Odessa: it doesn’t sound like a particularly Russian word. Maybe Spanish, or Italian. Actually, it was named after Odysseus, the hero of Homer’s (if Homer existed) great epic poem, The Odyssey. Any word, when it …

What book are you reading? “I just finished Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.” Tell me about it. “It’s about this guy who has kind of a supernatural gift. He can see spirits, and he’s trying …

A pretty country quilt lay across an old four-poster bed on the stage at Pathways Community Church. The bed had been there throughout the church’s “Sexual Revolution” series — in which “revolution” was defined as …

Clue: One giant aloha. Describe this location, name the nearest cross-streets, and win a Reader T-shirt. Enter by completing the form below. Last week's place: (clue: Ramona's roses?) A century-old rose bush growing at Rancho …

Tax-free municipal bond prices plunged in late February. The market has since stabilized a bit but remains nervous. The positive side of the collapse is that the interest rates investors receive on these bonds have …

For decades, Tijuana’s eastern colonias have sprung from the chaparral faster than the municipal government can provide services to them. The resourceful residents in these neighborhoods have long brought electricity to their shanties by running …

Bad Government, Bad Press Re “The Rise and Fall of the Copley Press” (Cover Story, February 28), I would have liked more of a discussion of the Copley Press’s support of city hall that was …

Padres owner John Moores continues to pour cash into the legal defense fund of departing California Senate president pro tem Don Perata of Oakland, under investigation by the feds relating to alleged kickbacks from consultants …

It’s March, and that means it’s again time for San Diego State University Month, when the taxpayer-funded institution flexes its public relations muscle and shows off to local denizens what all that money is ostensibly …

You know the political season is in high gear when candidates file their ballot statements, describing their personal achievements, with plenty of hyperbole thrown in for good measure. San Diego city councilman Brian Maienschein touts …

In the early ’80s, at 19, I enrolled in a culinary school in Hyde Park, New York. I’d planned on finding an apartment off campus, but after getting lost and stuck in a traffic jam …

“Scientifically, there is nothing meaningfully different about people in different racial groups,” says Laura E. Gómez, professor of law at the University of New Mexico. “Race is socially constructed; it’s not rooted in biology. Race …

One night I was flipping channels on TV and came across someone interviewing shred-guitar hero Joe Satriani. Satch was talking about how his music expresses his innermost feelings. At that moment the TV editors cut …

“Their music isn’t revolutionary,” says my friend of Vampire Weekend, “but it’s light and silly, and it makes me smile listening to little blips of it.” There is an impressive shock wave of fan-driven hype …

Many hip-hop artists describe themselves as activists, but Southeast San Diego native Bennie Herron fits that bill more than most. With a master’s degree in social work and a bachelor of arts in psychology from …

James VasquezFilmmaker-actor, Daisy 3 Pictures, readyokmovie.com Paper Moon, shot in B&W, features an Oscar-winning performance by 11-year-old Tatum O’Neal. Director Peter Bogdanovich takes his time telling this funny father-daughter story, often with long static shots, …

Thirty Years Ago“Jacumba Hotel, Ida here.” “Hello, I’d like a reservation for this weekend.” “Sorry, honey, we’re filled up. We’ve got two groups coming in — the glider club and the A.A. — plus all …

“When I was a child in Mayo,” said my Irish mother as we drove along the Embarcadero, “my aunt used to send me down to the village pub to buy ‘a pint for the washing.’” …

I am dumb when it comes to girls. My friends are quite good at involvement with them, but their company hasn’t had a great deal of effect on me; they often think I am not …

I heard from a friend of a friend about a leap-year party in Clairemont. I brought a few of my friends who are in their late 20s. I didn’t think there was much of a …

Oh, now this is a fun idea for a story: an American wine critic — one of those make-it-or-break-it critics in the mold of Robert Parker — winds up murdered, pickled in a vat of …

The Secret is not just a moronic hymn to greed and selfishness; it nastily suggests that victims of catastrophe are the authors of their misfortunes. — Catherine Bennett In case any bubble dwellers happen upon …

