Covering Cougars, Colleges and Comedians

September 21, 2009

LOVE IN BLOOM: As if we needed further evidence that times are changing: In December, thanks to a freewheeling Los Gatos outfit called the Singles Travel Company, San Diego will be the embarkation point for “The World’s First International Cougar Cruise.” The three-day odyssey is designed to give “men who want to find their Mrs. Robinsons 36 hours to impress their quarry.” Hint: Don’t bring along those 8-by-10 glossies of mother.

THE COLLEGE TRY: More evidence of changing times? As of this fall semester, San Diego State is offering an academic minor in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies. (Becoming the third CSU campus to offer it.) ... Meanwhile: UCSD is projecting an enrollment of 28,500 students when the fall quarter starts September 24 — about the same enrollment as last year. But budget cuts have resulted in 550 fewer freshman, stunting the university’s growth plans ... Jim Gonzales, the student services coordinator at MiraCosta College, has been called up to another kind of service this fall. A Navy reservist, Gonzales has been deployed to Cuba to assist with the closing of the U.S. terrorist-detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. The public affairs specialist will work with national and international media reporting on the camp’s closing.

THE WINNER: San Diego’s Jared Crisculo comes home this week from a week-long Alaskan Coastal Expedition to study the global impact of marine pollution. In the process, Crisculo also proves that Twitter is good for something besides a major distraction from real life. He was picked by Alaskan Brewing Company’s philanthropic Coasta CODE for submitting his Twitter-inspired 140-letter mouthful on how to keep the Pacific coast healthy: “Sail the coastline of the US, stopping to give presentations on non-point pollution and the resulting hypoxic zones forming in the oceans.”

ITEMS INFINITUM: Terriers, the San Diego-filmed pilot starring Donal Logue that’s looking for a spot on the FX Network schedule, wrapped up filming here this month. If it’s picked up by FX, it would mean a 12-episode boost for the Film Commission and the local economy ... Meanwhile, the recent Comic-Con convention was the backdrop for a new feature film, Paul, written by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. The writers also star in the movie as two comic book geeks on a spree at Comic-Con ... Comic Jerry Seinfeld has added San Diego to the cross-country itinerary of his return to live performing. He’ll play two shows at our Civic Theatre on December 5 ... Carol Lebeau, the longtime Channel 10 anchorwoman who took her leave this summer, isn’t exactly retiring. She’s joined the bimonthly San Diego Woman Magazine as a regular columnist.

MOMS & DADS might not be entirely happy about the mark it leaves, but no question it’s a good cause. Among the big news in last week’s Daily Aztec, the San Diego State student newspaper, was a fund-raiser for 10-year-old Dillon Sloane, who lost his sight after the removal of a brain tumor in July. The Saturday benefit, on Dillon’s birthday, was organized by Nori Roberts, owner of Straight Up Tattoo & Piercing. Among the lures for donors: Students got a free skateboard tattoo in honor of Dillon, a “skater dude,” according to Roberts, for a minimum donation of $25.

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