Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, January 29-Wednesday, February 4, 2026: The Album Leaf | Snooper | Mayrig | The Antlers | Tropical Fuck Storm | JD Simo | Andy Frasco | The Black Heart Procession | Triptides |

Axolotl at Sea World (taken 1.28.26) 

Man, I got so fired up about San Diego politics today, that I almost forgot I actually have to finish off my listings with a little verbal vomit and actually hit publish. So here's the news: the San Diego City Council Rules Committee didn't move to council items repealing paid parking on Sundays in Balboa Park (though Raul Campillo tried to expand the repeal to ALL DAYS-- way to go, My Guy!) nor did they move the tax on STRP and empty whole-homes. What a bunch of spineless creeps. Then today I got home to a letter that they're adding 2 and 4 hour parking meters in Normal Heights, Talmadge-Kensington, and City Heights that will be active 8am-8pm. WHAT THE ACTUAL? You guys. Don't believe what your own eyes are seeing. While in Chicago, practically everything was paid parking, but there was COMPETITION, three competing apps that you could choose spots by proximity and price, and all the housing had parking garage options. TG wants this to be a big City, but can't get out of his own way to make it worthy. So yeah. I'm grumpy. As if everything across the country isn't already rage-inducing, we have our own City turning against us. Which is actually hilarious if you recall the article that Todd's own security detail was chaufferring him around and parking in red zones. The hypocrisy is staggering. 

Get out and enjoy some music. Parking on Kettner by the Casbah is still free, for now, and you can park in yellow spots after 6. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.  

Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: How's PAID PARKING going? NOT FUCKING WELL. | SD Identifies Most Dangerous Intersections | Keep Waymo Out Of San Diego | ICE Murders Need To Stop |

Maned Wolf Cora and a pup (Taken 1.23.26)

In case you missed it while you were trying to celebrate the New Year, the CDC switched up vaccine schedules for infants, children, and adolescents, and in case you missed it, because you were watching ICE attack, beat, shoot, and kill unarmed people, the County and other counties and the State of California all clapped back. 

It's crazy that I wrote the above maybe two weeks ago, and now we have another murder by ICE and the country is reeling, but there are rumors on the internet that they are being pulled back from Minneapolis under immense public pressure (and everyone seeing with their own eyes what happened), so hopefully that's true...though if they're just getting reshuffled and redeployed to other municipalities, including here in San Diego, we need to be ready. I know there's a lot of news happening and I just don't have it in me to collect all the many links of all the terrible things, but I need to get this one up before I get around to listings this week, so click away as you see fit. Or just watch a murder trial on YouTube, because while murder is vile and disturbing, somehow watching a trial can be an escape from all of the really fucking awful things happening around us. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, January 22-Wednesday, January 28, 2026: Pinback | JMSN | Monster Rally | Shannon Shaw | Wand | Inspector | Steve Gunn | The Dimes | Madison Cunningham | Hannah Juanita |

Dinner at Pizano's in Chicago on 1.17.26

I mentioned I was going on a trip. So now I'm back from Chicago, still will my unpacked bag and piles of the stuff I wanted to take but had to cull from the load. As it is, I ended up buying a new suitcase while I was there because a backpack and a tote are just not big enough to carry enough clothes to stay warm in 8°. If you watched the sportsball game on Sunday, you saw how cold it was. We stayed about 2 miles from the stadium. I went with my mom, my sister, and my nieces, and while a super fun trip, I don't really get a lot of say when they booked and covered our flights, rental car, and accommodations, but at least this time we got some deep dish, and we found a little market that had some nice local beer selections, so we had fun getting buzzed in the room. My uncle drove out from South Bend and stayed with us Saturday, then we all caravanned on Sunday to meet one of my cousin's for dinner before the snow picked up and got back in time to watch the 2nd half. On Monday, we had to check out and we decided to leave our luggage at the hotel until our evening flight, so that's when I made the call that I would bail from the group while they went shopping and to lunch, and instead walked along the frigid Lake Michigan from our hotel to the Lincoln Park Zoo. I'm so glad I did. Everyone told me it was small and made it sound horrifying, but I thought it was beautiful and offered quiet and peaceful spaces for the animals when it's beyond freezing outside. I spent most of my time with the two gorilla troops and the chimps, but did venture to other parts of the zoo briefly. With their indoor habitats, it was definitely better than going in and out of overheated stores to the freezing outside on repeat. I hope to get back there again. 

