A groundbreaking, free cultural event in City Heights is coming this weekend!
The Columbus Club of San Diego, at 4425 Home Avenue, will host its inaugural art exhibition on Saturday, July 1. A free-style, eclectic collection of work will be on display in the Columbus Hall gallery from 1 pm to 1 am for everyone to enjoy.
Dialogue of Disparate Visions will include the work of artists Jim Bliesner, Spencer Little, Tarrah Aronoskool, Dorothy Annette and Gmonikart.
In addition to this gallery exhibit, the artists will be on site to discuss their emerging installation work on the concept “Beyond the Anthropocene” which is under construction throughout the grounds of Columbus Hall. The installation will include work by noted East Coast artist Lionel Delevingne.
It is hoped that Columbus Hall will evolve into a dynamic City Heights cultural venue. Your attendance at this weekend’s event can help make that positive vision happen!
Here are just a few examples of the art you will experience…
Image courtesy Jim Bliesner.Image courtesy Jim Bliesner.Image courtesy Jim Bliesner.
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Do you love the look, feel, and smell of words on paper, bound handsomely together for your own bookshelf?
I love to stumble upon dusty old books at a swap meet or rummage sale. Turn the pages and the author still speaks. The cover and interior artwork can be fantastic. One might find interesting notes or thoughts scribbled by past readers. And, if you’re lucky, there will be a beautiful bookplate inside.
What’s a bookplate? It’s a label readers affix inside their books to indicate ownership. They can also be used for book signings by authors.
The Mission Hills-Hillcrest/Harley & Bessie Knox Library currently has a display case full of handsome bookplates near its front entrance. They come from the San Diego Public Library’s Special Collections.
Here are a few examples:
The Mission Hills-Hillcrest Branch Library opened in 2019. Its grand opening was preceeded by one of the most wonderful events I’ve experienced in San Diego: the epic Book Pass!
Hundreds of neighbors transported hundreds of books from the old branch library to the newly built library. Every book passed from hand to hand about a mile down Washington Street. I took photographs of that incredible event, which you can see here!
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The subway has a new stop at the San Diego Museum of Art!
Until December 3, 2023, visitors walking through two San Diego Museum of Art galleries will experience the inside of a gritty subway. The New York subway in 1980, that is. Diverse passengers in close contact pass through dimly lit tunnels together in a photographic exhibition that can be interpreted as a metaphor for our life in this world.
The exhibition is titled Bruce Davidson: Subway. The artist, Bruce, spent a full year photographing people on the New York subway. He noted that close contact between strangers could result in surprisingly beautiful moments. Strangers find that they are alike in many ways, sympathize, laugh, learn about each other. Of course, these moments rely on strangers actually talking to one another.
Today, passengers staring at phones safely avoid eye contact on public transit. You can observe this on the San Diego Trolley. By tilting heads downward, passengers easily escape real world uncertainties and personal vulnerability. Does living inside a little screen make people more or less human?
Make Galleries 14/15 your destination at the San Diego Museum of Art. Enter these two free galleries from Panama 66 in the sculpture court. Look for the Subway sign!
Five years ago I wrote a short story titled One Thousand Likes. It’s about phone addiction and social isolation on a crowded light rail train. Unfortunately, the story resonates more than ever. You can read it and other thought-provoking stories by clicking here.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I must confess that my favorite part of the San Diego County Fair every year is the Design In Wood exhibition of fine woodworking. The amazing creations of woodworkers around the San Diego region always blow my mind!
Check out some of the creations you will see. You’ll find beautifully crafted furniture such as chairs, tables and cabinets. There are extraordinary carved sculptures. There are imaginative works of art made of wood that you can hang on the wall. There are surfboards. There are clocks. There are fantastic guitars. There are elaborate, very detailed model ships. There are wooden toys. There’s even an Addams Family pinball machine made almost entirely of wood!
What’s really cool is that several woodworking organizations from around San Diego County provide expert demonstrations, too. Small items that you can buy for a donation such as spinning tops and writing pens are fashioned while you watch.
Design In Wood is presented in association with the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association. You can find this awesome exhibition at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the Mission Tower next to the Gems and Minerals exhibit.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship tournament is presently underway in San Diego. Thirty international teams are competing to play in the Gold Medal Game at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday, July 1. Learn more about the World Lacrosse Men’s Championship at their website here.
This afternoon I watched the first half of play between Uganda and France at San Diego State University. I know practically nothing about lacrosse, but quickly became excited by the fast-paced play. Fans cheered from the sidelines. Flags waved. I was impressed by the intensity, athleticism, passion and sportsmanship exhibited by both teams.
The lacrosse action was so rapid, in fact, that taking photographs was a challenge. I envy the skills of professional photographers who capture great moments with regularity.
If you love lacrosse or want to experience the sport for your first time, I suggest you watch these very high level games. You can find the 2023 World Lacrosse Men’s Championship schedule here.
So who won? When I left at halftime, the score was a close 4-3 in favor of France. I see they ultimately won the game 13-5.
