Tag: pop culture

Bugs Bunny came out of his hole this morning…

Bugs Bunny came out of his hole this morning, emerging on a sidewalk in San Diego. Walking around, chomping on a carrot, what did he see?

He saw that preparations for 2022 Comic-Con continue downtown at breakneck speed!

Among other things…

A big silver Vulcan salute will greet visitors to Star Trek’s cool Starfleet Outpost. Most Comic-Con offsites open to the public on Thursday. (I believe I saw this big hand at the Comic-Con Museum during their Gene Roddenberry exhibit.)

The second Severance building wrap on the Hard Rock Hotel is done. Looks like some coworkers I’ve known.

More photo op panels have appeared at the NBCU Corner.

Boxes full of Good Guys. The clerk needs to check the shelves. One isn’t completely unwrapped.

The Rookie wraps are completed, decorating Petco Park.

Many box trucks in line. It’s the Comic-Con move in at the San Diego Convention Center. Here come the big exhibitors!

The Bandai offsite behind the Marriott Marquis is taking form.

A wall provides the history of Dragon Ball films.

Very cool!

The Krapopolis super slide now has Greek graphics. Where are the oars?

The Gray Man offsite now has rubble.

The Audible sand sculptures, still being created, are like works of art.

Another amazing sand sculpture.

The Peanuts offsite activation on MLK Promenade will feature The Armstrong Project.

The House of the Dragon castle’s appearance just keeps getting more awesome. This might end up being one of the coolest ever Comic-Con offsites…

A very sedate, tranquil Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter, on a quiet Tuesday morning. That will change drastically in two days!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

Vampire drinks, a Great Ape, and more Comic-Con fun!

The amount of cool stuff popping up for 2022 Comic-Con is mind-blowing! A walk around downtown San Diego this Monday afternoon yielded more fun photos!

Among the burgeoning pop culture sights are vampire drinks, a large, rampaging Great Ape, a Starfleet Outpost, amazing sand sculptures, and some large, creepy dolls. And loads of the other stuff that I’ve already covered during previous walks!

I suppose what I really like about this time of year is how thousands of creative ideas suddenly come together and flower simultaneously in one place. It’s like some sort of human miracle.

Of course, the dreamers, creators, planners, builders, deciders all contribute innumerable hours of combined effort. But look what can suddenly arise if many minds and hands come together!

Why does so much of the popular culture center upon fantasy, science fiction, absurdity and horror? Because, I suppose, our brains are wired for survival. They become excited and active when faced by unknowns…

Crates that were marked Picard have been unloaded into the Starfleet Outpost, a Comic-Con offsite by Paramount+. The public can swing by starting Thursday. It’s located at Happy Does on Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Lots of colorful building wraps cover the Hilton Gaslamp. All four sides, in fact!

Yikes. I knew Butt-Head would eventually show up.

The three Audible sand sculptures on MLK Promenade are becoming more incredible as the sand artists do their thing.

The modest Krapopolis offsite by FOX is a bit hidden, across from The New Childrens Museum. Hopefully people can find it. Look for the Super Slide sign above some trees.

The big The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power wrap is coming along on one of the Marriott Marquis towers.

It’s Great Ape Vegeta rampaging through the Bandai offsite behind the Marriott! I don’t think it can do much damage without its hands, however.

Spotted in the distance between two crates.

Looking at big The Rings of Power wrap from the San Diego Bay side.

Forklifts lined up behind the San Diego Convention Center, with the American Horror Stories dolls wrap on the Hilton looking ever more creepy.

Here come The Incredible Hulk! Thank goodness he’s in a good mood.

Flying a kite where the Adult Swim on the Green has been in past years. I thought Abbott Elementary was going to set up somewhere back here, but I don’t see them yet.

As I crossed the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge, I saw several large The Rookie wraps going up on Petco Park. Those workers on super duper cherry pickers work fast.

Well, whoever is going to build the Petco Park Interactive Zone here better get busy. They have two days to do it!

The Rookie: Feds is being promoted by ABC at 2022 Comic-Con in a big way!

And the big Krapopolis wrap on the Omni, promoting an upcoming animated FOX show, is almost done.

Someone checks their phone beneath the IGN balcony outside the Hard Rock Hotel. Keep your eyes on this balcony for celebrities during Comic-Con.

NBCUniversal is getting their NBCU Corner ready now. I see a bunch of Good Guys graphics. Those might be going into the Tin Fish.

Quantum Leap is back on NBC this Fall.

And here is Reginald the Vampire, coming to Syfy. No, I’m not thirsty. Thank you.

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

More offsites, wraps, action before Comic-Con!

The pre-Comic-Con action is really picking up in downtown San Diego. Today is Monday, several days now before SDCC 2022 opens.

Look at all the new offsite activity, and the new building wraps, and all the rapid construction that’s going in the Gaslamp and near the convention center!

