On December 11, 1916, a century ago tomorrow, the articles of incorporation for the San Diego Zoological Society were approved by the city. By the end of the year, the society had 120 members. Initially the community thought founder Dr. Harry M. Wegeforth was a fool and labeled his quest “Wegeforth’s Folly.” But Harry had […]
Donald Trump surrogate Scottie Nell Hughes has done some memorable interviews during the presidential campaign, but a recent gaffe on CNN may have been the topper. While defending a Trump attack on Hillary Clinton supporters Jay Z and Beyoncé, Hughes referred to Jay Z and Kanye West’s 2012 video for “No Church in the Wild,” […]
Recently I had the great pleasure of speaking about the centennial of our San Diego Zoo to the students and teachers at the Harry M. Wegeforth Elementary School, in Serra Mesa. Named after the outreaching, farsighted founder of the zoo, the school opened its doors in 1957 and was dedicated on February 9, 1959, with […]
“Like me to write you a little essay on The Importance of Subject?” wrote Ernest Hemingway to F. Scott Fitzgerald. “Well the reason you are so sore you missed the war is because war is the best subject of all. It groups the maximum of material and speeds up the action and brings out all […]
At the spirited Halloween ball the ghosts had a wail of a time. They danced sheet to sheet and boo-gied to some haunting melodies that the band played from sheet music. Awraitha Franklin sang soul and spirituals, and the stars of Wailer Swift sang “Ghost Riders in the Sky” and “America the Boo-tiful.” The emcee […]
Dear Mr. Lederer: My favorite English teacher in 10th grade (we’re going back to 1970 here) was one of my best teachers of all time. She encouraged us all to be our best. What else can anyone ask from a teacher? As for the rule of “i before e, except after c,” her name, oddly, […]
When he went to the Forum in Roman times, a candidate for office wore a bleached white toga to symbolize his humility, purity of motive and candor. The original Latin root, candidatus, meant “one who wears white,” from the belief that white was the color of purity and probity. There was wishful thinking even in […]
William Shakespeare is alive and well and living robustly in America’s Finest City. This coming Monday, October 10, starting at 7:30 pm, I’ll have the honor of emceeing the 15th annual evening of Celebrity Sonnets, sponsored by the San Diego Shakespeare Society, on whose board I serve. Through comedy, music, song and dance, local celebrities […]
On October 2, 1916, a century minus a day ago, Dr. Harry Wegeforth and his brother Paul met with three local colleagues — Dr. Fred Baker, Dr. Joseph Thompson and naturalist Frank Stephens — and together they formed the Zoological Society of San Diego. Honoring these far-seeing, committed, altruistic men, I exhibit a caravan of […]
Pronunciation maven Charles Harrington Elster is a longtime resident of Kensington and was my original co-host on KPBS’s “A Way With Words.” Charlie, the nation’s foremost expert on pronunciation, points out that there is no noun in pronunciation, no zoo in zoology, no point in poinsettia, no sick in psychiatrist, no spear in experiment, no […]