Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Do not fuck with Spanto. Close to my house but on the other side of the tracks (literally, there were tracks by my house) there were small apartments in a little complex. The rooms were typical, and it was low budget. I never went by there, until somehow, we met Spanto. I can’t remember exactly where or how we met him, but we were mesmerized by him. Being something like 12-14 years old, and meeting a hard gang member was odd. Maybe it was because he was nice and friendly, or maybe it was because he was bored, did we hang out with this guy. The we, by the way, was my childhood friend Tony Lupton who’s another story. Spanto was a member of Sotel13. It was evident in his tattoos that were on his biceps, neck, forarms, and fingers. Almost any piece of paper and even on his ghetto blaster, was filled with Sotel13 tags. Some were simple S13s, Spanto, and Loquitos. The latter had something to do with his age group of dudes within the gang. He was in and out of juvenile hall, although he’d call it jail, and he was probably 16 years old. Thin, lanky, and with that mellow but sage-like Chicano-English accent, he’d tell us stories. There were a lot, including orgies he’d have. We were kids, and were unphased, but at the same time, sort of grossed out. Cholos in an orgy. Not a great thought. He once said, it’s a lot easier to shoot a bird as compared to a fly in an analogy of shooting from a car window into a large group of people rather than at one person. He said he shot a girl in her breast. The most horrifying story, and he did this with great detail was when they captured and kidnapped a black gang member. They were rolling in a low rider with hydraulics and placed him under the car, and bounced on him to death. I don’t know if he was full of shit, but we hung out with him a few times. I have no idea if he’s still alive.
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While riding my bicycle on the way back from Sawtelle, I saw a dude on the sidewalk wearing black baggy pants, a white t shirt, shaved head, walking fairly brisk, with his head down on a cell phone. He had a swagger and looked to me like trouble. I got off the sidewalk, and rode on the street right next to it, thinking to give this guy his space. A few cars were oncoming, but no big deal, we’re in a neighborhood. It’s pretty quiet on a friday afternoon. This image is from City Beat As I got closer, it’s no big deal until this SUV starts to get closer to the sidewalk, I’m not far away, and now have to figure out, 1) do I get back on the sidewalk and get in this dude’s space. 2) do I veer right around the car that’s now pulled up, but have to face more oncoming traffic. 3) do I stop. My bike only has front brakes that make a huge squeak noise. I choose option 1. But right as I’m even closer, the guy leans out of the passenger seat. There’s 4 dudes in the car, he’s wearing a Dodger cap and says, “hey homie, where are you from?” He’s a Latino dude in his 20s, and the dude on the sidewalk says, “SOTEL” in a grand and proud way. Although he’s outnumbered, he’s not backing down and walks towards the car window. Meanwhile, I’m going forward, it’s too late to stop, and I end up riding in between the dude who’s now on the city property grass, and the car, so we’re talking 2 feet or less. This sounds dramatic, but in the end, their conversation was short. “What’s your name?” and a reply with a regular Latino name, and that was really it. I kept looking back to see gun violence or a fight, but nothing. The SUV took off, making a left, and the guy just kept walking. I grew up in this area, and remember a lot of Sotel 13 kids. They lived in the area, went to my Junior high school, and were just locals. You see a lot less of them, but they’re around and will throw up graffiti from time to time just so you know they’re still around. I’ll write more about what little I know and remember about Sotel, maybe tomorrow. This photo is from here. Answers.com has a small entry that says they’re allegedly defunct. I think they got their info from a Wikipedia entry on Venice13 that says Sotel is defunct. Just so you know, we don’t use Wikipedia for any fact checking in Giant Robot. Hispanic/Latino. Further south on Sawtelle, in the Mar Vista and Del Rey districts, is the traditional barrio of the allegedly defunct Sotel gang, which drew its members from descendants of the Latino farmhands who worked the orchards and bean fields that once covered the area. Today, much of the population immediately to the...
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Way up in the air, where it seems like things have been scary, you get to see some nice moments. Although the camera just can’t pick it all up, there sunset gave us just about everyone possible color. From plane windows, you see just about the same things over and over. Maybe the country beneath, every kind of cloud, other planes, and the sky. The sunsets might be the best, especially when you get the crazy color wheel.
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Lobster Rolls. Can you handle a lobster sandwich? It’s an east coast thing especially in the northern regions. A good serving of lobster in something like a hot dog bun. But this bun was like a piece of bread but thicker. Yes, it looked like a bun, but if you turned it over, you can see what sort of looked like deformed regular bread crust. A lot of places might make their lobster rolls with more mayo, so it’s more like a lobster salad sandwich, but Zak’s gives you lobster chunks. Captain Zak’s is a good place to try it out. It’s off the beaten path, and it’s basically a small shack with a walk up window. These balls of battered food are clam cakes. Eat these and you’ll have the faint taste of clams. There’s tiny, I mean really tiny clam pieces in here. The rest is basically a doughnut. It’s pretty good, and I imagine if you’re a beer drinker, then these would be even better. I’m sure some places make this with the same vigor as takoyaki.
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The original Greenlady creator and artist Vladimir Tretchikoff passes away at 92! You might have known him through Greenlady the clothing brand who used the image of on of his pieces in GR many many years ago, or you’ve just seen it around but never knew his name. Now you know.
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