by James Cohen
Happy Black Friday, gentle readers.
No matter how unpleasant mingling with your in-laws was and regardless of what sins you commit against your fellow man on this, the high holy day of American consumerism, be thankful for one thing: you're still breathing.
NOVEMBER 22nd, 2007 - THANKSGIVING DAY.
WHAT'S KNOWN:
Mario Gutierrez, age 37, was a guitarist. A death metal guitarist. At a family gathering in El Sereno, someone insulted his wife; the LA Times reports it was his brother-in-law, while someone claiming to be his daughter says it was his nephew. Either way, an argument ensued which turned physical and ended outside with Gutierrez shot to death by his brother-in-law, who turned himself in to police shortly thereafter. He was released because the shooting appeared to be in self-defense. Reportedly Gutierrez was attempting to hit someone with cement.WHAT'S QUESTIONABLE:
The aforementioned supposed daughter, commenting on a metal site, said that the nephew's remark was "where's my shoval mary wants to get beat like puchi" [sic]. I have no idea what that means, but she seems rather upbeat just one week after the murder, reporting that the family has embraced the killer and employing two varieties of smiley emoticons -- she didn't just put on a brave face, she put on two of them.
NOTES:
I don't want my family to be cool with my murderer(s). Just putting that out there to avoid mixups down the road.
There was a great Brazilian restaurant in El Sereno called A Taste of Brazil, but it closed this year.
Here, have a live performance of Guttierez' band, Brainstorm, at a Silverlake carwash in 1992.
BREAKING:
There was a body found in the wake of a fire at a Canoga Park strip mall early yesterday, Thanksgiving 2012. Obviously it's too early to say much, but an LAFD blog reports that "there were no security doors, window security bars or obvious non-fire factors to impede the man's egress." The buildings in the strip mall all look to be one-story, so it seems odd that someone wouldn't be able to escape the fire.