My favorite winter holiday mashup is of two pop icons from distinctly different generations singing a classic Christmas carol. Of course, I’m talking about David Bowie and Bing Crosby’s duet, “Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth”. Seriously. Find it on YouTube. You’ll be glad you did. In 1941 an American composer and teacher, Katherine Kennicott Davis,…
This Christmas, you have a rather odd choice of movies to see after you’ve opened your presents and gorged on goose (if you’re into goose gorging). Oddly, most of them are about as Christmasy as the Easter Bunny. Unbroken is about a British soldier who endures years of torture as a prisoner of war. Big…
If you kill someone with your vehicle while you are driving drunk over the holidays, or anytime really, you can be charged with second-degree murder and a state grant of $500,000 will help prosecute you. “Year after year we see senseless deaths and injuries due to drinking and driving,” said District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. “Constant…
After 25 years of serving as staff pastor, Rev. Houston Burnside Jr. will officially retire Dec. 31 and be honored Sunday, Dec. 28 for his many years of ministry at Metropolitan Community Church of San Diego (MCC). But he’s not going anywhere and he intends to remain a member and still attend MCC San Diego,…
I always appreciate the big to-do the world makes of Dec. 25, my birthday. True, others are involved in the day, but I prefer to believe I am the one being feted. I never had a birthday party and yearly I waited for the inevitable pair of socks or gloves with the witty comment, “One…
After the death of the black New Yorker who was put in a choke-hold by police officers I joined a demonstration in front of the Federal Building in downtown. I agree with the 70 percent of Americans of color who in recent polls stated that the justice system is not equal for all Americans. Since…
dvd of the week In the somewhat tired genre of British movies that focus on plucky working class folks winning contests and defying mores (The Full Monty, Billy Elliot, Brassed Off, etc.) the politics of class conflict are usually sublimated by the up-from-our-bootstraps plotlines. But while Pride, about a group of gay activists in London…
dvr this DirecTV, Christmas, 9:30-11 p.m. Also on Netflix Instant This British import is a contemporary Twilight Zone, mostly focused on the dark, dark possibilities of over-reliance on technology. Each episode is creepy and perfectly plotted and a little unnerving and stars someone pretty great. The first has Rory Kinnear as the British prime minister…
For a child, the thrill of Christmas morning is tearing open carefully wrapped gifts, throwing aside colorful paper, ribbons and bows and discovering the treasures within. Which brings me to sushi. Think about it. Each bite is presented like a hand-crafted holiday gift, wrapped in salmon skin or rice or thinly sliced cucumber, ribboned with…
