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Holding On to Hope at Casa Contenta

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Just a little while ago I boarded a plane in San Diego heading for L.A. to connect with a flight to Zihuatanejo, Mexico to kick back at Casa Contenta, mi querida’s home away from home. Basking in the sun with my hon was all that was on my mind at the time. I, however, had no idea that, at the same time, children were losing their lives at their place of learning in New England.

I wasn’t aware of the carnage until we clicked on the iPad once we had settled in at our destination. The moment before that I was just going “Wow!” in reaction to the loveliness of the home I was in and kind of chuckling to myself over images in my mind of two men who had attracted my attention at LAX.

One wore a sweater with the words “Small Arms Instructor” written on the back underneath two big ass rifles crossing each other that were to “small arms” as a butterfly is to a pit bull. I got a kind of chilly feeling from that little scene.   [Read more…]

The Euclid Tower and the Ghost of Christmas Past

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I’m sure that there are a number of us who can still remember the Euclid Tower before it was re-imagined with bright paint and a dazzling design. In 1988, when My Beloved and I moved into our little house on 45th street, the Euclid Tower jutted above the streetscape like a grey missile poised for launch. Its graceful art deco architecture and lovely leaded glass lotus windows couldn’t redeem it from a peeling cold war paint job.

I can also remember not only the grey paint job, but the smiling face of Old Saint Nick providing some inscrutable message of good cheer for a number of years over the neon signage of the Tower Bar. There was nothing quite like the 4th of July and looking up at the peeling Tower with Saint Nick beaming down upon us. This was how I knew I was home in my thoroughly mixed up community of City Heights. And stone cold sober.   [Read more…]

Solving the New Year Resolution Quandary

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A few years ago I was on a holiday vacation with my then-girlfriend / future-wife in Argentina. Between meals consisting almost exclusively of bife de lomo (tenderloin steak) and malbec we were doing the usual tourist things: visiting museums and churches, strolling along leaf-strewn parkways, taking overnight bus trips, etc. With the end of the year approaching we got to talking about resolutions, something we had both done to some extent in the past but had never really taken seriously or committed to fulfilling.

Resolutions seemed to be too big of a task – there are so many areas of life that could use some work. It was hard for us to pin down the most important changes we should make. The endless array of choices led our conversation to the same conclusion as our past resolutions had: nowhere. The next day we took a different angle…   [Read more…]

The Ten Most Outrageous Economic Calamities of 2012

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By Les Leopold / Alternet

It was another year of Wall Street treachery. Those who took down our economy still have not been held accountable. Instead, Wall Street successfully lured the political establishment into a phony fiscal cliff/austerity debate. So instead of creating programs to put millions of Americans back to work, Washington is debating how much more to take away from the poor and the middleclass. Let’s take a closer look at the most disastrous economic events from 2012.

Here’s our countdown:   [Read more…]

Upon Reflection: What I Believe

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by John Lawrence

Well the New Year is upon us, and it’s time to take stock and see if I can make any sense out of the goings on of the last year and the interaction of reality with my own mind. This is my crack at it.

1. I believe that gun ownership should be a privilege and not a right. The 2nd Amendment was constucted to be similar to the Swiss model in which citizens formed a militia for national defense. There was no standing army. That was the original intent of the framers of the Constitution for exactly the same reason: there was no standing army. Today that rationale is not relevant. Even Switzerland has moved the guns from homes to depots to prevent what little gun violence takes place there.   [Read more…]

12/30: Live Music and Art at The Casbah Features an Eclectic Mixture of Styles, Genres and Perspectives

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by Brigitte Taylor/SuiteBrigitte.blogspot.com

Local artists Martin Nasim, True Delorenzo and Nick Bahula will be displaying art and painting live as part of the December 30, 2012 Casbah show with the following bands: The Amalgamated, Karlos Paez of B*Side Players, The Soulfires and Steve Harris of The Styletones. Tickets are on sale at www.casbahmusic.com. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

The show will begin with Steve Harris of The Styletones performing his original soul music followed by instrumental funk band The Soulfires (formerly The Fireeaters) and continuing with the local ska act, The Amalgamated. Karlos Paez, lead singer of the B*Side Players will perform with special guests. We rarely see a configuration of musicians and artists of such varying styles and genres. The following local area artists will accompany the bands’ performances, displaying and selling their artwork:   [Read more…]

Who’s Winning the ‘War on Christmas’?

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Wishing Everyone a Happy/Merry……?

By Beau Grosscup

The grocery cashier handed me my change and receipt. With a cherry voice and sparkle in her eye, she said: “Merry Christmas.”

“Happy Hanukah to you” I sweetly replied. A frown crept across her brow.

“I’m not Jewish,’ she said.

“I’m not Christian,” I responded. I walked away leaving a slightly confused Christian cashier pondering what had just happened.

I had no doubt what had occurred.

For over a decade of Decembers, the Christian Right, led by Bill O’Reilly of Fox News cable, has charged a War on Christmas (and thus Christianity) is under way.   [Read more…]

Same Sex Parenting Becoming ‘Normal’ in an Evolving Society

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As same sex marriage becomes more accepted by mainstream America, so too does the idea of same sex couples raising families of their own.

by Kit-Bacon Gressitt/Excuse Me I’m Writing

On Family Day in 2009, President Obama proclaimed that, “Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things [emphasis added].”

The proclamation represented a culmination, of sorts, the definitive result of nearly four decades of advocacy for same-sex parenting, endorsed for the first time by a U.S. president. Today, same-sex parenting as a social institution has come of age in popular media and across the country.   [Read more…]

Wishing You Peace and Joy!

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You’ve probably noticed that the SanDiegoFreePress has been a little “quieter” the past few days. Some of us are out of town visiting family. The rest of us are in town enjoying the company of family and friends. You are no doubt doing the same. But that doesn’t mean that we have gone silent. We will continue to post original content throughout the week, so please keep checking back to see what is new and join in the conversation.

  [Read more…]

What’s In a Name?

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By Fred Moramarco

It’s December.
It’s Christmas.
It’s the Yuletide.
It’s the Holiday Season.
It’s Kwanzaa.
It’s Chanukah.
It’s the Winter Solstice.   [Read more…]

“Flipping the Bird” at the Holidays – How to Cook the Juiciest Roast Turkey You’ve Ever Tasted

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I want to share a family secret with you – one long held in the Jones family holiday tradition – on the accepted method of “flipping the bird” at the holidays.

Many years ago my mother stumbled through her early morning holiday ritual of prepping a huge turkey for the afternoon feast. Before her first cup of coffee she dropped the bird in the roasting pan and shoved it into the oven. A couple of hours later she opened the oven door and she realized she had put it in the pan upside (or breast-side) down. At this point the huge bird was too hot to handle so she basted it, tented it and shoved it back into the oven. The resulting bird has lingered in mouthwatering memory…   [Read more…]

Seattle’s Police Department Releases Humorous Guide on How to Get Stoned, After Initiative to Legalize Pot Passes

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AlterNet/ by Kristen Gwynne
Last week, the Seattle Police Department quietly released the hillarious how-to, Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana Use In Seattle. Witty and silly, it covers all the bases, from driving stoned to drug tests for jobs and whether police themselves can get high.

Now, here’s a sample of their quirky Q&A:

SPD seized a bunch of my marijuana before I-502 passed. Can I have it back?

No.   [Read more…]

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