San Diego City Hall Two thousand six marked the end of San Diego's brief Prague Spring, a short interval of freedom and turmoil between the fall of Mayor Dick Murphy and the rise of Jerry …

You started Friday afternoon at the office party, you think. Technically it was Friday morning with the eggnog instead of a second coffee by the fax machine where you started talking to Danielle. Okay, that …

The audience declared itself unwilling to follow this filmmaker down the path of anguish he has chosen to explore.

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAY: Booklist: Ruby Kincaid can't believe the way her life is going. While running her late husband's bowling alley, she is also taking care of her wayward daughter's two small children. When …

When the movie Wedding Crashers came out, I started receiving a lot of wedding invitations. Except for CD-release parties, weddings are the most common parties I'm invited to. I pick a few each year to …

All those flyers you find on your car after a concert are the result of illegal activity. "It's considered littering," says Steven S., who used to "paper" parking lots for several local bands. "If someone …

Just across the courtyard, without fanfare, the Globe staged one of the year's gems. I suspect I'll remember 2006 as much for its disappointments as achievements. This was the year Claudio Raygoza's Ion Theatre and …

Thirty Years Ago Just a Suggestion, You Understand After returning from Red China in November, Colleen O'Connor said she always believed that "the corporate executives ought to be on the line riveting bolts for a …

Sunny winter days are perfect for exploring San Diego County's population-equivalent of Saudi Arabia's Ar Rab al Khali, or "Empty Quarter." Virtually no one lives in the county's northeasternmost 100 square miles, an arid region …

There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus. -- Bob Phillips I heard the faint tinkling of bells and urged my …

When I was in fourth grade at Sacred Heart Academy in Ocean Beach, a new student came to class. Her name was Stephanie. She had golden hair, freckles, and a smile that caused heads to …

'Idle hands are the devil's tools" was a favorite saying of my great-aunt Josephine. But as she's gotten on in years, she's become increasingly idle herself. Christmas this year may have provided a solution. Josephine …

Yesterday — all those dinners seem so far away. Another hundred-odd restaurant meals have gone to my hips since the Best Bites of '05. This past year has seen more chefs who are dedicated to …

Title: The Dim Sum Diaries Address: http://chiuster.blogspot.com Author: Mir From: Carlsbad Blogging since: March 2003 Post Date: December 8, 2006 Post Title: OMFG Now that I have inhabited this plane of existence for 34.5 years, …

Manga-Eyed Terror My boss is a crime lord. I don't want to talk about why it is that a couple of weeks ago I was online at 5:20 in the morning, except to make myself …

Something about the flavor of that goat cheese, and what the pear does to it.

'W e built a boat for a cinematographer of Star Trek," says Dan Peter, owner of Cabrillo Yacht Sales. "He wanted a perched perspective of everything and had us build a radar arch davit system …

After Rocket From the Crypt's final hometown gig on Halloween 2005, the Sultans became the last John Reis band left. Last Wednesday, news of the Sultans' "last show ever!" was included in a press release. …

"We played a small show on a cold, snowy winter evening in Flint, Michigan," writes Brian Sheerin, vocalist for Mower, a San Diego hardcore band that's now on tour. "It was at a really cool …

"I just got named the national music director of the Paul Green School of Rock and will be opening a San Diego branch of the school early next year," says guitarist Mike Keneally. "I've come …

Blender magazine reports that Jewel (Kilcher) has left Atlantic Records after a six-album deal that began in 1995 with Pieces of You (which sold ten million copies worldwide) and ended with last year's largely ignored …

"Our band revolves around a purple electric guitar, drums, and a multicolored toy xylophone that cost $14 at Target," says Tragic Tantrum Cabaret singer/guitarist Zeph. "We aren't afraid to venture into the territory of melodicas …

"He hath sent me to proclaim liberty to captives," read the Scripture verse painted on the side wall. The Lucite lectern bore the church's logo: a crown imposed over a tilted cross, itself imposed over …

"Mark and Tom made the call to MCA," says former Finch drummer Alex Pappas. Five years ago, former blink bandmates Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge signed Finch to their Scout Management company. The duo helped …

"The dude [onstage] was wearing a strap-on dildo," says local scenester Dammit Dan of an unnamed band seen at Scolari's Office. "So he's wearing that, and he sprayed Zippo lighter fluid all over [it], and …

For some reason I wanted an old fashioned, hang-up paper calendar. I'd never had one before. I always relied on people telling me if the date was closer to Martin Luther King's birthday or Hanukah. …

When Lisa Marie Presley played at the Belly Up Tavern in November, I saw Linda Love Saenz, whom I had met at a party a month earlier. Years ago, I had seen her collection of …

Most of my four-gig iPod is taken up with audio books. There's a little music, too, mostly country-western tunes or torch singers such as Diana Krall. I get along with my iPod, not looking for …

Sell the family jewels cheap and then go into the tank. That's Mayor Jerry Sanders's secret long-term plan, say more and more observers of city hall. His strategy is, first, to sell or lease San …

'The first thing that came to my mind," remembers Tom Miller, "was to arm myself with a screwdriver. The Rodney King riots were taking place in Los Angeles, and the tension in the yard was …

With the death of Jerry Ford last week, distant but colorful memories have come flooding back to many of San Diego's political elders. Ford's personal and political ties to America's Finest City were extensive. When …

California state senate president pro tem Don Perata has named San Diego Democrat Denise Ducheny chairwoman of the powerful Budget Committee. Senator Christine Kehoe, who has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the …

Dear Sirs: Do spiders bite people on a regular basis? In my short time on planet Earth, I must have heard women complain about "spider bites" 400 or 450 times. Now that I am married …