San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Culture

“War Horse” at the Segerstrom Center: Puppetry Gallops to a Different Level

by

by Alejandra Enciso Guzmán

The five Tony award winner War Horse opened last week at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa California. Segerstrom Hall shined, filled to its maximum capacity with almost 3,000 souls. Over the course of two and a half hours, theater goers enjoyed the ups and downs of this complex story situated in England during World War I.

Albert, sixteen, gets a foal thanks to his father Albert’s gambling win. Joey the foal comes alive onstage. It is a puppet made out of mostly cane which has been soaked, bent and stained a light cinnamon color. Three puppeteers– one for the head, one for the torso and one for the tail, bring Joey to life with breathing, neighing and puffing sounds… simply fascinating! The puppeteers wear overalls and boots of the same color. Even though they are seen all the time onstage, the handling is so fine, so delicate, they disappear into the puppet.   [Read more…]

San Diego For Free – Power-Pact-Duo in South Bay: U.S. Olympic Training Center and South Bay Power Plant Implosion

by

A weekly column dedicated to sharing the best sights and activities in San Diego at the best price – free! We have a great city and county and you don’t need to break the bank to experience it.

US Olympic Training Center

Location: 2800 Olympic Parkway, Chula Vista, CA 91915-6000

Free Hours: Guided tour on Saturdays at 11 AM (walk-in only). Self-guided audio tour daily from 9 AM to 5 PM and the audio is provided through cell phone at 619-215-9070

Best For: Athletes, wannabe athletes, future Olympic hopefuls, armchair Olympians

Website here. Go here for tour info.   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – They’re Coming for Your Guns and Other NRA Falsehoods

by

The national conversation over gun regulations continues to dominate the news cycle. The Senate Judiciary Committee hearings yesterday saw astronaut Mark Kelly directly confronting the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre over the shooting of his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Giffords (D-Ariz.) was the first witness called yesterday, and at the end of the day it was her seventy two word statement that still echoed in the halls of Congress:

 Speaking is difficult but I need to say something important.

Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying – too many children. We must do something.

It will be hard. But the time is now. You must act. Be bold. Be Courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you.

  [Read more…]

Sex in San Diego: An Open Letter to Men Looking for Women in the Online World

by

It happened again today. I “met” a man online that sounded like a nice person. He had many of the attributes I am looking for in a companion, or so he said, and I agreed to meet him for lunch in a well-known restaurant in North County. (He lives in San Marcos and it was a good halfway place for us to meet.) We were both early; another nice attribute. He obviously had been there before, not because the waitress recognized him, but because he knew his way around the restaurant and we sat at “his favorite table.”

We chit-chatted as we made our selection from the menu and then he asked me the question that I have been asked four times already in my online dating experience: “I said on my profile that I was 72; I am really 82. Do you think I could pass for 72?”

Well, guys, I am tired of being nice. So I told him the truth.   [Read more…]

The Inexact Cartography of the Heart: Going Home

by

When neighbors in City Heights talk about going home, that home may be as close as Los Angeles or Tucson, or as far away as Vietnam, Eritrea or the Philippines. My neighbors have family in Mexico and make an annual December pilgrimage to Mexicali or Oaxaca so that their children can spend Christmas with their grandparents, their abuelos.

Distance, which translates into time and money, and unstable political circumstances in one’s home country are limiters on whether the wish to return home for a visit is ever realized. But beyond those considerations, can you go home if your home no longer exists?   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – San Diego: Have a (Great) Beer While You’re Waiting for the Marijuana Dispensary to Open

by

Our fair city finally got national recognition for what it does well yesterday when a writer who actually drinks beer put San Diego at the top of a “Non Fiction” list of the best beer towns in America. And our new mayor got schooled yesterday in what it really takes to be a game changer when it comes to medical marijuana.

Columnist Steve Body, who pens The Pour Fool column for Seattlepi.com did a little research into the business of compiling best beer cities and was shocked to discover that even big time media outlets weren’t using any sources with backgrounds in the field.

In other news, Mayor Filner walked back an earlier promise to get the City of San Diego out of the business of prosecuting medical marijuana dispensary owners yesterday.

MORE Inside: Immigration Reform, ‘Yes We Cannibus’, DeVry University Sued…   [Read more…]

Desde la Logan: Casa Galería Brings Art and Culture to the Historic Barrio District

by

In an old Victorian house located on Island St. in the barrio of Sherman Heights sits San Diego’s newest art gallery. Casa Galería, located at the historic Founders’ House, is managed by the Historic Barrio District Community Development Corporation (HBD CDC). The HBD CDC is a nonprofit organization committed to addressing the needs of the communities of Sherman Heights, Logan Heights, Grant Hill, Memorial and Stockton. The Historic Barrio District presents itself as a Mecca of art, culture, history and activism that promotes community pride, economic opportunities and a healthy environment for all of its residents.

