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Joe Deegan
Barbarella Fokos
Leorah Gavidor
Dave Good
Marty Graham
Moss Gropen
Andrew Hamlin
Dorian Hargrove
Garrett Harris
Ken Harrison
Patrick Henderson
Tam Hoang
Eve Kelly
Dryw Keltz
Eva Knott
Thomas Larson
Ken Leighton
Matthew Lickona
Mike Madriaga
Bill Manson
Scott Marks
Bob McPhail
Walter Mencken
Joseph O'Brien
Sheila Pell
Ian Pike
Matt Potter
H.G. Reza
Dave Rice
Elizabeth Salaam
Jay Allen Sanford
Julie Stalmer
DJ Stevens
Matthew Suárez
Amanda Tascher
More writers
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Allied Gardens
Alpine
Baja
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Javajoe25
Javajoe25
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Comments
Votes
Bidders Check Out Copley’s Library
Ms. Shinto! How good it is to read your words again. Nice work on the Copley auction. It is amazing to see what a difference it makes to sell at the "right" auction, or better yet, to a very interested collector. Too bad the locally relevant material wasn't donated to a museum or university here. Seems many of those same institutions are besieged with demands to return significant portions of their holdings to the countries of origin, which leaves the rest of us staring at replicas. I can see the reason for the repatriation, and don't disagree entirely, but I do worry we will all be attending "virtual" museums someday. Incidentally, I still have my autographed copy of "Shadow Bands," dated May,'89. Another example of fine writing, in my opinion. Hope to see more of your work in The Reader in the future.
— June 29, 2011 3:24 p.m.
Borrego: Flipsville Seeks a Savior
Great article, Don; Can't say I am sympathetic to the situation investors and speculator find themselves in out there. I would prefer less development as I only go to Borrego for recreational hiking and camping trips, and it seems more development just brings more development. I'm glad the area is primarily surrounded by the Anza Borrego State Park, which will contain potential sprawl. I think the mistake made in Borrego Springs is the developers thought people would be willing to make the long drive from a major freeway and be satisfied with golf, a spa, one grocery store, a few small gift shops, and occasional grapefruit stands on Christmas Circle. Compare that to Palm Springs and it is easy to see why property sales are a challenge, to say nothing of the association fees and back taxes. Unless you are a hiker, photographer, or just a naturalist with an appreciation for southwest flora and fauna, and cultural history, there's just no there there. Incidentally, I just have to comment on that sentence you wrote,"Then this spring, Geyser sprung on the scene." I loved it. There are writers, and there are wordsmiths, and you Sir, are the later. Keep up the great work. Always enjoy your column.
— June 29, 2011 12:17 p.m.
Pandorica
Wait, what is this? Are you guys real people or "Avatars"? Reason I ask? Pandora (where Avatars live) + America,(where you live) = "Pandorica"! I say go with it. We're all citizens in this virtual world anyway: half-way there and half-way gone. It's perfect! Although....could be Pandora + Costa Rica? Puerta Rica?
— June 28, 2011 11:20 p.m.
Kerry Steigerwalt's Broke Law Firm Trying to Make Deals
Unreal stuff, Don; Seems bad enough when one is in such a financial bind that bankruptcy is the only option, but to then get ripped off by the lawyers you hire to help you with it, is too much. Was it Shakespeare who said, "First we kill all the lawyers."? Even back then, they knew. I hope they hang these leeches, but I know they won't because...you know: they're lawyers.
— June 22, 2011 12:50 p.m.
How to Fill a Weekend
First thing you have to do John, is double down on the antidepressants. Nobody ever died from taking too many antidepressants, plus, it'll get you out of the funk you are currently in. Then you have to get out and do something; not watch other people doing something, but actually do something. Go down to the bay and rent a kayak, or go over to La Jolla and look at the weirdness that is in the Modern Art Museum. Maybe take your bike, or rent a bike and ride the boardwalk at PB and Mission Beach. Check out the babes in the Brazilian thongs. Get your mind off your mind and breathe some fresh air. San Diego is not a town for heavy thinking. Everyone goes to the gym, or runs, or rides, or swims, or drinks, but I don't recommend that for you. Focus on the nothingness that is everything here. Build your body; improve your breathing, become a vegan or go fishing. There's a bazillion things to do here. But you do have to get off your duff and get into it.
