Yes, it’s a pink drink. But, men, it’s better than you think. Let me explain. Or, better yet, let Bar Basic bartender Christina Daley explain. “I have to tell you, we barely sell these things …

Matt: Can a person who reads lips, like a deaf person, tell if you have an accent, like Southern or French or something? — Windsor Lakes, via email This should round out our lip-reading essays. …

“The word ‘steampunk’ initially described a subgenre of science fiction,” says Eric Chamberlin, aka Professor J.S. Greyshade, cofounder and resident DJ of Queen Bee’s monthly steampunk club Chrononaut. “In its original literary definition, steampunk imagines …

“I’m working with promoter Sid Bernstein, the man who brought the Beatles to America and promoted their famed 1965 Shea Stadium gig,” says singer-songwriter Gary Ra’chac. “Believe it or not, Sid is recording his first …

The Natives believe in San Diego. “The potential in this city, that’s the influence, man,” says singer Tony Fantano, who gave a shout-out to the Kumeyaay natives at a recent Whistle Stop gig. “I love …

Maybe it’s Ian. Maybe walking with him to the sitter’s, a kind of religious exercise, his singing counterpoint to mine as we walk wakens the gods. The fog dances more gently into the trees. This …

Your impression of Lake Jennings may be strongly colored by the season in which you choose to visit it — a not-unusual circumstance in many of San Diego County’s inland, low-elevation locales. Summer’s heat and …

Readers ask, “Why don’t we have more postseason basketball tournaments?” I understand the need lurking behind that question. And the pain. Now, it’s true, except for the Ivy League, every Division I basketball conference has …

So how do you re-create a road movie on stage? Best of show at La Jolla Playhouse’s hit-and-miss Little Miss Sunshine: David Korins’s set, enhanced by Ken Billington’s bold lighting, depicts the shifting geography from …

"Mama, you never yell at us except when you drink coffee.” “That’s why we drink tea,” says Jennifer, “except sometimes.” But Jennifer likes to be called by her religious name, Bathsheba. “It means ‘daughter of …

Have you ever run into a ramen-maniac? And how would you know? It’s pretty simple: Query the suspect with a simple question regarding ramen, and you’ll hear an amazing amount of ramen-based jargon and slang. …

The Twit Report Laurence Neal: Your disorganized study of Las Vegas and the war on terror is the most shallow, uninspiring piece of swill I can recall finding in a publication of this caliber (“That …

Thirty Years AgoTo the little Hmong girl, it was emblematic of her Southeast Asian culture’s remedy for chest colds; to the La Mesa elementary school nurse, who noticed the burn blisters along the girl’s spine, …

Several San Diego bands will make the 22-hour drive to Austin, Texas mid-March for the annual South by Southwest music festival and conference. Over 2000 performers seeking labels, booking agents, and recognition will pack 90-plus …

Said the Whale is a Vancouver-based five-piece that has been on a songwriting-and- recording spree since their inception just out of high school in 2007. In less than five years, they have released seven EPs …

Asobi Seksu came together in New York City in 2001 and spent the next few years refining a sound closely modeled on the so-called shoegazers of the late ’80s and early ’90s. Guitarist James Hanna …

Aunt Azelda wants to watch the sunset from the end of the Ocean Beach Pier. She’d like to get a glimpse of the baby hippo at the zoo. Most of all, she wants to graze …

There is life after the Oscars, and it includes the San Diego Latino Film Festival. More on that, once we bring our dance card up to date: Of Gods and Men The French title is …

Condiments are like old friends — highly thought of, but often taken for granted. — Marilyn Kaytor I waited until the bartender was distracted and then went to work as quickly as possible. “Whoa, there …

Membership: 247 adults; 100 children Leader: Reverend David Miller Age: 51 Born: Chicago, Ill. Formation: Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, Calif. Years Ordained: 2 San Diego Reader: How long do you spend writing your sermon? …

Since, therefore…we have explored the depths of divine knowledge, we are obliged to carry out in fullest detail what the Master has commanded us to do at stated times. He has ordered the sacrifices to …

Fuzzy-headed and inquisitive after a long night of sleep, I levitate a morning news screen to eye level. The glowing hover-display shows little icons indicating rain; damn, I forgot an umbrella. With a slight gesture …

Picture Head is a compilation of all-new tracks from six La Mesa bands, scheduled for a summer release on the neighborhood-based Quasi Recordings label. “Our goal is to bring our tiny La Mesa music community …

“Beware the ides of March” is a quote from William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a warning regarding the emperor’s impending assassination. For a time, the dusty old quote enjoyed a new life as a reference to …

A recent seismic study by scientists of CICESE, an Ensenada-based investigatory group, determined that an earthquake measuring greater than 6 on the Richter scale would cause significant damage to Tijuana and outlying areas of the …

The carpet was just being rolled out between the birds-of-paradise planters when my roommate Eli and I arrived at Ray Street Studio in North Park for the Oscars Spaghetti Social party. Paintings adorned the walls …

A staffer for San Diego city councilwoman Lorie Zapf has been stirring the troubled waters of a bitter Northern California battle for a state assembly seat, which became vacant in January when the incumbent was …

The man who made a fortune as the political genius behind former Democratic assembly speaker and San Francisco mayor Willie Brown, among hundreds of others, has written a book of letters to his dead friends …

Back in 1950, almost 31 percent of working Americans had manufacturing jobs. Now the figure is below 10 percent. Many analysts put the blame on American companies that sent such jobs to low- and slave-wage …

On a Tuesday morning in late September, two 16-year-old girls snuck away from their North County high school. Chica wanted to go home, Nina later said. “I understood that she was going to go home …