Little Star of Bela Lua: Stories from Brazil (P.S.) by Luana Monteiro. Harper Perennial Paperback, 2006, $13.95, 256 pages. BOOK DESCRIPTION: A luminous fish appears in an impoverished village like a sign from God and …
Go Abroad!
Little Star of Bela Lua: Stories from Brazil (P.S.)
The Few and the Proud: Marine Corps Drill Instructors in Their Own Words
The Few and the Proud: Marine Corps Drill Instructors in Their Own Words by Larry Smith. W.W. Norton, 2006, $26.95, 325 pages. FROM THE DUST JACKET: The Few and the Proud examines how Marines are …
El Cajon Boulevard refugees tell of persecution in Uganda, war in Liberia
In the office where I met David Omen Acana II, paramount chief of the 800,000-member Acholi tribe in northern Uganda, a large color photograph of two hippos hung on the wall behind him. The animals, …
June 8, 2006
Verse From My Venerable Country
'For Iraqis who have been suffering inside Iraq and those who have been violently uprooted, the word 'today' begins in 1963 with the fascist military coup that brought the Baath Party, in which Saddam Hussein …
April 13, 2006
San Diego's Crawdaddys big In Spain
"In the future," Andy Warhol predicted, "everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes." But for a few San Diego musicians, it seems that the future's arrived ahead of schedule and landed them halfway around the …
March 9, 2006
Vine Writer
'I actually broke the story in the state. Pretty nice for your first time out.'
Chocolates
My love Patrick is receiving a nose hair trimmer for Valentine's Day. Though I know he will appreciate the thought, I figured I better throw a little romance into his gift as well. He's a …
February 9, 2006
If You Get My Continental Drift
Your Mattness: Who decides what are continents? Why is Greenland not a continent? It is bigger than the island/continent of Australia and has more people than Antarctica. How can Europe and Asia be one continent? …
February 2, 2006
An almost-Frenchman talks to San Diego emigres
At last, the fashion of French-bashing fades, and now kisses, fries, poodles, horns, bread, dressing, curls, maids, braids, ticklers, manicures, twists, and toast might drop the mock-corrective mark of "freedom." Even our most patriotic consciences …
January 26, 2006
Michael Manske in Slovenia
Open Letter Dear Nikolas, It's been a few days since your fast and furious birth. Despite the fact that I once nearly passed out watching a dog get neutered (effectively ending my nascent veterinary career), …
November 23, 2005
The Lost Painting: The Quest For a Caravaggio Masterpiece
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece by Jonathan Harr. Random House, 2005; $24.95; 250 pages. FROM THE DUST JACKET: An Italian village on a hilltop near the Adriatic coast, a decaying palazzo …
Michael Manske in Slovenia
Slovenes Are Americans I've always found it amazing that Slovenia, a tiny alpine country with a population the size of greater Milwaukee, could support so many television and radio stations. According to a recent count, …
November 17, 2005
Frans Alkemade's Super Anime, a Japanese cartoon site with Catholic values
In Roman times, the word "animare" meant "to give breath to." In the Biblical record, the first act of animation was performed by God, who created Adam by breathing life into a lump of clay. …
November 10, 2005
Michael Manske In Slovenia
The Slovenian Chestnut Conspiracy You know it's autumn in Slovenia when the ice-cream stands disappear and are replaced by barrels of roasting chestnuts. Losing the ice-cream stands is tough. The scoops are luscious and creamy …
November 10, 2005
The Coldest Winter: A Stringer in Liberated Europe
The Coldest Winter: A Stringer in Liberated Europe by Paula Fox. Henry Holt and Company, 2005; 144 pages; $18. FROM THE DUST JACKET: In 1946, Paula Fox walked up the gangplank of a partly reconverted …