If the Pacific Ocean is San Diego’s swimming pool, Balboa Park is our backyard. When we want to get out of the house, Balboa Park is where we go, 11 million times per year. And …

Matthew Alice: I’ve been contemplating Doris, my cat, and trying to imagine who first got the idea to try to capture and tame a wild lion or tiger or whatever into a domestic friend. I’m …

Hi, Mr. Matt: I can’t find anyone that knows the derivation of the name for the Formosa Slough in Point Loma. — Phil Crepeau, via email Ooh, twice wrong, Phil. First of all, you can …

Local singer/songwriter Charlie Imes’s new album includes the song “Worst Presnadent Ever,” featuring the George W. Bush impersonator from Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. “James Adomian is also the guy always playing Bush …

Since I was “in between” apartments and sleeping on a friend’s couch, I was overjoyed when Steve, a regular at the restaurant I was waitressing at, offered me the sublet of his room for the …

As children growing up in Riverside, my friends and I were captivated by crows, big birds that were bold. We used to see how close we could creep toward them, while they seemed to contemplate …

It may be an advantage not to be an X-File-o-phile. If, like me, you have seen no more than a handful of episodes from the nine-season TV series, and you have only the vaguest recollection …

The spotlight lit up Erik Peterson as he stepped onto the stage at Dreamcatcher at Viejas dressed in a plaid kilt accessorized with shaggy fur wristbands and a plastic Viking helmet with fake blond braids. …

“In the past, if we had a French exhibition, we’d show French films,” says Golda Akhgarnia, public relations coordinator for the San Diego Museum of Art. “This year we’re celebrating a ‘summer of women’ theme …

Halfway into the evening, Buddy Guy — wearing an electric-blue jumpsuit, his black Stratocaster covered with those trademark white polka dots — is playing a solo, a real ripper. Without interruption he walks off the …

Peak Misconception Re “Way Too Many People Live Out Here” (Cover Story, July 24). Just a slight correction. In the article on development near the Cleveland National Forest, on page 42, the author said that …

The Hush Sound came together in late 2004 when pianist-singer Greta Salpeter and guitarist-singer Bob Morris, who met as kids, started writing songs in Chicago. The duo became a quartet with the addition of bassist …

THE AMERICAN INVASION: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF APOLINARIA LORENZANA (Part Six) On July 29, 1848, the USS Cyane navigated through the thick kelp outside Point Loma and entered San Diego Bay. The sloop of …

When I ate at Molly’s during June “Restaurant Week,” the place should have been at least as packed as Ruth’s Chris was the previous night. The food was vastly better, the wine list more interesting …

You ask, what do I like about Tijuana? This is what: I’m jes wandering down Fourth, heading toward Constitución, when I come across an impromptu clump of guys sitting around a shoeshine booth, “Bolería El …

This last weekend of the month I find myself in Mission Valley, poolside at the Promenade luxury-resort condominiums, across the street from Sears. I’m with my son at the home of my high school friend …

This may be the last hours of sporting life as we’ve known it. Soon, very soon, a 500-foot-high Summer Olympic Games tsunami, now rocketing across the Pacific, will SLAM into San Diego, taking out newspaper …

How will the convention business hold up in an oil-starved world? Will video conferencing start to trump air travel and hotel stays? Nobody yet knows, but San Diego taxpayers have been paying an increasing amount …

My slang word is “cinemuck,” which is the stuff on the ground of the movie theaters. All the popcorn and sodas and gross candy and stuff that sticks to your feet. Cinemuck is the word …

Here’s a bicycle ride that’s practically a land-based equivalent of the harbor cruise covering north San Diego Bay. Over an out-and-back stretch of 16 miles, you’re seldom far from the water, and the ease of …

Here at Tablecloth Cape Studios we strive to stay ahead of the competition. While other news outlets blather on about sunscreen, we’re going to stuff stale bread up a turkey’s chute and call it the …

All weddings, except those with shotguns in evidence, are wonderful. — Liz Smith The first one was periwinkle and the texture of living room drapes. The second was a shiny satin the shade of sea-foam …

I received a couple of phone calls that piqued my interest. One was from a cage-fighter named Chuck. He told me he wasn’t calling about a party; he wanted me to know that he liked …

‘It’s like my body flipped a switch and started storing fat,” lamented my husband Patrick as he stood in front of the mirror. “Ever since I turned 35, the battle of the bulge has turned …

Heymatt: Why is not wearing underwear called “going commando” style? I would think a commando would appreciate the support and reduction of chafing that briefs provide. — Chafing at the Bit in RB The elves …

