We were all set to get back to reporting the important stuff today...

But then my computer actually shot sparks out of the back of it...

Yep, SPARKS.

And so I say, a few more days off never hurts.

We're hoping to return Monday...

Last Minute Gift Ideas my Husband Threw at me Last Minute

Well, it's almost Christmas time and I'm almost back to my small Northern California town, which just means that My San Diego (like any sane people) will be off for the next few days, nogging it and then sleeping off the nog. For those of you that have saved your last minute shopping for, well, the very last minute (Dad) here's the list of presents my husband (also a last minuter) suggests for those last minute shoppers:

Netflix: Best for someone you live with because then you too can partake in the Netflix madness (guess what I'm getting for Christmas).

Parfum de Gwen Stefani: It's called Lamb. Really any perfume will do (as one can tell from visiting the perfume section of the store where you will find most guys milling about waiting for someone to tell them what is "hot" or what their mother in law would like, two VERY different fragrances, mind you).

A donation has been made in your honor to (insert charity here). It's never too late to make a last minute donation in honor of your giftee.

A love letter. Yep, buy yourself some nice paper and make a real life love letter. Take the time to tell your significant other (or giftee who you've had your eye on) just how much they mean to you. Bonus points for working in the words: eternity, joyous, fated, amazing, amorous and/or sweetie patootie pumpkin heart. Even more bonus points if you get it framed, yep framed.

Pictures, pictures, pictures. The cool think about the digital camera age is you can go down to your local store, stick in your memory card and wa la, you've got a billion presents at your finger tips. Pick a theme like "reasons I love you" or "reasons you're my best friend" or even "how much do you love me right now?" and then pick out those pictures that work with that theme. Bonus points if it somehow involves your nudity.

A day off. You can never, ever go wrong with a day off. Go to the bookstore, get yourself a gift card, and include with the card a promise of a day off to "hang out at the bookstore and read magazines for free" (Also works with spa gift certificates, massage certificates).

*And now for my few days off...*

December is all About Lists: Holiday Traditions at my House

*And so marks the end of the countdown to Christmas. Yes, it's just around the corner and though we still have time left in December, it just feels like everything is coming at us so fast. My San Diego Blog will be off Monday, Tuesday and (probably) Wednesday. I say this now, but watch, I'll need to escape from the great Holiday Traditions for a moment of zen which will eventually lead me to looking up news about San Diego and making comments about it. Until then I give you another list, the Things My Family Makes Me Do In The Name Of Tradition list.*

The Baking/ Icing/ Organizing of the kids cookie making morning. This used to be a big pain in my butt, as it would require me to get up at 8 in the morning and start making sugar cookie mix and lots of frosting. Instead of spending my morning sleeping in, I'd wake up, bake, bake some more and then wrangle a whole bunch of little kids around the table where they'd sneak gobs of frosting into their mouths and I'd do manual labor (AKA decorating cookies). I kind of look forward to it now, because it just means I get to spend my morning eating sugar cookies and calling it "helping."

The lighting of the candle/ saying who I miss/ trying to think of someone good/ introduction to Christmas Eve. This is my aunt's thing. There is one candle for those who have died, one for those who are there and one for those we wish were there but aren't there. Each and every year my brother stands in front of me and says exactly who he thinks I'm going to say. Last year he said my husband, and you'd think you'd always get to claim your husband but my brother claimed him first. Sadly, I will be able to say that I wish my brother was at Christmas this year as he will not be able to make it. CALLED IT, CALLED IT AHEAD OF TIME!

The eating of my Dad's guacamole. It's the best (and I don't just say that. I know San Diego is FILLED with guacamole, but guess what, I've already had the best and y'all just fooling yourselves). Each year people actually wait for the unveiling of it, his tub full of guacamole and each year it's scarfed down. Some people don't believe me, but once they have it, they too have to bow down to it's mastery. The man is a guacamole genius.

The making of the Egg Nog. My Uncle's domain, it involves something about eggs and nog. A little less egg, a little more nog." My Uncle says.

The abomination of drinking/ drunkenness by my mother and the total ignorance of said abomination by all those partaking in the nog. "You're Uncle is making that Egg Nog again." Rolls her eyes.

The singing of the Christmas Carols. Oh yes, you don't think this happens in real life but it does. There's the nogged up Uncle and Cousin playing the guitar and the rest of the family gathered around in a circle singing songs, each person has to pick one. Oh the weather outside is frightful, we wish you a merry Christmas, deck the halls with boughs of holly, oh holy night, I need some more egg noooooooog. Lets sing Patsy Cline!

The singing of the Twelve Days of Christmas. You see the family divides into groups, twelve total and then everyone gets their number. Five golden rings is reserved for the nogged up group of guys. Everybody has to sing (hear that husband, everybody), how loud depends on the nog in your noggin.

The gift exchange. Some call it a White Elephant gift exchange, something about a bunch of random gifts and then you pick one but the next person can steal it from you and then if it's stolen again you can't steal it any more. But we're all nogged up, so really it's just a "oh look a big tube of bubble gum, FIVE GOLDEN RINGS" kind of thing. Last year I got a pair of earrings, so that was nice. I think my Aunt actually stole this one bracelet from me, not so nice, but we deal, whatever.

The after party. Apparently it can continue late into the night, what with the singing of Patsy Cline and the guitar playing and the nog nogging and the lights flickering and then all of a sudden it's Christmas day and my Uncle shows for dinner a bit hungover and his kids laugh because they aren't, obviously their dad is a light weight. (Sometimes said after party can end up at one of the downtown bars. If you ever wanted to see EVERYONE you knew in high school you should really head downtown on Christmas Eve. I remember last year hearing "hey, you should have been there, everyone was asking about you." Clue my mother with her dirty looks because WHO goes to a bar on Christmas Eve. Apparently, everybody I went to high school with).

*Christmas morning we open gifts, ooo, ahh, and go back to sleep. We are all nogged out.*

Street: Constantly Proving they are way cooler than me

Street went ahead and got some listage going for the old music end of the year round up. These are the best albums, according to them. I'd do a music list myself, except that I'm really, really unfashionable when it comes to that whole thing. Seriously. I would get kicked out of the hipster waiting room for humming along to Fall Out Boy or the theme song from The Hills. And so I read Street's lists with curiosity and fervor because I, one day, hope to add to my cool music list. What say you Street writers?

10. ????
9. Various Artists - "Death Proof: Original Soundtrack"
8. Black Lips - "Good Bad, Not Evil"
7. Kanye West - "Graduation"
6. M.I.A. - "Kala"
5. Daft Punk - "Alive 2007"
4. Lil' Wayne = The Internet
3. UGK - "Underground Kingz"
2. Burial - "Untrue"
1. LCD Soundsystem - "Sound of Silver"

Yeah so um, never reallly heard of em. Ooo except Kanye, say hey Kanye, hayyyyyy! (I read somewhere this Daft Punk wasn't so good as the other Daft Punks and they are starting to sound kind of recycled in their music, that harder, faster, upper, downer song is pretty good though).


And from another Street writer:


1.Glass Candy's "After Dark" comp.2. Lavender Diamonds' "Imagine Our Love."3. "Fabricelive: 36: James Murphy and Pat Mahoney," especially the Peter Gordon and the Love Life Orchestra stuff.4.The Long Blondes "Someone To Drive You Home."5. Deerhunter. Everything by them.6. The Cool Kids. All the songs on their MySpace page.7. Chromeo "Fancy Footwork"8. Cortney Tidwell "Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up."9.Peter Bjorn & John "Writers Block" (sad but true).

