San Diegan Mike Davis, author of eight nonfiction books and Planet of Slums, the ninth, comes on the line, voice weak from recent pneumonia. We launch in. "You were educated...?" "I went to UCLA. I …

"I didn't realize you're not supposed to put the fondue fork in your mouth."

Tiffany was turning 30 and hosting a party in the clubhouse of her Mission Valley apartment complex. I got there a few minutes after 7 p.m. as she was setting up, so I shot pool …

'There were three bizarre theories for his disappearance, beyond the possibility that he had met with a tragic accident: That he committed suicide, that he had taken off and started a new life, and that …

A wild and scenic section of the Santa Margarita River, a part of the last undammed major watercourse in San Diego County, is open to visitation by self-propelled explorers, courtesy of the Fallbrook Public Utilities …

At Die Princess Die's recent South by Southwest performance, vocalist Pete Chekvala threw his guitar into a wall, picked the guitar up, threw it at another wall, and then dove into his band's rhythm section. …

Acnom, 19, is a backpacker, one of a few North County hip-hop artists (including N3RO Tactic, Simple One, Plain Jane, and Future Shock) who sell their music on the street. "It took me five hours …

"Che Café has that elite, on-the-cusp, über-indie stigma," says Brian Serocke, a UCSD senior who books bands to play on-campus Porter's Pub. Unlike the Che Café (UCSD's more famous music venue), Porter's Pub serves beer …

Lower Definition was the only local unsigned group invited to play the Taste of Chaos tour at the Sports Arena on February 16. The post-hardcore band won the slot in a Myspace popularity poll. At …

Eighty-five-year-old Raúl "Socio" Crespo Villardel, founder of Mike's Bar in Tijuana, died on March 8 of natural causes. In the '60s, members of Vanilla Fudge, Love, and Spirit could be found hanging out with Carlos …

"They had to put him into a medically induced coma, and they ended up removing half his skull," says Grandview guitarist Casey Jenkins of the skateboarding accident that nearly killed their drummer, Craig Winger. "We …

Yes, it's time to catch up with our favorite sports heroes from yesterday. Go ahead, kick back on the big, brown living room sofa and while you're there, why not enjoy a glass of your …

Pabst Blue Ribbon, the first canned beer sold in the U.S., is still the only canned beer available in many San Diego bars. As the cheap hipster beer of choice, Pabst is sold at the …

Irradio bassist Anthony Rogers-Wright says producer Alan Parsons mixed three tracks on their upcoming album (One Sound) and invited the band to his home in Goleta, just outside of Santa Barbara. "For a guy worth …

It was 12 o'clock in the morning and I was lying in my bed, half asleep. The moon was shining so brightly through the blinds that I could see almost everything in my bedroom. All …

Heymatt: I love chocolate-covered cherries, but I can't figure out how they make them. Do they cover the cherry with chocolate and then squirt the juice in there somehow? Do they make the top, put …

Dear Matthew Alice: I just borrowed another 20 bucks from my dad. The 20 in question had red dye along one edge. Was it involved in a bank robbery� you know, exploding dye packs and …

Matt: The hatred of women is misogyny, but what about the hatred of men? Lovers of All, San Diego An interesting commentary, when we all know misogyny but not its male counterpart. The word isn't …

Thirty Years Ago San Diego's University Hospital cafeteria is similar to an army mess hall. Costumes point up rank. Nurses are all in white -- either pant suits or dresses -- while female physicians wear …

Paper tapestries printed with the oily ink and complicated characters of Japanese calligraphy flutter in a soft breeze. A warm wind crosses the sushi restaurant and delivers to me the subtle scent of ginger, tuna, …

'If Arthur Levitt approaches his job in San Diego as he did his position at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the people of San Diego will be left with a pile of adoring press clips, …

'I apologize to San Francisco," said Ben Haddad when the California Coastal Commission met for its monthly meeting in the Bay Area city on December 14. "As for [city attorney Mike] Aguirre...," said Haddad, an …

Triple bogey, redux The San Diego city property agent who blew the whistle on a pending sweetheart lease renewal for Carlton Oaks Golf Course has been fired, and the timing of the move -- sanctioned …

When the band started at Eastlake Community Church's 11:30 a.m. upper campus service, Pastor Ben Sigman was not in the building. He was still down the hill at the church's more churchlike lower campus, finishing …

Sinners Welcome: Poems by Mary Karr. Harper/Collins, 2006; 93 pages; $22.95. FROM THE DUST JACKET: Mary Karr describes herself as a black-belt sinner, and this -- her fourth collection of poems -- traces her improbable …

The Producer It's 2 p.m. and I'm back in bed, computer propped on my blanket-covered knees, one hand on the keyboard and the other hand on the phone. I am wearing my customary morning costume …

It's a pleasant thing to be young, and have ten toes. -- Robert Louis Stevenson I should have taken her someplace nicer. As I parked the car, I tried to remember my motives for bringing …

My sister Meg lives without most common kitchen utensils. You won't find a Pyrex measuring cup, a wooden spatula, or even a teakettle in her kitchen. On one family visit to her house, my husband …

Have you ever been caught between San Diego and National City? A man could starve in this eddy and not be found for months. I've been walking south through Barrio Logan, trying to find something …