People enjoy unusual aquarium displays at the San Diego Tropical Fish Society Annual Show in Balboa Park.
Time for a laugh! Here are some weird, funny, and wonderfully creative fish aquariums!
Today I photographed some of the most humorous aquariums on display at the San Diego Tropical Fish Society Annual Show in Balboa Park. I was delighted to see so much unleashed craziness and imagination. Looks like this fishy hobby can be a lot of fun. Check these out!
A very unique aquarium contains two upside down goblets and one upside down glass fish bowl. The latter acts as a sort of sky observatory for the finny inhabitants.Star Wars characters stand atop an aquarium from a galaxy far, far away. The space-like interior features a duel between a randomly drifting TIE fighter and X-Wing, while darting red fish appear to be laser blasts.Doctor Who and a companion have traveled by TARDIS into the strange, unearthly interior of this humorous aquarium.An old blender or coffee maker makes a fine tropical fish aquarium, I suppose. Just don’t turn them on.I’m sure a fish was hiding somewhere in the ruins of the lost city of Atlantis.Who said bonsai plants couldn’t be submerged? Makes for a lovely but rather fishy garden.And an underwater Buddha, too! These fish must be on the watery path to nirvana.An aquarium alive with silly Minions and Lego creations and jumbled color. Oh, and some shy fish, too.A yellow submarine in a Beatles-themed tropical fish aquarium. Another fun photo taken in Balboa Park during the San Diego Tropical Fish Society Annual Show!
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A cool work of art pieced together in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village. Anyone can do this!
My weekend walk in Balboa Park took me through Spanish Village Art Center. For a few pleasant minutes I paused to watch artist Kathi Vargo piecing together collages and unique assemblage at a table in the middle of the patio. Anyone passing by was invited to join in!
I learned that Kathi offers Paint and Paper Play classes where absolutely anybody can learn to create mixed media collages. If you’re interested, visit her website!
Kathi Vargo was having a fun Paint and Paper Play Collage Workshop in the middle of the Spanish Village Art Center’s colorful patio.All sorts of objects can be used to assemble this unique artwork.Applying some paint to a strip of material.Creating art expands the mind, enriches the spirit, and is just plain fun!You can make this!
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Cool urban art by Exist1981, created for PangeaSeed’s Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans festival. The public artwork, located at the Quartyard in East Village, warns that melting sea ice due to climate change will affect polar bear populations.
Whenever I walk past Quartyard in San Diego’s East Village, I look around to see what cool urban art I might discover. I took out my camera yesterday and snapped a few photos of the colorful artwork!
Quartyard, at the corner of Market Street and 11th Avenue in San Diego’s East Village, is a place where people can gather to eat, drink, talk, and enjoy entertainment.Mail delivery person heads into Quartyard, a community gathering place made from repurposed shipping containers. Coffee, beer, concerts and food trucks are found here.A cheerfully painted parking meter stands strangely by a mail box.The Meshuggah Shack occupies one shipping container. The funky place is known for their great coffee and friendly vibe.The colorful Meshuggah Shack offers coffee, tea, oddities, smoothies, noshes, and other fun stuff.Words on one shipping container at the Quartyard proclaim this is Your City Block.Sun, water, hungry sharks and a tropical island. I’m not exactly sure what is going on in this crazy street art created by Nick McPherson and MR DVICE.
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
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Lawrence Godfrey. Sunflowers and a peaceful country scene interpreted with chalk.
Check out these photos of amazing chalk art!
This morning dozens of chalk artists were busy working to complete their masterpieces as 2016 Festa in Little Italy officially opened. There was no special theme this year, so the artwork along Beech Street included anything and everything Italian. The photos I took yesterday (for my previous blog post) provided only a hint of what would materialize. Today’s photos show hours of hard work by the artists, who have brought their unique visions to life.
I’ve included what I believe to be the team names in the photo captions. Congratulations to all the great artists!
