Joaquin_de_la_Mesa
Joaquin_de_la_Mesa is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.
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Okay-to-good, but not great
Yeah… it's hard to believe Beethoven's "Immortal Beloved" was a peasant girl with whom he fornicated. That movie had a high production value, but the point was difficult to ascertain. I wonder if making a movie about a composer is an impossible task. How do tell a pictorial tale about inner genius? Consequently, we get a bunch of ancillary and probably apocryphal stuff about their personal lives. Have you seen Impromptu? Hugh Grant as Chopin?— August 26, 2014 10:37 a.m.
Twisted rusticity
"More traditional (i.e. not San Diegan) red ales celebrate the malt bills…" What about Uncle Karl Strauss's Red Trolley ale? I'd say that's San Diegan. Seems to win a lot of awards, too.— July 23, 2014 2:24 p.m.
Padres play dead ball
Time for American sports to adopt the relegation system used in soccer leagues. If your team is in the bottom three come season's end, you go down to a lower league next season. Meanwhile, the top three teams from that division move up.— July 23, 2014 1:29 p.m.
And the Emmy goes to...
Super happy for you! Now, is there somewhere we can see the episodes?— July 3, 2014 8:35 p.m.
End this trend: Ye Olde Wall Collage
There are many such relics that persist in movies/TV. They make me nuts. In Breaking Bad, absolutely everybody has a flip-open phone. Where can you even buy such a phone these days? Answering machines are another. I haven't seen a stand-alone answering machine in a decade. They're still in the movies, though, because they're a handy plot device.— May 22, 2014 3:47 p.m.
AleSmith brewing Friar water
Well, Brandon, you did say "Sports conversations are often opinionated."— May 22, 2014 3:01 p.m.
AleSmith brewing Friar water
Ah… you're right, Dan. Forgot about the strike season. But I think the general point stands. He was never a great RBI guy or power guy or runs scored guy. And his body did break down due to weight in the second half of his career. Remember the perpetual heel problems later on? Remember the gut and the double chin. Look at the picture below of him hitting that homer off David Wells in the 1998 World Series. That's a fat dude. By this point, he'd let himself go from a genuine multi-tool guy to a batting average-only guy. He averaged only 106 games a year after that .396 season. And, as the years went on, he seemed to focus only on batting average. His own teammates called him out on it from time to time. They called him out on weight too. I'm not a hater. I think he deserves the hall of fame. I think he's the best Padre ever. But I don't think he's an all-time great. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2014/m…— May 22, 2014 2:56 p.m.
AleSmith brewing Friar water
The greatest single-slapper of all time. Tony Gwinn tops the list of almost-great Padres, a team that has never had a truly great ballplayer. Look at the rest of the stats for that .394 season to get the full story. Only 110 games played. Why? because his body broke down every year due to weight issues. Dude liked his post-game buffet. Only 64 RBIs. Curiously low for a guy batting near 400.— May 22, 2014 11:12 a.m.
Almost perfect in La Jolla
Glad to hear about the emphasis on local singers. Our local singers have been ignored and taken for granted too long.— May 20, 2014 5:37 p.m.
Rip Current alert for North Park
Just what the internet needs, another snarky anonymous commenter. Outstanding, Joe!— May 13, 2014 7:09 p.m.