This morning I walked beside poetry. I followed a bright stream of playful words that were written in 2008 by Quincy Troupe.
FOLLOWING THE WORDS is poetry inscribed along the top of a low concrete wall. The wall stretches between The New Children’s Museum and their garden and playground.
To learn a little more about Quincy Troupe, and to see more photos of this small, joyful refuge in downtown San Diego, click here.
WORDS WALK A PATHWAYINTO OUR MINDS, THEY JUMP QUICKBEHIND A HOPPINGFROG, GUIDING US LIKE A SCOUTINTO THE LANGUAGE WE BOP,WORDS POP BIG AS EYESOF FROGS, WHO HOP AND PLOP, BOPTHROUGH WORDS ZIG-ZAGGINGTHROUGH SENTENCES, HOT AND COOLAS FLIP-FLOPS KIDS ARE WEARING,THEY ARE COLORFUL,THESE WORDS THAT BLIP, BLOP AND PLOP,UP AND DOWN THEY GO,LIKE OUR SCOUT, THE HOPPING TOAD,THERE HE GOES, JUMPING LIKE WORDS,SOME HE TOTES INSIDEA SACK ON HIS BACK, BOUNCING,BROWN-GREEN AS HIS SKIN,THESE WORDS ARE HEAVYLOADS FOR TOADS SAME THING AS FROGSTO CARRY, THESE KNOTS, ZIG-ZAGGING, COOL, WORDS, BOPPING,SKIPPING ALONG, SKEEDADLINGALONG THIS PATHWAY,WE FOLLOW WORDS AS THEY HOPBEHIND OUR SCOUT-TOADOR FROG, IF YOU LIKE THAT WORD,FOLLOW THEM TO WHERE THEY ENDINSIDE THE MUSEUM,WHERE WORDS BECOME FREEDOM, ART,MUSIC AND KNOWLEDGE,POETRY, DANCING, BIG FUN,HIP AS FLIP-FLOPS KIDS HAVE ON
COOL RAP, FLIP-FLOPPING,WORDS THAT RATTAMATAT, JAZZZIG-ZAG THROUGH VOICES,CARRY CHOICES THROUGH TALKING,SENTENCES SKEEDADLING, WORDS,BRIGHT INSIDE KID’S MINDS,MADE NEWS, ABOVE THEIR FUTURE,A NEW SUN RISINGEACH MORNING NEW, AND WE CANTOUCH IT WHEN WE SPREAD OUR WINGSAND FLY LIKE A BIRDTHROUGH OUR OWN MINDS, THROUGH OUR OWNSKIES, INSIDE OUR MINDS,WE CAN TOUCH MAGIC INSIDEOUR OWN IMAGINATIONS,TOUCH IT, THE MAGIC,WATCH YOUR MIND GO FLYINGLIKE A BIRD, NOW, HIGHUP IN THE BLUE, WATCH YOURSELF,YOUR MIND SOAR, SKEEDADLING, NOW
SKEEDADLING VOICESSHIMMY SHIMMY SHANGLE, BOP,SASHAY, SKEEZOOZOOTHROUGH, HIP WORDS THEY HOP, POP,AS RAINBOW CHILDREN PLOP, SHINEIT’S PLAYTIME, SPARKLINGWITH LAUGHTER, SKEEDADLING LIKEOCEAN WAVES DRUMMING,A CHOIR OF BIRDS, SHOWERINGRAIN, SOFT AS CHILDREN’S FOOTSTEPSCHILDREN’S FACES BLOOMLIKE FLOWERS IN JUNE, DAZZLING,SPARKLE LIKE TINKLINGWATERFALLS, RINSING, PURE SOUNDS,BRIGHT ROSE PETALS ON THE GROUND,YOU ARE YOUR OWN SONGSINGING SWEET MUSIC, COLORS,NOTES INSIDE LAUGHTER,FREEDOM IS TIME, NOW,YOU ARE LIVING IN YOURSELFWHEN YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE,THEIR FACES AGAINSTWHITE WALLS, ARE FLOWER PETALSPOPPING INTO ROOMSOUT IN GREEN BUSHESFROGS SERENADE THE MOON, SKYAS CATS CHASE SHADOWSYOU CAN TOUCH IT, TOUCHIT, NOW, THROUGH YOUR POET’S PEN,YOUR PAINTER’S BRUSHSTROKE,THE SUN INSIDE YOUR MIND, TOO,REACH IN, TOUCH IT, TOUCH IT NOW
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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!
