Human Lab Rats I am stranded inside an MRI machine. My arms are pinned to my sides; my head is immobilized; my nose lies seven inches from the ceiling of the high-tech shaft. I am …

When it comes to crossing the border, Carlos Hermosillo plays it by ear. As he gets close to the San Ysidro crossing, he calls 700-7000 on his cell phone, and a recording gives him the …

Missing Smear As you are aware, you published an article by Don Bauder on October 30, 2008, in volume 37, number 44 of your publication, the Reader. The article was entitled “Smear Machine,” and it …

Some San Diegans came out on top in this year’s electoral derby. Some didn’t. Among the biggest winners was La Jolla’s Christine Forester, the widow of noted architect and artist Russell Forester. On August 22 …

Utility giant Sempra Energy continued to pour money into local Republican Party coffers right up until the verge of the election, according to state campaign disclosure records. Sempra’s final preelection contribution, $10,000, was on Election …

Thirty Years AgoSILHOUETTE, how about the little park by the ocean in La Jolla Sunday afternoon. Quiet Man. PYTHON FANS: Does anyone know the number of albums that MP has made? If so, how many? …

My love Patrick is a man of many talents: handyman, gardener, chef, athlete, and baker. Goodness, he even sings opera. Last week he added another skill to his list of accomplishments: hairstylist. The economy’s squeezing …

The weekend before Halloween I hit a few parties related to my volunteer work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I usually do office work or airport pickups for them, but Evelynn asked me to help put …

Just because everything is different doesn’t mean anything has changed. — Irene Peter I’m not the type to mount a soapbox and demand credit for my accomplishments, but in this case, it never could have …

My roommate wandered in while I was watching a movie on TV. We’re still settling into our new place and she was retrieving and placing things in what she determined were their new proper spots. …

Worthwhile primarily for the view, which can be wide-ranging and spectacular on the clearest late fall or winter days, the Rim Trail in Mission Trails Regional Park rambles along a sparsely vegetated ridgeline overlooking much …

“It’s a family thing we got going,” said the man in the long, gray plaid jacket, the silver of his rings matching that of the religious medallion hanging outside his vest. “We’re concerned about each …

‘What kind of repairs do you do? Tune-ups? Rebuilds?” I’m talking to Kris Wells, 37, store manager at the UCSD Bike Shop. “All that,” Wells says. “The big things are the headset [bearing assembly that …

It would have been two weekends ago, All Souls (morphed along our border into Day of the Dead), a date I have had fun with in the past. It is, if nothing else, an opportunity …

When the Roman emperor Nero was born in AD 37, an astrologer declared he would have a “naturally cruel heart” and would become a “public danger.” Another warned, Nero “will be king and will kill …

“I didn’t drive here,” says Dale. “Why would I? I live two blocks away. This is my local. I used to spend $200–$300 a month on gas. Now it’s more like $60. We walk! This …

The Curse of Samurai Jim struck again — third time in a row. We were heading for a new Caribbean place in the Gaslamp, but when we called for a res, the phones were disconnected. …

“I had a feeling that something was wrong for a long time.” Fifty-six-year-old David Clark says as he lies recovering at a friend’s home from a liver transplant he received on June 13, 2008. He …

“The vice squad contacted the Bluefoot Bar for our very first session because they saw an ad for it and were, like, ‘We’re going to be watching you,’” says Lily Jackson, emcee for Dr. Sketchy’s …

The Vivian Girls were the heroines of a 15,000-page novel by Henry Darger, a reclusive janitor who died in obscurity, only to posthumously become one of the most famous and influential outsider artists in the …

The grunge family tree is not complicated. Before there was Nirvana or Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, or even those grand imitators the Stone Temple Pilots, there was a Bellevue, Washington band called Green River. Green …

It sounds more like a sensitive literary little indie, maybe something to do with a Physics teacher passed over for tenure and consoled in the arms of a fatherless grad student, but Quantum of Solace …

Matt Resovich is one of those musicians who keeps busy and often commits to many projects at a time. He’s performed with the Black Heart Procession, the Album Leaf, Mung, and Battling Maxo over the …

During his 25 years on local radio, deejay Steve West has survived prostate cancer, at least 16 different program directors and general managers, and a market-wide takeover by the Clear Channel conglomerate. Last week, West …

Death Cab for Cutie bassist Nick Harmer posts details online about the backstage mishap suffered by singer Ben Gibbard before the band’s October 29 show at SDSU’s Cox Arena. “So tonight in San Diego, Ben …

“The ghost of Frank Zappa keeps appearing in my dreams and bugging me to do mass overdubs on stuff from his catalog,” says Tony Villodas. As “Tony Mind controle,” he posts music at MySpace.com/IsItFrankZappa that …

Marc Intravaia: “Eve Selis and I played a private show back in 1994 or ’95 for about 1000 doctors at the Hotel Del. A doctor dropped dead at the side of the stage of a …

“My two bands are so different; I lead a completely bipolar life,” says local bandleader Gary Zon, who fronts the industrial goth group Dismantled and a breezy pop outfit called Aerodrone. “I started Dismantled back …

Twenty-eight years ago today (11/13/80), downtown’s California Theatre hosted a new-wave concert with 20/20 that was shut down by cops. “I’ve seen more than my fair share of police harassment at the various new-wave clubs …

Hey, Matt: I was using one of those hand sanitizers the other day and noticed on the bottle: “kills 99.9% of all germs.” What about the .1% that they don’t kill? Let’s say there are …

Artist: Pac 10Song: “You Could Be Next” (from the CD Franchise Players)Heard By: Jason Kjolsing, Mira Mesa I thought it was interesting subject matter. It was about how George Bush messed up the country and …

"Huevos con Queso," by Agave, was the most downloaded MP3 from our website in October. Below is an interview with the band’s primary songwriter, Rusty Bishop. What is it about Mexico that musicians — especially …

John G. Capron, c. 1870. When he died in 1914 at age 86, Capron’s obituaries credited him as “the last of the four men who had most to do with building the San Diego area …

Name: Steve Reed Age: 26 Surfing: La Jolla Lives in: South Park Pre-surf food: Nachos and beer Celebrity most like to surf with: Tony Danza “I love surfing at Mission Beach, but I really hate …

You’re exhilarated when the stock market zooms 10 percent in a day, right? Think again. Of the ten one-day miracles in investment history, when stocks have soared 9 to 15 percent, seven of those days …

Recipe by Marguerite Grifka, the Starlite. I have always been an avid home cook. I would characterize my food philosophy as using the best, freshest ingredients and highlighting the natural flavors. I try to screw …