We don’t see each other much, and we’ve maintained the loosest of contacts over the 30-plus years we’ve known each other. I hadn’t heard from him for about 3 years when he called me last …
May 21, 2008
Blog Entries
- Pathetically Amateurish AG Report Puts SD Spotlight on Brown. And Maybe on His Wife, Too, a Board Member of Jack in the Box
8 comments
- New Bands You Should Know, plus Local Music History 1960 – 1995, and a History of Local Public Access Music TV
- Governments' Pension Numbers Often Meaningless. Actuaries Cave to Pressure, Says New York Times, Citing San Diego
16 comments
- Basketball Bone Breaking and Betting
News & Stories
Bought a lap dance at the Main attraction in Oceanside when he didn't have money for rent
MAD Gets Irate
At the Greater Golden Hill Maintenance Assessment District (MAD) meeting on May 19th, most of the members spent the entire 90 minutes in protest to the hiring of a project manager without their consent. Some …
May 21, 2008
The Devil and a Friend of His
“They were strict vegetarians, even shunning eggs, and throwing away any food that the ‘shadow of an Englishman had crossed.’ ” This is a quote from the Wikipedia entry for J. Krishnamurti, describing the man’s …
May 21, 2008
Odalisques on a Plate
Sometimes change is good. Take Parallel 33. “It’s right in my neighborhood, but I haven’t eaten here in years,” said the Lynnester, buttering her baguette slice. “I ate here all the time when it first …
May 21, 2008
We Love the Game of Beer Pong
The fluorescent light from the Budweiser lamp made the cigarette smoke appear as if it were dancing in the back room of McMurphy's Pub in La Mesa. By the end of league night, puddles of …
May 21, 2008
Seinfeld Meets Garfield
Conversation between Garfield and Seinfeld Seinfeld: Hey there, Garfield. Looks like you’re having a tough weekend. Didn’t know you liked the sauce so much. Garfield: You couldn’t put that together? I love lasagna, kicking a …
May 21, 2008
The Sound Is Music
San Diego’s Trummerflora Collective is intended to “provide a network of support for San Diego’s experimental and improvised music community.” The musicians seem very sincere, and most have extensive academic credits, but I confess I …
May 21, 2008
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone
The music blog Idolator recently posted an item called “Three Indie Rock Nightmares.” My favorite: “I’m stuck in a world where indie rock has slowly transformed from amateurish, enthusiastic rock with zine-fueled anti-consumerist, small-community leanings …
May 21, 2008
Fallbrook, the Beautiful
“I believe that in the history of the Fallbrook Music Society you would find a group of people who moved here, who enjoyed music and arts, and thought, ‘Boy, it’s a pain to have to …
May 21, 2008
Name This Place
Clue: Tower of faith — for 100,000 of us. 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: At what point pleasure?) …
May 21, 2008
Alaska Football Edition
Wrapping up farewell visit to Fairbanks, Alaska, my hometown for 25 years. I have coffee and this morning’s Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in hand. There’s an ad about a football game in the sports section. Professional …
May 21, 2008
Tempo Italiano
Italians run late; they just do. In my nine months here, I have been trying to figure out if this is due to a relaxed nature — not living by appointments and PalmPilots and the …
May 21, 2008
Condemned
The League of California Cities, operating out of a posh Sacramento office, is funded by cities with taxpayer dollars to lobby for legislation dear to the hearts of city councils throughout the state. The group …
May 21, 2008
Young Mass Remembers
Album: Young Mass (2008) Artist: Young Mass Label: self-released Where available/price: Access Music in Pacific Beach for $8.95. Online at CDBaby for $7.99, Amazon for $8.99, and iTunes for $9.99 Songs: 1) Intro — Message …
May 21, 2008
Greg Cox, a shoo-in, collects $280,000 for county supervisor seat
Some people divine the future in tea leaves, others in pork bellies. Campaign contributions are also a way of seeing what is on the horizon. Greg Cox has been a San Diego County supervisor since …
May 21, 2008
Caught Off Guard by the Psychedelic Sitar
Artist: Titanarum Song: “Aging Quickly” (from the EP Spastis Progressivus Aggressiorum) Heard By: Xavier Hernandez, City Heights I thought that it was pretty fucking intense. My whole thing is that I think there should be …
May 21, 2008
Loser's Lottery by Jordan Keith
The University of California San Diego has a system regarding on-campus housing for returning sophomores. Toward the end of the spring quarter, all freshman students seeking on-campus housing for the following year are put into …
May 21, 2008
Nutritionist
The afternoon nappies are starting to take their toll on my husband Patrick. Coffee has become his drug of choice. I wondered if there might be a gentler solution — a change in diet. Something …
May 21, 2008
Big Girl Outing
If sisters were free to express how they really feel, parents would hear this: “Give me all the attention and all the toys and send Rebecca to live with Grandma.” — Linda Sunshine David staggered …
May 21, 2008
The World Disappears
What is it about acting that can grab a person’s full attention — and often hold it for a lifetime? Recently I got to dramaturge Holy Ghosts for the Sullivan Players. Romulus Linney’s drama concerns …
May 21, 2008
Anchor Gaslamp Church
A splatter of yellow vomit, left over from Saturday night’s Gaslamp revelry, baked in the Sunday-morning sun. Around it, glossy promo cards featured pictures of lightly dressed young women, advertising the weekend’s festivities. Down the …
May 21, 2008
Cinco de Mellow
You can never figure out which events will bring out the partiers. A few years ago, there were several “420” parties on 4/20. This year, I didn’t hear about any. But, on Cinco de Mayo, …
May 21, 2008
I'onte Mut Know
I’m originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and all my slang is dirty South. “I’onte mut know,” is something that you say if you don’t know an answer. Like if someone asks you if you’re going to …
Guadalajara, Basically
Editor's note: As of 2010, this restaurant is closed. Love? This could be it. The question hits me mid-bite into my second-ever quesotaco. It’s a scrunch of crispy grilled cheese over little chunks of steak …
May 21, 2008
I Was Speeding, But...
