Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, October 8-Wednesday, October 14, 2026: Evening Elephants | Blonde Redhead | Punch Brothers | AJ Lee & Blue Summit | MANÁ | Dillinger Four | Dinosaur Jr | Y La Bamba | Deer Tick | LP | Charli XCX

Mariachis at San Diego Zoo HalGLOWeen perform 30 minute sets F/Sa/Sun at 5/6/7/8pm

Because nobody asked, my way of dealing with the crazy heat (when I can) is to run all my errands, work, and explore San Diego at night, answer all my morning emails, then sleep all day, until it's cooler enough to do it all over again. I worked at Bread & Salt on Friday and Quartyard on Saturday, but I had enough time after QY to visit the hippos at the Zoo since they're now open late on weekend for HalGLOWeeen. On Sunday I was able to sleep way way in and pretty much spooned my wall unit air conditioner until I went to the zoo in the late afternoon until closing. Not quite satisfied, I went to La Jolla Cove to finish cleaning up my van for my job this week, then visited the sea lions for awhile. When you're up late, you learn the late spots to eat, to shop, to fill up gas, so I did a little run of my favorite spots, gassed up, then decided to see the Mexican tall ship Cuauatemoc that was set to leave in the morning. The Port was an embarrassing mess of plastic cup and cans and food containers spilling out from every trash can, but I guess those guys work late, too, because while I there, a cleanup crew came to bag up and haul the trash...didn't sweep up or deal with the DIRTY DIAPERS I saw in gutters, but it helped some. (People are the worst.) 

Anyway, I had to do listings early this week, so I knocked them out on Sunday night and proceeded to sleep all Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday should be fun, interesting work days for me and then hopefully back to life's normal rhythms and weather.

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. FUCK TFG. San Diego and Los Angeles would be galaxies better if we didn't have that motherfucker and his mess dragging our shit down. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, October 1-Wednesday, October 7, 2026: Author & Punisher | Acid Mothers Temple | Federico Aubele | Laundry Day | OKTOBERFEST | Brian Fallon | L7 |

Hal-GLOW-een Starts This Weekend at San Diego Zoo. Don't forget to visit Ama!

Alrighty, kids. Padres win the wildcard and move on in the playoffs. Their next games are Saturday at 5pm and Sunday at 1pm against the Brewers, so you will have plenty of time to watch the games and still enjoy your San Diego weekend with Oktoberfests, Beachfest, and tons of shows all over the place as well as the kickoff of HalGLOWeen at San Diego Zoo, when it will be open until 9pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and it's also Kids Free month. The Safari Park has a different celebration with Autumn Festival where they'll be open until 7pm on Saturdays and Sundays (October 3–4, 10–11, 17–18, and 24–25), and kids are free there, too, but note that in the past, the lower areas of the park are closed before dark and festivities are relegated to the main entry plazas and the lagoon area of the park. With Elephant Valley finally open, I don't know if that area will be accessible late, but I sure hope it is. This weekend I'll be working at Bread and Salt on Friday and at Quartyard on Saturday and then for L7 on Tuesday and Wednesday, so I'm gonna do my best to get next week's listings done by Monday...gimme grace if they're late. 

Have fun this weekend, stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.  

Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: Padres Advance to NLDS Against Brewers | Fall Arts | San Diegans Outraged About...Everything | Mumps Outbreak at State |

  

Squirrel Monkey Rocket and her new baby born 8.25.26

Not gonna lie, I've been caught up with murder trials (Clancy, Kosowski, and Flynn) plus we had a whole plumbing situation at home last week and then it was my birthday, so this post is light on national and international politics links, which is probably appreciated anyway. It's pretty repetitive as long as TFG is around, with one more fucking stupid gaffe after another and utterly terrifying with a new SCOTUS session kicking off, purveyors of s.a. just constantly getting away with it, from high school reality tv offsprint to the Cornell 7,  all learning from POTUS himself, and all we can hope for is a blue wave in midterms. 

In spite of the expected heat wave about to hit, there's a lot of good stuff happening in San Diego this month, so I hope everyone has a great October as we sprint toward the end of the year. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday messages, donated to the site, and everyone who said hey in person. It always means a lot. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 24-Wednesday, September 30: San Diego Yarn Crawl | Slow Magic | Vieux Farka Touré | Melt Banana | Fu Manchu | Oktoberfest | CRSSD | Chasing Abbey | Teenage Burritos | Mavis Staples | Dogstar | DeVotchka | Jack White |

Fuck it, I'm 50! Stay Pesky, My Friends!!

