Whenever I tell someone I’m from the South, his mind — with his mouth in hot pursuit — scurries straight to assumptions about racism, deep fried fill-in-the-blanks, Paula Deen, and Confederate flags. Whenever I mention …
April 6, 2016
News & Stories
Stuart Caldwell opened soul-food restaurant in Tijuana
Creation of the Animal People
The earth was once a human being: Old One made her out of a woman. “You will be the mother of all people,” he said. Earth is alive yet, but she has been changed. The …
April 6, 2016
The nut of consciousness
Does anyone remember who R. Buckminster Fuller was? I must admit that my knowledge of him was limited to remembering that he was something of an innovative thinker from the past. Just the other evening …
April 6, 2016
Sick seal saga goes on
While paddling offshore a couple miles outside of La Jolla a decade or so ago, I came across a large pregnant female sea lion that seemed to be struggling to keep her head up and …
April 6, 2016
The most devastating film about divorce ever made
At Play in the Fields of the Lord (USA/Brazil, 1991, Universal) is a probing drama about the arrogance of American missionaries in the Amazon. Two couples — Aidan Quinn and Kathy Bates, and Darryl Hannah …
April 6, 2016
Parker and the jazzmen
“I’m doing performances in a trio with me on vocals, jazz drummer Nathan Hubbard, and jazz bassist Harley Magsino,” says Jack King, aka Parker Edison of hip-hop trio Parker & the Numberman. “We’ve definitely had …
April 6, 2016
Physical therapy business has become a thorny issue
The Republican mayor of Encinitas, currently challenging incumbent Democratic county supervisor Dave Roberts, runs a physical therapy business on the side. What to do when a lawyer for DCM Properties, a real estate developer suing …
April 6, 2016
Gaslamp prices, but Lazy Hippo is still a find
Mary Smith sat here. So did a lot of her ladies of the night. So did the mayor of San Diego. They say he was a client. But that was the Gilded Age. It was …
April 6, 2016
India Street "speedway" under consideration
Residents and business owners from Middletown (south of Mission Hills) showed up angry and worried at a neighborhood meeting held at Joyce Beers Community Center Tuesday night (April 5) to ask why no one told …
April 6, 2016
Movie picks from Down Under
A dark, uneasy and all too-real journey into a remote corner of the Australian outback, Wake in Fright (Australia/USA, 1971, United Artists) is the film that left Martin Scorsese speechless. Singer-songwriter Nick Cave calls it …
April 6, 2016
From the “General Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales
Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licóur Of which vertú engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his …
April 6, 2016
Zigzag, climb, and loop for miles in Crestridge eco reserve
The Crestridge Ecological Reserve is one of 16 California Department of Fish and Wildlife Ecological Reserves in San Diego County. The current 136 statewide ecological reserves provide habitat for a wide diversity of plant and …
April 6, 2016
America's finest variety show
Local talk show Tonight in San Diego kicks off its fourth season on Monday, April 11, in a new location, the Raw Space Theatre on First Avenue downtown. Organizers recently concluded a successful Kickstarter campaign, …
April 6, 2016
Kid-friendly runs through mud and foam and for yogurt
My teens participated in the Color in Motion 5K chalk run last month with a bunch of their friends. They returned triumphant after the jaunt around Qualcomm Stadium, looking as if they had returned from …
April 6, 2016
Funny openers
Making fun of hip-hop is part of Steven Briggs’s act. “Rappers are proof that freedom of speech exists. Most of them just talk about booty...over and over. If they didn’t have a beat behind them, …
April 6, 2016
Weird, wonderful Weerasethakul
If there is indeed only one chance at making a good first impression, then an impeccable introductory shot is as essential to a film’s narrative as a lashed Windsor knot and highly reflective pair of …
April 6, 2016
Swordfish dig California
Little do most anglers know there are scientists in Oceanside who provide fish resource information to agencies such as National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the state’s Department of Fish …
April 6, 2016
Dinner party two-step
The guy with the beard further demonstrated his grace: “So, tell us about you,” he said to the girl, politely indicating it would be nice if she talked about what she did, rather than what she did not.
April 6, 2016
Third Eye open
Third Eye Blind took six years between their last album, Ursa Major, and their new platter, Dopamine, owing in large part to leader Stephan Jenkins’s struggles with writer’s block, a problem he tried to cure, …
April 6, 2016
Batman v. Superman, Hydrox v. Oreo
Dear Hipster: If everybody — and I really mean everybody, because I do not know a single person who liked it — unequivocally hates Batman v. Superman, wouldn’t it be the most hipster thing ever …
April 6, 2016
Four all-usable acres
Current Owners: Gregorio & Vanessa Reyes Beds: 7 Baths: 11 List Price: $8,995,000 The “magnificient” Summerhill Estate is a 15,000-square-foot estate “sited on four all-usable acres atop a private knoll” in the “high end luxury …
April 6, 2016
The Music Band from Music City
If all goes according to plan, by the time Music Band plays here in April, their debut full-length will be a couple of weeks old. For reasons unknown, the band picked April Fools’ Day as …
April 6, 2016
Five wild parrots killed with pellet gun in Point Loma
Who’s killing the great parrots of Ocean Beach/Point Loma?
April 6, 2016
Assessing the three farces
Product of Affirmative Action Stealing jobs from qualified white men is part of the system. H-1B is only a small addition (City Lights, March 31, “Engineers Get Axed, Then Train Foreign Replacements”) In 1959, the …
April 6, 2016
Sleep doctor no more
A drug-plagued La Jolla psychiatrist specializing in sleep disorders has agreed to permanently surrender his license to practice medicine in California, according to a stipulation with the state’s medical board. On November 5, 2014, the …
April 6, 2016
The cult of Barbra Streisand
I never understood the cult of Barbra Streisand until seeing her play Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (USA, 1968, Columbia Pictures). Fanny is a rising star who thinks she’s made it because of her humor, …
April 6, 2016
March 31 Crossword Contenders
Martha Awdziewicz, Clairemont, 10. (winner!) Evelyn Bowser, Hillcrest, 10. Dennis Butterworth, San Diego, 10. Leslie Chase, Campo, 10. Joseph Ciprian, Little Italy, 10. Allan Dorfman, Del Mar, 10. Chad Griffith, Poway, 10. Susan Haley, Chula …
April 6, 2016
March 31 Sudoku Contenders
Evil Bliss Beedle, Encinitas, 10. Gregory Chauncey, La Jolla, 10. Rafael Gaceta, San Diego, 10. Don Ganoe, San Diego, 10. Paula Henderson, La Jolla, 10. Richard Johnson, La Jolla, 10. Larry Lewis, Poway, 10. Terry …
April 6, 2016