It’s a beautiful day in Pacific Beach as Nate approaches the bronze pelican statue on the boardwalk. He’s slight and blond, spectacled and clad in jeans and an army-green T-shirt. He squints. The sun’s so …

“I feel like I’m back in 1950s America,” commented a visiting American. An amiable people, first-world atmosphere and slow pace of life combine to make Montevideo, Uruguay. Smaller than the state of Washington, Uruguay is …

“Pandemonium” would be an appropriate word to describe a soccer, or futebol, match at the venerable Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Maracanã is the mecca of futebol in Brazil – every child in this …

Visiting Palm Springs is like getting two vacations in one weekend. Enjoy a cool dip in the pool at Caliente Tropics Resort, a hip, mid-century-era Hawaiian-style motel complete with poolside cabanas and tikis, for about …

Haven’t done this for a while. Seems indicated: recommendations for summer beach reading. In the past few months I have happened upon three extraordinarily excellent novels I’d like to share with any dear and constant …

Correction The July 9 “Blurt” article “He’s Got the Cheese” said that Chris Wright, also known as CROS1, owns Armory Survival Gear in Pacific Beach and downtown. Wright does not own the Pacific Beach store. …

Artist: BoomsnakeSong: “Busy” (from the CD Give and Take)Heard by: Jon Carmack, Mission Bay It was pretty good. It started off with a nice, raw acoustic sound, and then the full band kicked in midway …

On February 15, 1898, the Monterey sailed into San Diego Bay. The ship had been at sea for more than a month. The next day around noon, half the crew got liberty and hurtled through …

“Most indie artists don’t even make the chart,” says Blame One, whose self-released Days Chasing Days charted at number 39 on iTunes’ Best-Selling Hip-Hop Albums in early April. At the time, nobody seemed more surprised …

Crest Canyon, an open-space park within the city limits of San Diego, helps separate the woodsy City of Del Mar from the bustling sprawl of inland Del Mar and Carmel Valley to the east. The …

The boondoggle makes logical sense, at first. A storm capsized Viola and twin brother Sebastian’s ship off Illyria. When the ship split in two, Viola went with one half; Sebastian, lashed to the mast and …

There is no question that executives at Platinum Equity won’t back down from a fight. The Beverly Hills–based buyout firm, which is willing to purchase sick companies in ailing industries, this spring bought the Union-Tribune …

Marine Room kicks off this summer’s unofficial series on “Rooms with a View — and Bargains, Too.” The small tradeoff that recession brings to visitors and staycationers alike is that some of San Diego’s most …

The late Michael Jackson had several San Diego connections, aside from performing and recording with once-local bassist Nathan East. The official Michael Jackson Moonwalker 3D comic book, based on a long-form 1988 video, was published …

So here I was, walking the Gaslamp one night, minding my business, when this dude thrusts a flyer in my hand. “Burger, fries, and draft beer, $5,” it says. Wow. And that’s just the first …

If you go to the website of the Los Angeles law firm of Lavely & Singer and click the bio of cofounder Martin Singer, you find a Los Angeles Magazine article in which Singer is …

The executive director of the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission has ordered San Diego retirement board member Herbert W. Morgan to disclose the identities of nine customers of his investment operation, Del Mar–based Efficient Market …

San Diego school-board president Shelia Jackson has filed a statement of intention to run for the Fourth District seat on the county board of supervisors, currently occupied by Ron Roberts. The election is next year, …

A band’s gotta know how to promote itself these days, because no one else is going to do it for them. L.A.’s Killola is on MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. They’ve got a blog, a YouTube …

The music press at large may define him as one of the founders of the hybridized genre that would eventually come to be known as pop (or smooth) jazz, but Grammy-award-winning guitarist Earl Klugh doesn’t …

Since 1967, guitarist Wayne Riker has played just about every musical style, and in an array of musical settings — house parties, coffeehouses, nightclubs, musical theater, cruise ships, arena rock concerts, and stadium festivals. As …

Reteaming the star and director of Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen and Larry Charles respectively, Brüno peddles the same or a similar shtick in a different persona: a different funny accent, different funny wardrobe, different funny …

X1FM, the local digital broadband radio station also known for its Open Door Concert series, has purchased defunct Long Beach nightclub the Vault 350, due to reopen in January 2010. In partnership with local Medina …

There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them. — Andre Gide I sensed that the status was definitely not quo, even before I noticed the reddish-brown spot that had appeared …

Patrick hasn’t been playing golf lately. Three years ago, he played a game about every two weeks. That became a weekday-morning nine-hole at Mission Trails near our La Mesa home ($15 to play the back …

The John Corbett Band plays Brick by Brick on Saturday, July 18. I really didn’t think I would be impressed with John Corbett, musician. As an actor, I think he is appealing. He has a …

Heymatt: I’ve always wondered what happens to the big hole left when we pump oil out of the ground. Considering all the oil taken out of the Middle East, I would think the whole area …

The front of Horizon Coast Chapel’s worship booklet doesn’t read “Horizon Coast Chapel”; it reads “Church in Mission Beach.” Yes, yes, this allows them to highlight the word “Mission” in red — fitting for a …

Thirty Years AgoVERY ATTRACTIVE blonde lady at the Strand Theatre on 10 July. Shy black guy would like to meet you. Eye contact — answer here.TINA DELGADO is alive. Saw her at Vince Lombardi High …

As Wednesday’s morning sun rose over El Cajon’s In-N-Out Burger, Lance Armstrong is holding third place with 11 stages to go in the 2009 Tour de France. For those who don’t follow professional biking (and …

Mike Lewis’s “mikelewismusic” was the most downloaded MP3 from SDReader.com during the month of June. Below is an interview with the musician. You’ve got an interesting, wistful sound at work on this track. What instruments …

DJ/promoter James Reynolds thought he had found the perfect place to throw a rave. According to the drum-and-bass DJ who goes by the name DJ Rabid, his May 16 party called Shipwrecked “…was the most …

Mahsa graduated from La Costa Canyon this year, and her mom threw a party for her at a pizzeria in Encinitas. I showed up late and there was only one place to sit, next to …