Artists work to complete their chalk art masterpieces at 2016 Festa in Little Italy.Santa Fe Christian High School. Colorful trees and hills. Perhaps it’s an orchard or vineyard in Italy.Elisabeth Eckert. Flowing artwork on the streets of Little Italy during Festa.Canyon Crest Academy. A chalk depiction of classic painting The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio.Liberty Charter High School. A scene from Venice, Italy produced with chalk.Pearson Family. A colorful face sure to please thousands of visitors at 2016 Festa in Little Italy.Lidia F. Vasquez. Another sensational work of art by a very accomplished young chalk artist.Lydia Puentes Phillips. The face of Christ before the Crucifixion.Stan Tang. A strong masculine face drawn with chalk.Chalkolate. A red Alfa Romeo made entirely of chalk. The Gesso Italiano at 2016 Festa celebrates everything Italian, including cars!Mount Miguel High School. Someone is trying to reach out of the asphalt on Beech Street!Alex Dejecacion. Some fine chalk artistry has produced a lovely woman.Weenie Kingdom. Another amazing chalk female portrait.Liliana Mai. It seems a Venetian gondolier is waving from some water beneath a San Diego street!Valerie Michelle. Unusual chalk art depicts an elegantly dressed dog!Megnificent. A chalk art portrait of Leonardo DiCaprio is being created.Team Pinoy. Sylvester Stallone, a movie icon whose father was Italian.Judith Arnaud Gary. The head of David, a famous sculpture by Michelangelo.Francois Lariviere. A chalk figure in exotic armor created for 2016 Festa in Little Italy.Team Parada. Colored chalk has produced a stunning face.Shuji Nishimura. The face of famous Italian actor and comedian Roberto Remigio Benigni.Holly Lynn Schineller. In Praise of Imperfection, a tribute to Italian twin sisters.Carlos Alberto Cortez Gomez. Colorful classical figures created with Gesso Italiano.Cecelia Linayao. A mother and child take form on the street at Festa.Grasiela Rodriguez. This Roman Colosseum is an Italian chalk art work in progress.Brenda Mora. In loving memory of Josephine Pecoraro, resident of Little Italy.Angela Checco. Two lovers enjoy romance in Rome.Tonie Garza. Madonna in Glory by Italian painter Carlo Dolci. One of many Catholic chalk art images created for Festa in San Diego’s Little Italy.Tiffany Garza. A face from Italian popular culture appears on a San Diego street.Renee Keady. Grapes crown a beautiful female face.Brianna Cunha. The Italian theme at 2016 Festa most certainly included grapes!Kira Lewis-Martinez. A graceful religious figure softly composed of chalk.Shawnet Sweets. A classic Italian painting translated into chalk art.Team Zamora. The colors of Italy. Looking upward with pride.Lisa Pierre-Davis. A life-filled chalk character at 2016 Festa in Little Italy!
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A beautiful face comes alive on a Little Italy street. Amazing chalk art will be a central attraction at the annual Festa celebration in San Diego.
Tomorrow Festa will be enjoyed by thousands of people in Little Italy. One of the annual festival’s biggest attraction is the amazing chalk art, which is also known as Gesso Italiano. Today the chalk artists began creating their masterpieces. Their unusual canvas is two blocks of asphalt along Beech Street.
I walked this afternoon from Cortez Hill down to Little Italy, to see how far the artwork has progressed. Most of the artists had already made a good start.
I looked with wonder at many colorful chalk art faces that have gradually come to life. The artists, when drawing a human form, often begin with the face. So many beautiful faces were gazing up from the asphalt.
Festa begins tomorrow, Sunday, at 10 o’clock. Thousands will enjoy the finished chalk masterpieces. I will definitely be there!
Chalk artists line two blocks of Beech Street. It’s a very special October weekend in downtown San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood.This chalk artist uses a grid to form his emerging creation.Another face mysteriously materializes on the street. Many different colors of chalk can be used to create subtle effects.Elaborate chalk artwork, also known as Gesso Italiano, is being created the day before 2016 Festa begins in Little Italy.Chalk can be used to produce truly sensational images.Another chalk artist at work creating a bold face in the middle of the street.Many classical images borrowed from Italy’s rich history and culture will appear tomorrow on Beech Street for 2016 Festa.Chalk and asphalt. Passion and skill. A human face is born.Eyes peer up from the street, patiently regarding a skilled chalk artist.A colorful chalk angel almost ready to take flight in Little Italy.A beautiful face beneath a halo.Flying purple hair, and a glowing face in the sunlight.These eyes have been infused with life. Chalk artists have converged to create beautiful art in Little Italy for 2016 Festa!
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
A huge spider-like working octopod vehicle on display in the Plaza de Panama at 2016 Maker Faire San Diego!
Check out some cool photos! I took these this morning at 2016 Maker Faire San Diego which is being held this weekend in Balboa Park!
