Columns

Recurring Columns

PURPLE MOUNTAIN SAGE: CACOPHONY AND EUPHONY

 

March 13, 2012 (Boulevard) -- What is the distinction between sound and noise?  Wikipedia tells us in common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound, but sound can be desirable. Cacophony is ‘noise’ while euphony is sound.

 


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LIFE ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM: THE AGE OF IGNORANCE

By Brian Lafferty

 

March 12, 2012 (San Diego) – Have any of you encountered the **** People Say Internet meme that recently flared up on the Internet? A great friend of mine introduced me to it weeks ago. Among them are **** Rich People Say or **** Guys Don’t Say Out Loud. I’m not one to get caught up in Internet memes, so I forgot all about it.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: SHOCK PARTY

By Brian Lafferty

 

March 13, 2011 (San Diego) – Everyone has the time of their lives in Project X, a comedy movie, party movie, found footage movie, and disaster film all rolled into one. I’m happy that they had fun because I didn’t. I felt like a teenager forced by his parents to attend a social gathering with people he doesn’t know and can’t relate to.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: SPACE COWBOY

By Brian Lafferty

 

March 13, 2012 (San Diego) – This year I (quietly) introduced a rating system. In short, the highest rating a movie can get is an A, a D- is the lowest rating a movie can get on the basis of being bad, and an F given to films that are not only unbearably bad, but immoral, base, incompetently shot, and beneath contempt.

 


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HOME VIDEO HERALD: FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (DVD)

By Brian Lafferty

 

March 6, 2012 (San Diego) – Anthology films are like short story collections and concept albums. Like the former, they offer an eclectic selection of stories. Like a concept album, an anthology film’s stories can sometimes be connected to a certain theme or share similar qualities.

 


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THE WILL POWER REPORT: COURT LIMITS FOREST SERVICE ADVENTURE PASSES

 

Nothing but the Truth! 
 
By Will Schwent 
 
February 29, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--The US Ninth Circuit Court has invalidated an unpopular U.S. Forest Service Program called the “Adventure Pass”.  This scam charged U.S. citizens to drive, park, or hike in their own public lands and fined them if they did not buy an “Adventure Pass.”
 
Four hikers in Arizona challenged the Mount Lemmon Pass program and the court issued a scathing criticism of the double taxation of the Adventure Pass.  

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DREAM DOGS:LOOKING FOR FOREVER HOMES

 

March 4, 2012 (San Diego's East County) -These shelter dogs have been provided training to become dream dogs for individuals or families. This month, we have several wonderful dogs to choose from -- from pups to mature pets.
 
This sweet young Yorkie/ Poodle Mix "Jethro" is tender and sensitive, loves to be cuddled when he is not playing, bonds very closely. He is a year old, weighs 10 lbs.

 

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE POWER OF PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS IN MARKETING

 
Tips and tricks for business marketing success
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
March 3, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  Marketing is any activity that furthers the cause of your business. Pretty much everything you do in business is either impacted by your marketing actions and/or has an impact on them.

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GOOD MONEY: UPDATE ON CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR

 

A column written for the East County Magazine
“Your guide to financial planning & socially responsible investing”
 
By Judith L. Seid, CFP ®
President, Blue Summit Wealth Management 
 
March 2, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Many of our clients own some stock in clean energy companies and so, given the significant negative performance of this sector over the last couple of years, we’ve had numerous conversations about where these companies are headed and whether or not they still make good investment sense.

 


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WILL POWER REPORT: REPUBLICAN WEAPON—GAS PRICES

 

Nothing but the Truth!
By Will Power
February 26, 2012 (San Diego)--The LA Times ran a story which criticized Obama for not keeping gas prices lower. That’s hilarious!  A Democratic President can no more control gas pricing than control the weather. With the Conservatives in Congress blocking nearly all Climate Change and Alternative Energy programs it is easy to see the Oil Dinosaurs are in charge of US Energy Policy. In fact, a case could be made the Big Oil controls not only Foreign Policy, but the Beltway itself.

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DREAM DOGS: LOOKING FOR FOREVER HOMES

 
February 28, 2012 (San Diego's East County) -These shelter dogs have been provided training to become dream dogs for individuals or families. This month, we have several wonderful dogs to choose from -- from pups to mature pets.
 
Rudy is an Anatolian Shepherd/ Collie mix who is a 3 year-old male. This wonderful boy is playful as well as loving, and bonds very closely. He is a very tall boy and weighs 90 lbs. He has been neutered, has his shots, rabies, micro chip and is doing very well with his on leash and off leash training. Wonderful family dog or companion. As you can see by his big smile...he is a very happy boy!

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EAST COUNTY EATER REVIEW: GINGHAM’S SERVES UP WHAT CARNIVORES CRAVE

 

By Miriam Raftery 
 
February 26, 2012 (La Mesa) –Judging from the crowd on a recent Wednesday night  at Gingham’s,  the restaurant has emerged as a new hot spot in La Mesa Village. Occupying the space formerly home to Gio’s, the new establishment features a remodeled interior and a dramatically different menu cooked up by celebrity chef Brian Malarkey, a finalist in Bravo TV network’s “Top Chef” competition. 

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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "SENSE" AND SENSIBILITY

By Brian Lafferty

 

February 27, 2012 (San Diego) – Perfect Sense starts out innocently. After it creeps up on you, it snowballs with emotional intensity before hitting you with maximum impact. It subverts every Disease of the Week and End of the World cliché, resulting in a fresh script additionally laden with originality. It opened my mind to new possibilities.

