There is no such thing as a weird human being; it's just that some people require more understanding than others.-- Tom Robbins I gazed out the rain-streaked window and watched a colorful collection of birds …

"Weavers are more at ease, more laid back maybe, and very patient -- warping a loom can take four to six hours," says Palomar Handweavers' Guild member Lynn Ely. "Everyone is so hypered out now …

Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them.-- Jerry Falwell Braced against the elements with newly acquired rubber-toed boots, bright red scarf, and a wooden-handled umbrella whose underside …

"Before bourbon goes into the barrel, they char the inside by literally lighting the barrel on fire," says Sheri Haupt, Southern California area manager for bourbon distributor Future Brands. "They char it to a depth, …

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society. Mark Twain She looked amused. Or terrified. It was hard to tell. I had only spent three, maybe four hours with her, …

'The Salvation Army insisted on seeing a purely cultural event with political eyes and then complained that the event was political," says Manal Swairjo, co-organizer of the concert featuring Lebanese oud (Arabic lute) composer Marcel …

To the sober person, adventurous conduct seems insanity.-- Aristotle I awoke to the same rhythmic rocking that had lulled me to sleep seven hours earlier. I could hear David stirring on the bunk above, an …

'There are so many people that seem to fear snakes. They think they're all venomous or dangerous," says Shawn Silva, president of the San Diego Herpetological Society. "A large part of that is that most …

When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money.-- Susan Heller The ridiculousness of my situation did not occur to me until …

Oprah calls it an "Aha! moment," as if a single occurrence, like waking up, can impel someone to change. A sinner is usually caught in the act of sin before "seeing the light," a drug …

'The Portuguese people in Hawaii are like Polacks," says comedian Augie Tulba. "The Chinese are like Jewish people on the mainland. They buy everything under the sun -- hotels, buildings. They own a lot, but …

The pain passes, but the beauty remains.-- Pierre-Auguste Renoir 'C heck out the woman in the red shirt three sizes too small and the guy in purple plaid shorts," said David. "Eastern European?" I guessed. …

'We have a 10,000-acre ranch an hour and 20 minutes away from Ensenada," says Ernie Preciado of the San Antonio Ranch in Ojos Negros, Baja California. "It's a valley, and it's hot. If you've seen …

When you're born, you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat. -- George Carlin I stood at the kitchen counter, enjoying a hardboiled egg. …

'When I structure my classes, they're usually themed," says Elizabeth Podsiadlo, known as the Opera-Singing Chef. "If I'm doing Italian, I'll be singing Italian. If I'm doing French, I'll be singing Carmen. Once I did …

Toys were lots of fun before they became capitalist tools. -- Beth Copeland Vargo The thermostat read 85, but it felt more like 100. Jen and I sat side by side on the warm concrete, …

I don't want to compare to any other group of people, but Brazilians are not pushovers," says Jaro Pribyl. "They want to do something for themselves, they want to make more money, be more successful." …

'Most people, especially in California, think barbeque is going in your back yard and throwing on a couple of steaks," says Gary Notley. "But that is not barbeque, that is grilling. Barbeque is when you …

When I'm good I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad I'm better. -- Mae West I sensed the conversation was drawing to a close, so I stopped pacing back and forth on the rug. …

Herbert Marcuse was the single most famous person who ever taught at [University of California San Diego], and there was no living connection to him, no evidence of Marcuse having been there," says Professor Andrew …

An hour of basketball feels like 15 minutes. An hour on a treadmill feels like a weekend in traffic school. -- David Walters I was five minutes in; by ten minutes, sweat would begin to …

Busy Fingers Are Happy Fingers — Joe Deegan Mother Reader — Barbarella Build Your Writing Muscles — Ollie Let the Tape Recorder Do the Work — Matthew Lickona Faith — Abe Opincar Make Something Better …

What's nice about outrigger canoeing is that you're facing forward, so you get to see where you're going," says John Wascher, vice president of the Oceanside Outrigger Canoe Club. "And [the canoes] are built to …

Judith often referred to herself in the third person as "Mother Reader." An appropriate epithet, considering that after coming across my blog, she elicited a job offer from "Father Reader," thus giving birth to my …