For Rob Barnett, the long and winding road to VinVillage is finally coming to an end. The technical snags for his wine-based social-networking site — devoted to “creating locally based social wine groups and connecting …

Former Viper Room booker Joe Rinaldi says he will continue to give San Diego bands the same love when he takes over one of the most prominent rock venues: the Sunset Strip House of Blues. …

After performing in over 100 countries, San Diego-based Liquid Blue thought they might have a world record. The band spent months researching the possibility of getting their accomplishment certified. After checking combos known for their …

Last summer, Marc Shannon opened the Avalon in North Park. His plans for the almost-100-year-old building included hosting bands in an all-age, alcohol-free environment. The building, once the site of a lumber mill (at 3925 …

Thirty Years AgoLocal homeowners and their families know all about the prestige of living near the foot of Nautilus Street. Here is the spot where you catch the best waves — a spot out beyond …

The campaign to ballyhoo the proposed Sunrise Powerlink has one beneficial effect: it is shining light on how San Diego’s overlords try to use misinformation to manipulate public opinion. San Diego Gas & Electric and …

Last week’s announcement that publisher David Copley is looking for someone to buy the Union-Tribune marks the end of an era for San Diego, which has labored under the yoke of the Copley newspapers for …

“Give me that old-time religion/ It’s good enough for me,” sang the Chancel Choir from their section of seats at the Lamb’s Players Theatre. And Coronado Community Church did give that old-time religion, at least …

Local power trio Off Track recently paid for a recording session with A-list producer Ryan Greene (NOFX, Megadeth, Guitar Hero 3). “We looked briefly at local studios and even thought about recording it ourselves,” says …

Album: Cowley Road (2008) Artist: Gayle Skidmore Label: self-released Where available/price: At live shows for $10; online at iTunes for 99 cents per downloaded song. Songs: 1) Cheap Imitation 2) Just for Now 3) Still …

At the July 23rd Ocean Beach Town Council meeting, James Lawson from city councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s office asked the town council for their opinion. “We just wanted to hear your feedback about how the Fourth …

The phone rang yesterday evening. It was David Skillman, chairman of the MAD oversight — er, advisory, um, oversory? — committee for greater Golden Hill. Skillman called to say he is to blame for not …

Matt: Why is a pineapple called a pineapple? — Nameless, via email In the Middle Ages, Europeans called pretty much all fruit and fruitlike things “apples.” The “fruit” of the pine tree (the pine cone) …

9-year-old Lucas attends Comic-Con Popular Designer Jermaine Rogers talks about Comic-Con going Hollywood Hillary & Hanna are sisters at Comicon 2008 Grant Morrison from DC Comics talks about Comic-con going Hollywood. Deepak Chopra at Comicon …

Ocean Beach resident Rob Lewis is tired. He says that two to three nights out of the week -- instead of catching some Z's -- he’s phoning the police about the noise and smoke coming …

At a weekly Reader meet-up, at North Park’s Claire de Lune coffeehouse, I was prepared to hear typical neighborhood concerns from residents; too much graffiti, not enough police, errantly positioned stop signs, the usual type …

A lawsuit was filed in March of this year by five environmental groups — including the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club — stating that overarching land-management plans prepared by the U.S. Forest …

KPBS, the San Diego State University–owned public broadcasting operation that has been suffering financially of late, is looking for a new voice from the right. The website of the TV station and FM radio combination …

Both Barack Obama and John McCain have released updated lists of their so-called bundlers, fat cats who hit up their friends for the maximum amount of campaign contributions allowed by law. That can be as …

Rancho Santa Fe’s John Eggemeyer III gets reams of favorable publicity for buying, rehabilitating, and flipping small banks. But now the stock market is flipping the bird at his prize, the newly renamed PacWest Bancorp, …

In January 2005, Alan Inn bought 816 acres in Ocotillo Wells, smitten with the desert’s rugged beauty. A general contractor with experience ranging from residential remodeling to government projects, Inn planned to build a “wellness …

Daughters Are The Best That was a great piece of writing about your father (“Daddy’s Girls,” “Diary of a Diva,” July 3). It touched me greatly! I was choked up, and that doesn’t happen often. …

Name: Dick Vegas Age: 44 (“...and a whole lot more.”) Occupation: Actor Lives In: Linda Vista Surfing: O.B. Jetty Pre-Surf Music: Led Zeppelin “I came out here 22 years ago, and a bunch of my …

Members of the Goodwin clan, Fourth of July, 1923. That’s Charles holding up his straw hat. He had a clothes-cleaning and dyeing business on 16th Street, downtown. Among his children were two boys...one named Odie, …