Can't even give a shout out, although I do know who PB&J are, how could you not. Apparently that's sad but true.

Like I said, kicked out of the hipster waiting room.

Moms Wear Flats: Jamie Lynn Spears is sixteen and pregnant

Moms Wear Flats: I will one day have to have the talk with my daughter and I'll tell her what my Grandmother told me "close your legs or I'll close em for you."

So, SHOCKER, Jamie Lynn Spears is 16 and having a baby, I don't know if you've heard. I couldn't help but notice what with her on the cover of almost every magazine, every day time show bringing it up and the blogs, oh the blogs, man the blogs. Sign on San Diego even cares about this one, what are parents to do now that there is a 16 year old girl having sex and getting pregnant? And she's on TV?! And she's related to Britney Spears who we all know is so sane and level headed. Such a SHOCKER.

Jamie Lynn apparently stars in some teen show on Nickelodeon. I've never seen it (but I do remember back in the day when Nickelodeon was COOL and played cartoons like Ren and Stimpy). Opinions are flying about what to do with this "role model" who is now a pregnant 16 year old role model.

Truth is she's not the first "role model" to do something that people disagree with and she really won't be the last. The View has weighed in and old crazy train Sherry Shepard is just disgusted and thinks the girl should be punished. Perez Hilton, well, he's dubbed her a ho AND is about ready to string her up in the barracks and make an example out of her. Even the morning show with Mike and some girl (I can't remember her name) went and discussed with their panel of experts (a magazine editor and an 18 year old virgin) what we should do to take care of the Jamie Lynn problem.

It seems to me what parents may be most worried about, is the same thing they have been worrying about since Cheerleaders were getting kicked off the squad for getting pregnant and teenage girls were getting put into "special" classes where they could hide their bumps from the influential eyes of those around them: if the kids see it they will do it and then we've just got a whole bunch of pregnant little kids running around and not going to college and that will not be good for the student loan industry.

I get that kids are impressionable, heck I remember buying my pearls, crosses, laced bottom tights and short skirts during my Madonna phase (I remember briefly toying with the cone bra idea but skipped it). I remember the girl that came to our junior high from Los Angeles (oooo big city) who told us (in the sixth grade) that we needed to start french kissing or we'd just be such dorks forever. Kids are impressionable, but do you want to know who impressed on me the most, my mother.

I had a lot of cousins who had kids relatively young. In fact there was a point where I was the oldest kid in my generation who hadn't spawned anything from my loins (I was nineteen). At the ripe old age of nineteen there were people concerned because I hadn't had a kid, nor even contemplated marriage or children and therefore I was probably going to die alone. I was surrounded by Jaime Lynns, girls who realized their new path in life and walked down it, girls who had to take responsibility for their actions and reacted, not surprisingly, with a little trepidation and a lot of curiosity.

But it didn't make me want to run out and get pregnant and a lot of that had to do with my mother. My mother wasn't spending her time yelling at my cousins about what bad examples they were, she wasn't trying to protect me from the big bad television or living in fear that I would somehow pickup how to be a total ho from something I saw on the movie screen, my mother was concerned with me. She talked to me, she listened to me (a lot of the time she disagreed with me). She told me about the risks and what you give up when you have a child (not just at 16 but at any time). She told me about sex before marriage (use a condom) and casual sex (use a condom) and sex with someone you are just dating (use a condom) and sex with someone you love (use a condom). She talked about sex so much I just started tuning out because at that point I was sex educated and NOT having sex (perhaps because I would only think of my mother, which just turns a girl off). She was a believer in birth control, education, and taking the blinders off, but most of all she was someone who told me that "those people you see on TV are not real."


People can argue that Jamie Lynn is in fact a real sixteen year old girl, but you know what she's not. We don't know her, we don't call her at home. We only get the image of her, plastered on the magazines, transmitted over the television, gossiped about on websites. We are not her friends, her family, her co-workers or her mother. We don't have to teach her anything and like wise, she shouldn't really be teaching us about anything either. She's a character as most people who have flash bulbs in their face and crazy sisters on their family tree must be. We get snippets of who she might be, but really, Jamie Lynn Spears, OK Magazine cover girl is not a real person, she's a semi-famous character who got knocked up and decided to keep the baby and now we wait for the next step of the drama which is finding out the repercussions of her decisions, next on Lifetime. Jamie Lynn Spears the real person, well we don't know a lot about her.

Tell your daughters (tell your sons too, by the way) that Jamie Lynn is just a person on TV and she has nothing to do with their real life. She's a distraction, a character, a sixteen year old girl who will now have to raise a baby with a bunch of people talking crap about her on the Internet. And then after your very rational explanation go ahead and listen. Yes, listen to what they have to say.

It's hard because most kids that age are just talking crazy... but it's a start.

This Week in Street People: Commenters Must be Home for the Holidays

Here at My San Diego we don't like to make fun and/or pass judgment on the fine, upstanding San Diego residents who are profiled as "Street People" (we usually depend on the comments to do that for us) but this weeks Street Person, despite his affable half smile/frown that says "hey, I don't really want this whole big deal made out of my super professional job either", John Resnick, was ripe for judgment and yet only received a paltry two comments (so far).

Comment makers are either striking in solidarity, or on vacation. Resnick (the "Vibe Manager" at The Hard Rock Hotel in Downtown San Diego whose job is to "make sure the Hard Rock rocks") didn't get "Blocked" (As we will hence forth call a complete siege of people with opinions about if this person warrants any comments at all, as was done for the great entry on John Block, writer, screenwriter, hot or not? contestant).

I'm not jealous. I'm not. I am, a little. It's not like I'd turn down the opportunity to "let rock and roll destroy me." Nor would I turn down to opportunity to warrant an actual blog entry by one Cat Dirt.

A little more about Johnny "the vibe master" Master.

John Resnick describes his perfect San Diego weekend:"Riding my Harley up north on PCH, then back through the mountains, and getting home in time to go see a small concert with good friends. That'd be just about perfect."

John Resnick tells us the 10 songs he'd put on his perfect mix CD: 1. "Romeo and Juliet," Dire Straits2. "Just Like Heaven," The Cure3. "Bittersweet Symphony," The Verve4. "Like a Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan5. "Y Control," Yeah Yeah Yeahs6. "You Only Live Once," The Strokes7. "Lawyers, Guns and Money," Warren Zevon8. "Sweet Jane," The Velvet Underground9. "The Magnificent Seven," The Clash10. "Oh My God," Mark Ronson feat. Lily Allen

The man leads with Dire Straits, I mean that is a man you have to respect. I, personally, would have lead with Bob Dylan because he's totally hot right now. I guess that's why they pay John Resnick the big bucks.

So I was Looking for Christmas Cheer and Decided to try the Chargers Holiday Cheer Song

You can find it here: http://www.chargers.com/holiday-cheer/

But I don't understand what they are saying, wait, um, okay, wait, I think they said :

Watch him run his moves are frightening...

Who? Santa? He is scary, just ask that kid in the mall the other day, he thought Santa was going to eat him or something because he started screaming "I hate you! I HATE YOU!" Poor Santa, cut the dude some slack, we all know how busy the Holiday is for the guy.

