If the Pacific Ocean is San Diego’s swimming pool, Balboa Park is our backyard. When we want to get out of the house, Balboa Park is where we go, 11 million times per year. And …
July 30, 2008
Blog Entries
- Recalling Tony Young?
2 comments
- Low Tides, Grunion, Crescent Moon, Dawn Sky
- I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK !!!!
5 comments
- When Kids Go To Prison, plus 100 Rockin' Lawsuits
- Comic Con III -- The Final Episode
1 comment
News & Stories
21 major repairs Balboa Park needs
How Cats Became Pets
Matthew Alice: I’ve been contemplating Doris, my cat, and trying to imagine who first got the idea to try to capture and tame a wild lion or tiger or whatever into a domestic friend. I’m …
July 30, 2008
The swampy area south of the River
Hi, Mr. Matt: I can’t find anyone that knows the derivation of the name for the Formosa Slough in Point Loma. — Phil Crepeau, via email Ooh, twice wrong, Phil. First of all, you can …
July 30, 2008
Enter VinVillage
For Rob Barnett, the long and winding road to VinVillage is finally coming to an end. The technical snags for his wine-based social-networking site — devoted to “creating locally based social wine groups and connecting …
Hidden Fruit by Olivia Cassidy
Since I was “in between” apartments and sleeping on a friend’s couch, I was overjoyed when Steve, a regular at the restaurant I was waitressing at, offered me the sublet of his room for the …
July 30, 2008
Intellectual Delinquents
This last weekend of the month I find myself in Mission Valley, poolside at the Promenade luxury-resort condominiums, across the street from Sears. I’m with my son at the home of my high school friend …
July 30, 2008
Au-Some Cooking
When I ate at Molly’s during June “Restaurant Week,” the place should have been at least as packed as Ruth’s Chris was the previous night. The food was vastly better, the wine list more interesting …
July 30, 2008
Showboating
Last week’s announcement that publisher David Copley is looking for someone to buy the Union-Tribune marks the end of an era for San Diego, which has labored under the yoke of the Copley newspapers for …
July 30, 2008
Unforgettable: The American Invasion
THE AMERICAN INVASION: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF APOLINARIA LORENZANA (Part Six) On July 29, 1848, the USS Cyane navigated through the thick kelp outside Point Loma and entered San Diego Bay. The sloop of …
July 30, 2008
A Bump on the Head
Thirty Years AgoLocal homeowners and their families know all about the prestige of living near the foot of Nautilus Street. Here is the spot where you catch the best waves — a spot out beyond …
July 30, 2008
Prepare for the Onslaught
This may be the last hours of sporting life as we’ve known it. Soon, very soon, a 500-foot-high Summer Olympic Games tsunami, now rocketing across the Pacific, will SLAM into San Diego, taking out newspaper …
July 30, 2008
Coronado Community Church
“Give me that old-time religion/ It’s good enough for me,” sang the Chancel Choir from their section of seats at the Lamb’s Players Theatre. And Coronado Community Church did give that old-time religion, at least …
July 30, 2008
Let It Ride on Greene
Local power trio Off Track recently paid for a recording session with A-list producer Ryan Greene (NOFX, Megadeth, Guitar Hero 3). “We looked briefly at local studios and even thought about recording it ourselves,” says …
July 30, 2008
Meet and Confer
How will the convention business hold up in an oil-starved world? Will video conferencing start to trump air travel and hotel stays? Nobody yet knows, but San Diego taxpayers have been paying an increasing amount …
July 30, 2008
Hats Off to Mimi
I received a couple of phone calls that piqued my interest. One was from a cage-fighter named Chuck. He told me he wasn’t calling about a party; he wanted me to know that he liked …
July 30, 2008
Slim Summer at Avalon
Last summer, Marc Shannon opened the Avalon in North Park. His plans for the almost-100-year-old building included hosting bands in an all-age, alcohol-free environment. The building, once the site of a lumber mill (at 3925 …
July 30, 2008
Say What: Cinemuck
My slang word is “cinemuck,” which is the stuff on the ground of the movie theaters. All the popcorn and sodas and gross candy and stuff that sticks to your feet. Cinemuck is the word …
July 30, 2008
Love It, Hate It, Need It
Former Viper Room booker Joe Rinaldi says he will continue to give San Diego bands the same love when he takes over one of the most prominent rock venues: the Sunset Strip House of Blues. …