I met Patti LaBelle after a concert in the late ’80s here in San Diego at the Sports Arena. She was playing with Luther Vandross. Her hair was mindblowing: it swept straight up and flared …

Heymatt: My home-office chair is missing its back, and I nearly fell out of it this morning, giving me the “butterflies.” While the vision of a tiny jar full of butterflies fluttered through my head, …

Before hip-hop duo Gnarls Barkley plays the Infield Stage at the Del Mar Racetrack on Saturday, July 26, the venue is required to purchase one million dollars of insurance “to cover all claims, liabilities and/or …

The events of September 11, 2001, precipitated a career change for Carla Sweet, who was at the time a Navy doctor. Outraged, and “disgusted with the resultant Iraq War,” Sweet became a novice filmmaker. In …

Two well-connected music-biz professionals say they have been told that the local House of Blues may be in trouble. “I heard that if they don’t have a rapid turnaround [in business] by March they might …

Singer/guitarist John McLeod designs bikinis. “Five years ago I was designing men’s clothes. My girlfriend at the time was a model who was really skinny. She had a hard time finding a bikini that fit …

It’s been almost a year since James Benham, a former Navy SEAL, was found guilty of two felony counts of assault. He’s still yet to be sentenced for those crimes and two misdemeanor counts related …

Artist: Lanterns Song: “Knives Gleam” (from myspace.com/wearelanterns) Heard By: Katie Zangaro, North Park It had a light and easy enough sound to where anyone can get into them. I would consider it indie rock. It …

In 1930, the San Diego yellow pages were as yellow as an egg yolk, the white pages listed the occupation of every customer, and the modern Woodmen of America met every Wednesday at Germania Hall. …

When the smoke clears, The Dark Knight should emerge as just another comic-book movie, the fourth of the summer (Hancock wasn’t based on a comic book too, was it?), avowedly “darker” than the others, certainly …

“I grew up on a farm in Cole Camp, Missouri. I enjoyed watching amateur rodeos, but my family wasn’t a rodeo family,” says professional bull rider Matt Bohon. “I’d see bareback riding, bucking horses, calf …

“My checkered past includes skippering a tugboat on the San Francisco Bay and sinking boats as a brown-water river sailor with the Vietnamese Navy,” says blues singer/guitarist Jeffrey Joe Morin. “As soon as I left …

It was a few years ago when a friend told me about a band called Comets on Fire. I would hear other descriptions of them later — most labeling them as “heavy psych” — but …

When the members of Los Lonely Boys, a trio of brothers from West Texas, began writing songs, they didn’t stray far from their roots. It would be fair to assume that when they became a …

RAMPAGE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF APOLINARIA LORENZANA (Part Five) Apolinaria Lorenzana lived for around 90 years. Born in Mexico City in the early 1790s, she died blind and indigent at Santa Barbara in 1884. …

It’s like that Bible story of Ruth and Naomi: “Whither thou goest, I will go.” Or that girl-group song of the ’60s: “I will follow him wherever he goes.” Change the last word of the …

Hey. Here it goes. The scalp. Prickling, breaking out in sweat beads. Ladies and gentlemen, we have liftoff. Tonight I stopped outside this big red-and-yellow sign on Garnet. “World Curry.” Hmm... Why not? I like …

The curtain rises at the Old Globe and vwa-lah! We’re in the majestic living room of a Victorian mansion. A bay-window seat, with nine-foot windows, overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge (we’re in San Francisco’s Marina …

In six weeks or so it will be nine years since I started this column in 1999. “TGIF” was the brainchild of senior editor Judith Moore, who died in 2006, just after publishing the critically …

Monday, July 21, 2008, will be remembered as the day activist federal judges decided it was okay to force-feed pornography into the minds of elementary school children. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals threw out …

“I wish I’d known you were coming,” said Pastor Dan Slagle when I spoke with him after the service. If he had known, he could have warned me that part of the regular band was …

Pico Canyon cuts deeply into the rugged Santa Susana Mountains, a few miles south of the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. The canyon is considered to be the birthplace of the oil industry in …

The two most embarrassing elements of my existence are (1) I enjoy girl folk music, and (2) I occasionally wake up, still drunk from the night before, on the bedroom floors of complete strangers, reeking …

What are you reading? “Right now, I’m reading Prehospital Emergency Care. It’s the textbook I need to study to become an EMT. It’s actually interesting. Responding to people in need is something I get off …

When I free my body from its clothes, from all their buttons, belts, and laces, it seems to me that my soul takes a deeper, freer breath. — August Strindberg My arms were trapped above …

I tried to fit too much into one day. It started with a Padres game. Well, actually, a lunch and party at Petco Park for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and then a game. After the party …