Fat Girl/ Skinny City: The Holiday Season Means Family and lots of Questions About What I'm Going to do With my Life

Fat Girl/ Skinny City: Home for the Holidays

I'm currently not actually IN San Diego, but according to everyone that doesn't mean I can't write a little diddy about heading home for the holidays. Anyway, heading home for the holidays means a lot of family time, the kind of family time where people ask you all about what you plan to do with your life and when you're going to settle down or even how long until you move back home instead of living in "that place where everybody wears bathing suits all day long and they surf and say dude." It has inspired me to continue my foray into the whole December listing phenom here on My San Diego and so I give you: Reasons Why People Live in San Diego Besides The People Who are Always Wearing Bathing Suits and Saying Dude.

The weather. I bet that you didn't see that one coming. Although the weather lately hasn't really been cooperating with our swimsuit wearing life style, the weather is still 10 billion times better than say having to go out at 8 in the morning with your Dad and rake up wet leaves onto the street. Tis better to bundle up and head down to the beach for the day then to bundle up so that you can be comfortable enough to get from the parking spot out in BFE into the mall.

The weather. I can't stress this enough, because weather really does have something to do with mood and how people feel. They have an actual name for it, it's a diagnosed disorder. Having to spend most of your days indoors watching re-runs of The Soup on the E Channel and then accidentally allowing yourself to watch the first 15 minutes of Keeping up with the Kardashians, which thereby causes you to lose 10 or 20 IQ points in the process... well it just causes you to be seasonally affected, trust me.

The weather. Which allows you to sit outside an stare at the ocean, which allows you to dream about better days and summer time which allows you to remember the time you went with your friends down to the beach, popped open a nice can of Dos Equis, stared at the waves and made the groundbreaking observation that "the waves come in, they go out but there is always a new one coming in. Kinda like boys I guess." And then you remember that you can't do that any more, unless you want to show up with your fake belly full of beer, but you still smile because hey, it's the ocean and the weather is great.

The weather. Sure it rains. I love when San Diego-ers head outside and go "man I need my rain gear" for the few misty drops falling from the sky. And then all the drivers get super confused, they start pushing on their breaks for no reason. But it makes them slow down, a lot, and that's just cute also.

Whole Foods. (Yep, it's not the weather). Because there are places on this planet without Whole Foods and it sucks. It sucks major donkey balls.

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Yes it's not one of the MANY local establishments in San Diego that provide for endless hours of coffee shop going and yes it's just ANOTHER corporate machine but it's a good corporate machine that gives you tasty options that other corporate machine doesn't. And there are places in the world without The Coffee Bean (I heard someone in that other chain that shall remain nameless whispering that The Coffee Bean was recently bought by that other chain, I don't know if it's true, I'm just repeating small town gossip, cause that's what we do).

All those other local reasons that we talk about all the time which are too numerous to mention in one list and therefore I'm not even going to try. (Go Parkhouse Cafe!) Needless to say, San Diego has a million things to do, a million places to go and if you get bored of going to all those original places, there's even a Coffee Bean or Target or Ikea. Even these places, people, are a privilage, not a right.

I'm off to rake some more leaves.

*Cee will return to San Diego late next week. Until then, she's wearing a very thick jacket, selecting deals from the racks at Mervyns, CA.*

San Diego DUI Lawyer Hands out Tips for Your Drunk Driving Needs

*My San Diego Blog does not condone nor encourage drunk driving, it's a bad deal that leads to badder deals and then all of a sudden you're attacking a helpless Christmas Tree and then you're in jail for 48 days, which is a long longer than 24 hours. But lets just, for the sake of argument, say you find yourself in a car this holiday season, and for some reason you also find that you've perhaps consumed an alcoholic beverage and lets just say that along with that alcoholic beverage you've maybe, just maybe, forgotten how easy it is to call a cab and/or your husband who will be mad at you but not as mad at you as he would be if he say, had to pick you up at the precinct screaming Merry Freaking Christmas. For the sake of argument, San Diego DUI Lawyer has posted these handy "how to get out of jail free, literally" card DUI tips:

Some highlights...

Always be polite, but say to the officer “on the advice of my attorney, I elect not to participate in any San Diego DUI field sobriety tests.”Note that only the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, the One Leg Stand test, and the Walk and Turn test are considered Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and are approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and are part of the DWI Detection Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Program.

Politely elect NOT to answer any questions during the San Diego DUI investigation, either before or after you are arrested. You must provide the San Diego DUI officer with your driver license, registration, and proof of insurance, but other than that REMAIN SILENT. If the officer asks you if you have been drinking alcohol, simply say “on the advice of my attorney, I choose to exercise my 5th amendment right and remain silent.”

On the advice of my attorney I choose to exercise my right not to tell this one story about my friend...

Like the picture? Yeah, me too.

So you Think you can fly? San Diego County Regional Airport is Urging Holiday Travelers to do What They Should be Doing Anyway When They Travel

Good luck with that, no seriously, good luck with that. From 10news:

Travelers planning to fly out of San Diego International Airport during the holidays were urged Thursday to arrive early for flights and plan ahead for security checkpoints. Liquids, gels and aerosols carried through security checkpoints must be three ounces or smaller and be placed in a one-quart clear, plastic, zip-top bag. Passengers are limited to one bag. At TSA security checkpoints, passengers must also remove laptop computers from cases and take off their shoes.

I post this not because I think it's the most important news ever, but because I just want to pass along word (guy that's always in front of me) that YES your lap top needs to be out of it's case and yes you do need to take your shoes off and yes that bottle of wine you brought with you was not a good idea and lady in front of him, I'm sorry, but mascara counts too.

There's a Fashion Challenged man in Desperate Need of a Makeover in Point Loma (oh and he's robbing banks too).

From Sign on San Diego:

Unkempt man sought in bank robbery

Remember that "eminent domain" thing?

I do. I remember I described it to my brother as "like how Mom and Dad have the right to go in and reclaim the bedroom you reclaimed from me when you moved in after I went to college like I was NEVER COMING BACK!"

A family in Otay Mesa was awarded $26.5 million on Wednesday in a case over land that was targeted for condemnation by the state Department of Transportation so it could build a freeway. The families business, Anderprises Inc., owned the land when Caltrans used eminent domain to take 2.8 of the 58 acre parcel. The family claimed that the section of land that was seized effectively cut off and landlocked the rest of the land. Caltrans countered that it did not need to pay for the landlocked portion of the land, and only offered to pay for the 2.8 acres it seized. From Sign on San Diego:

The jury ruled unanimously in favor of the landholders. The panel concluded the value of the 2.8-acre parcel was $1.3 million. Additionally, it set damages for the lost use of the landlocked property at $20.1 million.

A victory for the little guy? Perhaps. Funny because I remember how during that time my brother and I would take things from each other and start screaming "eminent domain!" and each other, always.

Rachelle in the City: Discovering Health, check.

Rachelle in the City: Discovering Health, check.

I am not aggressive by nature, unless survival instinct kicks in that is. I kept telling myself I don't care about commission where I work because it brings the worst out of people and I refused to fall into that trap. I was above all that, I thought to myself. So I would sit at the front desk twiddling my thumbs and answering phones while my extremely energetic coworker would be talking and laughing with guests, which would lead to the racking up of sales for her. She was used to being on top of the sales chain and I could see why. Randomly, I don't know how or why I decided this but I decided to challenge myself and see if I could take the lead in sales. As a result, I spent the past week out on the floor chatting, listening, suggesting books to read, selling massages, and offering advice on treating ailments, both physical and emotional (always expressing my limited expertise). It felt great and empowering because I saw myself making an impact on people who usually come into the store searching for anything to help make there lives better. The end result was that I pulled ahead in sales and I would have been at the top except that one of my other coworkers happened to sell a thousand dollar statue, curses. It's all really about luck as well, I noticed. So now I have officially joined the dog eat dog world of retail.

