A tall building takes a sizeable square of land and transforms it into multiple cubes of habitable space — story after story rising — converting once-empty sky into a series of interior chambers and environments. …

I don't want to be a bar. I want to be a hangout - an oasis away from those bars.

'It's so easy to fall back on dirty humor or fart jokes than it is to actually put together truly clever and memorable scenes, like the boys did," says John Field, the Grand Sheik of …

"When the music fades/ All is stripped away/ And I simply come, longing just to bring/ Something that's of worth," sang Trevor Davis. "I'll bring you more than a song..." But songs were exactly what …

The Volunteers of America at 1111 Island Avenue is in trouble. The wrecking ball is waiting in the wings. You can almost see its shadow from Market Street. It's the only detox facility in town …

Hi Matt: Why do light bulbs go poof when you turn them on, never while they're turned on and burning and having been on for hours? Maybe some expire in use in an abandoned garage, …

Matt: At what age do you discontinue use of the term "Master" to address correspondence to a young man? Thank you. -- Roseann Schoen, the net Ms. Schoen, I'd say when you get to 95 …

Help, Matt: Every day I read my horoscope in the paper. But I've just heard that somebody's discovered many new planets. Does that mean that everybody's horoscope is now wrong? What am I going to …

Me: Why are you watching the Teen Choice Awards? You're 27. Her: I just want to see Nick Lachey win an award for his new song. Because, to hell with Jessica. Me: You're a good …

Last week, while working on a column about the NFL Network and its greed war with Time Warner Cable, five hours before deadline, I was run over by a freight train of something resembling a …

Little Star of Bela Lua: Stories from Brazil (P.S.) by Luana Monteiro. Harper Perennial Paperback, 2006, $13.95, 256 pages. BOOK DESCRIPTION: A luminous fish appears in an impoverished village like a sign from God and …

Off-season (a.k.a. "summer") camping in the Anza-Borrego Desert isn't as outlandish as it may seem -- particularly if you confine your visit to the darker two-thirds of a 24-hour day. On just about any August …

Thirty Years Ago The calls for unity that abounded at last month's Democratic convention in New York seem to be spreading, as local party stalwarts lined up dutifully behind Jimmy Carter. Former county Democratic chairwoman …

No Control Perhaps the biggest event of my upbringing that affected who I am today was my move from North Carolina to California when I was 11 years old. Previously shy, comfortable with my several …

When I go to an art party, I never know what to expect. Sometimes the art is interesting. When it's not interesting, I say it's not my cup of tea. I was invited to an …

Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. -- T.S. Eliot 'I just got word that the pilot's being picked up," said a voice …

There's a new blossom unfolding at the Flower Hill mall. Barely six months old, Paradise Grille brings fresh fragrances and flavors to Del Mar as chef Justin Hoehn hones his mixture of Caribbean, Polynesian, and …

'We recorded one of our live shows at Lestat's and mixed two video feeds along with audio," says Big Toe singer/guitarist Dave Gilbert of the tape that landed them on NBC's Star Tomorrow on July …

High cholesterol doesn't run in my husband's family, but he has become an exception. Last month he returned from a yearly physical looking glum. "Doc has given me three months to take some weight off …

Sweet Tea The air hostess didn't ask him if he'd like his tea remade. He was reclined in his seat, eyes closed, iPod playing; the teacup held by both his palms and a smug smile …

“A month of this and we’d all be down for the count.”

"I knew it was coming a couple months ago," says Accident Experiment guitarist Marcos Curiel of Atlantic Records' decision to drop P.O.D. from its roster. With drummer Wuv (Noah Bernardo Jr.), Curiel cofounded the South …

"It's Time to Face My Demons," said 91X DJ and music director Marco Collins. Last week, he left San Diego to spend six to eight weeks at a live-in recovery center in Georgia. "I have …

"They didn't knock. My girlfriend and I were still in bed when around 20 cops came busting in full-force with guns and a search warrant," says Thicker Than Thieves singer Jamin Hazelaar of the recent …

"I love the ocean, and I love the water," says Ray Raposa, whose sailboat tour (with his band the Castanets) began on Saturday. Raposa, who was raised here and surfed competitively as a teen, still …

"They didn't like my appearance because I didn't dress in 1983 Metallica fashion," says guitarist Chris Knowles of his brief stint with Skeletor (named after the villain in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe …

"There was an article in [the Reader] about a guy living in a trailer who was supposed to have been the drummer for Strawberry Alarm Clock," says Randy Seol, the band's drummer in the heyday …

Beginning in 1927, the El Cortez Hotel was the most beautiful building in downtown San Diego as well as the watering hole of the Beautiful People. But it deteriorated and in 1978 was sold to …

Northern Baja's "Gold Coast," from Rosarito to Ensenada, is enjoying a real estate boom as American buyers search for oceanfront homes at prices they haven't seen in Southern California in more than ten years. Though …

According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, a high-rise building is any structure over 35 meters (about 115 feet) in height that is divided into regular intervals with occupiable levels. To be …