This now annual event–I believe this is the second year–attracts creative people of every type: engineers, inventors, dreamers, artists, students . . . If the human imagination can envision it, these folks will build it!
If you are a dreamer and a doer, head down to Balboa Park and be inspired!
Maker Faire San Diego has taken over Balboa Park this weekend. The annual event features fantastic creations and the inspired creators who like building cool stuff!This super cool octopod moves slowly forward and backward using its spider-like feet. I’d love to sit inside and drive it! I learned that it doesn’t steer very well, however.In the morning, before the Maker Faire officially opened, I spotted two cupcake cars heading through Balboa Park!This guy was flying what appeared to be a huge model of a Star Wars Imperial Star Destroyer down Balboa Park’s El Prado!A bunch of Maker Faire exhibitors set up on Saturday morning in front of the San Diego Air and Space Museum in Balboa Park.This human powered submarine was created by a team of students at UCSD. It competed in the International Submarine Race and was propelled by a 3-D printed fin.This cool robot was created by high school students, namely High Tech High’s Top Hat Technicians. It competed in an event where a ball had to be shot at a goal.Make your own molecule using this cardboard Molecube!These awesome guitars were made by students in a special STEM Guitar-Building class at San Diego City College.The Ghostbusters ECTO-1 vehicle has arrived for Maker Faire San Diego, as well as a Jeep from Jurassic Park.Commissioner Gordon must be nearby. I spotted his Gotham Police Department vehicle.A tiny house would be built here during the Maker Faire weekend. When I first walked by, the floor was being laid down.About an hour later, one wall was already up!The Electric Giraffe returned for 2016 Maker Faire San Diego. It walks, talks, and has become quite a phenomenon. It has even appeared at the White House!The Electric Giraffe is 17 feet tall when its neck is fully raised. Its “horns” (actually ossicones) appear to be lava lamps!These creators at Maker Faire San Diego were building the Temple for Youtopia. It’s an interlocking plywood parabaloid with a single light source at it’s focal point. When finished, light shines out everywhere.A similar Temple is built each year at Burning Man and set on fire.I noticed a lot of cool Star Wars cosplay at 2016 Maker Faire San Diego.I caught this Star Wars cosplay between Balboa Park’s House of Hospitality and the Japanese Friendship Garden.Back in Balboa Park’s central Plaza de Panama, the San Diego Sabers engaged in a fast-paced lightsaber battle!Enthusiasts in cool protective costumes engage in lightsaber combat as a crowd watches during 2016 Maker Faire San Diego!Anybody passing by was invited to Paint a Prius near the San Diego Automotive Museum!Kids have a blast in front of the San Diego Air and Space Museum. Air-propelled rockets were flying all over the place.Kids at Maker Faire San Diego test a carbon dioxide cannon, made from a garbage can!This remote control robot batter was swinging wildly at beach balls. A rather amusing scene! (Wish I’d taken a better photo.)Here comes AR-Duo, the Caloric Rover, a cool steampunk rolling doohickey which is beyond awesome.There’s just too much fun at 2016 Maker Faire San Diego! Head over to Balboa Park this weekend!
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This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
Here’s the Cool San Diego Sights main page, where you can read the most current blog posts. If you’re using a small mobile device, click those three parallel lines up at the top–that opens up my website’s sidebar, where you’ll see the most popular posts, a search box, and more!
To enjoy future posts, you can also “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
You can help save Balboa Park’s beloved Starlight Bowl!
I’m no expert on this matter. Take whatever I say with a grain of salt. I’m just an ordinary guy who has lived in San Diego for a good chunk of my life.
I would like to raise my voice in support of saving the Starlight Bowl in Balboa Park. I’m not affiliated with Save Starlight. They have no clue who I am. But I’m attached to their cause. A chain of fond memories is my bond.
Years ago I enjoyed watching a variety of theatrical productions with my family in this beloved outdoor amphitheater. Some of those productions I experienced as a child and young adult, and they made a lasting impression. They helped me to develop my particular love for the written (and spoken) word, and for the great outdoors. My small world expanded as I sat beneath a universe of twinkling stars and absorbed great plays–those undying expressions of human longing, emotion and imagination. And it was simply exciting–like going to an outdoor concert!
I’m sure thousands–if not millions–of people have similar memories of the Starlight Bowl: memories of fine drama and pleasure under those twinkling stars, of laughs, tears and smiles, out in the fresh San Diego air, a short walk from the many other wonderful institutions in Balboa Park.