July 30, 2008
Married Off
All weddings, except those with shotguns in evidence, are wonderful. — Liz Smith The first one was periwinkle and the texture of living room drapes. The second was a shiny satin the shade of sea-foam …
July 30, 2008
The Holiday Edition
Here at Tablecloth Cape Studios we strive to stay ahead of the competition. While other news outlets blather on about sunscreen, we’re going to stuff stale bread up a turkey’s chute and call it the …
July 30, 2008
Air It Out
The spotlight lit up Erik Peterson as he stepped onto the stage at Dreamcatcher at Viejas dressed in a plaid kilt accessorized with shaggy fur wristbands and a plastic Viking helmet with fake blond braids. …
July 30, 2008
Women in Summer
“In the past, if we had a French exhibition, we’d show French films,” says Golda Akhgarnia, public relations coordinator for the San Diego Museum of Art. “This year we’re celebrating a ‘summer of women’ theme …
July 30, 2008
Knocking Bush
Local singer/songwriter Charlie Imes’s new album includes the song “Worst Presnadent Ever,” featuring the George W. Bush impersonator from Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. “James Adomian is also the guy always playing Bush …
July 30, 2008
The Hush Sound
The Hush Sound came together in late 2004 when pianist-singer Greta Salpeter and guitarist-singer Bob Morris, who met as kids, started writing songs in Chicago. The duo became a quartet with the addition of bassist …
July 30, 2008
Yum! Leftovers!
You ask, what do I like about Tijuana? This is what: I’m jes wandering down Fourth, heading toward Constitución, when I come across an impromptu clump of guys sitting around a shoeshine booth, “Bolería El …
July 30, 2008
Reason to Believe
It may be an advantage not to be an X-File-o-phile. If, like me, you have seen no more than a handful of episodes from the nine-season TV series, and you have only the vaguest recollection …
July 30, 2008
Gayle Skidmore
Album: Cowley Road (2008) Artist: Gayle Skidmore Label: self-released Where available/price: At live shows for $10; online at iTunes for 99 cents per downloaded song. Songs: 1) Cheap Imitation 2) Just for Now 3) Still …
July 30, 2008
San Diego Bay Bike Ride
Here’s a bicycle ride that’s practically a land-based equivalent of the harbor cruise covering north San Diego Bay. Over an out-and-back stretch of 16 miles, you’re seldom far from the water, and the ease of …
July 30, 2008
Define Combat Zone
After performing in over 100 countries, San Diego-based Liquid Blue thought they might have a world record. The band spent months researching the possibility of getting their accomplishment certified. After checking combos known for their …
July 30, 2008
How "going commando" came to be
Heymatt: Why is not wearing underwear called “going commando” style? I would think a commando would appreciate the support and reduction of chafing that briefs provide. — Chafing at the Bit in RB The elves …
July 30, 2008
Weight-Control Powders
‘It’s like my body flipped a switch and started storing fat,” lamented my husband Patrick as he stood in front of the mirror. “Ever since I turned 35, the battle of the bulge has turned …
July 30, 2008
Inland crows move in on San Diego beach towns
As children growing up in Riverside, my friends and I were captivated by crows, big birds that were bold. We used to see how close we could creep toward them, while they seemed to contemplate …
July 30, 2008
Sempra spins Sunrise Powerlink in the Union-Tribune
The campaign to ballyhoo the proposed Sunrise Powerlink has one beneficial effect: it is shining light on how San Diego’s overlords try to use misinformation to manipulate public opinion. San Diego Gas & Electric and …
July 30, 2008
Not So Fast, Faulconer
At the July 23rd Ocean Beach Town Council meeting, James Lawson from city councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s office asked the town council for their opinion. “We just wanted to hear your feedback about how the Fourth …
July 30, 2008
Phone Call From the MAD Chair
The phone rang yesterday evening. It was David Skillman, chairman of the MAD oversight — er, advisory, um, oversory? — committee for greater Golden Hill. Skillman called to say he is to blame for not …
July 30, 2008
Pine apples and pine cones
Matt: Why is a pineapple called a pineapple? — Nameless, via email In the Middle Ages, Europeans called pretty much all fruit and fruitlike things “apples.” The “fruit” of the pine tree (the pine cone) …
July 30, 2008