Irrelevant

Regarding racism and bigotry: Question--what are the four most irrelevant characteristics that each individual has? Answer--race, religion, sex and sexual preference. JOEL ZESERSON Marina del Rey

Steven Soderbergh - who's indicated, not for the first time, that he's tired of filmmaking and may retire - has had a most unusual career. His persistent ennui has led him to all manner of narrative experiments, benighted projects like "Schizopolis" and "The Good German" that were doubtless more involving for him to make than for audiences to experience. But, as successes like "Erin Brockovich," "Out of Sight" and his new film, "Side Effects," demonstrate, when Soderbergh is willing to play it on the square, he's as good as anyone at bringing intelligence and verve to straight-ahead material.

I want to extend a hearty thank you for the courage you showed in publishing "Single Minded" (Sept. 25). Not only did it point out what so many of us bachelors in our 40s already know--that the majority are happy--but it correctly added that so many of us find marriage irrelevant to happiness. And, as the statistics prove, we are a growing segment of the American population. It may shock many in the women's movement to discover that men are perfectly satisfied with a lifelong bachelorhood rather than today's American version of a modern Venus.

Is your Kindle e-reader "irrelevant"? Yes, says a significant share of publishing executives. That's one of the most interesting pieces of news to come out of Digital Book World , publishing's annual e-reading conference, which got underway Wednesday in New York. Publishers Weekly reports on the opening day of the conference, where media analyst James McQuivey presented the results of a Forrester Research study that surveyed 53 publishing executives in an effort to discover their companies' "digital readiness.

"Chatsworth Businessman Moves to Share Good Life" (Times Valley Edition, Nov. 8) says that social workers and government officials do not want to refer clients to Dan Sandel--the Chatsworth self-made millionaire who offers jobs and housing to the homeless. They are afraid of losing their jobs for being irrelevant, or--at the very least--of being unable to cry out for salary increases by saying they are overloaded with cases. Typical government entrenchment. FLO GINSBURG North Hollywood

Al Martinez's column of Dec. 18 about Paul Jacob was beautiful. What a calm and lovely spot it was in my mad rush of Christmas preparations. I always enjoy Al's brash and sometimes irrelevant writings, but now I know that underneath he is a sweet and gentle man. Not that he'd ever admit it! JEAN BINGHAM Burbank

Re "The TSA's useless photo ID rules," Opinion, Aug. 28 The phenomenon Bruce Schneier decries is even more universal than he implies -- it is part of a pandemic erosion of liberty through incompetence masquerading as authority. One covers one's incompetent posterior with irrelevant or just-marginally-relevant-enough surrogate actions to seem plausible -- while the terrorists adapt and outwit the nitwit bureaucrats and pols like viruses -- and Rome burns again and again. Wayne Tyson San Diego

The skipper of the USS Stark was relieved of his command because he was held to be responsible for the events leading to the damage to his ship. Whether he was on duty or not, whether he should have known what was happening, were held to be irrelevant. Would it not be appropriate to apply the same standards to his Commander-in-Chief? ADOLPH B. AMSTER Ridgecrest

Just when I think your Page 2 scribe couldn't write a more insipid article than the one he penned last year about his summer vacation, he reaches a new high when he devotes a whole column this week to an interview with his daughter. This guy is going from being irrelevant to just plain boring. DOUG HAYS Glendale

I find interesting Cal Thomas' article ("The Modern Church Grows Irrelevant," Column Right, Commentary, March 8) on the irrelevance of theological liberals. Having been a "born-again" conservative for 12 years and a graduate of Fuller Seminary, I must admit that I agree with his assertion. Not that I think that the ordination of homosexuals is wrong or that Paul wasn't repressed; Paul certainly was repressed, but whether it was from homosexuality is another question. The Bible is remarkably silent on the apostle's sexual preferences.

