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
My husband is slowly falling in love with San Diego
Daniels opined: "This is lame. Who cares about being 'tough?'" Well, Daniels, it should be everybody. Maya Angelou once observed that of all the virtues, the most important is courage. Why? Because without it, it's impossible to consistently practice any of the others. Without courage (mental toughness), we'll be talked out of the rest of them, either by ourselves, by someone else, or by society in general. Because when the going itself gets "tough," the wimpy sell out. I don't see a lot of toughness in California. I see a lot of callousness, which is a different thing entirely.— September 30, 2009 10:33 p.m.
My husband is slowly falling in love with San Diego
Pete proclaimed: "I agreed that Chicago was not everyone's cup of meat. It's a tough town for tough people." To say the least. I was just commenting on Fish's blog about the murder of 16-year-old Derrion Albert. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/weblogs/memorial-li… Apparently, Chicago's up to 30+ kids a year being murdered? Nice place. Oprah can't swoop in with her Godlike powers and fix that s***? She's right there, for crying out loud. Seems like somebody could make a dent. I know a lot of folks just love Chicago. Supposedly has a great arts scene, restaurants, museums, etc. But it's also got one hell of a dark side to its rather "interesting" personality. I thought Detroit used to be worst for violent crime, but I guess it's Chicago now. "The Whale's Vagina is hardly what I'd call a tough town. It's hard to get tough when you have a world-class baseball team with many World Series wins,a world-class football team with hundreds of Lombardi trophies,SeaWorld,Balboa Park,hundreds of acres of sand to waste gas in and let's not forget about surfing in a beautiful,non-polluted ocean that abuts our neighbors to the south that would never dream of jumping the border to take advantage of us.." San Diego? "Tough?" LOL. That's a hot one. Except for the ghettos in L.A. and Oakland, there's not a lot of "tough" to be observed out here, certainly not in coastal California. Spoiled, entitled, narcissistic, tantrum-prone, selfish, rude, ungrateful, shallow, stupid, and ridiculous, perhaps. But "tough?" Not. Doesn't apply to everybody, of course. Just most of the people I observe on a daily basis. The younger they are, the truer it seems to be. The oldsters as a group are nicest, but I think that's true anywhere. Raised in a different time, with manners and ethics. So if the above description doesn't apply to whomever is reading this, there's no reason to be offended, is there? :)— September 30, 2009 9:59 p.m.
Just One More Hurt
Just the saddest thing I've read about in a while, Fish. I haven't seen the video, and won't watch it. I have mixed emotions regarding the fact that it's even available for viewing. Here was a young man who did everything right. Apparently abandoned by both his mother and father, he worked hard and got good grades, he took care of his sick grandmother, and even went to church. He believed in himself and kept his head up. He was kind. And it just didn't matter. Life is so unfair.— September 30, 2009 9:22 p.m.
Some Musings On Our Fast-Food Culture...
Fishy wrote: "Oooh, nan, are you talking about Adam Lambert???? _________________ THUD!!!!!!" Fishy, Board is buddies with Adam's dad, ya know... For your viewing pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwH6fDCSk-c (She finally finds focus at about :15)— September 30, 2009 4:49 p.m.
My husband is slowly falling in love with San Diego
<blech> My least favorite subject. Comparing Republicans is like comparing farts and arguing which one's the smelliest. (D'ja like that, Pete?) ;) And now, to go and be entirely more productive...— September 29, 2009 10 p.m.
Refried v. Lunacy
Refried proposed: "I think I'm going up North in few days anyway, so this guy is going to have to chillax. When I go, I'll be gone for a week or so. I'll announce it. I think a friend needs my help. (AG, I'll be in your neck of the woods, likely. Buy you a beer?)" Sorry I missed this last eve, Gringo. Daniels had to point me at it. I haven't checked out the big rumble, yet. Absotively, Posilutely, of course. :)— September 29, 2009 9:53 p.m.
My husband is slowly falling in love with San Diego
Fish suggested: "I think we may have identified the problem. Now, what is the solution? I know! Move!" Again? No thanks. I've done nothing but for the last several years. Cheapest in town, cat sitter lives next door, only 8 miles from work. I'll tough it out for a while, here in the Whale's Rectum. :)— September 29, 2009 9:33 p.m.
My husband is slowly falling in love with San Diego
Refried declared: "The Governator is SORT of a republican" That's like being a little pregnant, dude. Either you is or you ain't. :)— September 29, 2009 9:28 p.m.
My husband is slowly falling in love with San Diego
Pete pecked: "I think a major turn off for us transplants is the fact that residents of the Whale's Vagina proudly boast that their city isn't the best in America but the finest in all the land. Seems pretty obnoxious to me." Exactly. California in general, San Diego in particular x10. There's just a level of blowhardiness about the whole thing that's WAY out of proportion with...well, the liveability of the place, I guess. The housing is the worst thing. You just have to live in such a craphole out here, unless you're loaded down with $$$ or your parents set you up, which is the case with most people who have anything at all. I don't even currently reside in SD. I made the 'interesting' decision of moving up to Humboldt a few years ago to live in the redwoods, and now am back to about an hour north of San Francisco. Now THAT is a city I DEFINITELY can't afford to live in...which is unfortunate. Beautiful place, a little nippy. As is SD, actually. I think LA has better weather. That's where I'm planning on going next (Long Beach, most likely), before eventually returning to Texas. The Whale's Vagina, Pete? Sounds like a good name for a bar. Coincidentally, I think there's a thread around here that might be able to use it. :)— September 29, 2009 9:25 p.m.
My husband is slowly falling in love with San Diego
More Fish bubbles: "The state government is, well, all I will say Bush is an accurate reflection of the state of affairs in Texas; what he inflicted on America is basically how they like living down there in the land of steers, only with more guns." Um, yeeeeaaahhh... Let's see, Fishy...you live where? In California? The California that is "run" by this guy? http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3592/3327551265_65… Soooo, you live in a Republican state (like Texas) in a Republican city (unlike Austin) that is, well, flat broke (unlike Texas), is cutting things like education left and right... ...and you really want to bring up politics as an example of why California is superior? Really? Agree with you about Ivins and Richards. Love 'em. I left Texas shortly after Bush was elected to his first term as governor there. Seemed a good time to leave for a while and miss the whole thing.— September 29, 2009 8:32 p.m.