Turbula
Online since August 2002

© Copyright by Michael Kulick
See more of Michael's art in our Gallery.

April 15, 2012
After Roger Ailes wrote up a nice endorsement of Rachel Maddow's new book, Turbula regular Jamie Reno wonders if editors have stashed other book blurbs by seeming political foes. In Culture ...

July 27, 2011
Infidelity is becoming a popular topic in spy thrillers. Jeff Abbott's "Adrenaline" follows in the footsteps of Len Deighton's and Christopher Reich's own unhappy spy couples. In Culture ...

July 20, 2011
Harry Dresden is back, sort of, in Jim Buthcer's latest novel. In Culture ...

June 22, 2011
Ancient gold, a lost tribe of Israel ... some great promise to the premise, but James Rollins' new novel, "The Devil Colony," gets lost on the way. Reviewed in Culture ...

June 17, 2011
A solid explanation of global warming – and mankind's likely role in it, all presented without none of the pseudo-religious handwringing so prevalent in the debate – in Culture ...

June 10, 2011
Barrie Summy's "I So Don't Do ..." mysteries come to a close in strong fashion, in Culture ...

December 30, 2010
Reviews of a new Sinatra bio, and the new steampunk novel from George Mann – both in Culture ...

December 8, 2010
We review the new entry in Glenn Dakin's Candle Man series, in Culture ...

November 22, 2010
The long-gone Pacific Southwest Airlines was a trendsetter in the airline industry, as a new photo history amply illustrates. We review in Culture ...

November 2, 2010
Reviews of new discs from J.D. Souther, Charlie Musselwhite, Michael Tiernan, Catherine Russell and Suzi Ragsdale now posted in Music ...

October 25, 2010
New CDs from Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, Janiva Magness, Popa Chubby, Anders Osborne Toulouse Engelhardt, Maria Muldaur, Buckwheat Zydeco and Caspar Babypants. In Music ...

September 27, 2010
We've got reviews of new albums by Mindi Abair, Harper and The Riders, all in Music ...

September 20, 2010
Swamp rockers J.J. Grey & Mofro, Texas reggae man Cas Haley and electronica artist Twin Shadow all nave new CDs out, and we review them in Music ...

September 13, 2010
San Diego's own Peter Sprague is famous for his guitar playing, being a regular in Dianne Reeves' band. Now, he's written a batch of songs specifically for vocalists on his new album. In Music ...

August 2, 2010
Louisa West and Jimmy Patton have been overlooked in a crowded San Diego jazz scene. Their new CD should help change that. In Music ...

July 26, 2010
San Diego's Fab Rudies have a new lineup, a shortened name, and a new CD. In Music ...

June 25, 2010
James W. Huston has written a novel that's equal parts Tom Clancy and John Grisham. In Culture ...

June 11, 2010
Steve Martin's latest legal thriller is set (at least partly) in San Diego, so how could we in Turbula nation resist? In Culture ...

May 31, 2010
We review new releases by Merle Haggard, Delta Spirit and The Nighthawks. In Music ...

May 24, 2010
New discs by San Diegan (for now) Brenda Xu, and former Buddy Rich sideman Gunnar Biggs – in Music ...

May 10, 2010
San Diego's Steph Johnson has a new disc out, backed by Ike Turner's old outfit. We review, in Music ...

May 9, 2010
Tom Hinshelwood has crafted a spy thriller in which the protagonist is a paid assassin. Shades of Jason Bourne and Tom Ripley abound. In Culture & Technology ...

March 29, 2010
Reviews of new CDs by San Diego's Astra Kelly, plus blues guitarist Dani Wilde, former Roomfull of Blues trumpeter Al Basile, big band revivalist Lavay Smith and Canadian roots duo Madison Violet. And a new project from alt country singer Peter Karp and blues singer Sue Foley. All in Music ...

March 26, 2010
Tim Dorsey has a new Serge Storms novel out – kind of its own genre, really: a humorous adventure tale with a friendly serial killer as protagonist. Really. In Culture & Technology ...

March 20, 2010
Dan Bennett reviews the international thriller "Formosa Betrayed," and chats with Kristen Stewart about "The Yellow Handkerchief." Read now in Culture & Technology ... And in Music, Frank Kocher reviews a recently released 1981 live set from The Plimsouls, as well as new discs from Dave Keyes and the Houston Jones band.

March 8, 2010
Who releases singles on 45 RPM vinyl anymore? San Diego's Maren Parusel, that's who. Reviewed in Music ...

February 27, 2010
A new history of the Battle of the Marne is a nice overview of the opening months of World War I, as Germany invaded and France and England responded. In Culture & Technology ...

February 22, 2010
Frank Kocher and Jim Trageser weigh in on new blues, country and R&B releases – all in Music ...

February 14, 2010
One of the most effective treatments for a common form of cancer isn't getting to patients who need it. Jamie Reno explains why in Culture & Technology ...

February 2, 2010
Jamie Reno looks back on the career of the underappreciated singer and guitarist Kenny Rankin. In Music ...

December 7, 2009
New box sets from Keith Jarrett and Medeski Martin and Wood, plus a box set of jazz DVDs, and new holiday releases are reviewed. All in Music ...

December 4, 2009
"Game Six" captures the excitement that was the 1975 World Series between Cincinnati and Boston, in Culture ...

December 3, 2009
A new magical thriller series for pre-teens and teens starts off strong with "Candle Man," while "I Lost My Sock" is a fun read for kindergartners and first=graders. In Culture ...

December 2, 2009
Yet more CD reviews –: Joe Louis Walker, Darrell Nulisch, Johnnie Bassett and Holsapple & Stamey ... in Music ...

December 1, 2009
Starting off a new month with another batch of CD reviews from Frank Kocher – he takes in new discs from Mike Stern, Otis Taylor and more ... in Music ...

November 30, 2009
Bunches of new CDs reviewed – Peter Sprague, Scott Miller, Modern Rifles, Drive By Jones and more ... in Music ...

November 28, 2009
A new oral history captures the stories of young men who left Germany and Austria as refugees in the 1930s – Jews fleeing the new Nazi regime – and came back in the British and American armies to help conquer their former oppressors. In Culture ...

November 23, 2009
Jack Bruce and Robin Trower re-team for a live outing, Canada's Po' Girl also issues a live disc, and San Diego's The Shambles are the subject of a tribute disc. All in Music ...

November 21, 2009
Trying to see what all the fuss is about, Turbula takes up best-selling romantic author Debbie Macomber's latest – and finds ourselves charmed. In Culture ...

November 16, 2009
Maria Muldaur and Sara Petite have new CDs out, and Turbula reviews them. In Music ...

November 13, 2009
Herbert Keyser's handsome new volume looks at the lives of the songwriters who created the Great American Songbook. In Culture ...

October 29, 2009
A new book claims to be a cookbook for making guacamole recipes – but Turbula finds it's more an ode to avocado than anything else. In Culture ...

October 21, 2009
New discs from blues guitarists Mike Morgan and Laurie Morvan, country acts Jason Boland and Albert & Gage, and pop rockers The Low Anthem are reviewed. All in Music ...

October 12, 2009
French downtempo techno master Wax Tailor and San Diego's Bviolin both have new CDs out – and our review even tells you their real names. In Music ...

