For every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing. — Friedrich Nietzsche It was a cruel thing to do, but I don’t blame him. I doubt he understood the ramifications of typing …

“Operetta is a lighter genre; it’s somewhat bubbly and occasionally frivolous and comedic in nature,” says Tom Oberjat, coordinator and tenor for the Solana Intimate Ensemble, an opera singing group. Eight members of the San …

“The jaboticaba comes from Brazil; in South America they call it the black cherry,” says José Gallego, San Diego chapter chair for the California Rare Fruit Growers, Inc. “They’re expensive because they can take several …

While the spirit of neighborliness was important on the frontier because neighbors were so few, it is even more important now because our neighbors are so many. — Lady Bird Johnson I was about ten …

PROM TIPS AS SEEN ON NBC'S STREETSIDE SAN DIEGO TRANSPORTATION: Warm up your dance moves on the way to the prom in a party bus! Top Dog Limo: $140 (plus 20% tip) for bus max …

Tell me what you eat, I’ll tell you who you are. — Anthelme Brillat-Savarin I was an occasional user. At least that’s what I told myself. “It’s not that I need it,” I’d say, “it’s …

“Gated communities are created for different reasons, but the reasons are all about fear,” says president of the American Anthropological Association Setha M. Low. “In places like California, where the cities can’t expand their tax …

“Rowing isn’t a huge thing for most high schools, so we mainly get kids with no experience at all,” says head coach of the University of California San Diego men’s crew, Zach Johnson. “UCSD just …

I had a cold, wet, numb butt; it was nice because I was getting hot. — Heather, Barbarella’s sister Our absurd attempt to produce fire in the wood stove long abandoned, David and I lounged …

Fishing is boring, unless you catch an actual fish, and then it is disgusting. — Dave Barry The way my friend Jen tells it, her boyfriend Rob arrived home from work an hour before sunset …

“There is a kind of goofy stereotype of birdwatchers, that birders always have that funny hat and something like a fishing vest with all those pockets,” says biologist Tom Troy. “I don’t have one, but …

“Only one other fluted point has ever been found in San Diego,” says George Kline, graduate student in archaeology at San Diego State University. Kline describes a fluted point as an arrowhead with a “channel …

I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them. — Susan Sontag I didn’t want to see the doctor. I never do. But my options were running out — pills made me …

“Scientifically, there is nothing meaningfully different about people in different racial groups,” says Laura E. Gómez, professor of law at the University of New Mexico. “Race is socially constructed; it’s not rooted in biology. Race …

The Secret is not just a moronic hymn to greed and selfishness; it nastily suggests that victims of catastrophe are the authors of their misfortunes. — Catherine Bennett In case any bubble dwellers happen upon …

“We chose these movies because this particular branch has an 80 percent Hispanic-of-Mexican-descent population,” says Catherine Greene, librarian for the Mountain View/Beckwourth branch library. “They like taking these movies out, particularly the classics, and I …

I call it performance art, but my friend Ariel calls it wasting time. History will decide. — Steve Martin as Harris in L.A. Story To me, the word “chocolate” is the penultimate attention-grabber, second only …

The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual, his shrine to the self, his mobile Walden Pond. — Edward McDonagh One damp December morning, while frantically twisting the key this way and that …

“I see people all the time spraying Windex on their countertop and then slapping down a sandwich — they don’t realize all the chemicals that are left on the counter from the Windex, like petroleum …

“People who camp out there are not wilderness people, they’re more like transients and drug addicts,” says city ranger John Garwood. “We’ve found needles and pipes. The most common [items found] are plastic bottles, vegetable …

Our siblings. They resemble us just enough to make all their differences confusing, and no matter what we choose to make of this, we are cast in relation to them our whole lives long. — …

“The reason it’s a bloodier sport than boxing is that you’re allowed to use elbows and knees,” says Eric Del Fierro, chief operating officer for Total Combat Entertainment, a San Diego–based mixed martial arts event-production …

When I look at my hands and in my heart, I see stress as Lady Macbeth saw blood. — Berri Clove I was going to tell him after we’d ordered our entrées, but I had …

There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the man sitting across from me. I had yet to detect a single flaw in his appearance, speech, or demeanor. His hair was black and wavy, his …

