Around 20 San Diego bands performed as part of the annual South By Southwest festival in and around Austin, Texas. Writer band members gigged their way to SXSW in a Honda Element equipped with a …
March 25, 2009
Blog Entries
- The War Zone
- Dog Eat Dog...Or, Prisoner
6 comments
- My Hollywood Adventure: Comedy Central’s Roast of Larry the Cable Guy
- Shed a Tear: Top Hedge Fund Managers' Average Pay Dropped 48% Last Year -- to $464 Million
15 comments
- St. Patty’s Day parade in Balboa Park
- Senior All-Star Game Rosters
- Citigroup Employees in Company's Stock Plan Sue in District Court
10 comments
- Best Videos of the Season
News & Stories
Road Reports
Sad Times
The members of the Black Heart Procession were in the middle of recording their sixth full-length when representatives from their label, respected indie innovator Touch and Go Records, told them that after 27 years of …
March 25, 2009
Veggimaginary
“La Dolce Vita,” reads the sign above the counter where I’m sitting. Well, my vita’s in no way dolce right now. Whose is? But this place I had to try. Even though I knew I …
March 25, 2009
Ms. Hempel Chronicles
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum’s first novel, Madeleine Is Sleeping, was nominated for a National Book Award. Her second, Ms. Hempel Chronicles, was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. Tell me about the writing of Ms. Hempel …
March 25, 2009
Assembly Accomplished
Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience. — Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon I gave a rundown of my day, as I do every morning for David’s benefit. As our social secretary, it’s …
March 25, 2009
Ota, Too
It’s just beautiful — elegant and spare. Blue lights illuminate the lower half of Hane’s windows all around — useful, since I’m not sure the restaurant is otherwise identified at the door. Inside, the streetside …
March 25, 2009
Computer Training
“Eve, maybe you can help me,” pleaded my Aunt Azelda, slowly shaking her snowy mane. “They finally put in a computer station here at the senior center. I asked your nephew to get me started …
March 25, 2009
Old White-Tie Boys’ Network
Ex–Copley News Service Washington bureau chief George Condon is taking the fall for the failure of Washington, D.C.’s Gridiron Club to line up Barack Obama for its annual banquet. Obama is the first president since …
March 25, 2009
Eddie + Alcohol = Air guitar
I got a call about crashing a wedding in Spring Valley a few weeks ago. I had a lot going on that day, but when I found out it was for a guy named Sam, …
March 25, 2009
Memories Gnaw
Thirty Years AgoRIGGS, still around? Want to renew a friendly relationship? Please reply in future Reader, yes or no. More info on me forthcoming. I. Barn. TO ALL OB LANDLORDS, your days are numbered! Stop …
March 25, 2009
Hey, Balla, get on the sticks
Can it be old words? Because I use balla a lot. A “balla” is a player; you know, like, someone who’s good at something. Another one is get on the sticks. “Get on the sticks” …
March 25, 2009
Valley Center Bike Ride
Resting high above the city of Escondido, Valley Center is well on its way to becoming a rural suburb. As houses and country estates pop up on spacious lots, the area is bit by bit …
March 25, 2009
Daily Humiliations
The times they have a-change-ed. Working, Studs Terkel’s remarkable collection of interviews, was published in 1974. Subtitled “People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do,” the book’s …
March 25, 2009
One Rapper's Reality
“I call my genre of music ‘reality rap,’ ” says hip-hop impresario Kayo. “It describes the things that I went through. It’s reality because I used to write the songs to myself — to motivate …
March 25, 2009
Better Than the Rest
From where I sat, the San Diego Latino Film Festival peaked early. (Probably the whole year did.) The first film I saw, on opening night, was my most anticipated film, Carlos Saura’s Fados. It turns …
March 25, 2009
Criminal Cash
Rumors are swirling about President Barack Obama’s possible appointment of ex–San Diego schools chief and former U.S. attorney Alan Bersin to head U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a major unit of the Homeland Security Department. …
March 25, 2009
The Padres’ Mystery Lineup
Who are the new would-be owners of the Padres, and are they fit to own the team? Recent documents unearthed from city hall under the California Public Records Act suggest that City officials may not …
March 25, 2009
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is a year older than his trumpet-playing brother Wynton. Critics first took notice of Branford during his tenure with Art Blakey. Later, Branford toured with Sting, won Grammy awards, and upped the hip …
March 25, 2009
The Smell of Heavy Metal
Nightclubs in San Marcos offering live music have had an uneven history. The Longshot closed in September 2006, mainly over ABC violations. The Boulevard, opened in 2004, also had its liquor license suspended for a …
March 25, 2009
High-Dollar Doctor
Public relations people at UCSD got ahead of themselves last month in their haste to announce the arrival of a physician who was widely expected to become one of the university’s highest-paid professors. On February …
March 25, 2009
Lily Allen
The New Yorker recently ran a brief profile of Lily Allen, mostly covering the same old ground (daughter of semifamous parents grows up to be singer-songwriter specializing in blunt but effective tales of everygirl sexual …
March 25, 2009
Two Down on Elevation Road
Brick by Brick’s Max Paul says there was no confrontation during a hip-hip show at the club that led to the shooting of two men about a half mile away from the club Friday, March …
March 25, 2009
Avitia
Album: Oceanside Boulevard (2008)Artist: AvitiaLabel: Above Ground RecordsWhere available/price: Lou’s Records in Encinitas for $5.99. Online at iTunes, Napster.com, Emusic.com, Rhapsody.com, and Amazon.com for $4.95.Songs: 1) The Idea 2) Long Gone 3) Mars 5000 4) …
March 25, 2009
More Acoustic Coffee
The fifth incarnation of Java Joe’s, a music venue known as a launching pad for the careers of Jason Mraz, Jewel, and Steve Poltz, will open downtown in early April. Located in a former day …
March 25, 2009
Two-Hand Draw
You’ve been waiting for it, and now it’s finally come, the capstone of televised sports: Lumber Liquidators U.S. Open. This is professional bowling at its best and the last of four major tournaments on the …
March 25, 2009
Does new convention center in San Diego make any sense?
All across the United States, and around the world, convention centers are vastly overbuilt. Supply exceeds demand. So municipalities that own the centers resort to price-slashing. They often lose money on their centers and have …
March 25, 2009
UCSD pays for trans-species projects
I’m sitting on a leather couch in the middle of a darkened black-walled, black-ceilinged room talking to a man who, at taxpayer expense, takes hormones to become more like a woman yet is in the …
March 25, 2009