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Racism in the News
Yeah, I'd be willing to bet that Eric Holder would call out the idiots like Al Sharpton, and say "THAT'S not the type of people I want commenting on race, but intelligent folks." I still disagree regarding the bill being so bad it was written by a "monkey". For that to make sense, that has to be an expression. And it obviously isn't, or EVERYONE would've said the explanation you just said.— March 1, 2009 11:19 a.m.
A sampling of San Diego's vanity license plates
Val: I think people with letters abbreviated that are hard to figure out, mostly don't care. They think they're clever, and if you can't figure it out, they probably like that more. It's like they're part of some secret club. Jaw: Frippery? Angela: It's funny with classic cars. Some have the old California plates that were black with yellow lettering. And some say "classic plate" in small letters. I tried calling the DMV to ask about those, but nobody seemed to know what I was talking about. Regarding radio personality, I'm guessing Shotgun Tom, although he's NOW an LA radio personality, so I'm not sure who you mean. I remember when I was in radio, thinking for a day or two, about getting a plate that said IM A DJ, but didn't think there was anything really clever about that, and didn't want anyone thinking I had an ego. On trying to trick the DMV, a Bay Park resident told me his friend lives in Florida. He said, “They have an orange in the middle of their plate. So, he got YGR 55A. The DMV asked him what that meant and he told them it was his signature for these computer programs he does. They gave it to him. Well, with the orange in the middle looking like the letter ‘O’, in a rear view mirror, it looks like ‘ASS ORGY’. As far as I know, he still has the plate.” I researched and saw on Wikipedia, it sites this story and plate as being randomly-generated. But when I went on the Florida DMV website, I found that plate is still available. So, I'm chalking the “ORGY” plate up to an urban legend.— March 1, 2009 11:11 a.m.
Hat Trick
I have to admit...I didn't even catch that! And the worst part of that is...I repeated your line, even spelling "jeans" as "genes". Damn it!— February 28, 2009 11:50 a.m.
Yet Another Dog Blog
Hey amh...I dated a woman a few years ago. Her sister had a huge, white pit bull. I was FORCED to go over there, and the dog was a sweetie. And they liked to spout off that the news creates this fear about pit bulls, and they are no more dangerous than other dogs. But the simple truth is, they are. There's a news story, at least once a week, that a pit bull tore someone up. Either a baby, or a visiting grandmother, or a neighbor. Now, I'll be the first to admit, like airplane crashes...you (i mean, me) Probably think they happen all the time, because you hear about one once a week. But, we don't hear about the thousands and thousands, around the U.S. that never have a single problem. I agree. But, it doesn't make it illogical of me to get nervous when I'm walking my small dog past an owner walking their pit bull. Because if it decides to attack, I wonder if me and the other person, will be able to pry it's jaws from it. Oh, and at that same girlfriends condo in Point Loma, I was walking to my car, carrying a few big boxes. Someone walking a pit bull, that WAS NOT on a leash, came and charged me. It just stood in front of me barking, and I was carrying boxes, so my nuts were well protected. But it scared the crap out of me. And yes, you can argue little dogs charge and bark more often. That's true. But a toy poodle barking at my ankle, doesn't scare me. I cursed this guy out, telling him to get his F***ing dog away from me! He apologized, and brought it inside his condo. As I was putting the boxes in my trunk, he comes walking out towards me. He's wearing a wife-beater, his hat sideways, and had arms full of tattoos. He talked like a gangster, and I was prepared for a fight. Or a shouting match at the very least. He stuck out his hand, and gave a sincere apology. I shook his hand, and I apologized for cursing at him. He said, "I've been told before to walk my dog on a leash, and he's never done that. I feel so bad." And, once someone apologizes to me, I'm totally cool with that. So, we had a good conversation for a few minutes. But, it's not just the Michael Vick stories and things like that. A friend of mine, his dad was a cop. They told so many stories of drug dealers with pit bulls that attacked them (his boss once had one latch on his arm, he shot and killed it. the other charged, latched on his arm, he lifted it up in the air, and shot it). I just don't hear stories like this happening to Boston Terriers!— February 28, 2009 1:42 a.m.
Oscar Re-Cap
I couldn't believe how entertaining I thought Team America was (and one of the underrated DJs ever, Phil Hendry, did many of the voices in it). I never cared for South Park, but those guys did a good job with that film.— February 28, 2009 1:30 a.m.