The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves offsite activation for 2022 Comic-Con is being prepared at Sixth and Island.

The Star Trek: Picard offsite will fill the outdoor patio of Happy Does on Fifth Avenue. I noticed lots of cool graphics ready to be installed.

A huge Severance building wrap is now being applied on the Fifth Avenue side of the Hard Rock Hotel. Your orientation begins here.

At the NBCUniversal offsite, by the Tin Fish, those mastodon tusks look rather familiar. Didn’t I see them here during Comic-Con Special Edition?

Now that the Padres have finished their home series with the Diamondbacks, workers have begun putting up big wraps on Petco Park. I learned this one will promote The Rookie.

The Star Trek wrap over on the Marriott Marquis is beyond awesome.

Another corner of Petco Park getting started.

This will be the entrance to the FX offsite near the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, behind the convention center. Looks amazing.

I see a columned building and a stringy tunnel in the FX labyrinth. Various shows will be promoted.

It looks like a small nursery along a stretch of the bayside boardwalk. Lots of trees and shrubs are being used for this year’s epic FX activation.

Vendors are now unloading their stuff in a parking lot behind the San Diego Convention Center. The massive Comic-Con move in has begun!

At the Bandai offsite near the Marriott Marina, something has emerged from a crate. Are those two huge limbs that belong to Great Ape Vegeta?

Here’s a better look at the Batman Cartoonito banners on the parking structure of the Manchester Grand Hyatt. They went up yesterday.

Looks like a combination of Batman and the movie Cars.

Here comes another gigantic wrap on one side of a silvery Marriott Marquis tower. It promotes The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power!

The CW has banners all over the place advertising The Flash and Superman & Lois.

The Gray Man offsite is taking shape. You can see parts of the race/obstacle course. You better put on some fast shoes!

I learned this is the beginning of the Peanuts offsite. Their pop-up will be called All Things Armstrong. That Charlie Brown orange looks familiar.

Beavis has arrived in San Diego. Butt-Head can’t be far behind.

HBO’s offsite promoting upcoming series House of the Dragon looks cooler and cooler as time goes on. Was San Diego suddenly transported to medieval times?

Even downtown’s Ace Hardware is getting ready for Comic-Con!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

Cool shops during Comic-Con, off the beaten track.

The Comic-Con crowds typically gather within a few blocks of the San Diego Convention Center. As you head north up Fifth Avenue you see fewer and fewer attendees–mostly those walking to and from downtown hotels.

But there are a couple of cool shops on Fifth Avenue on the block just south of Broadway that you might want to check out!

You might remember BAIT hosted a special Gundam event a few years ago. Well, they’re still there, and the store has plenty of pop culture merch, including some super sized collectible figures…

And check out a brand new shop located just a few doors up from BAIT.

Bard & Cards is a game store, with a big selection of board games, miniature games and RPGs…

I noticed as I walked by their window this afternoon they’ll be hosting several Comic-Con events, too. Check it out!

On Thursday, July 21 at 7 pm there will be a Kraken Dice Ultra-Chonky D20 Launch Event.

On Friday, July 22 at 2 pm there will be a New Game Launch. Card game Trickdraw.

On Saturday, July 23 at 1 pm there will be a signing and meet and greet with B. Dave Walters, the author of Dungeons & Dragons: A Darkened Wish.

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

A castle appears, Batman arrives, and more!

Look at this! Even more cool stuff is appearing in downtown San Diego on the Sunday before 2022 Comic-Con!

A castle has materialized, Batman has arrived (in two places that I saw), and a couple of Comic-Con offsite activations have begun construction. I spied something awesome going past on a forklift and a mysterious something you might help me identify!

Workers getting everything ready have three more days. And the big Petco Park Interactive Zone is still a parking lot full of cars. Better get busy!

Some signs for the Comic-Con Shuttle Bus Stops are out on sidewalks already.

A unique Batmobile has arrived! I saw this cool vehicle by the Hard Rock Hotel. I was told it belongs to a perennial Batman cosplayer!

The NBCU Corner by the Tin Fish is just beginning to set up. I was told the inside of the Tin Fish restaurant will be modified for Comic-Con.

Padres fans chill out at Gaslamp trolley station as Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty pass by.

The very cool Severance wrap on the Hard Rock Hotel seems to be finished.

The Krapopolis wrap on the Omni is nearly done.

The Shrek dragon Elizabeth is romping across the Starbucks window at the Hilton Bayside.

Okay, guys. I told you I’d include your photo. Having too much fun by a creepy forest, which has been installed at the FX activation near the Hilton.

A gloomy gray, creepy look at the American Horror Stories wrap in progress. It was overcast in the mid-afternoon.

Woohoo! Crates full of Bandai props have arrived behind the Marriott near the marina. Dragon Ball is coming!

