Content for Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Blog Entries

News & Stories

Retail can turn you into a number

100% commission at Nordstrom

Customer-service zombie in trendy attire.

At the Vietnam Memorial

The last time I saw the name Paul Castle it was printed in gold on the wall above the showers in the boys’ locker room, next to the school record for the mile. I don’t ...

One catfish at a time

Ed finds the Red Rooster, a Louisiana-style eatery tucked away in Lincoln Park.

Brandon Van Ekelenburg was a very angry kid

Brandon Van Ekelenburg (aka Van Brando) switched from heavy metal to rapping.

Multitasking is Maria Hart's shortcut

Name: Maria Hart Car: BMW X5 How do you like driving your car? I like it. It’s not as comfortable as my Explorer, believe it or not. The seat is not as comfortable. I like ...

The Mountaintop: The Rep stages Dr. King's last night on Earth

I make it a hard and fast rule when entering a theater: leave expectations at the door. Even if I know the play or the subject, I want as clean a slate as possible. Be ...

Cable-company monopolies

The travesty of cable-company monopolies held by Time Warner and Cox Communications.

Bottling digestible jazz

Science Fiction Jazz wants to cut a full-length LP but they expect it will be tricky because of their improvisational nature.

Saggy-pants origin

Hello Matt: I hope this finds you and the Elves doing well. I know I am un-hip to most things these days, but something has puzzled me for quite some time. Why do certain fellows ...

FaceTube Friend

"You want this?” David held up his buzzing phone so I could see the number displayed on the screen. After weighing the risk of answering an unknown number, I said, “Here, give it to me.” ...

Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail along Agua Caliente Creek

Stands of majestic oaks and sycamores line a bubbling stream along a section of the trail.

Call girl calling cards?

Co-ed by day

Like Someone in Love is a logical follow-up to Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy (2010). From its opening long take — the lead character speaks from outside the frame — the director’s sleight of hand draws ...

In the San Diego clubs, March 14–20

Thursday 14It’s comedy night at the Casbah, as the rock club’s favorite foil, the comic Neil Hamburger, will headline sets by MTV’s Johnny Pemberton, K-Strass of The Office, and our own brash beautician Jennifer Congernaum. ...

Costs of doing city business

Republic Services, the big Phoenix-based solid-waste operation with a wide footprint in San Diego, has of late been anteing up the bucks at city hall. According to its latest lobbyist filing with the city clerk, ...

Thing itself

Jessica Lange: unseen, is on view at the Museum of Photographic Arts until May 19, 1649 El Prado, San Diego, 619-238-7559; mopa.org Jessica Lange and Jeff Bridges have two things in common, photography and King ...

One steak at a time

Vons has a proud cutter in Angie Elsbury

Interview with Angie Elsbury, a butcher at Vons supermarkets who reshaped her life after being addicted to heroin and going to jail.

St. Patrick's party prep

Póg mo thóin if you don’t like the music!

St. Patrick’s Day is fast approaching, and my Kelly hubby is heavy into party planning. “I bought green-striped thigh-high stockings [$4.99 at partycity.com] for you,” he announced, “and a little green top-hat hairband thingy [$9.99 ...

Ridiculous Hawaii

Heavy Hawaii films video using fire extinguishers that draw fire trucks to the scene.

Coyote explores Gillespie Field

Flights delayed 20 minutes

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12, the normal traffic pattern at Gillespie Field was interrupted when a coyote decided to take a tour of the field. Six aircraft were ordered by the control tower ...

Thicker Than Thieves

Once a beach band, always a beach band? Thicker Than Thieves will kick off their spring tour in Ocean Beach, not so far from where it began for them more than a decade ago. That ...

Fourth district triage

The race to replace ex–city councilman Tony Young in the Fourth District is being fed by a raft of out-of-town special interests. According to recent disclosures, “Californians for Quality Paramedic Services, Sponsored by Rural/Metro Corporation” ...

Bubbles: Greenspan, Bernanke could have learned something in San Diego

Some kind of unhappy result of this madcap money printing by the Federal Reserve is inevitable: wait for the next disastrous economic bubble to burst.

Full nondisclosure by KPBS

San Diego State University’s owned and operated public broadcasting operation is out with its “2013 Local Content & Service Report,” touting what it says are various achievements of the previous year. The document is required ...

Sweetwater school district cuts program and teachers

Abstained vote becomes a “yes” vote

The March 11 Sweetwater Union High School District meeting opened with a presentation “On Civility,” which was delivered by one of the district’s attorneys, Dan Shinoff. While Shinoff discoursed on the Constitution, Frederick Douglass, the ...

You’d better apologize, Beekman Boys

A blogger is upset because the Beekman Boys website claims to sell products made in the USA (except for a few items) and is called out after she inquires about their provenance.

A series of letters

Kickstarter Follow-up Your December 13, 2012 cover story about Kickstarter highlights the San Diego Public Market as a major success at raising more than $165,000. But having a good idea or concept is one thing; ...

Going Up to Jerusalem

Every true life has its Jerusalem, to which it is always going up. A life cannot be really considered as having begun to live until that far-off city in which its destiny awaits it, where ...

  • Phillips Brooks
  • March 13, 2013
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March 7 Crossword Contenders

Martha Awdziewicz, Clairemont, 6. L. Barling, El Cajon, 6. Johanna Barry, Pine Valley, 6. Evelyn Bowser, Hillcrest, 6. Marvin A. Brown, Clairemont, 6. Charlotte Brown , Clairemont, 6. Leslie Chase, Campo, 6. Joseph Ciprian, Little ...

March 7 Sudoku Contenders

Evil Joe Arbusto, Rancho Penasquitos, 6. Richard Barker, San Diego, 6. Bliss Beedle, Encinitas, 6. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 6. Patrick Driscoll, Santee, 6. Martin Guillen, Oceanside, 6. * Butch Hays, La Mesa, 6. * ...