Author: Dixon Guizot

On Saturday, October 2, Ocean Beach celebrated the life of John Kays, a long-time area resident known for his love for his family, his passion for surfing, and his always-friendly personality.

More than 100 of John’s friends joined members of his family on the sand near Ocean Beach’s Avalanche break to remember John. Dozens of surfers also paddled out on to the ocean, forming a circle in John’s honor.

From the event’s program:

“John spent his youth growing up in Texas and at the age of 21, in search of better surf, made the journey out to San Diego… John met his wife, Troy, in Ocean Beach in 1994… John and Troy settled in Ocean Beach and started a family, welcoming daughter Brynn in 1998 and daughter Aidan in 2002.

While this summer has seen stock markets plunge, consumer confidence crater, and hopes for a broad economic recovery evaporate, several members of Ocean Beach’s business community seem cautiously optimistic about the future.

Gary Gilmore, owner of Gilmore Family Jewelers on Newport Avenue, has noticed a slight upturn in customer sentiment in recent weeks.

“

After taking in a day at ComicCon as a passive observer — and then taking a day off to recuperate (and return to the work force) — I made a second trip to the San Diego Convention Center on Saturday for another round of the madness.

This time, my buddy Alan dressed as Marty McFly, the character Michael J. Fox played in Back to the Future. My wife Kirsten dressed as Jennifer, Marty’s girlfriend in the 1985 film. I donned a gray wig and white scrubs to play the role of Doc Brown, who was played by Christopher Lloyd in the movie.

ComicCon, like the Burning Man festival or a Nico’s beans-cheese-y-papas burrito, must be experienced to be fully appreciated. But at The OB Rag, we believe that vicarious enjoyment is important, too. So here are some pics from Thursday, the first day of a full weekend of ComicCon fun.

Following up on our first foray into the wonders of Google Art Project, we once again stroll a gallery of…

Mayor Sanders’ new budget avoids cuts to rec centers in OB, elsewhere

The Ocean Beach Recreation Center — like similar centers across San Diego — had been targeted for cuts to its operating hours in Mayor Jerry Sanders’ initial budget proposal for the city’s next fiscal year.

Under an updated proposal Sanders released last week, however, the city’s rec centers would maintain their current 40-hours-a-week schedule. Sanders originally had slashed rec centers hours by half, but his new plan reflects the better-than-expected performance of the local economy in recent months.

As you’ve probably heard, a small group of Christians has somehow drawn a large amount of attention to their claim that the Judgment Day foretold in the Bible is happening this Saturday — tomorrow, May 21st.

Now, if the 21st turns out to be just another Saturday across America, it wouldn’t be the first time God failed to follow through with his end of the End Times. In fact, the 100% winless record of previous predictors of the Apocalypse suggest God is not above letting the faithful make fools of themselves.

I’m not sure how the The OB Rag ended up on the invite list for the F-35 Cockpit Demonstrator event hosted by Lockheed Martin on May 17. But I had that morning free — and as Kurt Vonnegut wrote, “peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God” — so I volunteered to check it out.

The event was held at a Kearny Mesa office of Cobham Sensor Systems, a defense contractor with about 1,000 employees in San Diego. The goal was “to celebrate the past success and the strong future of the F-35 aircraft” with community leaders and media, said Eric Forstner, vice president of sales and marketing for Cobham.

Protesters, many from San Diego City College, interrupted an education funding discussion hosted by state assemblyman Nathan Fletcher outside his Miramar office on May 13.

Fletcher, a Republican, started the event by saying he hoped for “a calm conversation” about education and the budget plan presented a day earlier by GOP leaders in Sacramento.

Within 10 minutes, however, about 30 protesters began a competing conversation on a sidewalk adjacent to the meeting area.

Jim Miller is a professor who practices what he teaches.

Each semester, Miller guides dozens of students through his English and Labor Studies classes at San Diego City College. He has played key roles in literary projects such as the school’s International Book Fair as well as the San Diego Writers Collective. He serves as a political action vice president and does community outreach for the American Federation of Teachers Local #1931.

And as if he wasn’t busy enough already, Miller also finds the time to crank out the occasional book.

This originally appeared in the March 8 issue of City Times

“The Irish are the blacks of Europe,” says the band manager in “The Commitments,” the 1991 movie about his quest to put together a soul act in pale, white Dublin. “Say it loud — I’m black and I’m proud.”

Noel Ignatiev, a Massachusetts College of Art history professor and controversial scholar of American race relations, uses that classic line to kick off “How the Irish Became White.” The 1995 book offers an in-depth analysis of America’s assimilation of the millions of Irish who emigrated in the 1800s.

If you haven’t checked out Google Art Project yet, you’re in for a treat. The site uses a technology similar…