A few weeks ago I outlined some binge listening plans. I’ve completed two of them. The first was all 32 of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas. The second was a survey of Baroque music. The Beethoven took …
April 14, 2020
Latest News & Stories
All 32 of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas.
San Diego bus riders discouraged, then encouraged to wear masks
Every day, San Diego's bus and trolley drivers shuffle thousands of passengers around the county. As essential workers providing service to other essential workers, including those in healthcare, uncertainty clouds their daily routine. Last week …
April 14, 2020
Observing one month in isolation with take-home sushi
The seven pieces of sushi were packaged in the sort of container you’d expect to find in a grocery: one of those rectangular trays with a clear plastic, snap-on top. Except grocery store sushi boxes …
April 13, 2020
San Diego courts work at half shut-down
The defense attorney appeared wearing a silky scarf around his face, with tiny tassels jiggling as he talked, and someone in the courtroom joked, “He’s going to start belly dancing in a minute.” Attorney Matthew …
April 13, 2020
Surfers get around the ban at Trestles
On the morning of April 8, surfer and jujitsu instructor Don Abadie went live on Instagram. “There’s a big swell right about now,” he said in part on the 1:15 minute video clip. “Does anybody …
April 13, 2020
Kearny Mesa – not really a neighborhood
Giovanni's leaves cribbage fans homeless I used to come to Giovanni’s at the turn of the century when they were located at Balboa Avenue about a mile west from the I-805 freeway. I remember playing …
April 13, 2020
Deep into Alpine, North Park, Normal Heights, Fallbrook – and Sabre Springs
Where the Mountain Meets the Sky “We had grapes, for example. Grapes were hauled from here to the railroad station in Lakeside. We had wheat, olives, citrus fruit, barley. Chickens and turkey ranches. Also, John …
April 12, 2020
Opposums, rats, pigeons, plus San Diego's geologist who hates roadside landscaping
Our Panther Our fair city does have one black jaguar resident, downtown, in Cat Canyon, near Sun Bear Forest, across from the Hunte Amphitheater, in the San Diego Zoo. He was born October 1992 at …
April 11, 2020
These essential businesses still bake cookies
Since the call went out for all but essential businesses to close during the coronavirus crisis, exactly what constitutes an “essential business” has been a point of public debate. “Are restaurants?” some wonder; “Are bakeries?” …
April 10, 2020
Drink local beer like the economy depends on it
Drink local. This has long been a rallying cry of San Diego’s beer industry. But nearly a month into California’s covid-19 shutdown, the overture has more urgency than ever. Particularly for breweries that rely on …
April 10, 2020
Payare conducts Wagner, Bartok, Mahler, Shostakovich, Rachmaninoff next season
“As we all know very well, music has a unique power to heal the human soul. In music, there are no boundaries of language or limits of understanding." Rafael Payare, music director, San Diego Symphony. …
April 10, 2020
Joshua Dorsch: interpreter of Jewish scripture and law
Tifereth Israel Synagogue Contact: 6660 Cowles Mountain Boulevard, San Diego 619-697-6001 www.tiferethisrael.com Membership: 350 Rabbi: Joshua Dorsch Age: 34 Born: Philadelphia, PA Formation: Columbia University/Jewish Theological Seminary, NY Years Ordained: 7 San Diego Reader: Why …
April 10, 2020
In face of Covid, San Diego city council dreams of bigger conventions
The San Diego hotel lobby has long used other peoples' money in the form of an ever-growing tax on transient room occupants to underwrite its developments and finance its powerful sway over city hall. Most …
April 10, 2020
San Diego Easter stories
Where to find an Easter Sunrise in San Diego County Whether or not you hold religious beliefs (Christian or otherwise), or you simply appreciate a fine, early-morning pilgrimage (Easter or otherwise), consider the following treks …
April 10, 2020
Pajama professionals
Now that I’m hidden inside all day, my fashion has fully regressed into leggings and slipper-socks. Seems I’m not alone. I chatted up friends and colleagues who all seemed to be coping in their own …
April 9, 2020