One Sunday in November 1989, Barry Lall, an Indian-American doctor, was driving over the Coronado Bridge with his wife Hema, their four-year-old son Arjun, Lall's father and mother, and a real estate broker. They were …
June 29, 2006
News & Stories
Indian-American Barry Lall left secure doctor's job at Kaiser for a small Coronado motel
Country of Smarties
Some people talk a good talk, but in the end, they don�t really know much.
June 29, 2006
San Diego First Assembly, Mission Valley
On June 21, the first day of summer, San Diego First Assembly Women's Ministries held their first meeting of Hot Summer Nights ("Fun in the Son"). The walls in the spacious meeting room were tan, …
June 29, 2006
Picture This
'I have a wall of books in my office that is 90 percent fairy tales from around the world," says professional storyteller Harlynne Geisler. Geisler has divided her books into subcategories: "Hispanic, African, African-American, Spooky, …
June 29, 2006
I always seem to be in love with two women at the same time.”
"Well, there's what I really did Friday night and then there's this version." This large stranger and I were in one of my favorite coffee houses that's too far away from where I live now …
June 29, 2006
Mayhem at Every Show
"He looked like a Tijuana skinhead," says Allen Camp, the soundman who worked June 18's all-day show at Heartland Masonic Lodge in El Cajon. Camp describes the primary assailant who led the charge to beat …
June 29, 2006
Big Government by the Sea
Hank Williams III's recent obscenity-laced appearance at the Fiesta del Sol was a topic of discussion at the June 14 Solana Beach City Council meeting. Although no action was taken, some councilmembers suggested that the …
June 29, 2006
Disneyland amidst Wildflowers and Border Patrol
Promoters of the TeleMagica Art and Music Festival (held in Jacumba June 16--18) say, "The highlight of the event was 'The Return of the Buffalo' opera spectacle: a Scottish kilt-dressed narrator followed by children twirling …
June 29, 2006
GoGoGo to Work
"Yes, it is true, we have broken up," says GoGoGo Airheart drummer Andy Robillard on the band's MySpace blog. "At least I can say without any reservations whatsoever that we never put out a shitty …
June 29, 2006
Hip-Hop Is Worse
"I just got a bill for $8000, and that was just for the orthopedic surgeon," says Ben Labrake. "I haven't even received the hospital bill." Labrake attended the June 2 Battalion of Saints and Dirtbag …
June 29, 2006
Shock Rock!
"We get occasional audience members who give us a hard time over it," says bassist Mike Johnston, whose band Sirhan Sirhan is named after the assassin who shot and killed Robert F. Kennedy 38 years …
June 29, 2006
How High is San Diego?
Matthew Alice: I've seen signs along the roads leading to San Diego stating that the elevation is 11 feet. Exactly where is the spot where the measurement was taken? Or is it an average elevation: …
June 29, 2006
Jailbait
Due to media info glut I will forego World Cup references, save for one thought. World Cup games begin with 45 minutes of commercial-free soccer followed by an intermission long enough to prepare a wholesome …
June 29, 2006
Discover melodious Cooper Canyon Falls in a secluded canyon near the Angeles Crest Highway.
Cooper Canyon Falls roars with the melting snows of each spring season, then settles down to a quiet whisper by summer. This year's near-normal but unusually late rainfall and snowfall in the San Gabriel Mountains …
June 29, 2006
Poet's Choice
Poet's Choice by Edward Hirsch. Harcourt, 2006, $25, 448 pages. FROM THE DUST JACKET: In Poet's Choice, the gifted poet and critic Edward Hirsch offers a new way to look at the world through the …
June 29, 2006
Mojito Mixer
I arrived at Armando's 40th birthday party in a bad mood. I was invited by his girlfriend Laurie. She and I talked on the phone, and I learned that they had worked together and dated …
June 29, 2006
Yellow Monster
Crystal called and invited me to come over because she had marijuana. Knowing that my grandparents would not let me out of the house, I snuck downstairs in my pajamas, avoiding all the creaks in …
June 29, 2006
Napoleon III Could Unclog Freeways
San Diego needs Napoleon III. To be sure, he may have been a bastard. Literally and figuratively. Because of his mother's fondness for recreational adultery, it is not clear that he was, as claimed, the …
June 29, 2006
The Reader's Eye on Television
Adult society, at every level, is depraved. Walk up to any jerk on the street and ask to go through the pictures on his cell phone. He sure as hell won't let you. He's got …
June 29, 2006
Ruff, Ruff, Ruff In Imperial Beach
Diana Cartman (a pseudonym) suffers from a recurring nightmare. The dream runs like this: Cartman watches television in her living room a few blocks from the ocean in Imperial Beach. It's getting late, and she …
June 29, 2006
Earth to Sanders
On his official website, San Diego mayor Jerry Sanders solemnly promises that he will run an open government, featuring what he calls "transparent decision-making." But some of his people apparently haven't gotten the message. Take …
June 29, 2006
Party On, Dudes
San Diego's On Broadway Event Center, famous for its glitzy disco action, has been sanctioned by the state's Fair Political Practices Commission for allegedly failing to properly report $12,931.26 in campaign contributions it made to …
June 29, 2006
Acid-Drenched Analog Party
You're not having an LSD flashback. The psychedelic sounds of Silver Sunshine come courtesy of guitarist Richard Vaughan, bassist Stuart Sclater, and guitarist/organist Conor Riley, who frequently whips out a vintage Mellotron, just in case …
June 29, 2006
Dana and Goliath
No one can be as calculatedly rude as the British, which amazes Americans, who do not understand studied insult and can only offer abuse as a substitute. -- Paul Gallico I should have felt something …
June 29, 2006
Jeremy Menning in Providence, Rhode Island
Where We Are Going It's 5:39 a.m. on the day of the rehearsal dinner. I'm sitting here typing what will be my last blog before my wedding and subsequent honeymoon. I'm tired. My feet are …
June 29, 2006
Lei, Lady Lei
Lei Lounge has been generating a lot of buzz lately. Like last week's Confidential, it serves a summer-friendly menu of creative global tapas meant for sharing, along with a drink list of what I'd call …
June 29, 2006