For years, Andy Acosta lived the kind of career many opera singers spend their entire lives chasing.

The Cuban-American tenor performed across Europe, earned a contract with the Metropolitan Opera, joined prestigious young artist programs, and spent most of the year traveling from one production to the next. Before turning 30, he had already built a résumé that placed him among the most promising voices in his field.

Then the pandemic forced him to stop.

Gift guides can be overwhelming, so I pulled together the things I genuinely love, use, and believe make amazing presents. Some of these brands were new discoveries, some have been part of my life for years, and others surprised me in the best ways possible.

Whether you’re shopping for comfort, travel, wellness, sex positivity, or everyday joy, this guide has something for nearly everyone on your list. It’s a mix of cozy favorites, clever upgrades, small luxuries, and a few unexpected gems that make life a little brighter.

Finding a yoga mat as a tall person shouldn’t be this hard. This guide breaks down the best extra-long yoga mats on the market from 78” to 85”, including cork, rubber, budget picks, premium options, and tips for choosing the right mat for tall bodies.

When I interviewed Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis ahead of the San Diego premiere of Shucked, I left the interview having no idea what to expect apart from two hours of laughing about…corn? Even after seeing a performance from the sneak peek of the season and watching a trailer with a voiceover from Reba McEntire, I knew this would be a show I’d actually have to see to understand.

Ellis echoed that sentiment during our interview, refraining from giving me too many details because he didn’t want to ruin anything for me or the readers. While I agree with that, for the most part, I still have a lot to say about the show, which was surprisingly entertaining—and vocally challenging—for a musical all about corn.

If you’re on the fence about seeing Shucked on its national tour run, don’t cheat yourself of the opportunity.

I’ve never been able to make it through the Moulin Rouge movie, which I’m still open to changing.

While I knew that the Moulin Rouge musical was based on the film, I didn’t realize how much of it would be rewritten for the stage, nor did I realize the covers would be so recent and work so well with the storyline.

I also didn’t realize I would love it so much.

Florenzer is a book that asks for your full attention—and, in many ways, earns it. Set against the rich backdrop of Renaissance Florence, Phil Melanson’s debut novel is beautifully written, deeply researched, and intricate in its storytelling.

I’m a sucker for a good whiskey, and it’s even better when it’s a good Irish one. During my time in Ireland, I only drank native whiskies, but I wish I had known about Natterjack beforehand.

Thanks to the marketing team at Natterjack Irish Whiskey, I was able to sample each of their three varietals, and none of them disappointed.

But what, exactly, is Natterjack? What inspired it? And just how good does it taste?

Out of all of the Broadway shows I’ve seen in San Diego, none had my excitement pre-show like Hamilton.

Since I was already a fan going in, that also made me nervous that I wouldn’t be a fan coming out. I feared that seeing a production without the original cast would temper my opinion.

Fortunately, I was wrong.

His Perfect Crime by Alex Sigmore is a quick, engaging read that does exactly what it sets out to do—pull you into a twisted murder mystery and keep you guessing until the end. It’s the first book in the Emily Slate FBI series, and while it didn’t completely blow me away, it definitely kept me entertained from start to finish.

Sigmore wastes no time pulling us into the case, and a consistent thread of suspense carries through the whole book. It doesn’t get bogged down in excessive backstory or procedural jargon, which makes it easy to fly through.

I wanted to love Wicked. After falling in love with the movie adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande when it premiered in November 2024, I was all in. The visuals, the performances, the vibe—it hooked me completely. I bought the movie the second it dropped in December, already knowing I had tickets to see the Broadway tour when it hit San Diego in February 2025. With a few months in between, I figured, “Why not dive into the book that started it all?”

And that… was my mistake.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides is one of those books I went into with low expectations and came out of slightly stunned—and honestly, impressed. It’s a psychological thriller that’s made the rounds enough to earn the “hype train” label, which usually means I end up feeling underwhelmed. And for the first few chapters, I kind of was. The writing felt just fine, the setup was intriguing but not mind-blowing, and I kept waiting for something to really grab me.

And then it did.

A Promised Land covers everything — with some potential excess information sometimes.

We see Barack before being President was even a blip on his mind. We see the struggle he had with his family coming to terms with his decision. Every detail is covered all the way until the conclusion of the upcoming re-election in 2012.

Obama took us into his daily life and peppered us with the details of it.

When people hear “Ireland,” they usually think of its two main cities: Dublin and Belfast.

Fun fact for those that don’t know: These cities are in completely different countries. Belfast is in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK across the Irish Sea. Dublin is in the Republic of Ireland, which is the dominant country in terms of area and familiarity.

We’re not here to discuss the differences between the Irish countries, though. We’re here to discuss what to do with five hours in Dublin.

As soon as I had the opportunity to go on a solo press trip to Ireland, I told Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland that a visit to Trim Castle was an absolute must. Fans of the movie Braveheart may think that’s my main inspiration for my visit, but I haven’t seen the film. Instead, I wanted to come here for a more personal reason:

Because my ancestors built it.

When I got my itinerary for Ireland, I panicked when I saw that I’d have to pick up a rental car from Hertz at the Shannon Airport that I had to use to make my way across the country to Dublin.

