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
XX is in Trouble
re: #8: Nicely done, AG ;) re: #6: "You have no idea how hard it is to be what is scathingly referred to now as a "feminist"." Yes, it is difficult, Ms. G., when an attention to leveling the playing field for women is seen as man-hating militancy. It is also hard to take when people refer to a fair and socially sensible attention to language when it comes to matters of gender, sex, and race as some kind of obsessive "political correctness," as though using language that is less biased and more thoughtful is the product of some paranoid conspiracy of a "thought police." So lazy, uninformed, and bigoted. When I was still in school, I assumed the rest of the world had evolved along with us, but was sorely mistaken. You learn a lot about public opinion in blogging, but the lessons are not all that encouraging. Sometimes it's like being transported back to a prehistoric era, and observing humans with no interest in tool use ;)— November 18, 2009 3:44 a.m.
Men and Babies
Hey dear, you still up, too? I'm about to try and hit the sack, but just wanted to say: Yes, the reason I said it was a delicate situation to discuss is that parents of the upper middle class are the ones we most often see obsessing on their child's emotional growth--not always in a good way, because they can gro up with an ugly ego issue, thinking the entire world revolves around their desires for immediate gratification. Working class folk seem to have less time, and therefore inclination to indulging every whim of their offspring ;)— November 18, 2009 3:32 a.m.
Men and Babies
"Most men are kind of distant from their kids." I don't agree with this statement, Fishikins. Roles in childrearing have changed in the last couple of decades, and I find that the couples you observed in the first two paragraphs more closely fit my own. In my family, the men take very strong, active roles in parenting, and just being with the kids, and I note the same with friends and acquaintances. The phrase "we're pregnant" may be annoying, but at least it bodes well for future paternal involvement. :) Then again, you hear more about absent fathers these days, too. I think it is a delicate issue, but the tension between tradition role values and adaptation to today's social enviro has resulted in a much greater involvement of fathers in their kids' day to day lives, especially if parents are together, and if both are working. I think it's a combination of necessity attendant to tough economic conditions, which force stay at home moms into the workforce, while dad may be laid off or needed to bear the burdens of parenting tasks moms can't complete alone anymore, and of a contemporary attitude toward parenting that stresses nurturing of the emotional development of children. Of course, some mini-monsters are created--I've known a couple of them, whose parents allow them to interrupt any adult conversation and dominate it. The good old "seen and not heard" is thing of the past. "I often see men at the grocery store with kids in the cart, or hanging off them, and the man isn’t even looking at the kids or listening to them when they talk to him," I see just as many mothers doing this.— November 18, 2009 2:07 a.m.
It Gets Worse
"And dollars to donuts..." Eek! You are starting to sound like Pete! Yes, it is frightening to think that insurance companies don't bother asking doctors to make judgement calls about our health. The figures sound extremely high, AG. Are you sure it is really $440/month? If so, most people will opt out. Did you notice a clause anywhere allowing a waiver for those choosing to retain their own insurance?— November 18, 2009 12:06 a.m.
Moving Along
So good to hear your dad is out of ICU, gringo. It sounds like pacemaker time, but that is a relatively easy surgery, and with the pneumonia gone, and some strength regained, he'll ace it. Yes, time goes so so fast. Saw my mother last week, and was shocked at how much older she seems, even after just six months or so without seeing her. I regret already the time we've missed, and that kind of regret does not fade. You should definitely take the time and go see your parents, spend some real time with them. Muahaahahhhaaa! I now have the refriedgringo Baja fish taco recipe in my arsenal!— November 17, 2009 11:37 p.m.
Feeding the Beast
I think chronic, unnecessary litigation should be classified as a compulsive disorder, similar to gambling. At the court, these folk end up in constant appeal of multiple orders, often serving as their own legal defense, because they have run out of money bringing all of these actions. If they are obnoxiously pursuing cases, these "pro pers" also end up being labeled "vexatious litigants," a term I savor for obvious reasons ;)— November 17, 2009 7:58 p.m.
It Gets Worse
"After age 40, get annual clinical breast exams, mammograms, Pap smears and pelvic exams, unless you are at higher risk because of family cancer (meaning more rather than less than the recommended testing)."" This recommendation is blatant falsehood. Teenage girls should be getting pap smears and pelvic exams annually. As soon as a female becomes sexually active she should get yearly gyno exams. Gringo, I'm glad to hear it bothers you too, although not sure why you had to add "even as a male." ;) This is a concern about human health care, and such quackery through neglect suggests that the same issues could arise around men's health care, too.— November 17, 2009 7:49 p.m.
Ill Postino & Kid Unemployed (The Choose Your Own Adventure Version)
Adam, I'm just glad to hear you haven't lost your job--what it was starting to look like. And yes, I have been reading too much serious stuff. Help! Someone entertain me. ;) I do miss Stella's rants. And we never found out what story lines Dexter proposed she write.— November 17, 2009 5:32 p.m.
Not of This World
Pete, the role of "Walter" was made for you. Or "Little Larry." You could do both parts, in one of my favorite scenes. "You see what happens, Larry?!" Actually, that film has far too many good scenes to choose, so scratch that. Fumbler is too self-aware to be Donny, but he is juuust perverted enough to play... The Jesus!— November 17, 2009 4:55 p.m.
Ill Postino & Kid Unemployed (The Choose Your Own Adventure Version)
Speaking of, re: this blog: I'm lost.— November 17, 2009 4:18 p.m.