By Frieda Noone

With the tragedy of the Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia in the news, and the 3D version of Hollywood’s biggest box-office hit, Titanic, preparing to set sail this April for the 100th anniversary of its namesake’s demise, there’s no avoiding that sinking feeling.

Get a fascinating historical uplift at “Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition,” opening February 10 at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Passenger cabin re-creations and a 40-foot replica of the ship’s hull will showcase 200 artifacts—including unbroken perfume vials and au gratin dishes (pictured)—from the more than 5,500 items salvaged from the shipwreck since the mid-1990s.

Most significantly, the exhibition, by telling the stories behind the objects, preserves the passions of those who built and boarded the great ship while reaffirming our love of the sea.

Last year, La Jolla native Tyler Dixon spent $82 producing a mock TV ad that wound up airing to a Super Bowl audience of millions. Titled “The Best Part” and entered into the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest, it depicted an office worker who’d lick Doritos chip residue off anything (or anyone). The weird-as-hell yet hilarious spot was voted to the top three finalists.

It didn’t take the cheese. But with that taste of near-victory (and a considerably bigger budget), Dixon set out again this year—his eye on the million-dollar prize and the opportunity to work with a comedy troupe led by Andy Samberg (of Saturday Night Live fame).

To defeat the odds once more and beat 60,000 other entries, Dixon turned to strategy—considering carefully what tickles Americans’ funny bones. Stupid dog tricks? Check! Obstacle courses? Check! Handlebar mustaches? Um…check!

He then created a doggie obstacle course on the grounds of his old elementary school, The Evans School in La Jolla, and enlisted several teachers and their canines. And he recruited friends as actors, including longtime pal Shane Thueson, whom he told to shave his beard into a handlebar mustache.

Lo, his sharply written and edited new Doritos commercial entry, “Dog Park,” has cracked the
Top 5 in this year’s contest.

Voting is open to the public until the end of January, so Dixon won’t know if he’s a winner until the Super Bowl on February 5—when the five finalists will be watching the game live at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from a swanky Doritos skybox.

View the big chew right now at crashthesuperbowl.com.

Ask Anjelah Johnson to name her passions, and she lets slip a warning chuckle.

“When I was younger, I loved different sports and I was a competitive cheerleader,” says the 29-year-old comic performer, who brings her standup routine to the Downtown’s Balboa Theatre February 11.

“I used to go to the gym all the time and take kickboxing. Now, instead of abs, I have a husband.”

A former Oakland Raiderette Rookie of the Year (2002), Johnson has worked as an actor in movies and TV sitcoms (Our Family Wedding, Curb Your Enthusiasm) and as an animated feature voiceover talent (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, Marmaduke).

But Johnson is best known for her stint as a regular on the late-night sketch-comedy series MADtv, where she honed two signature characters: Tammy,a nosy, persistently up-selling Vietnamese nail salon manicurist, and Bon Qui Qui, a rude fast-food counter clerk. Both have become YouTube sensations, racking up tens of millions of views.

It’s a big deal for Johnson, who moved to Los Angeles just nine years ago and dipped her toe into comedy through a weekly class sponsored by her church—the first place she introduced her nail salon sketch.

“It’s crazy how this character I’ve been doing since I was a kid blew up and catapulted my career to where it is now,” says the San Jose native, who’s of Mexican and Native American descent and draws her humor “from everyday existence. It’s easy to pull from ethnic issues, because that’s what I deal with.”

A self-described “clean comedian” with a love for God that has informed her life, Johnson admits that her faith and “funny” are sometimes at odds.

“I talk about whatever is on my mind and in my heart,” she says, confessing to being tempted to speak her mind too freely via Twitter, Facebook and her own website, anjelah.com.

“However, I’ll censor myself if I think the general religious population won’t be okay with it. But sometimes [slipping into Bon Qui Qui-speak], I don’t care who likes it and who don’t.”

Chances are that her husband of eight months, Manwell Reyes, a member of the Christian hip-hop band Group 1 Crew, cuts her some slack. With the couple often touring separately, they cherish their time together.

“One of my favorite things to do is sit on my couch with Manwell in our pajamas and watch TIVO’d episodes of Criminal Minds,” Johnson says. “It’s our way of unwinding.”

Meanwhile, she’s gearing up in February to reintroduce a newly stylized, rap-singing Bon Qui Qui—with a new single on iTunes called “Im’a Cut You” and an accompanying music video.

Admits Johnson: “I have a new respect for weaves.”

