Rogeste Mercy, 36, and his wife Magalita Bordes, 37, lost their apparel business and their livelihood in Port au Prince, Haiti, to an earthquake that jarred the island nation in 2010. “We lost everything,” Bordes …
October 4, 2017
News & Stories
Haitian immigrant discovers a Mexican dream
DC comics films with superheroes, super-villains, and meta-humans
Legends of Tomorrow serves up a band of unlikely would-be superheroes and villains that are unwillingly thrown together to travel through space and time saving the world. The story line is continuous; fellow superheroes in …
October 4, 2017
Pradeep’s raise
UCSD chancellor Pradeep Khosla got a 3 percent pay hike from University of California regents at their September 14 meeting here, boosting his annual base salary to $462,684, retroactively effective as of this past July …
October 4, 2017
Under the U Heights sign
i loathe your neighborhood see the ghosts of myself on its streets — there! under the U Heights sign collapsed on grafittied bus stop bench, weeping. lamppost-leaning, sobbing. we shared our first kiss in that …
October 4, 2017
Cattle Decapitation rolls through Deathfest
It’s unusual that a local band can share stories about their latest tour to Europe. Cattle Decapitation, the extreme metal band that goes whole hog to support animal rights and other environmental issues, did its …
October 4, 2017
Jewel, Jason Mraz, Steve Poltz started at Java Joe’s
Sixties time-warp! I’m sitting in the friendly gloom, watching Lisa Sanders and Karen Hayes sing personal songs in dreamy harmonies. Acoustic, coffee-bar singing, outside. It feels time-warpy in more ways than one. This space is …
Walter TV channels ABBA
I’m going out on a limb to say this, but I hear echoes of ABBA here and there in Walter TV. Which is not meant as a bad thing. In fact, it’s the haunted-house version …
October 4, 2017
John Carroll Lynch's new film, Harry Dean Stanton’s last
“You’re not likely to get a one-word answer out of me,” laughed the as-a-rule loquacious John Carroll Lynch. Lucky marks the actor’s first time behind the camera — directing Harry Dean Stanton in what turned …
October 4, 2017
The struggle of 50 hours at the office
Dear Hipster: Is it possible to hold down a 9-to-5 professional career, say, as an accountant with a major international financial services firm, but still be a hipster? — Andy Of course. Nothing’s impossible in …
October 4, 2017
Newspaper union battles tronc's L.A. Times
The last time the Newspaper Guild was heard from in San Diego, the once-mighty union was quietly leaving town, evicted by a narrow vote of Union-Tribune employees after a rough-and-tumble decertification campaign waged by the …
October 4, 2017
Seems any band can work with Joe Troutman
Joe Troutman, one of the few local independent music promoters, has outlasted most the venues he’s booked over 16 years. North County’s Jumping Turtle, Royal Dive (formerly owned by this reporter), Metaphor Café, Del Dios …
October 4, 2017
Common man Scott
Democratic congressman Scott Peters, who has fought off a series of GOP challengers for his La Jolla district seat, is behind a new effort to divert San Diego Democrats from policies favored by the left. …
October 4, 2017
Will Ferrell in a semi-serious role and an interesting premise
Stranger Than Fiction serves up a rare glimpse at Will Ferrell in a semi-serious role. Ferrell is hilarious as Harold Crick, a man who finds his life being “narrated” by an author that only he …
October 4, 2017
Favorite thrift-shop spots
Eve Kelly comes from a sturdy stock of thrift shoppers and upcyclers. As a child, I had two brand-new items: a dress for my confirmation and a pair of church shoes. Everything else was a …
October 4, 2017
Look low in Switzer Canyon for the dusky-footed woodrat
Switzer Canyon offers a hike for those with short legs and short attention spans — a kid-friendly urban walk that can be either a 30-minute or a one-hour hike. This is an example of a …
October 4, 2017
Endless Mittens
“I consider Mittens to be pop rock,” says guitarist Paul Ryu. “When we started, we were mostly indie pop, but then we absorbed a lot of other styles, too. We tend to process a lot …
October 4, 2017
Shakespeare of the Arabic language
Praise be to Allah, the exalted of names, the praised for His bounties, the abundant in gifts, the called upon for the rescinding of calamity; —king of the nations, restorer of rotten bones, honorer of …
October 4, 2017
Click on this for Zex allegations
A bizarre rift between Oceanside-based Magic Bullet Records and one of its bands, a Canadian four-piece punk band named Zex, makes one wonder if there was a real label-versus-band issue or if the beef was …
October 4, 2017
Hipster-millennial overlap
Dear Hipster: Well, I got a sell-out day-job again — having graduated from occupying reclaimed wood seats in North Park avocado toast & fair trade dens of day-time slack — but I just can’t stop …
October 4, 2017
Purgatory for suicides and viral outbreak
Wristcutters: A Love Story takes place in a purgatory reserved for people who’ve committed suicide. No one smiles, everyone strolls through the monotony of having no future, and nothing works properly. It’s a boy-meets-girl story …
October 4, 2017
Mex med-metal Thanatology gets the gig
Although they’ve dressed up like doctors onstage during their 18 years as a band, don’t expect any messy Gwar-like antics from Thanatology. “We try and set ourselves apart from that cliché that many bands have …
October 4, 2017
Breeders’ Cup comes to Del Mar
I’m at my usual spot in the corner next to the winner’s circle, where the yellow fire hydrant sits against the rail, right across from the finish line. If I reach out, I can pet …
October 4, 2017
Carlsbad’s rainmaker for the right
The victory of Roy Moore over Donald Trump–backed Luther Strange in last week’s bitterly fought Senate Republican primary in Alabama spelled good news for Republican fundraiser Matt Hoskins of Carlsbad. Thus far this year, his …
October 4, 2017
An avid (and observant) reader has a small problem
Letters mishmash I just picked up my copy of the Reader, September 28, with Burt Reynolds on the cover. What is going on at your company? You have letters to the editor, and it says …
October 4, 2017