I feel like I have a hangover, without all the happy memories and mystery bruises. -- Ellen DeGeneres David groans in anguish. "I'm old enough to know better," he sighs, dragging the last syllable, eeerrrrrr, …
January 5, 2006
News & Stories
David’s Debauchery
Holy Trinity, Ocean Beach
Denomination: Episcopalian, affiliated with the Anglican Communion Network Address: 2083 Sunset Cliffs Boulevard, Ocean Beach, 619-222-0635 Founded locally: 1921 Senior pastor: Lawrence Bausch Congregation size: 200 Staff size: 3 Sunday school enrollment: 25 Annual budget: …
January 5, 2006
Sharpest Knife In the Drawer
'Everybody has a different style and technique for how they sharpen their knives," says Jeff Thurston, executive chef at the Prado in Balboa Park. For hard German steel knives like Wüsthof or Henckels (brands used …
January 5, 2006
Discover the botanical oddities known as elephant trees in a remote corner of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Elephant trees (Bursera microphylla), once considered exceedingly rare in California, have turned out -- after decades of searching and serendipitous discovery -- to be not so rare north of the international border. Still, the scattered …
January 5, 2006
A Cup of Cuba
When my posse and I walked into Tazablanca, we spotted a familiar sight: On the wall behind the bandstand was a colorful oil painting that we'd last seen hanging at Mambo, the huge, short-lived Cuban …
January 5, 2006
Mayor Dick Murphy, after beating Donna Frye, resigns
Two thousand five was the year Dick Murphy died. Murphy the man is still alive, we hope. We think. We're almost certain. We haven't been able to talk to him. Not that we haven't tried. …
January 5, 2006
Maybe This Year
Cleaning house this morning. New Year's day blew by and the work-year grind begins. Found these items in a paper pile as I was mucking out my file cabinet. Follows are columns I wanted to …
January 5, 2006
War: Why American Soldiers Die
Did President Bush make the right decision to have the U.S. spend billions of dollars on the war in Iraq while people worldwide suffer from hunger and diseases? Absolutely not! Though Bush had noble intentions …
January 5, 2006
It's all in your head
Matt: I think I have a wonderful singing voice. But my so-called friends tell me differently. I didn�t believe them until one day I tape-recorded myself and played it back. I couldn't believe that squeaky …
January 5, 2006
Soma Smarts
Last month, MTV2 considered House of Blues and 4th & B for a "$2 Bill Tour" concert that features Yellowcard and Hello Goodbye. The show, which offers no ticket proceeds to the venue, will be …
January 5, 2006
Pictures of Contentment
More and more, I notice myself in the middle of a movie, or in the first ten minutes of a movie, putting the experience to the fundamental test. Am I content to be watching this …
January 5, 2006
Mung beans on the menu
Heymatt: Does anyone cook mung beans, or are they only good for sprouting? Has anyone ever seen a mung bean recipe? GM, the net A bean is a bean is a bean. Those of the …
January 5, 2006
John Who?
"A lot of people think John-Mark is a singer, not a band," says bassist/singer/songwriter James Coleman, 22. The four members of John-Mark were signed to Maverick Records last May. Three local artists inked major-label deals …
January 5, 2006
Stuff up your nose
Matthew Alice: When you smell something, does that mean that little particles of what you smell are going up your nose, or is it gasses given off by the object that we smell? Cindy, Mira …
January 5, 2006
New Executive Direction
At the 15th San Diego Music Awards ceremony on September 12, founder Kevin Hellman acknowledged that it would be his last year as SDMA executive director. "I hope to have an announcement by March 1," …
January 5, 2006
Not the Monster
"My phone is tapped," claims guitarist John Pertle of Johnny Love Sound, who pleaded guilty in late November to distributing and possessing child pornography. The 36-year-old had his mother contact me via e-mail. Through her, …
January 5, 2006
Meanwhile, Behind the Sports Arena...
When I went to see Le Tigre at Soma sometime last year, I drove past the Hancock Café on Hancock Street, behind Soma and the Sports Arena. A "live music" sign caught my eye, as …
January 5, 2006
Stomping and Screaming in La Mesa
Ken Bethea, lead guitarist of Old 97s, writes on his blog about the recording of his Dallas band's sixth album, Drag It Up. "We finished up in sunny San Diego at producer Mark Neill's vintage …
January 5, 2006
Rag Trade's Bottom Line Plunges
In corporate slang, the garment industry is lovingly called "the rag trade." But in recent years, the rag trade has been ragged: people at all income levels haven't been spending as much of their disposable …
January 5, 2006
Snowbound, Part Two of Two
A few years ago I ran across Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country. The novel's translator writes in an introduction to the novel: The west coast of the main island of Japan is probably for its latitude …
January 5, 2006
Breaking Stories
Bankers' millions San Diego mayoral honcho Ronne Froman, an ex-admiral, has filed her first statement of economic interests as required by state law. It reveals she is a director of La Jolla's 1st Pacific Bank, …
January 5, 2006
The Reader's Eye on Television
She sits like a stack of deli meats, all mounded up and sliding off of herself. Purple straps and black straps from tank tops and bras try to restrain her soft bubbles of flesh. Engorged …
January 5, 2006
Jeri Kemple in Colorado
The Yellow Cadillac I live in a small town (population 1500) with big skies and no hills. If I climbed the 100-year-old oak tree in my yard, I would see endless fields, now barren of …
January 5, 2006
The Duelist
Greg Vaughn invited me to his birthday party in North Park. He was the guitarist in a band that played at a party I wrote about last year. I remember hearing just a few songs …
January 5, 2006
Healthy Pet Food
Poor Longshanks. It's always hard to be a fat dog, but when you're a fat dachshund, it can get to the point where your long belly is dragging on the ground. Poor Rosencranz. He's a …
January 5, 2006