If the Pacific Ocean is San Diego’s swimming pool, Balboa Park is our backyard. When we want to get out of the house, Balboa Park is where we go, 11 million times per year. And …

Matthew Alice: I’ve been contemplating Doris, my cat, and trying to imagine who first got the idea to try to capture and tame a wild lion or tiger or whatever into a domestic friend. I’m …

Hi, Mr. Matt: I can’t find anyone that knows the derivation of the name for the Formosa Slough in Point Loma. — Phil Crepeau, via email Ooh, twice wrong, Phil. First of all, you can …

Last week’s announcement that publisher David Copley is looking for someone to buy the Union-Tribune marks the end of an era for San Diego, which has labored under the yoke of the Copley newspapers for …

How will the convention business hold up in an oil-starved world? Will video conferencing start to trump air travel and hotel stays? Nobody yet knows, but San Diego taxpayers have been paying an increasing amount …

Thirty Years AgoLocal homeowners and their families know all about the prestige of living near the foot of Nautilus Street. Here is the spot where you catch the best waves — a spot out beyond …

‘It’s like my body flipped a switch and started storing fat,” lamented my husband Patrick as he stood in front of the mirror. “Ever since I turned 35, the battle of the bulge has turned …

I received a couple of phone calls that piqued my interest. One was from a cage-fighter named Chuck. He told me he wasn’t calling about a party; he wanted me to know that he liked …

All weddings, except those with shotguns in evidence, are wonderful. — Liz Smith The first one was periwinkle and the texture of living room drapes. The second was a shiny satin the shade of sea-foam …

Here at Tablecloth Cape Studios we strive to stay ahead of the competition. While other news outlets blather on about sunscreen, we’re going to stuff stale bread up a turkey’s chute and call it the …

Here’s a bicycle ride that’s practically a land-based equivalent of the harbor cruise covering north San Diego Bay. Over an out-and-back stretch of 16 miles, you’re seldom far from the water, and the ease of …

My slang word is “cinemuck,” which is the stuff on the ground of the movie theaters. All the popcorn and sodas and gross candy and stuff that sticks to your feet. Cinemuck is the word …

“Give me that old-time religion/ It’s good enough for me,” sang the Chancel Choir from their section of seats at the Lamb’s Players Theatre. And Coronado Community Church did give that old-time religion, at least …

This may be the last hours of sporting life as we’ve known it. Soon, very soon, a 500-foot-high Summer Olympic Games tsunami, now rocketing across the Pacific, will SLAM into San Diego, taking out newspaper …

This last weekend of the month I find myself in Mission Valley, poolside at the Promenade luxury-resort condominiums, across the street from Sears. I’m with my son at the home of my high school friend …

You ask, what do I like about Tijuana? This is what: I’m jes wandering down Fourth, heading toward Constitución, when I come across an impromptu clump of guys sitting around a shoeshine booth, “Bolería El …

When I ate at Molly’s during June “Restaurant Week,” the place should have been at least as packed as Ruth’s Chris was the previous night. The food was vastly better, the wine list more interesting …

THE AMERICAN INVASION: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF APOLINARIA LORENZANA (Part Six) On July 29, 1848, the USS Cyane navigated through the thick kelp outside Point Loma and entered San Diego Bay. The sloop of …

The campaign to ballyhoo the proposed Sunrise Powerlink has one beneficial effect: it is shining light on how San Diego’s overlords try to use misinformation to manipulate public opinion. San Diego Gas & Electric and …

Halfway into the evening, Buddy Guy — wearing an electric-blue jumpsuit, his black Stratocaster covered with those trademark white polka dots — is playing a solo, a real ripper. Without interruption he walks off the …

“In the past, if we had a French exhibition, we’d show French films,” says Golda Akhgarnia, public relations coordinator for the San Diego Museum of Art. “This year we’re celebrating a ‘summer of women’ theme …

The spotlight lit up Erik Peterson as he stepped onto the stage at Dreamcatcher at Viejas dressed in a plaid kilt accessorized with shaggy fur wristbands and a plastic Viking helmet with fake blond braids. …

It may be an advantage not to be an X-File-o-phile. If, like me, you have seen no more than a handful of episodes from the nine-season TV series, and you have only the vaguest recollection …

Since I was “in between” apartments and sleeping on a friend’s couch, I was overjoyed when Steve, a regular at the restaurant I was waitressing at, offered me the sublet of his room for the …

Album: Cowley Road (2008) Artist: Gayle Skidmore Label: self-released Where available/price: At live shows for $10; online at iTunes for 99 cents per downloaded song. Songs: 1) Cheap Imitation 2) Just for Now 3) Still …

Local power trio Off Track recently paid for a recording session with A-list producer Ryan Greene (NOFX, Megadeth, Guitar Hero 3). “We looked briefly at local studios and even thought about recording it ourselves,” says …

Last summer, Marc Shannon opened the Avalon in North Park. His plans for the almost-100-year-old building included hosting bands in an all-age, alcohol-free environment. The building, once the site of a lumber mill (at 3925 …

After performing in over 100 countries, San Diego-based Liquid Blue thought they might have a world record. The band spent months researching the possibility of getting their accomplishment certified. After checking combos known for their …

Former Viper Room booker Joe Rinaldi says he will continue to give San Diego bands the same love when he takes over one of the most prominent rock venues: the Sunset Strip House of Blues. …

Local singer/songwriter Charlie Imes’s new album includes the song “Worst Presnadent Ever,” featuring the George W. Bush impersonator from Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. “James Adomian is also the guy always playing Bush …

Heymatt: Why is not wearing underwear called “going commando” style? I would think a commando would appreciate the support and reduction of chafing that briefs provide. — Chafing at the Bit in RB The elves …

For Rob Barnett, the long and winding road to VinVillage is finally coming to an end. The technical snags for his wine-based social-networking site — devoted to “creating locally based social wine groups and connecting …

The Hush Sound came together in late 2004 when pianist-singer Greta Salpeter and guitarist-singer Bob Morris, who met as kids, started writing songs in Chicago. The duo became a quartet with the addition of bassist …

As children growing up in Riverside, my friends and I were captivated by crows, big birds that were bold. We used to see how close we could creep toward them, while they seemed to contemplate …

Peak Misconception Re “Way Too Many People Live Out Here” (Cover Story, July 24). Just a slight correction. In the article on development near the Cleveland National Forest, on page 42, the author said that …

At the July 23rd Ocean Beach Town Council meeting, James Lawson from city councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s office asked the town council for their opinion. “We just wanted to hear your feedback about how the Fourth …

The phone rang yesterday evening. It was David Skillman, chairman of the MAD oversight — er, advisory, um, oversory? — committee for greater Golden Hill. Skillman called to say he is to blame for not …

Matt: Why is a pineapple called a pineapple? — Nameless, via email In the Middle Ages, Europeans called pretty much all fruit and fruitlike things “apples.” The “fruit” of the pine tree (the pine cone) …