In some countries, you aren’t allowed to personalize the license plates on your vehicle. Other countries changed that rule when they saw the revenue it created. Some countries let you bid on numbers. The highest …
February 25, 2009
Blog Entries
- CIF First Round Scoreboard (Feb. 25)
- Memores of Analog TV: The 60s
1 comment
- Banker's Hill/Mercy Outpatient
49 comments
- My top sports movies
1 comment
- Greatest Sports Movies Ever
17 comments
News & Stories
A sampling of San Diego's vanity license plates
Baja Cop Messes Up
An off-duty Tijuana police officer, allegedly driving his green Jeep Cherokee while under the influence of alcohol and speeding, struck and killed a 37-year-old woman selling newspapers on a street corner on Monday, February 23, …
February 25, 2009
Supervalu Blues
On Friday, February 20, Albertsons corporate parent Supervalu Inc. closed the Albertsons store at East Orange and Melrose Avenues in Chula Vista. On April 9, the Clairemont store at Balboa Avenue and Clairemont Drive will …
February 25, 2009
Les Claypool
If you don’t already know Primus, then there is no easy way to describe them. When they were an active band, Primus was one of my daughter’s favorites. She was around 15 at the time …
February 25, 2009
No hiking down to lunch at Admiral Baker from Tierrasanta
Last spring, Lee Campbell was looking for an apt way that Friends of Tierrasanta Canyons might participate in River Days. The celebration is staged annually by the San Diego River Park Foundation and was held …
February 25, 2009
Help Obama. Borrow. Buy.
American consumers and American financial institutions are suffering dyspepsia from an extended trip to Las Vegas. The consumers drank and ate too much, and the banks gambled too much and lost big. Now, to keep …
February 25, 2009
Without a Word
Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. — Barnett R. Brickner It’s not that I’m a disciple of the supernatural — it’s only human …
February 25, 2009
Close to the Source
Born to Americans living in England, Marc Hashagen grew up in Great Gidding, a farming village in Cambridgeshire. “A hundred houses, one pub, one butcher,” he recalls. “The public bus would come through on Wednesdays; …
Downtown God Group
“Our roots are downtown,” said Bob Buschman, pastor of First Assembly, now located on a nine-acre campus in Mission Valley. “In 1921, they brought an evangelist named Aimee Semple McPherson into downtown, and she preached …
February 25, 2009
Rocks, Cancerous Animals
Heymatt: Traveling down the freeway of life, the latest wrinkle on the road are sand and gravel trucks with a sign claiming, “Not responsible for damage to windshields.” Huh? Did the truckers’ lobby manage to …
February 25, 2009
Viva la Restitution
Steven Soderbergh’s atonement for the Ocean’s capers: a four-and-a-half-hour worship service in honor of Che Guevara, conducted in Spanish with English subtitles. Or rather, if Full Frontal and Solaris were atonement for ...Eleven, and Bubble …
February 25, 2009
Unknown Korn
Before the Casbah’s month-of-January reunion shows becomes a hazy memory, owner Tim Mays, manager Ben Johnson, and doorman Ben Heynes offer stories about the Casbah’s 20-year legacy — a few tales of near disasters, spoiled …
February 25, 2009
M-Theory Punks the Chains
Long before the current economic downturn, music retailers had a tough time keeping their heads above water as CD sales have dropped off while downloads, many for free, have become the typical method for fans …
February 25, 2009
Burger in the Sky with Mushrooms
Cc,c,c,c,cold. I stand out in the slush and snow, trying to decide if I can afford this place, a joint for sophisticates, by the looks of it, even way up here in the mountains near …
February 25, 2009
World Baseball Classic 2
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) had an uneasy genesis in 2006. A year earlier, baseball, along with softball, was voted out of the Olympics, ordered to make its last appearance at the Beijing Games. Baseball …
February 25, 2009
Changing of the guard
