Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult not to stare at ten men dressed in black who brandished submachine guns. Under normal circumstances, ten men dressed in black who brandished submachine guns would be the …

I went to a luau at a home off Murray Ridge. As I was getting ready to go there, I got a call from a guy driving to San Diego from Phoenix. He had a …

Matisyahu, a Hasidic Jew who sings reggae, played the Belly Up Tavern twice last year. Both shows sold out. Buoyed by his big radio hit "King Without a Crown," he returns February 20 for the …

When I heard the Beauty Bar was opening at the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and Euclid (the same place my convertible was carjacked at a stoplight), I thought I must have heard wrong. But …

"No one has been able to explain to me how that happened yet," says Vetiver front man Andy Cabic. He doesn't know why the Casbah billed Devendra Banhart as part of the lineup in promotions …

"It's dirty, dingy, rocking metal full of comic-book adventures," says film director Matt Hoyt of Goblin Cock, the latest musical venture from Rob Crow (Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, etc.). "[Crow] wants people to buy into his …

The Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Casbah show sold out an hour after tickets went on sale January 21. The day after, an eBay member in Atlanta, Georgia, under the name "uneedsomethin," was scalping ten …

A City of San Diego employee says that the support of Discover PB and savepb.org is vital for the issuance of a PB Block Party permit. The insider says longtime organizer Kevin Hellman would have …

"We started this one off with a nice 20-second feedback solo," says Crash Carter singer/guitarist Casey Gee of the band's "worst gig ever," at the Hard Rock Café in La Jolla. Drummer John Mears elaborates …

At Victor's, on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa, I saw a few regulars that work for Pepsi, which is around the corner. Howie Ouzts, a 34-year-old driver, shot pool and downed Coors Lights. When he …

'Once you take a cannon off of land and put it on a vessel on the water, it becomes a gun. The Californian has six-pound long guns. We also have a swivel gun. Our enemy …

Little remains of the century-old, redwood-planked flume (aqueduct) that once brought the waters of the Cuyamaca Mountains to Grossmont Summit and farther west. Much of the flume's 36-mile-long grade is hard to identify, since no …

Having discovered such a thing as the Mars Society in San Diego and its Friday night events calendar, my column was clear. In a way. It will certainly sound odd to say that I have …

Denomination: Church of the New Jerusalem Address: 4144 Campus Avenue, University Heights Founded locally: 1883 Senior pastor: Reverend Carla Friedrich Congregation size: 22 active members Staff size: 1 Sunday school enrollment: no school, but an …

'When you get above five barrels, you can't do the small, open-bin fermentation.'

“This is somewhat of a false dichotomy for me.”

This started out as an "Up with Detroit" column meant as counterpoint to last week's "Guttersnipe Columnist Slanders Great American City" work product. The idea was to telephone random Detroit bars and ask patrons, bartenders, …

'Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!" From the moment when Jan uttered those words, I was in love with the Bradys, all nine of them (you have to include Alice). I loved nerdy Jan, sweet Cindy, pretty Marsha, …

Where can you get a decent bite to eat after nine or ten p.m. in early-to-bed San Diego? If you're anywhere near the lively neighborhood of University Heights, you'll find several comfortable spots, including a …

Matt: How did swap meets a flea markets get named? I've ever seen any swapping at a swap meet, and I've never seem fleas at a flea market. -- Nola from North Park Well, for …

Your Mattness: Who decides what are continents? Why is Greenland not a continent? It is bigger than the island/continent of Australia and has more people than Antarctica. How can Europe and Asia be one continent? …

Movies reviewed this week: Caché, Imagine Me and You and Mrs. Henderson Presents

Thirty Years Ago In the wake of Grape's demise, Mosley returned to San Diego and worked in high schools as a janitor and later joined the Marines.What made you decide to go into the Marines? …

The Bill from My Father: A Memoir by Bernard Cooper. Simon & Schuster, 2006; 240 pages; $24 FROM THE DUST JACKET: Bernard Cooper's new memoir is searing, soulful, and filled with uncommon psychological nuance and …

"I've heard you can Effect the outcome of sporting events." "You've been misinformed," the man says. "I don't effect the outcome of sporting events any more than you do, or anyone for that matter." His …

Out Of Africa, Into Rhode Island So here I am to introduce myself. How does one do that without sounding boastful or egotistical? What facts do you reveal? Do you lie a little to make …

Identity would seem to be the garment with which one covers the nakedness of the self, in which case, it is best that the garment be loose, a little like the robes of the desert, …

“I love you, babe, but no gull’s gonna have that Alaska cod.”

Heymatt: So, I was digging your column on schizophrenia, but when I read the last paragraph, I heard my own loud voice and it boomed, "Dios mio!" Matt, my buddy, in a town like San …

In the Old West, nimble-fingered gamblers -- often called bunco steerers -- would ride into town and set up rigged games of chance. After fleecing locals, they would vamoose, often pursued by a posse swinging …

Greg Cook, a ham radio enthusiast who runs his own computer networking business, places the police scanner on the table next to my coffee cup. "If I leave it on while we talk," he tells …

Sewer story With San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders talking up the possibility of fee increases to pay for water and sewer projects, engineering and construction firms that stand to gain contracts worth millions and perhaps …

I crave beauty, particularly the floral variety. The garden's been going through a rough patch for the past year -- neglect, thy name is Eve -- and so I've been looking for something more permanent …