“‘Don’t anybody move!’”The year is 1970. The speaker is Alfred Scott McLaren, captain of the USS Queenfish, a nuclear submarine snaking along beneath the frozen surface of uncharted Siberian waters. The situation is that his …
April 2, 2025
Bill Manson writes cover stories and features for the San Diego Reader.
Some samples of his early writing:
July 25, 1996:Song for the Uprooted (mariachi music in TJ's Zona Norte)
March 19, 1998: Larry's Best Gal (interview with Larry Lawrence aide Norma Nicolls)
March 16, 1995: Coyote, Tarantula, Silence, Sea (the four corners of San Diego County)
Sept. 24, 1998: Cunanan's Last Laugh (computer game based on gay serial killer)
March 25, 1999: Kidnapped! (Georgina Crespo's abduction from Coronado Cays)
Articles by Bill Manson
The backing up of the Queenfish
The perfect time for The Perfect Block
“Ecotect.” That’s what they call Drew Hubbell. He’s a San Diego architect famous for his houses made of adobe, straw bale, or, uh, styrofoam concrete block. And in the aftermath of the recent LA fires, …
April 2, 2025
Pull out your iPhone and make a movie
For Susy Botello, it started with 9/11. “The whole idea of making movies with iPhones began for me in 2001,” she says. ‘I was here at Grossmont College, studying media communications. On that morning, I …
March 4, 2025
Wi-Fi, submarines, Hedy Lamarr
“This whole thing evolved because of her beauty,” says Bill Garrison. “Louis B. Mayer called her ‘The most beautiful girl in the world.’” “She” was Hedy Lamarr, an Austrian immigrant who became a Hollywood star and …
February 19, 2025
Albuquerque adopts free bus policy
A lot of my friends know that I prefer to catch the bus instead of driving a car. Slower? A little. Cheaper? Way. Provides more time to work on your interview questions ahead of time? …
January 29, 2025
How to make a hit Christmas song
Video:GOLDEN DREAMS: How to make a hit Christmas song“You’re just in time, buddy,” says Erik, “for Christmas 2025.” Shucks. I’ve come to Erik desperate to find out how to get my Christmas song recorded and …
December 6, 2024
Will Trump’s Baja resort be built after all?
Video:GOLDEN DREAMS: A different sort of Trumpian comeback?Once, Donald Trump had a dream for Baja California — well, at least for a cut from the sales that came from attaching his name to a dream …
December 4, 2024
Last plane out of Seoul, 1950
You think you know people, and then you discover you don’t. Not by half.Diana and I are chatting over a glass of wine, reminiscing about childhood. “When I was seven,” I say, “I was chased …
November 22, 2024
Biophilic design connects people to nature
Video:GOLDEN DREAMS: Biophilic design connects people to nature“We’re tucking our kids into the fridge at night,” says Bob Burnett. “It’s not right.” Indeed, while San Diegans are enjoying (or cursing) the summer heat, many Kiwis, …
August 28, 2024