People always talk about fighting traffic tickets in court. But what does it really mean to “win”? It’s not as if you won a trip to Hawaii. It’s not as if the state pays you …
May 21, 2008
Need Surf Police
Name: Blair Dribben Age: 26 Lives In: Pacific Beach Pre-Surf Music: Anything Post-Surf Food: Pizza Blair says, “Surfing has been with me my whole life; it controls where I live. I moved here from Hawaii …
May 21, 2008
Did Someone Say Sax?
Dave Koz plays the Gaslamp Jazz Festival this Saturday, May 24 One of the most versatile musicians of the smooth jazz format these days has to be saxophonist Dave Koz. His latest CD, At the …
May 21, 2008
Dispatches from Crackerville
A craigslist post by the San Diego Repertory Theatre is generating controversy online. An upcoming production of The Princess and the Black-Eyed Pea musical was seeking “AFRICAN AMERICAN singers, actors, dancers, and musicians” for what …
May 21, 2008
Jerry’s favorite
General Atomics megamillionaire Linden Blue and ex–Jerry Sanders chief operating officer Ronne Froman have been an item for more than three years now, showing up together once a month or so in the column of …
May 21, 2008
Undead Kennedys
Bay Area punk band the Dead Kennedys still get airplay for their classic thrash anthems “Holiday in Cambodia” and “California Über Alles.” Though the band still tours, lead singer/songwriter Eric “Jello Biafra” Boucher has not …
May 21, 2008
Cut Teeth on Ratt
Fairfield Fats Band guitarist George Davis is probably best known by his artistic alias Geo, a longtime local-concert-poster artist whose work centers around hard-rock shows. “I began by doing a banner many years ago for …
May 21, 2008
Good God, Y'All
Happy Songs About the War, a one-man musical developed by local singer-songwriter J.D. Boucharde, debuts May 25 at Compass Theatre (formerly 6th@Penn) in Hillcrest. “It’s a dramatic, semi-fictional production,” says Boucharde, “using multimedia, monologues, humor, …
May 21, 2008
Batty
Last month, the Guana Batz played a sold-out Belly Up show opening for Mike Ness. Last week, the Escondido-based band accepted an opening slot on two dates of Rancid’s upcoming fall tour. Guana Batz bassist …
May 21, 2008
Top heavy
The University of California just hiked annual student fees by 7.4 percent, but that hasn’t stopped the hallowed institution from handing out of ever-higher salaries. UCSD is still searching for someone to become the school’s …
May 21, 2008
Leisurely loop around Dixon Lake, with wildflowers
Perched several hundred feet up on a rocky slope north of Escondido, Dixon Lake stores drinking water and serves as a recreational resource as well. The lake’s camping facilities, picnic grounds, playgrounds, boat rentals, hiking …
May 21, 2008
Back when cockfighting was a neighborhood pastime
Thirty Years AgoThe sport survives around here — in Escondido, Solana Beach, Harbison Canyon, La Mesa, San Marcos, and Eden Gardens — but that kind of cockfighting is very secretive and done on a small …
May 21, 2008
Seagulls, Pigeons, Alcohol Enemas
Heymatt: How far inland can seagulls be found? Are they looking for quieter digs, or are they just lost out there? — Charlie Bingbang, inland Hey, Matt: I’ve been feeding a motley group of pigeons …
May 21, 2008
How San Diego's pension debt ballooned
In western lore, an hombre named the Wizard of Wichita would ride into a town, stride into a saloon, take one quick look around, and unerringly identify every no-good son of a bitch in the …
May 21, 2008
A Second Coming
As we ease into the lazy summer pace of one blockbuster per week, we also settle into the provincial screening schedule of forever lagging a week behind. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal …
May 21, 2008