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Some advocates for ethnic studies curricula say allowing just any social science teacher to instruct the subject could lead to watered-down and ineffective courses — but officials from school districts say flexibility is important if they’re going to fill the roles.

Join us every Friday morning for a breath of fresh air! Climb the historic California Tower to engage in moments of guided meditation along the way. At the top, we’ll roll out our yoga mats for some extended breathwork while enjoying spectacular 360-degree views of San Diego from the Tower’s eighth-floor viewing deck. Reflect on the week, set intentions for the weekend, or simply take a moment for yourself while taking in the beauty of Balboa Park. For adults 18+ only, registration is required and capacity is limited. Register early here! Follow on Socials! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Tasha Smith Godinez has opened a door to her musical world through her new album, "Out of the Desert." She composed the 13 tracks between 2020 and 2021, as a refuge from the chaotic world around her. Master musicians, Christopher Garcia on percussion and Domenico Hueso on viola join her to create a magical sound. Tasha Smith Godinez is a lifelong musician. She began her musical studies as a child with both the violin and harp and has continued to dedicate her life to making music ever since. Tasha has studied the harp internationally acclaimed performers and instructors including Isabelle Perrin, Elena Mashkovtseva and Susan Allen. She holds performance degrees from both San Diego State University (Bachelor's 2005, Master's 2010) and l'Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Corot in Paris, France (2006). Ms. Smith Godinez has held the position of principal harpist for both the Orquesta de Baja California (Tijuana, Mexico) and the Grossmont Symphony Orchestra (San Diego, California) as well as a handful of appearances with the San Diego Symphony. Follow on social media: First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego: Facebook + Instagram Tasha Smith: Facebook + Instagram

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15) by joining the Library for a lecture celebrating Chicano art and artists. Julia Fister will lead attendees through a brief look at the history of Mexico, which helps to explain how the movement began and still continues to this day. She will take a look at the precursors to the modern Chicano artists, and then at the modern Chicano artists in San Diego’s Chicano Park and Los Angeles. This program is presented by San Diego Oasis. Julia Fister, a St. Louis, Missouri native, graduated from the University of North Carolina in Charlotte with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and from Fontbonne University in St. Louis with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art. After an early career in investment banking and several years as a graphic designer, she arrived at Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) as a volunteer after completing a Master’s Degree in Art History at San Diego State University. Fister was soon hired by OMA to create and direct an education program for 5th graders, later titled ArtQuest, and within six years, the program grew to serve over 7,000 students from Oceanside and the surrounding areas. Moving into the role of Director of Education at OMA, Fister oversaw ArtQuest and created a robust Education Department, serving both children and adults. During her 6 1/2 year tenure, she created a summer camp program, increased the Free Family Art Day attendance to over 5,000 family members a year from 600, revamped the museum’s docent program, increased the Artist Alliance from 15% to 25% of membership, created OMA’s first on-site art classroom, and was instrumental in developing and creating OMA’s first international traveling exhibition. Following OMA, Fister worked as an education specialist for the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, where she revamped and created new educational programming for the museum. Follow on Socials! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Full of rhythmic drive and blues, this 60-minute program of violin-piano works explores how American and French composers were inspired by American jazz and musical friendships and includes William Bolcom’s Sonata No. 2, Maurice Ravel’s Sonata No. 2, Amy Beach’s "Romance," and John Corigliano’s Sonata. About Alicia Choi: Acclaimed for her “technical flair and gleaming tone” (The Berkshire Eagle) and for “possessing a big sound and a warm tone” (TwinCities.com), violinist Alicia Choi is an engaging and passionate performer. Her current season includes performances as Guest Concertmaster of the Kingston Symphony, concerts at the Chapelle Historique du Bon-Pasteur, the Festival de Lanaudière, and the Salle Bourgie Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal, as well as concerts across Québec. Past performances include concerts in the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music Faculty Recitals, the New Brunswick Summer Music Festival, and the Thy Chamber Music Festival. Her solos with orchestra include performances with the Atlantic Music Festival, the Berkshire Symphony, and the Queens Symphony Orchestra under conductors Ronald Feldman, Constantine Kitsopoulos, and Julian Kuerti. Choi has previously served as an artistic director and faculty of the inaugural Harlaxton Chamber Music Festival in Grantham England, as well as performing and teaching faculty at the University of Florida ChamberFest, the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Chamber Music Workshop, and Camp Musical Père Lindsay in Saint-Côme, Québec. From 2013 to 2017, Choi was Artist-in-Residence Faculty of the University of Evansville, Associate Concertmaster of the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, and a member of the Larchmere String Quartet. As a member of the LSQ, Alicia has toured and taught in various North American cities and institutions; performed at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy; won the Evansville Mayor’s Arts Ensemble Award; and released the first commercial recording of the Stephan Krehl String Quartet, op. 17 and Clarinet Quintet, op. 19 with clarinetist Wonkak Kim on the Naxos label. A graduate of Williams College and The Juilliard School, Alicia holds a Doctor of Music in violin performance from McGill University Schulich School of Music, where she has been an Instructor of Chamber Music since 2017. About Futaba Niekawa: Known for her verve and sensitivity, Niekawa pushes the boundaries of her artistry as a versatile pianist, chamber musician, and mentor across genres and disciplines. She has performed throughout the United States, Canada, England, Spain, Taiwan, and her native Japan. To date, she has released five recordings encompassing solo, four-hands, duo, and chamber music from classical to newly composed works. In demand as a collaborative pianist, Niekawa has performed with Atar Arad, James Campbell, Charles Castleman, and members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others. She has been engaged as a collaborative pianist at the Banff Centre, New England Conservatory, Boston Ballet School, Meadowmount School of Music, the IU Summer String Academy, and the Perlman Music Program. Niekawa is currently a Lecturer in Chamber and Collaborative Music at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Eastman School of Music. In addition to her Sonata Seminar, her dedication to pedagogy and mentoring is shown through her appearances as a guest teacher at universities across North America, as a performer and presenter at the Regina Chamber Music Festival and Dream Big: Music Out of Bounds conference, and as an adjudicator for the National Society of Arts and Letters. Most recently, Niekawa has been a founding member of Chamberfest Brown County, a community music outreach initiative for the local area.

