Oprah calls it an "Aha! moment," as if a single occurrence, like waking up, can impel someone to change. A sinner is usually caught in the act of sin before "seeing the light," a drug …

It is 8:14 a.m. and the sun is already shining strongly through the blinds like a peeping Tom, only more annoying. Last night I tossed and turned, dreading the decisions that would soon confront me. …

It was 1971. My husband, Bill, and I were in our mid-20s and had a six-month-old baby girl named Amy. We were just a couple of lads starting our life together when we bought a …

I've been an Ocean Beach girl for eight years. All this time, I've lived the way most people in O.B. do. I've lifted my mood by watching dogs break into fights on dog beach, I've …

Normal Avenue in La Mesa doesn't have much in common with Normal Street in San Diego. That didn't stop the Hillcrest plumber that 1 called one year from phoning me back. He had a Russian …

How do I even begin to tell you about the incredible turnaround my neighborhood has taken? I will start here. Hi, my name is Mychal McMahon. I am a single mom living with my mom …

I get these crazy dreams about her, the kind where I know I'm dreaming, so I can do whatever the hell I want. Sometimes I think she knows it too; the way she looks into …

When I was 28, and a man much too old for me had again broken my heart, I spent most of my free time in the car, as if I could outrun my sadness. Many …

Hip-hop artist MC Flow -- a.k.a. Abby Schwartz -- raps about politics and women's issues. She grew up in New York City and moved to San Diego in 2000 at the age of 30 to …

Oh, they love to tell you they're in a wheelchair, don't they? This one screamed it. "I see you're in a wheelchair, sir." I said, exasperated with his shenanigans. "Then why the hell did you …

Before anyone speaks at the La Jolla Playhouse, we could be watching a scene from the TV show All in the Family: balding Archie Bunker slumped in his old chair; Edith, clad in shapeless cotton, …

'The Portuguese people in Hawaii are like Polacks," says comedian Augie Tulba. "The Chinese are like Jewish people on the mainland. They buy everything under the sun -- hotels, buildings. They own a lot, but …

DJ: Hilary Station: Star94.1 FM Shift: 10:00 a.m.·3:00 p.m., Monday· Friday Seeing the Dave Matthews Band at Coors Amphitheatre has become a summer ritual in San Diego. At least for meat least it was for …

Robin MackenzieProgrammer, San Diego Film Festival's Women Filmmaker's Series Doing the rounds at festivals, on the hunt for films I think San Diego audiences would enjoy, I came across a documentary that shook me to …

Name: Liz Brolaski Vehicle: 2006 Lexus GX470 Lives: Encinitas Surfing: San Elijo State Beach Liz Brolaski didn't grow up in San Diego, but she's been living here and enjoying the ocean for the past 35 …

"Yom Kippur Is the Day of Repentance," read the colorful Hillel pamphlet at the entrance table. "It is the chance to fix the things in our lives that need a little repair. Jewish tradition gives …

"Send the chicken into the vineyard and let nature take its course."

Ramen Mmmmm. Poverty food. Tonight's dinner will be Ramen, that freeze-dried Eastern delicacy, flavor "Oriental." I will transport myself into the mystical realm of the ancient Orient, enjoying the delights of potassium carbonate, tocopherols and/or …

From the Evening-Tribune photo assignment sheet: "Get a shot or two of a policeman chatting informally with four or five students -- girls and boys, or all boys, whichever is easiest...idea is that cops and …

Anna Marie Bickford Age: 21 Occupation: Project Accountant Lives: Pacific Beach My friends and I rediscovered this old-fashioned term, "the witching hour" , which was used to describe creepy things that happened at night to …

My wife Beth and I moved from the quiet suburbs to an old, remodeled warehouse loft in downtown's East Village five years ago. We loved the sunsets from our fire escape, the fireworks over the …

They've risen from the sewers and they're back on TV, the walking undead from O.J.'s 1995 murder trial. And they're still hungry, still greedy, still needy for fame. Marcia Clark, the incompetent lead prosecutor in …

