Manky is when something is exceptionally unpleasant or gross. It can be applied to just about anything, like telling someone their feet smell manky or saying you had a really manky day. You can yell …

What are you currently reading? “I’m reading Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto, by Chuck Klosterman.” Tell me about it. “It’s not really based on anything — it’s, like, pop culture compared …

Besides the usual loincloth, the crucified Christ hanging in the front of the church was draped with a purple stole, which draped over His chest as it ran from one arm to the other, and …

San Diego’s ruling class has no class — and worse, no shame. The well-heeled developers, hoteliers, and casinos that manipulate the mayor and his fellow puppets do so in broad daylight. The overlords collect slush …

The Back Gate The area around the Oceanside pier and boardwalk glistens, picture perfect: palm trees, silver sand, blue water, and crowds of people. It’s easy to see how this town got its name. But …

Clue: Holding up well Describe this location, name the nearest cross-streets, and win a Reader T-shirt. Click here to e-mail us your answer — include your name and address. (Deadline, Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 9 …

Name: Matt West Age: 20 Surfing: Mission Beach Pre-surf music: Dave Matthews, reggae After-surf food: California burrito with pollo asada “Girls in the water is probably the sexiest thing ever; it’s hot,” says Matt. His …

Fantastic Artwork Dear Reader, The cover artwork for “Ollie’s Big Bike Ride” (February 7) was fantastic! Very, very well done! Kudos to the artist. I hope to see more of this person’s work. Perry Wright …

A big new raft of San Diego city lobbyist registrations are in, and not surprisingly many of the most prosperous influence peddlers also happen to be big financial backers of GOP Mayor Jerry Sanders’s re-election …

Back in November, we reported here that San Diego County district attorney Bonnie Dumanis spent a total of $35,680 in the second quarter of last year lobbying the state legislature on various bills, including those …

Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has lately been picking up big pieces of change from San Diego County fat cats. The governor’s “Dream Team” committee collected a bunch of large checks here on the first week …

You want to construct an addition to your house that requires a building permit. Wouldn’t it be wise to get the permit before buying a detailed architectural plan? The San Diego City Council is proceeding …

“People who camp out there are not wilderness people, they’re more like transients and drug addicts,” says city ranger John Garwood. “We’ve found needles and pipes. The most common [items found] are plastic bottles, vegetable …

Karen Huff-WillisDirector, San Diego Black Film Festival, sandiegoblackfilmfestival.com For Black History Month I would like people to see something by Oscar Micheaux, like Within Our Gates. He’s from the 1920s, and he made wonderful films. …

Last week I interviewed Stan Ridgway of Wall of Voodoo, and something he said has been nagging at me: “The music that I always found to be most valuable to me when I was younger …

“I don’t mean to be nosey,” says David Letterman during an interview with Marilyn Manson, nonplussed by the vampirish figure seated before him, “but do you have chrome teeth?” Marilyn Manson, a stage name combining …

I had just seen the movie Across the Universe about an English guy who falls in love with an American girl. It brought back all my memories of visiting England when I was 18. That …

Thirty Years AgoIt’s 1:30 a.m. Standing beside a pair of pay phones and a silver train of piggybacked carts, you figure you’re ready for Mayfair Market’s morning crowd. The store lights up a quiet section …

I’m not too many years shy of 40, and the anchor tattoo on my ankle has been with me since I was 21. The guy and that ship sailed many years ago, and I’ve reached …

Post Date: September 17, 2007Post Title: Kokeshi 101Kokeshi is the name for a traditional Japanese doll usually representing a woman or girl. Made from wood, they are originally believed to have been created for tourists …

I went to North Park for a Super Bowl party. Getting there an hour before the game started scored me seats in front of the big screen. They had another TV set up in the …

J. Todd Harris is a movie producer. That means that he gets films made. “I’m just like any other guy that goes and tries to find projects and tries to find financing and a director …

Our siblings. They resemble us just enough to make all their differences confusing, and no matter what we choose to make of this, we are cast in relation to them our whole lives long. — …

There’s that old sentiment that the world would be monumentally better off if a list of people received a hefty ass beating. You know what I mean. Everyone has their own list. Your list might …

The 2600-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which was intended to hit as many high points as possible along its mountainous route between the Mexican and Canadian borders, takes an anomalous detour into the Anza-Borrego Desert …

Annoying clock buzz. It’s 3:30 a.m. and hunting-trip dark outside. Get up, shower, make lunch, make coffee for the thermos, pack gear. This is my second birding trip. Regulars will recall last November’s jaunt to …

San Diego Theatresports: The Funhouse (6822 El Cajon Boulevard) When: Fridays at 7:45 p.m. Saturdays at 7:45 p.m. Saturdays at 9:45 p.m. “A cross between improvisational comedy and Family Feud, the Funhouse combines improv with …

Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart’s Hello, Dolly! had the requisite chops for a long Broadway run. Add in the Hall of Famers who eventually played the lead, including Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey, and Ethel Merman …

“In case I haven’t mentioned it lately,” says Debbie the bus driver through her microphone, “I love my passengers. Yee-haw!” Hey, it’s okay. This is the 35, the O.B. bus. People are allowed to be …

Among the many new restaurants opening along the formerly starved 30th Street corridor, the one that’s generated the most buzz is Urban Solace, a giant hit with all the local food blogs. When it had …

Why is it that the most intimate, mysterious performance photographs are of jazz musicians? Maybe because two things get exposed at once: the expressiveness of the body (Mingus knitting his brow, Charlie Parker sweating, Roy …

Scouring the upcoming schedule for Landmark Theatres, from now through May, I find no mention of the current reissue of Alain Resnais’s 1961 Last Year at Marienbad, one of the smallest handful of films that …

Artist: Jeff Bloom Song: “Peace on Earth” (from the CD New Style) Heard By: Robert Jaquez, Skyland Hills I thought the overall message of the song was pretty positive: “peace on Earth.” As far as …

I saw Queensrÿche at the Sports Arena in the early ’90s, when Operation: Mindcrime came out. I wasn’t even in radio back then. There were two things I noticed about the crowd: a lot of …

Album: The Bankhead Press (2007) Artist: The Bankhead Press Label: Timeless Takeover Where available/price: CDBaby.com for $8, M-Theory in Mission Hills for $6, or at live shows for $5. Songs: 1) Searchin 2) Shame 3) …

“There is no single person who has the juice to book major acts [at 4th&B],” says an insider who suggests that the 1500-capacity venue has created the best business plan it could, considering the competition; …

Abandoned bicycles in police possession, 1960. That year, the police began a drive to get owners to license their bikes — to “thwart thefts,” according to our local daily. “Owners of unlicensed bicycles may be …