Costumes are the gateway drug.
June 25, 2014
News & Stories
Father William
“You are old, Father William,” the young man said, “And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head — Do you think, at your age, it is right?” “In …
June 25, 2014
King Khan’s cult music for the masses
Go back and listen to 1964. King Khan and the Shrines is what the British Invasion would have sounded like if only they knew more back then and had deeper influences other than American blues, …
June 25, 2014
A-1, baby
Moody's Investors Service today (June 25) gave California its highest debt rating since 2001, boosting the rating from Aa3 to A1. Moody's rating is two steps higher than those given by Standard & Poor's and …
June 25, 2014
Record-release roundup
O.B. rockers Markland will release its debut self-titled full-length on June 28 at the Ocean Beach Street Fair, headlining the Wonderland Stage from 5 until 6 p.m. Produced by Michael Head at Headtrap Music Studio …
June 25, 2014
Electrifying dinners
Eating has been good for state legislators who stay on the good side of San Diego–based utility giant Sempra Energy, according to the firm’s latest lobbyist disclosure filing. At Sacramento’s Downtown & Vine, Sempra played …
June 25, 2014
More on the midway
They’re a working band. But they’re still in high school. They’re coming to the San Diego County Fair this year. Twice. And, they are not afraid to bossa nova. Half Moon Portrait, with guitarist/singers Ari …
June 25, 2014
Gourmet popsicles
“Oooooh, fancy,” said my youngest as I pulled a strawberry-orange juice popsicle from its mold. (Up until that moment, her pops had all been single-flavor.) Her comment reminded me of something I’d heard about gourmet …
June 25, 2014
Cross-cultural interactive art in the park with Figment
Aiming to bridge the gap between art creators and art appreciators by removing expression from the confines of a gallery, FIGMENT made its San Diego debut last year, drawing over 1000 participants for the day-long …
June 25, 2014
Hot dogs and holiness
"Misery loves company, but holiness loves company more!” I can hear him across Petco Park’s parking lot. He’s standing, speechifying, holding forth. Something about “I was high on crystal meth. I got beat up by …
June 25, 2014
What the fair will bear
The San Diego County Fair may not be known for its adventuresome booking of bands, but few can claim that the annual expo underpays the acts. It was reported in 2007 that one of its …
June 25, 2014
Devo from the ground up
Forged in the horror of the Kent State shootings, bolstered with bracing irony and a handful of religious and pseudoscientific screeds, Devo (short for “de-evolution”) took showmanship, synthesizers, and science fiction to the masses. They’re …
June 25, 2014
Sinless City
As an ad for the Electric Daisy Carnival — an annual electronic dance music festival — Under the Electric Sky is pretty good. The gigantic animatronic owl whose nest serves as the event’s main stage …
June 25, 2014
Banish the beards and bangs
Dear Hipster: If hipsters are such big trendsetters, tell me this: what’s the next big thing? — Jenny Blaze-orange hunting fashion is going to be huge. We’ll be seeing more boardshorts in North Park. There …
June 25, 2014
Big Deal tennis, anyone?
World Team Tennis (WTT) has been around since 1974 with one three-year break. This year the WTT season runs from July 6 to July 27. The league has seven teams, reaching from Boston to the …
June 25, 2014
La Jolla’s “Street of Dreams” leads to a cliffside manse
Current Owners: Peter and Judy Corrente Listing Price: $11,900,000 Beds: 5 Baths: 5 Real estate broker Peter Corrente and his wife Judy, also an agent at the Pacific Sotheby’s brokerage, have been involved in remodeling …
June 25, 2014
Thirteen things you’ll never see in San Diego again
1) Sing Sing: Karaoke Without the Embarrassment. The Shout! House may be the place that comes to mind when the younger generation thinks of sing-a-longs and dueling pianos, but Sing Sing in the Gaslamp District …
June 25, 2014
Cup of politics
GOP House majority leader Eric Cantor’s defeat at the hands of a Tea Party insurgent has stirred the political pot in Washington. Not so much in San Diego, where the only donor to his political …
June 25, 2014
Cross the bridge and take the stairs
The top of 1094-foot South Fortuna Mountain has sweeping views of all of the major peaks found in the City of San Diego’s largest regional park. South Fortuna is part of a long arced mountain …
June 25, 2014
Bylaws and sweethearts in Hillcrest
The Hillcrest Business Improvement Association has been forced to rescind what has been an effective method at keeping whistleblowers or other non-desirables from becoming a member or joining its board. That strategy? Rewrite the bylaws. …
June 25, 2014
Pure magic
“When you have members of Get Back Loretta, Silent Comedy, Okapi Sun, Transfer, and the Styletones playing and singing together, it becomes pure magic.” Lauren Scheff phones the Reader from his North County home to …
June 25, 2014
I didn’t have to accept sickness, and didn’t deserve it
Membership (estimated): 20 at a time Elected Reader: Marsha Pecaut Born: West Covina Formation: California State Polytechnic University of Pomona, California State University of Fresno Years Associated with Society: “Since a child.” San Diego Reader: …
June 25, 2014
Capital news
A pair of unnamed little birds had a rough plane trip from Washington DC’s Dulles International Airport to San Diego last December, according to an official “animal incident report” recently released by the U.S. Department …
June 25, 2014
A voice mail to the editor
Excuse me for laughing in the Reader’s face, but the dumb article by David Batterson (Neighborhood News: “Shadow Mountain Church Sets Up in Hillcrest”) makes me laugh. Otherwise, I’d cry. Mr. David Jeremiah did indeed …
June 25, 2014