October 8, 2009
Reviews of the new CDs from bluesman Steve Guyger and Michael Sweet / Susanna Hoffs, along with a reissue of LA punk pioneers' The Gears' first disc. In Music ... And a review of the new Skulduggery Pleasant book from Derek Landy, in Culture & Technology ...

September 28, 2009
Reviews of new CDs from Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, Guy Mendilow, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Charles Wilson and Mark Stuart & the Bastard Sons. In Music ...

September 12, 2009
Frank Kocher reviews the latest discs from the Black Crowes, the late Jeff Healey, Colin Linden and Bill Noonan. In Music ...

August 31, 2009
Reviews of new CDs by Walter Trout and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. In Music ...

August 16, 2009
More CD reviews: Los Amigos Invisibles, Berkley Hart and Josh Damigo. In Music ...

August 14, 2009
Frank Kocher reviews new discs by blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield, Rick Estrin and the Nightcats and Omar Kent Dykes. In Music ...

August 11, 2009
Reviews of new CDs from Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters, Alastair Greene, Danny Green and Lindsey Yung. In Music ...

August 9, 2009
Christopher Reich is creating a truly unpredictable character in Emma Ransom, who returns in "Rules of Vengeance." Jim Trageser reviews in Culture & Technology ...

July 27, 2009
Reviews of new CDs by Publicists, Citizen Band, Insomniacs, Bobby Long and Shane Dwight. In Music ...

July 4, 2009
On a day dedicated in the United States to celebrating our freedoms, we weigh in in The Smoking Section on whether the rest of the world might just want to respect the rule of law and defer to the elected Honduran Congress on how best to address that nation's former president's situation. ... And in the spirit of Americanism today, we offer reviews of three new jazz CDs (by Duke Robillard, Sunny Crownover and Jason Robinson) in Music ...

July 3, 2009
In the category of solid beach reads for 2009, a fresh retelling of the "lost world" story and a World War II historical novel both provide nice escape. Jim Trageser reviews "Fragment" and "An Honorable German" in Culture & Technology ...

July 2, 2009
In our too-busy age when our hectic lives often leave the bathroom as our only real time for reading, it's somehow heartening to know that the Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series has a new volume out now on military history. Reviewed in Culture & Technology ...

July 1, 2009
The Smoking Section weighs in on the breathless coverage Michael Jackson's passing is generating, and wonders if it isn't a bit disproportionate to the man's impact on music ...

June 28, 2009
Reviews of the new Michelle Shocked CD, and a reissue of Tony Bennett's two albums with pianist Bill Evans from the late '70s. In Music ...

June 16, 2009
Blues diva Candye Kane beat cancer last year, and has recorded a new CD this year. In Music ...

June 15, 2009
The Farmers, featuring former Beat Farmers Jerry Raney and Joel Kmak, are back with another album. Find the review in Music ...

June 11, 2009
China Miéville has a new novel out, "The City & The City." Jim Trageser reviews in Culture & Technology ...

June 9, 2009
A whole rash of CD reviews just posted: New CDs by jazz saxophone giant Joe Lovano, out-there guitarist David Fiuczynski, the guitar-voice pairing of Peter Sprague and Kevvyn Lettau, San Diego rocker Joey Harris, L.A. roots rockers The Riders, San Diego roots rockers Sky Held Sun, world beat singer Omega Bugembe Okello, smooth jazz guitarist Patrick Yandall and even some vinyl from San Diego roots rocker Bill Cardinal. All in Music ...

June 7, 2009
It's with both sadness and pride that we provide Frank Kocher's review of "Goldmine: The Music of Buddy Blue." In addition to his historic stint in San Diego's seminal band The Beat Farmers in the early '80s and all his wonderful music in the years since, Buddy was also a fine music journalist (writing his the family name of Seigal) whose writing graced these pages until we all lost him three years ago to a bad ticker. Also reviewed in Music is the latest album from German metal guitar god Michael Schenker ...

June 1, 2009
Oops ... also added yesterday to the relaunch was a new book review – Jim Trageser takes a look at Evalyn Gates' new book on gravity lensing and dark matter, "Einstein's Telescope." In Culture ...

May 31, 2009
It's all Michael Kulick's fault, you see. A few weeks back, he sends in a friend request on MySpace. Turns out he's an artist in Bethpage, N.Y. Wild, vibrant paintings adorn his MySpace page. We're hooked. Any chance, we wonder, if he'd let us host an online exhibit of his work? He would. So we post that in the Gallery. Then Turbula fave Dan McClenaghan sends in another of his hilarious installments of his ongoing saga of fictional Loma Alta, Calif. Clete's got a frog entered in a jumping contest. Hooters girls are involved. Need we say more? In Fiction. Finally, Frank Kocher's been busy listening to CDs and shares his reactions to new releases from Too Slim, Brigitte DeMeyer and Willie Nile, while Jim Trageser offers reviews of new discs from Rob Thorsen, Tornado Magnet and Michael McGraw. All in Music ...

May 19, 2009
Teenage guitar sensation Yayo Sanchez and the rock band music club at El Camino High in Oceanside, Calif., have new albums out – they're reviewed in Music ...

May 16, 2009
Michael Ellis revisits the rapid climb and fall of his Metabolife empire; Jamie Reno reviews the memoir. In Culture ...

May 15, 2009
Jim Trageser reviews the new Southern California-based mystery from T. Jefferson Parker, "The Renegades." In Culture ...

May 11, 2009
Tim Dorsey, the popular author whose amateur photography graced these pages some time ago, has a new novel out. Jim Trageser reviews it. In Culture ...

April 25, 2009
More CD reviews: Wynton Marsalis, J.J. Cale, Raul Malo, Point Blank Blues Band, Randy Weeks and Darryl Holter. Find them in Music ...

April 23, 2009
A half-dozen new CD reviews: The Bad Plus, Jim Suhler and Monkey Beat, Michael Wolff, Mickey Clark, the Woods Tea Co., and Chris Darrow – all in Music ...

March 22, 2009
Three months since we updated? A new baby in the house will certainly throw one off a normal schedule. While Turbula nation has been hip-deep in diapers and formula, our ace music critic, Frank Kocher, has been busy listening and writing. Check out his reviews of new releases from The Nighthawks, Holly Golightly and the New Guitar Summit. All in Music ...

December 21, 2008
New Christmas releases for 2008: Johnny Cash's 1978 and '79 TV specials on DVD, plus new music CDs from Brian Setzer, Enya, The Boxmasters, Sypro Gyra, Los Lonely Boys, Sheryl Crow adn more. All in Music ...

December 20, 2008
A whole slew of new reviews: Box sets of Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Russell and Roy Orbison, plus the 100 greatest sports events, news events, speeches and more; also, new discs from soul legend Eddie Floyd, guitarist Duke Robillard, harpist Rob Roy Parnell, Amos Garrett and the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue. All in Music ...

December 14, 2008
Things are moving slowly in Turbula Nation of late – a new baby in the house will do that. So we've gotten behind on posting some of the wonderful stuff coming in. Mind you, not everyone will be charmed by Jamie Reno's take on Alicia Keys' rise to fame – another tale of too much too soon in Jamie's eye. In Music ... Also, reviews of new discs from Jimmy Thackery & The Drivers, Mad Juana, Bebo Valdés and Bradley Leighton, plus the soundtrack from the film "Soul Men" ... also in Music ...

