The narrow opening of the mud cave was nothing but a slot in the rock, barely wide enough for my shoulders. If you didn't know it was there, you'd never know it was there. We're …
March 15, 2007
News & Stories
Jerry Schad shows me Anza Borrego Desert's Carrizo Badlands
Up For Air
When 16-year-old guitarist Ted Friedman founded the Gravedigger V in his parents' garage in the early '80s, little did he know it would become one of San Diego's most influential bands. "We didn't feel too …
March 15, 2007
Unrestrained
In Amy Freed's Restoration Comedy, Amanda's married to a philanderer named, appropriately, Loveless. He ran off to the Continent and, for a decade, celebrated "the diversity of God's creation." Hearing she died, Loveless returns to …
March 15, 2007
Unsolicited Advice
"Do-so" is more important than "say-so." -- Pete Seeger After introducing myself to a few people at a recent event, one guy said, "I know you -- you write that diary advice column for the …
March 15, 2007
Dating Is Warfare
Title: Dating Is Warfare Address: http://datingiswarfare.blogspot.com Author: Dating Trooper From: Hillcrest Blogging since: February 2007 Post Date: February 21, 2007 Post Title: "Based on my tarot card reading..." I think you will agree... That's not …
March 15, 2007
Chasing Game
A certain mystique developed around the Tractor Room from the day it opened. Perhaps it arose from the black velvet curtains inside the entry door, shielding the interior from prying eyes, or maybe it was …
March 15, 2007
Piercing Party
Have you ever seen a party in a movie and wondered why the parties you go to are never as cool? Well, I went to a bash in Clairemont that was as cool as one …
March 15, 2007
The Honest Guy by Sally Hall
Within five minutes of meeting Stan (not his real name), I was head over heels for him. He was ten years my senior and had that confidence that can come with an age advantage and, …
March 15, 2007
Contentment-by-the-sea
“You can’t pick the newcomers out of the herd anymore. There’s almost more of them than locals.”
March 15, 2007
A Farmhouse in Qualcommland
"You walked all the way from the Coaster? Try the Ironman sandwich."
March 15, 2007
Helen Leggatt In Canterbury, New Zealand: There's no place like home
I remember pressing my nose against the window as we flew over the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand for the first time. "Ah, yes, this is just as I imagined it …
March 15, 2007
Words and Music
'Iolanthe is pulled together last minute," says J. Sherwood Montgomery, artistic director for Lyric Opera San Diego. "I had to find a stage set and a set of costumes and cast it, partially using people …
March 15, 2007
Deliciously Divine Downfall
With a shortage of money and time, fast food is popular with people my age. Now that I can drive and am a senior, I find myself spending less and less time at home. When …
March 15, 2007
Up with Rose
"Lancers was developed to appeal to American military servicemen toward the end of World War II."
March 15, 2007
Kaleo Church, Mission Valley
Instead of preshow trivia, the onscreen slideshow at the movie theater showed Kaleo Church's announcements. (Like the preshow trivia, they proved difficult to ignore.) "We partner with Abandoned But Precious ministries, which serves orphans in …
March 15, 2007
English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable
English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable by Lacey Baldwin Smith. Academy Chicago Publishers, 2006, 275 pages, $17.95 ABOUT THE BOOK: No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as …
March 15, 2007
March Madness Preview
It's NCAA Tournament time again, a three-week basketball pageant that comes around every March to remind us what a national playoff looks like. The NCAA lists 326 colleges as playing Division I basketball. Sixty-five teams …
March 15, 2007
It's Not Easy Being Romak
"This is not an act," says Romak, 19. "I wear full makeup every day." As the androgynous lead singer of Romak and the Space Pirates, Romak says he is more about action-hero fantasy than cross-dressing. …
March 15, 2007
Kiss Him, He's Irish (and White)
Local rapper Brendan B tried to set up a show a couple of weeks ago. "I call up one [San Diego] venue, and the guy goes, 'You know, we really don't do rap music.' I'm …
March 15, 2007
Indier Than Thou
The San Diego Indie Music Fest was held March 3 on seven stages located in North Park. Seventy artists played, but guitarist/singer/drummer Jordan Thomas says he isn't so sure about the "indie" label. "It is …
March 15, 2007
Female Trouble
After Candye Kane recorded a version of the theme song to John Waters's 1974 trash-classic film Female Trouble, she sent the famed director an advance copy, hoping he might enjoy it. He didn't. "When inquired …
March 15, 2007
They Never Had the Good Hair
Playground Slap didn't sound like the other local bands during their 1982--'88 run. "We had punk and jazz and psychedelic and funk, but back then everything was called new wave," says guitarist Marcelo Radulovich, one …
March 15, 2007
Chick Tunes Big in PB
"The Longboard Grill wanted to introduce live-band karaoke to San Diego," says bassist Rob Renovales, whose group Pickford's Party plays the PB venue's "Rock Out Karaoke" each Wednesday. "We knew a bunch of covers already, …
March 15, 2007
All He Is Saying...
"The tour is about inspiring people to make space in their own hearts for peace," says Carlsbad musician Jerry Leggett, who is touring the U.S. in a yellow teardrop-shaped trailer he calls the Peace Bubble. …
March 15, 2007
I think I was angry with my friend for getting old.
A friend from Los Angeles visited the other day. We hadn't seen each other for nearly ten years. Now, any ten years are significant in a human life, but the ten years I missed with …
March 15, 2007
Paris in the Springtime
The level of culture in the film offers the American moviegoer a rare refuge and respite.
March 15, 2007
William Newsome suspended from Barry Minkow's church
Forgive us our debts? For more than three years, William (Bill) Newsome, a member of San Diego's widely publicized Community Bible Church, has peppered the pastors and elders with questions about the church's debt and …
March 15, 2007
Mesa College to build garage in Linda Vista canyon
Where do you suppose San Diego Mesa College, which lies in Clairemont on its southern edge, will build a huge garage to solve its student parking problems? Why, largely on Linda Vista canyon land, of …
March 15, 2007
Copley "Ring of Truth" awards truncated
For decades, legions of executives, editors, and reporters of once-mighty Copley Newspapers have trooped out to the firm's posh Casa del Zorro resort near Borrego Springs for the annual "Ring of Truth" awards honoring employees …
March 15, 2007
John Moores and Gerald Parksy serve as regents of the University of California
Padres owner John Moores is a member of the board of regents of the University of California. So is fellow Rancho Santa Fe denizen Gerry Parsky. Moores contributed heavily to Democratic governor Gray Davis before …
March 15, 2007
Discover Riverside County's Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve at its springtime best.
The Los Santos-Trans Preserve loop hike on the Santa Rosa Plateau near Temecula traverses open meadows, grassy hillsides, and shady glens presided over by oversized specimens of Engelmann oaks. You'll enjoy superb views throughout, plus …
March 15, 2007