Anna Marie Bickford Age: 21 Occupation: Project Accountant Lives: Pacific Beach My friends and I rediscovered this old-fashioned term, "the witching hour" , which was used to describe creepy things that happened at night to …

Thirty Years Ago Shotgun Tom Kelly, voted the nation's number-one Top-40 DJ last year by Billboard Magazine, is almost a parody, a flesh-and-blood caricature of what a disc jockey is supposed to be. At some …

Mary AndersonTheatre executive director, Coronado Playhouse, www.cornadoplayhouse.com The same week that the Coronado Playhouse's free production of As You Like It opened, HBO released Kenneth Branagh's long-awaited film version of Shakespeare's pastoral comedy. Originally scheduled …

Edward Pickens Age: 34 Occupation: Bookkeeper Lives: North Park "Shralpin' on the gnar gnar," isn't really surfer slang, it's more like making fun of bad '80s surfer slang. I use that one as a joke …

Thirty Years Ago Your surrealistic story on me was taken far too seriously by some of your readers (if the vehemence of some of the letters you received is any indication). As journalism, the piece …

Editor's note: More than 600 San Diegans submitted stories for the Reader "My Neighborhood" writing contest. Ocean Beach led all communities with over 20 entries. Writers 10 to 87 years old sent pieces from as …

Skylar EpplerAssistant, La Jolla Landmark Midnight Madness Donnie Darko: Director's Cut will be a cult classic for years to come. Worthy of midnight moviegoers, young and old. A young boy learns a few things about …

Thirty Years Ago The tall blonde who sits on a barstool in front of the Princess Rap Parlor on lower Fifth reacts warily to questions about her trade. "That's all I ever do, man; just …

Greg EichelbergerEditor and film critic, East County Herald News For quality television comedy writing and execution, few can match The Muppet Show. It combined classic, lovable characters such as Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie …

Alan Alzona Age: 23 Occupation: Sales Associate Lives: Hillcrest I'm a big MySpace fan, and my friends and me have some good terms we use for general MySpace stalking. We'll say someone was "lurking the …

Thirty Years Ago When Winchell's Donuts first cast its corporate eye on the intersection of Sunset Cliffs and West Point Loma Boulevard, company officials doubtless never expected such sticky questions. Winchell's tried to sweeten the …

Since forming in 2005, the CHI Club have been playing shows around San Diego wherever they can. Whether you run across the band rocking on the beach, at a house party, a farmers' market, or …

Robbie RobbinsCo-owner, IDW Publishing Extras, extras, I'm all about them. DVD extras, like the custom comic books IDW's created to accompany the deluxe DVDs of Underworld, Saw II, and The Devil's Rejects as well as …

Olaf Abel Age: 21 Occupation: Student Lives: La Jolla I use a lot of Bay Area slang. We call girls "breezies," like, "What up, Breezie?" Because girls come and go like the wind. "Scrilla" is …

Thirty Years Ago The last remaining farm in Mission Valley has come to look almost invincible over the years. The farm is the one east-west commuters know so well, the one Interstate 8 bisects, east …

The females in my family are bastions of advice. Regardless of the subject, they assert their superior knowledge and follow up with at least three contradictory suggestions. Ironically, they ignore others’ advice almost as much …

Vernon MortensenFilmmaker and board member, San Diego Filmmakers Looking for something different? Try the long-lost '70s gem Cockfighter, based on Charles Willeford's novel. Roger Corman produces, Monte Hellman directs, and world-class cameraman Néstor Almendros provides …

Title: A Charmed Life Address: http://acharmedlife.typepad.com/a_charmed_life/ Author: Debbie Angelo From: Escondido Blogging since: March 2006 Post Date: May 16, 2007 Post Title: Wardrobe, Malfunction So things are going as well as I can make them …

Chris served as a Navy SEAL until last November. "I hit the 20-year-mark," he says. "And I figured that was good, I'd retire. I'd spent more time here in San Diego than anywhere else, so …

Mike Ayzen Age: 21 Occupation: Student Lives: La Jolla I have a few close friends who are Persian and who speak Farsi. In Farsi, "jendeh" is a derogatory word for a girl who gets around. …

Thirty Years Ago Roger Hedgecock, the youngest San Diego county supervisor ever elected, sometimes has an excited vision of Idi "Big Daddy" Amin circling in a C-130 Transport 15,000 feet above the ocean off the …

Title: Musings and Mud Prints Address: http://muddymuse.blogspot.com Author: Lannice From: San Diego Blogging since: December 2006 Post Date: July 16, 2007 Post Title: Uncle Walt -- Friend or Foe? I've identified myself as a feminist …

Name: Mike Turner Home: Chula Vista Vehicle: 1995 Ford F-150 Surfing: Ocean Beach Pier Mike Turner surfs a 9'4" Bear and is committed to environmental causes. He inherited a gas-guzzling V8 Jeep that didn't have …

Shanna Roberts Age: 20 Occupation: College student Lives: UCSD area "Cutty" is a good one. "Cutty" means shady. Like, you just came up to me, you're freaky and weird; you're "cutty." It describes a person's …

Thirty Years Ago PENNSYLVANIA natives: Re-incarnate as groundhog, coal, smokestack at America's Finest City picnic, Saturday, August 27, 3--7 p.m., Balboa Park, near Sixth, Upas. Prizes for unique Pennsylvania costumes/posters/representations. NEW IN TOWN? So am …