October 5, 2008
Good times in the Turbula World Headquarters: New discs from the Pretenders, Taj Mahal, Redd Volkaert and Less Than Jake, and Fantasy (now owned by Concord) reissues Creedence's legendary catalogue in commemoration of the band's 40th anniversary. All in Music ...

October 4, 2008
Frank Kocher spins new records from Rory Block and Hal Ketchum in Music ...

September 7, 2008
Reviews of new releases from Edgar Winter, Batdorf & Rodney and San Diego's Greg Laswell; in Music ...

September 6, 2008
Reviews of the new duo album from Willie Nelson and Wynton Marsalis, plus new discs from the Hacienda Brothers, Los Lonely Boys, Janiva Magness and Wayman Tisdale. All in Music ...

August 24, 2008
Frank Kocher gives a listen to the new platter from Steve Cropper and Felix Cavaliere. In Music ...

July 18, 2008
Frank Kocher reviews new discs by Amos Lee and Walter Trout. In Music ...

July 9, 2008
Jamie Reno reminisces about the late George Carlin. In Culture ...

June 7, 2008
Reviews of new discs from Sonny Landreth, Laurie Lewis and San Diego's Eve Selis. All in Music ...

May 24, 2008
Reviews of new discs from jazz pianist Hiromi, Tijuana's Nortec Collective, acoustic guitarist Jesse Cook and San Diego's own Joel Rafael. All in Music ...

May 10, 2008
We spin new CDs from Smokin' Joe Kubek and Bnois King, Michael Burks, Eric Hutchinson, Peter Sprague, Robert Walter, Stanton Moore and The Panderers. In Music ...

April 19, 2008
Frank Kocher takes a listen to the last CD by the recently departed Jeff Healey, plus Jim Trageser reviews new discs by Meat Beat Manifesto, Siberian, The Northstar Session and Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey. In Music ...

March 15, 2008
Frank Kocher and Jim Trageser spin new CDs from the Black Crowes, Catherine Russell, Pacific Ocean Fire, Miss Derringer and Shawn Mullins, plus the soundtrack to Will Ferrell's "Semi-Pro." All in Music ...

March 1, 2008
Dan McClenaghan and Jim Trageser take a listen to new CDs from Arlen Roth and Levon Helm, David Buchbinder, Benjamin Lapidus, Sean Costello and Bryan Lee. In Music ...

February 6, 2008
Reviews of new discs from jam band faves Umphrey's McGee, and San Diego stalwarts Transfer and Steven Ybarra. In Music ...

February 2, 2008
New CDs from bluegrass star Rhonda Vincent, Afro-beat pioneers Ladysmith Black Mambazo and world beat drummer Adam Rudolph now posted. In Music ...

January 13, 2008
Reviews of new releases from Toni Price, This Holiday Life and Amy Pickard & the Cradlers, all in Music ...

January 12, 2008
Reviews of the latest CDs by Angels & Airwaves, EndeverafteR and Avenged Sevenfold – in Music ...

January 6, 2008
San Diego Opera announces its 2008 season, and Turbula's Carol Davis is there to report on it. In Theater ...

January 2, 2008
John Whalen, our resident cabbie, tells about the robbery that drove him out of San Fran for good, while Jamie Reno ruminates on his home state of Iowa's role in picking our next president. Both in Culture ...

December 30, 2007
Catching up on a few last-minute reviews of some CD and DVD music releases from 2007 we'd not gotten to yet: Lee Konitz, Neal Black, Tiger Gagan, Dawn Tyler Watson & Paul Deslauriers, Chuck Perrin, Quartet of Happiness. In Music ...

December 26, 2007
Almost twelve months ago, we began the year with some new poetry by San Diego's Miss Erika Davies. Singer, clothing designer, poet ... Miss Erika is truly a Renaissance woman. Seems a fitting way to close out poetry for this year to bring you four more new poems from Miss Erika, in Poetry ...

December 22, 2007
Reviews of new CDs by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss, The Nields, Bill Mays, José González, Monster in the Machine, Jonathan Butler, Tom Heasley & Toss Panos, and San Diego bands The Flimz and The Modlins. All in Music ...

December 21, 2007
Jamie Reno, whose own recordings have featured guests ranging from Peter Frampton to Robert Lamm, was waiting for '70s folk stalwart Dan Fogelberg to beat his cancer so Jamie could try to rope him in for his next CD. Jamie shares his thoughts on Fogelberg's passing in Music ...

December 16, 2007
Reviews of holiday releases and reissues from the Staple Singers, Larry the Cable Guy and Aryeh Frankfurter, plus reissues of classic holiday TV shows from Tom Jones and Johnny Cash. In Music ...

December 12, 2007
Carol Davis takes in new holiday productions at San Diego's Rep, Cygnet and Moxie, as well as the La Jolla Playhouse and New Village Arts. In Theater ...

December 2, 2007
Thanksgiving is past us, and so it's time to start sampling this year's holiday releases. We have reviews of Christmas collections from Pam Tillis, Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton-John and Aimee Mann, plus the soundtrack to "Fred Claus." All in Music ...

November 25, 2007
Michael J. Williams reflects on the creativity of the late jazz icon Joe Zawinul, from his days with Cannonball Adderly and Miles Davis to his years leading Weather Report. In Music ...

November 18, 2007
Dan McClenaghan's dark, atmospheric sci fi novella "The Holy Land" comes to a violent end with Chapter 9. In Fiction ...

November 17, 2007
Reviews up of new CDs from Hanson, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Cindy Lee Berryhill and the Northstar Session. In Music ...

November 12, 2007
New CDs from Lee Rocker, Pieta Brown, Múm and She Wants Revenge are reviewed in Music ...

November 11, 2007
Carol Davis reports back on the Moonlight Theatre's production of "The Magic Fire" – in Theater ... Dan McClenaghan's "The Holy Land" moves closer to resolution in Chapter 8 – Fiction ... reviews of new CDs from Levon Helm, Robin Henkel and Tegan & Sara, plus unreleased packages finally seeing the light of day from Miles Davis and J.J. Cale. In Music ...

November 4, 2007
Dan McClenaghan's The Holy Land changes locales, as our heroes flee Vegas for the tranquility of the Mendocino coast. In Fiction ...

November 3, 2007
Carol Davis takes in three Halloween-themed productions. In Theater ...

October 28, 2007
Dan McClenaghan sends in Chapter 6 of "The Holy Land" – and it turns out that the space aliens have decided to conquer Earth and enslave the earthlings one restaurant kitchen at a time. In Fiction ...

October 21, 2007
Carol Davis reviews the Lamb's Players Theatre's production of "An Ideal Husband" and New Village Arts' West Coast premiere of "Humble Boy" – both in Theater ... Chapter 5 of Dan McClenaghan's increasingly disturbing novel of space aliens at a Christian-themed casino in Las Vegas (really!) is up in Fiction ...

October 14, 2007
John Whalen provides a quick update on the John Barleycorn, the venerable San Fran watering hole facing an imminent demise, in Culture ... Chapter 4 of Dan McClenaghan's novellete, "The Holy Land," is up in Fiction – but be warned: it's not for the squeamish ...

