What started in 1974 as a $2-an-hour job promoting KGB-FM radio events blossomed into a lifetime career for Giannoulas, otherwise known as the Famous San Diego Chicken.

For more than 35 years, Giannoulas, an SDSU grad, has performed his acrobatic slapstick—delivered anonymously from within a chicken suit. His longstanding gig has taken him to eight countries and 50 states. He has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and clucked around with sitting U.S. presidents, professional athletes and actors, and has been onstage with Cheap Trick, Sammy Hagar and the Ramones.

“It’s very hot,” Giannoulas says of his 10-pound costume, which he has donned for up to14 hours straight, working double-header Padres games followed by rock concerts.

“It’s a low-tech chicken suit, be assured,” he says. “There’s no padding, no fan, no air conditioning. It’s like my own organic rain forest in there—that’s how much I sweat.”

Now 57, Giannoulas still takes his chicken shtick to about three dozen cities each year.

“I still enjoy what I do quite a bit,” he says. “Whether it’s a major town or a small town, it doesn’t matter to me—as long as they laugh at the jokes, I’m loving it.”

Giannoulas was sued by former employer KGB-FM and by the creators of Barney the purple dinosaur, a likeness of which he pummeled during performances in the 1990s.

Through it all, he never chickened out or missed a gig, suiting up for an estimated 7,000 major and minor league baseball games, plus various television interviews, trade shows and parades.

“I gave away the bride at a wedding one time, where the father was snowed-in back east,” he says. “I stepped in and pitch-hit.”

After flying the KGB coop, which he celebrated by emerging from a giant egg during a Padres game at Qualcomm Stadium, Giannoulas tweaked his costume and became a free agent, commanding much higher fees.

Media tycoon and Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner (CNN, TBS) once tried to woo the chicken away from San Diego—to the tune of more than $100,000—but guilt-inducing TV editorials and weepy letters from local children convinced the birdman not to leave.

This summer, Giannoulas was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary’s Shrine of the Eternals, which honors the sport’s unsung and atypical heroes.

“I don’t know when I’ll quit,” he says. “I’m sure the Rolling Stones have been asked that question since they turned 30.”

Self-proclaimed (and award-winning) master photographer John Mireles is never without his camera—even when he probably should be.

The “about” section on Mireles’ website says, “While commonly agreed to be the most artistically gifted photographer of his generation, John is also remarkably humble.”

Hmmm…wonder who wrote that.

If you ever look up and think, “hey, who’s that guy with the camera?” it’s probably Mireles. And if that happened to you in the past couple months, you may find yourself in one of the photos on this page.

Mireles explains it best: I’m out to document a feeling. A feeling of American-style celebration, joy, beauty and the primal lust of boy seeking girl (and vice versa).

Though I will snap that photo of you and your friends smiling at the camera, I’m more interested in the moments that come before and after. My inspiration comes not only from the people in my images, but also from a grand tradition of street and social photography. Robert Frank, William Eggleston, Slim Aarons and Larry Fink have all carved a photographic path that I seek to dig still deeper.

So every summer, with tequila in my water bottle and camera at the ready, I head off in search of little moments that tell the story. I’m the guy crashing your beach party, stopping my bike for that barbecue on your front lawn, sneaking a photo of you chatting away or aiming the camera at your midsection. Don’t worry, though, it’s all in the name of art.
johnmireles.com

Wild chicks in leopard print mini-skirts, cougars running around like college girls, dudes behaving like party animals—it’s a jungle out there. In the hopes of catching free-range singles in their natural habitat, PacificSD hits the town to help otherwise solitary souls mate…or at least meet.

Closing deals isn’t part of the game—the goal is just to open doors. It’s Friday night and it’s freezing as we arrive at La Puerta in the Gaslamp to spark hook-ups with firewater. (Puerta means “door” in Spanish. If you didn’t know that, please return to Wisconsin immediately, and may el dios help you.)

Armed with a photographer and a bar tab, the PacificSD crew approaches La Puerta’s wildlife with a simple proposal: point out whom you’d like to meet, then we’ll buy that wild thing a drink on your behalf, as long he or she agrees to pose, with you, for a photo.

Game on…

ICE-BREAKER: Keith P., 25, New York

TARGET: Mia P., 23, La Mesa

KEITH SAYS:
“The girl in the stripes. She’s pretty cute.”

RESULT: The couple hits it off and ends up sitting together for hours.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Tyson G., 25, East Village

TARGET: Natalie E., 25, Pacific Beach

TYSON SAYS:
“That chick in the red. She has nice eyes.”

