Letters

Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com, or mail to Letters to the Editor, c/o OC Weekly, 1666 N. Main St., Ste. 500, Santa Ana, CA 92701. Or fax to (714) 550-5908.

I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S NOT METALLICA!
The following letter pertains to Rex Reason's Aug. 2 edition of Aural Reports, about Metallica cover band Damage Inc.

What a great article!! Damage Inc is THE BEST tribute band out there!! If you haven't seen them, you need to. It is awesome you put them in the OC Weekly! They deserve it. Look forward to seeing them again! You can't tell it's not Metallica!!
Shannon
via e-mail

RETURN TO THE HEART OF DORKNESS
The following letters are in response to Luke Y. Thompson's Aug. 9 article, “2007: A Comic-Con Odyssey,” which chronicles San Diego's annual comic-book convention.

Nice article on Comic-Con. I was there and loaded up on a couple of the statues Luke mentioned (they're all on sale on eBay right now). But just one problem: Why did this article come out nearly two weeks after it ended, not the week immediately after? Seems like lazy journalism to me. Then again, maybe that's how long it took for Luke to recover—I'm still doing that!
Dr. Doom
via e-mail

Today was the last straw. I picked up a copy of your paper to find what is surely the stupidest cover you've ever printed: Luke Y. Thompson.

Who is in charge over there? Why has it suddenly become so difficult for you guys to put out a cool paper? I was willing to shrug it off when you let that idiot take over your website for several days, but now that you've actually given him space in your paper, I had no choice but to write in and voice my outrage.

As I am totally confused about how you could go from being the smartest, hippest thing in OC to being represented by a total weirdo obsessed with toys, I have prepared a list of questions concerning your representative Luke Y. Thompson's coverage of this pointless, vacuous, childish, stupid, limp-dicked, masturbatory, retarded, Mickey Mouse event that someone has deemed not only worthy of paying for, but also worthy to have space in a former great newspaper devoted to it.

1. What is this nonsense? Geek goes to San Diego+geek buys toys=cover story?

2. Isn't this sort of material more appropriate for a MySpace page, or a piece of cardboard held by a homeless man on a median?

3. Who is this man-child you have writing for your paper? Are you really paying a grown man to comment on the “sculpt” of a He-Man doll? What the fuck? Who gives a shit?

4. Can the general public consider a man who dies his hair rainbow anything other than gay, a virgin, or a clown? And even a clown just wears a wig!

5. Does this man-child “LYT” expect anyone to care about what he is writing, let alone read it except out of some weird fascination with watching some nerd turn his geek knob up to 11?

6. Have you by extension become geeks yourselves?

7. Where's the Xena news? Why don't you all just throw yourselves into Nerdlinger Canyon and start reporting on Battlestar Galactica reruns, or George Lucas' ass boils?

I gotta say, I've been reading the OC Weekly for a long, long time, since the beginning, and this is by far the stupidest thing I've ever read in affiliation with the paper. You guys are supposed to be cool! You're supposed to be the beacon for the hip in this square county. Instead, you've allowed some weirdo to infiltrate your paper and geek out over fucking Indiana Jones action figures! And all on your dime! You should really be embarrassed that the higher-ups over there have allowed this subpar writer to place this shit in your paper. The only way to save yourselves is to start firebombing. Or to send that rainbow-haired weirdo back to Oz, or wherever he comes from. Can him before we can you.
Justin
via e-mail

What is up with this Comic-Con bullshit? Not only did that event take place weeks ago, but it also didn't even take place in Orange County. Who the fuck cares about Comic-Con? What is going on in your office? How could you allow this to make the cover? I did a Google search of LYT, and I must say this fucking rainbow-haired DORK has no business writing for a paper that is supposed to be cool. Whatever happened to the COOL OC Weekly? The OC Weekly that spoke out about crooked politicians and profiled hip OC venues and bands? It used to be filled with funny articles that stimulated the reader; now, it is just boring. This paper used to be fun to read. But with this shit on the cover, I have to say I am ashamed to be seen in public holding a copy.

Let's revisit the past few weeks of the paper, shall we? A story about a Vietnamese man that was too boring to finish (lame cover), a story about a boy who likes boxing (again too boring to finish), a story about four Mexicans who don't live here anymore (BORING, and the cover was awful, too) and a fucking comic-book convention. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY FAVORITE PAPER????

You guys need to change your focus. Stop running such fucking bullshit on the cover and start covering more NEWS that impacts people of this county. The paper is fading. It breaks my heart. The OC Weekly needs editorial change and you should start with Thompson. FIRE THAT FUCKING NERD. He is making your paper look like a dork rag. Please save yourselves before it's too late. I'm begging you.
Michelle
via e-mail

Comic-Con? Come on, guys. Seriously? This is terrible.
Ted
via e-mail

I need to request another copy of the Comic-Con issue. NEED to! I live in LA and have been a huge LYT fan for about three years now. The drawing of him is freaking great—needs a few pounds added, but freaking great!!!
James Avallone
via e-mail

RAW IS WAR!
Edwin Goei recently visited 118 Degrees in our first five weeks of being open. After reading the review [“Raw Power,” Aug. 10], I am very sad to report that he stated several things in the article incorrectly.

Your article cites the following: “The kitchen seemed to work on a whim, improvising their dishes with ingredients not often listed on the menu. The macadamia coconut curry wrap, for instance, had more hummus that oozed out of the curry-brushed whole-wheat wrapper.” The description for this item on the menu is as follows: “Sweet yellow curry combines with coconut and fresh farmers market vegetables. Topped with spicy red sauce.”

We have no hummus in our kitchen, and on top of that, we are a wheat-free kitchen (really important to our customers who are highly allergic to wheat).

Our wrap is actually made from the flesh of young Thai coconuts, as is the filling. The wrap takes two day to make; we make it from scratch in our commercial kitchen. It is not a whole-wheat wrap whatsoever—which is actually impossible to make raw. The filling is far from hummus: It is made from pine nuts and coconut with fresh veggies.

I feel that restaurants should be reviewed fairly, and I have no issues if he was less than impressed with the items that he chose to review. However, I do think that truth in conveying a message is very important. There are several things he misrepresented in this article that go against the core of the food we are offering. He should have done his homework first. Raw-foods preparation is an entirely different world than its cooked, vegan counterpart. If Edwin had taken the time to learn about what we were offering, he would have at least gotten the ingredients in his article correct and potentially learned something new.
Jenny Ross
via e-mail

Edwin Goei responds: I certainly erred on the “hummus” and “whole wheat” in the wrap dish at 118 Degrees. I do stand by my general—and generally positive—impression of the place.

MONKEE BUSINESS
The following letter is in response to Andy Beta's Aug. 9 “Daydream Believer Nation,” about some of the Monkees' prefabricated music attaining classic status.

“Although they split with Svengali 'musical supervisor' Don Kirshner and learned to write their own tunes (hello, Kelly Clarkson!) . . .”

How about: Hello, Andy Beta? Kelly Clarkson is an award-winning songwriter. How come everyone thinks she can't write? She wrote “Because of You,” “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” “Walk Away” and “Miss Independent.” “My December” is actually an amazing album, but no one is giving it a listen because they're reading comments like yours and assuming she can't write. Anyway, great article.
Tricia
Connecticut

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