We're sitting in a room that's maybe 9 feet wide by 20 feet long, lined with countertops that hold 12 TV monitors. The screens let us spy upon what's normally one of the most private …

'Women were dominant consumers, making mostly anonymous purchases in supermarkets.'

The service opened with film clips: Adam Sandler doing a slow burn in Anger Management and Jane Fonda exploding with fury in Monster-in-Law . The congregation laughed throughout. Then a round of songs, ranging from …

'The whole thing about blues is the formula of the music," says Robb Bower, founder of the Blues Bash festival. "Most blues songs are built around three chords -- the one, the four, and the …

Matt: Why do whales have barnacles but dolphins, porpoises, and orcas do not? -- Barnacle Bill the Sailor Whale of a generalization, Bill, but sorta true. Barnacles are common on humpbacks and gray whales, but …

Hi, Matt: You sometimes hear about people amputating their own leg or arm in an emergency. That makes me wonder. Has a surgeon ever performed surgery on himself? -- Lois, San Diego Sez the American …

It's Monday and per usual I'm sitting at the kitchen table perusing our nation's leading newspapers -- The National Enquirer, Star Magazine, Weekly World News, Globe -- when I experience a moment that Einstein or …

This mini-tour of the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Preserve, the jewel of southwestern Riverside County's remaining natural landscape, introduces you to a variety of hiking experiences -- in sun and in shade. The inclusion of …

Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America by Thomas Lutz. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006, $25, 384 pages. FROM THE BOOK JACKET: Couch potatoes, goof-offs, freeloaders, good-for-nothings, loafers, and loungers: …

"It's Like Borg in Star Trek; it just keeps eating stuff." This is the comment made last week by a local independent promoter who heard about Live Nation's purchase of House of Blues Entertainment for …

Thirty Years Ago The bare bottom of San Diego sport is epitomized by the face of Canadian entrepreneur and Sports Arena operator Peter Graham. This contemptuous double-dealer is the best case yet for confiscatory inheritance …

The only local station that will play new music by Tom Petty, Neil Young, and Ziggy Marley may soon be reaching your ears for the first time. Triple-A (adult album alternative) station KPRI was recently …

Elective Maturity I can't remember the last time I shaved my legs. Wait -- yes I can -- it was the day of prom. So, I shaved my legs most recently on May 13, about …

On a midweek evening a few months ago, my partner and I rambled over to our brand-new neighborhood bistro, excited because in all of South Park/Golden Hill there are only two other genuine restaurants. "No …

Malcolm Gladwell introduced the concept of snap decision-making in his book Blink. He wrote about experts being able to size up a situation (be it a failing relationship or the likelihood of a new product …

"I have a kiosk -- actually, it's a cart -- in the Mission Valley mall," says assistant bank manager Persis Knipe, 28. Named My Stuff, Knipe's outdoor CD and clothing store opened July 1. "[The …

A woman bustles a child through a shopping mall as if he were one of the paper sacks she'd filled and purchased at a designer boutique. It seems harmless enough. You wouldn't expect something bad …

Local singer/songwriter Michael Tiernan performed in Texas at the 34th annual Kerrville New Folk Songwriter Contest over Memorial Day weekend. He competed against 32 other songwriters. "It's pretty much the American Idol of the folk …

Over burritos in Mission Valley, former local resort hotel concierge Juan Mas (not his real name) told of a visit paid by AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young: "My coworker Linda assisted him and I witnessed it. …

Music Trader district manager Darren Fionda was arrested in May at the chain's SDSU store for allegedly selling "pirated music." In a sting orchestrated by the Recording Industry Association of America, 195 discs were seized, …

I went to a Fourth of July party on July 1. When I got the call from Eric, he left a weird message. He told me there would be a dunk tank, lots of games, …

'The first Four Eyes album, recorded for MCA in 1982--1983, remains unreleased," says Mark DeCerbo. The guitarist/bassist/singer for Rockola and the Steely Damned founded Four Eyes in 1979 and revived the group late last year …

In attempting to get records of City Attorney Mike Aguirre's 1989 divorce unsealed, the Union-Tribune has proved definitively that it doesn't read its own newspaper. On a deeper level, the missteps the newspaper has made …

Elected to the House of Representatives in 1952 and serving for 14 consecutive terms, Republican Bob Wilson saw plenty of paperwork come across his desk. In 1973, he began depositing it for future researchers at …

From age to age, nothing changes, and yet everything...is completely different. -- Aldous Huxley David and I were distracted from the conversation when two young boys cruised by on bicycles. It wasn't the shiny red …

A group of San Diego Democrats has put together an organization intended to match the local GOP's Lincoln Club in fundraising prowess and ideological pragmatism. According to a blurb on its website, the newly hatched …

The sentencing of John D'Intino, ex-cook, gun dealer, and onetime chief aide de camp to San Diego Cheetahs strip-club owner Mike Galardi, has been put off yet again, this time until September 28. The voluble …

Connecticut Democrat Connecticut Democrat Joe Lieberman, Al Gore's VP candidate in 2000 and Middle East hardliner, is locked in a tough Senate primary race with liberal Ned Lamont, a rabid opponent of the war in …

As a child, I wore out a few bike tires riding around my New England hometown. The wind whipping against my face as I raced up and down hills was exhilarating. At adolescence, my bike …

Down The Street from the Death House The last time I had to look for a place to live, I looked outside of Marin County, where I've lived for 30 years. I moved to Marin …

“Sweet tacos? Yeah, right. And you found Bigfoot munching there, too, I suppose?”