RESULT: Natalie’s scores twice in one night—picked by two guys in less than hour.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Dan The Man, 28, Bay Park

TARGET: Me (Alyson), 25, Pacific Beach

DAN SAYS:
“You. You have beautiful brown hair.”

RESULT: He sweeps me off my feet, but I need to finish buying drinks for everyone else.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Alex S., 37, Downtown

TARGET: James M. (left), 23, England

ALEX SAYS:
“This guy, ‘cause he kind of looks like me.”

RESULT: Age ain’t nothin’ but a number—these two forge an instant connection.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Roger D., 45, Downtown

TARGET: Rafael N., 42, Freemont, California

ROGER SAYS:
“There’s no cute chicks here, because I would already have bought them a drink. So I choose him, ‘cause he’s a cool motherf#cker.”

RESULT: BFFs, single and staying that way…for the moment, anyway.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Noelle D., 29, Hillcrest

TARGET: Bobby, 26, Ocean Beach

NOELLE SAYS:
That guy who works here. He’s the cutest one; I like his features.

RESULT: Bobby is flattered, but he has a job to do, so he returns to bar-backing, and Noelle goes back to her friends.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Jen J., 32, Downtown

TARGET: Nathan T., 23, East Village

JEN SAYS:
The guy over there in the black hoodie. He looks like a nice guy and he’s cute.

RESULT: Nathan sits with Jen until his girlfriend shows up.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Leo P., 22, Rancho Bernardo

TARGET: Elena Y., 30, Mission Valley

LEO SAYS:
The short one over there, because I like older women.

RESULT: It takes a while to convince Elena to pose—no love connection.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Tracy G., 23, Ocean Beach

TARGET: Jerrod H., 27, East County

TRACY SAYS: The guy in the softball shirt at the table, because he looks like he needs a beer.  He looks like he needs some fun.

RESULT: Jerrod is on his way out the door and doesn’t stay to talk with Tracy after his free drink. Way to blow it Jerrod!

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Alex W., 26, Pacific Beach

TARGET: Natalie E., 25, Pacific Beach

ALEX SAYS:
The girl in the red, because she has beautiful eyes.

RESULT: These two seem too comfortable—they probably know each other.

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Angel C., 32, Bankers Hill

TARGET: Joe N., 3I, Hillcrest

ANGEL SAYS:
That guy; I like his chiseled features.

RESULT: Faking it for a free drink—it seems like they’re already engaged.

*****

*****

ICE-BREAKER: Jooyoung K., 25, La Jolla

TARGET: picks Raoul C., 24, Chula Vista

JOOYOUNG SAYS:
That bartender. He’s, like, shy and cute. <turns to look at insanely handsome PacificSD photographer, James “Dean” Norton> Actually, I want him! I just didn’t see him until now.

RESULT: Jooyoung sends Raoul back to the bar, then turns her sights on Mr. Norton.

La Puerta
560 4th Avenue, Gaslamp
619.696.3466, taco619.com

The same guys who own La Puerta just opened The Lincoln Room (901 Fourth Avenue, across from Horton Plaza) on the site that used to be Confidential Restaurant + Loft. The new spot offers classic American dishes and drinks, wall-to-wall Lincoln logs and an 1850s vibe. It’s like pennies from heaven.

Every body is different. Some folks have big arms and warm smiles; others have ripped abs and nerves of steel. But whether you’re cold-blooded, fast-footed or heavy-handed, one thing’s for sure—no body’s perfect. Well, maybe in part. Between exercises at Fit Athletic Club in East Village, and WaveHouse Athletic Club in Mission Beach, these dozen gym denizens describe their favorite body parts. What comes out of their mouths may surprise you.

For even the most flirtatious singles on the prowl, getting someone’s number is no small feat. So, asking a stranger to reveal his or her number of sexual partners must be even more difficult…if not outright dangerous. Risking ridicule and physical trauma, PacificSD’s crack team of love experts pack the tour bus with the latest in scientific measuring devices (a dry-erase board, magic marker and digital camera) and head to the epicenter of singledom: Pacific Beach.

Driving west down Garnet Avenue, we find a rare parking spot right in front of Johnny V nightclub and dining lounge. It’s Friday happy hour, and the place is packed, making it the ideal location in which to conduct our groundbreaking sexperiment. Plying patrons with alcohol and promises of stardom, the interns manage to collect important data. How does your number compare?