Sista, We Almost Missed Ya

On behalf of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment, thank you very much for Paul Davis' great article about Sista Monica in your last issue ("A Lioness Transformed," Music, May 31). At the end of the article, the information about a concert on June 18 is incorrect.

Sista Monica is a member of the Music Ministry of the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. On June 18, a Sunday, Sista Monica will present music during worship services at 9am and 11am. On Friday, July 21, Sista Monica will perform in a benefit concert at the Center for Spiritual Enlightenment. Cost of the concert is $25.

David Willingham, Assistant to Rev. Ellen Grace O'Brian, San Jose

Fast Food Subterfuge

To the Silicon Veggie Columnist: I commend you on your intentions in providing some resources on finding veggie items among the major fast food chains (Silicon Veggie, March 1), but I was quite concerned that you did not do thorough research on the ingredients that comprise some of these "vegetarian" products. For example, I loved the El Pollo Loco Bean and Cheese Burrito, but after calling the corporate headquarters, I found out they do use animal byproducts (likely chicken stock) in their rice. It is also unlikely that they use rennetless cheese.

When you specify vegetarian dishes in a menu, then you should ensure that not only are there vegetables present without meat, but that they or the rice weren't cooked in animal broth. A few calls to the customer hot line should provide you with that information ... or with some suspicious subterfuge.

J Li, via email

Glad to See Measure A Go

The defeat of the Measure A sales tax increase was a victory for all of the residents of Santa Clara County. Voters objected to jacking up the sales tax to 8.75 percent, tying us for the dubious distinction of having the highest sales tax rate in the state, and one of the highest in the country. Considering valley residents already have a high cost of living, coupled with an excessive tax burden, Measure A's defeat was wonderful.

Let's hope that the county's "leaders" learn their lesson and start living within their means.

Bill Hough, San Jose

The Thing About 'The Thing'

It's great you gave some ink to Andrew Migliore ("Cult of Cthulhu," Cult Leader, May 17). But I have to defend John Campbell from his inaccurate reading of "Who Goes There?"

First, Campbell never edited Weird Tales, but he did edit Unknown from 1939 to about 1943 (when the wartime paper shortage killed it). I have most of the issues, and there was little of the kind of horror that Lovecraft wrote. Lovecraft did publish one story in Astounding, but that was before Campbell took over.

"Who Goes There?" came from a quite different source. Campbell's mother had a twin sister, who lived with them. When he was a kid, he never knew if he'd get love from Mom or an icy reception from Auntie. You can see how that would inspire the story. The source for this is Sam Moskowitz's chapter on Campbell in Seekers of Tomorrow.

Anyhow, this is a great idea for a column, and I'll be reading each week.

Scott Davidson, Bayside

Cup Check

I want to say a major thanks to Gary Singh for writing the soccer article that he did ("The World Cup Runneth Over," Silicon Alleys, June 7)—for that matter, all of the soccer articles he has written. To make a long story short, I canceled my subscription to the San Jose Aluminum News, 'cause I can't stand any of the articles that came from that paper. They are a major reason why I feel that the San Jose Earthquakes are no longer in our town. Mark Purdy's articles in particular. Just thinking of his name reminds me why I no longer pay for that worthless paper. Gary is someone who finally gets it. I think many people are going to see very soon how right he is and how much soccer is going to boom in the next few years, bringing economy, quality athletes and quality role models, who I would love to see my children idolize, to communities that have a soccer franchise. And unfortunately the government and the council of San Jose just don't get it and are going to loose out on something very valuable.

Anyway, I would like to say again, thank you, thank you, thank you, Gary Singh.

Trevor Holmes, Campbell

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