— June 16, 2011 4:21 p.m.
City Slow to Remove Racial Slur on Sign in North Park
It's not quite the same but it took two years plus, to get the Port Authority to correct a misspelled word that was carved into the granite memorial to Admiral Sprague down on Harbor Dr. Big wheels turn slow...very, very slow.
— June 13, 2011 3:45 p.m.
Scripps Florida gets over $1 million per subsidized job
Let's be honest; you can't live here on low pay. San Diego is a beautiful place, but it is no bargain. House prices, even with the recession, are still high in comparison to other places, and rents are even worse because they did not drop anywhere near as much as the house prices did. What is everyone supposed to do? Work here and live in TJ? The college kids who take the low paying jobs don't mind because they live six in a three bedroom apartment. But for a family, a higher paying job with good benefits is a necessity, and outsourcing just reduces the possibility of being able to earn that level of pay with benefits. Everyone complains about those high earner union members, but no one seems to have an answer when asked how does one live in San Diego with a low paying job?
— May 26, 2011 11:16 a.m.
Ratios
Holy Moley. I had no idea. This is beyond anything I had anticipated. David! In the immortal words of the most gorgeous actress in the world, Geena Davis, "Be afraid. Be very afraid." Coordinated sidewalk crack stepping? Left foot/right foot sequential stair-stepping? "It's only like choosing yellow instead of red?" "One-potato, two tomato, three potato, Chip!"? No, no, no, no. And the sister too? Oy yoy! This runs deep, Dave. this is genetic. This could take a very strange turn...like "I have a left hand, David has a left hand; I have a right hand, David has a right hand, I have no testicles and David...David, David, David. Oh yea--right now it's chips with the sandwich and cracks in the sidewalk, but you mark my words, Dave; It's going to come down to inney-meeney-miney-moe and whack! Your voice is a an octave higher! Get her to the therapist, Dave, and pronto. These required rituals can get out of hand very quickly and before you know it, she'll have you walking in the door backwards, rub your belly in a counterclockwise direction, and then knock on your head three times before you can sit down to dinner. Just do what that chick in the movie with Jack Nicholson did: she let him know if he wanted warm rolls in the morning (and I think the real meaning of that is fairly obvious), then you are going to have to act like a normal person. And whatever you do, do not ever let her find out how you feel about the "right way" to eat a hot dog. Best of luck, Amigo. You're going to need it.
— May 25, 2011 7:38 p.m.
Scripps Florida gets over $1 million per subsidized job
Great article, as always, Don; This business of which city can lure which industries by providing tax breaks and other incentives that take away from education and other services is really getting old! It's the same thing with other countries who pulled industries out of the US with the promise of cheap labor and lax health and safety laws. It is one big race to the bottom. Everyone looks ahead with no regard for the mess they've left behind. Just like what is happening here in SD with the city constantly trying to outsource good paying jobs--usually held by long term union members who maintain the standard of living that makes the city such a nice place to live--to low-paying outfits with no vested interest in the good of the city or the living standards of their employees. It's another race to the bottom with no regard to the larger picture. And what about the investment San Diego may have made in some in these research institutions that are now sliding down to Florida? Do you know if any tax incentives or grants of land or other benefits were extended to these institutions in order to get them to set up here in the first place? I've always thought they set up here primarily to be near the universities that provide their brain power. I guess it can be easily emailed to Florida while Scripps and others squat on bargain real estate and poor San Diego can deal with the consequences, wondering where the good paying jobs went, along with the payroll taxes we used to receive. And you say it's not yet time to raise the barricades?
— May 25, 2011 1:35 p.m.
Ratios
Oh, I don't know about this one, Barb...I'm leaning toward Dave, here. I mean, I can sort of understand the soft to crunch ration thing, although I think it's the cheese to meat situation inside the sandwich that really is the critical ratio. You can always grab more chips! But let me ask you this; Which scenario would you rather face: to finish the last chip on your plate and still have another bite of sandwich to go? Or, to gulp that last bite of sandwich and still have another chip on your plate? Now, if you feel your answer to these questions are important, than I have to go with David and render a "not normal" verdict. That is, unless of course...there is also a pickle on the plate. That changes everything!