Sr. Matteo: What's with the ocean temperatures this summer? Instead of the typical 70 to 71 degrees in July/August, it's been fluctuating wildly (for an ocean, that is). From 71 to 75 one week, back …

Restaurateur Tracy Borkum (Laurel, Chive, Kensington Grill) is a demanding mistress. Chefs who don't meet her exalted standards (or who don't want to meet them) vanish swiftly. But chef Hanis Cavin, now cooking at Kensington …

Name: Serge rey Age: 40 Occupation: Professor at Sdsu Neighborhood: La Mesa Where Interviewed: Cosmos coffee house, La mesa What book are you currently reading? "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. …

Continuing on my 20-year Mira Mesa High School reunion... I ran into Sebastian, who was in my kindergarten class. He was with his wife, and as we were chatting about the recent Beatles show LOVE, …

Thirty Years Ago Shotgun Tom Kelly, voted the nation's number-one Top-40 DJ last year by Billboard Magazine, is almost a parody, a flesh-and-blood caricature of what a disc jockey is supposed to be. At some …

Guess where this column has been. Regular readers will have a pretty good idea, and others won't much care. While in an inpatient therapy group after surgery during which new chest hardware was installed over …

San Diego is getting some astonishing surprises: prizes. In August, the housing project at Liberty Station won the Redevelopment Community of the Year Award from the Association of Defense Communities. The transformation of the old …

Artist: The Shining Path Song: "Hadliku Ner" (from their self-titled CD) Heard By: Willie Teran, Coronado It started out pretty cool, but it really didn't go anywhere. The beat was really nice, but I don't …

The pain passes, but the beauty remains.-- Pierre-Auguste Renoir 'C heck out the woman in the red shirt three sizes too small and the guy in purple plaid shorts," said David. "Eastern European?" I guessed. …

The City of San Diego's financial system needs to go on Viagra and stay on it. The Department of Finance is drawing a disturbing distinction between "hard debt" and "soft debt." Several experts worry that …

In new mouths, you hear the songs with new ears.

"People just sort of stand around and stare," says Mike Pereira of the San Diego Music Awards. "I wanted to do something that wasn't so serious." So, at the awards ceremony, Microphone Mike (a.k.a. Pereira) …

E-Low recently began a new season of The Grimmie Wreck TV Show. Since he was interviewed in "Blurt" one year ago, E-Low says his two-year-old hip-hop show has become profitable. "I'm paying myself back for …

Though they won the Best Alternative album category at last week's San Diego Music Awards, the Bloody Hollies were not at Viejas casino to pick up their statuette. Drummer Matt Bennett says the reason for …

Anya Marina recently appeared on The Shit Show Sirius radio program with comedian Andy Dick. "We made out once. I know you don't like to admit it," Dick told her. "We were drunk and I …

Local actor and musician Mark Gregg will be missed tomorrow at the San Diego Film Festival's area premiere of The Pacific and Eddy, his feature-length acting debut. Instead he will be remembered in a gathering …

When presidential candidates come to San Diego, where do they spend their money? Mostly at the sorts of places where sought-after high-rolling campaign contributors hang out. Take the case of wealthy Democrat John Edwards, whose …

"Metal music kept me going for a lot of years," says Tom Wren, creator of locally based online 'zine Metal Nightmare (www.metalnightmare.com). The thirtysomething software engineer published the first print edition of Metal Nightmare in …

KPBS, the public broadcasting operation owned and operated by San Diego State University, financed in large part by state taxpayers, has released more of the documents requested by City Attorney Mike Aguirre under the state's …

The Ocean Beach Starbucks on Newport Avenue, just west of Bacon Street, opened on September 11. Not September 11, 2007, but the September 11, in 2001. Doubtless, many in Ocean Beach don't consider that fact …

It's the year of the baby in Kellyville. Four families within our group of friends are expecting babies to arrive around the holidays. And Eve has meals for moms on the brain. Usually, the gals …

Cool Canyon, a deep crease in the east flank of Granite Mountain, stays truly cool only for a month or two before winter solstice, and for a couple of months afterward. If you visit the …