To write to the editor regarding your comments, observations, and questions about Whoosh!, send an e-mail to ktaborn@lightspeed.net and mark the subject "Letter to the Editor". All letters notated "to the editor" are subject to publication and may be edited for brevity and or clarity.

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Amazons!!!

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Thu, 7 Aug 1997
Subject: Whoosh!! Issue 12

... I liked the article [Whoosh!! No. 12 (September 1997), "Harlots and Harlots. A Comparison of the Amazon Tribes Shown in Hercules And The Amazon Women and Xena: Warrior Princess" by Ed Baker (Oshram@aol.com)] but would have liked to have seen Velasca discussed -- she was sort of a partial throwback to the Herc Amazons -- and she even wrecks one of Artemis' temples -- I always got the feeling that she would've been a happy follower of Hera.

Chris Clogston
cclogsto@amgen.com

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Happy Anniversary

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Wed, 3 Sep 1997
Subject: Letter to the Editor - Congratulations!

Kym,

I was just about to get offline when I realized that it was the first of the month, and you know what that means in the Xenaverse? A new issue of Whoosh! I immediately "ran over" when I realized this and didn't know a celebration was going on. Well, you certainly deserve a big round of applause!!!! How exciting to be turning a year old! Congratulations on your continued growth and success as you enter your second year! I will read Whoosh! until my eyesight is so bad that it can't even be aided by glasses or contacts (which hopefully will be never, I sure wouldn't want to miss "My Monthly Whoosh!", and the losing-of-the-eyesight thing wouldn't be good either). Thanks for Whoosh!

XenaCrazed
XenaCrazd@aol.com

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Danielle Cormack Interview

[Whoosh! No. 12 (September 1997), "Interview with Danielle Cormack", by Bret Rudnick]

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Tue, 09 Sep 1997
Subject: Finally!!!

I just wanted to say a great big thank you for doing an interview with Danielle Cormack. Each time I see her on Xena or Hercules, I enjoy her acting more and more. Ephiny has become one of my favorite characters on the show and a spinoff Amazon series will certainly have my attention if Ephiny is a major character in it.

Once again thanks for doing the interview and special thanks to Danielle Cormack for communicating a bit and letting us get to know more about her. I hope her involvement with Xena, or an Amazon spinoff will have her more involved with fans, because I would certainly enjoy meeting Danielle Cormack at a convention.

In the past I haven't spent a lot of time reading Whoosh!, but that has certainly changed lately. Great Job!!!

Debra Myatt
(LaRin)
larin3@televar.com

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Jodie Dorday Interview

[Whoosh! No. 12 (September 1997), "Interview with Jodie Dorday", by Bret Rudnick]

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Thu, 04 Sep 1997
Subject: Interview w/Jodie Dorday

Hi Bret,

Nice interview. It was great to learn a bit about her. I had wondered if she was a dancer because I remembered her from the role in Prometheus, "What will you give?" She was good. Nice job.

Regards,

Deborah Wood
ccgddos@OnRamp.NET

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Tue, 16 Sep 1997
Subject: Thank the Gods for Amazons

Hello! I enjoyed reading your Whoosh! interviews with the actresses of Xena's two great Amazon characters.

First off, I wish to thank you for bringing those interviews to me and other Amazon aficionados. The role of the Amazons in the Xenaverse seems to be overlooked and your interviews in conjunction with the other articles of the latest issue of Whoosh! are attempting to change that!

Secondly, I have a question regarding a statement you made in the Jodie Dorday interview. You mentioned that Ms. Dorday's character, Solari was added when Tonya Dignan wasn't able to appear. Why was she unable to appear?

Also, can you provide any info regarding Tanya Dignan or know of any source where I may acquire the info on her? She's my favorite character on Xena: Warrior Princess and wish to find out as much as I can about her. An interview with Ms. Dignan would make an excellent article for a future Whoosh! Please consider this for a sequel to your current interviews.

Thank you for your indulgence.

Gary Peavyhouse
Dayton, TN
M414photog@aol.com

Bret Rudnick Responded:
Thanks for the kind words about the interviews with Danielle Cormack and Jodie Dorday.

To answer your question, yes, the role of Solari was created because when Steve Sears wrote THE QUEST, he originally planned to put in Eponin but the actress who plays her was unavailable. Naturally, Tanya Dignan, who played Eponin, was another "Amazon" I wanted to interview along with Alison "Melosa" Bruce. I did manage to locate Ms. Bruce (too late for the All Amazon issue though -- she is doing well, however, having been in a few NZ commercials since her HOOVES AND HARLOTS appearance and also she is a new mother) but after checking with every talent agency in New Zealand (and there are more than you might think) I was unable to locate Ms. Dignan. A number of people said they had seen her awhile back, but no one I contacted has seen her recently. It's possible she has left the business, but I have several New Zealand contacts working the case and hopefully we shall solve this mystery one of these days.

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Kudos

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Fri, 05 Sep 1997
Subject: My pleasure - really

Kym,

Believe it or not, before this summer, I didn't even know who Xena was.

Once I saw the show, I was hooked. The first episode I was was the one with Xena dressed up as a blonde beauty pageant contestant ("Here She Comes...Miss Amphipolis").

In the last two months, I've been to more than 200 Xena Web sites. When I went on the Internet, the "Whoosh!" site was one of the best, most comprehensive and easy-to-follow pages.

Plus, I've met so many interesting and kind Xena fans.

I even had a telephone interview with Hudson Leick. What an incredibly intelligent and fascinating person she is in person.

If only all my work were so much fun.

