San Diego Reader

Stories | Crasher

Halloween Police

Halloween Police

Halloween was a complete nightmare for me. I had three parties lined up and the easiest costume in Halloween history. My girlfriend had ordered a Kate Gosselin wig and goofy big sunglasses for herself. I was ...

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Tipsy and Talkative

Tipsy and Talkative

I get invited to a number of pub-crawls. I’m not a beer drinker and usually pass. But a guy named Steve, who logged on to the Reader website once to comment on a party, informed me ...

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Gypsies, Snacks, and “Steve”

Gypsies, Snacks, and “Steve”

I collect vintage radios, phonographs, and jukeboxes, so I go to O.B.’s antique stores a few times a year. A few weeks ago, in the early afternoon, I went down to Newport Avenue for an anniversary ...

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San Diego, Las Vegas

San Diego, Las Vegas

Someone on the Reader website clued me in to a Las Vegas–themed party going down in North Park. I’m glad they did. The small backyard ... More Comments (10)

Friends Are Like Jewels

Friends Are Like Jewels

I was walking my dog around University Heights and saw a party setting up at a house near Adams Avenue. I dropped my dog off ... More Comments (161)

No Pictures, Dude

No Pictures, Dude

In L.A. at an autograph and collectors’ convention, I smiled at Playboy Playmate Candy Clark as I walked by her table. She was charging $25 ... More Comments (36)

L.A. Stories

L.A. Stories

When radio station KPRI announced a Van Morrison concert in L.A. that they’d be taking listeners to, I talked my way into joining afternoon DJ ... More Comments (13)

Shotski!

Shotski!

I went to a pool party in San Marcos in August that began with a morning visit to a Stone Brewing Company beerfest. I showed ... More Comments (2)

Mutt Mixer

Mutt Mixer

My girlfriend told a coworker who was going out of town for two weeks that she’d watch her dog for her. As we were walking ... More Comments (13)

Crest Burgers

Crest Burgers

When I checked my voice mail to see if anyone called in a party, I heard there was a barbecue in Crest, so off I ... More Comments (15)

Dangerous Bird

Dangerous Bird

I ran into Nick Simmons, the son of Kiss bassist Gene, at Comic-Con. I told him I caught the episode of his reality show on ... More Comments (13)

Pile-Drivin' Tacos

Pile-Drivin' Tacos

A Mexican wrestler was pictured on the invitation to a party I went to a month ago. The card was for John’s 40th birthday “smackdown,” ... More Comments (7)

Golding's Grudge

Golding's Grudge

I was having a rough patch in crashing some events. It started with Comic-Con. Organizers refused to give me a press pass because something I ... More Comments (16)

Salsa Susie, Tango Tony

Salsa Susie, Tango Tony

On the same weekend last month, I went to two dance parties. One was for a salsa dancer who turned 40. The locale, in P.B., ... More Post a comment

Beckett No, Hendrix Yes

Beckett No, Hendrix Yes

A handful of the people who post on the Reader website planned a get-together. I think it stemmed from one of them being in town ... More Comments (8)

GPS Yourself

GPS Yourself

On days that are known as party days, I try to challenge myself. I’ve had a few New Year’s Eves when I went to over ... More Comment (1)

Something to Smile About

Something to Smile About

Mahsa graduated from La Costa Canyon this year, and her mom threw a party for her at a pizzeria in Encinitas. I showed up late ... More Comments (2)

Punk Politesse

Punk Politesse

A woman in the Serra Mesa area was turning 21. I got an invite to her birthday party from her mom. When I arrived, the ... More Comments (2)

The Lakers vs. Luna Llena

The Lakers vs. Luna Llena

I drove up to Oceanside for a surprise party that Wayne was throwing for his wife’s birthday. I squeezed into a spot on the street, ... More Comments (5)

Jack and Duke and Tiffany

Jack and Duke and Tiffany

About a month ago, I drove to El Cajon for an annual horseshoe tournament in memory of Jack and Duke, two deceased friends of the ... More Comments (2)

A Chihuahua Named Wanda

A Chihuahua Named Wanda

Nothing better than an afternoon party on a sunny day with barbecue and a live band. At this house in Kensington, they were cooking up ... More Comments (2)

Sorry, Charley

Sorry, Charley

I was given detailed directions on how to get to Charley’s party. He was graduating from Cal State San Marcos. But the beachfront condos in ... More Comment (1)

I Would Drive 100 Miles

I Would Drive 100 Miles

I covered a hundred miles driving to three different parties on one recent Saturday. The first party was up in Murrieta. I would’ve blown it ... More Comments (3)

Fowl Play in Fallbrook

Fowl Play in Fallbrook

There are lots of local film festivals, but Fallbrook’s is my favorite. This year’s second annual started on Thursday, April 23, but it wasn’t until ... More Post a comment

Skullcrusher and Vaporizer

Skullcrusher and Vaporizer

Chad teaches at SDSU and lives in the Clairemont area. He threw a party for his 30th birthday about a month ago. I brought a ... More Comments (3)

Australian Rules

Australian Rules

In late March, I went to a park in Hillcrest for a going-away party. People there dubbed the theme “crokaoke” because they were playing croquet ... More Comments (5)