My dad still lives in our hometown of Sonora. Folks call the area different things, depending on what they want to sell you. It’s “God’s Country” if the license-plate frames on the new cars at …

At 1680 feet above sea level, the summit of Mount Lee perches high above the Los Angeles Basin on the western edge of spacious Griffith Park. In addition to hosting the iconic “Hollywood” sign, the …

My connection to gymnastics is watching a 14-year-old Bulgarian girl do backflips once every four years. Turns out, I’m not the only one. I found this on the CBS College Sports Web page: “In 1969 …

I am not alone this Friday. Much of the county — certainly North County, where I am holed up, my foot encased in fiberglass and elevated — is rendered nearly as immobile as I am. …

In UCSD Theatre’s recent staging of The Physicists, Michelle Diaz played Sister Boll, a monobrowed, lock-stepping head nurse at a sanitarium. Diaz made bold physical choices, including reps of one-armed push-ups. Larry Herron played Johan …

“I bit my arm, I sucked the blood/ And cried ‘A sail! A sail!’ ” I swear, that’s how I feel right now. Like Ye Ancient Mariner. Been cruising Imperial looking for that ceviche place …

Attention, all New York expats and other lovers of indulgent, exuberant Italian food: That terrific “secret” Mulberry Street restaurant you loved and still miss has been found again — in a La Mesa strip mall. …

I walked into Body Marks Tattoo and Piercing on El Cajon Boulevard, a few blocks from the 805 and right next to a strip club. At night, hookers are walking the streets. A perfect setting …

Attention all masochists. Funny Games is not what it sounds like. Not fun and games, not funny ha-ha, not charades and Mad Libs. It is Michael Haneke’s English-language remake of his own Austrian film of …

“I need a hero to come in and save me,” says Alma Felan, owner of the Hot Monkey Love Café. “To buy [the café] and continue what we have done. I don’t want to sell …

Mower is looking for both a guitarist and drummer. Front man Brian Sheerin admits the band has seen its share of drummers. “One dropped out after the last tour,” he recently told metalunderground.com. “Then we …

After living in Northern California for four years, blues singer Earl Thomas is moving back to San Diego to join Ike Turner’s band, the Kings of Rhythm. (Turner died in San Marcos on December 12, …

Guitarist Joe Wood, a member of seminal Orange County punk band TSOL, moved to Leucadia last year. He says he legally acquired the TSOL name with drummer Mitch Dean in 1988 or ’89, as other …

La Jolla—based music-photography retailers Morrison Hotel Galleries signed a lease on February 29, taking over the Manhattan space previously occupied by legendary New York punk club CBGB. In addition to galleries in La Jolla and …

“After watching the lyrics come true with Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, and Britney Spears, I decided to pull the song from the Web,” says singer/songwriter Scott Wilson of “She Won’t Stop,” his ode to fame …

Album: Here’s to Curiosity (2007) Artist: Invictus Label: Self-released Where available/price: iTunes for $5 and interpunk.com for $6. Songs: 1) Lost in Sounds 2) It’s a Leopluradon 3) The Ground Is Not Your Friend 4) …

Artist: Get Back Loretta Song: “Girlface” (from the CD Over the Wall) Heard By: Candis Krueger, Golden Hill I love that song so much. It’s so good. It’s better live, but it’s good on CD. …

We had a private listener concert on January 31 with Shawn Mullins at the Hard Rock Café downtown. It was 10:30 p.m., and we decided to go get something to eat. He was with Kip, …

Protest at UCSD, 1966. That’s Lowell Bergman onstage (with sunglasses). A student of philosopher and social critic Herbert Marcuse, Bergman went on to become a producer on 60 Minutes (where his exposé on the tobacco …

A schwiggler is a sneaky person, someone who is trying to trick you or hide from you. It’s something my friends and I call each other. Of you’re trying to avoid phone calls from someone …

Name: Desiree Age: 19 Lives in: Mira Mesa Surfing: Torrey Pines Occupation: Graphic designer Pre-surf music: the Pixies Post-surf food: Slurpees “The first time I ever surfed was in 2005,” says Desiree, a 19-year-old Texas …