The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us. -- Ashley Montagu It was a brilliant idea. Machiavellian genius. Why hadn't I …

All the wonderful tunes of that era [1920s and 1930s], they're the crème de la crème of classical pop music," says musician Pete DeLuke. "George and Ira Gershwin, [Richard] Rodgers and [Lorenz] Hart, Cole Porter …

Marriage is a ghastly public confession of a strictly private intention. -- Ian Hay 'H ey, beh beh!" I called out, as I often do when I'm comfy in my office and don't want to …

A horse which stops dead just before a jump and thus propels its rider into a graceful arc provides a splendid excuse for general merriment. -- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh I t was 8 …

'Since most Filipinos are immigrants, when they come here they change their diets," says Ofelia Dirige, a nutritionist with a doctorate in public health. "They used to eat fish, vegetables, and fruit when they were …

Absence is to love as wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small and kindles the great. -- Roger De Bussy-Rabutin I was reluctant to leave, even though it had been my decision to go. …

'We realized that our son, who was four at the time, needed new shoes," says Sara Bongiorni, author of A Year Without "Made in China": One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy. "It's …

Fear is not the natural state of civilized people. -- Aung San Suu Kyi If the morning had been anything other than unremarkable, I might have been better prepared for the terrible onslaught that was …

'We hit 115 [degrees] here last July, and the rock rose and lavender did fine," says Don Schultz, horticulture manager for the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyamaca College. In the desert, where temperatures recently reached …

The whole celebrity culture thing -- I'm fascinated by, and repelled by, and yet I end up knowing about it. -- Anderson Cooper I surveyed my surroundings, noting the worn carpet, the paint peeling from …

'Verdi was really good at not just writing the music, but making the music match what it was about," says Timothy Todd Simmons, chorus master for the San Diego Opera. "You can listen to the …

Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities. -- Frank Lloyd Wright For every five people who hear me say, "I'm going to Martha's Vineyard for a few weeks," …

'A guy named Norm Golb just loves to follow these Dead Sea Scrolls around the country and talk about how we've got it all wrong," says Delle Willett, director of marketing for the San Diego …

The whales, you see, eat up the little fish. -- Thomas Churchyard As Jane piloted her monstrous mom-mobile and I read directions aloud, I was suddenly distracted by the sound of my name. Swiveling in …

The Fourth of July holiday offers a variety of activities and events. If you're of a pioneering spirit and not attached to the idea of oohing and aahing over a light show in the sky, …

It is difficult not to wonder whether that combination of elements which produces a machine for labor does not create also a soul of sorts, a dull resentful metallic will, which can rebel at times. …

'Toads bury themselves in mud and can survive for months until the rains come down," says Diane Nygaard, president of Preserve Calavera, a nonprofit environmental organization that works to protect native habitats around Mount Calavera …

The only man I know who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew each time he sees me. The rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them. …

'Pinstriping is like a tattoo for a vehicle," says Mark Whitney Mehran, founder of local lifestyle company Hot Rod Surf. "You have to follow the contours of the lines of what you're dealing with, and …

First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you. -- F. Scott Fitzgerald I was three steps from the entrance of my building when I noticed him. He …

'Since I moved to California from New England, I find that I can pretty much eat anything I want without gaining weight," says Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma. "I'm convinced that when you …

With time, even a bear can learn to dance. -- Yiddish proverb David doesn't dance. Sure, he may bob his head to the music here and there, and, if he's had enough wine, he might …

I think the harpsichord is probably the more difficult instrument to make music on because it's not inherently a musical instrument," says music director and founder for the Bach Collegium San Diego Ruben Valenzuela. "The …

If it weren't for baseball, many kids wouldn't know what a millionaire looked like. -- Phyllis Diller M onths ago, when a friend of mine who lives in L.A. told me she wanted to plan …

'I didn't see how a program without vision might be able to handle color until about 20 years ago," says Harold Cohen, professor emeritus of visual arts at the University of California, San Diego. Cohen …

Loquacity, n. A disorder which renders the sufferer unable to curb his tongue when you wish to talk. -- Ambrose Bierce, from The Devil's Dictionary The blaring phone interrupted my intense struggle with the latches …