Steve Segal
Computer Columnist, Tribune-Review,
622 Cabin Hill Drive, Greensburg, PA 15601
Telephone (412) 836-5577 Fax (412) 838-5171
E-mail: computer@tribune-review.com
Web page: http://tribune-review.com

Editor's note:
Several of Mr. Segal's articles can be found on-line at http://www.tribune-review.com/morecom.html

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Thu, 11 Sep 1997 09:52:52 -0700
Subject: Kudos

I am a 3rd Year Communications student studying at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I was considering a paper on Xena, as a rare powerful, unapologetic woman (and the audience that lives for her) for a class of Women in Popular Culture, but was a bit daunted by the thought that there would be few resources out there... Man, was I wrong. 'Whoosh' is simply an incredible repository of everything I ever needed to know about Xena! Thanks. The site is excellent, and the energy is very inspiring. Long live Xena! Cheers,
Serene Hurd
shurd@sfu.ca

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Fri, 12 Sep 1997
Subject: LOVE WHOOSH!

I love whoosh. I'm hours upon hours online. Keep up the good work. I especially love the references to real historical Greek mythology and the interviews with the actors.

Also I wanted to comment on the Xena Episode Spoilers. They're great!!! I officially know now that I want to tape each and every one of the 3rd season to watch over and over at my leisure. I wonder if "Been There, Done That" will beat out "A Day in the Life" for popularity? Keep up the superhuman fantastic work, and Battle on! Nikalaos
Nikalaos@aol.com

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Annoying Editorial Policies

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Thu, 11 Sep 97
Subject: An Interview with Danielle Cormack, by Bret Ryan Rudnick

Is it Whoosh editorial policy, or the author's choice, to substitute asterisks for key vowels in words of processed american cheese mild ill repute? If it's Whoosh policy, it should be changed. There's nothing quainter, more cloying, or more annoying than "b*tt" and "b*tch". Like any two year old reader isn't going to be able to pick the appropriate vowel. Or perhaps Ms. Cormack actually said "bitt" and "butch"? I could be missing out on New Zealand vernacular!

If you want to use "f---" amidst your descriptions of sorrow and bloodshed like Newsweek and Time, I'll keep my grumbling to myself. But please, show a little restraint. Your otherwise excellent, clever, and entertaining articles will breath easier without the asterisk shackles....

...I'm saying [b*tch] and [b*tt] are not swear words, are not considered swear words my the media, and therefore should not be considered swear words by Whoosh. Of course "B----" is equally stupid, in its own way. But "f---" is pretty standard (although still stupid, IMHO), and at least that word has a nice vulgar pedigree. I guess I'm just wondering what century you're catering to (assuming by your response that this was not the author's choice). These are quotations from real people, after all.

Really, I'm curious - why use a more restrictive policy in this respect than Newsweek? Is it because Whoosh is an international publication? Or because you feel it's read by lots of very small children? Or because you got a complaint from some parent who felt less comfortable with their child reading the word "r*pe" than with their child reading the word "b*tt", and you decided to exact an uncanny revenge?

(Hmm, I guess I should just chill.) (Ooh, ooh, since that's the effect your policy has on writers.) Wh**ps! There I go again! S*rry.

Bruce LeSourd
blesourd@pscwa.psca.com

Editor Responded:
It is all my doing, and mine alone. I merely happen to find certain words vulgar so I indulge myself by using asterisks. Some slip through but for the most part I catch them. Perhaps they do add a little mystery to the words, but if the author wants to express themselves in that way, that is their decision; however, Whoosh! is my publication, I can filter the submissions anyway I want, and I try to exercise that privilege whenever I can! My position is who cares what other magazines deem vulgar, standard, and acceptable. I am not putting in twenty plus hours a week editing Newsweek, I am editing and managing Whoosh!. If I like lots of ****, then I will put in as many **** as I darn please.

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Xena and Zeus

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Fri, 19 Sep 1997
Subject: Letter to the Editor - Whoosh

In doing research for my Whoosh article on Historic Amphipolis and Potidaea, I came across a fascinating quotation from Plato's "Cratylus" which would appear to relate Xena and Zeus in a way not previously considered:

... for the name of Zeus is exactly like a sentence; we divide it into two parts, and some of us use one part, others the other; for some call him Zena, and others Dia; but the two in combination express the nature of the god, ...

The entire passage can be seen at the following URL, which does a lookup in the wonderful database of the Perseus Project at Tufts University:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=plat.+crat.+396b

Hopefully somebody with a combined interest in Greek morphology and mythology will pursue this lead. It may be that the relationship between Xena and Zeus is even more surprising than that between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Paul Dickson
pdickson@xtdl.com

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The Price

[Whoosh! No. 11 (August 1997), THE PRICE: An Application of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs", by Richard LaFleur]

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8/3/97 2:28 PM
Subject: App. of Maslow to Xena

Just a quick note to let you know how much I enjoyed your article. You did a great job on this!

Carolyn Moriarty
carolyn@javanet.com

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9/13/97 3:41 AM
Subject: "The Price" and the Hierarchy of Needs

Hi! I would just to say that I really enjoyed your article in Whoosh! I just learned a little bit about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in my Social and Personality Psychology class, so I appreciated how you tied the Xena episode and the hierarchy together.

Tiffanie Sia
choobee@audiophile.com

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Robert Field

[Whoosh! No. 11 (August 1997), "Interview with Robert Field, Part 2 of 2", by Bret Rudnick]

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Wed, 27 Aug 1997
Subject: Bret -- Thanks for Your Field Interview

Dear Bret--

Just wanted to drop you a note thanking you for your excellent two-part interview of Robert Field in the July and August issues of Whoosh!

Keep up the excellent work!

Take care,

Donald J. Frozina
Author of the Xena: Warrior Princess Credits Guide

frozina@qnet.com

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