Creators unite nerd and lowrider cultures!

Ish Galvan is a cool dude I met during the Vista Strawberry Festival. He and Vince Vargas are the creators behind Triple OG Comics. He was showing everybody the Tamale Guy comic book they’ve published.

As I understood it, Ish is a writer who loves to mash up different concepts in his work, from mythology to metaphysics to science fiction to neo-noir. The story of the multi-issue Tamale Guy is described as: A tamale vendor escapes his violent past to begin a peaceful life. However, an ex-cartel killer with Aztec powers seeks revenge.

Ish explained that he’s bridging both nerd and Chicano lowrider culture. At first glance the two cultures might seem very different, but in fact they have things in common. Consider the graphics painted on many lowrider cars. It’s the sort of art you’d find in a comic, graphic novel, or at Comic-Con for that matter. Some deep in the lowrider culture have confided to Ish they secretly collect comic books, too!

That these two artists are cultural trailblazers is pretty awesome!

Good luck guys!

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Photos of 15th Annual Vista Strawberry Festival!

Strawberries here, strawberries there, strawberries everywhere!

At today’s 15th Annual Vista Strawberry Festival in historic downtown Vista, tens of thousands would crowd into multiple city blocks, exploring over 500 vendors, buying strawberry-themed gifts, enjoying live entertainment, having bushels of fun, devouring every sort of strawberry treat imaginable!

Families wore strawberry costumes, strawberry hats, strawberry dresses and shirts. Dogs often resembled berries. The standout color at the festival was red, not surprisingly.

Kids filled with sugar didn’t need the bounce houses to get jumping.

Smiles and funny surprises everywhere!

Almost forgot to mention–there were loads and loads of actual fresh strawberries for sale, too!

Photographs…

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Tiny matchbox books at San Diego library!

Matchbox books created by author Alice Lowe are now on display at San Diego’s downtown Central Library. Have you seen anything like this before?

Alice Lowe is a local San Diego writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 literary journals. Her tiny matchbox books include her own words plus various quotes and excerpts from different books and authors.

To read these diminutive works of art, you might have to press your nose right up to the glass display cases on the library’s 3rd floor!

If you’d rather not squint or use a magnifying glass, a nearby monitor allows you to read the author’s work in digital form.

Lady Liberty drywall screw art and Memorial Day.

This big, incredible work of drywall screw art depicting the Statue of Liberty is on display today and part of tomorrow in the hangar deck of the USS Midway Museum. It’s titled Lady Liberty.

Lady Liberty is a work in progress, created by veteran Joe Pisano. It honors all those who’ve served in the United States Armed Forces.

Perhaps you’ve seen other examples of his unique, patriotic drywall screw art here and here.

Lady Liberty will be completed and standing tall at the coming Memorial Day ceremony on Mount Soledad, then will make its way to the San Diego County Fair where it will be displayed in an exhibition hall.

What you see in my photographs is the completed top half. The many drywall screws are installed by hand into the underlying wood, often by people visiting the work of art. Many who participate are veterans.

When completed, dog tags representing those who’ve sacrificed will be mounted near the base of Lady Liberty.

Medal of Honor hero Royce Williams is recognized in a special way. His dog tag is installed next to Lady Liberty’s torch!

A time capsule will also be installed in the work of art, to be opened on July 4, 2076, our nation’s 300th birthday. You are invited to write a letter to be enclosed in the time capsule. Read what’s in my final photograph for details!

A visit to Navy SEAL Museum San Diego.

Navy SEAL Museum San Diego opened late last year, but I visited it for the first time a couple weeks ago. What was it like?

The museum at 1001 Kettner Boulevard occupies a very small section of downtown’s America Plaza, right next to the trolley station. It serves as the West Coast wing of the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Florida.

Even though the museum space is somewhat limited (there are plans to move to a location closer to San Diego’s waterfront with much more square footage), I was truly impressed by the depth and extent of its displays–particularly those on the second floor.

One begins on the first floor walking past biographical tributes to notable Navy SEALs, a room showing fascinating videos, and a digital Memorial Wall. There is also a display concerning the work of the SEALs with NASA, helping to recover space capsules and astronauts that returned to Earth.

