Thirty Years AgoTHREE CLOSE MALE friends of mine and I were sitting around my living room the other day when someone picked up the Reader and began reading aloud some of the matchmaking ads in …

Little Feat plays the Belly Up Tavern on October 6. When I grew up in northern Virginia during the ’70s, I thought that Little Feat were a local D.C. band. In a way, I guess …

Stefan TanakaProfessor of history, UCSD Even though Halloween has little connection to Japan, the ghosts and witches that I associate with Halloween are also a rich part of its lore. Two recent DVDs explore this. …

Thirty Years AgoThis is the way Ted Uhler commutes from his Spring Valley home to his job downtown: Uhler sets his alarm for 5:30 a.m. and hustles to get out his door by no later …

Thirty Years AgoFAMILY OF PSA air crash victim (Sept. ’78) would appreciate hearing from other such families. WAVE JUNKIE: A dozen years of surfing and swimming experience and a desire to meet you. I am …

Thirty Years Ago[Susan] West won a smooch from Sea World’s celebrated cetacean last spring when she rode in an asthma benefit bikeathon and finished as a runner-up. She says she hoarded the prize for months. …

Thirty Years AgoDear Matthew Alice:Are there more men than women in San Diego?— Curious Couple, San Diego Men generally outnumber women in this city and will continue to do so in the next decade, according …

Gaaron VarnerThe Cinema Drinker I recommend Strange Brew. Disclaimer: This movie does not accurately depict the brewing process...just a warning to all those home brewers out there! On to the movie, eh? Any movie that …

Thirty Years AgoI miss Duncan Shepherd and I’ll tell you how much. I was thinking about this as I was ironing the other day, and if I ever have a boy I would not hesitate …

Thirty Years AgoLate last April John Holtz brought home to San Diego four bullet holes in the trunk of his Renault station wagon. “I was an American driving a car with Venezuela plates, and a …

Method Man and Redman play Canes on Friday, August 14. Jamar: I actually did security for Method Man last time he was at Canes. I walked him to the limo twice.... He’s one of the …

Thirty Years AgoI never returned to graduate school. Nor did I ever become Marcuse’s student in a formal administrative sense. But I became a student of his ideas and character. I attended most of Marcuse’s …

No Debt LoadThis letter is in regards to the following comments by Naomi Wise in her latest restaurant review section (“Top of the World, Ma!” July 16). As a former owner of the Better Half, …

Thirty Years AgoJoan Baez appears at SDSU’s Amphitheatre tonight, Thursday. Baez has always struck me as an opportunist and dilettante, flaunting her political beliefs, her ethnic origins, and her relationship with Bob Dylan.— “THIS WEEK’S …

Philip Barrett Associate editor, atomicpopcorn.net Hard Boiled is what most action films aspire to be but lose their plot along the way. Directed by John Woo, this opus of bullets actually has a story worth …

Thirty Years AgoMy personal critique of Hob Nob Hill: dinners are unimaginative and overpriced; an overkill of watercress (during the lettuce shortage) in their chef’s salads; no optional nonsmoker’s section; Dorothy’s forced, ingratiating greetings, alas, …

Thirty Years AgoDorie’s bedroom was darkened, but there was enough illumination coming from the bathroom for Barbara to see. Dorie was on her side, though only slightly. She had on a high-neck, long-sleeve nightgown. Her …

The John Corbett Band plays Brick by Brick on Saturday, July 18. I really didn’t think I would be impressed with John Corbett, musician. As an actor, I think he is appealing. He has a …

Thirty Years AgoVERY ATTRACTIVE blonde lady at the Strand Theatre on 10 July. Shy black guy would like to meet you. Eye contact — answer here.TINA DELGADO is alive. Saw her at Vince Lombardi High …

Thirty Years AgoNED AND NEDDER: Happy new habitat! With so much love to keep you warm, isn’t that fireplace superfluous? Kandee in Klairemont. FARRELL’S: Waited on me 6-28. I’d like to know you. Reply through …

We had been waiting for three weeks for a decision from corporate on which branches were going to be closed. Everyone told me that I had nothing to worry about. My office was 200 percent …

Trent S. ReidCinephile Shot in Namibia’s Skeleton Coast during the death throes of Apartheid, Dust Devil is a challenging cross-genre mix of sociopolitical critique and perhaps too-personal exploration of shamanic mythology and consciousness. Labeled a …

Thirty Years AgoThe straw had been piling on the proverbial camel’s back for some time before Duncan Shepherd’s critique of Woody Allen’s Manhattan. Now I fear the dromedary has suffered irreparable spinal damage. My problem …

Thirty Years AgoDear Matthew Alice:How do you get hold of the words to a song when you can’t understand them on the record? [As] the critic Greil Marcus said in Rock and Roll Will Stand, …

Thirty Years AgoC. Arnholt Smith was alone when he walked the two blocks from Judge Robert Conyers’ courtroom to the Chamber building. One young man recognized him and, recalling that this was the day Smith …