Next month, the La Jolla Art Association will feature artist Valerie Saiag. Valerie earned a dual degree in Art History and Studio Art from UC San Diego. Painting and sculpture are central to her art practice. She has presented her research by invitation at UCSD, Berkeley, Stanford and Harvard and has taught sections on writing, translation and history through her alma mater. According to Valerie, "It is a pleasure to share art. Culture in all its forms, from linguistic to artistic is the creativity which makes us fully human. Since childhood, most of us innately know that we must create. We draw, we paint, we build sandcastles, we gather sticks and pebbles. we have been creating art across the globe since our caveman days. Today, scientific research has shown that this creativity is mandatory for humankind's mental and physical well being. If any among us doubted the research, our days of COVID-era isolations should have proved it to us when, worldwide, people started gathering artwork and plants to make their homes comfortable--a creative endeavor in itself. This is not a capricious whim, rather our creativity is our greatest need and greatest capacity. It comes shining though even for the greatest scientists, as it is their creative intellect which allows them to innovate. I wish to bring hope and joy to those who are drawn to my art. May it bring them a sense of peace in these days and always." This month's demonstration will focus on how local, national and international artists brand themselves through their artist statements, biographies and resumes or CVs. Participants will compare and contrast real-life examples. Artists are welcome to share their own information for group feedback. Registration is required and can be accessed here. Follow La Jolla Art Association on Facebook!

This weekend in the arts: "C You Saturday" at ICA San Diego North; San Diego Latino Film Festival's closing weekend; "The XIX (The Nineteenth)" at The Old Globe; the de la Torre Brothers at ICA San Diego Central; "Becoming, Always" from San Diego Dance Theater; La Jolla Symphony and Chorus' "'Music of the Spheres'; and an extended run for "The Outsiders."

Gen Z is feeling the love for Snoopy, who is flying off store shelves and going viral on TikTok. Here's why teens and twenty-somethings are newly obsessed (not that there has to be a reason).

Some 30,000 Thais were working in Israel prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. More than 7,000 have left Israel since. More than 50 Thai citizens were killed or taken hostage in the attacks.

Luke Dumas discussing "A HISTORY OF FEAR" An In-Store & Virtual Hybrid Event This is an IN-STORE EVENT that will also be broadcasted live through Crowdcast for those unable to attend in person. This event will consist of a 30 minute discussion with the author, followed by the book signing. If you're joining us virtually, Mysterious Galaxy's virtual events are hosted on Crowdcast. Register for the event and here to view our virtual code of conduct. Accessibility: Real-time captioning for all Crowdcast events is available via Google Chrome. For enabling captions, please follow this guide. How to Order a Signed/Personalized copy of "A HISTORY OF FEAR" if you're not attending the event: -Add the book to your cart. -At checkout in the "order comments" box write "signed only" or to whom your book(s) should be personalized (i.e. "To: Ms. Galaxy"). Requests for anything beyond a name, like a note or quote, are up to the author's discretion and are not guaranteed. Orders must be placed by Noon on the day of the event (December 6). Please call the store (619-539-7137) if you wish to purchase a book, or add/alter personalization to an existing order, after this time. *Masks are required for all in-person attendees. We will have masks for any that may forget there's.* About the Author: LUKE DUMAS was born and raised in San Diego, California, and received his master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Edinburgh. His work has appeared in HOBART, LAST EXIT, and the queer anthology THE WHOLE ALPHABET: THE LIGHT AND THE DARK, among others. "A HISTORY OF FEAR" is his debut novel. About "A HISTORY OF FEAR" The Devil is in Scotland. Grayson Hale, the most infamous murderer in Scotland, is better known by a different name: the Devil’s Advocate. The twenty-five-year-old American grad student rose to instant notoriety when he confessed to the slaughter of his classmate Liam Stewart, claiming the Devil made him do it. When Hale is found hanged in his prison cell, officers uncover a handwritten manuscript that promises to answer the question that’s haunted the nation for years: was Hale a lunatic, or had he been telling the truth all along? Unnervingly, Hale doesn’t fit the bill of a killer. The first-person narrative that centers this novel reveals an acerbic young atheist, newly enrolled at the University of Edinburgh to carry on the legacy of his recently deceased father. In need of cash, he takes a job ghostwriting a mysterious book for a dark stranger, but has misgivings when the project begins to reawaken his satanophobia, a rare condition that causes him to live in terror that the Devil is after him. As he struggles to disentangle fact from fear, Grayson’s world is turned upside-down after events force him to confront his growing suspicion that he’s working for the one he has feared all this time—and that the book is only the beginning of their partnership.