Charles Plowden, SJ Ages succeed ages; empires subvert empires. But the empire of Jesus Christ perseveres ever one and the same, ever persecuted and ever conquering. Because all human revolutions are entirely subservient to it, …
November 16, 2018
Latest News & Stories
His tenderest mercies
Not since Fatal Attraction
I recently went to see Bohemian Rhapsody the movie about the band Queen. I knew that lead singer Freddie Mercury was an opera fan but I was impressed with the way opera was incorporated into …
November 16, 2018
Marrow on the side in Ysidro
Usually San Ysidro means a trip through the world’s busiest border crossing and, ipso facto, tacos for lunch. But this time I’m taking the second to LAST USA EXIT in search of bone marrow. And …
November 15, 2018
In honor of the fallen
Ed. Note: November 2018 marks 100 years since the end of World War I. The San Diego Reader will devote this month’s poetry columns to the poets who wrote about their experiences of that war. …
November 15, 2018
The epitome of California canyon living
“Hidden behind beautiful hedges,” this 1924 Bankers Hill estate at 3372 Front Street “is truly unique in downtown San Diego and the epitome of California canyon living.” So promise the listing materials. The residence, which …
November 15, 2018
Rib tips are beckoning
What is going on up here? This is Chollas View-Mount Hope. Guess I’ve been looking for ribs in all the wrong places, heh heh. We’re talking Market Street in the 4200 area. Trundling east in …
November 15, 2018
Last Letter: Iwai delivers
Lovers of unrequited love, rejoice. There is enough handwritten romantic communication exchanged in Shunji Iwai’s deceptively uncomplicated romance Last Letter to fill a small post office branch. And no junk mail! Given that he has …
November 15, 2018
Gigmaster Kornhauser
In jazz circles, a player who knows how to stay working on a consistent basis despite the relative lack of opportunities in a limited market stands out, and in San Diego, pianist Ed Kornhauser (who …
November 15, 2018
“Rational Discourse is Gay”
Anal Trump, Rob Crow’s not-so-secret collaboration (under pseudonyms) with Cattle Decapitation’s Travis Ryan, dropped their album The First 100 Songs via Joyful Noise on Election Day. It features selections from each of their previous EPs …
November 15, 2018
Hard rock sweet spot
Rob Farr was embedded in the glammed-up hair metal scene that ruled West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in the mid-’80s. “There was band called Ruby Slippers which were basically Poison before they became Poison,” says Farr …
November 15, 2018
Mexico's capital of craft
Back in September, in what has become an autumn tradition, the Great American Beer Festival heaped loads of recognition upon the general greatness of San Diego beer. Area breweries claimed five golds en route to …
November 14, 2018
Christmas is never not coming
Somewhere well into the wee hours of a Christmas in the not-nearly-distant-enough past, as the adults in my family labored to finish with the wrapping of presents, the curling of ribbon, the printing of tags, …
November 14, 2018
Dickens for a day
Young Charles Dickens worked as a law clerk. He delivered documents and ran errands and was bored beyond tears. He wanted to be a court stenographer – record an entire trial verbatim – but it …
November 14, 2018
Cook less, enjoy more
Gobble gobble gobble, hear the turkey say/ When November comes around I think I’ll run away. It’s that time again. The sun sets at five. The liquid amber tree is aflame with reds and yellows. …
November 14, 2018
The sensual pleasures of print
Painfully uneventful One of my favorite mid-week pick-me-ups is walking to our local La Jolla coffee shop, picking up a hot-off-the-press Reader, and sitting by the sea while perusing the events section. Imagining all the …
November 14, 2018