Take a two-hour moonwalk through the Gloved One’s musical career when Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour arrives at Valley View Casino Center January 21-22. The surreal, multimedia spectacle features costumes inspired by M.J.’s iconic wardrobe, but “Michael’s voice is what drives the show,” says writer- director Jamie King. If you’ve ever dreamed of being immersed in a real-life “Thriller” (with about 10,000 more lights, dancing mummies and trapeze-swinging winged creatures), this is it.

valleyviewcasinocenter.com

In January, a San Diego man will spend a day legally blind, wearing a blindfold for 24 hours to show how most sighted people take for granted activities such as shaving, eating and playing golf. “We hope it’s a reminder that sight is a privilege,” says Jeff Katz, the subject of the filmed experiment, “Providing Perspective,” and a partner in its underwriter, Provider Design (which is collaborating with San Diego Center for the Blind). Katz will hit the greens with blind golf champ and San Diego State University student Jeremy Poincenot (pictured supporting Katz), who’s lost much of his vision to rapidly progressing Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. “This project will help the sighted better relate to the visually impaired,” says Poincenot. “And how can I pass up a round of golf?”

providerdesign.com

By Aaron Heier

Whether lining trashcans, toting lunch or scooping up after Fido, the plastic bags that transport nearly every retail purchase have long proven their convenience, becoming a part of life most people take for granted.

But in Solana Beach, the days of single-use plastic bags may be numbered as the city mulls becoming the first in San Diego County to ban their use.

Led by Mayor Lesa Heebner, the Solana Beach City Council is preparing an ordinance that, if approved, would permanently ban the bags, forcing shoppers to use more environmentally friendly alternatives like paper or reusable cloth bags when patronizing the city’s 200 retailers.

“As a community committed to sustainability, banning plastic bags has been on our radar for quite some time,” says Mayor Heebner, pointing out that residents have raised the issue frequently during City Council meetings.

Aside from their unsightly tendency to get stuck in fences and caught in tree branches, single-use, high-density polyethylene plastic bags take more than a decade (and up to 500 years, by some estimates) to decompose, and add thousands of tons of debris to landfills. According to Californians Against Waste, state residents discard approximately 400 plastic bags per second, or 12 billion annually.

Of special concern to Solana Beach is that many bags drift to coastal waters, where they litter shorelines or break down into small pieces of toxic “food” mistakenly consumed by marine life and other animals.

“We are a beach city sited between two lagoons,” says Heebner. “We have seen the damage to our waterways and wildlife from plastic bags.”

Solana Beach city officials have said that no definitive timeline is set for instituting the ban, but the ordinance will most likely come to the City Council for review and approval in early 2012. They also acknowledge that getting people to change their bag habits may be tough.

“We believe there are viable alternatives,” Mayor Heebner says. “Our desire is to remove plastic bags as much as we can from our environment.”

By Rebekah Sager

Amid 65,000 cheering fans, advertising airplanes circling overhead and Queen’s “We Will Rock You” blaring over the loudspeakers, game day at Qualcomm Stadium can get pretty loud…except for Charger Girl Melissa Adams.

“I shy away from big crowds and try to stay in more one-on-one situations, except for football games,” says Adams, who lost nearly 90 percent of her hearing as a child.

A devout Jets fan until seven years ago—when she moved to San Diego from New York to marry her husband, Nick, with whom she runs a Web design and development company—Adams tried out for the NFL cheerleading squad six times before finally making the cut last season, but it wasn’t auditory limitations that prevented her success on previous outings.

“You’ve gotta’ wear bling to get noticed; I learned that,” she says. “I was wearing a bright orange top the year I made it.”

Because of her impairment, Adams has had to memorize all of the Charger Girl dance routines. Unable to hear the music, she relies on innate rhythm and occasional signals from teammates when the music stops, plus an extensive background in ballet.

Life off the field, it seems, is what poses the biggest challenge for this dancing star.

“I get a little frustrated in social situations,” she says. “I may not hear the joke, and it can prevent me from fully being myself.”

Like all of the 28 women who dance for the Chargers, Adams will have to re-audition for the team each year—and each year, as her hearing diminishes still further, doctors remain unable to pinpoint a diagnosis.

Yet, despite the adversity (and the Chargers losing record), this is one Bolt who won’t be stopped.

“I go into situations and adapt,” Adams says. “I don’t view my hearing loss as a hardship; I can’t change my life. I’m willing to jump through hoops for what I want.”

By Aaron Heier

This time each year, local Marines are deployed throughout San Diego County to collect and stand sentinel over piles of new playthings. As representatives of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) Toys for Tots Program, their duty is to deliver to underprivileged children—via donated unwrapped toys—a message of hope and the motivation to become productive and patriotic citizens.

The Toy for Tots campaign’s success depends on both the USMCR’s effort and civilian support.

“Last year in San Diego, we gave out more than 168,000 toys,” says 2nd Lt. Justin R. West, local coordinator of the program. “We have a very generous community and, along with the help of our major sponsors, we’re hoping to pass that number this year.”

Toys for Tots has played Santa since 1947, when USMCR Maj. Bill Hendricks and his wife Diana launched the first drive in Los Angeles, gathering nearly 5,000 toys for needy kids. Today, the program (working in tandem with the Triangle, Virginia-based Marine Toys for Tots Foundation) oversees the collection and distribution of more than 20 million toys annually from communities in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.

Major names in the worlds of business (Toys R Us, Walmart, Wells Fargo) and entertainment (Bob Hope, Nancy Reagan) have supported Toys for Tots over the years. In San Diego, NBC 7/39, the Chargers, the Poinsettia Bowl and the USS Midway Museum all are hosting toy-drive events during December, not to mention the many stores, private holiday events, schools and organizations that will be pitching in. (For donations and toy drop-off locations, visit san-diego-ca.toysfortots.org.)