It really isn't as bad as it sounds. I came to a realization that perhaps I made another step forward in figuring out what I was meant to do in this life while I was out there selling because it felt really good speaking from my heart about what I thought would be good for them to try and having them absorbing what I was saying. Who would have thought? I am living in the perfect area for discovering what health profession I want to pursue and its good to know I actually like talking about being healthy to guests who walk in the store. Also the people I work with are really nice and have inspired me to make some positive changes in my life based on Ayurvedic principles of course. Don't worry, I don't plan on running off to India to join an ashram or anything, but I have always liked learning about different healing modalities and picking out techniques to incorporate in my life.

Likes to talk about health, check. Now, what profession does that lead to?

December is all About Lists: 2007 shows that are still on my DVR "New Episode" schedule.

*I know I had planned to watch a whole bunch of the fall shows that were coming out, Chuck anyone? But the truth is when push came to shove I got all selective with my DVR time considering a good chunk of it is taken up with old 30 Rock and Angel Episodes (YA BURNT Charmed, I've moved on!) And by the end of the fall season I had my schedule down. So besides old episodes of Angel that I'm catching up on... here are the shows that actually made my list of "New Shows That I still DVR." *



Dirty Sexy Money

You probably don't watch it because you are sane, smart, have something better to do with your time Wednesday nights between 10-11pm (so do I, that's why I DVR!). You probably are above the allure of the transsexual mistress, the boy pretending to be poor, the lawyer with the moral conscience, the murder mystery of which high powered, rich, Manhattan, billionaire murdered the high powered, now dead attorney. And you probably don't care that Billy Baldwin is in it (which just means a very slight, tiny possibly that Stephen Baldwin, Jesus Lover, will show up in his crazy van and maybe, just maybe, he'll bring Pauly Shore with him and they'll take over and turn Manhattan in to the homeostasis Biodome we all know it could be.)



Private Practice

I'm sorry, I like me some Addison Shepard, not Shepard, Montgomery and her easily solvable medical mysteries.



Notes from The Underbelly

This isn't a new one, it was on last year and it sucked last year, just like it kind of sucks this year but I was pregnant last year when it came out and now I have the baby and they are still waiting to have theirs and I know where they are going. And that blonde chick who used to be all up on VH1's I love the 80's/90's/Toys specials is kinda funny.



Samantha Who?

My husband refuses to watch this show with me as he thinks it's "inane" but I watched Married With Children like everybody did and Christina Applegate deserves her props. I don't think I've necessarily laughed, even once, but still, it's easy to watch an episode or two. And Barry Watson is cute (it's nice to see he recovered from that What the hell is the matter with Brian, seriously? show).





*Honorable Mention* Pushing Daisies which by the way I should watch (and you should watch too) but I never remember to put it on my DVR schedule, it just doesn't dawn on me and then inevitably I end up catching the last 10 minutes of it right before Private Practice starts and I go "man, I should add that show to my DVR schedule," for one reason, and one reason only.



















Holy Moly, I just realized something. ALL OF THOSE SHOWS ARE ON ABC. Go ABC, you win, you win the 18-49 age group in my house. Now get it together and settle the writers strike before I get complacent and start watching Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.

You Throw a Rock at me, I Tear gas you and make your nose bleed for two weeks and call it a day.

On the last day of summer, ten hours before fall . . . . . .

my grandfather took me out to the Wall. - The Butter Battle Book

My husband and I pretty much agree on everything (or he pretty much agrees with me). We like to live in our liberal bliss, watching the TV, shaking our heads at the moronic nature of those who are as enlightened as we are, shake oure heads at each other when one of us reminds the other that The Terminator is our Governor, and he's not as bad as this guy was. Any way you cut it, we can have a nice conversation about this, or that, and not end it with "you conservative psycho get out of my house! Have fun at your dinner party with Bill O'Reily and Rush and SATAN!"

On one level we disagree about immigration. I won't go in to our opposing views on the subject, only to say that as a Native American person (me) I'll usually end the conversation with some joke about how he's just an immigrant himself and maybe he should go on back to France with his people (and then something about how, in California he's a double immigrant, being that, ahem, Mexico was kind of here for a while too).

However we both feel about the whole "hey I like how we're building a big fence to keep Mexico out, when it's the dang Canadians who are always coming down here paying for surgery they can't have because of their dang universal health care system", we do agree in the fundamental basics, you know, life, liberty, not getting tear gassed while in your home as retaliation for people throwing rocks over the border fence.

From NPR:

Rubis Guadalupe Argumedo's kitchen window looks out at the border fence. She says one sweltering night last summer she had all the windows open and tear gas poured inside.
She says Border Patrol agents lobbed a canister over the border fence and told her it was payback for the rocks that were being hurled at them.Argumedo says the tear gas gave her son nosebleeds for two weeks.Argumedo says after a tear gas attack one recent Saturday night, she yelled at a Border Patrol agent from her front porch. "I told him, 'Don't throw anything. There are kids here,'" she recalled. "I said, 'You're not in Iraq.'"She said he responded that he was sorry, but that the tear gas attacks would continue because rocks were being thrown at the agents.

While the Border Patrol agents will not confirm the use of tear gas in retaliation for the rock throwing incidents, they have said that they use whatever means necessary to protect the agents. Mexico has asked the Border Patrol to investigate and are awaiting the results.

I'm sure they'll get those real soon.

I sometimes think Blogger is trying to protect me from putting my foot in my mouth

But I am stubborn.

Because sometimes I'll be writing a post that I'm convinced is really important, really ground breaking and the most hilarious, snarky thing to be posted about news that really matters and for some odd reason Blogger will have some kind of Blogging-Fart and go wonky, say it can't load and delete everything I've written.

And the genius will be lost to the land of "oh we really didn't want you to post that any way."

Either Blogger is a commie bastard who thinks it can censor my genius, or it's trying to save me from posting about how Time Warner Cable added 4, count em 4 new HD channels to their programming.

So the housing bubble burst and people are wondering how they are ever going to refinance and keep their over priced condos except

Star Point Properties LLC, who are based in Beverly Hills and just announced:

a $100-million acquisition program that targets San Diego and the surrounding areas for 2008. The first acquisition is a circa-1924 apartment building located in the Hillcrest area of San Diego. The 58-unit complex, located at 1571 University Ave., sold for $6.2 million.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, pretty soon LA will be completely obsolete as you can just go to "Little LA" AKA San Diego. Welcome to the city, Star Point Properties LLC.

Merry Christmas SDG&E, now about all those fires that ravaged San Diego County.

The Center for Biological Diversity and The Sierra Club have asked state regulators to open a formal and public investigation into the role of San Diego Gas & Electric and other utilities in the wildfires that swept Southern California in October of 2007.

It was widely reported that power lines were the cause of the wildfires that left San Diego County devastated with more than 1.6 billion in damage claims. Cal Fire determined that at least that at least three of the fires were caused by power lines.

From Biological Diversity:

The conservation groups’ request for an investigation is in response to a petition by the gas company to the utilities commission on November 6, 2007 that requested a review of construction, maintenance, and operational standards for power lines and related facilities in light of the fires. Among other things, the groups asked whether utilities examined their own practices after the tragic fires in 2003 and whether they were implementing the best practices to reduce fire risk prior to the October 2007 fires.