I’ve fought a decade-long battle to keep hairbrushes in the Kelly home. I’ll snatch a few into custody at the store, but once home, they go underground, never to be found again. The time has …

Thirty Years AgoIn ironic contrast, I find the embarrassing effort at achieving intellectualism exhibited by Duncan Shepherd in his film reviews distasteful and a real turn-off. Now, I’m not putting down intellectuals.— LETTERS: “MUNDANE MOURNING,” …

San Diego city attorney Mike Aguirre and Chargers owner Alex Spanos finally may have something in common. At loggerheads for years over Spanos’s attempts to build a new taxpayer-financed football stadium, Spanos and Aguirre have …

Five residents of Greater Golden Hill stood outside the clubhouse at the Balboa Park Golf Course on July 21. Some held green mailers with handwritten notes scribbled on both sides of the page. Resident Jim …

Before Thomas Weller leaves his El Cajon house and “goes out to play,” he looks like a character from the movie Mystery Men: he puts on black shin-guards (like the kind worn by baseball catchers), …

What's Next? Lilac Lifeguard Towers? At a July 15 city council meeting, former Imperial Beach mayor and current chairman of the Board of Port Commissioners Michael Bixler stated how he believes Imperial Beach should look …

After nine long years of negotiations, the Mission Bay Aquatic Center finally has it's lease. On July 15th, the city council unanimously approved the lease agreement, with only a few modifications required. The 12,500 square …

The unsmiling man in the Hawaiian shirt takes your money.

Its internal workings comprise several kludgy elements. Inside it are: the wiring of a movie time bomb that forces my coffeemaker to count down from ten seconds over the span of half an hour, a …

When folks run out of gas, they lose interest in sin. This does not apply just to the elderly. Ask Sin City — Las Vegas. High fuel prices are walloping incoming air and auto traffic. …

The City of San Diego’s foundering financial ship has struck another shoal in the form of a lawsuit filed in 2005 by officers of the San Diego Police Department’s canine unit. The dog cops maintained …

Insider Thanks I wanted to tell you what a terrific job Joe Deegan did on the Republican Party (“Troublemakers Unlisted,” “City Lights,” July 10). I am a member of the Central Committee, and everything that …

Patients experiencing interminable delays in scheduling appointments for care at the San Diego Veterans Administration hospital aren’t just imagining things. So concludes a health-care inspection report released last month by the VA’s inspector general. The …

A major figure in the dark saga of Andrew Cunanan, the gay serial killer from San Diego who made international headlines when he murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace in Miami in 1997, has turned up …

When Saint Louis–based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, owner of SeaWorld, gets taken over by a Belgium-based beer maker, will state politicians be left out in the cold? The most recent lobbying disclosure form filed by Anheuser-Busch …

“We’re 52%!” the sign read. It was being held aloft by a very young man with unkempt hair grown past his ears and a sparse and nascent cinnamon beard. He wore a yellow T-shirt bearing …

When Earlimart started releasing records eight years ago, the Los Angeles band had quirky song structures and fuzzy guitars and garnered a lot of comparison to the Pixies. Later, the band’s songs slowed down, Aaron …

Good Charlotte came to be during a time when rock was in post-grunge misery and feeling about for new direction. Dozens of bands emerged thereafter in the ’90s — bands such as blink-182 and Lit …

A brief mention in the May issue of Spin provided San Diego band the Donkeys with some national exposure, but the A&R reps at the major labels have not come a-knockin’ just yet. The band …

“Before brewers became cognizant of microbiology and sanitation, I imagine there were a lot more sour beers,” says Mitch Steele, head brewer for Stone Brewing Co. “It’s not only bacteria but wild yeast as well …

If Tell No One does not give us what we expect and want from a French thriller, part of the reason must lie in its source, an American mystery novel by Harlan Coben. I read …

I went to a few different parties a while back that involved bands. One was an afternoon affair near Viejas off the I-8. When I pulled up and saw three drum sets, I thought it …

With few Christians in Japan, Sunday is not a day of worship. It is, however, the only day most people have with their family. Until a couple of years ago, students had school on Saturdays …

“When my husband was young and on a swim team, they didn’t have goggles,” recalled Regina Paradowski of Paradowski’s Swim & Sports in Kearny Mesa (858-569-6946; paradowskisswim.com). “They used to put milk in their eyes …

Toddlers sprawled quietly on the patch of thick carpet at the back of the dim auditorium, filling in their coloring books. Behind them stood a row of tables holding free Bibles, juice, sandwich bags filled …

