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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …

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 …

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, …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Thirty Years AgoMaureen O’Connor now guards her private life with remarkable jealousy. In the course of preparing this story I wasn’t invited to her home, she wouldn’t introduce me to her husband, and she warned …

Destin CrettonFilmmaker, Short Term 12, Winner of the Sundance Short Film Award 2009 If you haven’t seen Labyrinth, you’re missing out on a chance to experience 101 minutes of David Bowie flirting with a young …

I remember hearing “Brass in Pocket” and “Kid” all over the radio, and that was when I was in school at the University of Kansas. My friends and I wanted to be and look just …

F’tchou! It’s a noise you can use to mean whatever you want. It’s a sound. It’s a placeholder for whatever word you can’t think of. Chills McGillicutty means it’s cold outside. It’s freezin’ outside; it’s …

Thirty Years AgoIt was Saturday, and we had stopped in at the New Seed, the Pacific Beach natural foods emporium, to check up on the junk-food trade-in.... Cake mixes and frostings seemed the most popular …

Name: Michelle Mendoza Age: 26 Lives in: Hillcrest Surfing: La Jolla Shores Favorite surf spot: Miami Pre-surf music: MGMT Worst beach pickup line: “Want help waxing your board?” “I thought I could catch a few …

The Reverend Horton Heat, or “Jim,” as I like to call him, is a true rock ’n’ roller harking back to the good ol’ days of the era. Some call him psychobilly and some say …

Thirty Years AgoWHITE QUEEN: I’m a Queen fan, but what do Queen fans do besides buy records and attend very very very loud concerts? DCB. SAVOY TRUFFLE, Zoot and Dingo: Will see you at the …

Natalie WalshSenior producer, KPBS-FM’s These Days, kpbs.org I’m a history buff, and I loved the series John Adams so much that I was sad when I finished the last episode. As I watched the inauguration …

I am from Hawaii, so most of the slang words that I use are pidgin. Choke means that you have a lot or a bunch of something, like I have choke Christmas presents to wrap. …

Thirty Years AgoMay we introduce you to Burl Stiff, bon vivant, man-about-town, who’s sitting at the moment in the Whaling Bar at La Valencia Hotel? You recognize the face, which tops Stiff’s Union society column …

Thirty Years AgoCity traffic engineer Joe Casteneda says stretches of road which racked up the highest bicycle-accident rates (in the five-year period from 1969 to 1974) include Clairemont Mesa Boulevard from Highway 805 east to …

A couple of years ago the company changed my computer login to a series of numbers instead of my name; I should have realized the foreshadowing. Local news viewership is down and advertisers cut their …

Artist: The Shake-UpsSong: “Sex Exchange Operation” (from the CD Breathing the Flood)Heard By: Adam Goodson, La Mesa I didn’t like the xylophone thing, but I think it was all right. I could kind of hear …