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Top Gun Meets Real World

CARRIER, A NEW PBS documentary/reality series airing April 27–May 1 (6-8 p.m.) offers a revealing look at life aboard the San Diego–based aircraft carrier U.S.S. Nimitz. “Carrier is a character-driven, edge-of-your-seat, nonfiction drama and once-in-a-lifetime total immersion in the high-stakes world of a nuclear aircraft carrier,” says executive producer and director Maro Chermayeff.

Filmmakers were given unprecedented access by the Navy for the May-November 2005 filming, during a deployment to the Persian Gulf for Operation Iraqi Freedom (three of those six months were spent in actual combat). Carrier follows a diverse group of ship personnel, from the admiral of the fleet and fighter pilots to a kitchen chef.

“The universal themes that emerge offer compelling insight into the men and women who commit to military service against the extraordinary backdrop of war,” says John Wilson, PBS senior vice president and chief TV programming executive. Carrier will be available on DVD (shopPBS.org) after the broadcast premiere. Information: pbs.org/weta/carrier/.

Yogurt Wars

WHEN POPULAR frozen-yogurt chain Pinkberry opened its West Hollywood doors in 2006, crazed customers poured into the neighborhood for weeks, clogging city streets and angering area residents and businesses. Here’s hoping this summer’s San Diego store openings——one in downtown’s Hard Rock Hotel and another on Fourth Avenue in Hillcrest——go more smoothly.

At a figure-friendly 70 calories per half-cup serving, Pinkberry yogurt (pinkberry.com) has become the latest pop culture addiction, with devotees renaming it “crackberry.” The popularity of Pinkberry, which serves up a minimalist menu of three flavors——green tea, original and coffee——and natural toppings, including fresh fruit, has launched numerous copycats.

But competitor Red Mango, South Korea’s largest frozen-yogurt chain, claims to be the original among a host of impersonators. Red Mango recently opened its first San Diego location in Mission Valley (1460 Camino del Rio North, 619-543-9691; redmangousa.com) and was set to open another in Little Italy in April (1827 India Street, 619-483-6265). Other local outlets catering to the frozen-yogurt craze include two places in Pacific Beach. Dolci Mango (1420 Garnet Avenue, 858-488-6265; dolcimangousa.com) offers four flavors, the favorite being——you guessed it——mango. Beso Yogurt (4150 Mission Boulevard, 858-273-1358; besoyogurt.com) is self-serve and offers more than 30 toppings. Fruberry in the Gaslamp Quarter (944 Fifth Avenue, 619-237-9741) serves up four flavors, and Hillcrest’s Yog-Art (1255 University Avenue, 619-497-0307) is another local favorite.
——KIRBY BROOKS

Vanishing Act

HOLT WEBB WAS WORKING as a freelance photographer and managing a camera shop in San Diego when he “began to feel the encroachment of urban life.” So he dreamed up the ultimate road trip, a project he calls Vanishing America, and for the next four years is criss-crossing the country documenting aspects of the American culture and landscape that are in danger of disappearing——wild horse populations, wetland and forest ecosystems, historic architecture, declining industry, small-town life——with his camera and through his blog (holtwebb.blogspot.com).

“America is changing fast,” says Webb. “Change can be good, but sometimes it destroys the things we love about our country. Hopefully, these images will remind people how precious, ephemeral and important these aspects of our country and our culture are.”

Last summer, Webb, 38, left San Diego in a state-of-the-art Winnebago with Land Rover in tow. “It would be a tad contradictory to be documenting Vanishing America while driving a big diesel RV towing a dirt-pounding gas guzzler, so I decided to go green,” he says. He converted both vehicles to run on vegetable oil and biodiesel, and installed solar panels on the RV’s roof for power. Webb secured initial financing from a wealthy San Diego benefactor. (He is currently seeking sponsors and grants to support his ongoing travel.)

Most recently, Webb documented the fragile wetlands and rural communities in the Southeast and visited with scientists at the Smithsonian Institution. Next, he’ll continue into the Appalachian Mountains, head north along the Atlantic coast, visit the countryside of New England and travel around the Rust Belt to capture its abandoned industries. Then he’ll visit America’s heartland in search of farms and small-town life before making his way back west in search of the wild mustangs and cowboys and ranchers of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. He also plans to document Alaska’s disappearing frontier wilderness.

“The project promises not only amazing images but memorable encounters with fascinating everyday people who are the fabric of this nation,” says Webb. Photo essays, coffee-table books, fine-art gallery exhibitions and a documentary are forthcoming. Info: vanishingamerica.net.To hear a Photo Talk Radio interview with photographer Holt Webb, go to: PhotoTalkRadio.com/ptr080412.html.

What Mom Really Wants

ATTENTION, MOMS: You’ll want to cut this one out and post it on your refrigerator for a less-than-subtle gift hint this Mother’s Day. A pair of downtown spas are offering special treatment packages just for the occasion.

Spa Velia’s Gratitude package includes a geranium thermal wrap, aromatherapy massage and facial (each lasting 25 minutes) for $190. The Time Together Package for two (talk about the gift that gives back, kids) features 50-minute, side-by-side aromatherapy massages followed by 50-minute purifying facials ($465 per pair). Both include a gift bag for Mom with fine chocolates, an inspirational book, a spa product and more. Mother’s Day packages can be booked at Spa Velia (619-235-0000; spavelia.com) throughout the month of May.

Across the street, Away Spa at the W Hotel (619-398-3092) offers the Wow Treatment, a Mother’s Day special featuring a combined massage and glycolic facial performed by two therapists. The 90 minutes of pure pampering costs $235. Other treatments offered on the spa’s spring menu include Foot Fetish, a 30-minute effleurage of the feet ($60); Blueberry Soy Body Refresher, a 90-minute detoxifying body wrap and soufflé massage ($190); and A Day of Tranquility, a four-and-a-half-hour session that includes a herbal body wrap, massage, scalp treatment, foot wrap and signature W facial. Lunch is included with the $450 price tag——a small price to pay for all she does, right?

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