— May 24, 2011 11:02 p.m.
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Leorah Gavidor
Dave Good
Marty Graham
Moss Gropen
Andrew Hamlin
Dorian Hargrove
Garrett Harris
Ken Harrison
Patrick Henderson
Tam Hoang
Eve Kelly
Dryw Keltz
Eva Knott
Thomas Larson
Ken Leighton
Matthew Lickona
Mike Madriaga
Bill Manson
Scott Marks
Bob McPhail
Walter Mencken
Joseph O'Brien
Sheila Pell
Ian Pike
Matt Potter
H.G. Reza
Dave Rice
Elizabeth Salaam
Jay Allen Sanford
Julie Stalmer
DJ Stevens
Matthew Suárez
Amanda Tascher
More writers
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4S Ranch
Allied Gardens
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Bidders Check Out Copley’s Library
Ms. Shinto! How good it is to read your words again. Nice work on the Copley auction. It is amazing to see what a difference it makes to sell at the "right" auction, or better yet, to a very interested collector. Too bad the locally relevant material wasn't donated to a museum or university here. Seems many of those same institutions are besieged with demands to return significant portions of their holdings to the countries of origin, which leaves the rest of us staring at replicas. I can see the reason for the repatriation, and don't disagree entirely, but I do worry we will all be attending "virtual" museums someday. Incidentally, I still have my autographed copy of "Shadow Bands," dated May,'89. Another example of fine writing, in my opinion. Hope to see more of your work in The Reader in the future.— June 29, 2011 3:24 p.m.
Borrego: Flipsville Seeks a Savior
Great article, Don; Can't say I am sympathetic to the situation investors and speculator find themselves in out there. I would prefer less development as I only go to Borrego for recreational hiking and camping trips, and it seems more development just brings more development. I'm glad the area is primarily surrounded by the Anza Borrego State Park, which will contain potential sprawl. I think the mistake made in Borrego Springs is the developers thought people would be willing to make the long drive from a major freeway and be satisfied with golf, a spa, one grocery store, a few small gift shops, and occasional grapefruit stands on Christmas Circle. Compare that to Palm Springs and it is easy to see why property sales are a challenge, to say nothing of the association fees and back taxes. Unless you are a hiker, photographer, or just a naturalist with an appreciation for southwest flora and fauna, and cultural history, there's just no there there. Incidentally, I just have to comment on that sentence you wrote,"Then this spring, Geyser sprung on the scene." I loved it. There are writers, and there are wordsmiths, and you Sir, are the later. Keep up the great work. Always enjoy your column.— June 29, 2011 12:17 p.m.
Pandorica
Wait, what is this? Are you guys real people or "Avatars"? Reason I ask? Pandora (where Avatars live) + America,(where you live) = "Pandorica"! I say go with it. We're all citizens in this virtual world anyway: half-way there and half-way gone. It's perfect! Although....could be Pandora + Costa Rica? Puerta Rica?— June 28, 2011 11:20 p.m.
Kerry Steigerwalt's Broke Law Firm Trying to Make Deals
Unreal stuff, Don; Seems bad enough when one is in such a financial bind that bankruptcy is the only option, but to then get ripped off by the lawyers you hire to help you with it, is too much. Was it Shakespeare who said, "First we kill all the lawyers."? Even back then, they knew. I hope they hang these leeches, but I know they won't because...you know: they're lawyers.— June 22, 2011 12:50 p.m.
How to Fill a Weekend
First thing you have to do John, is double down on the antidepressants. Nobody ever died from taking too many antidepressants, plus, it'll get you out of the funk you are currently in. Then you have to get out and do something; not watch other people doing something, but actually do something. Go down to the bay and rent a kayak, or go over to La Jolla and look at the weirdness that is in the Modern Art Museum. Maybe take your bike, or rent a bike and ride the boardwalk at PB and Mission Beach. Check out the babes in the Brazilian thongs. Get your mind off your mind and breathe some fresh air. San Diego is not a town for heavy thinking. Everyone goes to the gym, or runs, or rides, or swims, or drinks, but I don't recommend that for you. Focus on the nothingness that is everything here. Build your body; improve your breathing, become a vegan or go fishing. There's a bazillion things to do here. But you do have to get off your duff and get into it.— June 16, 2011 4:21 p.m.