A guy inline skates down the Pacific Beach boardwalk. Live Life SLOW.
Here come some fun photos! I took them during a short walk along Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach.
These various works of art, including the funny sign and mosaic sculpture, can be found between Mission Boulevard and Fanuel Street.
Enjoy!
A cool surf monkey in front of a Pacific Beach bike shop.Interwoven geometric design on an electrical box.A painted PB sunset.One of three mosaic sculptures on the Grand Avenue median by Kim Emerson, which together are Oceanlife, Sun and Waves. (The two others are east of Fanuel Street.)Closer photo of the beautiful mosaic sculpture titled Waves, created by artist Kim Emerson in 2002.A couple of electrical boxes at Grand and Fanuel feature lots of fun images.A funny green seahorse and pink clam.Sea creatures hang out near a sunken treasure chest.Colorful street art on two sides of one box.A purple octopus at the bottom of the sea near a wrecked tall ship.A grinning crab! Love the life! P.B.
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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!
That big bronze pelican standing by the Pacific Beach Lifeguard Station is one cool bird! His name is Pelican Brown.
Legend has it Pelican Brown was observed dancing at the ballroom that used to be located at the end of Crystal Pier. Dressed up in his best velvet vest, he danced the PB Tango!
This fun public art was created in 2004 for the City of San Diego by artists T.J. Dixon and James Nelson. A nearby plaque on the lifeguard station contains the poem The Ballad of P.B., which was written by Jan Phillips.
The amusing poem begins:
Pelican Brown was in search of a home where he could have fun and relax. He looked for a beach that was pretty and a sea that was swimming with snacks.
He flew up and down the long coastline looking both far and quite near. Then, one day he knew he had found it when his eyes saw the great Crystal Pier.
What happens next? Does the story have a happy ending?
Read the entire poem and learn more about the artists at the Project Pelican Brown web page, which you can visit by clicking here!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
My walk through downtown this morning yielded several cool discoveries, including a fantastic mural that I hadn’t noticed before!
After stepping out into the chilly air and zipping up my jacket, I headed south from the top of Cortez Hill. The clouds were still fringed with gleaming gold.
I walked straight down Ninth Avenue and ended up near Petco Park. I then walked around the ballpark to catch a trolley for work.
Enjoy some photos!
Birds over “head”.I spotted some sort of artwork high up near the roof of the building at the corner of Ninth and Broadway.It’s a cool mural! It appears to have been painted in 2015 by Christopher Konecki.This cool face on a window is by artist Almighty Savo.Light above, shadow below. It’s early morning in East Village.A city bus on the move.I spotted a new graphic at Petco Park! It celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the San Diego Padres!Green leaves and shining windows in new sunshine.The sun will soon appear above the MTS building at 12th and Imperial. It’s already peeking through up near the roof.Gleaming morning light on pedestrian bridge and freight train.
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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 morning I drove to Mount Soledad. A new winter storm is on the way, and the clouds are more dramatic than usual.
Breathtaking vistas open up at the summit of Mount Soledad. Standing beside the cross of Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial, I turned slowly about and took it all in.
To the north: La Jolla, Del Mar and the Pacific Ocean. To the northeast: University City. To the east and southeast: the distant foothills and mountains of East County. To the hazy south: tiny downtown, Mission Bay and Point Loma.
In every direction: amazing beauty!
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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!
Texas Tractor, 2002, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.
A great new art exhibition has recently opened at the San Diego History Center!