There have been several lawsuits filed against SDG&E in regards to the fires.

Oh, ho, ho really San Diego County who is suing because they think this whole voting thing is unfair.

So Secretary of State Debra Bowen, you thought you could make San Diego County work toward fair, balanced and accurate elections? Think again!

From the Associated Press:

San Diego County election officials say about 175 computer chips meant to power machines that will tally ballots in February's presidential primary disappeared after they were shipped from state offices in Sacramento. Registrar Deborah Seiler says the cardboard tubes that were supposed to contain the chips arrived empty on Monday. The chips only work in the optical scanners used to count paper ballots. The manufacturer says the chips can be quickly replaced. Seiler says she won't use the missing computer chips if they are recovered because of security concerns. The Sacramento Sheriff's Department and California Highway Patrol are investigating.

Take that Secretary of State Debra Bowen, a wrench in your plans! This will teach you to mess with Captain Chaos and his sidekick General Disarray!

And in Other News: City Attorney Mike Aguirre wonders if The Union Tribune has nothing better to do

City Attorney Mike Aguirre: Stop talking about me stupid Union Tribune.

City Newspaper Union Tribune: Stop talking about me stupid Union Tribune.

City Attorney Mike Aguirre: Don't copy me.

City Newspaper Union Tribune: Don't copy me.

City Attorney Mike Aguirre: Stop it!

City Newspaper Union Tribune: Stop it!

City Attorney Mike Aguirre: So you're gonna copy everything I say?

City Newspaper Union Tribune: So you're gonna copy everything I say?

City Attorney Mike Aguirre: Well then,

City Newspaper Union Tribune: Well then,

City Attorney Mike Aguirre: I'm so stupid. I like to make semi shady deals with accountants and pay them 128,000 to testify in pension cases that they don't actually testify in, which some might call a waste of tax payers money, or maybe a little shady cause it looks like I might be buying a result!

City Newspaper Union Tribune: Can we quote you on that?

City Attorney Mike Aguirre: Whatever, I'm telling!!!!

The San Diego Critics Speak and they like them some old men.

File this under "another movie I meant to see but didn't get around to it so that makes me supremely out of the cool movies that people tell you they've seen at dinner parties loop, like The Deejerling Unlimited and/or Juno." From Variety.com:

“No Country for Old Men” took top honors from the San Diego Film Critics Society on Tuesday. In addition to naming the Coen brothers movie the best film of 2007, the group awarded kudos to cinematographer Roger Deakins and the entire cast with the award for ensemble performance. Pic’s Tommy Lee Jones was also named supporting actor, a surprise win after co-star Javier Bardem nabbed the same award from multiple critics groups.

Also winning (and adding to my list) "There will be Blood" for director, adapted screenplay, actor (Daniel Day Lewis) and best score. In the actress categories, Julie Christie and Amy Ryan picked up actress and supporting actress for their work in “Away From Her” and “Gone Baby Gone,” respectively. “Juno” scribe Diablo Cody continued her hot streak with another win for original screenplay.

Ratatouille was named best animated film. I've seen that one. It was okay. (I shoulda been a movie critic).

Apparently the County of San Diego is busy filing lawsuits

They don't want to hand out identification cards to stoners (MEDICINAL users, MEDICINAL) and now they don't want to count votes to determine who actually won the election, at least not by hand, or more than once, or in more than 1 percent of the reporting precincts. From The NC Times:

The county of San Diego sued California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Friday, alleging that Bowen overstepped her authority in requiring new recount procedures in close races beginning in February. Nicole Winger, a spokeswoman for Bowen, said California law "clearly" gave Bowen the authority to require elections officials to conduct hand recounts of 10 percent of precincts -- to determine if those counts matched electronically scanned results -- when races were close at the end of voting.

The City Council doesn't hate Marijuana Smokers (who are sick, you know, medicinal use).

The City of San Diego filed a brief a few weeks ago in support of the statewide identification card program for qualified medical marijuana patients and their primary caregivers. This brief rebukes the County, who filed lawsuit in February of 2006 challenging the state requirement to implement the program. The County believes that there is a conflict between federal and state laws on the identification card issue. From IndyBay.org:

In December 2006, San Diego Superior Court Judge William Nevitt, Jr. ruled that there is no "positive conflict" between federal and state law, affirming the sovereignty of state law. In a stinging rebuke to San Diego County's challenge to state law, the City of San Diego filed a brief less than two weeks ago, which strongly asserted that, "The identification card program does not conflict with federal law, so there is no excuse for the County's failure to implement this state-law mandated program."

A Girls Guide to San Diego Sports: I've been meaning to say something about The Chargers winning whatever it is they won but I keep forgetting to.

From what I can figure out The San Diego Chargers have managed to suprise a lot of people, win a few games that nobody thought they could and now they are in the running to secure the third spot in the AFC playoffs which means, something important. Maybe that gives them three chances to go to The Superbowl or something like that?

And really, isn't that all we really care about? It would be nice if sports writers, for the sake of those trying to weave their way through this information, would just tell us the information we want to know, can they go to The Superbowl. Instead of "Needing to win their final two games to secure the No. 3 spot in the AFC playoffs and the chance to avoid New England until the conference championship game, the Chargers go for their fifth straight victory when they host the Broncos on Monday night," they should just write:

The Chargers are playing on monday, if they win that game they'll have to win a few more games and MAYBE go to The Superbowl. Everybody thinks New England is actually going to be the one going to The Superbowl, but that really has nothing to do with The Chargers playing on Monday...

Lines for the sports bar:

Merry Christmas, lets hope The Chargers can pull it out tonight so that they can get that No. 3 spot and possibly avoid New England for a while.
Man I'm glad I'm not home with my family on this family oriented Holiday, lets see if The Chargers really want this win as much as they wanted their last one when they pulled it out big time.
Go Chargers! (Now that's just a genius line right there).

View Zhen Zhen this Saturday! Prepare for lots of pictures with the caption: Isn't she "Precious!?" Get it, cause that's what her name means!

The San Diego Zoo will be premiering their new baby panda cub Zhen Zhen (Jun Jun) on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. This will be the first of many appearances while she gets better walking and climbing skills.

That's not Zhen Zhen up there by the way, that's just a random Google Images panda baby. However, precious in it's own right.

A Girls Guide to San Diego Sports: Man The Padres have been busy

The Padres have been busy bringing and resigning people to the team and the lastest to join the roster is one Tadahito Iguchi who is joining the Padres with a one year contract. According to The Union Tribune he is not so much excited about the team as he is about the fantastic San Diego weather and atmosphere.

“But the No. 1 priority was the atmosphere of the town. Last year, when I was playing with Philadelphia, I was living away from my family and that was very difficult. I wanted to play in a place where I could live year round with my family."

It's nice to know that some people have their priorities straight. Not that Chicago isn't a lovely place to spend the Winter...

Lines for the sports bar:

Man those Padres are busy.

Image via: www.evilvince.com who by the way wrote me a little note on my email and said he was stoked I could use his picture, so go him.

This week in Street People: The comics go comment-less

Since they don't have great legs or square toed shoes or even our hearts this weeks Street People, Martin Raabe-Lopez and Shane Lindley, "look funny, dress funny and act funny (and sip coffee downtown while listening to The Beatles) but they don't get a lot of ire, accolades or trying to be witty comments.

