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Trash Talk

Sickening: Shame on the Chronicle for allowing such offensive trash [ “Out on the Edge,” Hair Balls, April 26]. Although he is a “comedian,” David Reyes is not at all humorous, and he should be ashamed of trying to make fun of the Virginia Tech massacre. There is nothing amusing about innocent people being slaughtered or, as he put it, “new openings at the school.” I sincerely hope he opts to remove that from his comedic routine as it is cruel and sickening.

Andrea Villarreal
Houston

Rotten Meatpackers

Troubling: Thanks so much for printing this exposure of corporate greed at its worst [“Cheaper Cuts,” by Megan Feldman, April 5]. Those who claim to be progressive in their thinking are the most myopic around if they believe that their strange-bedfellows relationship with corporate goons like Tom Hicks and his open-borders free-for-all will somehow make things better for this country as a whole.

The tale of Swift & Company underscores the troubling and problematic nature of “jobs that Americans won't do” — they can, they just get fired in favor of people who don't complain or go running to a government agency when they get hurt. Not if, but when.

The other issue that was especially troubling to me is the fact that in one of his many visits to Latin America, El Presidente Bush promised Guatemalans even more jobs on these shores. Did he offer to help them gain proper documentation in the process as well? Or learn proper English?

Rhonda D. Omberg
Houston

It's a Wrap

Keep the tortillas: I enjoy your work. A few years ago, during a trip to New York, I'd hoped to get over to the Kati Roll Company for an Indian wrap. I didn't make it but thought the concept had a great deal of promise. So, obviously, I was intrigued by your review of Yatra Brasserie [“Curry Burritos,” by Robb Walsh, April 19]. But here's my question: Why tortillas? Last week I went down to the London Sizzler here in Houston and had a tikka roll, which was essentially what you described at Yatra, only rolled in naan. Man, it was awesome.

Keep the tortillas for burritos and use naan for Indian wraps.

Wally Pliszka
Houston

Flip. Click. Submit.

Being a photojournalist doesn't always require lugging around tons of lights, lenses and film. Sometimes all you need is a decent camera phone and a good eye for composition. Which is why the theme for May's photo contest for Houston-area high school students isÉwhatever the heck you want, so long as your photos are taken with a camera phone. Seriously, we really don't care about the subject. Just follow basic rules of photojournalism and be sure the results are captured between checking voicemails and typing out text messages. Send all submissions to studentphotos@houstonpress.com. Visit blogs.houstonpress.com/houstoned for more details.

Honors
Three Press staffers are finalists in a national contest

Three Houston Press staff writers have been named national finalists in the 2007 AltWeekly Awards sponsored by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies.

Two of the writers, John Nova Lomax and Todd Spivak, are finalists in two categories each.

Lomax is a finalist in the Arts Feature category for “Stealing the Show,” which described the relationship between Houston and the New Orleans musicians who came here following Hurricane Katrina.

He is also a finalist in Music Criticism for “Just Say No Mas,” “Screw October” and “The Hype of March,” a collection of his columns.

Spivak is a finalist in Investigative for “Run Over by Metro” for his investigation of the accidents involving the city's bus system.

He is also a finalist in the Feature category for “Hog Wild,” which explained hog-dogging, a Southern tradition practiced in Texas that pits dogs against feral hogs.

Craig Malisow is a finalist in News Story Long Form for “The Plane Truth,” which described the questionable activities of Anand Kilari, a Christian preacher and fund-raiser.

Winners will be announced at a June awards luncheon in Portland, Oregon. AAN has 125 member papers.