Says coordinator West, who’s bullish about this year’s early donation pace: “Giving kids joy and a brighter Christmas—who wouldn’t want that?”

Motormouth’s Rev-vival

Life became unhurried for fast-talking comic actor Chris Tucker after the slam-bang 2007 box office returns of Rush Hour 3. And with his collective payday of nearly $50 million for the three installments of the hit action-comedy film franchise, who’s surprised?

Tucker gets back up to speed with his November 25 stop at the Civic Theatre— part of an 18-date national stand-up tour marking the end of his absence from the limelight. Snag a ticket, since belly-laughing could be a good way to help digest all the turkey and mashed potatoes from the day before.

Nov. 25
San Diego Civic Theatre
1100 3rd Ave., Gaslamp
civictheatre.net

Shave the Date

Sprout some serious face fuzz to generate awareness and funds for men’s health— specifically, prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men—during the annual event known as Movember.

Clean-shaven guys registering at movember.com on the 1st of November become Mo Bros, who groom, trim and wax their way to extreme face furdom. Continuing a tradition that started in Australia in the 1990s, Mo Bros seek sponsorship for their lip hair-raising efforts.

San Diego Mo Bros (and the women who support them, Mo Sistas) should hit up the Movember Foundation’s gala parté downtown at Double Deuce, where awards will be doled out for Best Mo in Character, Miss Movember and Man of Movember 2011.

Dec. 1
Double Deuce
528 F St., Downtown
us.movember.com

Strut Your Stuffing

Prime your metabolism for the big dinner while helping to feed those in need: join Father Joe’s 10th Anniversary Thanksgiving Day 5K Walk/Run on November 24 in Balboa Park. About 10,000 walkers/runners are expected to pound the pavement, with the event’s proceeds advancing the goal of Father Joe’s Villages to serve 1.7 million meals.

At the finish line, the Bill Magee Blues Band will lay down some groovy jams near the Stone Brewery beer garden, and Father Joe Carroll himself will autograph his famous bobblehead collectibles. Registration through November 23 costs $15-$33, depending on your age and whether you really want to know how fast you ran.

Nov. 24
Balboa Park
thanksgivingrun.org

How does a 160-year-old sailing contest become an extreme sport? Contenders in the America’s Cup World Series (ACWS), vying for glory in America’s Finest November 12 to 20, have a couple ideas. First, hoist a 65-foot wing onto a catamaran and use it as a sail. Second, shift the racecourse from the open ocean to a confined, placid body of water—San Diego Bay—and chart a few surprise turns.

Aimed at building global interest in the 2013 America’s Cup Finals in San Francisco, the ACWS is a circuit of regattas that brings sport sailing to top venues around the world. In San Diego, the first domestic and third overall stop on the international 2011/2012 tour, eight teams, including San Francisco-based ORACLE Racing, will pit their speed-sailing skills against each during the nine-day competition.

“It’s pretty wild,” says Stephanie Martin, chief communications officer of the America’s Cup. “It’s definitely not what you’d think of sailing—like there’s someone wearing a captain’s hat and a blazer. This is very, very athletic.”

Unlike in previous events, where certain teams have won races by equipping their boats with the latest technology, this ACWS levels the playing field by requiring all teams to navigate the course in stripped-down vessels that look more black ops than luxury yacht.

Known as the AC45, the carbon-fiber, wing-sailed catamaran is 45 feet long and six stories tall. Harnessing the boat’s power requires a team to be physically fit, coordinated and communicative. Successful operation makes the AC45 slice through the water like a hot knife through butter; a lapse in focus can make the top-heavy boat capsize.

“I love an active and exciting waterfront, and this is exactly the kind of event that brings people out,” says Scott Peters, chairman of San Diego’s Board of Port Commissioners. “Anyone can come out and see some great racing and a world-class sports event right from our own shoreline.”

Ahoy!

The Schooner, the Better

A state-of-the-art sailboat demands that racing teams be shipshape

Meet the AC45.

You’ll find no wine spritzers and caviar passed around this vessel. It doesn’t even have a deck—just a taut net.

San Francisco-based ORACLE Racing designed AC45 for pure agility. Sitting on twin hulls molded from carbon fiber, the boat is light and quick. Its mainsail is a rounded, hollow wing instead of a soft sail, and with a top speed of 40 mph, this windjammer has one rule of thumb: Hold on!

Hulluva Good Time

Here’s the sloop on what’s happening landward

With the bay becoming a virtual stadium for the America’s Cup World Series, views of the race can be enjoyed from along Harbor Island and the fringes of San Diego Bay. But the fun doesn’t end at the water’s edge—a family-friendly America’s Cup Village will extend from Broadway Pier onto Harbor Drive.

By day, the Village will feature race simulators that give spectators the experience of riding an AC45. By night, DJs and bands—including San Diego’s Little Hurricane and The Donkeys—will perform live.

Although no admission is required for Village events, a $10 donation is suggested to support the America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project conservation campaign.

Find updates and event info at americascup.com.