Did you enjoy this odd little story?
I took these photos during a walk through North Park on Saturday!
If you’d like to read some thought-provoking short stories (and several poems) click here.
Imagine a story of traveling through life.
Tag: imagination
Two short stories about caging wild things.
My writing website Short Stories by Richard keeps expanding.
This weekend I’ve published two unusual short stories.
Both tiny works of fiction concern the difficulty of caging wild, undefinable things. Things like divine beauty and absolute truth.
Aviary Observations is about art, capturing beauty and our human limitations.
Soul to Soul is about putting into words deeper truths that cannot be adequately expressed.
Both quirky stories contain humor! We’re human after all.
You can click the above links if you’re curious.
Cool new mural at Humphrey Appliance!
A cool new mural has been painted on the east side of Humphrey Appliance in Normal Heights! I noticed it while walking down Adams Avenue yesterday.
The artist is Jonathan Wenner (Unity21). I did my best to get good photos, but various boxes and pieces of furniture in the small parking lot block the lower part of the artwork.
Enjoy!
UPDATE!
I got an unobstructed photo on a later walk…
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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!
Discover public art sculptures around San Diego!
Over the years, I’ve photographed many of the public art sculptures that can be found all around San Diego.
Because Cool San Diego Sights is now over six years old, and most readers have seen only a small fraction of my blog, I thought it would be fun to link to some old posts.
The following links don’t include all of the sculptures I’ve photographed, but they do provide a convenient starting point for a journey of discovery!
Click the following links:
Amazing public art is a hidden San Diego gem.
That big bronze pelican in Pacific Beach!
Photos of Donal Hord’s iconic sculpture Aztec.
Fun photos of Sun God bird sculpture at UCSD.
Photos of Queen Califia’s Magical Circle!
Bronze lifeguard watches the surf in Ocean Beach.
The Spirit of Imperial Beach surfer sculpture.
The Pioneers sculpture at Old Poway Park.
Photos of Tony Gwynn statue at Lake Poway.
A walk through history in The Village of La Mesa.
The arches of National City’s Morgan Square Plaza.
Art and history at Lemon Grove Trolley Depot!
Giant seashell sculpture is a Growing Home!
A shining Flame of Friendship from Mexico.
300 year old Kannon statue in Balboa Park!
Dr. Seuss and Cat in the Hat sculpture at UCSD.
Photos of The Padre sculpture in Presidio Park.
Two cool sculptures at a National City marina!
Sculpture of Bum, San Diego’s famous town dog.
Shedding the Cloak sculpture inspired by MLK.
New public artwork at Bayside Fire Station!
Pacific Soul by Jaume Plensa rises in San Diego!
The cool sculpture at Humphreys on Shelter Island.
Photos of cool sculptures at Liberty Station.
Terracotta female figures at Heritage Plaza.
Sea Passage sculpture and fountain in Coronado.
A crazy handstand at the edge of a rooftop!
Small bubble bath child: a bronze sculpture.
Creative urban trees add smiles to a San Diego walk.
Here are several links to my other website, Beautiful Balboa Park:
Art of the Open Air in beautiful Balboa Park.
Sculpture and mural in Balboa Park Club’s grand foyer.
The faces of the Panama-California Sculpture Court.
Scenes from Without Walls Festival 2019!
This afternoon I headed to Liberty Station in Point Loma to experience some of the La Jolla Playhouse’s annual WOW event!
The Without Walls Festival 2019 features all sorts of cool outdoor performances, many of which are free for the public to enjoy. It continues tomorrow!
The first production I watched, titled Tall Tales of the High Seas, was a very unique visual drama that seemed part circus act, part aerial dance. The athletic performers raised the flexible masts of a rotating Viking longship, then climbed skyward to dip, fly and swerve through the sky! One could sense a bit of a story unfolding as the ship seemed to become lost at sea and the actors hung limp from the crow’s nests without hope; then land is sighted and excitement takes hold!
After that, I walked around the grassy North Promenade of Liberty Station, tried to peer into the intimate little Theatre on the Move, and stood for a few minutes enjoying the Montalban Quintet at the Festival Stage.
Then, as I made my way toward the South Promenade, I paused to watch kids sail in colorful Boats about Legacy Plaza!
Finally, a production titled Peregrinus was ready to begin. The actors marched across the street in a very businesslike way, as you can see in my photos.
At first each individual actor showed a unique personality, but as they put on their corporate attire, ordinary people were transformed into conforming, business suited employees. They could select their own color of tie, but no more.