City Slow to Remove Racial Slur on Sign in North Park
It's not quite the same but it took two years plus, to get the Port Authority to correct a misspelled word that was carved into the granite memorial to Admiral Sprague down on Harbor Dr. Big wheels turn slow...very, very slow.— June 13, 2011 3:45 p.m.
Scripps Florida gets over $1 million per subsidized job
Let's be honest; you can't live here on low pay. San Diego is a beautiful place, but it is no bargain. House prices, even with the recession, are still high in comparison to other places, and rents are even worse because they did not drop anywhere near as much as the house prices did. What is everyone supposed to do? Work here and live in TJ? The college kids who take the low paying jobs don't mind because they live six in a three bedroom apartment. But for a family, a higher paying job with good benefits is a necessity, and outsourcing just reduces the possibility of being able to earn that level of pay with benefits. Everyone complains about those high earner union members, but no one seems to have an answer when asked how does one live in San Diego with a low paying job?— May 26, 2011 11:16 a.m.
Ratios
Holy Moley. I had no idea. This is beyond anything I had anticipated. David! In the immortal words of the most gorgeous actress in the world, Geena Davis, "Be afraid. Be very afraid." Coordinated sidewalk crack stepping? Left foot/right foot sequential stair-stepping? "It's only like choosing yellow instead of red?" "One-potato, two tomato, three potato, Chip!"? No, no, no, no. And the sister too? Oy yoy! This runs deep, Dave. this is genetic. This could take a very strange turn...like "I have a left hand, David has a left hand; I have a right hand, David has a right hand, I have no testicles and David...David, David, David. Oh yea--right now it's chips with the sandwich and cracks in the sidewalk, but you mark my words, Dave; It's going to come down to inney-meeney-miney-moe and whack! Your voice is a an octave higher! Get her to the therapist, Dave, and pronto. These required rituals can get out of hand very quickly and before you know it, she'll have you walking in the door backwards, rub your belly in a counterclockwise direction, and then knock on your head three times before you can sit down to dinner. Just do what that chick in the movie with Jack Nicholson did: she let him know if he wanted warm rolls in the morning (and I think the real meaning of that is fairly obvious), then you are going to have to act like a normal person. And whatever you do, do not ever let her find out how you feel about the "right way" to eat a hot dog. Best of luck, Amigo. You're going to need it.— May 25, 2011 7:38 p.m.
Scripps Florida gets over $1 million per subsidized job
Great article, as always, Don; This business of which city can lure which industries by providing tax breaks and other incentives that take away from education and other services is really getting old! It's the same thing with other countries who pulled industries out of the US with the promise of cheap labor and lax health and safety laws. It is one big race to the bottom. Everyone looks ahead with no regard for the mess they've left behind. Just like what is happening here in SD with the city constantly trying to outsource good paying jobs--usually held by long term union members who maintain the standard of living that makes the city such a nice place to live--to low-paying outfits with no vested interest in the good of the city or the living standards of their employees. It's another race to the bottom with no regard to the larger picture. And what about the investment San Diego may have made in some in these research institutions that are now sliding down to Florida? Do you know if any tax incentives or grants of land or other benefits were extended to these institutions in order to get them to set up here in the first place? I've always thought they set up here primarily to be near the universities that provide their brain power. I guess it can be easily emailed to Florida while Scripps and others squat on bargain real estate and poor San Diego can deal with the consequences, wondering where the good paying jobs went, along with the payroll taxes we used to receive. And you say it's not yet time to raise the barricades?— May 25, 2011 1:35 p.m.
Ratios
Oh, I don't know about this one, Barb...I'm leaning toward Dave, here. I mean, I can sort of understand the soft to crunch ration thing, although I think it's the cheese to meat situation inside the sandwich that really is the critical ratio. You can always grab more chips! But let me ask you this; Which scenario would you rather face: to finish the last chip on your plate and still have another bite of sandwich to go? Or, to gulp that last bite of sandwich and still have another chip on your plate? Now, if you feel your answer to these questions are important, than I have to go with David and render a "not normal" verdict. That is, unless of course...there is also a pickle on the plate. That changes everything!— May 24, 2011 11:02 p.m.