picture industry for 16 years, but I can't go to the movies anymore [BUSINESS, Sept. 13]. It's not just that the product is mostly crap and the price of tickets ridiculous. It's that the experience of actually being in a movie theater is so unpleasant. I no longer want to sit with the popcorn eaters and ice shakers and those who feel compelled to address the screen--not even if it costs 5[cents] to get in. Hollywood is slitting its own throat, and so is the National Association of Theater Owners. SHARON HAGEN Venice, Calif.
ALTERNATIVE FLIGHT ROUTE
Your story "Rent-A-Jet Cachet" [BUSINESS, Sept. 13] missed the bigger picture in the business of renting jets. While fractional aircraft ownership is attractive to people and companies that are willing to invest millions of dollars to own a "share" of a plane, many people don't want to have their money tied up in such a costly asset and don't fly enough to justify the expenditure. For most people,"on-demand aircraft charter" is far cheaper than fractional ownership, especially if they fly fewer than 20 times a year. Aircraft charter varies in cost from $40 to $400 a seat per hour. Charter operators and pilots must meet more stringent FAA safety standards than fractionals--and usually an on-demand charter can be arranged in much less time. JAMES K. COYNE, PRESIDENT National Air Transportation Association Alexandria, Va.
WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
After reading your article on genetically modified food, I rented a Rototiller and turned my backyard into a garden [BUSINESS, Sept. 13]. We wonder at the increases in cancer, birth defects, mental illness. And yet we slap 100% tariffs on the E.U. as a backlash for its being fussy about accepting food with firefly genes and zucchini viruses. Maybe we should listen to countries that have been around a thousand years longer than our tyronic republic. As for me, I think I'll have a glass of water for dinner. On second thought, I'll fast. JOSEPH BYRD Holland, Mich.
You accurately depict the unfortunate agitation surrounding genetically modified foods. This tumult could be avoided if the public heard full and accurate discussion of the science supporting such foods. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture thoroughly review a full battery of studies before any biotech crop can be approved. A vast body of independent research confirms safety. As the co-director of the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program at the University of Nebraska, I feel comfortable eating any of the biotechnology products on shelves today. SUSAN HEFLE Lincoln, Neb.
A FUTURE OF FAST FINGERS
By "fittest," Darwin did not necessarily mean the strong. He meant the organism that leaves the most progeny [PALEONTOLOGY, Aug. 23]. For example, in our fast-frame media presentation of information, we are already selecting individuals who are better at clicking mouses. In a brave new world, only geeks with fast fingers will get to work at Microsoft and make mucho bucks and be millionaires, so they can impress Puget Sound bambinas, mate and have geeky bambinos with faster and longer fingers. Where have all the strong men gone? Long time passing... GEORGE CONESA Bellingham, Wash.
INNOCENCE PROJECTS