The good news for the U.S. economy as we enter 2013 is that the election's over. The bad news is that the election's over. What's good about it is that both parties in Washington can shed their preoccupation with the campaign theatrics that dominated our long national voyage from pre-primary jockeying through election day. Yet the most dispiriting thing about the campaign's end is that the economic challenges facing the majority of Americans remain...

Forbes surveyed NFL fans and this week published lists of the league's most and least popular players, mostly just water-cooler fodder. But it was interesting to note that Tim Tebow wasn't on either of them. That's because Tebow has become irrelevant with the New York Jets, despite all that talk and conjecture this summer about how Rex Ryan and Tony Sparano might use him. In the last two games, Tebow has been on the field for 11 offensive snaps. Clearly, the Jets can't figure out what to do with him. And that figures to continue, as starting quarterback Mark Sanchez is playing pretty well.

What is there to say about the Emmys that has not been said before? Rather than flip for writing up the obligatory pre-broadcast essay, Times TV critics Robert Lloyd and Mary McNamara had a conversation in which they aired their grievances, their preferences and gave praise where it was due. Robert: Well, Mary, the fall season is breaking and the Emmy Awards are upon us once again Sunday night. And once again I have failed to pay much attention to them; I understand that they're popular and fun and give newspaper writers something to write about; but they seem to me irrelevant to the art and crafts they celebrate.

The stunning trade that brought Dwight Howard to the Lakers this week did more than bolster the team's chances for a championship next season - it arguably transformed Los Angeles into the epicenter of professional basketball. As the NBA's preeminent big man, Howard joins a star-studded lineup that already includes future Hall of Fame guards Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash as well as forward Pau Gasol. The 6-foot-11 All-Star center known as "Superman" also will share Staples Center with two of the league's brightest young faces, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin of the Clippers.

While Rick Santorum has vowed to stay in the presidential race despite losing three more primaries to Mitt Romney on Tuesday, the last GOP nominee to seek the White House said Santorum's campaign is now “basically irrelevant.” John McCain, the Arizona senator who lost the election to Barack Obama in 2008, said in an interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien on Wednesday that “whether Rick Santorum stays in or not, is now basically irrelevant… Mitt...

The parents of slain black teenager Trayvon Martin on Monday angrily lashed out at reports that their son was suspended from school because of marijuana, accusing authorities of continuing to demonize the memory of the victim in order to support George Zimmerman, the man who shot him. Speaking at a televised news conference, Martin's father, Tracy, and mother, Sybrina Fulton, said their son was again being made a victim. Martin was killed during a confrontation with George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer on Feb. 26. Zimmerman, 28, told police that he shot in self-defense, but the family has dismissed Zimmerman's version of events and has repeatedly called for his arrest.

July 5, 2009 -- "Once the irrelevance of the current CONCACAF Gold Cup is out of the way at the end of this month, U.S. national team coaches can turn their attention to something more meaningful than an over-hyped tournament that should be played every four years, not every two." July 27, 2009 -- "After years in the wilderness, the red, white and green is once again a force to be reckoned with on the soccer field." I would love to read Grahame Jones explain how winning an irrelevant tournament constitutes becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Chalk up another looming casualty of the Internet age: business cards. Ubiquitous as pinstripes, the 2-by-3.5-inch pieces of card stock have long been a staple in executive briefcases. Exchanging cards helps to break the ice and provides a quick reference for forgotten names. But to many young and Web-savvy people who are accustomed to connecting digitally, the cards are irrelevant, wasteful — and just plain lame. Diego Berdakin, the founder of BeachMint Inc., a fast-growing Santa Monica e-commerce site, has raised $75 million from investors without ever bothering to print up a set. He doesn't see the point.

Here I go again, ripping Mother Teresa. I don't like it, so the question will come, "Then why do it?" But if someone is going to criticize Frank McCourt for being a boob, as easy as it is, what about when a local saint might stray too far? Peter O'Malley is one of the most thoughtful and considerate people I have ever met. And so much more. But he's the wrong person to replace the Parking Lot Attendant. I'm not surprised he has expressed an interest in running the Dodgers again.