Kids love the Dr. Seuss displays all around the Old Globe plaza area during December Nights in Balboa Park.
I’m not in the least embarrassed to say I love reading Dr. Seuss. Even as an adult, he remains one of my favorite authors. He created pure joy.
Today is Dr. Seuss’ birthday. He was born March 2, 1904. His actual name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, and he lived in beautiful La Jolla, just a short distance up the coast from where I now sit in downtown San Diego.
I’ve included some Dr. Seuss related photos on my blog over the years, so to remember the immortal children’s book author, I’ll share them once again!
Dr. Seuss seems to be a favorite author of the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department, marching in the Garden Party of the Century event in Balboa Park!Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat walks along a north window of the San Diego Central Library in East Village.The Cat in the Hat on the San Diego Central Library children’s room wall.Front of the Old Globe Theatre features a banner of the Dr. Seuss Grinch during December Nights.It’s Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham! This fun art was photographed outside the Legends Gallery in La Jolla, hometown of popular children’s book author Theodor Geisel.
…
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can enjoy more 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 on a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to enjoy!
The 50th Annual Local Author Exhibit – Golden Anniversary – runs through February 29 at the downtown San Diego Public Library.
San Diego is the home of many thoughtful, creative residents. Proof of this can be seen at downtown’s San Diego Public Library, where a special exhibit features books by local writers that were published in 2015. It’s an impressive visual tribute to local writing talent. Works of fiction and nonfiction alike are on proud display. Congratulations to all!
Many exceptional books of all types were published in 2015 by local San Diego writers.One display case contains an old manual typewriter, and several lists from past years of published authors in San Diego.The many glass display cases feature books by local authors that came out in 2015. Some of the writers are quite famous!Christmas in San Diego by local legend Bill Swank. Cool San Diego Sights has 5 photos in this awesome book! What an honor!
I made a cool discovery! It’s Bill Swank’s new book Christmas in San Diego! I blogged about it a couple months ago!
Through the Dark Door of Time: SAN DIEGO 1867, a novel by Barbara McMikle. Blood of the Band: An Ipai Family Story, by David L. Toler, Jr.Sunshine/Noir II: Writing from San Diego and Tijuana. Coastal Zone, poems by Joe Safdie.7 Deadly Sins That Poison the Soul and How to Conquer Them! by A.D. Brown. States of Terror. The Advocate’s Geocache, by Teresa Burrell.Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America’s Pioneering Woman in Space, by Tam O’Shaughnessy. Troubleshooting Your Mac, by Joe Kissell.Books by local authors concern every subject imaginable, including art, history, culture and photography.Horror, detective fiction, graphic novels, young adult and children’s books . . . San Diego authors are prolific creators!Many eBooks were published online by local San Diego writers!A number of works by local authors were written in foreign languages.How to be Happy in an Unhappy World, by Marie Chapian, a New York Times Bestselling Author.Congratulations to all San Diego writers who had books published in 2015!
…
Join me for more Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook and Twitter!
You’re not a blogger? My article might help anyway! It’s all about digging into any subject matter more deeply, discovering new angles. Writers who have struggled to develop new ideas might find my article helpful!
A photography blog concerning “Cool San Diego Sights” probably isn’t the best place to post unrelated works of fiction, so I started a new writing website! It’s called Short Stories by Richard. That’s where I’ve published my new story.
Unlike my other writing blog, Foolyman Stories, which is mostly just silly nonsense, Short Stories by Richard contains thoughtful pieces that are meant to challenge minds and touch hearts. I’d be honored if you checked it out!
What lies ahead? I don’t know! Come along for the ride! Perhaps we’ll be surprised!
Here’s another very short story I wrote this morning. It might be somewhat true. I simply had to get these words out of my system. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
A MIRACLE ON SIXTH AVENUE
by Richard
John walked slowly toward his parked car. Sixth Avenue was just another street in the city.
Without thinking, he searched the sidewalk with downcast eyes. Cigarette butts, rotting food, a discarded bottle, a dead cockroach, bits of toilet paper. Disgusting stains, crushed things.
A plume of smoke up ahead caught his attention.
As he neared, John noticed a crowd of people had gathered close to the rising black smoke. Excited faces were staring down at the freeway from an overpass.
A van was on fire below. Traffic on the freeway had been stopped by a police car with flashing lights, and two firemen with a hose were getting ready to put out the flames. The empty van, alone on the concrete, simply burned, nothing more.
At least forty people on the overpass leaned forward to stare down at the freeway. More were arriving, drawn by the smoke, as ants are drawn to sugar. Every person in the crowd held up a phone, carefully framing a photograph. A photograph of an empty van on fire.
The people checked their phone, appeared unsatisfied, changed the angle, held it higher. Needing to capture destruction, meaningless and distant. They watched with perfect fascination and took a second and third picture. A hundred identical photographs.