Let's just talk for a minute about my week. I agreed to work for an event that turned out to be a MAGA comedy show (an oxymoron if ever there was one), then we did a little birthday party for my mom, my niece, and myself, but my mom was sick so it was a little bit of a bummer. After, while Darren and Toby packed stuff up for him to move back to campus, I went to the zoo for a little bit, and then finished the night at Adams Avenue Street Fair. But when I got home, there was mystery water all around my studio and the side of the house. Come Sunday, we were in a full on plumbing emergency, people were called, things were inspected, and I about had a nervous breakdown with the prognosis. I'll spare you the disgusting details, but I left to the zoo to be away from the situation and went straight from there to work the Temples show at Casbah that night. I honestly considered just sleeping in my van on Kettner Boulevard because I didn't want to deal. Instead I went home and drank too much hard cider and then slept through the bulk of the major work being done on the property. It was resolved (mostly, though there's cleanup still happening around the property) but I've been trying to be busy elsewhere. 

On Tuesday, I literally covered all corners of the county trying to find a certain thing at several Costcos before I gave up and went to the Safari Park for the afternoon. It was kind of a mistake though, because when I should've been doing these very listings, I was shopping, so then when I did get them going, I only got halfway through and then got an email to work for J Roddy on Wednesday, so now it's 4am and I'm still wrapping them up. And while I was doing them, I realized that the San Diego Yarn Crawl starts ON THURSDAY, which means my alpaca ranch is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC for four straight days in a row!! So all this week, I've been trying to think if I want to commit to something for my 50th birthday and realized that I am really only creating anxiety for myself...so no party, no meetup. I'll be going where I want, when I want, and doing whatever I want in between, without committing to anything else except my merch night with Fu Manchu, and hoping to get some time in at the zoo, at SeaWorld, and at the alpaca ranch. And that will be the best gift I could give to myself. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Also, if you live in a 100 year old building, you should maybe check those pipes BEFORE  El Niño hits. At least we got this fortified now for that possibility, painful as the process was. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 17-Wednesday, September 23, 2026: Clorox Girls | Talib Kweli | Peter Hook | Adams Avenue Street Fair!! | Artwalk Carlsbad | Friko | José González | Temples | Be Your Own Pet | Cowboy Junkies | Brandi Carlile |

Birthday Girls - Me and My Mama Before Beluga Yoga (9.13.26)

We're all ready halfway through September and it always seems like the busiest time of the year as San Diego becomes a city for locals. There is so very much happening, particularly because of Adams Avenue Street Fair this weekend, but it's always a busy one in my family since a bunch of us are Virgos and Libras. So I don't really know how the weekend will land...I'm working at the Civic Theatre on Friday and Casbah on Sunday, and we'll have a family cluster birthday celebration on Saturday before hopefully getting in some time at Adams Ave. And Toby moves back on campus this weekend, too. Things are good. At least if you can block out the $8 gas, $9 eggs, and the whole shitstorm happening with TFG hell bent on ruining life for all of us. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.  

Rosey's Diary and Newsy Things: KITOKO IS HERE!! | LN Downtown: Nuisance or Good Neighbor | El Niño Coming In Hot (literally) | Council Wants Waymo Control | Push To Protect Sea Lions Gains Steam | Kitok

Kitoko at San Diego Zoo (Taken 9.13.26)

Okay, it's been a minute since a diary post. I'm still in the process of posting my travel posts to Instagram, and then there's a whole bunch of madness happening in San Diego, like certain music venues just being allowed to flout noise ordinances and rules about the number of outdoor events per year, and then a whole new slew of people getting on board with better protections for the sea lions at La Jolla Cove and Boomer Beach, and then the City with a too-little-too-late attempt to rein in autonomous vehicles, and then SDZWA went and brought a new silverback to the Safari Park and a 6-year-old to the the Zoo and HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STAY FOCUSED?!? Not to mention I did Yoga with Belugas at Seaworld on Sunday but still haven't seen Oliver in a few weeks and have no idea if/when the three new belugas will be introduced to the pod. And it's my mom's birthday this weekend, Adams Avenue Street Fair is also this weekend, I'm working my ass off to make back all the money I spent on my California roadtrip, and I'm gonna turn 50 with no actual plan to celebrate except to hit the San Diego Yarn Crawl at Hazpaca. So yeah. I have a lot in my brain at the moment, trying to get it all under control. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.   

