How Do You Keep Warm at Night? If you think of the homeless at all — aside from how to avoid them or that daily mini-moral crisis as to whether to give them spare change …

The Chula Vista kidnapping of Eddy Tostado by Arellano cartelAt 3:39 a.m. on January 7, 2007, Columbia Street was almost deserted. Little Italy had been plagued with car burglaries — “It got where you couldn’t …

More or less sudden mountainsThe rocks in and around San Diego have composed amazing, fiery stories for a very long time. An ancient ocean once covered this county; volcanoes used to spew here; and more …

Happy Trumpsgiving Hunter P. Thompson: "Sure, everybody here agrees that Trump is a fascist hatemonger with no sense of respect or decency. That just means he’s just like the rest of us. Those protesters who …

Men's Summer Swimsuit Issue Nowadays, whenever I occasion to strip down to my swimwear, my own interior monologue pesters me, "Are you standing up straight? Is your stomach tucked in? Are there zits on your …

My Gender Is Bunny Cárdenas is spending more than 15 consecutive days living in Second Life. “My contract with myself was to be in Second Life for 365 hours [wearing the headset], except when I …

What Insiders Eat Restaurant staff gab and gobble. Travis Murphy, also a cook, planned the staff’s daily dinner. At Nine-Ten, he said, the hardest part of arranging the staff meal, also called the “family meal,” …

The Ugly Trailer Park Across the Water Beauty and the blight on Mission Bay. Cityzella terrorizes humble trailer folk at De Anza Cove. By Ollie, Sept. 14, 2011 | Read full article What am I …

She told me my arm was gone. We argued about that for five minutes. I mean, I could feel it. When I was in school, I was given two pieces of information about the brain …

What Insiders Eat Travis Murphy, also a cook, planned the staff’s daily dinner. At Nine-Ten, he said, the hardest part of arranging the staff meal, also called the “family meal,” was “to find something to …

The Ugly Trailer Park Across the Water Cityzella terrorizes humble trailer folk at De Anza Cove. By Ollie, Sept. 14, 2011 What am I doing in Eastlake? I'm telling you it's a trap. And we're …

Men's Summer Swimsuit Issue “Now, you ask me, the male physicality wasn't built for aesthetics. Those angles and edges, the purely functional proportions: men's bods are too utilitarian, at least for my taste. (I prefer …

Sister Santa’s once-a-year smile I fell in love with America for the first time on a sweaty night in a Bangkok refugee center in March 1991. “In America people have meat with every meal,” my …

Cityzella terrorizes humble trailer folk at De Anza Cove.

Almost a decade ago, when I worked in a high-rise office building downtown, some coworkers and I stood at a corner window and counted the mega-sized cranes that dotted the scenery. “One, two, three, four,” …

Fuzzy-headed and inquisitive after a long night of sleep, I levitate a morning news screen to eye level. The glowing hover-display shows little icons indicating rain; damn, I forgot an umbrella. With a slight gesture …

A LITTLE OLD-SCHOOL GLAMOUR “What does he do, this man you seek?…He covets…And how do we begin to covet, Clarice?…We begin by coveting what we see every day.” — Dr. Hannibal Lecter, The Silence of …

There are times, sometimes in the midst of otherwise polite conversation, when it comes out that I make my living writing for the Reader. The follow-up to this revelation is almost never “Oh, that’s right, …

Bourbon Dash of bitters Muddled cherry and orange Serve on the rocks Booze holds a storied place in the serious business of turning things unserious. As with everything, there’s a time and a place; specific …

Our man finds a network of others like him: the World Superhero Registry

Name: Michael Janzen Surfing: Tourmaline Lives: Mission Valley Miss work for surfing? “No. Get up earlier and do both.” A few months ago, surfers congregated at Tourmaline Surf Park in Pacific Beach. The mayor and …

Album: Oceanside Boulevard (2008)Artist: AvitiaLabel: Above Ground RecordsWhere available/price: Lou’s Records in Encinitas for $5.99. Online at iTunes, Napster.com, Emusic.com, Rhapsody.com, and Amazon.com for $4.95.Songs: 1) The Idea 2) Long Gone 3) Mars 5000 4) …

Name: Steve Scatolini (aka Scat Daddy Surf) Age: 32 Years surfing: “too many” Favorite spot: Jocko’s Pre-surf music: “Jimi Hendrix, my own” Post-surf food: Poma’s Deli (in O.B.) Scatolini’s song (below) was inspired, he says, …

“Long Way Home,” by the Coyote Problem, was the most-downloaded MP3 from SDReader.com during February. Below is an interview with songwriter Peter Bolland. Has it been easier or harder to write songs during tough times? …

Here’s what you need to know before I begin this story. (A) I’d spent the week prior to all this camping out at an arts festival at which I’d inundated myself with an alphabet of …

