Now you'll be as plugged in and up to date as all those insiders scarfing up the invite to private KPRI listener parties, drinking free at HOB sidestage shows, and studiously ignoring Casbah headliners from the courtyard.

Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great. -- Roger De Bussy-Rabutin I was reluctant to leave, even though it had been my decision to go. …

"This is the liturgical service," said the usher as we stood in the entrance of the sanctuary, gazing over the scattering of congregants under the high, white ceiling. "Over in the gym is the contemporary …

"What the hell is going on?" I yell into the phone. "I've turned into a Possumizon!" "No you haven't," my girlfriend rolls with it. She's heard this sort of thing 14 times a day since …

John Reis (Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes) becomes the latest rocker to enter the world of local bar ownership. Reis, his wife Ami, and two other couples formed a six-person partnership to purchase a …

Posters advertised an "all-day rock festival" at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday, July 15. Tickets were $20 to see some 20 metal bands play in a fenced-off area of the Qualcomm parking lot. The bands, including …

"I have not met or spoken to this imposter Action Jackson, but I would like to get a hold of him and simply ask him to stop using the name," says Jackson Milgaten of Action …

Armada guitarist Dennis Rohde can tell you about hell. "I've been at practice rooms. I leave and go outside and vomit and go through all kinds of hell. But I know I have to go …

"I bring exploding foam, snow machines, confetti cannons, piñatas, and remote-control spaceships," says Jeffrey Beringer, a.k.a. Mono Mono, of his "interactive and inflatable" solo performances. Interactive? "The lights and other special effects are operated by …

How much is it costing to convince the federal Securities and Exchange Commission that it's safe for investors to buy all the debt the San Diego City Council wants to encumber taxpayers with? Plenty, according …

Union-Tribune owner David Copley's 164-foot yacht Happy Days has departed Monaco; on July 11, it was spotted at the docks of Luka Gruz harbor in Dubrovnik, Republic of Croatia. ... San Diego Magazine editor Tom …

'We realized that our son, who was four at the time, needed new shoes," says Sara Bongiorni, author of A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy. "It's …

Name: Kens Sullivan Jr. and Sr. Vehicle: 1992 Jeep Cherokee Lives: Point Loma Surfing: Santa Monica surf spot in Ocean Beach Ken Sullivan Sr. calls his Jeep Cherokee 4x4 the "soul car" because he can …

I interviewed a Point Loma resident who had crashed 20 Super Bowls. What surprised me more than his success at crashing the games was that he once crashed an event for President Clinton. He got …

I once heard an analogy that being in a bad relationship is like owning a bad car. The more time, money, and energy you put into it, the harder it is to let it go. …

The Five-Nine The 59th Street Bridge was a wreck. I knew because I called a few of my taxi buddies one night while they were driving their cabs. I was on an "extended hiatus" and …

Ron Peyton Age: 34 Occupation: Hair Stylist Lives: University Heights "Bingo wings," is my current favorite slang. It's a euphemism for the big upper-arm area of a chunky girl. You can imagine her jumping up …

"People want the romance; they want the story of your winery, the story of your vineyard."

Negative Filter is a three-piece hard-rocking band that began playing gigs in Tijuana and music festivals across the state of Baja. They now live in San Diego and rock out stateside. "As for politics, right …

It started with an e-mail from an unknown sender -- "Who's rojo?" I wondered -- friend, Viagra-pusher, virus-carrier? A friend I'd never met, it turned out -- a reader who shares my tastes, suggesting that …

You know things are bad when, as of Monday afternoon, NBA.com had no news about Tim Donaghy, the recently retired referee and alleged mob connected game fixer, save for a two-paragraph Friday press release from …

"That's the Connecticut difference."

The convention center deal between Chula Vista and Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment has apparently collapsed. People are wringing their hands. They should be clapping their hands. Chula Vista and the Port could not afford the heavily …

Members of the Greater Golden Hill Community Development Corporation recently discovered a ruse that might help them overcome opposition to assessing their fellow citizens nearly $489,000 in increased taxes. Heretofore the development corporation has not …

City Attorney Mike Aguirre is getting threatening letters. There is nothing new about that, except that these have come from purported law enforcement agencies. On July 17, Aguirre got a hand-delivered letter from the district …

The wife of Steve Peace, the former Democratic state assemblyman and senator most famous for his role in the disastrous state utility deregulation follies of the 1990s and now chief political advisor to Padres owner …

It is close to my son's 30th birthday. In most ways he is much younger than this, and in even more ways, he is older. Geoffrey is on disability. It sometimes seems as if the …

You learn a lot about a director's concept of Hamlet the instant the guards appear. I've seen everything from German storm-troopers to surreptitious CIA types -- gray suits, sunglasses, ominous smirks -- to generic soldiers, …

Hey, Matt: Why are cinnamon candies "red hot"? I have never thought the taste of a cinnamon roll or other baked good was particularly eye watering. -- RR, SD Tastes that bludgeon our senses have …

Dear Matthew Alice: Where the heck did the expression "spitting image" come from? -- Wendell, San Diego Heymatt: Where did the expression "nothing to sneeze at" come from? It obviously means something important but makes …

Thirty Years Ago I was amazed that you would print your whitewash of the 7-Eleven Corporation in this week's Reader ("It's a Pretty Good Deal," July 21). These stores have become a black spot on …

December 2006 Sitting in the Learning Resource Center at San Diego City College. I am among at least 100 empty chairs, many of them comfortable enough to sleep in, though I hesitate to say so. …

The James Dilley Greenbelt Preserve, a unit within Orange County's Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, dates back to a landmark purchase by the city of Laguna Beach in 1978. Environmentalist James Dilley helped champion the concept …

'I was up in Carlsbad and stopped into a thrift store," chirped my friend Bernice, "and do you know what I found there? A Barracuda pool cleaner for $40 ! In perfect working order! Fitzgerald …