The price of gas. I don’t know how many times I’ve been asked, “When are you going to write something about the price of gas?” To which I have been answering for months now, “I …

User, n. The word computer professionals use when they mean “idiot.” — Dave Barry The initial symptoms of a massive failure, such as a heart attack or stroke — a sore arm, a bit of …

Thirty Years AgoEleanor Widmer’s article about Michael Copley was the most compelling reading to be seen in the Reader in many long months. My congratulations to her for taking a surprising (and apparently long overdue) …

My slang word is “sexlexia,” which is pretty much a word for those people that claim that they’re all that in the sack but really don’t know what they’re doing. And “twanky” means that something …

‘You’re still boxing, right?” “Yeah,” K.J. Noons says. “I’ve got two contracts: Gary [Gary Shaw Productions], with his boxing, and then EliteXC [Elite Xtreme Combat], CBS, and all that stuff.” Noons is the EliteXC Lightweight …

Familiar to most people around Del Mar but unknown to many outsiders, the Torrey Pines State Reserve Extension conceals itself amid the coastal bluffs inland from Del Mar and just north of the main Torrey …

“Paper Box,” by Gayle Skidmore, was the most-downloaded MP3 during June. Each month we will highlight the most popular tune by featuring an interview with the songwriter. What’s your favorite part of “Paper Box”? Gayle …

The Old Globe Theatre’s staging three of Shakespeare’s plays about love: star-crossed Romeo and Juliet, gender-crossed All’s Well That Ends Well (in which the woman gets to choose her husband), and double-crossed Merry Wives of …

Hank should so be here. So many freebies, and all healthy. I’m lost in a swirl of customers, ranging up and down the lunchtime food counters, the sushi counter, the pizza counter, the salad counter, …

Founded in 1980 as an all-age vegetarian eatery and gathering place for those interested in radical politics, the Ché Café at UCSD quickly became a haven for San Diego’s underground music scene. Though touring bands …

Comedy Central debuts its new version of The Gong Show tonight with host Dave Attell. In 1980, local band Four Eyes appeared on the original show, which was mostly known for the participants’ lack of …

A recent issue of Vogue showcased a shot of Nicole Kidman in period costume, gazing aristocratically into the distance from atop a white dappled horse. The mare, ready for her close-up, looked right into the …

Several music-themed events will take place at downtown’s Comic-Con International, beginning July 24. Rapper Method Man will promote his upcoming eponymous comic book from the Hachette Book Group. The former Wu-Tang Clan member will do …

Sandollar, together for two years, is a five-piece “beach rock” band that plays original reggae/jam music. Drummer Henry Ortiz works by day at a Trader Joe’s and as a Spanish interpreter. At a house party …

Village People policeman Victor Willis underwent surgery at a local hospital on July 7, reportedly to remove nodules from his vocal cords. The former singer tried to launch a comeback last year with his first …

LA BEATA: THE SISTERS' SAD FATE (Part Four) By the time she was 45, Apolinaria Lorenzana had nursed numerous cases of syphilis at the San Diego Mission infirmary. She’d fought plagues of measles and smallpox. …

The organizers for the gay pride parade hope to have less impact on the Hillcrest community after the parade is all said and done — and, yes, Kathy Griffin is still headlining. Their biggest concern …

“That’s it,” my husband, Ben said as he squeezed the last box into the truck before closing the camper shell. “That’s all we can fit.” We were finally leaving Texas and moving back to California …

For over a decade, Wayne Murphy has been waiting and waiting and waiting for something to be done about the cracked and potholed street in front of Benjamin Franklin Elementary School in Kensington. One day …

Over 50 residents of Hillcrest, Mission Hills, and Banker's Hill attended the July 8 San Diego City Council meeting. They waved five-inch, fluorescent green signs that on one side read "IHO," the other, "YES." Their …

With the exception of their personal career choices, as musicians I don’t think that Scarlet Symphony makes many mistakes. That’s a large statement, but listen to “Perfect Cover Up.” It’s a perfect rock and roll …

Heymatt: I’ve always wondered about shrunken heads. How do they shrink the skull? That’s bone, and I can’t figure out how anybody could shrink bone. I’m not planning to do any shrinking myself. I’m just …

At the beginning of June, Greg Laswell’s songs were picked up by the Muzak canned-music firm, which is developing what it calls the “audio architecture” for Courtyard Hotel lobbies. In addition, two tracks from Laswell’s …

Dynamite Hack was a late-’90s, Austin-based alternative rock band that is best remembered for their tongue-in-cheek acoustic cover of Eazy-E’s “Boyz-n-the-Hood.” The song can still be heard occasionally on local FM94/9 and even more often …