Needless to say, two clowns like these guys (no seriously, they actually are clowns, check it) deserve their recap.

Martin is 20, he likes Mediterranean Cuisine and Kanye West's new album. He uses Wikipedia to "find things out" and hates people who listen to the radio.

Shane is a "ninth generation San Diegan" who loves women.

The perform in a circus act together.

Now that I read it, even I can't think of a comment to leave for them. Maybe we'll just go the old Jon Block route and post a really long comment under the name Chad (allegedly, ALLEGEDLY).

Image via Street.

December is all About Lists : and Shopping.

Count em down, just 6 shopping days until Christmas, and just three more until you're that person at the mall the weekend before Christmas wondering why you have to spend and hour driving around looking for a parking spot. So get it together (Brad Pitt, who was shopping TODAY for his children, PS Today is his birthday. WOOOT, Happy Birthday Angelina's Lover) and get to the stores. Since December is all about lists and we're about to the end of our listing bout, it is now time for Lori (our Fashion Reaction girl) to let us in on her quick list of "ways to survive your shopping excursion so you don't end up with those quickie 5 dollar presents they have going on when you first walk in to Target. Remote Control Organizer anyone?"


7. It's a cliché but the early bird gets the worm. If you are planning a day of shopping- go early. In my experience, going between 10 and 11 am makes a huge difference when it comes to ease of finding parking, cashier lines, etc. Things start to become pretty busy noon and later.

6. The next best option is to go on a week night. This doesn't leave much "browsing" time, but it you have a specific shop or item in mind, the parking lot is relatively empty on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening.

5. Layers are the way to go. I always opt for too little rather than too much. Stores filled with people are warm. Plus if you (like me) just happen to find something to try on yourself, tearing off coats and sweaters becomes a hassle. Take an extra layer and leave it in the car in case your shopping trip goes into the evening.

4. Also, practice patience. Driving around parking lots and waiting in long lines with crying kids JUST to find out that they sold out of the particular item you were looking for can be VERY frustrating if you let it.

3. Remember that many shops have great customer service centers that will order items online for you. If they don't have the size or color you are looking for, some places will order it and have it shipped to the store at no charge. Always ask what a store's customer service can do for you- they may be able to help find a gift for that impossible person on your list, or have something shipped directly to a recipient across the country, or suggest another store if you don't find what you are looking for.

2. Try to remember that most shopping should be fun and you shouldn't dread gift-giving- so if you can't stand the thought of another line, go home (or to the library or an Internet cafe) and shop on-line or by phone.

1. My BEST tip is to shop at stores/companies that share your values. The Human Rights Campaign and PETA both put out lists of places that are in-line with what they promote (supports gay rights, animal friendly, etc.). You'll also find that many companies offer "green" products- REI sells organic cotton beanies and fleece made out of recycled materials. Check out the label or ask where a product is made.




A quick list: Some San Diego Shopping for your Last Minute Gifts

• Pangaea in PB for unique stuff.


• There is also a jewelry/bead store in Hillcrest called Ammonite that is cool.


• Bluestocking Books in Hillcrest has new and used rare books.


• There is also Pure Beauty in Clairemont which has salon quality products, including Bliss Spa products (in case you don't feel like braving the mall).


• Next door is a Pet People, a great place for pet stuff (there is also one in La Jolla next to Whole Foods)- not overpriced like some specialty stores in the area, but better selection of specialty foods and better customer service than the big-name pet stores.


• Upstart Crow at Seaport village. Cute bookstore/cafe with fun stuff. They charge almost $3 for a Vitamin Water (!) so get a coffee instead (about $1.50).
  
  
  

Check out Lori's Fashion Reaction on My San Diego Blog. A girl next door with fashion sense you can use.

News Story About Confused French Tourist Sparks Questions About What Kind of France Hellkamp 123 has Been Visiting

Sign on San Diego has a short little diddy about a French tourist who got all confused when the police tried to pull him over whereby he continued driving and the police then then threw down the old tire popping spikes, pointed some guns at him and waited for some one who could speak French to come and explain why they were pointing guns at him and attacking his car with spikes on the freeway.

Zeee French, they are, as you say, ILARIOUS, no?

Not according to Hellkamp123, commenter extraordinaire over there on Sign on San Diego.

We see in today's France what occurs when the police are not allowed to impose their will with an iron fist. No go zones in which delinquents do whatever they please. And so the French as a whole tend to ignore the police. Well not here. Here there are consequences, some brutal, some total! I support the police in their efforts to curtail this bezerk Gaul and hope they taught him in the most explosively violent and uncompromising manner the law allows what happens when you disregard lawful orders.Posted by: Hellkamp123 at December 18, 2007 07:02 AM

Whoa, whoa, Hellkamp123, slow down. And welcome to the year 2007 (almost 2008) where the French are no longer ascribing human characteristics to lakes, streams, mountains, and other natural features and granting them a quasi-divine status. We will try to find you a way back to your time, just give us a minute.

In a World Where ants will go Vegetarian After They Eat all the Other Bugs

Based on an eight year study of a population of canivorous Argentine ants in the foothills of southeast San Diego scientists discovered that while the ants invade and eat other insects, when that food is gone, the ants become vegetarians. Scientists believe this explains why this species of Ant has been able to survive so well.

The tiny dark-brown and black critters, an invasive species originally from Argentina, have infested coastal communities and displaced native ant species, even though many of the locals are 10 times larger than the Argentinians. Their success is linked to their dietary versatility, according to results detailed in this week's online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

And after they run out of sap and sweet things? It's human time.

Paging Samuel L. Jackson

Ants on a Plane... coming in 2008.

Nude people forced to boil water before being nude and drinking it

There's a joke in here somewhere about nude people having to boil water, nude, and boiling water and nudity...

From NBC San Diego:

Bacteria in drinking water led San Diego County health officials to issue boil water order at an El Cajon nudist resort. Health officials said the bacteria can come from soil or other sources in the environment. It may also indicate a problem with the water system.

People are sending packages all over the country, some of them are even sending packages to San Diego!

Breaking News Alert: There are a lot of packages being sent for Christmas.

Truck loads even.

Some of them are even on the way to San Diego.

For Christmas!

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Abbie On: There are other things to do at the beach besides drink

Abbie: Gives an alcohol free list.

Abbie Berry

Editors Note *Wait a minute there are FIVE other things you can do at the beach besides drink?!*

Let us suspend the fact that it is December and way too cold to hang out at the beach these days and roll with it (December is all about lists after all). Here are 5 things you can do at the beach besides drink.

1. Read “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”
Why? Because it is my favorite book. This is the love story of Henry and Clare, but it is so much more than your typical love story. Henry is genetically impaired and time travels back and forth throughout his own lifetime. His wife Clare happens upon him when she is merely six-years-old and they become friends. She grows up spending quality time with her future husband because he continually arrives in the meadow near her home. The story is told from both points of view. Henry is funny and cynical. Clare is tolerant and loving. Their relationship is not at all normal and holds your attention until the very last chapter. They are currently filming the movie so make sure to read the book before the movie comes out.

2. Make it your mission to meet five new people.
When was the last time you walked up and down the beach introducing yourself to people you didn’t know? Sure, you won’t have beer to offer and they won’t have beer to give you, but why not make a few new friends? Take along your most outgoing pal and walk along the beach. You’ll be surprised to find out that people will want to get to know you as well. San Diego beaches are good like that. You can even make a game out of it with your single friends. See who can get five phone numbers first. I know—sounds immature—but hey, there’s no alcohol involved. Harmless fun!