Name: Jureyl Pancipanci Age: 25 Lives In: Mission Valley Pre-Surf Music: the Strokes Post-Surf Food: tacos Surfing: Mission Beach Originally from Wahiawa, Hawaii, Jureyl recently moved to San Diego and pointed out some key differences …

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 …

"Goodbye,” by the City Limits Band, was the most downloaded MP3 from SDReader.com during the month of January. Follows is an interview with songwriter Les Allen. This is obviously a “love lost” song. I like …

All financial markets are Ponzi schemes set up to take money from the unwitting and give it to insiders. All numbers concerning stocks are manipulated to give rich people more money; they’re lies. So, you’ve …

This miserable “era of peace” has nearly bankrupted my giant robot army before I’ve even had the chance to get any of them out the door. I’m sittin’ on 45 giant robots in a National …

In 2007 Rolling Stone ran a cover story marking the 20th anniversary of Guns N’ Roses debut studio album Appetite for Destruction. That same year Marc Cantor, early-days photographer for GNR, wrote a book, Reckless …

Name: Cheryl Woodhouse Age: 51 Lives in: Coronado Post-surf food: Carne asada burrito “with salt!” Favorite surf movie: Step Into Liquid Surfing: Coronado Cheryl got her nickname (“The Shreddar”) by way of a prank played …

Zombie hunting used to be grueling business. I never thought I’d be a zombie hunter, but then again, I’m typing this on a square of light that sits in my lap. If you’d asked me …

My cell phone was apparently assembled at gunpoint by drunk Yugoslavians in the year 1984. The only way for it to receive any sort of discernible transmission within my house is for me to hold …

“All I Got,” by Astra Kelly, was the most-downloaded MP3 from SDReader.com during the month of December. Below is an interview with the songwriter. What inspired you to write “All I Got”? Astra Kelly: The …

More people should die. Our only problem as a society is that we lack the moral resolve to let it happen. We have no distinguishable line to draw — everyone on this side we will …

Thankfully, mercifully, wonderfully, I rejoice that the holidays are over. This year I was called everything from a “lamer” to a “scrooge” because I don’t enjoy the time from Halloween to New Year’s Eve. Well, …

Name: Chase Edwards Age: 26 Lives in: North Park Surfing: Black’s Favorite surfing buddy: Jameson, his son Girls in the water okay?: “If they can keep up.” Chase was surfing at Playas de Tijuana last …

Album: Into My Soul (2008) Artist: Lindsay Hail Label: self-released Where available/price: Cow Records in Ocean Beach and Music Trader in Point Loma and Pacific Beach for $9.99. CDBaby.com for $12.97; iTunes and Digstation.com for …

Halley’s Comet appeared when I was nine. It came late at night. I was watching TV on the couch, dozing. There was a big fuss about it; every commercial break, a news anchor would tell …

Rain made a clown out of me. Not one of those funny clowns, if there ever was such a thing, but rather a sad-faced, hobo clown who forever looks as if his coffee is cold, …

A nation doesn’t leap off of a cliff and fall into chaos; it slides over the course of months. In 2001, Argentina started that slide. By 2002, the price of food had rocketed 200 times …

Album: Blood Drops (2008)Artist: WriterLabel: self-releasedWhere available/price: Lou’s Records in Encinitas, Off the Record in North Park, M-Theory in Mission Hills, Spin Records in Carlsbad, and live shows for $8.Songs: 1) Matthew 2) Anymore 3) …

People have called me a “hater” because I’m quick to give my opinion on most everything and usually within my stated opinion the word “crap” pops up. If you ask me, “What did you think …

Name: Sunshine Granaldi Age: 28 Lives in: Gaslamp Quarter Surfing: Ocean Beach Post-surf food: Pho Ideal surf vacation: Thailand “Surfing almost ruined my wedding. My husband and I got married in La Jolla two years …

"Bench to the Bus Stop," by Nature of the Beast, was the most-downloaded mp3 from SDReader.com during November. Below is an interview with members of the group. Ollie: I just gave Nature of the Beast …

Album: Girl Like This, 2008 Artist: Laura Roppé Label: self-released Where available/price: lauraroppe.com ($12 plus S&H), CDBaby.com ($12.97) or for download at iTunes ($9.99 for the full album, 99 cents per track), or Amazon.com ($7.99 …

I am Genghis Khan. Bill Bryson, in his book A Short History of Nearly Everything, explains how lineage works by starting out: “If your two parents hadn’t bonded just when they did — possibly to …

Name: Byron Thompson Age: 19 Surfing: La Jolla Occupation: Student Lives in: North Park Best surf in SD: Bird Rock Longest duration surfed: Five hours "I don't mind girls that surf as long as they …

Rocky, my rubber duck, is tunneling out of the bathroom. I know he’s tunneling because upon morning muster and inspection he’s been congenial and respectful, which is unfamiliar behavior for him. At night inspection, he’s …