October 11, 2007
"A Catered Affair" is still in the early days of its world premiere at San Diego's Old Globe Theater, but with a Broadway run already booked, Carol Davis is smelling Tonys. In Theater ...

October 10, 2007
Chapter 3 of "The Holy Land" now up – in Fiction ...

October 8, 2007
Reviews of new CDs by Terence Blanchard and San Diego's Jane Lui, in Music ... We know we owe you Dan McClenaghan's latest installment from "The Holy Land," plus we have new poetry by Miss Erika Davies, but we've been laid up with the flu. By Tuesday night, we promise ...

October 6, 2007
New CD reviews – Anoushka Shankar, Turbonegro, Buffalo Killers, Colette, Lez Zeppelin (really!), plus remix collections of Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, and a DVD set taken from Tom Jones' old TV show. All in Music ...

October 4, 2007
Carol Davis raves over the performance of Rosemary Harris (last seen as Peter Parker's aunt in "Spider-Man 3") in "Oscar and the Pink Lady," a one-woman show at The Old Globe in Balboa Park. In Theater ...

September 30, 2007
As promised, the second installment of Dan McClenaghan's new serial novelette, "The Holy Land." Space aliens, Vegas casinos and religion – what more could you want? It's like L. Ron Hubbard on acid ... okay, like L. Ron Hubbard on more acid. In Fiction ... And Carol Davis takes in "The Adding Machine" at the La Jolla Playhouse and "Ain't Misbehavin," the Fats Waller musical revue, at the San Diego REP. In Theater ...

September 23, 2007
Dan McClenaghan has been turning out some of the funniest short fiction this side of P.G. Wodehouse and Tom Sharpe for more than a decade now. So it's clearly about time he set his sights on something a bit longer. We're pleased as punch to present the first chapter of "The Holy Land," a novelette Dan's working on. Set in his mythical religion-themed Vegas casino of the Holy Land, the first chapter is just a nibble of the fun weirdness to follow. In Fiction ...

September 22, 2007
Carol Davis drives north from San Diego to South Coast Rep on Orange County (and, interestingly enough, about 25 miles north of Solana Beach's North Coast Rep ...) to report on a new production of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music." In Theater ...

September 16, 2007
Reviews of new CDs from Crowded House, Mae and The Michetons, plus San Diego bands My American Heart and The Modlins. All in Music ...

September 15, 2007
Three musicals, one critic. Our Carol Davis on a tour of the county's latest stage extravaganzas – "Ragtime" and "The Little Shop of Horrors" and "Honky Tonk Angels." In Theater ...

September 7, 2007
"Chicago" comes to San Diego, and Turbula's Carol Davis is there. In Theater ...

September 4, 2007
Carol Davis reviews Ayckbourn's "Communicating Doors" at San Diego's Cygnet Theatre. In Theater ...

September 3, 2007
Ines De Leon is an artist in Monterey, Mexico, whose paintings are as bold as the Central Mexican desert region she hails from. In Gallery ...

August 17, 2007
The late Buddy "Blue" Seigal was not only one of Turbula's most beloved contributors, but he also led some pretty good bands in his day – two of his former sideman, Jerry Rigg (now fronting butterFace) and Bruce Gilbert have new CDs out, which are reviewed in Music ...

August 15, 2007
Reviews of new CDs from Louisiana singer Marc Broussard, Michigan indie-pop combo the Glowfriends and lounge singer Jonny Blu. All in Music ...

August 14, 2007
Carol Davis, a member of longstanding of the San Diego Theater Critics Circle, joins the Turbula family, covering San Diego's superb theater community. Her first review, of the Old Globe's "Bell, Book and Candle," is in Theater ...

August 12, 2007
A new addition to our fiction contributors, Jerry Mikorenda has sent in a wry yet warm-hearted tale of a deceased uncle who just can't stay away. In Fiction. We also welcome a new poet to the fold, Michael Estabrook, and the mysterious yet always entertaining Clyde Borg (the only poet we don't have a biography for!) returns. All in Poetry ...

July 30, 2007
Reviews of new releases by Dale Watson, Femi Kuti, The Cribs and more. All in Music ...

July 15, 2007
Reviews of new releases by Cuban legend Arturo Sandoval and San Diego's own Barbara Nesbitt. In Music ...

July 14, 2007
Reviews of new CDs by the Nields and Steve Cole, plus Putumayo's new Latin jazz compilation. All in Music ...

July 12, 2007
Reviews of new CDs by Cowboy Troy, Portuguese fado singer Mariza, and blues-rockers Back Door Slam, from the Isle of Man. All in Music ...

July 8, 2007
RaynRoberts has a new batch of three poems – powerful, evocative works that make a lie of the stereotype of the poet as wimp. In Poetry ...

June 10, 2007
Reviews of new CDs by Paul McCartney, jazz veteran Harry Pickens, blues guitarist Laurie Morvan, and young Orange County rockers The Colour. All in Music ...

June 8, 2007
John Whalen weighs in with the closure of a classic, blue-collar bar in San Fran in the latest installment of his From the Log of Badge No. 54131. We also find ourselves defending Gary Sheffeild in From the Bleachers. Both in Culture ...

May 19, 2007
Reviews of new CDs by Bill Engvall, Devon Sproule, The Truckee Brothers, Kristie Agee & Big Potential, Earthless, Storytyme, the Coyote Problem, and a San Diego compilation. All in Music ...

May 15, 2007
Two great songwriting efforts, one classic and one contemporary; John Batdorf of Batdorf & Rodney semi-fame in the '70s has a new album out, and so does current power pop fave Fountains of Wayne. In Music ...

May 14, 2007
Review of third album from J.A. Granelli and Mr. Lucky in Music ...

May 13, 2007
RaynRoberts, one of our very fave poets, has sent a poem in in honor of Mother's Day – a poem about what happened when he didn't remember one of the first lessons his mom taught him; another of our faves, Miss Erika Davies, is back with another lovely passel of poems, too. All in Poetry ...

April 22, 2007
Daniel Barbiero returns with a new poem. Only one, yes, but such a poem. In Poetry ... New CD reviews: Queen of the Blues, Koko Taylor, and the Turtle Island String Quartet takes on Coltrane. In Music ...

April 14, 2007
We've apparently been more prolific in our CD reviews than even we realized: 12 more to assist you in your music-buying decision-making: Ron Sexsmith, Los Straitjackets, The Mother Hips, Alesana, Coco Montoya, Michael Tiernan and more. In Music ...

April 8, 2007
Trying to get caught up, we post what could fairly be described as a "slew" or perhaps a "passel" of new CD reviews: Joe Pass and Kenny Wayne Shepherd, the Young Dubliners and Tyrone Wells, and a handful of local bands from San Diego and Brooklyn you're not likely to have heard yet, but may want to. In Music ...

April 2, 2007
It was a year ago today that the horrible news came that our own Buddy "Blue" Seigal had passed away, gone from us far too soon. Buddy was a regular contributor to these pages and many other far better known SoCal publications, but also a founding member of the legendary San Diego roots band the Beat Farmers. His passing left a hole so huge it's taken us a year to come to grips with it. Today, on the anniversary of his passing, we try to come to a place of appreciation for Buddy. In Music ...

