Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult not to stare at ten men dressed in black who brandished submachine guns. Under normal circumstances, ten men dressed in black who brandished submachine guns would be the …
February 2, 2006
News & Stories
Abduction and murder at T.J.’s Camp Campestre
My Other Shirt Is Hawaiian
I went to a luau at a home off Murray Ridge. As I was getting ready to go there, I got a call from a guy driving to San Diego from Phoenix. He had a …
February 2, 2006
Holy Vocals, Matisyahu
Matisyahu, a Hasidic Jew who sings reggae, played the Belly Up Tavern twice last year. Both shows sold out. Buoyed by his big radio hit "King Without a Crown," he returns February 20 for the …
February 2, 2006
Done with Mirrors
When I heard the Beauty Bar was opening at the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and Euclid (the same place my convertible was carjacked at a stoplight), I thought I must have heard wrong. But …
February 2, 2006
Where's Devendra?
"No one has been able to explain to me how that happened yet," says Vetiver front man Andy Cabic. He doesn't know why the Casbah billed Devendra Banhart as part of the lineup in promotions …
February 2, 2006
Climax in Hillcrest
"It's dirty, dingy, rocking metal full of comic-book adventures," says film director Matt Hoyt of Goblin Cock, the latest musical venture from Rob Crow (Pinback, Heavy Vegetable, etc.). "[Crow] wants people to buy into his …
February 2, 2006
Rude Awakening
The Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Casbah show sold out an hour after tickets went on sale January 21. The day after, an eBay member in Atlanta, Georgia, under the name "uneedsomethin," was scalping ten …
February 2, 2006
No Fair, No Party
A City of San Diego employee says that the support of Discover PB and savepb.org is vital for the issuance of a PB Block Party permit. The insider says longtime organizer Kevin Hellman would have …
February 2, 2006
Not Set Up to Rock
"We started this one off with a nice 20-second feedback solo," says Crash Carter singer/guitarist Casey Gee of the band's "worst gig ever," at the Hard Rock Café in La Jolla. Drummer John Mears elaborates …
February 2, 2006
Jukebox Stakeout
At Victor's, on Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa, I saw a few regulars that work for Pepsi, which is around the corner. Howie Ouzts, a 34-year-old driver, shot pool and downed Coors Lights. When he …
February 2, 2006
Give Her a Broadside!
'Once you take a cannon off of land and put it on a vessel on the water, it becomes a gun. The Californian has six-pound long guns. We also have a swivel gun. Our enemy …
February 2, 2006
Ramble along the shore of El Capitan Reservoir
Little remains of the century-old, redwood-planked flume (aqueduct) that once brought the waters of the Cuyamaca Mountains to Grossmont Summit and farther west. Much of the flume's 36-mile-long grade is hard to identify, since no …
February 2, 2006
The Mars Society...more than a few real-life scientists, military men, and astronauts.
Having discovered such a thing as the Mars Society in San Diego and its Friday night events calendar, my column was clear. In a way. It will certainly sound odd to say that I have …
February 2, 2006
The Swedenborgian Church of San Diego, University Heights
Denomination: Church of the New Jerusalem Address: 4144 Campus Avenue, University Heights Founded locally: 1883 Senior pastor: Reverend Carla Friedrich Congregation size: 22 active members Staff size: 1 Sunday school enrollment: no school, but an …
February 2, 2006
Growing Pains
'When you get above five barrels, you can't do the small, open-bin fermentation.'
February 2, 2006
Detroit Backflip
This started out as an "Up with Detroit" column meant as counterpoint to last week's "Guttersnipe Columnist Slanders Great American City" work product. The idea was to telephone random Detroit bars and ask patrons, bartenders, …
February 2, 2006
Favorite TV shows: Cheesy, Corny
'Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!" From the moment when Jan uttered those words, I was in love with the Bradys, all nine of them (you have to include Alice). I loved nerdy Jan, sweet Cindy, pretty Marsha, …
February 2, 2006
In DMood for Food
Where can you get a decent bite to eat after nine or ten p.m. in early-to-bed San Diego? If you're anywhere near the lively neighborhood of University Heights, you'll find several comfortable spots, including a …
February 2, 2006
Today's special: Fleas!
Matt: How did swap meets a flea markets get named? I've ever seen any swapping at a swap meet, and I've never seem fleas at a flea market. -- Nola from North Park Well, for …
February 2, 2006
If You Get My Continental Drift
Your Mattness: Who decides what are continents? Why is Greenland not a continent? It is bigger than the island/continent of Australia and has more people than Antarctica. How can Europe and Asia be one continent? …
February 2, 2006
On Watch
Movies reviewed this week: Caché, Imagine Me and You and Mrs. Henderson Presents
February 2, 2006
The Bill from My Father: A Memoir
The Bill from My Father: A Memoir by Bernard Cooper. Simon & Schuster, 2006; 240 pages; $24 FROM THE DUST JACKET: Bernard Cooper's new memoir is searing, soulful, and filled with uncommon psychological nuance and …
February 2, 2006
The Reader's Eye on Television
"I've heard you can Effect the outcome of sporting events." "You've been misinformed," the man says. "I don't effect the outcome of sporting events any more than you do, or anyone for that matter." His …
February 2, 2006
Morenike Akinlawon in Rhode Island
Out Of Africa, Into Rhode Island So here I am to introduce myself. How does one do that without sounding boastful or egotistical? What facts do you reveal? Do you lie a little to make …
February 2, 2006
Reflections of Self
Identity would seem to be the garment with which one covers the nakedness of the self, in which case, it is best that the garment be loose, a little like the robes of the desert, …
February 2, 2006
Wonderweed
Heymatt: So, I was digging your column on schizophrenia, but when I read the last paragraph, I heard my own loud voice and it boomed, "Dios mio!" Matt, my buddy, in a town like San …
February 2, 2006
Canary In Coal Mine for National Housing Woes
In the Old West, nimble-fingered gamblers -- often called bunco steerers -- would ride into town and set up rigged games of chance. After fleecing locals, they would vamoose, often pursued by a posse swinging …
February 2, 2006
Social Security Numbers Up For Grabs
Greg Cook, a ham radio enthusiast who runs his own computer networking business, places the police scanner on the table next to my coffee cup. "If I leave it on while we talk," he tells …
February 2, 2006
Breaking Stories
Sewer story With San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders talking up the possibility of fee increases to pay for water and sewer projects, engineering and construction firms that stand to gain contracts worth millions and perhaps …
February 2, 2006
Stained Glass
I crave beauty, particularly the floral variety. The garden's been going through a rough patch for the past year -- neglect, thy name is Eve -- and so I've been looking for something more permanent …
February 2, 2006