“I bought it from an old hippie in Washington the summer Jerry Garcia died,” says Bleeding Irish fiddle player Rhy Thornton of the 1964 school bus his band took on the Warped Tour. “Willie Nelson …

One radio veteran says the recession may be good news for people who want to hear more music on the radio. “Radio advertising was down last year,” says the local deejay. “Then the recession hit. …

According to Tijuana’s La Prensa newspaper, on June 21, Mexican federal agents raided the Little Devil social hall in Tijuana. They reported seizing thousands of rounds of ammunition, 19 high-caliber weapons, and a pound of …

Artist: Nature of the Beast Song: “Ready for War” (from the CD Homeland Security) Heard By: Robert Bagaygay, Mission Valley I was really liking the beat. It went back to the old school with the …

It’s been a busy sports morning, checking the Internet for news about A-Rod and Madonna, Cynthia (Mrs. A-Rod), and Lenny (Mrs. A-Rod’s special friend). Inevitably one is drawn into the topic of cashing in. Cynthia …

THE JAMUL INCIDENT: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF APOLINARIA LORENZANA (Part Three) In the spring of 1837, Apolinaria Lorenzana left her duties at the mission for a few days, to break in a new foreman …

My pal Samurai Jim is in some ways a paragon of the classic Bachelorus americanus species. He loves good Scotch, good red meat, a brisk six-mile run in the morning, and smart, pretty blondes. When …

Pizza for breakfast? Gimme a break. And yet…here it sits, before my very eyes. I stand gawping, Sunday mawnin’, bleary-eyed, even now, around 11. I’ve gotten off the Blue Line trolley at this new stop …

“Blackwood stopped writing here, unsure how to proceed. Was he writing a column for The Free Weekly (otherwise known as the Freek), his column — called, imaginatively enough, ‘Weekend’ — or a Gratitude or Serenity …

“Never place a period where God has put a comma.” — Gracie Allen, quoted in UCC pamphlet. "God is Still Speaking” read the caption on the name-tag the greeter gave me on my way into …

On the eastern extremity of the San Gabriel Mountains, seemingly far from L.A.’s smoggy blanket of air, lies the Big Pines Recreation Area, designated as an all-season recreational area within Angeles National Forest. During the …

“Que mas?” the girl said, swishing her black hair over her ear. "Que mas?" She turned from me, held her arms above her head, and rocked her hips. She pulled her hair up off her …

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one. — Bill Gates David’s brother Dana and I stood side by side, surveying the items arranged on his mother’s kitchen table. At one …

Last week's place: (clue: The oldest sidewalk?) Sidewalk on First Avenue, between Ash and Beech downtown. The pavement, laid and stamped in December 1895 by concrete contractor O. E. Winders, may be the oldest to …

I went to lunch with former quarterbacks Dan Fouts and Brian Sipe, coaching legend Don Coryell, and player-turned-actor Fred Dryer, star of the show Hunter. It was an event at the Hall of Champions in …

One of the biggest differences I find in raising a family in Japan is that the concept of family is different from what I am used to. In Canada, the nuclear family reigns supreme, but …

“If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.” — Emil Zatopek Hubby Patrick is heading down the road to experiencing a different life as …

Thirty Years Ago Neddy Massaro’s jail is the best in San Diego. She lives on the tenth floor of the sleek Metropolitan Correctional Center, the federal highrise at F and Union streets in downtown San …

“For the full-moon paddle, sometimes there’s phosphorescence in the water,” says Julie Hocking, office manager of the education department for the San Diego Natural History Museum. “It’s like a neon green. When I paddle I …

Shakespeare’s always up to something. Even in plays that feel written in haste, like All’s Well That Ends Well, the Bard’s twisting conventions and turning tables. Most of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies begin with an arranged …

Name: Nathan Kruger Age: 26 Lives In: La Mesa Surfing: Scripps Pre-Surf Music: The Get Up Kids Girls in the Water? “Definite yay!” “I just have to say that I’m really tired of the ‘locals …

Recipe by Gilberto Villareal, Chef, Parkhouse Eatery. I like cooking meat with crazy sauces. Sometimes rib-eyes. Sometimes ribs or pork tenderloins with pomegranate balsamic vinaigrette. But I like breakfast too. The Parkhouse Benedict is a …

In 1963, District 5 county supervisor candidate Al Hogan posed with peanuts. Walnuts, celery, and carnations have all had their high-production years in San Diego County, but peanuts… In 1878, a Captain Porter “made a …

Earlier this year the Harry and the Potters duo announced on their website that they had broken up: The two members could not agree on how to continue as a band now that J.K. Rowling …