3. Have a group therapy session.

Call it beach AA, call it whatever you want. Unload all of your stress and worries. Vent to your friends. You’ll be surprised how much this is like hanging out at a bar, throwing a few back.

4. Hold a Wet-T-Shirt Contest.
This one does NOT require alcohol to be fun. Wet white shirts are a good time any time of year. If you haven’t been “exposed” to one of these before, you should see what the fuss is all about. The best contests raise money for charity or award prizes to students. So, if you have willing participants, come up with some goodies for the winners. You’ll need a panel of judges. See how much fun this can be? No beer necessary.

5. Practice your Guitar Hero skills.
Bring your Guitar Hero guitar and your Ipod. Play that rock and practice. Red, green, blue. Strum. Tilt. Repeat. You’ll look funny to everyone that walks by. But you’ll be my “hero.” I’ll play with you. I’ll play Poison, you can play Def Leppard. I love Guitar Hero.

The absence of alcoholic beverages at the beach.

For me.

For you too.

December is all about lists: The Alcohol Ban giveth and the alcohol ban taketh, well it mostly taketh actually....

5 Ways to Survive Your Alcohol Banned Day at the Beach

*So this year, not only did the City Council conquer noise, hotel taxes, and too many people living in a house together but they also banned alcohol on San Diego Beaches. 2008 is gonna be all about... surviving a whole day without alcohol on the beach, what is a Beach Goer to do?!*

5. Wine Rack!

4. Garnet Avenue (or any number of easily accessible bar type locations).
Sure the drinks are expensive and the atmosphere can be a little, oh, full of Hills wannabes, but come on, there is alcohol AROUND you, easily accessible, and after enough drinks you won’t even care about the table full of screeching girls or the bar lined with frat guys.

3. Sign the new petition.

2. The old brown bag/ coke bottle/ water bottle/ whatcha talking about this is just Ice Tea in my Fat Burger To Go Cup, method.
We all learned it in college (all the good ones did any way), the magic of a coke bottle with more rum then coke in it. “You’re coke looks awfully watered down.” “Yeah,” snicker snicker “we’re so smart and sneaky!”

1. Admit that you are powerless over the alcohol ban and head to AA.
Look dude, if you can’t handle an afternoon without the sauce it may be time to face the facts. I’m sorry, denial is always the first stage.

Today must be school day at My San Diego Blog

Ron Caruthers is (apparently) the nations leading expert on how to get into college and he's letting everyone know how to write the perfect college essay with tips like:

Develop your main idea with vivid and specific facts, events, quotations, examples, and reasons. There's a big difference between simply stating a point of view and letting an idea unfold in the details:

Okay: "I like to be surrounded by people with a variety of backgrounds and interests"
Better: "During that night, I sang the theme song from Casablanca with a baseball coach who thinks he's Bogie, discussed Marxism with a little old lady, and heard more than I ever wanted to know about some woman's gall bladder operation."

Even better: "My Mom and Dad stood on plenty of sidelines 'til their shoes filled with water or their fingers turned white or somebody's golden retriever signed his name on their coats in mud. I think that kind of commitment is what I'd like to bring to working with fourth-graders."

Even bestest: "When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. " ( Psst...that's from Walden by the way, it's by this guy named Henry David Thoreau, you should check it out before you plagiarize it for a college essay)

Ron lives in Carlsbad with his wife and children, if you're looking for help with your college essay (as to not have to, say, plagiarize an already well known piece of work, or say write about your boyfriend "Oh I love my boyfriend, he change my life and about six months into being away from him we'll probably break up because that's what you do when you go to college, except I don't know that and I'm going to write an entire essay about how much I love this boyfriend. Let me in! LET ME IN TO YOUR SCHOOL!") you can check out his website.

And remember to show... not tell.

The Preuss School won't help you get good grades but it will help you get into college.

And isn't that what's important. If there were two things that I would pass down to my younger cousins who are now entering college it would be these:

1. Major in whatever you want, just make sure you like it.
2. Don't worry about the grades, in fact, boo on grades, LEARN something.

Oh and 3. Never, ever, ever take a class at 8 in the morning.

The Preuss School is the UCSD charter school recently in the news for being named one of the best high schools in America and then even more recently for possible grade tampering by teachers and administrators. The media was a rantin' and a ravin' about how sad and disappointing this whole thing was, you know, considering that they were supposed to be HELPING poor disadvantaged kids and not making a mockery of their transcripts. Voice of San Diego takes a moment to explore why this isn't as big a deal and everyone thinks it is, and why they've known all along that this is the way the school seems to work.

What the university's own research tells us is that the Preuss School's most important work -- and this is indeed important -- has been in helping its students take the necessary classes that leave them qualified to apply to a University of California or California State University campus. It also requires all them to apply to college, and helps them submit winning applications.What it doesn't appear to do is make students any more prepared for standardized tests, or help them get better grades.

So kids that might not normally head off to college are now heading off to college and kids that might normally explore high level classes are exploring high level classes and we're upset? You know, and this is not to make light of the situation (what me? make light?) but I don't really remember my teachers being so invested in MY grades that they would be willing to doctor the outcome. So way to be dedicated teachers of Preuss School... better then those public school crazies who think they should get the same kind of dedication and activities and field trips, IN PUBLIC SCHOOL.

I Seem to Remember my Father Telling Me Something About Life not Being Fair

Oh Union Tribune with your story on Tribal Sovereignty, Indian Gaming and Indian Casinos (and the people who sue them). Like the woman who sued Barona because, allegedly, she was bitten by bedbugs while staying at the hotel. So she sued and waited for her big pay out, and waited, and waited and then heard back "hey lady, you can't sue us, or rather you can sue us but you're going to deal with our sovereign legal system! Mwah ha ha!"

According to the story, some people (lawyers mostly) feel the current system is unfair. Since tribes are given the right to set up their own legal system on reservation land, and since tribes often times are small and use their own tribal council or tribal judges in their judiciary dealings and since lawyers hate losing because then they don't get their percentage of the winnings or settlement, well, lets have lawyer Bonnie Kane explain it: “It's not fair,” said lawyer Bonnie Kane, who sued in state court when the Barona tribal court rejected a claim by Nellie Lawrence, 93, of San Carlos after she was knocked down by a man running in the tribe's casino.

Wait a minute, it's not fair? That's your big argument? Wait, Kane elaborates: But she says the process should have guarantees of fairness, as other courts do. Her biggest problem? That the Barona court is composed of the tribal council – to which casino operators also answer. Court hearings are led by a lawyer for the tribe.

Now, I'm not a lawyer. I'm especially not a lawyer for a lady who sued a big tribal casino because a random guy went running through and knocked her over and I don't know all the facts of the case but "guarantees of fairness?" Is that even real?

And while we're at it, why aren't we writing long articles about how unfair it is that we still have to get permission from the Federal and State Government to sue them too. We should be able to sue who ever we want to. It's only fair.

I'll be back, I'm off to file suit... against somebody... for something...

The Real Housewives of Orange County Come to San Diego, party like 20 year olds, make 20 year old pop culture references.