March 23, 2007
Michael McLaughlin stumbled across our humble site and submitted one of sixteen short stories he's written: "The Man Was Known As Ray." Why he's not been published before, we're not sure ... We also add reviews of new CDs from bluesman Eric Bibb, the Very Tall Band (Oscar Peterson, and the since-deceased Milt Jackson and Ray Brown), plus San Diego musicians Saba, Wendy Bailey and Michael Blanco. All in Music ...

March 10, 2007
John Whalen is back, with another of his cabbie stories in his From the Log of Badge No. 54131 series. In Culture & Technology ...

February 1, 2007
Wow. That's a pretty fair summation of our reaction to first seeing the photography of Anna Morris when we stumbled upon her on MySpace.com. Wow. We're pretty sure you'll feel the same way when you peruse her online exhibit here. In the Gallery ...

January 31, 2007
Reviews of new albums from Norah Jones, the legendary Sonny Rollins, and San Diego's husband-wife duo of Holly Hofmann / Mike Wofford. In Music ...

January 28, 2007
Six more poems from the ethereal muse of Miss Erika Davies. In Poetry ...

January 27, 2007
New CD and musical DVD reviews up: Metallica and Slipknot and Keller Williams and Mark Hummel and some jazz and pop as well. In Music ...

January 13, 2007
Been about a year now since some numb-nuts burnt down the Compleat Angler, a bit of a dive bar on the isle of Bimini, some 45 miles east of Miami. Wouldn't be the greatest loss, except it was in a room above the bar that Hemingway wrote "Islands in the Stream." And Turbula's editor spent a memorable few days there late in his youth. In Culture ...

January 9, 2007
Months of e-mails, leaving MySpace comments and even outright begging on the part of Turbula's intrepid staff have paid off handsomely with the poetry of one Miss Erika Davies. A San Diego-based singer of no mean talent, Miss Davies is also a wordsmith of the first order and we hope to provide her wonderful poems a home in these pages for as long as she would like to keep coming back. In Poetry ...

January 7, 2007
Nothing gets us so riled up as those claiming to possess absolute truth. And so The Smoking Section has been reborn. In Culture/Technology ...

December 31, 2006
Ending the year with a bang – Dan Robbins is back with another of his dark, twisted little desert tales, in Fiction ... Christopher Woods returns to our pages with a second original play, "Café Orcus," now up in Theater ... Richard Riehl shares from a collection of love poems for his wife, while Clyde L. Borg returns with an imaginative bit of wordplay impressionism, and David Fraser contributes three more of his detailed glimpses into the real and dream worlds we all jointly live in – all in Poetry ... in Music, we catch up with a bunch of CDs we somehow neglected to review during 2006 but which have spent long stretches in our stereo system because they're so good – Kip Hanrahan's Conjure, a side project for setting poet Ishmael Reed's poetry to music, issued an album in the spring that we're only now able to wrap our heads around; Jonas Hellborg's most recent album went unreviewed for a year while we digested the fact that the music has to continue even in the face of the death of Hellborg's former collaborator, guirarist Shawn Lane; Buffalo, N.Y., rock 'n' roller Alison Pipitone continues to make some of the very best rock music going without any of the fame or fortune that ought to bring; jazz singer Dominique Eade hasn't recorded in seven years – fortunately, that drought ends; we also have Dub Trio's new CD reviewed, that of guitarist Roger Wang with Farid Ali, and bluegrass traditionalist Laurie Lewis' August release we also missed ...

December 18, 2006
Dan McClenaghan, our most prolific fiction contributor, returns with yet another tale from his fictionalized San Diego suburb of Loma Alta: "Johanna's Stroganoff" ...

December 13, 2006
Couple more CD reviews: Lindsey Buckingham and Joan Jett. No, really! In Music ...

December 12, 2006
Bunch of new CD reviews up – holiday releases from Bootsy Collins, Wynonna, the dB's and Windham Hill; a box set dedicated to jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt; rock royalty Devon Allman; Brazilian singer Marisa Monte; plus San Diego bands Cathryn Beeks, Simeon Flick, the Hideaways and Buzz Campbell & Hot Rod Lincoln. All in Music ...

December 10, 2006
Andrea Shumovsky, one of our favorite poets throughout Turbula's history, returns with five new ones – and they're among her very best. In Poetry ...

November 28, 2006
While we were busy doing behind-the-scenes stuff earlier this month, we were also writing up CD reviews. Bunch of them posted now: J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, Branford and Delfeayo Marsalis, NoMeansNo, the Brand New Heavies, the Lost Prophets, Murder by Death, the Hush Sound, Idan Raichel, Stanton Moore, San Diego's K23 Orchestra and more. In Music ...

November 26, 2006
Yes, we realize it looks like nothing's been done in a month, but we've been busy tinkering behind the scenes to (hopefully) improve the end product. (Although, as we write this, the navigation menu to the left and the Turbula banner above aren't appearing due to some weird server snafu.) One of the things we've been busy doing pays dividends today: We've been out scouring new artists to feature in our online exhibits. Patrick Holloran is a longtime Friend of Turbula, having been onboard in the Fiction section our very first day. Today, we consider ourselves plumb lucky to bring you 10 of his paintings in our Gallery section ...

October 21, 2006
If we remained yet among those unfortunates for whom modern poetry falls silent on their unhearing ears, surely the new works from Scott C. Kaestner, Dean Clarino and David Fraser would be the ones to open up a whole new world for us. In fact, each of these gems does open an entire new world. In Poetry ...

October 19, 2006
We review the new CD from Phoenix's Psychedelic Mooj; in Music ...

October 15, 2006
Getting caught up in Music: Reviews of new CDs from Andy Biskin, Jake La Botz, All That Remains, Bobby Bare Jr. and an older gem from Mofro we somehow missed when it was new ...

October 14, 2006
Torrey Meeks is back with another dark, weird little tale. We like dark, weird little tales at Turbula. In Fiction ... Also, more CD reviews: Big Bill Broonzy, Cephas & Wiggins, Dumbluck – all in Music ...

October 13, 2006
Reviews of new CDs by Al Di Meola, Mastodon and Cincinnati's Steve Schmidt. All in Music ...

October 10, 2006
David Fraser returns with more of his wonderful poems – go on, treat yourself to some spirit candy. In Poetry ...

October 5, 2006
For better or worse, John Whalen is back with another entry in his From the Logs of Badge No. 54131 column ...

September 2, 2006
New poems just posted – Clyde Borg joins the ranks, and Don Kingfisher Campbell returns. In Poetry ...

August 23, 2006
Regular Turbula contributor Jamie Reno got to see "The Mike Douglas Show" up-close and often; in Culture he says farewell to the giant of daytime television ...

August 20, 2006
New CD reviews: John Medeski sitting in with Marian McPartland, Dr. Lonnie Smith on the Hammond B-3, San Diego's own Julie Mack and L.A. country surf band Merle Jagger. In Music ...

August 19, 2006
The word "poop" is part of the title, it's about Ruth and Ellis, and Dan McClenaghan wrote it. What are you waiting for? In Fiction ...

August 10, 2006
Daniel Barbiero has sent us five poems – we'll leave it to you to pick a fave; us, we're smitten by them all. In Poetry ...

August 9, 2006
Deirdre Moore, whose poetry has graced these pages already, is now our featured artist (above). See our Gallery for more of Moore!