“The first thing I learned was that the man who has water on the mountain is king,” says hiking enthusiast Dana Law. “Water is absolutely the most important thing you’ll have in Southern California, because …

The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t. — Henry Ward Beecher I held the camera as steady as I could without …

“How do you establish camps, find water, and fight long-distance when it’s 110 degrees? If you’re not acclimatized, you’re fighting your environment and not your enemy,” says Fred Jee, supervising ranger for the Anza-Borrego Desert …

Neurosis is always a substitute for legitimate suffering. — Carl Jung A ladybug ambled across my absentee ballot and paused, seemingly undecided between YES and NO on one of the Indian gaming propositions. As the …

“The North County Times has a unique policy of printing virtually any letter they get, as long as it is 200 words or less and has no profanity or slander,” says Dick Eiden. “After a …

It is impossible to overdo luxury. — French Proverb The orange light reflecting off the water’s surface slowly transformed to red. “You should have put some music on,” I said, gesturing at the iPod dock …

When the wine goes in, strange things come out. — Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller David opened a second bottle of wine and circled the room refilling glasses. Our guests were neighbors from the building …

“Colony collapse disorder is an immune system disorder. The bees’ immune system is compromised, which might be due to the stress [commercial beekeepers] are putting on the bees,” says beekeeper Diane Busch. “It’s big business. …

Lo! Men have become the tools of their tools. — Henry David Thoreau I remember my first time like it was yesterday. My heart beat fast with the excitement and trepidation of journeying into virgin …

“I hate the holidays,” he had said on more than one occasion. “The obligation, the pressure, the spending money on things that people don’t need.”

I am leaving the town to the invaders: increasingly numerous, mediocre, dirty, badly behaved, shameless tourists. -- Brigitte Bardot W e told our friends we were going for the food, but that was a partial …

"The Miramar landfill is set to reach capacity by 2013," says Steve South, president of Edco Disposal, a waste-collection and recycling company headquartered in Lemon Grove. "This means we're going to have to recycle more …

Love looks forward hate looks back, anxiety has eyes all over its head. -- Mignon McLaughlin Everything had been going so well. The Seattle sky was uncommonly clear for December. The overall atmosphere was festive …

"One of the reasons I've been able to pay my rent is a procedure called 'neck-angle reset,'" says Bill Meyer. "That's removing the neck from the guitar and changing the angle that the neck is …

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. -- English proverb I was yanked into consciousness -- adrenaline tensed my muscles for fight or flight, and my heart was pumping fast, as though I'd …

"The Salton City 500 began in 1961 and ran for ten years," says Scott B. Davis. The 500-mile boat race was held on a triangular course in the Salton Sea, a 35-mile-by-15-mile saltwater lake located …

Turkey, n. A large bird whose flesh when eaten on certain religious anniversaries has the peculiar property of attesting piety and gratitude. Incidentally, it is pretty good eating. -- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary An …

"The Marines got into it just recently," says Ryan Greenspan, founding member of the professional paintball team San Diego Dynasty. "They see it as a militant sport because guns are involved. I don't think there …

There are no facts, only interpretations. -- Friedrich Nietzsche 'You want some eggs with that ketchup?" "Very funny, Four-Eyes," Dad said, using the nickname he gave me when I got my first pair of glasses …

Were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck'd wisdom from thy teat. -- William Shakespeare I was standing in the kitchen, weighing the exertion of making my own coffee against the …

"According to government legislation, people aren't responsible enough to survive doing anything," says Frank H. Steensnaes. "What if footwear was determined to be a crucially important element of human survival and the government decided to …

There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America. -- Bill Clinton Visiting four countries over the span of five weeks led me to one astonishing revelation: I …

"Poetry is somewhere between singing and speaking," says neurologist Ani Patel. "It's using the voice in a regulated way, with pitch and time. The Iliad and the Odyssey, before they were written down, were transmitted …

"With the fires, we saw just how dry it is," says Marty Eberhardt, executive director for the Water Conservation Garden. "We only get 10 percent of our water locally." At least 85 percent of the …

I speak two languages, Body and English. -- Mae West Exposed as I was to the elements, I was relieved it wasn't raining, but I was thankful for the clouds, which muted the sun's glare …

"The main thing we have to worry about is how to get phosphorous out of the water coming in," says Sherrie Nuyen, special project coordinator for the Desert Shores Improvement Association. Desert Shores is a …