UT shows spine for its 'Faith' in film

10/2/2005

Seven molasses-coated Lemmon Drops to nibble on while waiting for Tom DeLay to show a little humility:

  • OK, I'm finished beating the drum for Twist of Faith to be shown in Toledo. Never again.

    No, I haven't given up. It's that the Oscar-nominated documentary, set in Toledo, is going to be shown at the University of Toledo later this month. For three days, Oct. 21-23.

    "This is a real victory for the film," said producer Eddie Schmidt. " we're really glad that there are people in Toledo who have proven that they want Tony Comes' story told."

    It's also a huge symbolic victory, Eddie. The leadership of the Toledo Catholic diocese had to be happy with the community's de facto suppression of the film. Soon, anyone who wants to see Twist of Faith, which chronicles the life of Mr. Comes around the time he went public with allegations of sexual abuse by a former priest, will have the opportunity to do so.

    Thanks for doing the right thing, UT.

  • The city of Maumee, which owns the Maumee Indoor Theater, clumsily tap-danced away from Twist of Faith.

    For more than two years, Maumee's city council has tap-danced away from public discussion of a smoking ban, which would go a long way toward promoting regionalism.

    My pocket dictionary defines "spineless" as: "lacking courage or willpower."

    Connect the dots.

  • Is it just me, or does Toledo Mayor Jack Ford's attempt to link Carty Finkbeiner, his two-term predecessor and opponent in the Nov. 8 election, to embattled Tom Noe seem a little too desperate?

  • While surfing the Web, I stumbled upon a message board that was discussing the mayoral race. Obviously, the person responsible for the posting below is not familiar with local politics.

    Carty Finkbeiner? That's a made-up name if I ever heard of one.

    Yes, it must have been political fate that Carleton S. Finkbeiner became known as Carty, as opposed to Carl.

    Carl Finkbeiner? He wouldn't be a one-name icon, like Elvis and Madonna, had he gone that route.

  • Trivial pursuit: The Web site namestatistics.com ranks the 1,129 most-popular first names for males in the United States, and "Carty" doesn't make the list. ("Carl" is No. 47.)

    "Very few men in the U.S. are named Carty," the Web site says. "Be proud of your unique name!"

    That's why I say, couple a dynamic first name like "Carty" with a distinctive last name like "Finkbeiner" which the Web site ranks as No. 14,072 among 88,799 last names and you have political gold.

    How about Toledo's current mayor, you ask? "Jack" is the 53rd most-popular first name for males in the U.S., and "Ford" is No. 102 among last names.

  • This former Utah resident is troubled by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to take spent reactor fuel from the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant and store it in that state. It's a slap in the face to Utahans.

  • My Web surfing also yielded a interesting synopsis of the Portside Festival Marketplace on I love this name deadmalls.com. I contend that more than any mayor, past or present, the Ghost of Portside that is, a "fear of failure" mentality - has been the biggest hindrance to downtown development.