Sadly, I don't get Bravo which explains why I am unable to go on and on about Project Runway. Even sadly-er, I love this show. What is it about a bunch of older ladies who live in big houses, shop and get their hair done a lot that makes me want to visit their personal websites and find out if they are selling and or sponsoring any products that I can buy? I was an original fan actually, following the tumultuous life of Lauri as she tried (and did) to find herself a nice, rich husband. Or Jo, who tried (and did) to party her way across LA. Or even Jeana, who I actually really like, despite her spoiled brat kids and her not really there husband (I know, it's easy to judge from the other side of the TV). And since I don't get Bravo I must rely on this nice round up as the girls headed to San Diego for *spoiler alert* Jeana's first time out as a recently separated gal. From OC Register:

Vicki, Jeana, Tammy and Tamra take a slick, black limousine down to San Diego. They are celebrating Jeana's "first adventure as a single woman," since she has recently separated from her husband Matt.

The housewives are staying at the U.S. Grant Hotel, a 1940 gem that's been completely refurbished. We see an amazing 5,000-square-foot suite with a kitchen, a living room and a butler. "You are so missing out, Lauri!" the women exclaim on a balcony overlooking downtown San Diego.

The women go to Stingaree, a club, and get V.I.P. treatment all the way. Jeana contemplates her newly single situation. "There's a lot of hot guys in San Diego," she says. "They look a lot different than our Orange County guys. It's been a long time since I've been in the dating world."

The next day, the women are enjoying massages and reflect over the previous night's escapades. Jeana says she usually dates "six-foot something guys with mustaches," and reveals that she once dated Tom Selleck. Strange, Selleck and her husband, Matt, bear more than a passing resemblance.

"He says I'm nice to everyone but him," Jeana confides to Tammy about Matt. "He just doesn't like me. When I gained 20 pounds, as an athlete, that was just it for him. He's never been nice to me, ever since then."

And so we say, Jeana you are SO MUCH BETTER THAN HIM!! If San Diego is what it takes to realize it, then come on down! We've got plenty of Tom Selleck wannabes down here who would appreciate your junk in the trunk (and who wouldn't even wonder why a bunch of 40 something women are headed out to Stingaree? Really?).

Look we came to your school but that doesn't mean we have to be a part of your school

Washington Elementary School in Downtown San Diego went and opened their doors, campus and arms to a failing nearby private school and in return that nearby private school agreed to join the campus as long as they didn't actually have to interact with those "public school" kids.

From KPBS:
Teacher Jeannie Heffly says the former private school students belong to a special program on one side of the campus that offers field trips, small class sizes and enrichment courses including art, music and PE.

Don't worry though, this is just a misunderstanding. The parents of those private school kids have cleared everything up, you see, (those public school kids) have the same things they've always had. Us coming there hasn't changed their programs...

So you see, they aren't missing anything (like smaller classes and PE and field trips) because they didn't have them in the first place! So it's not like they need them now... they are just public school kids after all. We'll call this the "you don't even know what you're missing dumb poor people just be happy we'll let our kids on the same campus as yours" defense.

December is all about lists: "Why do you think List-less means lacking energy or enthusiasm?"

Was perusing Gawker (finally, it's been a LONG week) and saw a link to this guy who likes him some lists. I'd set him up with Abbie but then there would probably be some kind of listing vortex created whereby the world would implode due to the combined energy of list making love (trust me, I've been watching a little too much Sci-Fi channel this month and it's true, list making love vortex, next week on Sci-Fi).

A Girls Guide to San Diego Sports: Here come the Padres doing something again that requires reportage

Gee, a person could write a blog that entirely focuses on what's going on with The Padres if they wanted to because they are back in the news again.

Let's recap: No Fukudome, he's off to Chicago to freeze his butt off. Yes on Peavy, he's sticking around because they threw 50 million dollars at him (speculated) and under that kind of weight the man couldn't move. And now here comes Jim Edmonds, former St. Louis Cardinals Outfielder.

Apparently The San Diego Padres had been in talks with outfielder and free agent Mike Cameron, but those fell apart. They then worked a deal with the Cardinals trading Third Baseman David Freese for Edmonds. From Seattle PI:

The Post-Dispatch reports the trade is expected to be announced Saturday and that Edmonds hinted at a deal earlier this month when he agreed to eliminate his no-trade clause if he was dealt to a team from Southern California.

So maybe Fukudome could care less about all the wonderful things our Southern California city has to offer, but Edmonds knows what's important. We better get control of this weather before he shows up.

Lines for the sports bar tonight:

Looks like our outfield is more stabilized, what with the Edmonds trade.
I woulda gotten the heck out of St. Louis too!
Peavy, Peavy, Peavy!

Rachelle in the City: No Girlie Girls Allowed

I am addicted to deep sea fishing. My dad took me fishing all the time when I was little and I loved it. Nothing compares to deep sea fishing though, and I can't wait to gather up some friends and hit the seas again. The other day, my aunt and I decided to hop on a boat with these hardcore fisherman to fish off the coast of La Jolla. While fishing I had to put on my tomboy cap because these guys snickered over girlie girls. There were dolphins frolicking all around us and the pelicans were anxiously waiting for the chance to steal a fish. We ended up catching three fish by the end of the day and we immediately returned home to have a fish fry and man it was good. There is just something satisfying about going fishing all day and then bringing it home to be cooked.

So, deep sea fishing was my big event this past week. My requested time off for Christmas was approved so I am now having to work every day until I depart. In my spare time I have been busy practicing being a good wife which is actually easy because I have such an awesome husband who likes to cook for me. There are certain things I have been discovering about myself which is the fact that I absolutely love to entertain guests and am actually good at it. All I need is an apron and you could find me on the front cover of Martha Stewart. I have also been pursuing my goal of checking out every beach along the coast and have had to accept that there is no getting away from the horrible traffic on the freeway during certain times of the day. Ugh.

Since December is all about lists: A list of our lists we've listed

*Can you believe it's mid December already?*

A list of our lists we've listed... so far.

Shameless Transfer Hussies Unite!

You don't have to watch The Hills (even though we know you do) just read the lists.

Abbie likes lists cause she's so good at them.

She really is.

The Cool People list.

We all know the city council hates you.

Go see some lights, lights, lights.

All the blogs fit to read.

All the reasons fit to list.

December is all about lists: 5 Reasons why Lori and I are ready to buy a van and follow Transfer around the country

*Lori and I discovered Transfer a few years ago when we were out and about for Thursday Night Thing, and we've been waiting for their US tour every since. At one show Lori turned to me and said "you know, I actually would get in a van and follow these guys around the country." We love Transfer. We are... shameless Transfer hussies.*

5 Reasons Lori and I are ready to buy a van and follow Transfer around the country:


5. Matt has the voice, the voice that you tell your friends about, the voice you want to crank up on the radio while driving down the road on a road trip/ in a van following them around the country on their big tour (and he's tall, one tall drink of water, as Lori says).


4. They told me they loved me. Come on, those aren't fleeting words, those are real words, they love me, they love me, oh man, Transfer loves me. I do Transfer, I DO!


3. Because if SD Dialed In's Rosemary likes them, then they must be okay, she's one of those cool, hip, Kensington writers...You know how there are those people that make your love of all things Justin Timberlake feel REALLY UNCOOL, yeah, well any way, I feel hip and trendy when I can pull out the old "I like Transfer!" card.


2. They remind me of a crazy fun time in my life, living in PB with my best friend, heading out to as many San Diego activities as I could, lots of bad dates and good stories and, of course, Transfer filled nights.


1.5 They once partied around with a couple of friends of mine in New Mexico and apparently they can hold their own, which is pretty cool considering my friends are professional party animals.


1. Well, listen. (And look at those boys, sooooo cute).