THE #13 STREET STOCK CAR rounded the corner and violently smashed sideways into the wall, and the crowd let out a cheer. The ensuing spinout and flip-over left the car a smoking, flaming tin can, …

Ninety-nine out of a hundred other Hollywood directors would have done the same thing.

“They were very nice people. My only problem was getting the funding to buy wine. They constantly cut my budget.”

My blog, Rachelpink Rides the Bus, started as a lark over a long weekend. At first it was an exercise in self-restraint. I thought I was talking too much, talking all the time. I figured …

I got a couple of phone calls about parties on a Saturday. The first was from a guy in Mexico who had seen my story about the party I attended in Tijuana. He said, "I'm …

Thirty Years Ago Word was out that Blood on the Tracks was Dylan's return home to serious stuff away from the karma clichés and kitsch he indulged in for kicks.... To me, sequestered in Clairemont …

Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith. Crown Publishers, 2005; 320 pages; $24.95. FROM THE DUST JACKET: In a thoughtful examination of faith, Martha Beck chronicles her decision to leave …

"I was chased down, called [an expletive], and stabbed. I assume they were white supremacists." Rapper/blues guitarist Jae Strawbridge, 25, had just spoken with Johan Acevedo, managing partner of the Longshot bar in San Marcos, …

'On a daily basis, innumerable signals are broadcast on innumerable frequencies, all passing through our bodies, houses, everything, constantly. Unless we have a receiver tuned to a specific frequency, these invisible transmissions go largely unnoticed...I …

A stabbing occurred at the California Theatre, 1122 Fourth Avenue, on the night of February 17, according to the San Diego police department's "Watch Commander's Log" (Incident #37682). The victim was the venue's 50-year-old custodian …

"I just stick it in my ear and drive," says Emily Vigney (of the Poway-Bernardo Mortuary featured on A&E's Family Plots) about wearing headphones. She owns a 40 GB iPod. "Some people think you're on …

Brenda Spencer was 16 in January 1979 when she inspired the Boomtown Rats song "I Don't Like Mondays" by opening fire with her father's 0.22 caliber rifle on Grover Elementary School in San Carlos. She …

Cordless radio headsets that retail for $1100 from Muzak (located on Chesapeake Drive in San Diego) have been popping up on eBay, according to a grand theft report (#05-005711) filed by San Diego police officer …

"I hydroplaned on the road and hit the back of this red truck." Murphy Martin, 16, singer/guitarist with the band Muff, was on the road on a rainy February 19, heading north. "I dented the …

"When it comes to marketing, increased volume has been a staple of radio and TV commercials," says Dan O'Neill, chief technology officer for La Jolla's Trusonic, Inc., the company that broadcasts the music you hear …

The Spanish colonists who christened Arroyo Seco ("dry creek") evidently noted only its lower end -- a sweltering, boulder-strewn wash emptying into the Los Angeles River. It's hard to believe this same watercourse, draining the …

Character is so largely affected by association, that we cannot afford to be indifferent as to who or what our friends are. -- Anonymous 'W here's Mary?" Carolyn asked as revelers began to arrive. "Not …

"It requires lots of practice in the mirror to play with a guitar."

If Pete Wilson is coming back to be mayor of San Diego again, can his old pal Dick Silberman be far behind? So it seemed last week, a day after KPBS talking head Gloria Penner …

WE WERE ALREADY DRUNK AS HELL. We'd been at a birthday party in an apartment near the airport drinking beer and vodka for hours. The cocaine kept us operating at a normal frequency despite the …

Tall, barbed-wire fences surround R.J. Donovan Correctional Facility near the San Diego-Mexico border. Approximately 5500 inmates call the blue-and-white cement buildings home. Twice a year Kairos Prison Ministry runs a three-day weekend program for the …

Jurors who had spent eight days hearing a medical malpractice case were stunned when it was declared a mistrial February 28. All 15 jurors told the plaintiff's attorneys that they would have found the physician …

'C'mon, Eve. Spend a few more pennies and enjoy your ramen," chided my old college buddy Canisius. "There are some really good ramens out there, and they don't take any longer to prepare." Canisius is …

I bounce over to www.iditarod.com, click on "Race Updates," watch the page load, let loose a sincere but muted, "This is good," pick up the phone, and dial a number in Fairbanks. The receiver clicks, …

Matt: I don't mean to be morbid, maybe just inappropriate, but over the years I keep hearing of pedestrians being hit by cars who literally fly out of their shoes. I'm not talking about your …

Matt: My boss told me today that kiwi fruit is a genetically engineered fruit crossing a peach with a banana. PUH-lease tell me this is a farce! -- Gretchen, the net Would you rather be …

Heymatt: What's the difference between a hare and a rabbit? Size? Musical stylings? -- Jay, the net Hair. Hair stylings. Well, actually baby hair. Hares are born with hair, rabbits aren't. Hare babies have their …

Matt: I cannot urinate with some guy standing next to me at the men's room. I know I'm not the only one. I see others afflicted with this block. On a radio show I heard …

"What d'ya call people from Guam?" asked my old friend, actor-singer-songwriter George Gerdes, in his coffeehouse performances years ago. His audience would shout out tongue-twisting wild guesses. Then George would shake his head, lean into …

“Three days, celebrating the arrival of the monsoon. People throw water at each other. It’s silly but fun.”