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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
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Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
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Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
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San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
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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
Do Right
Displays of bereavement are for the living, and are acts of kindness. To proactively decline from such is unkind and in poor taste, and sends a very negative message.— February 5, 2009 1:04 p.m.
Downtown living
Burb, there is an old saying. "There is nothing common about common sense."— January 31, 2009 9:17 a.m.
Honking at the Homeless
You know what else bugs? The people who leave the store, get in their cars, and as you are waiting for their spot, they bust out their phone and make a call, or fiddle with the mirror, or just don't leave. As an aside, I love the word "jerk". It sums up so many things. Very effective.— January 31, 2009 9:15 a.m.
The Dog Blog II -- The Maltese Falcon
My sister's dog's name is Frank. Did you get James Cotton?— January 25, 2009 1:31 p.m.
Forsaking Friendships
Josh - were it so easy. This person literally destroyed two people in my old office because she did not like them. They were clients of mine as well, and worked with the same person that she did. We work in the same industry, just in different capacities. Because I like them both, and worked with both of them, she questioned my loyalty to her, said things that got back to me, and even once sent me an e-mail telling me we could no longer be friends because she felt our friendship was compromised. When I said something to the person she worked for, repeating something awful I had heard frenemy said about me, that person (a very good client of mine) told her what I said. Hence the e-mail. I don't know if you, as a man, are familiar with that particular brand of female that seems to wield power over other women because they are afraid if they don't kiss her ass, she will do everything in her power to destroy your business contacts and your reputation. They sense that she is dangerous. I had to suck up to keep my business relationship with her employer. The two that she did not like wound up quitting because she convinced a snarky group of people in the office to hate them as well.— January 24, 2009 5:52 p.m.
Forsaking Friendships
It helps very much - thanks!— January 22, 2009 7:51 p.m.
The Dog Blog
Basset hounds are awesome! They are also very protective. We have one up the street. Whenever she is out and kids are playing in the yard, she howls at me and stamps her feet. I am glad as well that your girlfriend bought you that book. Keep us posted on your dog search! And I will keep my eye out for a smaller dog at the shelter that I think you might like.— January 22, 2009 1:48 p.m.
None
"The best thing about living there is the diversity. The worst thing is the scary ghetto people hanging around at night. In the Paradise Valley area, some of the black people that hang around the streets at night just make me feel unsafe. I do like that there’s a mix of people that are open to others." Huh?!? This entire comment is a contradiction. You love diversity but the black people are scary? You like that there is a mix of people open to others, a group you obviously do not belong to? Unfortunately, she will never see these comments. I doubt a publication called The Reader catches the eye of this type of person. Yes, I am stereotyping. It's just a little harder when the group you dislike is the color "stupid". You have to wait until they open their mouths.— January 21, 2009 6:34 p.m.
Forsaking Friendships
There is another liability factor - the friend who knows your business contacts and who will bad mouth you if break off the friendship. I have had to stay "friends" with someone like this for a very long time, and am slowly weaning myself away. As with your friend, the calls are about needing things, but they are usually of a more tangible and less emotional substance. "Hi, it's X. I'm bored. Do you have any magazines?" "Can I borrow (borrow?) some of your Retin A (at $75.00 bucks a tube)?" It's insulting. She comes over and takes inventory of my bathroom, looking at thing she thinks I don't use and wanting to "trade" for something. Usually this entails my very expensive perfume, which she helps herself to without asking. I mentioned I was going to have a yard sale. Her response? "Let me come over and go through everything first. There might be something we want." She knows she has some power over me, and she uses it to her advantage. I could go on and on, but what's the use? I am just now getting back into my business after a year off, and I cannot afford to make any enemies. Any advice for this situation? I know you are not an advice columnist, but you have a very good head on your shoulders and seem to be able to remove negative influences in your life without much aftermath.— January 21, 2009 3:10 p.m.
Doubt and Indecision
John - you are not that old. You suffer the affliction of the musician who never made it to the big time, the young man who inhabits a mature man's body but whose mind does not want to mature at an equal pace. We think, I squandered my youth. But. What fun we had, back then! It's not that bad, it just sucks getting old, when you no longer fit into the crowd at the bar, or the band, or the group at the office going out for happy hour. I wanted to be a writer, I have no talent. I wanted to play guitar, I can't. Imagine to want something and have no talent for it whatsoever. You get to write because you do it well. You got to play in a band and publish a book because you have a gift. Stop living in the past and the future. Be here now. And FYI: I like you. I think you are one of the most interesting people I have ever met.— January 21, 2009 2:42 p.m.