In the meantime, I haven't fully caught up with life, but I was able to blast out the listings for the week. 

Stay safe (and warm) out there. There are far too many credible reports that the Not-Sees of ICE are surging in San Diego this week and going forward. Please be safe, watch out for your neighbors, and ALWAYS bear witness by FILMING HORIZONTAL if you see something unlawful, unjust, or uncomfortable. Know your rights. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, January 15-Wednesday, January 21, 2026: Lion Cut | Emo Nite | Braxton Cook | Leavers | Mariachi El Bronx | Eric Hutchinson | Hauntu | City Of The Sun | Pinback | Fuzz |

Maned Wolf (first-time mom) Cora Carries one of her three pups in her mouth to orient it to the habitat at San Diego Zoo. (1.12.26)

I'm a little glad it's a bit of the slow time of year because listings don't take me quite as long these days so I have more time to read all the things about how paid parking at Balboa Park is backfiring spectacularly (as I said it would in three separate City Council meetings), more time to watch all my LawTube which seems to be exploding with cases...turns out I'm super fascinated (and terrified) by government and police corruption, insecure men who can't handle their feelings and m* their intimate partners, and the intersection of those two. I went to Seaworld last weekend for Inside Look and if you have an annual pass, I encourage you to take advantage this weekend. It's my favorite SW weekend of the year, as you get behind the scenes keeper talks, you can watch an Orca training session, and just get to see all the animal husbandry stuff that is normally hidden from view. I won't be able to go again, however, because I have a short little jaunt that I'll tell you all about next time you hear from me. Until then, stay super safe out there. Shit its bonkers. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Thursday, January 8-Wednesday, January 14, 2025: Bowie Birthday | Band Argument | Laser Disco Drum Orgy | RJD2 | Adolescents | Weatherbox | Jim Ward | The Dimes | Odessa Kane |

Now that the kid is back in school and Darren is back at work, I thought I'd be chillin hard at home alone. But I thought wrong. The ADUs being constructed next door are almost done, but their crew shows up at 6:30 every morning and by 7 is in full blown construction noise along with the project manager parking his monster truck and blaring the radio to the construction site...like 12 feet from my pillow. So I've been trying to go to bed earlier so I can handle the early wakeups. On Tuesday, I was up so early I decided I would just drive to LA to get to the zoo before they opened. Wednesday I was up early again and went to Cabrillo Monument before going to the zoo. Now it's approaching 1am and I think I might actually be tired enough to sleep and listings are done before 4am. 

The whole world is going fucking insane right now, We are seriously living in Gilead. Find something that brings you joy. For me, it was seeing those baby apes in LA. Maybe I'll hit the free Bowie party on Thursday night at the Casbah. Find joy wherever you can. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. 

Things To Do In San Diego: Friday, January 2-Wednesday, January 7, 2026: Starcrawler & Plague Vendor | Java Joes Reunion Show | Swami Sound System | Poncho Sanchez | The Devastators | Duran Duran | Back To The Garden |

So I didn't post listings on Thursday since I'd included it on last week's events. And then I went to the Zoo bright and shiny in the morning on New Year's Day for several hours, then I went home and coerced Darren and Toby to stack in the van to go to Seaworld so we could watch the Holiday Bowl Marching Bands and Cheer Squads in a little band battle. It was the cutest nerdiest thing and we loved it. After it ended, we stayed at the park for a couple more hours and then I was wiped out, so I slept. But I knew I had work to do, so I prioritized my work newsletter before getting to the listings, even though I usually publish these earlier. Whatever. So I'm an hour late. I gotta be honest, I was tempted to make 2026 the year I just throw in the towel and stop listings altogether...there are so many other places to find such things nowadays, but I guess my need-to-know won out and so this week, we carry on. 

For anyone wondering, I've been told that there are two memorials for Tim Lowman being coordinated with his family, so hang tight and give a minute for everyone to take a breath...it was a devastating way to end 2025 and dampened any kind of celebratory yearning for hope going into 2026. So let's all take a breath. We can mourn the losses and hardships of 2025, while also trying to appreciate what we have and find all the reasons to put one foot in front of the other as we move into 2026. 

I love you all. Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.