The Starlight Bowl has languished far too long. What a shame. When I walk past it during my strolls around Balboa Park, I can’t help but envision it once again filled with humanity, playing a unique role in our ever-growing city. Save Starlight is working to bring the large, functional amphitheater back to life. According to an email I received, they are now working with the city, and they intend to fill the Starlight Bowl with concerts, musicals, dance recitals, circus acts, magic shows, multicultural festivals, graduations, and much more. A few more ideas have also popped into my head: corporate events, lectures, a meeting place for large community organizations . . .
Many of my blog’s followers either live in or have a personal attachment to San Diego. Would you like to help with this effort? You know, social media sites like Facebook can have a surprisingly big impact if people post and share information and opinions. So why not make your support known? Or perhaps just tell your friends about what’s going on.
Save Starlight is making a presentation to the City of San Diego within a week, and a handwritten letter of support would be extremely powerful. Ideas for a letter might include your personal connection with Starlight, practical reasons why you would like to see the Starlight Bowl reopened, or even how you would like to become involved. Perhaps you’d like to volunteer, donate, use the venue for staging an event, have your product carried in the concessions, etc. If you plan to write, do it soon!
Letters should be sent to:
Stephen Stopper, President
Save Starlight, Inc.
9590 Chesapeake Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
After languishing for many years, the Starlight Bowl might once again be filled with humanity and life. You can help make it happen. Your voice is important.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Families are entertained by a story box rendition of The Magic Finger during the Roald Dahl celebration in Balboa Park.
Author Roald Dahl was celebrated today in Balboa Park! Who is Roald Dahl? He was the amazing writer who gave the world Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, The BFG, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda, The Witches . . . and many other extraordinary stories that have been enjoyed by millions of children and adults.
Roald Dahl, who would have been a hundred years old this year, is being honored around the world in September, and Balboa Park had its own very special celebration today. The good people of Write Out Loud put the whole thing together. You might have seen my posts about various other events Write Out Loud has organized, including TwainFest in Old Town and the Moby Dick Reading Marathon on the tall ship Star of India.
I took a few photos while wandering about Balboa Park, but the most colorful ones show the story box reading of The Magic Finger on the patio outside the House of England. By the way, the story box is a form of street theatre in Japan, where it is known as Kamishibai.
Celebrating 100 years of the beloved storyteller Roald Dahl. Many readings, screenings and activities could be found around Balboa Park during this special day.People converge on the House of England in Balboa Park to listen to a story box telling of Dahl’s fun story The Magic Finger.A good number of people, young and old, gather minutes before the reading begins. A small crowd stood off to one side.Inside the House of England, a special display provides details about Roald Dahl’s life, his writing and philosophy.. . . Go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookcase on the wall. Roald Dahl. . . If you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely. Roald DahlWhile I stood waiting outside the House of England among Balboa Park’s International Cottages, I snapped this photo of a beautiful rose.Okay! The story is now underway! The young heroine has a magic finger which is activated when she sees red.Uh, oh! She’s about to use her magic finger on that foul, nasty teacher! The teacher grows fur and a tail!A joyful story box rendition of a clever, inventive Roald Dahl work of short fiction for children.Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it. Roald Dahl
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
I like to write short fiction, too! To read a few of my stories, please visit my other blog Short Stories by Richard.
The end of San Diego’s B Street Pier is lined with amazing sand sculptures created by world masters for the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.
At this moment, the most amazing sand sculptures in the entire world are on display in San Diego on the B Street Pier. They were created by genuine world sand masters–many have won world championships–for the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge’s World Masters Solo Competition. The artists have come in for this big competition from countries all around the planet!
You doubt these are the most fantastic sand sculptures in the world at this very moment? Take a look at some photos! All of these sculptures will be destroyed right after the special event ends. The day after Labor Day, these truly amazing works of art become history!