The actors bowed before their enormous masks, inserted their heads, rose up in a row, and suddenly each head was identically serious, grim, tired and sad. They filed about in a circular hurry, did the corporate dance, bowed to their boss, became jackasses when commanded to do so, engaged in power plays and subterfuge–you know, all that ridiculous, demeaning stuff that pains the heart when people shed their dignity in their desire for power, position or money.
The act was hilarious!
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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!
How to possibly move the Earth.
I wrote another small story yesterday.
The words came to me in Balboa Park while I listened to my friend Mitchell playing didgeridoo. People walking down El Prado would pause before the strange, resonant instrument. A brave few would dance.
As people came and went, I wondered what effect their movement might have on the planet. Both Mitchell and I are curious about strange, cosmic things.
The title of my short story is Spinning the Earth.
If you like to use your imagination, click here!
Colorful new murals on Park Boulevard!
Check out these colorful murals that now decorate the east side of the old Firestone Complete Auto Care building on Park Boulevard, just north of Smart Corner.
All three murals were recently created by the female artists of @ladieswhopaint!
UPDATE!
I took more pics on a later walk…
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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!
The Art of Shag at the Comic-Con Museum!
Today I enjoyed a really great exhibition at the future home of the Comic-Con Museum. The popular artist Josh Agle, who goes by the name Shag, has a big gallery of super cool artwork on display free to the public through this weekend!
I must admit I was unfamiliar with the name Shag, but once I saw the artwork I recognized his distinctive style. And now I’m a big fan! His snappy colorful images have a 1960’s commercial art feel, and many of the pieces celebrate popular entertainment and scenes from that era. His sly, often subversive “Mid-Century Modern aesthetic” is all in good fun.
Shag’s art often depicts Hollywood stars raising glasses at decadent cocktail parties. Many of his images include exotic Tikis. He creates vivid, snazzy scenes that invoke a sense of what is referred to as retro decadence.
Some of his pieces pay tribute to classic cartoons and Disney. As you can see in my photos, he also re-imagines popular movies like Planet of the Apes, Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, comic books like Spider-Man, and television shows like the Twilight Zone and Batman.
If you’d like to see some really cool art, definitely head over to Balboa Park tomorrow and check out the Art of Shag! The free exhibition will be open 10 am to 4 pm in the Federal Building, which used to house the Hall of Champions, and which is destined to become the Comic-Con Museum in 2021.
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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!
Amazing art at U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge!
If you’re in San Diego this Labor Day weekend, you need to go to the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge at downtown’s Broadway Pier. The annual event is just as incredible as ever, with amazing, eye-popping sand sculptures by some of the top sand artists in the world!
This morning I got my ticket right as the event opened, and I directed my feet straight into the Broadway Pier’s Port Pavilion, which is where the Sand Masters were working on their masterpieces. It seems every year the sculptures become more elaborate and beautiful.
I took some photos with my little camera to provide a taste of what you will see. In addition to these masterpieces, you’ll enjoy other sand sculptures by local San Diego teams, plus all sorts of three-dimensional artwork outside on the pier. Plus there’s live music, lots of food trucks, and a big sand box where you can make your own sandcastles!
The competition’s theme this year is Wonder. Here’s a glimpse of the amazing sculptures, with each piece’s title and artist.
On the Loose, by Chris Guinto.
If We Don’t Change, the World Will Soon Be Over, by Abram Waterman. (The sculpture depicts Stevie Wonder.)
The Force, by Jihoon Choi.
I Wonder About You, by Hanneke Supply.
Think and Wonder, Wonder and Grow, by Anique Kuizenga.
Wanderlust, by Dan Belcher.
The Other Side, by Brian Turnbough.
Just Wondering, by Martijn Rijerse.
Why, How, When? by Melineige Beauregard.
Full of Wonder, by Thomas Koet.
Wonder Woman, by John Gowdy.
With Love Through Life, by Pavel Mylnikov.
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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!
Readers, writers gather for Festival of Books!
This morning I headed to Liberty Station in Point Loma to enjoy the San Diego Union-Tribune 3rd Annual Festival of Books!
I was excited to see that a positively enormous crowd had gathered to celebrate reading and writing! I didn’t attend any of the panels, but I did walk around to check out fascinating displays by local authors, publishers, cultural institutions and organizations that promote literacy. I spoke to many of the writers and was inspired by their creative energy and optimism!
These days the written word might be read on phones more frequently than on paper, but those words are just as vital as ever.
What would life be without words?
Words connect people.
Words define the world to our minds.
Words are how we create meaning.
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 