“This used to be a beautiful place,” says Jonnie. “A family part of town. Nice people lived here. That all changed with the Vietnam War, 1975. People from war places started coming in, big-time.”

Matt: Vocational titles such as astronomer and seismologist are relatively self-explanatory. But why are weatherpeople called meteorologists? I don't think world weather patterns are affected by near-Earth whizzing chunks of rock, are they? Is it …

Matthew: I've noticed that the Columbia Pictures logo — “Columbia,” the woman in the long robe that they show at the beginning of their movies — seems to have changed. Who was the model for …

Hey, Scumbag! Can't handle the tough questions! Stick with trivia. Names, places, and dates, scumbag. You're not good enough to go for: Why does the San Diego Registrar of Voters SELL OUR NAMES AND ADDRESSES …

Gardens, however modest, are visions of paradise. As such they are the setting for activities that take me out of time. Gardens reconcile me to time on the grandest scale. In gardens I engage in …

I saw a black man sprawled in the gutter on Imperial Avenue, clutching an empty bottle of cheap Thunderbird. I felt bad for him. “He’s not in your family, is he?" my mother asked.

Dear Matthew Alice: Lately I have been pondering the question of alternatives for disposing of my earthly remains when the time comes. I have no interest in being stuck in a box in the ground …

They exchange names of famous skateboarders from San Diego: Doug Saladino, Steve Cathey, Henry Hester, Bob Skolberg, Greg Weaver. No one mentions Mark “Gator” Anthony, the famous San Diego skateboarder who murdered a girl in P.B. in 1990.

Let’s face it: as football commentator, film actor, star of high-visibility commercials, O.J. was my-t-bland. He was exactly the sort of bland BLACK ex-jock TV is always hiring to be unoutspoken, undangerous.

These are our “golden years,” dear, and when I first met you I worried you might end up in the Golden West Hotel. I never dreamed it could be something worse: a hospital.

Dear M.A.: Whatever happened to Fizzies, those little lozenges that bubbled up into a glass of flavored drinks? I must have some again. Did they disappear as a health hazard? — Brian Schmidtberger, North Park …

With time running out before the big game, I was still without a ticket. I spotted a fellow trying to unload an extra ticket in the hotel lobby, and he kindly offered it to me …

Matt: Where did Groundhog Day come from? Who decided that a groundhog could predict the weather? — “Rocky Squirrel,” San Diego Our European ancestors gave us the idea for Punxsutawney Phil, that furry Farmers Almanac. …

“The people we sell them to are by and large people from Southeast San Diego, black people. They are connoisseurs of sweet potatoes. Most of them grew up in the South, and it was part of their diet.”