John kept walking. He’d never before felt such a wave of disgust.
That night he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t purge from his mind that crush of people. Gawking, predictable, animal humanity, eagerly recording flames and black smoke, because flames and black smoke seemed exciting. Why? For what reason?
People were shallow and disgusting.
But what in the world is new?
And so John walked from his parked car up Sixth Avenue the next morning, a remnant of that dark shadow in his mind.
The sun was up. At the overpass there was no smoke. Cars passed in a blur on the concrete below. The incident was erased. Time swallows everything. Just different trash on the sidewalk.
“Good morning,” said an approaching person. The stranger’s eyes were wide, directly meeting John’s own eyes. A sincere, friendly smile was on the stranger’s lips.
It’s a beautiful day by the ocean in La Jolla. Some kayakers have noticed the entrance to a sea cave in the sandstone. Curious eyes spot them from above and watch the unfolding drama.
Please forgive me for this imaginative little story. It’s hot today and perhaps my brain overheated.
The summer heat is why I went down to La Jolla this morning. By the water it was thankfully a few degrees cooler. While I walked along the Pacific Ocean near La Jolla Cove, I watched some kayaks enter the nearby sea cave.
Upon studying my photographs, this short story emerged. For the exciting conclusion, please read the captions, beginning with the above first photo…
The kayakers can’t resist a strong impulse to enter the cave. They turn carefully to peer into the darkness deep within the earth. There seems to be a strange blue light shimmering inside.The mysterious glow lures them into vast blackness and possible danger. As their kayaks start to fade, the weird light intensifies…Drawn forward into the unknown, the courageous kayakers paddle along the dancing beam of light. They are explorers. Life is a great adventure.Beyond darkness lies the magical source of shining blue. They soon vanish–passing from one amazing world into another.
…
Follow this blog if you like to be occasionally surprised! Join me on Facebook or Twitter.
San Diego Book Project promotes literacy both locally and worldwide. They were present at TwainFest in Old Town.
The San Diego Book Project promotes literacy both locally and worldwide. It’s an effort I strongly support. So when I happened to see these folks with a table full of books at TwainFest this weekend, I instantly decided to provide a hand with my blog.
The San Diego Book Project has given away nearly a million donated books! They’re sent to teachers, schools, classrooms and students who might not have the resources to buy their own material. Beyond San Diego’s more disadvantaged neighborhoods, schools in South Africa, India, Peru and the Philippines have also received free books. Life-changing books are also sent to hospitals and prisons, and any not-for-profit organization that actively encourages literacy.
Do you need some free books? Would you like to donate or volunteer? Check out their website.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a work of classic literature sure to interest new readers.Good books open minds, promote education. An exciting journey with the written word makes life richer and more meaningful.
Mark Twain uses cane to point out his classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Many 19th century authors and fictional characters were seen walking around during TwainFest.
TwainFest last summer was awesome. So today I had to go again!
A uniquely wonderful cultural event, TwainFest celebrates Mark Twain and other famous 19th century authors. Held every year in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, the event includes games and activities for the entire family, including Costume and Liar’s contests (the latter as a tribute to Twain’s tall tales), vintage dancing, and all sorts of historical performances and reenactments. TwainFest is presented by Fiesta de Reyes and created by the literature-loving folks at Write Out Loud.
I walked about randomly for about an hour just aiming my camera at familiar old classics that I love come to life. I saw lots of San Diegans in period costume, many portraying well known characters from literature.
I hope you enjoy these photos…
A random writer helps to pen one of three endless stories at the family friendly event. …And, lo, from out of the mist stepped a phantom: it was the ghost of Mark Twain!Mr. Samuel Clemens, American author of many timeless books and stories, relaxes under a tree in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park during 2015 TwainFest.Mark Twain’s beloved character Aunt Polly is looking around for Tom Sawyer and Huck, who are probably running about engaged in mischief once again.Some lively Irish music dating from the Old West is played during TwainFest on the Fiesta de Reyes stage. Laughter. Levity. Literature.A storyteller making the rounds at TwainFest challenges the audience between musical performances to solve humorous riddles.This elegantly-dressed gentleman informed me he would be reading classic fiction to the crowd later today.Not to miss this history and literature-inspired event, a couple of fun-loving pirates come shuffling along through Old Town’s central plaza.Oh, goodness! It’s one of the most famous fictional, rascally pirates of all! Long John Silver! What’s that in the bottle?Al Sorkin, aka Captain Swordfish, represents the Maritime Museum of San Diego. That’s a really big harpoon! Perhaps it was once used to hunt Moby Dick.Two friendly people in period costume were greeting visitors at the entrance to the Casa de Estudillo.This funny guy said he was a sort-of Mad Hatter with a Bowie knife! He looked more like a 19th century Willy Wonka to me!Uh oh. While no one was looking Henry David Thoreau got out of his jail cell! That was awfully disobedient!These two snake oil salespeople were selling Ether of Muse. One whiff of the potent elixir and writing literature is a snap.This mild, ordinary lady in a bonnet demonstrated what happens when one sniffs essence of Emily Dickinson. She recited breathless poetry for minutes on end.Girl greets large puppet Mark Twain and Emily Dickinson at 2015 TwainFest in Old Town San Diego State Historic Park!
