This past Sunday, on the U-T editorial page, Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Steve Breen presented one of his signature political cartoons. On the left, labeled whistle-blower, was a whistle and above it the word “Sound.” On the right was a caricature of an apoplectic Donald Trump yelling, “. . . and fury signifying nothing.” Steve […]
Celebrating Remember Me Thursday last week, I invited you to share memories of your pets. A billowy mailbag of love came my way. Here’s a representative response by A. B. Rubin, of Carlsbad: I found this dog online. He was exactly what I had spent months searching for in shelters and rescues: a mixed-breed, […]
William Shakespeare is alive and well and living in America’s Finest City. The San Diego Shakespeare Society will soon be presenting its 18th annual evening of Celebrity Sonnets. On Monday, October 7, starting at 7:30 pm, local celebrities and performers will dramatize the Bard’s sonnets to a vast audience. This year’s program will celebrate […]
Now in its seventh year, Remember Me Thursday aims to unite people and pet adoption organizations in more than 180 countries as one voice for orphan pets in need of forever homes. “Millions of beautiful, adoptable pets will lose their lives in 2019,” states Mike Arms, longtime President and CEO of Helen Woodward Animal […]
In the world of popular music, it’s not unusual for famous people to be better known by their nicknames than their birth names. Rock bassist Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner wore a yellow and black striped sweater when he played with the Phoenix Jazzmen during college vacations. They thought he looked like a wasp. You […]
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the San Diego Writers & Editors Guild, the oldest group in San Diego “dedicated to promoting and supporting the writing art.” I’m pleased to share the passion of three Guild members who explain why they so love the writing art: *** For as long as I can […]
William Shakespeare began his comedy Twelfth Night with the line “If music be the food of love, play on!” About a century later, William Congreve opened his comedy The Mourning Bride with the equally famous line “Music has charms to soothe a savage breast” (almost always misquoted as “the savage beast”). Music is also […]
A simile is a figure of speech that compares two essentially different objects or ideas, expressly indicated by words such as like or as, as in O my love is like a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June. O my love is like the melody that’s sweetly played in tune. –Robert Burns […]
Enjoy these four lines of wisdom written by San Diego’s own Dr. Seuss: The more that you read, The more that you know. The more that you learn, The more places you’ll go. In other words, books prepare you for adventure without your making reservations or taking suitcases. Or as Emily Dickinson wrote, “How […]
DEAR RICHARD LEDERER: A question has come up concerning the origins of expressions that are considered racist. Have you run into any controversy about red tape being offensive to Native Americans? At a seminar I attended recently, the presenter told a roomful of businesswomen that red tape is racist and not to be used, […]