At night, the exterior of Kearny Mesa Bowl is not inviting. Set toward the back of a big parking lot on the south side of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, about a block west of Convoy, the …
February 22, 2007
News & Stories
San Diego bowlers have dropped from 66,000 to 8,000
Local with a Label
Tristan Prettyman is a rare breed among San Diego's growing crop of acoustic crooners -- she's signed to a major label. Virgin Records released twentythree in August 2005, followed by a ten-month national tour with …
February 22, 2007
Sisters and Salesmen
In Beth Henley's Crimes of the Heart, Doc's young son Scott is going to the dentist for the first time. And just about everyone else in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, is having the adult equivalent. Lenny MaGrath …
February 22, 2007
Climb half a vertical mile up the east flank of the Santa Ana Mountains near Lake Elsinore.
The Main Divide of the Santa Ana Mountains follows a significant Southern California watershed division, and also quite closely marks the Orange/Riverside county line. On the divide, you can often spot both the Pacific Ocean …
February 22, 2007
Horror in Clairemont
There are no good girls gone wrong, just bad girls found out. -- Mae West Jen and I sat on the bench in the entryway to the theater. We rested our backs against a poster …
February 22, 2007
No Pigeonhole
"The rap scene has started to get like karaoke," says Richard Gendron. "We did that for a while, but we were limited because we had to write our lyrics to these [prerecorded] beats." With partner …
February 22, 2007
Out to Pasture
The day after the Grammy awards, the KUSS (95.7 FM) morning team of Tony and Kris talked about the previous day's on-air stunt: urinating into adult diapers. They didn't play any Dixie Chicks music, even …
February 22, 2007
Electric Wiggles
On January 13, a group of San Diego indie rockers, including guitarist Dylan Martinez (Rookie Card), drummer Mike Kamoo (the Stereotypes), keyboardist Kelly Duley (the Kite Flying Society), and bassist Justin Bryant (Static Halo) performed …
February 22, 2007
Tijuana Brash
"Punk rock is really starting to get big in Mexico, especially in Mexico City," says singer/guitarist Irving Lugo, who estimates that there are now over 100 punk bands in Tijuana. But, "Norteño is still the …
February 22, 2007
The Shatman Cruiseth
"With the resurgence of Bill Shatner's acting career, there's been a lot of interest in his music," says Dan Lederman, a.k.a. ShatMan, the One-Man Shatner Tribute Band. "I started doing karaoke shows to discs of …
February 22, 2007
Shirking Off the Blues
"The women's room has only one commode in it, and the room has a locking door," says Lorrie Merriman, co-owner of O'Connell's in Bay Park. "Two women and a hot topic of discussion can tie …
February 22, 2007
Video-format converter
Our 15-year-old wedding ceremony VHS tape sits in the bottom drawer of my bedside table. The mini DV tape of our first child's birth and baptism lies in the inner door of my secretary desk. …
February 22, 2007
Reinventing Girl
For 14 years, Stacey Ellis was the lead singer for San Diego threesome Ellis. The band, including her husband Brett Ellis on guitars and Mike McFarland on drums, had its share of ego clashes. Yet, …
February 22, 2007
Top Five Gems
Top Five Gems from recent posts on the San Diego Musicians webpage at craigslist.org: "CD artwork...can provide samples on speculum." "Metal guitarist looking to form or join group...not into Cookie Monster sounding vocals." "Death metal …
February 22, 2007
Nacho
As Super Bowl halftime approached, I headed off to another party. I had two more to catch. The first, which the host dubbed the "Nacho Bowl," was in North Park. He said there would be …
February 22, 2007
Little Bohemian
Title: Little Bohemian Address: http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog. ListAll&friendID=12030916&MyToken=249b5fe0-0017-4489-8af1-469d3fdb4198ML Author: Little Bohemian From: Hillcrest Blogging since: April 2006 Post Date: January 21, 2007 Post Title: San Diego Part I I've just moved out. The magnitude of the change …
February 22, 2007
My Chopped Liver
As I sit here typing, I'm a little distraught by the unkempt state of my hair and my unmade face. It's because I haven't been out all day because I'm grounded. I'm grounded because I …
February 22, 2007
Gorgeous Flirt by Jay Daniels
It was the summer before my second year at the University of Arizona when I learned that Christine was graduating Coronado High School and was to attend the U of A. Christine was what my …
February 22, 2007
Medicine Soldier In Iraq
Sleep Monster As a traditional guardsman, I have to live a dual life and with the consequences of doing so. Going from a normal work week to drill weekend is not so bad, but coming …
February 22, 2007
Up in Smoke
'In many things in life, we have a tendency to go one way or the other, and not much in between," says Richard Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute. "Once, fire was all bad. …
February 22, 2007
Good German
People often ask me, "Where should I go for a gala brunch that doesn't cost a fortune?" I mumble, "Aaagh, I don't do mornings." And when they ask where to get good home-style German food, …
February 22, 2007
Buyers and Cellars
"It's valuable to see the date integrated -- if every time you log in there's a gauge saying, "Everything's A-OK.""
February 22, 2007
The Reader's Eye on Television
At some point, we're going to have to dig up Mister Rogers's body. I know it's not a pretty business, but there it is: little kids are turning up at the morgue in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. …
February 22, 2007
St. James by the Sea Episcopal Church, La Jolla
Swaths of rough white stucco surrounded the stained-glass windows at St. James by the Sea. The windows -- saints above and the life of Christ below -- were tastefully small, yet rendered dramatic through their …
February 22, 2007
White Crane Spreads Its Wings Three Years Later
Three years ago I wrote a column about taking up the practice of tai chi and said I'd report back after a year. I did and promised an update in 12 months time. Did that …
February 22, 2007
Tiny Potrero Battles County and Blackwater USA
The hamlet of Potrero in southeast San Diego County, 45 miles from the city and just 8 minutes from Tecate, is being ambushed. The attackers are county bureaucrats marching alongside Blackwater USA, the private military …
February 22, 2007
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease by Dr. Sharon Moalem, with Jonathan Prince. William Morrow, 2007, 267 pages, $25.95 FROM THE BOOK JACKET: A fresh and engaging examination of …
February 22, 2007
Creative Chaos at MiraCosta
MiraCosta College dean Eileen Kraskouskas was in San Francisco for a three-day conference last March when she got e-mails and calls from the office of the MiraCosta president telling her that 2006 would be her …
February 22, 2007
Grubb & Ellis fined for late money to hospital measure
A subsidiary of the real estate outfit that recently recommended taking day-to-day approval of San Diego's real estate dealings away from the city council has again been tagged with campaign-reporting violations. According to a stipulation …
February 22, 2007
Cheryl Peace replaced on Waste Management Board
The wife of ex-Democratic state senator Steve Peace is no longer a member of the state's Integrated Waste Management Board following the expiration of her term last month. Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata named …
February 22, 2007
This is a fun Friday-night exercise if, say, you are a lonely loser with no life.
A longtime friend of mine -- a professor in Tacoma who worked with me at Hunter's Books in La Jolla when he was going for his PhD and his divorce at the same time -- …
February 22, 2007
Moonstruck
Jim Carrey's ability to "stretch" himself has proven to be strictly physical.
February 22, 2007