At first, Tracey thought I was an FBI agent. I'd been bidding on his eBay auctions for weeks, purchasing CD recordings of local concerts that took place from the mid-'80s onward. Though clearly not official …

The Penetrators at Western Audio recording studios in Kearny Mesa, May 15, 1980. "Need good personality art," reads the photo assignment sheet. Standing in the back of the room are Gary Heffern, Chris Sullivan, and …

Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities. -- Frank Lloyd Wright For every five people who hear me say, "I'm going to Martha's Vineyard for a few weeks," …

Three weeks ago, the Federal Communications Commission fined Donald J. Payne $750 for the operation of FRSD/Free Radio San Diego, the local "pirate" station that has broadcast sporadically on 96.9 FM since October 2002. In …

The Hi-Lites didn't play their scheduled Warped Tour kickoff show at the Pomona Fairgrounds last Friday. Five members of the eight-piece ska band left the group due to a falling out with bassist James Trent, …

The straight-edge subculture arose from the male-dominated punk scene in 1981. The rejection of mind-altering substances and promiscuous sex was an idea presented by Minor Threat lyricist Ian MacKaye in the song "Straight Edge." Though …

Carlsbad resident Carlos "Numbiz" Rodriguez performs as a solo artist and with Latin rapper Blaze in a group called LPLD. More lucrative are the hip-hop lyrics and beats Rodriguez composes and sells to producers for …

They aren't exactly stained-glass windows at The Fellowship. They're mosaics, made from thick shards of colored glass set in hardened sand, and they lay out salvation history through landscapes: creation, the flood, the parting of …

Large-venue concert after-parties at which the performers show up have become more frequent at the Casbah. "We did a Faint after-party last December that was pretty successful," says owner Tim Mays. "Two of the guys …

"Due to a mix-up at the CD factory," says Shoestring Strap guitarist Dave Lowenstein, "some copies of our new CD Mudgrass have two tracks of Mormon sermons instead of our 14 songs." Lowenstein didn't know …

Title: Frankie's Rides and Tirades Address: http://frankiesrides.blogspot.com Author: Traci Brynne From: North Park Blogging since: June 2007 Post Date: June 25, 2007Post Title: Frankie Goes to Australia, Part 1 Six months ago, I applied for …

Summer party season is upon us, and my clan has already attended quite a few potluck barbecues. But I'm sick of my potluck side-dish offering: penne pasta with chopped spinach, golden raisins, tomatoes, and slivered …

"Would you get off the phone?" my dad yelled. "I'm setting my watch. Give me a minute." "It's close enough." "No it isn't." I wanted to synch my Batman watch with the infallible voice of …

'A guy named Norm Golb just loves to follow these Dead Sea Scrolls around the country and talk about how we've got it all wrong," says Delle Willett, director of marketing for the San Diego …

Name: Seth Roloff Lives: Alpine Surfing: Avalanche Jetty, Ocean Beach Vehicle: 1984 Mercedes 300SD Turbo Diesel Seth Roloff's 1984 Mercedes 300SD died in its spot on this hazy Saturday morning. "I was excited to see …

When my friend Mike told me that he was offered a gig to announce for a San Diego roller derby team, I responded, "San Diego has a roller derby team?" I had yet to see …

Matt: Bee-ing a concerned smoothie drinker, me and a few colleagues were wondering what the actual process was in collecting bee pollen that we use in our smoothies. A few of us were hoping that …

"The ethos," says Norby, "was to blend in and respect nature, be part of it."

June 23, Saturday afternoon, a celebration of fun, sun, food, tunes, jewelry, junk, and groovy funkinabulation on the planet Obie -- a cluster-funkinabulized vibefest of love. The outpouring of Obecians and pilgrims to the time-warp …

Janet Age: 34 Occupation: Corporate Executive Lives: North Park I follow language, especially slang. I've heard two new ones recently. One of them is "shrimping." It's a foot-fetish thing where someone's big toe is sucked …

A beggar comes to the door and asks for food. The housewife says he can have dinner if he will whitewash the porch. Ten minutes later he is back, claiming the job is done. The …

The University of California San Diego promulgates a list of nine "Principles of Community" to its faculty, staff, and students. The second principle states, "We affirm each individual's right to dignity and strive to maintain …

When ex-vice president Al Gore parachuted into town to give a speech at UCSD on May 21, many locals seemed starstruck. Four thousand free tickets to Gore's "multimedia lecture," based on his Inconvenient Truth, the …

The chief executive officer of San Diego's taxpayer-funded Economic Development Corp. and a big backer of last year's failed campaign to move the airport to Miramar, Julie Meier Wright, has quietly agreed to pay a …

It's summer on the Riviera, and U-T publisher David Copley's 164-foot yacht Happy Days is making good progress through the balmy waters of the Mediterranean. Spotted at the International Yacht Club of Antibes on May …

Aimlessly walking a bookstore floor letting what happens happen is a 20th-century amusement. Still, every few months I'll hie to a mall, load up on some tutti-frutti, mocca-yoko yummy ice slurp and stroll a vast …

I hope they never make a movie of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. The chances are unlikely, since the play's set in two different eras (1809-1812 and 1989) and takes place at a long table where people …

Though I have owned and used a computer since 1983, I am like a man who owns a perfectly fine V-8 engine automobile and uses it only to listen to the radio -- that is …

Heymatt: I've heard during the golden era of the flea circus, there were some who complained about the mistreatment of fleas. Is it possible for a human to have so much misplaced empathy that they …

MA of Reader: I have a cabin in Julian that has a collection of nine bottles of beer in the fridge. Two Budweisers were left over from a housewarming party in April of '04, two …

Matt: Why do commercial jetliners fly around with their headlights on? Are they going to prevent the plane from running into something up there? -- Jeremy Barwick, Lemon Grove Sorry, Jeremy. Those are landing lights …

Thirty Years Ago For over six months staffers in the newsrooms of Mrs. Copley's Mission Valley papers have been chattering about their boss's affair with Democrat businessman Richard Silberman: what private parties and weddings the …

At least half the menu's devoted to the sacred ritual: breaking the overnight fast.