Randy Cunningham taxied the F-4 Phantom onto the catapult aboard the USS Constellation, and both he and Bill Driscoll, the radar intercept officer in the back seat, turned to look at the spinning fingers of …

Children have neither a past nor a future. Thus they enjoy the present -- which seldom happens to us. -- Jean de La Bruyere 'David seems tense," said Ollie. I waited for him to collect …

“You need a big, hot, salty pretzel that you dunk in mustard.”

Denomination: Rabbinical Seminary of America Address: 14133 Via Alisal, Carmel Mountain Ranch, 858-613-0222 Founded locally: 1998 Senior pastor: Rabbi Baruch Lederman Congregation size: 50 Staff size: 1 Sunday school enrollment: 8 Annual budget: $100,000 Weekly …

“Nothing worse than watching a bunch of meatheads trying to hook up with their brainless female roommates.”

Encinitas band Switchfoot played the Sports Arena December 2 with Alanis Morissette, the B-52s, Train, and two other bands. The show, called Jingle Ball, was sponsored by Clear Channel pop station Star 94.1. According to …

'They [the whale watchers] sign a waiver. Then we get them in their wetsuits and booties, give them a paddle and a lifejacket, and head outside for a brief paddle instruction and safety talk," says …

"It seems like you either fall into the screamo genre and everyone likes you or people don't care," says Dave Werth, the singer for Killfast Casino. He defines screamo as "punk music...mixed [with] pseudo-emotional lyrics …

Ocean Beach--based Cape May has always drawn well at the Casbah, according to lead singer Andre Che. Yet, Che's band hasn't played the club since November 2004. "We've been trying to contact [club owner] Tim …

The rustic East County communities of Harbison Canyon and Crest are separated by only a mile of horizontal distance. Harbison Canyon shelters amid oak woods in a deep-cleft hollow, while Crest, some 700 feet higher …

"People don't get blown out when things are going well," says one concert-industry insider about last week's departures of 4th & B general manager Ray Johnson and marketing director Hester Hamman. The insider says the …

Twenty-seven years ago today (12/15/78), I saw the Ramones play Montezuma Hall. The band was still breaking in "Marky," fresh from Richard Hell and the Voidoids. That night, they played "Rockaway Beach," "Sheena Is a …

"It could have been a Spinal Tap," says Warner Bros. Records publicist Rick Gershon about the Subways' November 27 show at Soma. The free 3 p.m. show filled Soma's side-stage room on a Sunday. The …

I have dozens of answering-machine messages from Larry "Wildman" Fischer, onetime Frank Zappa protégé and Doctor Demento perennial. We became friends while he lived at various downtown flophouses in the late '80s and early '90s. …

'How did you come to fly-fishing?" Anne-Marie Bakker, fortysomething, flicks a cast into the pool and says, "There was an old boyfriend who..." I laugh, "Old boyfriends come in handy sometimes." Bakker is president of …

At Blind Melons on November 11, "We had just finished playing a song, 'The Way Sean Drives,' where I make fun of his crazy driving," says Revenge Club singer Amy Paddick of bass player Sean …

“There is a limit; it’s a function of the scale. You can get only so much in.”

Centre City Development Corporation's board members -- all connected with the real estate industry in their professional lives -- are constantly running into potential conflicts of interest. But there is a broader issue: this developer-friendly …

Strong winds of public disapproval toppled electricity-producing windmills in the Julian area before they were even built. At an August 11 meeting at Julian Town Hall, 100 area residents whipped up a hurricane of opposition …

Chips off the old block Colin Rice, Democratic assemblyman Juan Vargas's chief of staff, has of late found himself defending his boss in the ongoing dustup with Congressman Bob Filner over the paying of live-in …

Movies reviewed this week: Brokeback Mountain and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Thirty Years Ago The surfer is always changing his mind. Suppose he's at the South Mission jetty, watching a wave with the mass of a tall house approach at 30 mph along the rocks. He …

Matt: Do species of snakes in the same family ever bite one another and die from the poison? How about between families? Maybe snakes in general don't bite each other. -- Bob and friends, North …

Heymatt: My father always mentioned Rube Goldberg whenever he heard of some odd scheme or idea. Please tell me about ol Rube. Is he fact or fiction? -- JRG, Spring Valley Old Rube is actual …

Hello: The subject came up in a casual conversation. Is there such a thing as spontaneous human combustion? -- A.V., Golden Hill Like, you'll be sitting in your lounge chair, watching the Super Bowl, and …

"Taste this," said my partner, handing over a forkful of his braised New Zealand Tai snapper. "What is it?" There were four hunks of snapper (or what looked like it) on his plate. This particular …

The Complete New Yorker: Eighty Years of the Nation's Greatest Magazine. Introduction by David Remnick. Random House, 2005; eight DVD-ROMs enclosed in a 123-page booklet, $100 FROM THE DUST JACKET: Every page of every issue …

"14 Miles," the angular numbers and white diode letters flash from a matte black, artificial panel, and a synthesized beep beep sounds. The beeps escape the atmosphere of the room and leave behind the whirring …

When I was invited to an "S & M" party in Clairemont, I didn't know what to expect. I imagined people snapping leather whips and wearing ball gags in their mouths. Approaching the party, I …

The Swedish Connection There are two things that give me an ecstatic thrill. One of them is photography. The other is learning a new language. It is better than sex, because it's the alleged reason …

'It's a Marshmallow World" was the family favorite Christmas song of my childhood. Two of my brothers, each with a glass of eggnog in their hand, schmoozed out the lyrics. That was from our swinging …