July 22, 2006
Still heartbroken over Peggy's passing, we've posted reviews of new CDs by four women vocalists (Karling Abbeygate, Steph Johnson, Janiva Magness and Katie Melua) in Music – we think Peggy would approve! And in Culture, we've got a new essay on whites and the blues ...

July 17, 2006
For the second time in just four months, Turbula says farewell to one of our regular contributors. Peggy Claire, whose lithe verse has graced our Poetry section over the past 14 months, passed away this morning after a valiant battle against lung cancer. Better known to music fans in San Diego as a jazz singer, it was only after she was diagnosed with cancer that Peggy turned her attention to the poetry she had been writing and storing for a quarter-century or more. We only got to know Peggy when we interviewed her ahead of her "farewell" concert in the spring of 2005. How blessed we have been to have counted her among our friends, to be privileged to share her wonderful poetry with you, to spend an evening listening to Ernest Hemingway extemporaneously composing a short story on an LP with Peggy and her husband, Michael. Farewell, dear Peggy ... and give Buddy a hard time for checking out so early, would you?

July 12, 2006
Five more CD reviews – Miles Davis Quintet boxed set, and four San Diego-area musicians: Kim DiVicenzo, Danielle LoPresti, Stephanie Cataldo and Sara Petite. In Music ...

July 10, 2006
Bunch of new CD reviews now up: Cheap Trick, Hacienda Bros., Angels & Airwaves, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, plus another half-dozen. In Music ...

July 9, 2006
John Whalen, our resident cabbie, has sent in a new dispatch from his Log of Badge No. 54131, telling of his younger, hell-raising days ...

June 27, 2006
Not sure why/how Turbula is becoming such a mecca for top-notch poetry, but we are and we're grateful for all of it. Just added are two poems apiece from Deirdre Moore, who graced these pages in December, and Daria Lucas, new to us but apparently well-acquainted with the muses. In Poetry, natch' ...

June 12, 2006
Dan Robbins is becoming something of a fixture 'round these parts, a fixture we like near as much as our beer tap. His new short story is a spot-on perfect encapsulation of tragedy. In Fiction ...

June 11, 2006
A new love poem from resident Turbula goddess Charlene Baldridge, plus wonderful contributions from Turbula newcomers Lisa Albright Ratnavira and Christopher Major. In Poetry ...

June 10, 2006
More album reviews in: Bob Magnusson, Hiromi, Paige Aufhammer, and a trio of Putumayo releases. All in Music ...

May 28, 2006
New albums by Paul Simon and blues veteran Charlie Musselwhite get reviewed in Music ...

May 27, 2006
Don Kingfisher Campbell adds further luster to an already lustrous (and occasionally lustful) Poetry section with four new works that are delights of smart wordplay and clever imagery ...

May 14, 2006
We are pleased beyond words to welcome Ursula T. Gibson to our pages. The former poetry editor of Poetic Voices and the poet laureate of Sunland Tujunga, Ursula has two new works in our Poetry section ...

May 9, 2006
As you've already seen above, we've a new online art exhibition! West Ireland's Deirdre Walsh has graciously agreed to let us exhibit some of her recent paintings – there's a real spirit to them that touched us first time we saw one. You can see them all in our Gallery ...

May 5, 2006
Got an interview with the legendary Buckwheat Zydeco added, plus a huge new batch of CD reviews – including "Under the Covers, Vol. 1" by Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs, Rob Zombie's latest, Monty Alexander's newest tribute to Bob Marley, a live set from Robin Trower, Pat Martino's tribute to Wes Montgomery, Pieces of a Dream's new "Pillow Talk," the Yonder Mountain String Band, folkie Garrison Starr, Serb guitarist Rale Micic and undoubtedly something else slipping our mind. All in Music ...

April 26, 2006
Threw up a batch of reviews of new CDs by San Diego area bands: A.J. Croce, Gregory Page, David Lally, This Holiday Life, Danny Weis, Bradely Leighton. In Music ...

April 24, 2006
Digging back through old interviews for the now-defunct San Diego Evening Tribune; the recent Joe Pass interview came from that archive, so does an interview with musical oddity Leon Redbone. In Music ...

April 23, 2006
Four new poems from three of our favorite poets: RaynRoberts, Erica Woiwode and Turbula's resident goddess, Charlene Baldridge. In Poetry ...

April 22, 2006
Years ago, Elario's restaurant atop the old Summer House Inn in La Jolla was one of the best jazz clubs in the world. Turbula's Jim Trageser got to interview the late Joe Pass ahead of one of his regular gigs there ...

April 19, 2006
Dan McClenaghan checks back in with another twisted little story set in mythical Loma Alta, Calif.: Ellis has a new friend at the cafe. In Fiction ...

April 15, 2006
David "Honeyboy" Edwards was Robert Johnson's musical partner and traveling companion; some 70 years after his legendary friend was poisoned, Edwards is still going. Turbula talks to him ...

April 12, 2006
One of our favorite poets, RaynRoberts, returns with another batch of four – every one a gem. In Poetry ...

April 10, 2006
A quick batch of new CD reviews in Music – San Diego's The Wild Truth, Uganda's Samite and a new recording of Gershwin by jazz pianist Michel Camilo ...

April 8, 2006
While still in mourning for the loss of Buddy Seigal – a wonderful musician, gifted writer and raconteur of Rat Pack proportions – Buddy would not want us, any of us, moping about. He'd undoubtedly call us pansies, poofs if any of his Scottish friends were lurking about, and tell us to get back to work. So, to that end, we present another installment of John Whalen's From the Logs of Badge No. 54131, this one about a Hollywood legend gone mad ... we also present an interview with former Stray Cat bassist Lee Rocker, who coincidentally played on at least one of Buddy's albums ...

April 2, 2006
Our hearts hang heavy in Turbula nation this second of April; we've lost one of our own today, our first such separation – Buddy Seigal, whose passionate and deeply knowledgeable writing about music has graced our pages almost since the beginning, died today of an apparent heart attack. He leaves behind a wife, Annie, and a young daughter, Lulu, as well as his mother and friends and fans too numerous to count. Buddy wasn't just a wonderfully gifted writer, he was also one of the finest musicians to ever come out of San Diego – an original member of the Beat Farmers; a songwriter whose work took in blues, country, rockabilly, jazz and swing; a tremendous fan and collector of old-timey music of all stripes. Buddy could talk at length about everything from early gospel recordings to 20th century literature to prizefighting. Funny and charismatic, talented yet self-effacing, Buddy Seigal was a monumental presence, a huge part of Turbula, and he shall be missed so much more than any of us yet realize ...

March 31, 2006
Michael J. Williams reviews an unusual Mediterranean project from the Japanese husband-wife avant-garde team of Natsuki Tamura and Satoko Fujii ...

March 26, 2006
Otis Taylor talks to Turbula about the blues and its relationship to the black American community that birthed it ...

March 23, 2006
Denis Devine reviews the new album from Lake Trout; we have two new jazz reviews from Dan McClenaghan, live sets from Thelonious Monk and Red Garland. All in Music ...

March 22, 2006
A new theater review: Dublin's The Abbey Theatre updates Euripedes and puts "The Bacchae" in Baghdad ...

