Andrea Kane is new to San Diego: the Navy has stationed her husband here, and they've landed in Imperial Beach. While he serves, she's become an aromatherapist and a perfumer. Locally, she's already making a …
May 10, 2007
News & Stories
San Diego's world of the nose: coffee, spices, cow manure, perfume
Existence Church, Miramar
"My brother doesn't go to church," said Pastor Josh Hotsenpiller before the service. "We came from this 'perfect Christian family'" -- Dad was a Baptist pastor -- "and my brother rejected the church. I wanted …
May 10, 2007
Sam Stutz With His Gold Machine, 1934
Standard Iron Works head Sam Stutz with his gold machine in 1934. "This is not a trick machine," Stutz told skeptics. In a demonstration, the machine successfully separated two ounces of gold flakes from a …
May 10, 2007
Guardian Angel
If Uncle Gerry can help you in any way, you know the number. -- Uncle Gerry I think it's stupid to assign so much significance to last words, those final utterances of a dying man. …
May 10, 2007
We Do Death
'Three out of four band members live in TJ," says Fabian Tamayo, rhythm guitarist in MinusOne. The only stateside resident is the band's drummer, Pierre Moreno, who lives in Imperial Beach. He fabricates custom motorcycle …
May 10, 2007
Title: Fiction Is Good for You. Read More.
Title: Fiction Is Good for You. Read More. Address: www.domesticmacguyver.blogspot.com Author: Domestic MacGuyver From: Clairemont Blogging since: April 2006 Post Date: April 21, 2007 Post Title: Episode 1: Voices He didn't know who they were …
May 10, 2007
Disobey the Master
On June 10, FM-94/9's Independence Jam will be held at Southwestern College in Chula Vista. It will be the first time in 11 years that Devore Stadium will be used as a rock concert venue. …
May 10, 2007
¡Viva Santana con Huevos!
Guitarist Alberto Nebel's band Xolmani has been around for six years. He says the American Idol-ization of Mexico's music scene has hindered his group's progress. "Rock en español doesn't get that much interest anymore. Everything …
May 10, 2007
The Reader's Eye on Television
Friday night I put on a Mexican wrestling mask and went bowling. I'm not making that up. It's a huge bowling alley, over 20 lanes, so the two dozen of us in masks made up …
May 10, 2007
Clampdown in Carlsbad
Because of complaints by residents during the past eight months, the Carlsbad City Council is considering enacting an ordinance that would forbid local bars from emitting noise greater than 60 decibels after 10 p.m. "There …
May 10, 2007
Nas Treated Nastily?
"We were treated like terrorists," rapper Nas says of why he cancelled his May 2 date at downtown's House of Blues. "We came to the club, all excited," he told Z90.3 FM last week. "Couldn't …
May 10, 2007
In the Rough
Sonance Records is suing former Saved by the Bell star Dustin Diamond; the local label has a contract with Diamond's band Salty the Pocketknife. The suit seeks $200,000 and claims Diamond agreed but failed to …
May 10, 2007
America, The Ignorant
'In Europe, if you go to a fancy dinner party and talk about how the Chinese have slitty eyes and are loud, chances are you would not be invited back," says Andrei S. Markovits, author …
May 10, 2007
&#@%ing Internet
It's the end of an era for San Diego's folk scene on May 15 with the closing of the Double Eagle guitar shop in Normal Heights. With his lease up on June 4 and the …
May 10, 2007
Of Guyish Girls and Girly Women
"I play violin, viola, and piano," says Miss Amina James, a local emcee who knows about balancing her image. The 26-year-old says, "First of all, I don't dress sexy. I almost always wear a hoodie …
May 10, 2007
Tourmaline Surfing Park, Pacific Beach
Name: John Walker Home: La Jolla Vehicle: 1954 Chevrolet 210 Station Wagon Surfing: Tourmaline Surfing Park, Pacific Beach John Walker is an encyclopedia on old cars. "'54 was the last year of the volumetric style …
May 10, 2007
Sanders wants to turn Montgomery Field over to developers of high-rises
San Diego wants to build up, not out. Single-family detached homes will become historical artifacts. High-rises will mushroom out of the ground. But will it work? The infrastructure to support the population growth doesn't exist. …
May 10, 2007
O'Neill in Bondage
On paper it looked like a lock. The same Cygnet Theatre team that did award-winning work with Tennessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof last year -- director-scenic designer Sean Murray, actors Jim Chovick, …
May 10, 2007
Abel and Zulma caught in INS trap
Abel and Zulma Muñoz stand at the north end of Playas de Tijuana, where the international border fence meets the Pacific Ocean. The area was once an international park, the pet project of First Lady …
May 10, 2007
Hugh Bancroft III, Rupert Murdoch heir, buys Duke Cunningham home
Now that conservative cable, movie, Internet, Fox TV, and newspaper mogul Rupert Murdoch has made his $5 billion bid for Dow Jones, publisher of Barrons and the Wall Street Journal, all eyes are turning to …
May 10, 2007
If It's Nanjing, It Must Be Susan Davis
Congresswoman Susan Davis, who's been racking up plenty of international frequent-flier miles courtesy of the Aspen Institute, a Washington, D.C., think tank sponsored by a host of unidentified special interests, is at it once again. …
May 10, 2007
Dimitrios Kyranas in Athens, Greece
A Greek capital crime I was strolling this afternoon along the wide avenues that crisscross the center of Athens, the Greek capital, perusing its wonderful fauna -- stray cats, dogs, and pigeons -- posters advertising …
May 10, 2007
Wikis, Mashups, All That
"Wine is the only beverage on the planet that draws people together, right?"
News You Can Use
'I want to know about their hats." "Well, yeah," the male voice trails off, rolls down the hill and slides into a dark, smelly bog. Silence. Now comes a wheezing-out breath, followed by, "There are …
May 10, 2007
A Mom and a Miss
When the rumor hit about Britney Spears performing a surprise concert at the House of Blues in San Diego, tickets sold out quickly. Face-value tickets were $35 each, and there was no guarantee that it …
May 10, 2007
"You two are together on a cybernetic playground."
I have owned and used computers since 1983, and yet it is only in recent weeks that I feel I may have something in common with anyone to whom publications such as Computer Age are …
May 10, 2007
Woodpeckers in the Lumber Department
Sir Alice (whom, according to Bernie Taupin, all the young girls love): Every time I go into a large warehouse-like store, I see and hear birds flitting and twittering about among the rafters. They've never …
May 10, 2007
The Lineaments of Satisfied Desire
Exactly seven years before my recent meal at BernardO's, I ate an unforgettable dinner prepared by the restaurant's current chef, Patrick Ponsaty. The Reader had hired me to come south, where, free of local prejudices, …
May 10, 2007
Gentlemen, Start Your Engines
Hey, Matt: Why do Porsches have the ignition switch on the left-hand side? -- Nein E. Levin, the net Because Porsches kicked butt on the sports-car circuit back in the day. Lots of stories float …
May 10, 2007
Explore the wild interior of Devils Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains.
The San Gabriel Wilderness harbors deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, and mountain lions -- facts that hint at the quality of the wilderness experience you can get there. Only one trail stabs deeply into the …
May 10, 2007