James Dale

I think the 61 so-called Christian professionals would do more good if they were out protesting the rampant immorality of today's world--the murder, rape, theft--and were less concerned about what, after all, is only a movie. JAMES DALE Los Angeles

James Badge Dale has that familiar, handsome face that many a solid actor or high school sweetheart might have when you pass him at the coffee shop or traffic light. What you don't know is that you already love Dale -- or "Badge," as he's affectionately referred to. Soldiering on in HBO's "The Pacific," or his scene-stealing turn as Michael Fassbender's adulterous boss in "Shame," or the gaunt and haunting turn in Denzel Washington's "Flight," Badge is a chameleon who by this time next year will likely be a household name.

The three articles on skiing that ran Jan. 26 could not be more dissimilar. The one about Grand Targhee, Wyo., was most impersonal, an almost "as told to" story by Richard Pietschmann. To a world traveler and long-time skier such as I, Jack Hanley's article on Chamonix, France, was obviously written by a man who knew his subject. But Frank Riley's story on Oslo, Norway, is nothing more than a rewrite of a handout from an international airline, plus a few travel brochures. Come on, Times, let's hear it from people who know what they are writing about.

Late in HBO's World War II miniseries "The Pacific," there's a scene in a muddy, devastated Okinawa village in which Pvt. Eugene B. Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) enters a hut to find a mortally wounded Japanese woman who, with trembling hands, reaches for the muzzle of his automatic weapon, begging him to finish her off. Instead, he lays his gun down in the straw and gathers her in his arms, gently stroking her face until she finally slips away. "His humanity comes back to him in that moment," says Mazzello of the battle-hardened young Marine he plays in the series.

Jackson's "sore loser" attitude is making me feel ashamed of being a black man. He's a minister, for heaven's sake, and in no way qualified to run a country. He'd have to hire people to do it for him, and we've had enough of that misfortune. I haven't taken a poll among my fellow blacks, but I think many of us feel he should be utterly ignored, and forgotten. JAMES DALE Carson

How much longer are poor, unsuspecting people going to go on helping support these phony TV evangelists who make millions selling Jesus to the gullible, but obviously do not believe in God themselves? Swaggart is the latest forced to step down from his so-called "ministry," and one can't help wondering who will be next to do the same. Oral Roberts, are you listening? You may not consort with prostitutes, but you have your own greed to account for. JAMES DALE Long Beach

As a veteran of World War II, during which I gave almost five years of my time to help make the world safe for such draft resisters as David Wayte, I get fed up with their unreasonable attitude of refusing to register. I also do not understand why such men can't be drafted to do the work in the service as the WACS, WAVES, etc., did. All divisions have a headquarters where the paper work is done for the entire division, clerks, typists, etc., and these men are never actually in the front lines of warfare.

Prosecutors in the Randy Steven Kraft murder trial say a paper with 61 entries, found in his car trunk when he was arrested May 14, 1983, is a death list--Kraft's own score card of how many young men he had killed dating back to late 1971. Kraft's attorneys deny it is a death list, and call it meaningless information that will only inflame his jury. Kraft himself, in a 1983 interview, called the list nothing more than references to friends of his and his roommate at the time.

James Badge Dale has that familiar, handsome face that many a solid actor or high school sweetheart might have when you pass him at the coffee shop or traffic light. What you don't know is that you already love Dale -- or "Badge," as he's affectionately referred to. Soldiering on in HBO's "The Pacific," or his scene-stealing turn as Michael Fassbender's adulterous boss in "Shame," or the gaunt and haunting turn in Denzel Washington's "Flight," Badge is a chameleon who by this time next year will likely be a household name.

Late in HBO's World War II miniseries "The Pacific," there's a scene in a muddy, devastated Okinawa village in which Pvt. Eugene B. Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) enters a hut to find a mortally wounded Japanese woman who, with trembling hands, reaches for the muzzle of his automatic weapon, begging him to finish her off. Instead, he lays his gun down in the straw and gathers her in his arms, gently stroking her face until she finally slips away. "His humanity comes back to him in that moment," says Mazzello of the battle-hardened young Marine he plays in the series.

SERIES Wild Kingdom: Biologist Lynn Rogers tracks a group of wild bears in Minnesota on the season premiere of the nature series (7 p.m. Animal Planet). Sunday Best: The third season of the gospel music competition begins with auditions in Lagos, Nigeria (8 p.m. BET). Life: Two new episodes of the stunning miniseries on Discovery focus on "Birds" (8 p.m.) and "Creatures of the Deep" (9 p.m.). Good Luck Charlie: The lives of three siblings (Bridgit Mendler, Jason Dolley, Bradley Steven Perry)

Jackson's "sore loser" attitude is making me feel ashamed of being a black man. He's a minister, for heaven's sake, and in no way qualified to run a country. He'd have to hire people to do it for him, and we've had enough of that misfortune. I haven't taken a poll among my fellow blacks, but I think many of us feel he should be utterly ignored, and forgotten. JAMES DALE Carson

I think the 61 so-called Christian professionals would do more good if they were out protesting the rampant immorality of today's world--the murder, rape, theft--and were less concerned about what, after all, is only a movie. JAMES DALE Los Angeles

How much longer are poor, unsuspecting people going to go on helping support these phony TV evangelists who make millions selling Jesus to the gullible, but obviously do not believe in God themselves? Swaggart is the latest forced to step down from his so-called "ministry," and one can't help wondering who will be next to do the same. Oral Roberts, are you listening? You may not consort with prostitutes, but you have your own greed to account for. JAMES DALE Long Beach

The three articles on skiing that ran Jan. 26 could not be more dissimilar. The one about Grand Targhee, Wyo., was most impersonal, an almost "as told to" story by Richard Pietschmann. To a world traveler and long-time skier such as I, Jack Hanley's article on Chamonix, France, was obviously written by a man who knew his subject. But Frank Riley's story on Oslo, Norway, is nothing more than a rewrite of a handout from an international airline, plus a few travel brochures. Come on, Times, let's hear it from people who know what they are writing about.

As a veteran of World War II, during which I gave almost five years of my time to help make the world safe for such draft resisters as David Wayte, I get fed up with their unreasonable attitude of refusing to register. I also do not understand why such men can't be drafted to do the work in the service as the WACS, WAVES, etc., did. All divisions have a headquarters where the paper work is done for the entire division, clerks, typists, etc., and these men are never actually in the front lines of warfare.

SERIES Wild Kingdom: Biologist Lynn Rogers tracks a group of wild bears in Minnesota on the season premiere of the nature series (7 p.m. Animal Planet). Sunday Best: The third season of the gospel music competition begins with auditions in Lagos, Nigeria (8 p.m. BET). Life: Two new episodes of the stunning miniseries on Discovery focus on "Birds" (8 p.m.) and "Creatures of the Deep" (9 p.m.). Good Luck Charlie: The lives of three siblings (Bridgit Mendler, Jason Dolley, Bradley Steven Perry)

"Shame" is a dispassionate treatment of a disturbing topic, and therein lies its power. Sexually graphic enough to earn its NC-17 rating yet made with a restraint that's both unflinching and unnerving, this is a psychologically claustrophobic film that strips its characters bare literally and figuratively, leaving them, and us, nowhere to hide. Directed by Steve McQueen from a script he co-wrote with Abi Morgan, this story of the obsessive behavior of a man addicted to sexual activity demands an actor willing to completely reveal himself emotionally as well as physically.