Once you step out of the elevator on the second floor, the displays become really impressive. Words, photographs and artifacts show how the Navy SEALs operated in different eras, from their origin during World War II scoping out invasion beaches, to Korea, Vietnam and the War on Terror. Visitors can see how the SEALs operate on and under the water (two submersibles hang from the ceiling), the sort of equipment they’ve used over the years, how they’ve rescued hostages, and how they took out Osama bin Laden.

There’s so much to read about and experience, one could spend a good hour slowly moving through the museum, absorbing every detail. You can purchase a virtual reality experience, too, that allows you to carry out a short mission!

When visitors return downstairs, there’s a very extensive gift shop. And, of course, there’s the frogman statue to check out just outside the entrance, next to the America Plaza trolley station. (I took photographs of the statue being erected last year. See those here.)

If the history of the United States Navy SEALs or military matters interest you, this is an absolutely must see. The curtain is pulled back a bit on the secretive elite maritime force, whose premier training ground and primary home base is across San Diego Bay in Coronado!

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The old Hard Rock Café mural in the Gaslamp.

Yesterday, when I shared photos of the original stained glass windows of the Gaslamp Quarter’s 1906 Ingle Building, it occurred to me I’ve never photographed the full mural on the south side of the building. I don’t know its exact history, but I do know the fading artwork existed when the Hard Rock Café was located here.

After reading the historical plaque, I believe this mural might retain elements of an original one decorating the outer wall that depicted the camaraderie found in the Golden Lion during the early years of the Gaslamp Quarter. “Rooms each $2.50” and the painted stained glass suggest a time prior to the Hard Rock Café.

If you know more about this mural, such as its history and who painted it, leave a comment!

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Stained glass from 1906 in Gaslamp Quarter.

I’ve always admired the elaborate stained glass windows of the building that now houses the Mad House Comedy Club & Restaurant. They appear to be antique.

Well, I paused during a walk to read the building’s historical plaque and learned these stained glass windows along Fourth Avenue are original and date from 1906. Back then the bottom floor of this, the Ingle Building, was home to the Golden Lion Tavern.

The historical plaque reads:

For many years, the bottom floor of this building was known as the Golden Lion Tavern, its legacy still evident in the original lion sculptures near the entrance and along the outer walls. The stained glass windows on Fourth Avenue and some of the flooring are original as well. In 1980, the second floor was destroyed by fire. During its reconstruction, a salvaged glass dome, originally created for the Elks Club in San Francisco in 1906, was installed. The replicated mural on the outer wall depicts the camaraderie found in the Golden Lion during the early years of the Gaslamp Quarter.

During that recent morning walk, when the comedy club was closed, I saw no evidence of lions or a mural concerning the early years of the Gaslamp. There is an outside mural that remains from those years when the building was home to the Hard Rock Cafe.

One day I’ll have to venture inside and look around.

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Views from the south end of Seacoast Drive.

Expansive views of the Tijuana River Estuary await those who venture to the south end of Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach.

The North Beach Trail begins here on a wooden walkway that leads to a scenic view spot at the edge of the green marsh. Gazing to the south, one can see buildings in Tijuana, Mexico.

Crossing west past a high sandy berm to the beach, views open to the blue Pacific Ocean and the distant Coronado Islands which lie off Tijuana. A sign in one cluster of boulders warns of rattlesnakes.

I walked around here with my camera recently, in the sunshine and pleasant sea breeze, gazing out at the wide world. No, I didn’t see any snakes.

It was a beautiful day.

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Raging bear on a City Heights tire shop!

Driving down University Avenue through City Heights, you might have seen this great mural depicting a raging bear in a snowy forest.

The artwork was painted in 2024 on the side of Nan’s Tires & Wheels at 4884 University Avenue. The artist is @rudyardandreid.

I took a couple of photos as I walked down the sidewalk last week.

Cool!

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Treasure maps created in Golden Hill!

On a fence at the Golden Hill Recreation Center there’s a student art exhibit. Kids attending Golden Hill Elementary School created neighborhood treasure maps!

I took these photos when I visited the Goldenpalooza festival on Saturday.

According to the posted “My Neighborhood Treasure Map” sign: Students were asked to draw a map of their favorite spots in their neighborhood using any art supplies. They had the option to make it realistic, whimsical or pure fantasy. Students from TK up to 7th grade participated.

Questions to guide their personal journey were: Where do you feel happiest? Where do you love to explore? What place do you want to go back to again and again?

So, what is important in a young person’s life? Take a look at these maps to discover treasure!

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