Double-bladed, surgical steel guillotine cutter in hand, a fellow in a Hawaiian shirt slices off a little less than a quarter of an inch, and the cap falls to the floor. It’s a clean, decisive …

Organizers of the semiannual Rosarito Ensenada Fun Bicycle Ride recently announced that the September 27 event would be their last. As with Baja tourism in general, participation in the ride has been declining. In April, …

Where Are The Bags? I have spent at least a thousand hours in the ocean and have not seen a plastic shopping bag yet (“Plague of the Urban Tumbleweeds,” Cover Story, September 11). I bring …

Carlsbad-based self-help guru Deepak Chopra is reportedly getting paid big bucks to appear in a new series of commercials for Microsoft that attempt to rebut those long-running Apple “I’m a PC and I’m a Mac” …

Many are predicting that next year’s state budget deficit will grow to $7 billion, but that hasn’t stopped the University of California from its habit of handing out big salaries to high-ranking executives. At their …

The battle between pro– and anti–gay-marriage forces continues. Among the latest to back Proposition 8, the proposed statewide ban on gay marriages, is Robert Bolingbroke of Rancho Santa Fe, who recently kicked in $25,000. The …

Thirty Years AgoMy former colleague, Jonathan Saville, has the town abuzz with his “review” of Shange’s For Colored Girls. I found both the poetry and the stage production of Colored Girls to be ambitious, adventurous, …

It’s been a while since I’ve seen my husband Patrick’s impulsive side. But last week was our anniversary, and he surprised me with a trip to Italy. “Last-minute deal on the package — tremendous bargain,” …

Are you entrusting your money to banking houses or sportin’ houses? The United States is in its worst credit crisis since the Great Depression, as shotgun marriages are arranged and financed by the government. Investment …

"I figured there would be a lot of riesling. That’s why I brought a chardonnay – but it’s a different sort of Australian chardonnay, the Bindi Composition.” You don’t often hear sentences like that – …

Beer garden at City Brewery, circa 1870s. In 1868, the same year Austrian brew-master Christian Doblier established San Diego’s first brewery in Spring Valley (Chollas Valley Brewery), City Brewery opened on the northwest corner of …

An easygoing husband is the one indispensable comfort of life. — Marie Louise De La Ramee ‘You know what sounds really good right now?” David looked up from the magazine in his hands. “Frozen ravioli …

What are you reading? “Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer.” What’s it about? “It’s a romance novel about a young woman, Bella, and a vampire, Edward. It’s part of the Twilight series. This one is different …

In the mid-’90s, when every other musician in the musician-rich city of Portland, Oregon, was cultivating a lo-fi sound and a low-budget look, the Dandy Warhols sounded, dressed, and acted like rock stars. In the …

It was at X-Fest at SDSU several years ago — blink 182 was scheduled to headline the evening, but Sprung Monkey, another local band, owned the afternoon. Sprung’s popularity was beginning to soar on the …

The Modlins wear suits and skinny ties and play what they call “oldies-influenced indie-pop.” That may lead you to assume that the band plays obscure cover tunes from the early 1960s, but the Modlins play …

“Squash is associated with Ivy League schools and expensive athletic clubs,” says Renato Paiva, executive director of Surf City Squash. “But that image is changing. Right now there are 55 colleges in the country [with …

We can easily tell when summer’s over. In lieu of the lazy pace of one mainstream blockbuster and an also-ran, plus perhaps one or two “alternatives,” we get seven, eight, nine new movies per week, …

As my superhero alter ego, Narcoleptic Dingo, I plan to attack Washington and Wall Street. Sure, sure, the trio of supervillains, Fedsy McMoneychanger, the Tax Reaper, and Bendover Herecomesthe-porkbarrelspending Monster will try to confuse me …

A rambling patch of newly acquired open space that goes by the long-winded name of Michael D. Antonovich Regional Park at Joughin Ranch spreads over a south-facing slope that culminates in a 3747-foot summit called …

The word of the day is “tragesty.” Pretty much because I can’t speak even basic English, a tragesty is something that is not only a tragedy, but a travesty as well. Such as when your …

“For more than 30 years,” said Vision pastor Patti Paris in her introduction, “Mother Antonia has lived in a small, cold cell in Tijuana’s La Mesa prison, where she ministers to some of the most …

Sal Convento is chief instructor and owner of the United States Karate Academy in Point Loma (uskasandiego.com). He’s single, 36 years old, a third-degree black belt, and world champion. I don’t find any of that …

Visitation weekends are an anxiety experience for Baldwin, punctuated by sheer bliss. Baldwin is in his 50s and lives in Mission Hills. His little boy is 32 years old. Since 2003 he has registered bipolar …

Picture hell. For those who live in Pacific Beach and work nine-to-five jobs, hell arrives every Thursday afternoon. College students schedule their classes Monday through Thursday. Come that afternoon, especially in the “Kill Zone” around …

This restaurant is closed “I came before crack hit the streets,” says the Mother of East Village. “That’s how long I’ve been here.” Which means that Gloria Poore arrived in the 1960s, when this part …

Of all the “charity eat-a-thons” in this town, my favorite by far is the Chef Celebration, a series of extraordinary banquets crafted by some of the county’s top chefs and held at several of the …

Sirhan Sirhan founder Jason Blackmore wasn’t at the San Diego Music Awards last week when his band won the Best Hard Rock Album award. He assumed his “balls-out hardcore rock band” would continue to get …

“If anyone tries to sell it, I will certainly know about it,” says uilleann-pipe player Tim Foley, whose instrument was stolen on September 6. “There’s a lot of eyes and ears on the lookout there.” …

“We record nearly all of our shows because every performance is a unique one-off and we want to capture the magic,” says bassist Larry Vernec of Blue44. All three albums by the Encinitas band were …

“If things in the music biz continue to fall apart,” says Manganista singer Matt Rhea, “maybe we’ll have [X-Ray Babies] to fall back on. People may stop paying for music, but they’ll never stop having …

Before Journey appears at the Pechanga casino in Temecula on October 1, “All announcements must be done 20 minutes before the performance.” They want — on call — an ear, nose, and throat doctor, an …

Album: Mike Pinto (2007) Artist: Mike Pinto Label: self-released Songs: 1) Full Speed 2) Surf Tune 3) Addictions 4) Backburner 5) Get Me Down 6) Temptation 7) Bad Luck 8) Knocked Up 9) Never Hold …

Heymatt: Sometimes I don’t sleep for a couple of days. I have a friend who told me that I could die from lack of sleep. I can’t believe that, but this friend is always throwing …

I was living in Seattle [in 2005], across the street from the Space Needle...in the shadow of the Space Needle, really — no sunlight, and rain to boot; it made me want to sleep a …

At 9:00 a.m., Saturday morning, under the steady hum from the air conditioner inside Salvation Army’s Fellowship Hall, District Six councilmember Donna Frye and councilmember-elect from District Five Carl DeMaio conversed with a sparse crowd …

A friend scored a pair of tickets to the Chargers’ final preseason game against Seattle. I don’t care much about preseason, but it would give me a chance to check out the Seahawks running back …