Back in the early ’90s my roommate and I spent hours in my apartment near Balboa Park watching and listening as our British friend Eugene (a.k.a. Skinnyribz) did things to records we had never heard …

UCSD’s California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, which spends a tidy chunk of its taxpayer-furnished budget on public relations, has recently outdone itself, coming up with what it calls an “experiment in institutional lifecasting.” …

Is San Diego due for a wave of undocumented Irish immigrants? With increasingly hard economic times on the Emerald Isle, officials there are predicting that 20,000 undocumented Irish will try to get into America during …

“Jerry Brown 2010,” the campaign committee expected to fund the likely gubernatorial bid of the Democratic state attorney general, collected $5000 from Stamford, Connecticut–based Poseidon Resources on June 18. That was just two weeks after …

Most stories begin with a person or an event. This one begins with a book. Last summer I read The Brain That Changes Itself by research psychiatrist and psychologist Norman Doidge, M.D., which discusses developments …

Dubai Not Dry The article entitled “Boozing with Shamu” (“Breaking News,” July 3) was extremely poorly written and horribly researched. Dubai, which may be a Muslim country, has some of the most tourist- and people-friendly …

Two days before the June 3 election, MaryRose Consiglio and Tom Sherman emailed a group of candidates running for membership on the San Diego County Republican Party’s Central Committee. “We are sure you have noticed,” …

TV audiences are mad about Mad Men, a show about a Madison Avenue advertising agency in 1960. The second season on the AMC cable network begins July 27, and you can buy designer fashions, calendars, …

The fight to extend the lifespan of the Miramar landfill continues. On July 1st, Mayor Sanders announced the implementation of a new ordinance that requires all building contractors, homeowners, and demolition companies to pay a …

The Fourth of July is about celebration. It's about honoring our country, our freedoms, while tossing a few back with family and friends — not on the beach of course — and watching the spectacular …

In each of the last three years, there were roughly 17,000 murders in the United States. Of these, about 11 percent were committed by women. In most cases women kill to defend themselves during a …

I couldn't help it. As I walked by what used to be my favorite bar I had to peer through the window and see the abomination. I could not even recognize it anymore, my old …

In April, Councilwoman Toni Atkins's office surveyed the communities in her district. She asked 132 residents of District 3 — an area including Hillcrest, South Park, North Park, Golden Hill, Kensington, and City Heights — …

Hey, Matt: Are you skinny or fat? And if you’re fat, are you on a diet? Everybody I know is on a diet. And some of them aren’t even fat. Who was the first person …

Album: 7s (2008) Artist: Nautical Disaster Label: self-released Where available/price: Live shows for $8. M-Theory, Off the Record, and Lou’s Records for $8.99. Online at CDBaby for $10.97; iTunes and Amazon for $8.91 (or 99 …

Rappers measure success in different ways. Some purchase four-finger rings and 24-carat gold ropes. For local rapper Rob Deez, success came with the appearance of his acoustic hip-hop ditty “The Bicycle Song” on San Diego’s …

Many songs have been written about brothels, from “House of the Rising Sun” and “La Grange” to the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Add to that list “Adelita’s Song,” by Vegas-based Adelitas Way; …

On June 6, bassist Rolle Love left the (Beat) Farmers after 25 years. Love helped found the band in 1983 alongside Buddy Blue, Jerry Raney, and Dan “Country Dick Montana” McLain. Following Blue’s departure from …

On June 20, Not British, a three-piece rock band, was playing a party at a house in the College Area at around 9:00 p.m. “As far as parties go, the place wasn’t packed,” says guitarist …

After five years playing at Canes, Winstons, and Blind Melons, the guys in 3against1 decided to move north to try to make it big. In 2006, the four members packed up and moved to Westwood, …

LA BEATA: THE LIVES AND TIMES OF APOLINARIA LORENZANA (Part Two) September 1, 1834: the Mexican brigantine Natalia makes an unscheduled entry into San Diego Bay. Onboard are José María Hijar, Juan Bandini, and 129 …

The summer I was six, my mom and I (plus two platinum-blond, leather-skinned aunts resembling Marge Simpson’s sisters, and a sweet, bald uncle) spent a month in a middle-class, family-oriented Deco hotel in South Miami …

Ahhh... Slurp, burp, slurp again. Pinky finger raised, of course. I clink my cawfee cup down in its saucer. Sitting like a captain of industry here at the corner of Ash and India. Behind yellow …

In today’s terminology, you could say that Joe Bonaparte has bipolar gifts. His hands are as adept in the boxing ring, clobbering contenders, as they are playing the violin. His skills are so extreme, in …

