Finding this week’s selections was as easy as giving the old external harddrive a spin. There, nestled alphabetically in the “W”s, were a trio of “Wakes,” all new to me. There’s one to dream, one …
June 26, 2020
Latest News & Stories
John Wayne and a latex octopus
There are four differences between the two pictures of protests below. Can you spot them? Check the answers to see how you did!
Top picture has unvandalized network logo and intact windows. 2. Top photo features network founder respectfully dialoguing with protesters. 3. Network in top photo is upfront about its partisan political allegiance. 4. Network in top …
June 26, 2020
University of California endorses diversity measure
The University of California’s Board of Regents voted last week to address “original sin of this country” by seeking to repeal Prop 209, which voters approved in 1996 to ban “preferential treatment” for minority groups. …
June 26, 2020
Band goes from Village People to Boat People after Pride shaming
“It started with the Cop, of course,” says the Village People’s Biker. “Didn’t matter that he’s black. San Diego Pride said that law enforcement could no longer have a contingent at the Pride Parade, because …
June 26, 2020
Statues stored for sake of safety (and sanity)
“When the City of Chula Vista opted to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus from its home in Discovery Park and place it in storage ahead of a planned protest, it got me thinking,” says …
June 26, 2020
The Nihon Shoki: the greatest value to historians and archeologists
The Nihon Shoki Izanagi and Izanami [i.e. “the divine primal pair”] stood on the floating bridge of Heaven, and held counsel together, saying: “Is there not a country beneath?” Thereupon they thrust down the jewel-spear …
June 26, 2020
Outdoor beers rule coronavirus summer
This is usually the time of year to spotlight San Diego’s best outdoor brewery venues. However, in the summer of 2020, that could be just about anywhere. Thanks to some late May regulatory relief by …
In Memoriam: Paul Zimmer
In Memoriam: Paul Zimmer I. The Visit For Paul and Suzanne Zimmer and Cele Wolf With sunlight pouring through the windows, March Retreats and winter’s windy shadows shake The shadows’ fruit from changing light. The …
June 25, 2020
Tough times pick-me-up
Laura Jane Willcock (Tell Mama, the Tighten Ups) and her paramour Thomas Yearsley (the Paladins) founded blues-rockers ThunderLux in 2013, soon joined by Leo Dombecki (Jazmin, Ike Turner) and Emily O’Bannon-Robles (the Tighten Ups, Runhoney). …
June 25, 2020
Ballast Point’s Home Brew Mart: beer that burns
We’re at the source here. Where it all began. This is Home Brew Mart, Ballast Point’s original outlet in Morena-Linda Vista, right under the University of San Diego, that Catholic campus on a massif that …
June 25, 2020
Ella Fitzgerald: Just One of Those Things: Sultana of song
In one seemingly simple sentence, musician Laura Mvula concisely sums up the everlasting appeal of Ella Fitzgerald: “She made it seem like anything is possible.” (It’s likely that at one point or another, generally in …
June 25, 2020
The Gay Agenda party and pose their way past any shade
San Diego’s the Gay Agenda (the band) are so over “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it.” They never left in the first place, they’re not going anywhere, and they’ll party and pose their …
June 25, 2020
Helix High’s Mike Benge teams students with pro-bands
Trombonist Mike Benge has been a director of music at Helix High school for ten years, and the 40-year-old musician was also hyper busy leading the San Diego Latin Jazz Collective and touring with the …
June 25, 2020
Does it matter if Beethoven is black?
There are a multitude of stories currently presenting the idea that Beethoven was black. The claim is that he had a Moorish background through his mother’s side. His mother’s family came from Flanders which was …
June 24, 2020
Chalking it up for George Floyd in Coronado
There’s something haunting about this sidewalk’s chalk portraits as they fade. Coronado student artists drew remarkable pictures on the concrete around the beachfront memorial for George Floyd, not far from the Hotel Del Coronado: the …
June 24, 2020