San Diego is My Home

22
Feb

D.L. Hughley

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Events & Happenings, Social Life, Special Shows

You know who he is.  If not, does this help?

Thought so.  He’s a stand-up comic, an HBO phenomenon, the first host of BET’s Comic View and a television and movie star.  And he’s in town.  He is performing at 4th & B on Satuday at 7:00 p.m.  Check him out.

16
Feb

Bob Marley Day

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Events & Happenings, Festivals, Holiday Events, Music

The event has been renamed.  It’s now called the Tribute To Reggae Legends Festival. The result is the same. Bands and muscians gather at the San Diego Sports Arena to celebrate and enjoy Reggae.

The event takes place on Monday (Feb. 18th - a Federal holiday) from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Enjoy!

13
Feb

Pompeii in San Diego

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Balboa Park, Exhibits, Museums

It’s hard not to be at least a little intrigued by the legend of Pompeii.  Mt. Vesuvius erupts and wipes out everything and everyone in its path.  People are frozen in ash where they stand.  It’s an amazing - and scary - story. 

If your interest in Pompeii extends to knowing more about the destruction, you are in luck.  The traveling exhibit of over 250 artifacts from Pompeii opens at the San Diego Natural History Museum this Friday (February 15th).

Tickets for the exhibit, A Day in Pompeii, are available through June 15th.  If you are interested in checking this out, don’t wait.  The tickets are timed and prime dates sell out.

29
Jan

Writer’s Symposium

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Books, Events & Happenings

Point Loma Nazarene University is sponsoring its 13th Annual Writer’s Symposium by the Sea. It’s called Writing for Their Lives. The event is February 4th -8th. There are speeches and writing workshops led by well-known authors. If you’re interesting ina writing career or in books or in authors or in getting of the house for a few hours, this is a good opportunity. Check out the website for more details.

22
Jan

Stephen Cannell In Town

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Books

Television writer/producer Stephen J. Cannell is coming to town.  The man who gave us 21 Jump Street and The Rockford Files (and I showing my age…?) will be at Mysterious Galaxy Books (Clairemont Mesa Boulevard) on Thursday January 24th around 1:00 p.m. for an informal meet and greet with readers.  He will also be signing copies of his newest release, Three Shirt Deal.

In case you’re wondering, the plot goes like this:

A small-time crook is doing life in California’s notoriously brutal Corcoran State Prison for the murder of his mother. He admitted to the crime, but now he claims his confession was coerced by the cops. A beautiful Internal Affairs detective, Secada “Scout” Llevar, asks Shane to help investigate, and he agrees after learning the original homicide detective was Brian Devine, a ruthless cop with whom Scully has a bad history.

What begins as a routine review quickly turns into something much more deadly. The case is abruptly shut down by an LAPD deputy chief, and Shane begins to suspect that for unknown reasons the prisoner really may have been framed by the police. But some things, once started, cannot be stopped, and the investigation spirals dangerously out of control, implicating a violent Hispanic gang, a millionaire power broker, and the front-runner in the Los Angeles mayoral race.

Meanwhile, Shane and Alexa struggle to save their marriage, which has come perilously close to disintegration since Alexa’s near-fatal shooting in White Sister—just as Shane finds himself attracted to his new partner. Could the answer to their marital troubles be tied to the case he’s investigating?  In Cannell’s latest heart-pounding thriller, Shane is tried in ways he has never been, risking his family, his job, and his life.

16
Jan

Hal Holbrook

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Events & Happenings, Theater

Hal Holbrook has been playing Mark Twain for so long that I now only see him as Mark Twain.  But that’s me.  You, well, you can see the show HAL HOLBROOK in MARK TWAIN TONIGHT! this weekend.  In case you’re still confused, you get to see Hal Holbook play Mark Twain.  Did you get that part?

The event takes place at the Balboa Theatre (the stage, not the movie theater) on Saturday (January 19th) at 8:00 p.m.  Now, it looks as if the show may be sold out so check with ticket vendors and call the box office before getting all dressed up for the night. 

13
Dec

Hollywood Comes To San Diego

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Events & Happenings, Movies

In case the lack of new television shows didn’t give it away and in the event you haven’t read the paper in more than a month, the writers’ strike continues.  Being in Southern California and so close to Hollywood, we feel the tension here but only slightly.  Well, until this morning when the strike got a bit closer.  As part of the WGA’s National Week of Action, strikers moved south and set up picket lines at KNSD downtown this morning.  The move was not a protest of KNSD.  Rather, it was a call to action and plea for support.  

And if only there were good news to report.  No such luck.  The strike started on November 5th and there’s no end in sight.  A recent new offer by the studios met with a negative reaction byt the writers.  Where does that leave the television viewers?  Tivo, DVD sales, netflix and books. 

29
Nov

Writers’ Strike News

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Movies, Television

Don’t get excited.  It continues.

Talks resulted in small movement and a very large PR battle today.  The studios execs made a new offer.  The official statement said:

The entire value of the New Economic Partnership will deliver more than $130 million in additional compensation above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year.

Sounds good, right? After all, $130 million ain’t exactly pocket change. Yeah, not so fast. The writers responded by saying the deal amounted to “a massive rollback.” The point being that the studios are offering with one hand and taking away with the other.  Since the studios are known for creative accounting, this is not exactly a surprise.

So, no new episodes of Lost, The Office or anything else on the horizon. Might be a good time to invest in Netflix, renew that HBO subscription or visit Barnes & Noble.

21
Nov

Tree Lighting

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Holiday Events

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  That means…Christmas is almost here.  With Christmas comes manic shopping, shiny decorations in every store and tree lighting ceremonies.  There’s other stuff, sure, but concentrate on tree lighting ceremonies for a second. 

Sunday (Nov. 25th) ushers in one of the bigger tree lighting celebrations in the area.  At 5:00 p.m., you can head over to the Old Globe Plaza in Balboa Park for the holiday kick-off festivities.  The ceremony coincides with the first showing of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” in the theater.  You need tickets, so  contact the Old Globe Box Office.

13
Nov

The Nutcracker

Author: HelenKay, Category: Arts, Events & Happenings, Holiday Events

The weather is getting cooler.  We actually got a trace of rain over the weekend.  Thanksgiving is around the corner, and you know what that means…Christmas!  For some people, it would not be Christmas if they missed a showing of The Nutcracker.  The City Ballet is performing this holiday classic at the Spreckels Theater downtown as part of this year’s ballet season.  Book early because you only get a few chances to see the show.  The Nutcracker will be performed for two weekends - December 7-9 and December 15-17.

If you miss The Nutcracker (or don’t care about The Nutcracker) but love ballet, check out the rest of the ballet season here. The season runs through May ‘08.