We contemplated our options. One ecstasy pill, check. Two 20-year-old women looking to party, check. Location was the hard part — where can you party your brains out and act like an idiot without getting …
August 25, 2005
News & Stories
Cool places: Hotel Camino Real, Cinepolis, Cerveceria Tijuana, Balak, La Diferencia, Paparazzi
Landismom in New Jersey
Princess Neck Snap I hear a lot of talk from prospective urban parents about the internal struggle that they go through when deciding to have kids. Usually, this gets framed as either "we're moving to …
August 25, 2005
Dignity San Diego
"The Roman Catholic Church has a history of changing its position on issues. It just takes a long time. Look at the church's stance on Galileo. It took them hundreds of years to finally apologize …
August 25, 2005
Panic System
It's all in the DJ and what he/she chooses to spin, right? Downtown's On Broadway has a regular duo with an eclectic collection: Morgan Young and Wendy call themselves the Vagabond DJs. The ambience? "A …
August 25, 2005
Meat Leads to Murder
On June 13, a jury found Samuel Horn guilty of the August 7, 2004, murder of Paulette Valenzuela, singer of hard rock/metal band the Abuse. Last month, the judge sentenced the 22-year-old to life in …
August 25, 2005
Idiotic Inspiration
"I was just interviewed for a biography on Green Day," says drummer Chris Coté. His band, Kut-U-Up, spent the summer of 2002 opening every show of the Green Day/blink-182 U.S. tour. Kut-U-Up was the focus …
August 25, 2005
In Memoriam...
"She had no idea it was coming." That's what one insider says about the firing of 91X DJ Robin Roth, who's known for her black wardrobe and fondness for Goth artists such as Bauhaus and …
August 25, 2005
Bugs, Blood, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
While drinking after a show in Europe last year, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and Blood Brother vocalist Jordan Blilie decided to start a thrash band. They drunk-dialed mutual friend and Locust bassist Justin …
August 25, 2005
A Dream, Perhaps?
When I moved to Ocean Beach two years ago, a friend told me, "There's a stripper bar a few blocks down. I've never checked it out." He was talking about Dream Street, and when I …
August 25, 2005
Fresh for the Underground
Chicago-born Fifth (a.k.a. Derrick Stanton) moved to San Diego with his family a decade ago, settling in El Cajon and then Spring Valley. The 19-year-old rapper/producer is the latest addition to rap crew Digital Underground. …
August 25, 2005
Painted Faces
It's fun to be a woman. It's fun to flirt and wear makeup and have boobs. -- Eva Mendes 'I can feel my pores tightening from the mist." "She was paid to say that," I …
August 25, 2005
Slashin' Statements
"Some fans who've followed me for years thought it was weird, having Slash on the record and in the video [for 'Street Child']," says Elan of her last album's guest guitarist. "But I grew up …
August 25, 2005
"Ain't Nobody Listening"
"Ain't nobody listening," says KPBS (89.5 FM) general manager Doug Myrland about the cancellation of Sounds Eclectic. The modern music program lasted a year. (The final show airs between 4 and 6 p.m. on Sunday.) …
August 25, 2005
Firewater for Coldplay
When Coldplay hit Coors Amphitheatre tomorrow, August 26, they expect their dressing room to be stocked with a bottle of vodka, two bottles of red wine, two bottles of dry white wine ("cold...not Chardonnay"), 48 …
August 25, 2005
The Reader's Eye on Television
"I can't believe you guys brought a TV and VCR," I announced to the group of blue overalls sitting in the torpedo room. "You know what I brought? I brought some books and CDs. I …
August 25, 2005
The Trudeau Vector
The Trudeau Vector by Juris Jurjevics. Viking, 2005; 402 pages; $24.95. FROM THE DUST JACKET: As the international team of scientists at the spectacular Trudeau Research Center prepares for six months of unrelenting Arctic winter, …
August 25, 2005
Old Wounds
When Escondido resident Le Ly Hayslip learned that the California State Assembly planned a May 9 award to honor her work, she got ready to celebrate. "My birthday is May 10," she says, "and I …
August 25, 2005
Liar Hotels
Economists say that when you tax something, you get less of it. When you subsidize something, you get more of it. San Diego County is on the fast track to subsidizing cannibalism. A proposed Chula …
August 25, 2005
The Battle of San Diego Bay, Part 2
Another Boston trader anchored in the bay? That’s four in the last three years. What is this, a plague? And the captain will need wood, provisions. Or his ship may have sprung a leak and …
August 25, 2005
Hike from the Laguna Mountain crest to Cuyamaca's Sweetwater River, and learn how the local mountains are recovering from the Cedar Fire.
The 12-mile, one-way hiking traverse from the Laguna Mountains to Cuyamaca Rancho State Park isn't what it used to be, on account of the October 2003 Cedar Fire. Still, it's nice to see the recovery …
August 25, 2005
The Real South
Puerto La Boca is a lively, cosmopolitan restaurant serving the most authentic Argentine cooking in the San Diego area. On any given night, about 70 percent of the tables are occupied by well-educated South American …
August 25, 2005
Sports Maintenance
'Now, let's talk about derailleur adjustments," says a male ectomorph I'll call Henry. Henry uses the airline-stewardess "happy-to-serve-you-and-I'd-like-to-watch-you-die" dialect for public discourse. He is employed as a bicycle repairman, which is a job title from …
August 25, 2005
Grunt Work
'A lot of people call it 'fake.' It's fixed, but it's not fake. A slap in the face is a slap in the face, and if I tell you it's going to come, it still …
August 25, 2005
Habit Breaker
“My background is on the front lines. I’ve had no formal training, but I’ve done a lot of tasting.”
August 25, 2005
Opera House
I met Sarah at a party last year. She sings with the Small Opera of San Diego. The voice that comes out of her petite frame sounds as if it should come from a 400-pound …
Month of the Dead
We have reached the tail end of the Dog Days, where my choices seem to be either to do one or more of The Brothers Grimm, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, …
August 25, 2005
Mission Bay Beacons
Matthew Alice: In Mission Bay sits an island with what looks like a large bowling pin on it. Another sits on the west side of I-5 north of Oceanside. I want to know what these …
August 25, 2005
Red Light, Green Light
Dear Matthew Alice: How did the traditions of using red lights for stop and green lights for go start? It seems pretty arbitrary to me. But I'm sure there's some weird logic behind it. And …
August 25, 2005
The Salty Atlantic
Matt: I just got back from a visit to Miami. When I was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean I could swear that the water there was saltier than it is off San Diego's Coast. True …
August 25, 2005