Emilio Nares was three years old the first time he went to Rady Children’s. He had just started preschool and had come down with something. At first, his parents, Richard and Diane, thought it was …
September 20, 2017
News & Stories
Rady Children's chemo patients get some solace
Benjamin Franklin's notion of good works
I can only show my Gratitude for those Mercies from God, by a Readiness to help his other Children and my Brethren. For I do not think that Thanks, and Compliments, tho’ repeated Weekly, can …
September 20, 2017
Will make anyone who didn’t go to community college glad of it
Neil Patrick Harris, in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, is at his finest as a villain you almost have to root for. His musically inclined attempt at trying simultaneously to woo the girl and join a …
September 20, 2017
Chris Daniels, plugged in since 1969
“When I graduated, I got lucky with a road trip that paid me for the tour,” says the frontman of the Chris Daniels Project, who grew up in Mission Hills and went straight from graduating …
September 20, 2017
Coming-of-age sci-fi and over-the-top action
The Last Starfighter is an ’80s coming-of-age sci-fi adventure clearly made to cash in on Star Wars’ success. This movie was an early pioneer in computer-generated spaceship battles. What makes it such a great movie …
September 20, 2017
Like councilman, like aide
The hand-picked would-be successor to termed-out Eighth District San Diego city councilman David Alvarez, who is currently raising money for a county board of supervisors race in 2020, has been faring well in the big-money …
September 20, 2017
Behind the ventriloquist heavy metal drummer
Although it’s not immediately clear to some, those “Funner, California” commercials are actually promoting Harrah’s Casino in Valley Center. “They actually changed the name of the property where the casino sits to ‘Funner,’” explains videographer/editor …
September 20, 2017
A Boston Marathon bombing victim's story
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Boston Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman, but don’t expect the Lifetime Channel. Stronger invites audiences to cast aside all fear of drippy sentiment in tight closeup. This tale of an ordinary …
September 20, 2017
Toadies unzip the bodybag
“The band never went all the way away.” Vaden Todd Lewis would know. As one of the Fort Worth band’s founding members, he is also one of its survivors. The band broke out in 1994 …
September 20, 2017
Be careful near the monument — often home to a beehive.
Wide sweeping views? Check. An aircraft engine from the 1920s? Check. Bedrock morteros at a peaceful backcountry trail camp? Check. This loop hike includes the entire length of Airplane Ridge, breezes by interesting rock formations, …
September 20, 2017
Ultimate irony: indoor playgrounds in San Diego
I used to go to indoor play parks only when it rained. Now I go when it’s over 100 degrees as well. At this time of year, it could be either. “We are an indoor …
September 20, 2017
I really wanted to use a live cat
At the Lego Ninjago Movie press conference held last week at Legoland Carlsbad, a child asked the film’s assembled cast and crew, “What happened to the cat?” The tot was referring to the monstrous beast …
September 20, 2017
Chick lit and nonfiction take themselves seriously
Dear DJ: Lately, I’ve been reading excruciatingly well-researched historical novels set between 1780 and 1820 written by early/mid-20th Century Englishmen: The Poldark novels by Winston Graham, and the Master and Commander series by Patrick O’Brian. …
September 20, 2017
Green Day severs local tie
When Oceanside’s double Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jason Mraz left manager Bill Silva after 18 years, the separation was proclaimed to be friendly and drama-free. But Green Day’s termination of San Diego’s highest profile resident rock manager, …
September 20, 2017
Martin Camps — from seminarian to Beat poet
Giraffe in Juarez There’s a giraffe in the central park of Ciudad Juárez. Simple as that: a towering, Upper-Case and lonely giraffe. I studied her as she gazed at the sun sinking behind the hill …
September 20, 2017
The torture of being Korean
Much of Hansol Jung’s Wild Goose Dreams takes place in a cyberspace Babel. Throngs of voices, mantras of zeroes and ones, and pop-up ads scream for attention, pinball off each other, and drift away. If …
September 20, 2017
North Park's musician hot spot
"You can’t unmilk a coffee,” this guy in front of me’s saying. “Once it’s in, it’s in. One-way ticket. Like marriage.” “Barber, party of seven!?” This is Monday morning. Yet the place is totally jamming. …
September 20, 2017
Coronado water-polo coach banned from campus
Randy Burgess won 715 games during his 33 years of coaching water polo at Coronado High School. He led the boys’ team to 16 section championships and the girls team to three titles before he …
September 20, 2017
What is a rock star?
Grossmont College professor Raul Sandelin premiered his new music documentary Throttle the Sun on September 14th as part of the college’s Fall Concert Series. In the film, he’s interrogating the history of, and the changing …
September 20, 2017
SDSU’s climate inaction plan
As San Diego State University sets out to acquire a big chunk of Mission Valley in the form of a bitterly fought Qualcomm Stadium takeover, many of the big toys it already owns are being …
September 20, 2017
Readers watching the paper closely
Skip the pot ads Every week you print a letter from someone complaining about the pot ads. I think some people have too much time on their hands. We get an excellent paper, free of …
September 20, 2017
Penny Dreadful and [REC] — Gothic horror and pure horror
Penny Dreadful stole my heart with solid acting and flawless writing. It invites you to a universe where literary Gothic horror icons meet eye-to-eye. There’s not one character in the series that you don’t fall …
September 20, 2017