Name: Jason Corp Vehicle: 2002 Toyota Tundra Lives: Linda Vista Surfing: The pier, Ocean Beach Jason Corp paddled out past the O.B. pier. Earlier, he thought he might pack up for the day to head …

Rachel Greenberg Age: 21 Occupation: College Student Lives: UCSD area My friends and I abbreviate a lot. "Fave" for "favorite," that sort of thing. A good one of those is "yet" for "Yeti." A "yet" …

It must have been in Cosmo that I once read "The Top Five Relationships Every Woman Should Have Before She Gets Married." Most of us have had the first kind: the quintessential first love. This …

Thirty Years Ago The attraction tonight -- as it has been for the past seven and a half months -- is Rocky Horror Picture Show, a rock opera chronicle of innocence, transvestitism, and science fiction. …

Name: Steve Mast Vehicle: 1968 Volkswagen Bus Lives: Ocean Beach Surfing: Tourmaline Steve Mast came out from Cincinnati ten years ago and has since immersed himself in the surfing community. "When I got here I …

I was in ninth grade. So was Tony, my first boyfriend. Tony was sweet, handsome, popular, and absolutely smitten with me. A girl's dream. I'll never forget our first date. He took me to a …

Something in the Air After sitting in the taxi lot at LaGuardia Airport for an hour, I got a fare back to the very slow city. Business was thin all night, but I did manage …

Charlie Conefrey Age: 28 Occupation: Personal Trainer Lives: San Diego In Boston everything's"wicked" or "pisser." "Pisser" is pronounced "pissah." They both mean great or awesome, like "the chowdah was pissah," or "the Red Sox are …

Thirty Years Ago The Abominable Leitmotif Man He sits behind you at Wagner operas, with his girlfriend, who cannot tell Wagner from Pink Floyd but thinks her escort is as groovily wise as -- as …

Name: Kens Sullivan Jr. and Sr. Vehicle: 1992 Jeep Cherokee Lives: Point Loma Surfing: Santa Monica surf spot in Ocean Beach Ken Sullivan Sr. calls his Jeep Cherokee 4x4 the "soul car" because he can …

I once heard an analogy that being in a bad relationship is like owning a bad car. The more time, money, and energy you put into it, the harder it is to let it go. …

Ron Peyton Age: 34 Occupation: Hair Stylist Lives: University Heights "Bingo wings," is my current favorite slang. It's a euphemism for the big upper-arm area of a chunky girl. You can imagine her jumping up …

Thirty Years Ago I was amazed that you would print your whitewash of the 7-Eleven Corporation in this week's Reader ("It's a Pretty Good Deal," July 21). These stores have become a black spot on …

Name: Larry Davis Vehicle: 1995 Toyota pickup Lives: University City Surfing: Windansea Beach, La Jolla "Not born here, but raised here," Larry Davis said. "Moved here from Memphis, Tennessee, when I was two or three. …

Name: Julian Vereda Home: San Diego Vehicle: 1991 Jeep Wrangler Surfing: Avalanche Jetty, Ocean Beach While serving aboard the USS Cleveland (LPD-7), Julian Vereda saw the greatest site ever offered to any surfer: Cortes Bank …

Chris Hall Age: 32 Occupation: Remodel/construction Lives: Mission Valley "Slam Pick" is what we call the last girl at the bar. She's just hanging out until closing time, waiting to get picked up. A lot …

Title: Gooseberry Gumdrops Address: http://gooseberrygumdrops.blogspot.com Author: Michael Rheinbold From: Tierrasanta Blogging since: March 2007 Post Date: April 13, 2007 Post Title: Pistol Skittles Things continue to go south for our fearless hero. My roommate, Vladimir, …

Name: Tom Downer Home: Normal Heights Vehicle: 1971 Volkswagen Bus Surfing: Dog Beach, Ocean Beach Tom Downer's wife calls his '71 Volkswagen Bus his "beach garage." Tom says, "It's still the only vehicle I can …

Amber Hinajosa Age: 28 Occupation: Law Office Queen Bee Lives: University Heights Whenever someone upsets me I say, "I am going to Connie Chung you." As in, "I'm going to kick your ass." Or if …

Thirty Years Ago Otto Bos, Mayor Pete Wilson's new, young press secretary, was leaning back, telling a reporter about how he had been the head zucchini cooker with Del Monte Foods in Oakland before he …

Name: Seth Roloff Lives: Alpine Surfing: Avalanche Jetty, Ocean Beach Vehicle: 1984 Mercedes 300SD Turbo Diesel Seth Roloff's 1984 Mercedes 300SD died in its spot on this hazy Saturday morning. "I was excited to see …

Janet Age: 34 Occupation: Corporate Executive Lives: North Park I follow language, especially slang. I've heard two new ones recently. One of them is "shrimping." It's a foot-fetish thing where someone's big toe is sucked …

Thirty Years Ago For over six months staffers in the newsrooms of Mrs. Copley's Mission Valley papers have been chattering about their boss's affair with Democrat businessman Richard Silberman: what private parties and weddings the …

Jacquelyn DaniellEnglish major, Biola University If you are looking for something artistic this summer, The Fountain will not disappoint. Darren Aronofsky's latest film is the story of a man's quest to save the life of …

Title: Casing the Joint: Weblog from the Linkery Address: http://porterx.com/blog/ Author: Jay Porter From: North Park, Golden Heights, etc. Blogging since: September 2005 Post Date: June 19, 2007 Post Title: Today Is Reuben Tuesday We're …