October is anti-bullying month and like “Black History Month” or “Mother’s Day,” it’s something that should be observed all 12 months and 365 days a year. But given the sound-bite attention span of the public, having a reason to issue press releases and hold special events is better than forgetting entirely that there are still…
Whiplash It’s hard to imagine a teacher worse than Terrence Fletcher, the jazz band leader at fictional Shaffer Conservatory of Music in New York who J.K. Simmons plays with terrifying, unpredictable, sadistic joy. Fletcher, something like a cross between a Sgt. Hartman in Full Metal Jacket and Delores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order…
The GOP started the 2014 cycle with high hopes and a clear path to the Senate majority. Despite Democratic gains in 2012, Republicans needed only 6 of the 7 Democratic controlled seats in states won by Mitt Romney: Alaska, Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Louisiana and North Carolina. Naturally, things have not remained so…
San Diego housing is expensive, isn’t it? Surely this is the prevailing view. But perhaps it is more affordable than you think. I thought I would take a look at what $400,000 can buy in today’s San Diego housing market. A $400,000 property with a 20 percent down payment, or $80,000, would require a $320,000…
thursday, oct. 16 BearQuake 2014 San Diego’s “Bear Weekend” of fun and frolic to benefit Bears San Diego’s charities is here – this year with a Western feel. BearQuake 2014 starts this Thursday with a Kickoff Dinner and Bear Ho’ Down at Urban Mo’s. Bears San Diego, for full schedule of events visit bearquake.com friday,…
Is it the place of school districts across the country to reinforce western societal gender norms? The National Review posted a story Oct. 8 on the Lincoln, Nebraska School District (referred to as Lincoln Public Schools and abbreviated LPS) headlined “School told to call kids ‘purple penguins’ because ‘boys and girls’ is not inclusive to…
As a progressive, I believe there are many names for God and many ways to God; this article reflects one of those ways. Take from here what works for you. Celebrate life with joy and peace! This is the second in a four part series on The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. The Four…
dvd of the week Snowpiercer, Joon-ho Bong’s first English-language film and full of international stars, is an astonishing film, breathtaking in its visuals, bleak in its plot and enraging in its refusal to do what most American audiences expect from their science fiction action films. The film is set in 2031, 17 years after an…
Mayor Kevin Faulconer made history again by appointing long time Latino/gay leader, Larry Bazza as the first person of color to become chair of the city’s prestigious and influential Art’s Commission. Baza is a true San Diego native whose family are fourth generation Californians; they are well known and respected leaders/activists within the people of…
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. It’s actually kind of sinister how those films trivialize the experience of British coal miners,…
