They say your home is your castle. So it is with Jim’s place, which is shaped like a castle. He’s known as the P.B. Millionaire. The St. Patrick’s Day party he hosted was downtown at …

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, …

On a Saturday night a few weeks ago, I went to a Saturday Night Live theme party at the Tivoli Bar in the East Village. I went as one of the gold-chain-and-polyester-wearing Czech brothers played …

I love movies — watching them and discussing them. I’ve gone to the Sundance Film Festival a few times and recently started going to some local festivals. I went to the Fallbrook Film Festival last …

I remember getting a call years ago from a girl named Caryn. She was having a birthday party, and I hadn’t been doing this column very long. The details sounded interesting. She was dating a …

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 …

“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 …

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 …

Each year I go to two Super Bowl parties. I leave the first party at halftime, which I don’t mind doing if the TV halftime show includes musical guests such as Bruce Springsteen. This year, …

Barack Obama was predicted to win the presidency. Nobody was surprised when he did. I was surprised at how many inauguration parties there were. I don’t recall any presidential race ending with so many parties. …

Last December 8 would’ve been Jim Morrison’s 60th birthday. Two of the surviving Doors threw a party in Hollywood at Barney’s Beanery, famous in the ’60s for the stars who hung out there. I wasn’t …

When I learned Harrah’s Rincon was opening up a sports bar called the Sports Pit in late September, I decided to hit it. They offered lots of free food and drinks and two former NFL …

I get invited to a lot of art openings and recently had to tell some friends that I was burned out on them, recalling a couple of art parties from a few months back. One …

When I was four, I formed two distinct memories of events that happened at Christmastime. The first was when my mom, newly single, took my older brother and me to see Santa Claus. We didn’t …

I had three parties to hit one December night. Maybe the stores were taking a hit from the bad economy, but it wasn’t cutting down on the number of people partying. I went to a …

There was a story on CNN about the controversy surrounding a public Christmas tree in Washington, D.C. In the interest of fairness, apparently, an atheist group was permitted to place a sign up in the …

There was an October wedding in Coronado with a reception on Soledad Mountain. A guy named Jeff called to suggest I crash the Hawaiian-themed affair. I wore a Hawaiian shirt to fit in. The problem …

About four months ago I was having Mexican food at a vegan place at Sunset Cliffs — I have friends who are vegetarians, and this is one of the places that we all enjoy — …

I saw a band called the Dateless Losers at the Ould Sod on Adams Avenue in Normal Heights. I liked their songs and their sense of humor. After their set I asked Tim Curns to …

I remember the first time I came in to a little money as a teenager and went to buy Christmas gifts for friends and family. I went to the Fashion Valley mall and remember walking …

A few times a year, local party legend Bear Paw gives me the heads up on a party. His directions on my voice mail are always amusing. This one said, “I don’t know the name …

The last weekend in August, I was invited to a party in an airplane hangar, which is funny because the word one associates with parties is “hangover,” not “hangar.” James, a local doctor with a …

As a kid, music influenced how I thought about politics — songs such as Alice Cooper’s “Elected” or Cream’s “Politician,” wherein the politico talks a woman into his “big, black car.” As a teenager, I …

Tool front man Maynard James Keenan came to the Whole Foods Market in La Jolla on November 7 to sign bottles of wine produced at his Arizona winery. Many fans showed up at 2:00 p.m., …

The weekend before Halloween I hit a few parties related to my volunteer work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I usually do office work or airport pickups for them, but Evelynn asked me to help put …

When KGB had its Sky Show at Qualcomm a few weeks ago, I heard about a party at a house nearby that had a perfect view — a nice way to avoid all the stadium …

Before singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson played the Poway Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, October 18, I met Sammy, an L.A. guy selling concert shirts for $20 apiece in the parking lot. “They aren’t selling …

A few months back, I went to an event in Oceanside that I was told was a divorce party for a guy, but it ended up being more of a car show, as most of …

There were two parties I missed that I was bummed about. These guys that throw an annual jet-ski party called me afterward and said that they got around the beach booze ban by drinking out …

I received word about a few parties down south on a Friday that I was to drive up to L.A. I decided that I’d hit them both before the long drive. The first was for …

I went to a fund-raiser for the music departments of Point Loma High and a community middle school. The small donation included a spaghetti dinner that came with an impressive spread of food. But it …

I saw an ad for a CD-release party for LL Cool J. It’s funny because when bands invite me to CD-release parties, they aren’t really parties. It’s usually the band playing a small venue for …

A friend scored a pair of tickets to the Chargers’ final preseason game against Seattle. I don’t care much about preseason, but it would give me a chance to check out the Seahawks running back …

I got an invite to an ‘80s party and figured that’d wrap up these decade-themed events. I assumed nobody would have a ‘90s-themed party; I’m not even sure how I’d dress for something like that. …

Having covered ‘50s and ‘60s theme parties the past two weeks, it seemed appropriate to jump to a ‘70s bash at the VFW hall in Pacific Beach. Coincidentally, I went to a going-away party at …

Last week I wrote about a ‘50s party. This week, we move forward a decade into the Summer of Love. I wore a crazy orange shirt with flowers all over it that I bought in …

I took my girlfriend to see the Creepy Creeps at the Casbah. She had never seen these local legends, and they were playing with two other local bands I like — the mostly female Glossines …

I went to North County for James’s 90th birthday. As I pulled up, I noticed that there was a party across the street for a woman expecting a baby. I thought that was an interesting …

I’m sure most guys can say they’ve never had a drink thrown in their face or been slapped by a woman in a bar. Those are things you see in sitcoms. But I had one …

"January 9, 2008, is a day that will live in infamy," says Terry Brickman, a beachgoer I talk to in early April about the day the beach booze ban went into effect. I am surprised …

I saw a story in an entertainment magazine about how Tara Reid lowered the price she gets for attending parties. She used to ask for $25,000 to attend a party or grand opening. Nobody was …

“Dangerous” Dick Spenneberg does stand-up comedy at local clubs in San Diego five nights a week, most often at the Comedy Store. From July 30 to August 2, he emceed the Cheech and Chong reunion …

I made the mistake of trying to go to a party in the Hillcrest area during the Gay Pride Festival. Not that there’s anything wrong with that...other than road closures and parking problems! My girlfriend …

I received a couple of phone calls that piqued my interest. One was from a cage-fighter named Chuck. He told me he wasn’t calling about a party; he wanted me to know that he liked …

I tried to fit too much into one day. It started with a Padres game. Well, actually, a lunch and party at Petco Park for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and then a game. After the party …

I went to a few different parties a while back that involved bands. One was an afternoon affair near Viejas off the I-8. When I pulled up and saw three drum sets, I thought it …

I went to lunch with former quarterbacks Dan Fouts and Brian Sipe, coaching legend Don Coryell, and player-turned-actor Fred Dryer, star of the show Hunter. It was an event at the Hall of Champions in …

I have my voice-mail number listed after my column to get the heads-up on parties around town, but I have to sift through several businesses that just want a plug. A business might be new, …

On June 20, Not British, a three-piece rock band, was playing a party at a house in the College Area at around 9:00 p.m. “As far as parties go, the place wasn’t packed,” says guitarist …

A while ago, I crashed two parties that were a good distance from each other. Luckily, it was before gas was so damn expensive. The first event was downtown. It was early, and I knew …