Carol Lindemulder: Color Story features a collection of vibrant paintings by a local artist who loves to travel about the landscapes of Southern California and the American Southwest. In her paintings, deserts, fields, mountains and small towns are frequently defined by swaths of radiant color–like patches of bright sunshine before your eyes!
Carol Lindemulder, a San Diego native, is a founding member of the Save Our Heritage Organization. She was responsible for the restoration of the Giant Dipper roller coaster in Mission Beach. Her paintings are informed by a deep knowledge of our region’s history, its backroads and lesser known spaces.
Head over to the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park and see these amazing paintings for yourself!
Photograph of Carol Lindemulder painting.Most of my paintings have a path–a road, a street, a river–a place from which we start the adventure.The Road Less Traveled, 2003, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.Fish Creek Afternoon, 2012, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.Stonebridge Canyon, 2016, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.October, Canyon de Chelly, 2002, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.When Shadow’s Fall, 1996, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.Ocotillo, 2010, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.Storm from Temecula, 2001, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.Henshaw After the Storm, 2007, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.Just Around the Corner from the Stop Sign, 2013, Carol Lindemulder. Oil on linen.
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
I’ve always loved Spanish Village in Balboa Park. I still remember going there as a young adult and immediately feeling a sort of spiritual connection. One feels free and alive in this magical place.
Today I was walking through Spanish Village when I paused outside Studio 13. My feet are often drawn to this particular studio. I’m not sure why.
Sylvia Mejia, the ceramics artist who works in Studio 13, and I spoke a few friendly words. She invited me inside.
I found myself surrounded by many faces.
Happy faces.
Soulful faces.
Expressive, deeply human faces.
Have a look with me:
Sylvia Mejia, in Spanish Village Art Center’s fantastic Studio 13, surrounded by her ceramic creations.
May you live all the days of your life.
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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!
Patrick Block, long-time Disney comics artist, draws the famous face of Donald Duck. A beloved character comes to life during the Creating a Comics Story event at the future home of the Comic-Con Museum.
This afternoon I attended one of the coolest events EVER!
I and other spellbound people sat in the auditorium of the future Comic-Con Museum, watching as veteran Disney comics artists Patrick and Shelley Block brought Donald Duck to life! With the help of the audience, right before our eyes, they created an absolutely original, hilarious and brilliant comic book story! The penciled five page story was about Donald Duck working as janitor at a comic book convention, and much of the story’s essential plot came spontaneously from the audience!
It was pure magic. Patrick sketched with practiced ease while sharing his thought process, and Shelley Block contributed humorous banter and brilliant inspiration. From the tip of a number 7 mechanical pencil, Donald Duck emerged into our world–reminding readers that much in life is inherently funny, and that a cartoon about a zany “everyperson” duck can reinforce a sense of our own humanity.
During the event all sorts of questions were asked by the smart audience, and I wish I had taken notes. But the entire experience was simply too mesmerizing.
If this is a preview of coming events at the Comic-Con Museum, which we learned is slated to open in May of 2021, it’s going to be one of the most amazing museums in the world. That’s no exaggeration.
I can’t wait!
Art and writing team Patrick and Shelly Block, Disney comics creators for 26 years, talk about the creative process.Three pages of the five page Donald Duck comic are nearly done. Through an odd series of funny events, Donald has become janitor at a comic book convention!Donald Duck wants to see the masquerade ball, and after many gags and catastrophes ends up winning it!Original Donald Duck artwork created by Patrick and Shelly Block for the Comic-Con Museum. Don’t forget us funny animal comics!
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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!
If you’ve ever had a bad day, and thought it will never stop raining, there’s a new short story you might enjoy reading. It concerns sadness. It contains a tiny bit of wisdom.
Dan Plante of KUSI News gives the surfing hang loose sign!
I was heading to the Hazard Center trolley station after work when I noticed traffic had been diverted due to the flooding of Mission Center Road by the rain-swollen San Diego River.
I headed down to check things out . . . and here comes smiling KUSI News television reporter, Dan Plante.
Cool San Diego Sights! 