Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Back When

Thirty Years Ago

As Tom Warren, the owner of Tugs in Mission Beach, said, "Everybody who lives around here who's a native probably learned how to swim at the [Mission Beach] Plunge." Warren, who has been featured in Sports Illustrated, is earnest in his praise. "I won the national championships a couple of times," he says, "but without the Plunge, I couldn't have done it." -- "THE PLUNGE," Colleen O'Connor, February 10, 1977

Twenty-Five Years Ago I hope that Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn (or Hank and Kate as they are known to some of us) can continue to find acting jobs as long as they want them. But as a Fonda admirer and as a seldom -- God forgive me -- Hepburn admirer, I am not convinced that the first screen teaming of these two legends [ On Golden Pond ] is sufficient cause for critics to be lapsing into the personalities of amateur matchmakers. -- "SHALLOW WATER," Duncan Shepherd, February 4, 1982

Sponsored
Sponsored

Twenty Years Ago I was on this plane, see, en route to Florida. Holiday with "the folks." "Smoking or nonsmoking?" I'd chosen smoking. It was a really crummy flight. Why am I using italics? This really happened. To me. A real me, not a fake, fictional, or composite me. One of the worst goddam flights of my life. Incredibly late departure and arrival. A joke-telling pilot. Major turbulence. Talky assholes to the left and right. Lost luggage. But the worst thing about it was the smoke. Heinous, horrible cig smoke -- not cigar or pipe. -- "AMONG THE CLOUDS," Richard Meltzer, February 5, 1987

Fifteen Years Ago When Dostoyevsky wrote The Gambler at the end of the 19th Century, the gambler was already a type. Highly strung, wild-eyed, given to unaccountable superstitions, he was the most engaging antihero of them all. But gambling today is no longer the pastime of lurid literary types; it has become a gay and democratic activity, somewhat akin to mini-golf and cookery classes.

In the gray London suburb of my childhood, a proclivity for bingo was tantamount to confessing one had a colorful tropical disease or the onset of senile dementia. Who could imagine a Dostoyevsky bingo novel, a tale of obsession and despair woven around the Texas Blackout or the Crazy Bow Tie? But the European traveler in Southern California is taken utterly by surprise by the bingo he finds being played in the suburban townlets and the Indian reservations. -- "AN ALIEN'S ADVENTURES IN BINGOLAND,"Lawrence Osborne, February 6, 1992

Ten Years Ago Sometimes Margaret Langdon gets calls at her office at UCSD, where she's professor emeritus of linguistics, from strangers who tell her their offbeat stories about Indian languages. Other times new acquaintances will blurt out that Indians don't speak real languages at all. "They'll tell me, 'They only grunt and groan.'"

For the past 30 years, Langdon has devoted her life to one of the four Indian tribes native to San Diego County, the Kumeyaay, and she has demonstrated that they speak three tongues -- not dialects, but separate, sophisticated languages. -- "WHEN AN INDIAN LANGUAGE IS GONE..."Jeannette De Wyze, January 30, 1997

Five Years Ago I just read Duncan Shepherd's comments on the Tolkien movie in the January 24 issue of the Reader. Given Tolkien's cult following, I expect that Shepherd's review will garner a lot of hate mail. And I'm afraid that some of it may even come from people in the church.

In that regard, let me say that I'm a Christian conservative. So don't take the hate mail as representative.

For many people in the church -- as well as outside of it -- Tolkien is a guilty pleasure, and so they go overboard in finding all manner of subtextual symbolism in the work. -- LETTERS: "INCLINED TO AGREE," Steve Hays, January 31, 2002

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Next Article

Bringing Order to the Christmas Chaos

There is a sense of grandeur in Messiah that period performance mavens miss.

Thirty Years Ago

As Tom Warren, the owner of Tugs in Mission Beach, said, "Everybody who lives around here who's a native probably learned how to swim at the [Mission Beach] Plunge." Warren, who has been featured in Sports Illustrated, is earnest in his praise. "I won the national championships a couple of times," he says, "but without the Plunge, I couldn't have done it." -- "THE PLUNGE," Colleen O'Connor, February 10, 1977

Twenty-Five Years Ago I hope that Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn (or Hank and Kate as they are known to some of us) can continue to find acting jobs as long as they want them. But as a Fonda admirer and as a seldom -- God forgive me -- Hepburn admirer, I am not convinced that the first screen teaming of these two legends [ On Golden Pond ] is sufficient cause for critics to be lapsing into the personalities of amateur matchmakers. -- "SHALLOW WATER," Duncan Shepherd, February 4, 1982

Sponsored
Sponsored

Twenty Years Ago I was on this plane, see, en route to Florida. Holiday with "the folks." "Smoking or nonsmoking?" I'd chosen smoking. It was a really crummy flight. Why am I using italics? This really happened. To me. A real me, not a fake, fictional, or composite me. One of the worst goddam flights of my life. Incredibly late departure and arrival. A joke-telling pilot. Major turbulence. Talky assholes to the left and right. Lost luggage. But the worst thing about it was the smoke. Heinous, horrible cig smoke -- not cigar or pipe. -- "AMONG THE CLOUDS," Richard Meltzer, February 5, 1987

Fifteen Years Ago When Dostoyevsky wrote The Gambler at the end of the 19th Century, the gambler was already a type. Highly strung, wild-eyed, given to unaccountable superstitions, he was the most engaging antihero of them all. But gambling today is no longer the pastime of lurid literary types; it has become a gay and democratic activity, somewhat akin to mini-golf and cookery classes.

In the gray London suburb of my childhood, a proclivity for bingo was tantamount to confessing one had a colorful tropical disease or the onset of senile dementia. Who could imagine a Dostoyevsky bingo novel, a tale of obsession and despair woven around the Texas Blackout or the Crazy Bow Tie? But the European traveler in Southern California is taken utterly by surprise by the bingo he finds being played in the suburban townlets and the Indian reservations. -- "AN ALIEN'S ADVENTURES IN BINGOLAND,"Lawrence Osborne, February 6, 1992

Ten Years Ago Sometimes Margaret Langdon gets calls at her office at UCSD, where she's professor emeritus of linguistics, from strangers who tell her their offbeat stories about Indian languages. Other times new acquaintances will blurt out that Indians don't speak real languages at all. "They'll tell me, 'They only grunt and groan.'"

For the past 30 years, Langdon has devoted her life to one of the four Indian tribes native to San Diego County, the Kumeyaay, and she has demonstrated that they speak three tongues -- not dialects, but separate, sophisticated languages. -- "WHEN AN INDIAN LANGUAGE IS GONE..."Jeannette De Wyze, January 30, 1997

Five Years Ago I just read Duncan Shepherd's comments on the Tolkien movie in the January 24 issue of the Reader. Given Tolkien's cult following, I expect that Shepherd's review will garner a lot of hate mail. And I'm afraid that some of it may even come from people in the church.

In that regard, let me say that I'm a Christian conservative. So don't take the hate mail as representative.

For many people in the church -- as well as outside of it -- Tolkien is a guilty pleasure, and so they go overboard in finding all manner of subtextual symbolism in the work. -- LETTERS: "INCLINED TO AGREE," Steve Hays, January 31, 2002

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Next Article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader