Southern Californians are driving more this holiday season, as evidenced by an unusual post-Christmas Day traffic jam on December 26 through Camp Pendleton south to Del Mar on I-5. It was bumper-to-bumper most of the …
December 27, 2018
News & Stories
Oceanside Mohsen gas stations at war with G&M stations
Can’t stay mad at soup dumplings
Two years ago, we were driving through a dark evening storm, heading into the Westfield UTC with seats reserved for a new Star Wars movie at the Arclight Cinema. Entrance to the mall parking lot …
December 27, 2018
Rigoletto would never have made it if written in 2018
In just a few weeks Verdi’s Rigoletto will be opening at The San Diego Opera. Let’s talk about how it fits in with the current milieu of hypersensitivity. The fact of the matter is that …
December 27, 2018
The “permanent vacation” feel
The newly-constructed estate at 7430 Hillside Drive in La Jolla includes five separate elevator-accessed levels of living area totaling nearly 6300 square feet of living space carved out of the side of Mount Soledad. “A …
December 27, 2018
A poem to finish off the year from England’s poet laureate
Ode Written on the First of January Come melancholy Moralizer—come! Gather with me the dark and wintry wreath; With me engarland now The SEPULCHRE OF TIME! Come Moralizer to the funeral song! I pour the …
December 27, 2018
Born to drum
This is the 50th anniversary of “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” by San Diego’s Iron Butterfly. The 17-minute rock opus was known for taking up one entire album side. Its mid-song drum solo helped grease the wheels for the …
December 27, 2018
The memory of swordfish
The waves crash as if this were an episode of Poldark. Sun and spume glint through the colored plastic surfboard sculptures, here at IB’s Portwood Pier Plaza. “So I’m still looking,” says Kevin. We’re meeting …
December 27, 2018
December 20 Brainstorm Contenders
Joseph Ciprian, San Diego, 36. Robert Ott, Mira Mesa, 12. Randy Paddock, San Diego, 12. K.J. Rayner, San Diego, 12. Thomas McVeagh, Lakeside, 11. Johanna Barry, Pine Valley, 9. Greg Bergeron, Tierrasanta, 9. Martin Soblick, …
December 27, 2018
December 20 Crossword Contenders
Joseph Ciprian, San Diego, 45. Martin Soblick, Del Mar, 43. Jon Christianson, El Cajon, 40. Ron Meyer, Santee, 40. Maria Coda, Oceanside, 39. Dennis Butterworth, San Diego, 37. Richard Hutchings, Santee, 37. Evelyn Bowser, San …
December 27, 2018
December 20 Sudoku Contenders
Elliot Rosenberg, La Jolla, 47. Joseph Ciprian, San Diego, 43. Thomas LaFleur, San Diego, 43. Ralph Levy, La Jolla, 43. Isabella Bosch-Sorensen, San Diego, 41. XP Liang, San Diego, 40. Hiroshi Miyazaki, San Diego, 40. …
December 27, 2018
Flashpants flashback
It took the producers from ABC’s reboot of The Gong Show three attempts before they got Flashpants to bite. Their persistence paid off. The group decided to go for it, even though they knew crashing …
December 27, 2018
2018: Apparition to Zama
A strange year at the movies for your exceedingly humble correspondent. Only about 100 reviews this time ‘round, and three of my notable ten didn’t even make it into the paper. The first of those …
December 27, 2018
Sarcastic adenoidal madness
Les Claypool: unless you were a diehard Primus geek, I doubt you can remember the names of the other two guys who were in that band. Claypool is another thing entirely. As Sting was to …
December 27, 2018
Big Sonic New Year’s Eve
Consider XIV, a loosely-structured La Mesa congregation that joyfully lives in the loungey music groove known as Big Sonic Chill. Nathan Samuels (keyboards, trumpet, vocals) and wife/partner Kelly Samuels (vocals, flute, keyboard, percussion) have anchored …
December 27, 2018
What real music sounds like
“It’s not an interpretation of Steely Dan,” says guitarist Hank Easton, whose tribute band Steely Damned II will stage a rare performance at the Music Box on December 30. “It’s like the records, but with …
December 27, 2018