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
Hats Off to Mimi
Like gasoline prices, I never complained when movie tickets kept going up. But when I saw Hellboy, and hated it. I saw the ticket stubs in my wallet the follow day, and realized I dropped $22 for it. And, the money spent on popcorn and Coke, and that made me mad. Same with the Hunter S. Thompson documentary. It was interesting, but documentaries should be on regular TV, not in movie theatres!!!— July 31, 2008 11 a.m.
Comic Con II - The Wrath of Tori Amos' People
Good point, towel. Over the years, a number of artists people like to label as "to depressing". My favorite band The Doors. Okay, sure. Some songs he talks about killing his father. Or taking a journey into the bright midnight, and some dark topics. But, he also sings pop tunes, and happy songs. Not everything needs to be Shiny Happy People (believe me, REM could be dark, too). Same complaint with Morrisey, as well as Morrison. If that's a persons logic, how to they ever watch a movie that isn't Grease, with everyone singing at a carnival at the end? Think about all the movies that don't have happy endings. I'm not just talking about The House of Sand and Fog....but even a film like Sin City. Some would say that was a depressing and sad ending. Others would feel it was positive.— July 31, 2008 10:58 a.m.
Patti LaBelle's Big Hair and Barbecue
Does anyone remember a song...probably from the early 60s, from Patti LaBelle and the Bluebelles, called "Sold my Heart to the Junkman"?— July 30, 2008 10:20 p.m.
Comic Con II - The Wrath of Tori Amos' People
Nope, it wasn't you then. I guess a lot of women cry when they meet her ; - ) You know what I can't figure out about you people that bought the expensive book? It already had her signature in it. You should've then had her sign something else. One guy said he'd have her sign it AGAIN, which made no sense to me. Anyway Christy, it's cool that you got to meet her. For future ref. she meets with all her fans before the concerts in the afternoon. People sometimes bring her gifts, or just want to talk to her for a few minutes, or have her autograph things. Keep that in mind next time she comes to town. And my best wishes for you in the future.— July 30, 2008 10:19 p.m.
5 sexy dates under $25 - Mira Mesa style
Nice. I remember in the 70s, when Starbucks was Winchell's. The Ice Arena was called House of Ice, I believe. Chris Chellios, now an NHL all-star, played there (and went to Mira Mesa High, 10 years before I did). I remember when I was in 6th grade, the movie The Black Stallion came out. A blonde girl I like, I called to ask out on a date. I was scared. I could barely talk. She was in town from Indiana. She said yes. I had the date all planned. I had cut out a coupon, that gave us two free games of bowling at that bowling alley (with paid shoe rental, of course...it was $.50 for those). I had enough money for us to get Slushee's in the Mira Mesa Mall before hand (because, hey...that's how I roll). And, afterwards, we'd go to the movie theatre (which was located where Jollibee is located now). We held hands. I was so nervous, that my hand drenched hers in sweat. I remember one time she removed her hand from mine, wiped it on her pants, and then held my hand again. What a sweetheart. Anyway...Jollibee is gross, unless you're Asian. It was huge in the Phillipines. And, a lot of my Filippino friends said they were thrilled when it opened up out here (first in San Fran, then L.A., now San Diego). Their spaghetti has ketchup type of sauce on it, and....the burgers are horrible. It's really an acquired taste.— July 30, 2008 12:43 a.m.
4th of July Mira Mesa - Biggest Party in San Diego
I'm living in San Marcos now. But having been born and raised in Mira Mesa...I'll tell you a good place to go for fireworks -- Red Lobster. Sit on their outdoor patio. Enjoy those addictive biscuits. Eat a nice dinner, that's relatively inexpensive. And you have a great view. I did this one year, it was great. The next year, my seats had all been taken. So, you might need to get there early.— July 30, 2008 12:36 a.m.
The Dark Knight clocks in
The best post of the day was regarding the "can't turn my head". Awesome. I would add to that, how useful the motorcycle would actually be, built and designed the way it was. Sure, it looked cool. But the LA Times did a detailed story, written by a mechanic, on why it wouldn't work well. Talk about nitpicking apart a film! The problem with a lot of critics, is the thing people pointed out about Duncan. They often want to ref. old classic films, that often don't relate to anything. If you are reviewing this new French film (can't think of the title, something generic like "Tell No One"...and it's similar to something like Frantic or The Fugitive, or Memento, fine). But so many times, these intellectuals, want to start going off on Fellini and David O Selznick and Preston Sturgess....and it's not necessary (and probably not even accurate). And, for a critic to not like a "genre" of film, I just don't buy that. I don't like musicals. But I liked Grease. I liked Chicago. I don't like westerns. I liked 3:10 to Yuma. I liked Unforgiven. Just bought the DVD of Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. Because, a great film is a great film. If you say you don't like westerns, and therefore there isn't a single western you don't like, then you can't possibly be a good film critic. And, I'll use another critic as an example. Duncan spoke glowingly of the former U-T critic David Elliot. This guy, was perhaps, the worst film critic of all-time. He's the only critic in the country that gave one star to Forest Gump. A movie that everyone liked, he hated. A movie that everyone hated, he liked. To me, when that's the case, you have a problem. Duncan seems to be tough on the films he likes, but my only problem is that once in a while I'll read a review, and am not sure what he's even talking about. It's one of the reasons the format for Siskel & Ebert (or whatever it's called now), worked so well. Two people dissecting a film works so much better then getting one persons opinion.— July 29, 2008 11:44 p.m.
What sound or song is your ring tone?
I got Wagner's Flight of the Valkries. It's a classic.— July 29, 2008 11:30 p.m.
A Gathering of Geeks at Comic Con
I made the mistake of going to see a midnight movie at the La Jolla Landmark last year. It was 12 Monkeys. I was dating someone that had never seen it. And, it's a movie I love (and highly recommend...Brad Pitt in an Oscar nominated performance as a nut job, with an eye that goes in a million different directions). Anyway, the entire crowd kept talking to the screen. I was getting pissed. A friend of mine told me that's tradition at midnight screenings. To me, that makes sense of it's something campy like Rocky Horror Picture Show. But 12 Monkeys? What is there to talk to the screen about?— July 29, 2008 11:29 p.m.
Comic Con II - The Wrath of Tori Amos' People
To anti: give Tori another chance. Some songs are depressing. Some songs are magical. She has so many great pieces of music. What a wonderful talent she is. And, she's probably the only artist around that when she covers someone elses songs (Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Rolling Stones, to name a few), she actually does them better than the originals! To Christy: I'm so glad you got to talk to her. I'm sorry to hear about your assault. Tori is so wonderful about that. At a concert at Copley, I heard that she talked with people before the show (she does a VIP thing, but she'll meet with fans that don't pay for the VIP thing as well). She talks to each one of them. And, I overheard these two women talking about how she was so sweet, and they just babbled on not making sense. And, since I write a column for Autograph Magazine, I often interview big name musicians, that tell me how they don't care for dealing with fans for so many reasons (they don't have anything to say, they want to talk for hours, they want 20 pictures, or 20 autographs, or to bug them at a restaurant, etc). I've talked to so many people that have met Tori, that tell me she spends the time to listen to them. She holds their hand. She thanks them for buying her music. This is a really special woman, to take the time to do that. On a side note: Christy, you aren't from Orange County, or somewhere in that area, are you? I was talking to someone in line to buy the book who had red hair and was from that area. She also mentioned crying when she met Tori on a previous occasion.— July 29, 2008 11:27 p.m.