Spurn the bottle
I commend Jay-Z for boycotting Cristal and banishing the brand name from his songs for Frederic Rouzaud’s baseless, “racist” comment in The Economist. (“Rappers stand up, but for what?” June 23 column by Kyra Kyles.)
As one of the first MCs to rap about Cristal, Jay-Z has transformed the popularity of the brand and has contributed to the success that the brand has received over the past 10 years. I can personally attest to buying the exclusive gold-labeled bottle at lounges purely based on the status and prestige that Jay-Z has assigned to the champagne. Had it not been for Jay-Z and Biggie rhyming about “poppin’ Cristal,” the brand would not be as popular, nor as successful.
This is free advertising/marketing for Cristal, and Rouzaud should be thankful that Jay-Z has saved his job over the years. It’s unfortunate that Rouzaud has underestimated the influence of the hip-hop culture, because I liked the gold-labeled bottle, and quite frankly I can’t taste the difference. Time to “pop the Dom.”
K. Yoshida, 28, Lincoln Park
Rappers can do more
Jay-Z, Ludacris, 50 and other performers have sooooo much influence on our kids.
Boycotting Cristal? How “ludicrous” is that? Instead of speaking out against decadent lifestyles, Jay-Z will now only sell Dom Perignon or Krug? Always the businessman first.
Why not take every dollar from the champagne that Jay-Z sells to rich people at 40/40 and donate it to inner-city schools?
For whatever her reasons, Oprah represents many parents and adults who work hard to raise their children to be educated and ethical. Many of our parents spend countless hours studying with their kids, monitoring their television and getting them involved in extracurricular programs that will be beneficial to their children’s futures.
Meanwhile our kids are surrounded by the TV, radio and Internet, flooded with images of young men and woman degrading themselves, concerned only with instant gratification.
Timothy John Tuten, 45, Logan Square
Follow the money
I was astonished to pick up a copy of RedEye this morning and see a cover story about … lost luggage (“Baggage black hole,” June 26 cover story), while the story of Warren Buffett’s plans to contribute $37 billion of his fortune was relegated to a 100-word AP clip on Page 10.
As a regular reader of your publication, I understand that you select features based in large part on their expected appeal to a primarily young adult readership; however, I think you’ve missed the mark by passing up not only a major news story (the largest philanthropic gift in history), but also an opportunity to get people thinking about charitable giving.
Although none of us will likely come close to amassing the type of wealth that Buffett has, reflecting on what we want to and can do with our charitable dollars is an issue that is relevant to everyone.
I hope that in the future your selection of feature stories will reflect a greater regard for the intelligence and awareness of your readers.
Abby Nall, 29, Lincoln Square
The bag-handlin’ blues
Last summer, I got my first chance to travel to Europe. I had a study-abroad class and an internship–in total I was in Europe for three and half months. I packed three bags for the trip, but by the time I arrived, the baggage carousel only held one. I had, however, fared a bit better than a classmate and his girlfriend, who had NONE of their bags at the beginning of the trip.
My luggage did arrive three days later, but in the meantime that unfortunate classmate was forced to attend the first day of classes in the clothes he wore on that long flight.
(One lesson I learned from this experience that I didn’t see in your sidebar is: Always carry your toiletries in your carry-on bag, and if you are checking multiple bags be sure to put a portion of the basics in each of them.)
One interesting side note is that when I did finally get my bags, one showed a sticker that said that they had been inspected in Hawaii. I had to wonder how luggage that was supposed to go from Chicago to Europe managed to travel that route via Hawaii.
I was also a little jealous since, thus far in my life, I haven’t gone to Hawaii, and so now my luggage is more well-traveled than I am.
Katherine Richardson, 30, Andersonville
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ritaredeye@tribune.com