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 10-Wednesday, September 16, 2026: Helms Alee | Thievery Corporation | The Frights | Funky But Chic | Pierce The Veil | Sessions Surf Fest | Arlo Park | unsane |

Okapi Kimara recently turned 1 year old. (Taken 9.9.26)

I'm gonna save my words for my diary post because at the moment it's still hot as balls and I'm selling merch for Far at the Casbah. Ryan Hall Yall and others say we should get back to normal this weekend, and I cannot wait. It was really fun going on my California roadtrip, but I can't help but feel deep concern for so many of the people I saw on the road who were vehicle dwellers because they don't have other options. Today I saw an unhoused man and his dog was trying to find some tiny bit of shade and it broke my heart. If the dude wasn't openly pissing on the sidewalk, I would've pulled over to offer them water. We just found out Toby has Covid, and several of Darren's students have had it recently, too, so he just got this year's booster and hopefully I can find some way to get it without insurance. When I say stay safe out there, there's always reasons. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, September 3- Wednesday, September 9, 2026: LABOR DAY WEEKEND | Leavers | SHĀHERI | Fools & Fables | Pire | Tijuana No | Fenix TX | Charlatans UK | DanceDanceToTheRadio | moondaddy | Sleep | One Loud Drawing | Manchester Orchestra |

Elk Grazing at Point Reyes State Park (8.28.26)

I had a pretty amazing adventure traversing Coastal California. As you could see, I ended up staying two weeks, which means I still did listings, my work newsletters, and managed my email on the daily, with a couple long work days/nights to try and really make sure I didn't come back overloaded with full inboxes. I'm posting about the trip little by little on my Instagram, but briefly I'll just say I stayed at four different campsites and our nephew's house in Hercules and a couple of random beach and street parking to sleep when I needed it. I went to four zoos (Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento) and maybe a dozen or more California State Parks, plus lots of time in Morro Bay with otters and sea lions, Point Reyes with Elk, and elephant seals in San Simeon. I also so sooo many wild birds, my favorites being magpies, wild turkeys, and ocean-adjacent osprey. 

Now I'm back and I'm looking forward to Friday night at the Casbah for Fools & Fables, and was looking forward to seeing Charlatans UK again (in case you don't know, they were my first concert ever when I was 14) but I got called to work for Jerry's Middle Finger, so that should be a fun night, too. Then next week I'll be working for One Line Drawing at the Casbah which will be super rad, featuring Jonah from Far and some local faces playing support. Also, in case you don't follow, the San Diego Zoo has extended hours until 8pm this Saturday through Monday, and SeaWorld will be open until 9pm on Friday and Monday and 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. I think you know where you'll find me. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, August 27-Wednesday, September 2, 2026: David Byrne | FEA | GLU | NAS | La's Wasted Youth | Built To Spill | Thee Sacred Souls | Muse | The Loons | Cancerslug | MCR | Pallbearer |

23yo Gorilla Dara Loves Her Cypress Tree at San Francisco Zoo

I didn't expect to extend my trip as much as I have, but I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to see and do in the Bay Area and it's nice to have a home base that has fast wi-fi and hot showers not run by coin machines. Camping was fun for my trip up, but just setting up a bed every night can become cumbersome. It also feels like we have business to take care of up here, but I have to tread lightly, so maybe its better for another trip when Darren can be up here, too. Since I've been here so long, now it just feels like a regular week of work, so I've been alternating between listening to and/or watching the Keffe D trial and the Lindsey Clancy trial. The former is kind of a palate cleanser of the latter. I spent most of the day today packing and preparing for my drive home, though I hear San Diego has been an oven the whole time I've been gone, so I'm not in any race to be home, especially since Darren will be working an OT shift all day Saturday. I'll be home sooner or later. But in the meantime, I did this week's listings. Enjoy. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: Rescued Belugas Brought To Seaworld SD | SD Zoo To Welcome New Gorilla | SD Music Hall of Fame Inductees Announced | Beach Baño Brings Council Bickering |

View of Golden Gate Bridge from Land's End/USS San Francisco Memorial

I'm still on my roadtrip and have parked myself in Hercules, CA for a few days to take care of some things with Darren's nephew. While I've been here, we hit Oakland Zoo, San Francisco Zoo, Land's End, and our last stop was Pier 39 at Fisherman's Wharf to see the sea lions to see if Chonkers was still around. I was also able to do laundry, get caught up on a lot of work, and catch up on sleep, too. I hear the weather in San Diego has been miserable, so I keep pushing back my return home, but I promise I'm not staying gone forever. I'd still like to see elephant seals at one of the lookout spots up here, and I was considering going to the Sacramento and Fresno Zoos on my way out, but I'll skip those if the weather is still gonna be gnarly all weekend. It's been pretty mellow here, especially close to the bay or beaches, but I also don't wanna drive the van in the middle of the day with extreme heat. 

Anyhow, it's been fun and I wanted to get started on this week's listings while I have strong wi-fi, so I'm gonna post this diary a little earlier than I usually do just to get it off my plate. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.