March 20, 2006
Wonderful new short story by Greg Gunther, "Verona," in Fiction – it's a sci-fi love story that crosses genres as smoothly as Verona crosses time ...

March 19, 2006
Reviews of new CDs by Donald Fagen and Marley's Ghost, plus a remix of Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass. All in Music ...

March 18, 2006
Finally – the re-coding is done! And of course our regular visitors, those who actually come to this home page, will notice no changes at all ... sigh ... (below you can read about the reason for the re-coding, and the resultant delay in posting any new content).

Anyway, to celebrate, we have eight new poems from Peggy Claire in Poetry. She is becoming one of our favorite poets for her bold, sassy, outspoken verse. We've got lots of other great stuff to add in the coming days, so stay tuned ...

February 4, 2006
By way of explaining our delay in posting anything new: We've been busy re-coding all of Turbula to help improve it. The only thing is, those of you reading this are unlikely to ever notice the difference. But here's the thing: The vast majority of folks who visit Turbula find us via a search engine – Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. Because Turbula was designed with frames – so that the navigation menu to the left and the Turbula logo at the top each reside in a different HTML frame than this main panel – folks who find us via a search engine see only the article they found on the search – a CD review, a short story, a poem, a theater review. They don't see the Turbula logo or the navigation menu. They don't know there even is a Turbula! And that's not fair to either the reader nor our fabulously talented writers. So we're converting Turbula to an HTML add-on called PHP that allows us to have the navigation menu and the Turbula banner in ever story without typing in massive amounts of code by hand. It's still time-consuming and driving us crazy. And when we're done, those of you reading this won't know the difference ... sigh ...

January 9, 2006
A new compilation of fiction, poetry and essays is presenting itself as a cutting-edge "noir" look at San Diego's undiscovered dark soul. Turbula's Jim Trageser says we've heard it all before. In Culture, Politics & Technology ...

January 8, 2006
The month since we last posted here has not all been spent in languid decadence, lolling about eating grapes and drinking mead. No, in addition to all that we've actually been hoarding great gobs of new stuff for a new year. Start off with the new cover art and online exhibit by Kim Wyatt. Then we have some truly remarkable new short fiction from our Dans – McClenaghan and Robbins. A wonderful new play by Gary Beck in Theater – a kind of a "Waiting for Godot" at the circus. Stay tuned, too, because in the next week we have new poetry, interviews with Ricky Skaggs and Leon Redbone, and a slew of CD reviews.

December 12, 2005
Review of San Diego REP's annual production of "A Christmas Carol" up in Theater – new interpretation this year, set in an American jazz club just after Pearl Harbor ... Also, review of Enya's new studio album – in Music ...

December 10, 2005
New poetry from RaynRoberts and Charlene Baldridge, plus Turbula newcomers Deirdre Moore and Frances Schiavina. All in Poetry ... Also a new short story from John Whalen, our resident cabbie – in Fiction ... Plus Charlene also weighs in with a new Turbulence column in Theater ...

December 3, 2005
Buddy Seigal shares some of his favorite quotes from interviews he had through the years with late blues, jazz and Louisiana roots guitarst/violinist/singer Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown ...

November 30, 2005
Tomás Gayton and Christopher Mulrooney once again grace our Poetry section; it's an odd but exhilerating combination of thrills and humility to post such powerful works ...

November 29, 2005
Shout Factory! is issuing various episodes from the old "Dick Cavett Show" on DVD, built around the musical guests. We've got three of these boxed sets reviewed in Music ...

November 27, 2005
All kind of goodies being submitted – will be adding it in the coming days. For now, we have reviews of a new live box set from Yes and a new Christmas CD from Malaysian jazz duo Double Take. In Music ...

November 13, 2005
Dan Robbins, who found his way into Turbula's pages over the summer with his short story "My One Bar Fight," is back with another gem: "The Jimbo Project" ... John Sweet, whose poetry first graced these pages in the summer of 2004, has a half-dozen added in Poetry ... Charlene Baldridge gets out to see a new production of Moliere's "The Miser" at the La Jolla Playhouse ... also in Theater, we get caught up posting Charlene's wonderful Turbulence arts diary ... and John Whalen has another installment of his "From the Log of Badge No. 54131" column in Culture ...

November 12, 2005
Jamie Reno takes a look at the impending demise of the Baby Boomers as the dominant voice on the national stage in Culture ... Buddy Seigal interviews folksinging legend Ramblin' Jack Elliot ...

November 8, 2005
A boatload of new CD reviews are up in Music – Junior Brown, Chris Bott, Pat Metheny sideman Cuong Vu, and a bunch of San Diego bands ...

October 31, 2005
The neighborhood kids have finally found our funky little triplex and for the first time in memory, we're out of candy on Halloween night. A shameful act, to be sure, but one we're hoping can be ameliorated by the addition of new poems from Peggy Claire and Charlene Baldridge. In Poetry ... Congrats are in order to Jamie "The Franchise" Reno. Once again, Jamie scored Turbula a first-place award in the local journalism awards – this time, the San Diego Press Club annual contest in which Jamie won for Best Online Review for his essay on music journalism, "Eunuchs at an Orgy" from our Autumn 2004 issue ... Turbula publisher/editor Jim Trageser (that would be me) took a second in the same category, meaning, I guess, I once again owe Jamie the first round ... Jamie also won a slew of other awards for his "other" writing for some small mag name of Newsweek and San Diego Magazine ... which causes us to notice we've not had anything from Jamie in awhile ... hey pal – what if we double what we pay you? C'mon ...

October 23, 2005
Dan McC took time away from writing more Ruth and Ellis short stories to review new discs from jazz legends Sonny Rollins and Keith Jarrett. In Music ...

October 21, 2005
Flu bug has bitten the Turbula home offices; slowing things down a bit here. Interview with Billy Martin of the hugely popular jazz trio Medeski, Martin and Wood is up in Music, though ... and we just added some more CD reviews in there, as well – Sound Tribe Sector 9 and Italian jazzster Enrico Rava ...

October 15, 2005
Jim Trageser recently had a chance to chat with jazz luminary Dave Brubeck by phone. Brubeck may be in his 80s, but Trageser reports having trouble keeping up. In Music ...

October 14, 2005
Turbula's resident cabbie, John Whalen, known around these parts for his noir column in our Culture section, has sent us a touching story of his most recent high school reunion, in Culture ... Whalen's high school classmate, Dan McClenaghan, sends in Chapter 2 of his upcoming novel in Fiction ....

October 11, 2005
Well, where did that last week go? Still, if we did perhaps spend too much time absorbed in the baseball playoffs, at least we come back strong with a remarkably vivid poem from Tomás Gayton, and another of Charlene Baldridge's "found poems" (both in our Poetry section). Only Charlene could see art in the spam cluttering her in-box ...

October 2, 2005
Another hilarious short story from Dan McClenaghan in Fiction ... more reviews from New York courtesy of Lucy Komisar, plus a review of Lee Blessing's new play's world premiere, in Theater ...

October 1, 2005
Lucy Komisar checks in from New York with reviews of the new John Lennon musical, Terrence McNally's latest, and a new musical with songs from the genius behind "Hair" ... all in Theater ...

September 30, 2005
Reviews of new CDs by The Bad Plus and Ernest Ranglin up in Music ...

