Robert Hernandez presides over a psychological war zone. At Donovan correctional facility, where Hernandez is warden, every move his officers make is watched by inmates; every word they say is overheard. "Nothing," said one officer, …

Movies reviewed this week: Dear Frankie, D.E.B.S., Downfall, Millions, The Ring Two, Schultze Gets the Blues, and The Upside of Anger

“I took a big swig and thought, ‘This is nasty. I’m never drinking wine again.’”

Slice Of Paradise THURSDAY The last day of work looms and I'm glad to have a break. My nephew, that brilliant four-year-old ball of personality, is coming to stay overnight with just me and Chuck …

Mad Mary Lamb: Lunacy and Murder in Literary London. W.W. Norton, 2005; 314 pages; $24.95. FROM THE DUST JACKET: Mary Lamb -- a dutiful daughter, well liked by just about everyone -- killed her own …

Twenty-Five Years Ago There is a bulletin board, after a fashion, on the front door to Ashley's Market on Paseo Delicias, the main street in Rancho Santa Fe. Next to the five-by-seven-inch card advertising the …

I got a call from Alisha Brophy, who told me about an art show party she was having. When she said it was for "bad art," I was really intrigued. She and her friends were …

'My mom bought some property in Hemet and I went with her and I was like, 'Who the hell lives in Hemet?' I thought it was the weirdest little town in no-man's land. It looked …

Strolling through the aptly named Valley of the Moon, you might think that a square-mile patch of Joshua Tree National Park has been magically transported there -- minus, of course, the famous Joshua trees. Ponderous …

Laurie got offended that I used the word puke. But to me, that's what her dinner tasted like. -- Jack Handy Last week, David received a package FedExed overnight from New York. Curious about a …

When U2 plays the Sports Arena on March 28, the venue will have a new name: the iPayOne Center -- a discount real estate brokerage in Carlsbad that has agreed to pay $2.5 million for …

FM-94/9's program director claims that 91X has cut the New York band Interpol from 91X's playlist. The reason? According to Garrett Michaels, it's because 91X was "upset that we were being allowed to simulcast their …

The Morrison Hotel Gallery owes its name to a downtown L.A. hotel where Henry Diltz photographed what became the cover of the 1970 Doors album. Diltz's work anchors this new La Jolla gallery that offers …

"I've been doing a lot of corporate shows," admitted original Bay City Rollers guitarist Ian Mitchell after the show March 12 in Rancho San Diego. They shared a bill with Steve Poltz, Private Domain, and …

If the Chargers hadn't released 42-year-old quarterback Doug Flutie on March 11, they would have had to pay him a $300,000 bonus on March 15. Flutie was in Stowe, Vermont, for a family ski trip …

"Edmond, the son of Gloucester, comes onstage with an iPod," says Stephanie Robinson, composer for the San Diego Repertory's production of King Lear. Robinson, a Ph.D. candidate in music composition at UCSD, has been working …

Before the Robot Ate Me played San Francisco's Make-Out Room March 23, the San Francisco Bay Guardian proclaimed, "Those who thought intelligent music could never come out of a superficial city like San Diego will …

Dane Scott, lead singer of Tubby, got a rude surprise when he returned with his band at 5 a.m. on March 11 to the parking lot adjacent to the Mission Beach roller coaster. "There were …

Jambase.com's "Head's Up" column claims, "Louis XIV is quickly shaping up as 2005's first breakthrough rock 'n' roll success story.... 'Finding Out True Love Is Blind' is...currently the number two most requested at Los Angeles' …

"We are ten guys and a girl, [all] under the age of 21, playing traditional swing," said keyboardist Dave Martina, a member of High Stakes Swing. "The only other band I know that plays swing …

When Boyz II Men play 4th & B tonight, their contract requires all two dozen bath towels must be black. When U2 play the San Diego Sports Arena Monday, March 28, and Wednesday, March 30, …

i REPRODUCE BY EXPELLING A CLOUD OF SPORES. Through the millions of years of evolution the lizard cortex of my brain recognizes patterns that indicate a situation of possible reproduction. Whenever colors and shapes align …

After a couple of days at Harrah's in Valley Center, my partner and I grew bored with casino clamor and casino fare. At Fiore's, the hotel's top restaurant, our food-savvy waitress was a Valley Center …

"I'd have the biggest, most rockin' music collection of any of your desert island castaways."

"Almost everyone at USD already has some knowledge of Scripture and Jesus. So we can't go around saying 'Hey, you Catholics need to come to Christ.' Even though there are many Catholic students who have …

"Beauty hurts," was my husband Patrick's first response to the news that I was considering a bikini wax. My confidence boosted by a successful campaign to rid myself of 15 excess pounds, I was making …

Yes, news consumers have moved on. The televised congressional hearing produced 48 hours of press/video roar; it was a crossover story, headlined on the front page and sports page, but then it was back to …

“Pete’s created a good feeling here. Employee of the year gets to go skydiving with him. Right, Pete?”

Dear Matt: Why do we call cow meat "beef," pig meat "pork," but we call chicken and fish by their names? -- SG, the beach Let's see. Who can we blame this one on — …

To Hell and back Everyone knows that Republicans are into faith-based initiatives, but what was a $5000 contribution from the Stickel Christian Foundation doing on the campaign-disclosure report of San Diego's Lincoln Club, that bastion …

Matt: Did you ever hear of the Great Boston Molasses Flood, sometime back in the 1920s? Lots of people drowned in a nasty, sticky, slow death. Details, please. -- Tim, not in Boston Just my …

Matt: My girlfriend claims that black olives are harvested later than the green olives and that they're actually the ripe form of the olive. I say no. Settle the argument. -- Chris, the net Hate …

The value of helicopters in fighting fires is "the quick attack," says Brian Fennessy, manager of San Diego's Regional Fire and Rescue Helicopter Program. "If you can get a load of water and a crew …

Consultant celebrities are like Hollywood celebrities: they're hired more for show than substance. This is just one of many reasons San Diego taxpayers should cock an eyebrow at the city's hiring of two former top …