Back in November of ’97, I was doing a live broadcast from Nashville. It was the day before the Country Music Awards. It is a crazy and massively fun, long day — a cattle-call of …

Thirty Years AgoWe rode the number 3 district school bus, my brother and I, from our Del Mar Heights neighborhood up to Encinitas, and San Dieguito High, each morning. We were spirited and energetic, acceptable …

Thirty Years AgoIn Duncan Shepherd’s review of Woody Allen’s latest movie, Manhattan (“Rhapsody in Black,” May 31), he makes a revealing statement. In analyzing Diane Keaton’s role as a highbrow writer, he says, “It would …

The morning began with no surprises. I woke up at my usual time of 4:30 a.m. and prepared for a normal day of work as a buyer of raw-material golf components in Carlsbad. I arrived …

Steve WagnerBrewmaster, Stone Brewing Co. I’ve always been a film noir fan, and Polanski’s Chinatown offers a 1970’s update on the style that does the masters proud. Water, real estate, politics, and racism in Chandler-era …

Thirty Years AgoTwo years ago, small businessmen and poor Mexican-American homeowners in downtown Escondido led a campaign against the razing of portions of downtown for a shopping center to be developed by Ernest Hahn. On …

Thirty Years AgoIn April my dad and I flew to La Paz, a fishing resort near the end of the Baja Peninsula, some 750 miles south of San Diego. From there, we traveled by bus …

There was a time when I was an ambitious, snot-nosed, obnoxious young dude just getting into the radio business. Not much has changed, but I digress. Around that time, I became interested in finding out …

Michael McQuigganSan Diego programming director, FilmOut, filmoutsandiego.com C.R.A.Z.Y. is one of the best French Canadian films ever! This epic film follows the relationships of five brothers and their parents, told specifically through the eyes of …

Thirty Years AgoSan Diego County is the third largest egg-producing county in the nation. The 114 poultry ranches in San Diego, with more than six million chickens, do a $50-million-per-year business. Although the world’s largest …

Thirty Years AgoBy now the Navy’s environmental study on the proposed expansion of its Balboa Park hospital into Florida Canyon has met with much disapproval. The Navy hopes to obtain the property to build its …

I was laid off in February 2009. Forty-five minutes into my shift, the district manager approaches me and says, “Can I see you in the office?” While en route to the office a customer stops …

Thirty Years AgoEaster at the Colorado River is like a holy pilgrimage for those who believe. They pour out of the hot cities of Southern California in endless caravans, crossing the mountains and deserts, enduring …

Thirty Years AgoI’m not sure why the birds on the north island of the Coronados are making such a racket. They’re screaming so loudly, it seems like the noise should carry to Point Loma, 15 …

One would hope that the susceptibility to peer pressure dies off somewhere around 11th grade, and maybe it does for those a little more evolved than myself. But every once in a while, I’m so …

Thirty Years AgoA Sunday afternoon last month on the Ocean Beach pier. The fellow in the yellow short-sleeve shirt and sunglasses was carrying three small boxes wrapped in white paper and ribbons. Mike Hall had …

Thirty Years AgoHe was not a typical casualty in the world of television reporting. He was Jack Walsh, the former politician who turned television celebrity after his 1976 reelection defeat as county supervisor. So when …

I got laid off yesterday. Two of our three offices were closed, leaving 80 of us unemployed. I’m not sure what you’re supposed to do the day you get laid off, but I’m certain of …

Edward WilenskyDirector of media relations, San Diego Opera, sdopera.com Terry Gilliam’s Brazil serves up a tale of a man’s battle for freedom and independence. Criterion gives the film a stunning treatment in this box set, …

Can it be old words? Because I use balla a lot. A “balla” is a player; you know, like, someone who’s good at something. Another one is get on the sticks. “Get on the sticks” …

Thirty Years AgoRIGGS, still around? Want to renew a friendly relationship? Please reply in future Reader, yes or no. More info on me forthcoming. I. Barn. TO ALL OB LANDLORDS, your days are numbered! Stop …

Thirty Years AgoSOLITARY WOMAN: I hear you. Please come see me, high noon, the Saturday following this edition, foot of SIO pier. La Jolla. Red Ker Chief. ROCKY HORROR!! I’ve discovered it and I love …

Thirty Years AgoTuesday, October 31, 1978In speaking to people who have known John Vietor, I am told that he is “the Jell-O heir,” “the founder of San Diego Magazine,” “a world traveler who dines with …

Meanbuggin’ is when you start starin’ at someone and you’re lookin’ at ’em bad. Another one is weeble. A weeble is, like, someone who’s comin’ up, but they’re not officially made yet. Like, you introduce …

I have been shown the door due to “downsizing.” Or financial reorganization. Or fiscal re-evaluation. Or any other softer, kinder way of saying, “Sorry! We had good intentions when you signed on, and you performed …