Rockin’ Bobbin, by Kirk Rademaker, world sand master from Stinson Beach, California.The Rockin’ Bobbin, which resembles a machine with many parts, is a wonderful example of complex sand art.I Want To Fly, by world sand master Katsuhiko Chaen from Japan.A large winged foot carved of sand appears ready to take flight.Armadillo Lizard, by world sand master Susanne Ruseler of the Netherlands.The friendly world-class sand sculptor Susanne Ruseler poses for photos by her fantastic artwork.Alpha Waves, by world sand master Fergus Mulvany of Dublin, Ireland. This sculpture won second place at the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.Alpha Waves photographed from a different angle. The layered sand art is truly amazing.And another photo from behind.Yell, by world sand master Benjamin Probanza of Mexico City.An angry, melting face yells at a graceful woman made of sand.Another photo of the astonishing sand sculpture Yell.My Inner Self Revealed, by world sand master Melineige Beauregard of Montreal, Canada.Peering through the amazing layered sand sculpture reveals a human form.The tender, small inner self is revealed.The Man Who Wasn’t There, by world sand master Rusty Croft of Carmel, California.This abstract work of sand art makes the viewer think about its potential meaning.A photo of the rear of this surreal sand sculpture reveals an open door.Yesterday upon the stair I met a man who wasn’t there he wasn’t there again today Oh how I wish he’d go away…What Is The Real Face, by world sand master Agnese Rudzite-Kirillova of Latvia.Is this the real face, or a mask worn in public?What is the real face? Where is it?Nostalgia, by world sand master Ilya Filimontsev of Moscow, Russia. This incredible sculpture won first place at the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge!Proof that sand sculptures can sometimes be classified as fine art.Side view of the stunning, award-winning sand sculpture on San Diego’s B Street Pier.Surrender To Diversity, by world sand master Michela Ciappini of Italy.An unusual sand sculpture features a rabbit perched upon an upside-down alligator!Out Of Reach, by world sand master Thomas Koet of Melbourne, Florida.Many hands reach for a very beautiful woman, but she is out of reach.The most amazing sand sculptures in the world can be found in sunny San Diego. That is–until this Labor Day weekend ends!
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A sand sculpture representation of the famous statue Ultimate Surrender and magical animals greet people arriving in the morning for a special festival.
Here are lots of photos from the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge! The Labor Day Weekend event at San Diego’s B Street Pier presents so many genuinely cool sights, I’m dividing my many photographs into two blog posts.
This first batch features a sand sculpture near the entrance to the event, plus one sponsored sculpture. The remaining sculptures you will see here, which are completely amazing, were being finished this morning by local Southern California teams. This particular competition is between Cool California Carvers!
My next post will feature fine art sand sculptures created by the world’s best sand artists that will blow your mind, so stand by!
During the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge, San Diego is transformed into “SAND iego”!Inside the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge on the B Street Pier, food trucks, vendors with art, and some sponsored sand sculptures attract the eye of visitors.This way to the Cool California Carvers, who on Saturday morning are still working on their sand sculptures. We’ll check out the World Masters Solo Competition in my next blog post!Looking down the length of the B Street Pier between the Broadway Pier Port Pavilion and the San Diego Cruise Ship Terminal. These artists you see belong to teams representing the Cool California Carvers.Magnify It! That’s the name of this complex three-part sand sculpture, being built by the Sand Squirrels and SD Sand Castles.Peer through the telescope-like eyepiece and you see a peace sign superimposed on planet Earth!These creative people are the I.B. Posse. Their sand sculpture is titled United We Stand. I see they are working from a small model.Talented sand sculptors work on the flaming torch from New York’s Statue of Liberty.Carving the base of Lady Liberty’s torch.Reaching upward together with peaceful aspirations.Team Archisand is creating an unusual sand sculpture called REAL-EYE’z Your Futur.Small people stand together behind a mask-like face made of sand.Many of these fantastic works of sand art really catch the eye! We’ve got some great local teams!This sand sculpture seems to recreate a coral reef. I don’t know its title. I do know Team San Diego San Castles created it!A close-up photo of some marine life living in a coral reef made of carved sand–on a pier!A team called The Sandcastle Man is bringing some Crazy Dreams into reality. Yes, that’s the name of this sand sculpture.We’re All Mad Here! It must be an Alice in Wonderland themed sand sculpture! I see a team member of Archisand.I see Alice, the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter!Visitors to the 2016 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge check out artwork being created by one of the Cool California Carvers teams.And that team is called The Sand Squirrels. The title of this cool art is The Captain’s Tale.That sea-going captain appears to be a pirate who has discovered a treasure chest. Or perhaps it’s a mirage made of beach sand on some deserted island…or on a city pier!
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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 fun photos (including amazing sand sculptures) for you to enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 