Thoughts on Independence Day: I have very little at the moment. Independence, I mean. I have plenty of thoughts, Bub. I’m back in the hospital with an infected ankle incision, and I am dependent on …

Letter from John Adams to his daughter Abigail “Nabby” Adams: Philadelphia, July 5th, 1777 My dear Daughter, Yesterday, being the anniversary of American Independence, was celebrated here with a festivity and ceremony becoming the occasion. …

There were in St. Elizabeth’s all the accoutrements you might expect to find in a grand-scale Catholic church; it was just that the statues of the saints, the stations of the cross, the devotional banners …

The sinuously curving rural roads on the far (north) side of Fallbrook offer a significant challenge to bicycle riders. Thirty or 40 years ago, the brushy hills and wooded backcountry canyons between Fallbrook and Temecula …

All through elementary school, my classmates and I were treated to instructions, both live and on VHS tape, detailing what we should do if we caught on fire. That’s right, kids. Say it with me: …

Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes. — Gloria Naylor Like a good amateur psychologist, when I encounter a hot mess of a woman I immediately look to her father. More often …

I have my voice-mail number listed after my column to get the heads-up on parties around town, but I have to sift through several businesses that just want a plug. A business might be new, …

I treasure the stability of my childhood years, but my clearest memories are of the breaks from routine — family vacations, the time Dad let us go to a midnight movie opening on a school …

Thirty Years AgoOne of the most fascinating aspects of interviewing Michael Copley is that despite his best efforts, there exist questions about his past which he has not thought of before, nor has he placed …

Jung-Ho PakArtistic director/conductor, San Diego Chamber Orchestra 2001 is an example of how to execute a brilliant screenplay while still elevating the vision into a more profound work of art. Kubrick’s eye for combining steely …

There are women out there who seem to really understand how dating works. They meet guys everywhere and go out all the time. When you ask them what they did over the weekend, they say, …

Two ideas has Hancock. The first may be summed up in the term “anti-superhero,” or if you prefer it, “super-antihero.” The hero, that is to say, possesses the full complement of comic-book superpowers. Even though …

Jack Johnson may be the new sound of surf rock, but it wasn’t always that way. The pop music that was pumping out of Southern California radios during surf rock’s first incarnation in the early …

It’s difficult to go digital when facing a debt default. Some of the nation’s largest newspapers are behind the times technologically, partly because they gobbled up additional newspapers instead of spending money on electronic advances. …

The Retribution Gospel Choir is a side project of the long-running indie outfit Low, but it’s a side project that stretches the meaning of the term. Two of the three members of Low play in …

“There are a couple of shoals in the bay — one at the south end of Shelter Island — that people run aground on,” says Jim Holmberg, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Public Education Officer. A …

With St. Louis brewing giant Anheuser-Busch battling a hostile $46.4 billion takeover attempt by Belgium’s InBev, locals are bracing for the possibility that SeaWorld, the long-controversial aquatic park on City-owned land along the shores of …

With the imminent departure of station manager Doug Myrland and yet another round of staffing cuts, has the time come to pry KPBS from the deathlike grip of San Diego State University? That’s the question …

The impending ballot battle over gay marriage continues to pick up local financial backing from those on both sides of the issue. Latest to donate to the campaign for the measure banning same-sex marriages is …

The word that I’m using is “right sized.” A lot of companies have been laying people off; you know, they’re using “right sized” so that you feel that [being laid off]’s a good thing. The …

The Ultimate Dumpster I’m calling about this article about Dumpster divers (“Dumpster Diving for Dinner,” Cover Story, June 26). If you can get ahold of these guys, tell them to go to the Trader Joe’s …

In February 2007, the Barona Band of Mission Indians sponsored state legislation entitled Unlawful Entry: Tribal Land. San Diego County’s board of supervisors, as well as Sheriff Bill Kolender and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, signed …

Recipe by Paul Niles, executive chef, Thee Bungalow. I have appreciated cooking all of my life. When I was growing up, we sat down and had dinner together every night, so that was kind of …

A San Diego native, I was well aware of El Cajon Boulevard’s reputation long before I moved into my University Heights apartment. I barely raised an eyebrow the first morning I made my hike to …

Vista Panthers Football Schedule 2008: 9/5, 7 p.m. MIRA MESA 14-16 (L)9/12, 7:30 p.m. FALLBROOK 31-6 (W)9/19, 7:30 p.m. ALISO NIGUEL 35-7 (L)9/26, 7:30 p.m. at Mission Viejo 20-42 (L)10/10, 7:30 p.m. ESCONDIDO 28-14 (W)10/17, …