September 26, 2005
CD reviews up of Garage a Trois, John Hollenbeck and Aaron West – all in Music ...

September 25, 2005
West African chanteusse Angelique Kidjo talks to Turbula in Music ...

September 24, 2005
Dig the new cover art by Kathy Crabbe! Her submission of eight of her Lefties drawings was the motivation for adding the Gallery last week – because that's where you'll find more of her delightful artwork.

September 22, 2005
Jamie Reno extolls the virtues of political moderation in Culture, Technology & Politics ...

September 20, 2005
Brad Fikes weighs in with some timely thoughts on those trying to undermine Charles Darwin and evolution in Culture, Technology & Politics ...

September 19, 2005
Review of new Steve Kimock band CD now up in Music ...

September 18, 2005
Added a Gallery for exhibiting all the superb art we've gotten into Turbula ...

September 17, 2005
Our Poetry section is graced with three new poems from David Fraser, publisher/editor of the groundbreaking Ascent Aspirations Magazine ... Buddy Seigal's long-promised (and delayed by Turbula's PC woes) exploration of southern rock is now up in Music ...

September 11, 2005
Michael J. Williams reviews the new Kermit Ruffins retrospective from Putumayo in Music ...

September 9, 2005
Dan Robbins has submitted a great new short story (one we hope is at least semi-autobiographical) – "My One Bar Fight Story" ...

September 5, 2005
Reviews of new CDs from Candye Kane and Bill Mays up in Music ...

September 4, 2005
Some absolutely stunning new poetry from Charlene Baldridge and Turbula newcomer RaynRoberts. In Poetry ...

September 3, 2005
Dan McC's review of Ted Howe's interpretation of Ellington's music now posted ...

September 2, 2005
Review of new Peter Sprague album now up ...

September 1, 2005
Major computer meltdown in Turbula nation – thanks to Jeff Davey for rescuing the data off the hard drive. We should be back up and posting new poetry, fiction, CD reviews and music articles in the next couple of days. Some days we really hate computers ...

August 17, 2005
Posted the review of The Farmers' new CD, "Loaded," in Music ...

August 16, 2005
Just popping in to say we've not disappeared, but spent a week at Boy Scout Camp. (No, we didn't get hit by lightning ... thanks for your concern, though ...). Great new stuff coming later this week – Kitty Crabbe sent in some of her wonderful artwork, Dan McClenaghan has another story we'll post to Fiction, and we have new interviews with jazz luminary Dave Brubeck and zydeco giant Buckwheat Zydeco, plus a review of the new CD from San Diego legends The Farmers ... soon, we promise!

August 2, 2005
Robert Cray talks with Turbula for a bit about his own history and the state of the blues – in Music ... Rafael Palmeiro's positive steroid test provokes us to revive our sports-themed From the Bleachers column in Culture ...

July 31, 2005
Jessica Cortez has sent us another batch of her spare but rich Poetry ... John Whalen checks in with another episode of From the Log of Badge No. 54131 that you really need to read in Culture ...

July 30, 2005
Been busy the past couple of days, but have a batch of new CD reviews up in Music: Tristan Prettyman's debut, guitarist Gary Hoey's surf tribute, Mark O'Connor's new orchestral work, and more ...

July 25, 2005
Charlene Baldridge catches Gilbert & Sullivan under the stars in her latest installment of Turbulence. In Theater ...

July 23, 2005
Erica Woiwode, who graced our Summer 2004 Poetry section, returns with more of her lithe, graceful work in Poetry ...

July 22, 2005
Milestone of a sort – just posted our 250th CD review, Crash Carter's "Red Buttons Blink" ...

July 20, 2005
Non-blog entry No. 412: Added reviews of new albums by Hugh Masekela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Oliver Mtukudzi in Music ... Buddy Seigal sent in a ridiculously brilliant essay on Southern rock ... but that one won't be added for a few more days. We got to read it already and you didn't ... See what teases we are? All right, back to Harry Potter ...

July 17, 2005
Buddy Seigal has a fun time both defending the rep of original flower child Donovan and poking some fun at the pretentions of the Bob Dylan crowd. Check it out in Music ...

July 16, 2005
Andrea Shumovsky, whose poetry graced our Winter 2004 issue, returns with three more poems. Wonderful stuff ...

July 10, 2005
We've got a hilarious new short story from Turbula regular Dan McClenaghan, "Magnum Man." And he's already sent in another short story for August ... that man's starting to spoil us ... Charlene Baldridge, resident Turbula goddess, graces us with another installation of her Turbulence column in Theater ....

July 5, 2005
This dated entry format is starting to look almost like a blog, isn't it? Of course, since I've always sworn I'd never have a blog, obviously it's something else – a "what's new" section, I suppose. But definitely not a blog ... Larry Wright, a name that will ring bells for divorce attorneys and barkeeps but few others, has contributed a fine, twisted little something to our Culture section. Definitely worth a read ... We also have a couple new CD reviews up in Music, and a new entry of Charlene Baldridge's Turbulence column in Theater ...

June 19, 2005
On Thursday, June 16, Turbula contributor Jamie Reno took three first-place awards for his work in Turbula at the annual journalism contest of the San Diego Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Jamie won for best Arts/Entertainment Story/Series for his Autumn 2004 essay on digital music that ran on the Music index page (Turbula also took honorable mention in this category for an interview with Johnny A.); for best Review/Criticism for his essay "Eunuchs at an Orgy" (also from our Autumn 2004 issue); and for best Sports Story or Series for "America's Father Figure Says Good-bye" from our Spring 2004 issue. John Whalen's From the Log of Badge No. 54131 column (found in our Culture/Technology section) took second place for best Feature Story or Series. Finally, Turbula staff took honorable mention awards for best Design, best Entertainment Site and best Sports Story or Series for the From the Bleachers column that once ran in Culture/Technology section when we had more time on our hands than we knew what to do with.(Jamie also won first place for non-deadline news story for a piece he did for Newsweek.com – Jamie da man!)

We couldn't be prouder of Jamie, John and all the rest of our contributors! For little ol' Turbula to go take on the big boys, and win three first place awards shows the caliber of talent found in these pages. We are honored and a bit intimidated, frankly ...

June 6, 2005
We've changed the format of Turbula as of June 2005. Rather than having four quarterly "issues" per year, we're simply live all the time – adding new content as it comes in. We'll list the new stuff here if you want to bookmark this page and check back – we already have some great new fiction and poetry lined up for July, plus a fantastic online gallery by an artist we're convinced you'll all fall madly in love with.

To launch our new format (which admittedly looks an awful lot like our old format), we've got some great new fiction from Turbula regular Dan McClenaghan, plus Zachary Pugh and Torrey Meeks return with new short stories as well. Our poetry section features San Diego jazz singer Peggy Claire, as well as a fine selection from Clint Smith – himself a jazz musician.

Lucy Komisar checks in from New York with another batch of theater reviews (we're still adding more of her wonderful write-ups as this is written, so check back), and Turbula goddess Charlene Baldridge has the second installment of her memoirs in our Culture section. And of course, we have another installment of John Whalen's gritty tales from the streets of San Francisco.

Our Music section is chock-full of new reviews – world beat and alt rock, jazz and blues, there's a little something for everyone in there.

Enjoy!

Jim Trageser

Jim Trageser
Publisher/Editor