Racism in the News
Exactly, surf. Hey...thanks for posting the link to that news story about the smashed watermellon on his doorstop. This guy is so stupid, though, I'm willing to bet he said to his wife "Oh yeah...that's probably from those kids on Halloween I didn't give candy to. They're probably still mad at us...remember, they egged our house the next day. This is probably them still trying to get us." It would be funny for some guys to be caught in the next few days, walking near his house, carrying a big watermellon (think Baby in Dirty Dancing). The cops: "Freeze! What are you doing with that watermellon?" African-American carrying watermellon to former mayors house: "Uh, well officer, what do you think we're doing?" Officer: "I think you're going to vandalize that house over there." Perps: "And ruin a perfectly good watermellon? You're crazy! I'm going to eat this thing." To me, though...I hate to ever condone any kind of vandalism, but I really think that's the perfect thing to have happened. It didn't damage his property. No keying cars. Just a simple message. No smashed windows, just a smashed watermellon. I love it. Now, if he wakes up in the morning, and there's a juicy watermellon smashed in the bed next to him (think Godfather), that would be most excellent!— February 28, 2009 1:27 a.m.
Hat Trick
"Honey, do these genes make my butt look fat?" "No. The fat in your butt cheeks, make your butt look fat."— February 28, 2009 1:21 a.m.
A sampling of San Diego's vanity license plates
ricky: I remember as a kid, someone gave me this math problem for the calculator. Some weird thing about Dolly Parton had 14 kids (pre-octumom, of course), and breast fed them all (as the story is told, you are told to add 14, plus something else). You hit the button for the answer, turn it upside down and say "You know what became of Mrs. Parton?" And upside down it reads BOOBLESS (5 = S, 8 = B, 7 + L). When you're 10, nothing is funnier (and I don't think our parents even minded, because in their warped minds, we're actually doing math equations, not just talking dirty). I was at Club 33 a few times. No biggie. One person kept saying, as I sipped my wine "Can you believe this? It's the only place on the Magic Kingdom you can drink alcohol!" The guy interviewed for this story told me a lot about it. They do give the members some promo things that are cool, and tours of the park that others aren't privy to. Not just dining in that secret location. MsG...regarding the 7 letters with a heart, that's interesting. I figured with 7 letters, you couldn't have any spaces. But I kept seeing personalized plates with 7 letters and a space. You can get a "half space" with 7 letters, so I went from 69JGUAR to 69 JGUAR, but found it odd that the person at the DMV didn't tell me this. I asked if I could get a space and she originally told me no. Barb: two things. My girlfriend saw your car downtown a week ago, and was all excited. And...have you noticed the mini cooper probably has more personalized plates than any other vehicle? A close second might be the VW bug. On a side note: my sister is living near San Francisco, and is dating a guy who has a plate that says WED 484. He gets sick of people asking them if that’s the month and year they married (it's a random plate). He decided to get a new, personalized plate. Since his last name is Koch, he thought about one that said KOCH RKT, a play on the phrase people use for motorcycles (crotch rocket). Someone at the DMV already told him they wouldn’t approve that. The DMV denied a request made by Alan Richards. He wanted 1 3 WAR. DMV Spokesman Armondo Botello said “The number 13 is a gang sign and normally doesn’t get approved for personalized plates. Our interpretation of this plate together with 13 and the word war means…the meaning that we give it is ‘gang war,’ and that’s why it was not approved.” Richards said that that wasn’t the meaning behind it, adding "It also stands for the 13th letter of the alphabet, M for Marijuana.” Richards explained that with the space between 1 and 3, it means “No 2”, and with WAR, the message being “no to war”. Would the DMV even approve that? Botello says if it’s printed as NO 2 WAR, “…that would not be considered offensive and misleading, and yes he can re-submit it, provided that no one else is using that configuration already.” But as argumentative as people get about the war, and politics, I have to think someone would be offended by that plate.— February 28, 2009 1:07 a.m.
Racism in the News
UPDATE: The mayor just announced he'll resign. On Monday.— February 27, 2009 11:18 a.m.
Racism in the News
How am I wrong about the cartoon?— February 27, 2009 10:24 a.m.