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
Street Smart
(in my best Seinfeld voice): Why do they call a drive-way a drive-way, when you park on it? And you don't park on a 'park way' but drive on it?— August 29, 2009 1:02 p.m.
Anyone Going to Street Scene?
The first thing that struck me as odd was seeing a tip jar at the merch booth selling band T-shirts. Really? Now we gotta tip the dude selling a $25 Modest Mouse shirt? For what? For grabbing you the XL instead of the medium one that's on the table.... There was an oxygen bar that seemed rather busy. A handful of radio stations were set up, giving away crappy prizes. The 94.1 FM canopy said "Jeff & Jer in the morning," on it. I got locals the Wavves, who were energetic, but they used way too much distortion, feedback, and pedals for my taste. Awesome energy, though. Devendra Banhart, I am now convinced, just does't do it for me. My favorite part of his set was listening to the drummer give a shout-out to his dad "Herb", and then making the entire crowd yell "Hi Herb!" But the epitome of why Street Scene is so great to attend. I went to get some street tacos at a booth, and Band of Horses was on. I only knew one of their songs, and I don't know anything about them. And they were putting on an amazing set, as the sun was slowly setting. I finished my grub in time to catch Matt and Kim, who I was really looking forward to. They were already into the set when I got over there, but I heard "Yeah Yeah", "5K" and a few other tunes I liked. It was a bit annoying that some fat chick with dyed red hair kept pushing and shoving. The third time I saw her barrelling towards me, I was ready to clock her. I was just going to stick my arm out like Dick Butkus and level her. Just as she got close, she turned in a completely different direction (knocking a guy off his feet). Matt told a funny story about the band performing on Jimmy Kimmell live the other night and how excited they were to be pooping in Robin Williams dressing room. I caught a few songs by Conor Oberst, who everyone tells me is so great. I got bored quick, and went to check out Anya Marina. At her stage, it was the only one where you could hear the other bands. It was a shame, because she started the set off with "Vertigo" my favorite song off her latest album. But it's a quiet tune, and parts of it were bleed-out by Conor. Anya said after the song "Hi, I'm Conor Oberst."— August 29, 2009 12:56 p.m.
El Cajon no-smoking law flouted
Instead of kicking their infant down the block, why not tell them you pay taxes for their kid to go to school, among other things. Also tell them they're going to be bringing their kid into restaurants, annoying the crap out of you as you try to eat and they can't keep their kid quiet. You can't have a cigarette in the diner to ease the stress, either!— August 28, 2009 11:56 a.m.
Prison Inmates (Dedicated to Dominick Dunne)
Well Pete, I'm of the opinion (and I'm guessing rickey and anti are as well), that if you choose NOT to donate your organs, whether that's for religious beliefs, or because you think it sounds creepy...not matter WHAT the reason, you are keeping another person from possibly living. I don't know a lot about religion, but I don't think any of them say anything about your body staying intact after you die. Isn't it your "soul" that goes to heaven and plays a harp on a cloud, and hangs out with Jimi Hendrix?— August 28, 2009 11:53 a.m.
Party Time?
Pete, the problem with Spliff ranting about the Chargers...well, they bother me just as much as anyone. But you can't just post something about how they "suck". I mean, football experts are talking about them being the best team in football this year (as they have the past few years). So just posting about how they suck, shows he doesn't know what he's ranting about. For you to say that people on this site don't "know you" also is a bit odd. When a person (ie YOU) comments on various topics, whether it's about using offensive words, smoking, a movie review, or whatever...they most certainly ARE learning about you. It's the same way some of the smart people on this site (writers, posters, who ever), also don't realize that they come across like idiots. They might try to impress with the big words they know, or literary references, or mentions of what degrees they have from what universities. And at the end of the day, all that really matters is how well you present your case in a certain debate or topic on here. And I've seen those smart folks fail miserably on a number of them.— August 28, 2009 10:34 a.m.
Dangerous Bird
I'm no doctor (although I play one on this website)...but I'm guessing the turkey would still have SOME of it's healthy qualities, but the skin (since it would be deep fried), would be horrible for you. But even doctors go back and forth on such things. There will be a report that cooking vegetables takes away all the nutrients as opposed to eating them raw.Then a report will come out a few years later, saying that it actually isn't as bad as they thought, etc. When it comes to reports like that, I think eggs have gotten the worst rap.— August 28, 2009 10:20 a.m.
Letters
Pete, I agree that the PC police that come around complaining about every little word, can get annoying. And I don't think you should post (by "you" I mean ANYONE), wondering if this or that will be offensive to someone. But some things just seem like obvious ways to be a bit more respectful. And it's easier for people to listen to your point of view that way. I know that you don't care so much about those things, as you, yourself said...you like to come in and stir things up. I have this jacket I bought, that has a bunch of teams from the Negro Leagues. I'm fascinated by the league, for too many reasons to get into right now. Well, people think the name "Washington Redskins" is offensive. They have a team called the Black Clowns, the Black Yankees....and there was a team called ...shoot, can't remember all the names. Even saying "negro leagues" I'm sure, someone would find offensive. I remember as a kid, my stepdad pulling me aside and saying something to us after a neighborhood kid said the n-word. He said, "If I ever hear you say that word, I'll beat the crap out of you. You can use the word 'negro' or 'black'. But never the n-word." I wish more parents had said things like that to their kids. Although, somewhere along the line, "negro" became unacceptable, and a lot of folks don't like "black" either.— August 28, 2009 1:32 a.m.
El Cajon no-smoking law flouted
jm...as a non-smoker, I will say this. I think non-smokers are so much ruder than smokers are. That being said, you are wrong on two counts in your last post. First, the cheeseburger thing doesn't work, because they may be doing damage to their health by consuming it, but it hardly bothers people around them (unless they eat it all messy, the way they do in the Carl's Jr. commercials). With smoking, they aren't telling you to stop out of concern for your health. It's because the smoke bothers them. Second, when you're in your car smoking, obviously the window is open because it's hot out. But, when you drive...my pet peeve is you smokers that have your windows open, because you want to knock the ashes out onto the street. And that's almost always followed by, flicking the cigarette butt out the window. USE YOUR DAMN ASH TRAYS!!!! This is a fire hazard (especially with this weather). That's how a fire started near one of the casinos a few years back. Not to mention, it's littering.— August 28, 2009 1:25 a.m.
James Cotton Meets James Cotton
Well Pete, I'm used to people laughing at me. It started in kindergarten, with the teacher saying "Josh? Josh Board?" Kids laugh at any last name that's also a word. Well story...the one leather jacket I have, he never wears. It was more for the novelty of it. The jacket was $25. The embroidery was another $25. So...as cute as the idea is, just not justified in spending another $50 on it. But, for a small dog, it does give him a nice, bad-ass look when he wears it. Maybe it'll scare pit bulls away.— August 28, 2009 1:19 a.m.
Marilyn Monroe -- Lives Her Life Like a Body in a Box
I know Gregory Page. I know Jimmy Page. I know Gene Kupra. I know Gene Simmons. Not sure I know who Gene Page is, though. Who is that?— August 28, 2009 1:17 a.m.