If ex-superagent Jeff Moorad concludes his proposed deal for the Padres, local Republicans may send up a cheer. Current team owner John Moores is known for giving big money to California Democrats, who returned the …
February 25, 2009
Fish Creek Mountain-Bike Ride
Fish Creek Wash is the gateway to a fascinating labyrinth of rugged canyons, twisted arroyos, and mud hills covering the stark and desiccated Carrizo Badlands in a remote corner of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Why …
February 25, 2009
Turn in Your Twinkies
Thirty Years AgoIt was Saturday, and we had stopped in at the New Seed, the Pacific Beach natural foods emporium, to check up on the junk-food trade-in.... Cake mixes and frostings seemed the most popular …
February 25, 2009
Hat Trick
My girlfriend spent $20 on a pirate hat for me to wear to a party. I gave her crap because I didn’t think I’d ever wear it more than once. Then, three months ago, a …
February 25, 2009
Cute Little Thing
I am writing this the day before that God-forsaken Hallmark idiocy, Valentine’s Day, and it is Friday the 13th. This seems to spell doomed love. There are other kinds of real affection. I have several …
February 25, 2009
A Rebel's Revolution
Georg Büchner’s Danton’s Death has such a contemporary feel, it’s almost impossible to believe he wrote the play — hailed by many as “the best first play in world literature” — in 1835, at age …
February 25, 2009
Sister Carrie and The Magic Mountain
What are you reading? “Sister Carrie, by Theodore Dreiser.” Tell me about the plot. “It’s about a young girl who moves to Chicago around 1890. She’s from a small town, and she finds out how …
February 25, 2009
At Last, True Thai
Before I write specifically about Sab-E-Lee, you need to know a little about the Thai region called Isaan, Isan, Issan, or Esarn — in English it’s spelled every which way — and get an idea …
February 25, 2009
Attention deficit
Ten of the 13 members of San Diego County’s Commission on the Status of Women are appointed by the board of supervisors. According to the commission’s website, there are currently 7 vacancies. But that hasn’t …
February 25, 2009
Lots and Lots of Body Parts
“I don’t have many crazy stories, as this is the band’s 30th anniversary tour,” said Dave Wakeling of the English Beat. “To me, a nice time is hot chocolate with a few friends. But speaking …
February 25, 2009
Lawyers’ holiday
How miserable is San Diego’s hotel and convention business these days? So bad, apparently, that the grand old Hotel del Coronado has gone to court against a big Washington, D.C., law firm for canceling a …
February 25, 2009
Chicken Milk Alien Babies
When the Homeless Sexuals play the Radio Room Friday night, it’ll be their first show in nine months. “The band was breaking up,” said singer Davit Buck. “The other four members wanted to do other …
February 25, 2009
Emery Byrd
Album: Mrs. Young Versus the Modern Ones (2008)Artist: Emery ByrdLabel: self-releasedWhere available/price: M-Theory in Mission Hills for $9.99. Online at emerybyrd.com, iTunes, and Amazon for $9.99Songs: 1) No Scene Like This 2) Busy Doing Nothing …
February 25, 2009
No-Tech Dabbers
There’s one thing missing on the Dabbers' MySpace profile: songs. The two-piece, consisting of Kill Me Tomorrow’s Zack Wentz on drums and vocals and Shelby Gubba on bass, don’t have any proper recordings of the …
February 25, 2009
Wedding Transportation
My efforts to help my stressed friend Barbara prep for her upcoming nuptials continue. Her plea: “I want to arrive in style!” “We have a white wedding trolley, the ‘Felicity,’” said Erica Frost with Old …
February 25, 2009
Where's the Sushi Joint?
During recent rains, as our nation continued to struggle with signs of a falling economy, businesses at a Poway strip mall were faced with a falling sign. Kevin Yang, a sushi chef at a nearby …
February 25, 2009
Green vs. Board of Education
At the beginning of last year, the San Diego Unified School District cut $53 million from their budget. Six months later, the board members approved an additional $33 million in cuts. So, when the State …
February 25, 2009