The road to Sharon’s Worm World is in turn blacktop, gravel, then finally Ramona dirt. Sharon McLaughlan, the worm farm’s founder and namesake, is waiting at the crest of the dusty lane that ends at …
November 1, 2017
News & Stories
Sharon's Worm World in Ramona makes me feel so good
Super-charged
Termed-out Republican San Diego County supervisor Ron Roberts continues to rake in so-called behests to charity on his behalf by big-money special interests. Latest to tithe is utility giant Sempra Energy, currently fighting locals who …
November 1, 2017
Reggae-ready for 2018
As noted in a September 6 “Blurt” article, the popularity of reggae was pointing to a resurrection of the all-day reggae festival that had been held at the Valley View Casino Center (Sports Arena) every …
November 1, 2017
The lines go clear to Sixth Avenue
Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll; The optimist sees the donut, the pessimist, the hole. — Oscar Wilde I can’t help thinking of Oscar. Because in the heat of this Santa …
November 1, 2017
Guess who Impeachmint cocktail refers to
Since everything from scoops of ice cream to the NFL has become politicized, it was only a matter of time before San Diego’s cocktail scene stepped into the arena. Thus, Madison on Parks’ Impeachmint. Bar …
November 1, 2017
Boom — new music fest in I.B.
P.O.D., the South Bay rap-metal band that broke out 25 years ago with radio hits such as “Alive” and “Youth of the Nation,” was on the radio recently to announce its Lower Left Fest, a …
November 1, 2017
Fake it till you make it
Dear Hipster: I like to think of myself as an expert on certain topics. For example, I know more about DC wiring than most electricians, at least, the ones who primarily do residential AC work. …
November 1, 2017
Wonderstruck, a near-deaf experience
Two deaf children, separated by five decades and both searching for the same thing, are flattened by a train of coincidence in Wonderstruck, the latest period(s) melodrama from director Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven, Carol). …
November 1, 2017
Big lobbyist is watching
Verizon Wireless has paid the San Diego lobbying firm of MJE Marketing Services $30,000 to push for “approval of a public-private partnership for implementation of Verizon’s Smart Cities and Communities programs,” according to an October …
November 1, 2017
Record-release roundup
Singing airline pilot Sluka drops his 11th full-length, Colorful Radiation, on November 3, in a “visual album” combination of 3D, 4K, and Blu-Ray releases, with the first single, “Rise,” streaming online. “‘Rise’ is my reaction …
November 1, 2017
Taste? Nuance? — Too last century
In this era of manic video games and computer graphics, everything is all in. Used to be, when someone fell in a movie, they’d clear the window, or whatever, free-fall for a spell, and you’d …
November 1, 2017
A lesson in pine cones
Mount San Jacinto State Park in neighboring Riverside County has plenty of hiking trails to satisfy those looking for a full-day adventure within a mountain setting. The hike to San Jacinto Summit (10,834 feet) is …
November 1, 2017
Readers talk about Reader movie reviews
Hollywood version of a soldier’s experience Scott Marks review of Thank You for Your Service [Movie section] was obviously written by a non-Veteran who prefers highly dramatized military movies to reality. His opinion that you …
November 1, 2017
And the alt-rock-radio war raged on
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Timothy Joseph never imagined his band playing the Sports Arena, which over 50 years has also hosted everyone from Bowie to Zeppelin. The Buckfast Superbee indie-rock quartet launched in 1997 and went dormant eight …
November 1, 2017
Operation Scar-Be-Gone
Doesn’t everybody have a scar or two? My mother found me “shaving like Daddy” in the bathroom when I was three years old. I have an inch-long scar on my chin to remind me of …
November 1, 2017
Don't confuse hipsters with Hells Angels
Hey DJ: Yesterday my girls — 8 and 10 — asked me, “What is a hipster?” I was unable to provide a description they could connect with, as they have no historical framework. They don’t …
November 1, 2017
Longtime busker in the house
Homelessness tormented singer/songwriter Lena Evans for much of the past two decades. “I grew up in San Diego. I’ve been homeless on and off since I was 14 by simple choices and mistakes I made …
November 1, 2017
Owned by philanthropists and racehorse owners
“Del Dios Ranch presents an outstanding opportunity to acquire one of the most expansive tracts in coveted Rancho Santa Fe,” listing materials boast of the sprawling 61-acre estate. Beds: 4 Baths: 9 Current Owner: Sahm …
November 1, 2017
Son Little's 21st-century blues
Blues for millennials. Which is another way of saying blues for an audience that doesn’t necessarily dig the blues. Or gospel either, for that matter. No bad on millennials. Blues, gospel, and soul is not …
November 1, 2017
Organ grinders show up in Tijuana
Downtown Tijuana is a constant cacophony. Taxis, calafias (tricked-out short buses), and other vehicles never stop honking. Sirens from police cars, fire trucks, car alarms, and ambulances seem to always distract one’s attention. And with …
November 1, 2017
I howl, you whisper
Plum Tree I devour, You gnaw I stomp, You glide I howl, You whisper I fight You embrace I close, You open I dream, You exist I tear, You reconcile I war, You peace I …
November 1, 2017
Boling for airport dollars
The lobbying shop founded by San Diego Republican mayor Kevin Faulconer’s top political guru is again at the center of conflict-of-interest questions, this time regarding ace GOP campaign treasurer and onetime city-council candidate April Boling. …
November 1, 2017
al-Ghazzali — the most influential Muslim after Muhammad
Now from the sciences I had labored at, and the paths I had traveled in my investigation of the revelational and rational sciences (that is, theology and philosophy), there had come to me a sure …
November 1, 2017