The HBD CDC’s latest project, among their many, is Casa Galería. Casa Galería is a community space dedicated to cultivating and celebrating Chicano/Latino arts and culture in San Diego’s historic barrios. The gallery will provide a space for local and international Chicano/Latino artists to showcase their art and will embrace visual, literary, musical, textile and craft artists by presenting quality work that will engage the residents, neighbors and the San Diego community at large.   [Read more…]

Obama and Me

by

Obama and me;
I dreamed of us recently,
how we came to be,
him in 1961
in a world
of ukuleles,
warm ocean breezes,
lazy days
and crashing waves
where people greeted each other
with Aloha;
me in 1938
in the Grand Canyon State
under a blazing sun
that spun
100 plus degrees
and gave birth to folks
who loved rodeos
ten gallon hats
and pointed toe boots
and yelling Yee Ha!

I dreamed of how
handsome he is actually
and how guapo I might look virtually
if I had Photoshop fluency
to any degree.
……..   [Read more…]

The Starting Line – ‘Future Facts’ Fail to Sway Judge in Balboa Park Plaza de Panama Ruling

by

A San Diego judge has issued a tentative ruling that could halt city plans for building a parking garage in Balboa Park and associated renovations of the Plaza de Panama. Oral arguments will be heard in front of Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor on Friday, whose preliminary written decision reflected a clear reluctance to derail the project.

At issue is the legal interpretation of a single phrase, “reasonable beneficial use.” Since the plans included removal of a section of the historic Cabrillo Bridge, the Save Our Heritage Organisation sued, citing (among other things) San Diego’s municipal code, which says the city cannot touch an historic structure unless it’s ruled to have no reasonable beneficial use. In approving the project, the City Council said this was the case as part of the approval process.

INSIDE: The Battle Against Generic Biologics, Sick Stuff About Gun Nuts, and the Death of Football?   [Read more…]

Restaurant Review: Bully’s Del Mar

by

Bully’s
1404 Camino Del Mar 
Del Mar, CA 92014 
858-755-1660

Once again a date with a 72 year old man – that turned out to be 82 after we played “Truth or Consequences” – he wanted me to tell him the truth – did he really look 82 ? – took me to North County for breakfast.  I had been to Bully’s many times but not  to the one in Del Mar; La Jolla when there was one in La Jolla, and to the one in Mission Valley.  Bully’s is known for their Prime Rib, but I could not stomach the idea of Prime Rib for breakfast so ordered something else. More on that later.

The menu is extensive – Appetizers, Salads and Soups, Prime Rib, Steak and Ribs, a variety of “Surf and Turf” combinations;  Shellfish, Fish and Chicken, and for the lunch crowd Sandwiches, Eggs and Omelettes – their spelling , and Lunch Entrees.   There are also 4 items on their Dessert menu as well as a “Daily Selection”. (It is interesting to note that on their takeout menu and their menu on-line there are no prices listed.)   [Read more…]

SD For Free: Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines

by

When: 11:10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 28

Ever been to a professional golf tournament? Ever been to the Torrey Pines golf course?  The answer to both questions for me is no, but I intend to change this Monday.  Due to inclement weather over the weekend, specifically heavy fog, the tournament was delayed from finishing on Sunday and tournament organizers announced free admission for Monday’s conclusion.  Quite a discount from the $40 regular price for a daily pass to the event.

Additionally, parking will be free Monday at the Torrey Pines gliderport (Lot A) until the lot is full per the tournament twitter account .   [Read more…]

Federal Court Denies Lawsuit Claiming Marijuana’s Medical Benefits

by

By Steven Wishnia / Alternet

Preserving the main legal barrier to medical marijuana, a federal appeals court on Jan. 22 rejected a lawsuit intended to force the Drug Enforcement Administration to move marijuana out of Schedule I, the federal law that classifies marijuana as a dangerous drug with no valid medical use.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that the medical-marijuana advocates who filed the suit—Americans for Safe Access, a California-based patient-advocacy group; the Coalition to Reschedule Cannabis, Patients Out of Time, and four individual medical users, including Air Force veteran Michael Krawitz—had not proved that the DEA’s decision to keep marijuana in Schedule I was “arbitrary and capricious.” The court held that marijuana had failed to meet the five standards the DEA sets for drugs to qualify as having a valid medical use.

  [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry