Undead Again
Re “This Zombie Moment: Hunting for what lies beneath the undead Zeitgeist” (May 14): I must admit that the first couple of paragraphs into Gendy Alimurung’s article had me a bit nervous. After all, those of us who love zombie movies can be a bit thin-skinned, and this notion that zombie films ever lost popularity seemed more than a little ignorant. Sorry, but just because you don’t watch them doesn’t mean they’re not popular. But [the story] turned out to be thoughtful, funny and really [went] the extra mile. Likening zombification to the soul-sucking effects of marriage had me laughing out loud. And I am so pleased to now know of the existence of the Zombie Research Society. (Please tell me they’re government-funded!)

—Spookyyank, L.A.

 

Stuffed
Re “Ask Mr. Gold: Battle Burrito, L.A. vs. S.F.” (May 14): As a San Francisco native, I take exception to Jonathan Gold’s snide dismissal of the Mission District burrito. Gold is usually right, but he’s dead wrong about San Francisco’s most beloved cheap meal.

Mexican food in L.A. is better overall (especially the tacos), but you folks just can’t do a better burrito. El Tepeyac’s monstrous concoctions are great, but they’re more like a hearty meat stew crammed into a tortilla. And don’t get me started on the greasy refried mess that is a Burrito King burrito.

Angelenos, give S.F.’s burritos a try. A steamed tortilla full of grilled steak, whole beans, rice, cheese, salsa, onions and cilantro is nothing to mock. It’s the closest one can get to heaven for $5 or less. And your chips, salsa and guacamole sauce are on the house. (No extra charge!) Try Cancun, La Taqueria, Farolito, Castillito or any of the spots that line 24th St. in the Mission District and then tell me you actually prefer the soggy, overpriced crap churned out by Burrito King.

—Matt Cornell, L.A.

 

I agree 100 percent with Jonathan Gold’s assessment of the S.F. burrito! S.F. residents are not only peculiar about their burritos, but downright stubborn! I have friends who still insist on making these ridiculous comparisons. I will never understand the fascination of meat wrapped inside a soggy tortilla. It’s much like a mother who loves her idiot son. I was never happy with the Mexican food during my entire S.F. residence. I still get the chills when I see orange cheese in my burrito. I love S.F. for many things — but not their Mexican food!

—Betty K., L.A.

 

Defending Herbie
Re “Get Herbie: Cops refuse to rescind claims against rapper Herbert Gonzalez” (May 7): This is exactly why people don’t trust cops. They try to put whoever in jail. Innocent or not. Those detectives need to give a public apology to Herb and his family. They have been through so much turmoil because of this, financially and emotionally.

—Wilber, Moreno Valley

 

Mistakes do happen but this was not a mistake! Not even close! Something needs to be done to ensure that the justice system is not manipulated! I read all the stories and I am very interested in reading the end! This could be a movie. God help us with these detectives.

—Peter, Manhattan Beach

 

How can someone just pick you up, throw you in jail and keep you there for months and have no evidence? Then, after clearing your name through the judicial system, having these detectives continue to attack and humiliate you in public is crazy.

—Patty, Manhattan Beach

 

We Are Honored
This week, the Association for Alternative Newsweeklies announced a partial list of finalists for its 2009 AltWeekly Awards. We are happy to say that once again L.A. Weekly is well-represented. The blogging, music criticism and cartoon awards will be announced later this month; so far, we have seven nominations. They are: Darrick Rainey, for editorial layout in the story “Death of a Hollywood Beauty”; Scott Foundas and Ella Taylor, each for arts criticism; Nancy Rommelmann in the Arts Feature category for “No Exit Plan: The lies and follies of Laura Albert, a.k.a. JT LeRoy”; Barry Isaacson in the Feature Story category for “From Silver Lake to Suicide: One family’s secret history of the Jonestown Massacre”; Jonathan Gold, in the Food Writing category, for two restaurant reviews and his special section “Breaking Free: L.A. wine culture”; and, in the Special Sections category, Laurie Ochoa and the staff of L.A. Weekly for “LA People 2008.”

Locally, the Los Angeles Press Club also announced finalists in its Southern California Journalism Awards. And, as in past years, we again earned more than 20 nominations. They are: Christine Pelisek and Patrick Range McDonald, finalists for Journalist of the Year; in the News Feature category, Johnny Dwyer for “Warrior on Trial: Before Haditha, a Kilo 3/1 Marine faces criminal-homicide charges”; Patrick Range McDonald for “The All-About-Me Mayor”; Christine Pelisek for “Raven, Death of a Hollywood Beauty”; and Max Taves for “Rathouse of the Palisades”; Daniel Heimpel in Political Coverage, Print/Online; Steven Leigh Morris in Business and Financial Coverage, Print/Online, for his stories on density; in Hard News, two stories by Patrick Range McDonald, “Proposition 8 Coverage” and “Obama’s Gay Goldmine,” and two stories by Christine Pelisek, “Billboards Gone Wild” and “The Gangsters of Drew Street”; in the Investigative/Series category, Christine Pelisek for “Billboards Gone Wild” and “Grim Sleeper”; in the Columnist category, Gendy Alimurung for her La Vida stories and Jonathan Gold for his Counter Intelligence column; in the Entertainment News or Feature category, Scott Foundas for “Forgiven,” Randall Roberts for “Port in the Storm,” Nancy Rommelmann for “No Exit Plan,” and Ella Taylor for “Sacreligulous: Bill Maher’s cross to bear”; in the Design category, Darrick Rainey was nominated twice for “Raven, Death of a Hollywood Beauty” and “Shutting Up the Little Guy.”

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