…
Follow this blog for more photos of cool stuff! Join me on Facebook or Twitter.
With love and (what seems) magic we can actually change the entire world. I’m absolutely serious.
Here’s a very short story I wrote a couple months ago. It seems to affect people deeply. I’m going to reblog the story just this once. Perhaps you might enjoy reading it. The story is titled An Unexpected Sunflower. Simply click the link. As you will see, you can truly change the world.
San Diego County Supervisor Dave Roberts begins the Moby Dick Marathon Reading on the poop deck of the Star of India.
The Star of India is the world’s oldest ship that sails. It’s docked in San Diego Bay. Yesterday, from the barque’s 150 year old deck, a rare white whale was glimpsed like a snowy hill in the air, far, far away. The whale was just visible, a dim revelation, at the edge of human sight.
Mysterious and sublime, the elusive Moby Dick was seen by a fortunate few in the imagination’s eye, as readers took turns speaking words on pages that were written over a century ago by the great American author Herman Melville.
The wonderful Moby Dick Marathon Reading commenced at noon, and continued far into the dark night. The event was put on by the Maritime Museum of San Diego and Write Out Loud. I swung on by a few times, breathed in the mood, the salt air. I love the novel. It might be my favorite. I love the idea of reading atop the swelling sea, about a bright phantom moving darkly below, down in the unfathomable depths.
The Maritime Museum of San Diego and Write Out Loud created a cool event that hopefully becomes a yearly tradition.Diagram of Bark Star of India, launched as Euterpe on November 14, 1863 at Ramsey, Isle of Man. The world’s oldest active sailing ship and oldest merchantman afloat.An ageless volume of classic literature, published in 1851, shortly before the construction of this ship, was brought to life by many readers.Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail…Listeners follow Melville’s words with their own beloved books, or gaze out at the water on a fine summer day on San Diego’s Embarcadero.Kids walk up onto Star of India’s high poop deck. Perhaps the eyes of youth, probing the horizon, can discern the strange wonder of Moby Dick.Or age with its collected wisdom, staring into thin pages, might glimpse the white whale.White sails, yards, shrouds, ropes and open blue sky.Illustration on plaque found on main deck, showing a Pull on the Lee ForeBraces. The sails must be kept to the wind.Passionate reader turns the pages of Moby Dick. Melville describes many large cetaceans in the oceans of the world, but only one great white whale, nemesis of Captain Ahab.Painting of Star of India under sail by marine artist Frederick Wetzel. The historic three-masted bark is shown clearing Point Loma during a festive event back in 1984.Steering wheel and binnacle, instruments of navigation used by generations of restless, active seafaring men.The stern of our beautiful Star of India. A gigantic American flag billows in the sea breeze.A reader awaits his turn. Ishmael recalls his strange voyage side by side with varied characters, representatives of the human race, including a humane cannibal and a tyrannical captain.The sun’s horizontal rays splash sails with gold as another day nears an end.Ahab addresses Starbuck and crew: …it was Moby Dick that dismasted me…I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn..and round perdition’s flames before I give him up…Vengeance on a dumb brute! cried Starbuck, that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous…Photo taken from wooden bench, over a skylight which provides filtered daylight for the ship’s elegant saloon below.Reading on into the twilight. Once begun, the great novel drives forward, pulling readers into its tragic quest for an unpredictable, dangerous unknown.Shadow moves across the deep.As the sun sets, by sheer chance it seems, Chapter 37 of Moby Dick is begun, titled Sunset.Light shines from behind the figurehead of the beautiful Star of India, a favorite attraction on San Diego Bay.Is that lone bird an albatross flown from Melville’s great novel? No, just a common gull in the dying light.The sky through ship’s rigging is tinged orange, red, purple and gold.Night comes on. Melville has already referenced the blackness of darkness. He now speaks about the whiteness of the whale, and the majestic, pure, terrifying color white.It was the whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me.Before inevitable night falls and stars emerge, glowing color paints the world.Masts of tall ship Californian, of the Maritime Museum of San Diego, and a brilliant sunset. Unlike a fictional whale, these profoundly beautiful things are quite easily seen.
…
Enjoy photos of cool events and random stuff! Join me on Facebook or Twitter.
Cool San Diego Sights! 