Cold Clues, Hot Shaves

Cold Clues, Hot Shaves

About a month ago, I went to the opening of a music store in El Cajon called Guitar and Bass Land. A guy was talking ... More Comments (6)

Four People, No Laughs

Four People, No Laughs

I fit a couple of parties into one night. Both were at bars. Well, the first wasn’t really at a bar, per se. It was ... More Comments (4)

Shamrocks and Cotton Patches

Shamrocks and Cotton Patches

They say your home is your castle. So it is with Jim’s place, which is shaped like a castle. He’s known as the P.B. Millionaire. ... More Comments (21)

Eddie + Alcohol = Air guitar

Eddie + Alcohol = Air guitar

I got a call about crashing a wedding in Spring Valley a few weeks ago. I had a lot going on that day, but when ... More Comments (6)

Neither Had a Monkey

Neither Had a Monkey

On a Saturday night a few weeks ago, I went to a Saturday Night Live theme party at the Tivoli Bar in the East Village. ... More Comments (6)

Space Chimps Travesty

Space Chimps Travesty

I love movies — watching them and discussing them. I’ve gone to the Sundance Film Festival a few times and recently started going to some ... More Post a comment

Escorts & Engagements

Escorts & Engagements

I remember getting a call years ago from a girl named Caryn. She was having a birthday party, and I hadn’t been doing this column ... More Comments (204)

Hat Trick

Hat Trick

My girlfriend spent $20 on a pirate hat for me to wear to a party. I gave her crap because I didn’t think I’d ever ... More Comments (9)

Cardinals, Steelers, Dangerous Dolphins

Cardinals, Steelers, Dangerous Dolphins

Each year I go to two Super Bowl parties. I leave the first party at halftime, which I don’t mind doing if the TV halftime ... More Post a comment

Party Like a Barack Star

Party Like a Barack Star

Barack Obama was predicted to win the presidency. Nobody was surprised when he did. I was surprised at how many inauguration parties there were. I ... More Comments (3)

Celebration of the Lizard

Celebration of the Lizard

Last December 8 would’ve been Jim Morrison’s 60th birthday. Two of the surviving Doors threw a party in Hollywood at Barney’s Beanery, famous in the ... More Comments (8)

Deion Disses L.T.

Deion Disses L.T.

When I learned Harrah’s Rincon was opening up a sports bar called the Sports Pit in late September, I decided to hit it. They offered ... More Comments (21)

Pigs at the Post

Pigs at the Post

I get invited to a lot of art openings and recently had to tell some friends that I was burned out on them, recalling a ... More Comments (4)

Rockin' Around the Block

Rockin' Around the Block

When I was four, I formed two distinct memories of events that happened at Christmastime. The first was when my mom, newly single, took my ... More Comment (1)

Nightcaps

Nightcaps

I had three parties to hit one December night. Maybe the stores were taking a hit from the bad economy, but it wasn’t cutting down ... More Comment (1)

College Area Kookout

College Area Kookout

There was a story on CNN about the controversy surrounding a public Christmas tree in Washington, D.C. In the interest of fairness, apparently, an atheist ... More Post a comment

Tiny Bubbles

Tiny Bubbles

There was an October wedding in Coronado with a reception on Soledad Mountain. A guy named Jeff called to suggest I crash the Hawaiian-themed affair. ... More Comment (1)

Hurricane P

Hurricane P

About four months ago I was having Mexican food at a vegan place at Sunset Cliffs — I have friends who are vegetarians, and this ... More Comments (2)

Fabulous Femurs, Aluminum Boots

Fabulous Femurs, Aluminum Boots

I remember the first time I came in to a little money as a teenager and went to buy Christmas gifts for friends and family. ... More Comments (4)

Drunken Limbo

Drunken Limbo

A few times a year, local party legend Bear Paw gives me the heads up on a party. His directions on my voice mail are ... More Comments (7)

Dog Is My Copilot

Dog Is My Copilot

The last weekend in August, I was invited to a party in an airplane hangar, which is funny because the word one associates with parties ... More Comments (2)

Red, White, and Green Day

Red, White, and Green Day

As a kid, music influenced how I thought about politics — songs such as Alice Cooper’s “Elected” or Cream’s “Politician,” wherein the politico talks a ... More Comments (7)

Make-A-Wish, Make-A-Cookie

Make-A-Wish, Make-A-Cookie

The weekend before Halloween I hit a few parties related to my volunteer work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I usually do office work or airport ... More Comment (1)

Strangers Have the Best Candy

Strangers Have the Best Candy

When KGB had its Sky Show at Qualcomm a few weeks ago, I heard about a party at a house nearby that had a perfect ... More Comments (4)

Pastor Dave and Los Peligrosos

Pastor Dave and Los Peligrosos

A few months back, I went to an event in Oceanside that I was told was a divorce party for a guy, but it ended ... More Comments (3)

Intensity in Banker's Hill?

Intensity in Banker's Hill?

There were two parties I missed that I was bummed about. These guys that throw an annual jet-ski party called me afterward and said that ... More Post a comment

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