I spent a year in New Zealand and never drove once because it was on the opposite side of the road, and it freaked me out. Being on a sponsored press trip through Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland didn’t leave me much of a choice in the matter, especially if I wanted to see all the places I wanted to, like Galway and Trim.

It didn’t end well.

I never thought I’d wind up with an opportunity to visit Ireland, especially not on a solo press trip sponsored by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. A younger version of myself who was also afraid to come out of the closet would have also been shocked that the main point of the trip was to visit a queer matchmaking festival called The Outing Festival.

The Outing Festival, now hosted at The Inn at Dromoland, began twelve years ago at a now-closed place called The Matchmaker Bar in Lisdoonvarna. What started in a bar has turned into a full-on hotel takeover in County Clare, which has a storied history with matchmaking that influences the weekend’s events and activities.

As soon as I had the lineup for the 47th season of San Diego Broadway, I had the dates circled for the entire month we would have the fortune of hosting Wicked. At the time, I had never seen any iteration of it or read the book, and when the announcement for the show came, the movie hadn’t yet been released, either.

Like many, I fell under the Wicked spell when the movie came out in November 2024 but I also joined the many flocks who hadn’t seen the live show and got left hanging after Cynthia Erivo’s epic rendition of “Defying Gravity.”

I’ve never seen Some Like It Hot in any iteration, and I have to admit, I’m a little surprised at how poignant the storyline is for the current conditions of the world.

The musical production — which just came to San Diego during its first-ever national tour — gave me a mix of Mrs. Doubtfire meets Mama Mia with undertones of Chicago, and I’m here for it.

I went into Back to the Future: The Musical with an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised by Mrs. Doubtfire and figured spending three hours in a musical about time travel and a main character who spends the arc of his story being pursued by a younger version of his mom would be a hoot.

While I went in with an open mind, I left with a couple of mixed opinions, particularly with this being a musical. From the off, I thought BTTF on stage would be awesome, and that aspect was executed well. With the help of screens, special effects, and awesome lighting, we also got to experience the “time travel” on the stage in a very crafty and unique way.

The most mixed of my mixed emotions, again, comes down to the music.

If you’ve ever even attempted to write anything in story format, you’ve more than likely found yourself caught in the middle of the debate over dialogue tags and whether “said” is the only one you should use. It’s long been a source of controversy in the writing community, especially those who prefer more descriptive alternatives. Some argue that "said" is invisible to readers and should be used exclusively, while others believe that more varied tags add flavor and depth to dialogue.

Debate aside, the actual truth is that dialogue tools are a tool, and like any tool, they should be used strategically.

We all like to laugh, and humor can be a powerful tool in even the most serious stories. It lightens the mood, deepens character relationships, and offers readers a moment of relief before diving back into the intensity of the main plot.

However, it can be tricky to find the balance. Too much, and it can feel out of place or break the emotional tension; too little, and the story may become overly heavy. The key is learning how to weave humor into your story naturally without disrupting the tone. Let’s get write on in to some techniques

It’s not uncommon for the terms “villain” and “antagonist” to get thrown around interchangeably, but they’re not actually the same thing.

Yes, all villains are antagonists, but on the flip side, not all antagonists are actually villains. Believe it or not, the distinction is important, as it can significantly impact the dynamics of your story, particularly how conflict and opposition are framed.

Even though they’re usually set up to be the bad guy, a great villain can be just as important—if not more so—than the hero who leads the story.

Yes, heroes inspire and guide us, and the purpose of the villains are usually to challenge the hero’s journey, create conflict, and force the protagonist to rise to new levels of greatness. Without them, stories would be bland and boring, and a well-crafted villain is the cornerstone of a compelling narrative, raising the stakes, driving the plot, and elevating the entire story.

Whether you ever have or ever intend to participate in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo) in November, you shouldn’t hold yourself to only writing a book within those 30 days. If you’re like me, you might find out about NaNo right before it starts and have no idea what to do.

Never fear, even if it feels like you totally should.

I love seeing live renditions of Disney movies, like Aladdin when it rolled through San Diego a few months ago. I was equally excited to see Peter Pan as it came to town to close out this season of San Diego Broadway.

While the show takes on the same plot of Peter Pan flying into Wendy Darling’s room and taking her and her brothers, Michael and John, off to Neverland, the show’s approach is much more modern, much more racially inclusive, and fortunately much more gay.

“Proprioception,” in essence, is just your body’s natural awareness of itself. How it moves, how it takes up space, and how your physical mass exists in the world around you. If you close your eyes and raise your hand, you’ll likely be able to visualize where in the air your hand is, even if you can’t see it. Your proprioception will inform you where in space your hand has landed.

Keep reading to learn more.

“The first time you hear Mrs. Doubtfire’s voice, the very first hello on the phone is the moment I can feel the audience signing the permission slip for me to borrow the character for the evening,” says Rob McClure, who plays Daniel Hillard and Mrs. Doubtfire on the national run of the Mrs. Doubtfire musical.

I used to hate drag queens, which seems ironic given the fact there’s very little chance you’re currently here without knowing that I recently did drag for the first time. This experience was made all the better by the fact it was with the iconic Trinity the Tuck, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4 who’s had a few tremendous runs throughout her time on the show.