Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Woodwork
This latest Woody picture is pretty disappointing. Even a scene in a dark room with Penelope and Scarlett couldn't do it for me. It's weird this movie got 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, yet Cassandra's Dream, which is great, got a mere 65%. This movie really didn't have much going for it. I didn't hate it. But, if this was ANYONE other than Woody Allen that turned in this script, no studio would've made the film. I guarantee that.— August 28, 2008 1:14 a.m.
Wedding Crashers
I thought this movie was okay, but not nearly as good as everyone else seems to think it is. The first problem you have is...the premise really doesn't work. Because, they crash weddings for two things: free food and women. But, they are lawyers. So, why would lawyers care about free food? And, lawyers that are half-way decent looking (Owens nose aside), probably have no problem picking up women. But, if you get passed that...the film has a few other problems. Since Duncan mentions the vows that the sister wrote, let's take that scene. Or the one after that, when the sister is making fun of the vows to Owen. It's horribly written. Owen supposedly gives her this great advice (which we're supposed to assume he's acquired, from the many weddings he's been to). Yet, his advice is actually a poorly written speech. He tells her it's going to flop, and it does. So she goes to the words Owen gave her, and everyone loves it. Yet his words sound like something cliche and generic, taking off a greeting card. Had he come up with something much more profound, it would've been a better scene. I still think the movie had enough good laughs to make it worth while. It was just highly overrated.— August 27, 2008 10:47 a.m.
Money (That's What Everyone Wants)
The elevator is actually a weird one. Because, I think it may even be considered bad etiquette to strike up a conversation with someone. I'm not sure. But, when passing someone in a hallway at a business, and you're right next to them. Even if you've never seen that person, you should smile, or say HI. Yet, so many people fail to do even that.— August 27, 2008 10:41 a.m.
Rich People and Money
I thought about that very thing as I was posting. That...rich people can do what they want with their money. But, my point was...just don't praise them. It's like when my friend tried to praise Tony Gwynn for staying in San Diego. I mean, the dude stayed in San Diego, because...IT'S SAN DIEGO!!!! Yes, he could've made a few million more a year with the Yankees. But that's New York, not SAN DIEGO. So, those guys donating that, is nice. But, for people to act like it was such a great, wonderful thing. Well...uh, okay. I'd like to think, that Ed would say, if someone came to help him, "Why not give the help to someone that truely deserves it, not me. Until I'm living on the streets, I'll be fine." My girlfriend just told me a story today. Someone at her work, that's hardcore religious, prayed that she'd win a gift basket at some religious event. She then won. And, was convinced it was God giving her the win. I'd love to ask this woman...how selfish can you be, that you ask God for a favor. And, it's not to help some sick kid. Or any number of things like that. But instead, for you to win a prize. And...what does that mean if it was God? That he likes you more than the others? Idiots. The world is filled with idiots.— August 27, 2008 12:50 a.m.
Money (That's What Everyone Wants)
Interesting. At the New York Dolls concert at the Belly Up a year ago, this gun in a wheel chair fell. Me and another guy jumped over and started to help him, and he yelled at us. I was going to say "I hope you broke your neck in the fall, you idiot!" He probably felt like he didn't want "special treatment" or whatever. But I mean...the dude fell! And for him to yell at people trying to help him up!?!? A lot of people just don't know how to deal with strangers. I once asked an Off the Cuff question, about if you say HI to strangers. I didn't really get a good variety of answers, so we scrapped it. But, so many don't, because they said they would say Hello, and the person would just look down. Or not say anything back. Kind of like when you're in an elevator.— August 27, 2008 12:45 a.m.
Rich People and Money
That's an awesome Colin story. Someone should buy him a razor, though, and some jeans that aren't ripped. Then he won't be mistaken for a homeless guy.— August 26, 2008 9:18 p.m.
Woodwork
I haven't seen this yet...but I heard the same thing when Volver was out. And I was extremely disappointed with that picture. It could've been great, and it just started to get silly. One performance, to me, doesn't make a film worth seeing. It's one of the reasons I was bothered with There Will Be Blood. Yeah...Lewis is amazing. But, really? We need to see three hours of this?— August 25, 2008 11:56 a.m.
Michael Phelps Falls
Well, people that complained about Obama's first bumps were just Fox News and Republican outlets like that. I always thought it was funny when they called them "terrorist taps" or whatever they tried calling them. I mean, you could've said "Ghetto greetings" maybe. But, never saw, or heard, of Al Qaeda bumping fists and saying "What's up, homie? Ready for that suicide bombing today. It's gonna be a good one." Showing up opponents is never a good thing. I didn't see the fist to chest bump this sprinter did. But all the sports guys said it was classless. I take their word. This is like when I say I hate the NFL players doing stupid dances in the end zone, and idiots try to say "that's fun to watch...it's a cool part of the game." And, they don't realize how insulting it is to the defense/opponents. Maybe I'll start using an analogy of...if your boss gives you a promotion that another guy in your work wanted. You get the raise, and you go over to his cubicle, and you point in his face and say "Ha! I got the promotion and you didn't, James. In your face! Keep sipping that coffee there, and looking at porn on your computer. I'm going to my corner office with a view..." As you do one of those NFL TD dances down the hallway. Hell, maybe even spike the picture of his family he has sitting on his desk.— August 22, 2008 11:45 a.m.
Tropic Thunder Controversies
Really? My bad, then. My pet peeve is when actors or anyone, brings up that there aren't good parts for women. Or for blacks. Or for [insert minority here]. Go write one, then. Or hire some screenwriter to come up with one. The reason there are less parts for women...well, I can give one guess. (The word "good" might not apply, but go with me on this). If there is a character like James Bond, most people are going to feel like this is a part a man should play. He's a spy. He has to fight guys that are 7 feet tall with steel jaws, and men that throw top hats that decapitate ya. Batman...another guy that fights bad guys. I can't picture Meryl Streep in this part. And, when a woman is cast as tough, they usually pull it off well. Linda Hamilton in Terminator. Sigorney Weaver in Alien series. But...people that buy the tickets are going to be more into Jackie Chan beating people up. When Angelina Jolie does Tomb Raider type roles, if they make money, they'll keep cranking them out. Now, if you talk about "period pieces," well...you are going back to a time when women couldn't vote. Or (as was shown in Shakespeare in Love, if I remember right), women couldn't even act on the stage. So those types of characters might involve more men in the juicy parts. If you are dealing with a man that loses his job and wants to get revenge (Michael Douglas in Falling Down), that's going to be more believable with a man, since for the longest time, men worked while women stayed home and raised kids. On that note, it reminds me of Bridges of Madison County (a very overrated film). Clint Eastwood is a photographer for National Geographic. Meryl Streep is a bored housewife, and they have an affair. If a movie is about a boxer, it's going to be about a man (aside from Million Dollar Baby). Obviously, if it's a real character (Raging Bull being about Jake LaMotta, Million Dollar Baby about Max Baer and ?, etc). Fictional, too many boxing films to list (Rocky 1 thru 6 anyone?) Does any of that make sense?— August 22, 2008 1:12 a.m.
Caylee Case...and Roman Polanski in Paris
And...it doesn't even matter if you're a decent moneymaker. Woody Allen films weren't making money for decades, and actors still flocked to work with the man that betrayed Mia Farrow, and married her adopted daughter (whom he had known since she was 10).— August 22, 2008 1:04 a.m.