 


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DOG BLOG: EXERCISING YOUR DOG IN THE SNOW

 

By Dawn Celapino
 
February 25, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--Has your dog ever been in the snow?  Most active dogs love it!  They are like kids, romping and running in the fresh powder. There are, however, a few things that you need to know if you plan on taking Fido on a snow vacation, especially if they are not used to the cold.

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

What Is a SWOT Analysis?
 
by Rama Beerfas
 
February 23, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  'Tis the season for developing marketing plans. Well, really that season was about four months ago, at the latest. That fact notwithstanding, I am still working with some of my procrastinating clients to put together their marketing plans for 2012. Because of this, I've been looking at a lot of SWOT analyses for the last few months.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "CHICO" AND THE WOMAN


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DOLLAR-WISE DIVA: SAVE MONEY ON A GREAT “GREEN” EVENT: ROBERT F. KENNEDY KEYNOTES SUSTAINABILITY CONFERENCE MARCH 3-4 AT SDSU

By Nancy Clement

 
“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”  Margaret Mead
 
 
February 23, 2012 (La Mesa) - Did you know The United States ranks only 50th out of 151 countries of the world in sustainability,  according to http://www.ssfindex.com/results-2010/ranking-all-countries/
 

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THE WILL POWER REPORT: EXTREME EATING ON TV

Nothing but the truth!
by Will Power
 
February 23, 2012 (San Diego)--I enjoy a few cooking shows. But I dislike the ones where some poor fools have to cook a standing rib roast on a car exhaust manifold.  Cooking should be an art, not a competitive sport.

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LIFE ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM: NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT


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BIRD TALK: THE REGAL OSPREY

 

 
By Greg Dunne
                                                
February 14, 2012  (Lake Murray) --  One of the royalty members of the skies in the bird world is the Osprey. The king of raptors may go to the Bald Eagle, but on an equal hierarchy as the Eagle is the magnificence Sea Hawk, Fish Hawk, Sea Eagle--  more commonly known today as the Osprey.

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CHEERS! EL CAJON BREWING COMPANY SERVES UP MICROBREWS AND A FRESH MENU

 

By Mia Myklebust

February 12, 2012 (El Cajon)--When El Cajon Brewing Company opened in October, it joined the ranks of San Diego’s beer elite. The growing brewery culture in San Diego had a gap in East County that this local brewery and restaurant has filled with gusto.


From filling food to an array of craft beers brewed on site this El Cajon newcomer is well worth savoring.


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FROM THE REAL ESTATE TRENCHES

By  Charlotte Reed,  Realtor, SRES, CRS
 
Real Estate is my business…my only business
 
A weekly column that focuses on Real Estate news that will have an impact on buyers and sellers of real estate in San Diego East County.
 
February 13, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) -- This week’s top real estate stories are:
 
  •         Big Bank/Feds settlement
  •         Free Homeowners counseling
  •        Weekly ESDCAR meeting 

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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: KILLER "ELITE"

By Brian Lafferty

February 13, 2012 (San Diego) – Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is populated with politicians more corrupt than Randy “Duke” Cunningham and a slew of dirty cops. With so many stock characters and potentially tiresome tropes like chases and shootouts, the film could have easily become a hotbed of clichés. Elite Squad, against all odds, transcends them all with a complex script. Nothing – not the characters, plot, themes, nothing – in this movie is as simple as black and white.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: "HOUSE" OF SPY GAMES

By Brian Lafferty

 

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – Has Daniel Espinosa seen every single Tony Scott film? Based on what I saw in Safe House, I don’t doubt it. Safe House is so influenced by his films that it could very well have been directed by Scott.

 


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: FANTASY "ISLAND"

By Brian Lafferty

 

February 10, 2012 (San Diego) – After watching Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, I wondered what Six Year Old Me would have thought. Six Year Old Me would have loved it. He would have laughed, he would have been thrilled, and he would have had fun.

 


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EAST OF THE LINE: A TALE OF TWO PLANNING GROUPS—FROM LEADERSHIP TO LOST IN THE WILDERNESS

 

Plus how the County creates its own poster children for “red tape reduction”

By Billie Jo Jannen

February 8, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is due to vote later this month on a series of initiatives entitled “Red Tape Reduction Task Force Recommendations.” The idea behind it is to make it simpler and cheaper to get projects through the permitting process. The document includes giving staff members rewards for moving projects through faster and shifting more projects to entitlement or ministerial approval.

Also among the suggestions is the elimination of community planning and sponsor groups, or alternatively, imposing term limits and terminating indemnification for members.


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FROM THE REAL ESTATE TRENCHES: FEBRUARY 8, 2012

By Charlotte Reed, Realtor

Real estate is my business...my only business.
 
A weekly column that focuses on Real Estate news that will have an impact on buyers and sellers of real estate in San Diego East County.
 
February 8, 2012 (San Diego’s East County)--In this week's column:
 
  • Installation of local Realtor officers and directors
  • Title information outsourcing
  • Another lawsuit for B of A and other big banks 

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DOLLAR-WISE DIVA: 10 TIPS FOR A MORE ROMANTIC AND LESS EXPENSIVE VALENTINE’S DAY


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: BACK IN "BLACK"


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ON THE SILVER SCREEN: SUPERMAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA


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