Those four guys posing for my final photograph play for Ireland. They won earlier in the day in a thrilling double-overtime game! No wonder they were smiling!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Would you like to begin a project at home that is fun and beneficial to others in need? Why not plant a vegetable garden, grow healthy produce and donate your harvest to a local food bank?
I was walking through the Garden Show at the San Diego County Fair when I came upon a “Homegrown Hunger Relief” display. I stopped to read what that meant.
The organization Healthy Day Partners works to feed the hungry with healthy food, and encourages the creation of home and school gardens. They offer gardening workshops, and support a number of different hunger relief programs.
Healthy Day Partners has collaborated with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) to plant fruit trees in many communities throughout San Diego County.
They also offer Grab & Grow Gardens to aid people grow their own food. A small selection of vegetable and/or herb seedlings are handed out in an easy to carry bag, along with instructions in English and Spanish.
Sounds like a good thing? Check out the Healthy Day Partners website and perhaps become involved by clicking here!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
This year the theme at the San Diego County Fair is Get Out There! Throughout the Del Mar Fairgrounds visitors encounter displays that celebrate recreation in the Great Outdoors.
This theme works perfectly with one of the most popular attractions at the San Diego County Fair: the outdoor Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show!
Gardening clubs, local students and civic organizations have created their own themed landscape displays. In the spirit of Get Out There, many of the small gardens that I saw during my visit include camping tents and lawn chairs, nestled among native Southern California plants. There is also a fun potted garden competition.
I also found a gigantic animatronic snail. And model trains running through a representation of Yellowstone National Park. And a display that pays tribute to Route 66. And there are old wagons filled with flowers. And a plant sale. And art, too!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Should you wander into Grandstand East at the San Diego County Fair, you’ll find yourself surrounded by great paintings and other works of art. There are literally hundreds of pieces in the fair’s Fine Art Exhibit.
Because artists are competing for ribbons, the exhibition has been divided into various categories. One category which really caught my attention is titled Be Bold!
Comic-Con is less than a month away, so an awesome painting of Wonder Woman caught my eye. A nearby representation of the iconic Euclid Tower in City Heights then convinced me to blog a few photos of these Be Bold creations!
Creation, by artist Lydia Twigg.Celtic Horse, by artist Michael Markopoulos.Tower Bar, by artist Sarah Conley.Banje Beach, by artist Rick Lepire.
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I’ll be covering Comic-Con again this year. It’s almost here! To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Brilliant! That’s what I thought when I met artist Jeff Daymont and observed his uniquely designed playing cards and original games!
I was walking through the Seaside Pavilion at the San Diego County Fair–you know, where vendors sell unique wares, demonstrating salad choppers and knives that will cut through a brick–when my eyes fell upon an unusual table. That’s a lot of playing cards, I thought. Then I looked more closely…
Jeff has created playing cards that are truly unique. The Kings and Queens illustrated on cards depict actual monarchs, rulers and royalty from world history. Many of the playing cards are also designed to support all sorts of original games, such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, Water and Lizard!
You can see a bunch of games invented so far for the versatile King’s Keys deck by clicking here. If you think up a new game, submit it!
Not only are these playing cards works of art, but I absolutely love the concept that inspired players can dream up new games!
Do you want to check out Jeff Daymont’s very cool playing cards?
A similar game I wrote for the Commodore 64 was titled Super Clue. It can be played freely on your computer right now by visiting the Internet Archive here!
Here’s a screenshot of a new game beginning:
Hints: the characters in Super Clue move about randomly, randomly drop and pick up objects, and can randomly leave clues at each location. There are several possible murder weapons. You can search characters and locations and interrogate the roaming characters. Use objects that you pick up like a magnifier, rope and flashlight. The initial character positions are randomly generated. To make a new move, type in a simple two or three word command. Enter “help” to see which words are recognized. One character is initially designated the murderer. Deduce who it is and make an arrest before midnight, or before there are more victims! I’m very proud of the sound effects I created. Be patient! As the ancient program runs on a computer emulator, every move’s resulting text can be a bit slow to appear, so wait a few seconds. Map out the mansion as you move about. Have fun!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Is there anything edible not deep fried at the San Diego County Fair? Walk past the endless food stands and it might seem that way!
Of course, there are many non-deep fried offerings everywhere you turn at the fair, like burritos, hot dogs, hamburgers, barbeque, turkey legs, cinnamon rolls or ice cream. But who hasn’t made a joke about the numerous, sometimes bizarre deep fried treats that might tempt curious fairgoers?
Deep fried pizza.Deep fried decadence: Mexican funnel cakes.Totally fried Oreo.Fried s’mores on a stick.Fried shrimp with French fries.Totally fried avocados.Totally fried Twinkies.Fried chicken, of course.Fried veggies. (Is that more healthy?)Bacon wrapped pickle totally fried!Deep fried pork sandwich.
Yum!
Lip smacking good!
Where’s my bottle of antacid?
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 