Multiple crates indicate Statue of Great Ape Vegeta. Must be huge. Maybe it’s mislabeled, and it’s actually Grape Ape…

Look what I spotted on multiple forklifts passing by on the bayfront walkway. It looks like some Comic-Con swag bags will feature a Jim Lee design. (Possibly more than one!)

Marriott Welcomes Comic-Con 2022.

Look at what’s being attached to the Manchester Grand Hyatt’s parking garage! Batman on a big banner!

Batman, Robin and Batgirl are coming this Fall to Cartoonito on HBO Max.

Workers are still getting the Super Slide ready at the FOX Krapopolis offsite. Kids across the street at The New Childrens Museum were gazing at the slide dreamily.

The Gray Man offsite for Comic-Con is coming along rapidly.

I suppose we’ll be walking through there.

They were testing the big video screen.

The Audible sand sculptures are materializing slowly. They’re really cool.

A creepy sand skull!

On the Hilton Gaslamp we’re informed that Beavis and Butt-Head are the heroes that we deserve. Thanks a lot.

Woah! The House of the Dragon offsite will be a big castle! What lurks inside? A dragon? It must have very large and tough claws.

Star Trek’s 10 Forward is now located at 100 North Forward Avenue, by the Happy Does smiley.

Do those doors slide open with a quick swoosh?

A prop on the sidewalk outside the Star Trek: Picard offsite activation, now being built. Does this futuristic contraption mix matter and antimatter? Or strong drinks?

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

Riding with evil: Doom Breaker and Moriarty!

Are you ready to face overwhelming evil? Have you the courage to ride with terrifying monsters or a brilliant criminal mastermind?

During 2022 Comic-Con, you might need all of your strength and wits should you jump aboard the Doom Breaker bus from WEBTOON, or the Moriarty: The Devil’s Game trolley from Audible!

I spotted both of these vehicle wraps today while walking around downtown.

The Doom Breaker bus appears to be for charter; the awesome Moriarty wrap on the San Diego Trolley is the latest of many cool trolley wrap designs this year!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

More photos of 2022 Comic-Con popping up!

As we get ever closer to the opening of 2022 Comic-Con, more and more cool stuff is popping up in San Diego, particularly near the convention center!

For the past several days I’ve been documenting Comic-Con preparations downtown. Well, today, Saturday, I walked around again and found more stuff to share!

The distinctive Comic-Con logo now appears all over the San Diego Convention Center!

Workers are setting up the outdoor canopies near the convention center. There will be huge crowds for Comic-Con as usual. Fortunately, the weather is forecast to be quite comfortable.

That huge Star Trek wrap on the Marriott Marquis is looking really awesome. (I had to add contrast to my hazy zoom photo.)

FX continues to set up their large offsite activation by the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. I believe those artificial hedge sections will form the walls of a simple labyrinth.

Local artist Shirish Villaseñor works on the Starbucks windows graphics. They show scenes from Shrek. Her painted windows on Sweet Things Frozen Yogurts next door are the Faces of Comic-Con.

The rear of the FX offsite for Comic-Con under construction.

The big American Horror Stories wrap on the Hilton is getting bigger…

Almost done with the cool Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero wrap decorating the Marriott.

The other day I was informed correctly! FOX will have a small offsite with a Super Slide and photo opportunity on the grass opposite The New Childrens Museum.

Cool trolleys all over!

Sand artists have begun carving the three Audible sand sculptures.

The big TREK building wrap seen from MLK Promenade across Harbor Drive.

Looks like a Beavis and Butt-Head wrap on one side of the Hilton Gaslamp!

House of the Dragon offsite looks ominous. I’m now told there won’t be a maze inside, but something. Looks exciting, whatever it might be!

More graphics have appeared at the Hilton Gaslamp for The Walking Dead special event.

The Krapopolis wrap grows on the Omni hotel. NBC hasn’t begun their offsite construction by the Tin Fish yet, nor is there anything on the grass by the Omni…

The cool Severance wrap on the Hard Rock Hotel is nearing completion.

That banner on the Gaslamp trolley station fence is left over from the recent ESRI conference at the convention center.

Here comes another wrap on the Hilton Gaslamp! This one promotes Interview With The Vampire.

Nerdy stuff is popping up all over downtown San Diego with less than a week to go before Comic-Con!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

Bob’s Burgers hamburger donuts for Comic-Con!

Have you ever eaten a donut that contains a hamburger???

You can this coming Friday, July 22, during Comic-Con!!!

The awesome folks at San Diego’s world-famous Donut Bar will be serving up hamburger donuts all Friday at 631 B Street. And they’ll be dressed like characters from the popular animated series Bob’s Burgers! I learned a Bob’s Burgers fan club will be attending, as well!

How do you make a hamburger donut? All I know is some yummy burger ingredients will be substituted inside the big round shell of Donut Bar’s customary Nutella Overload.

Sounds like breakfast and lunch together in one!

Will there be pickles, onions and mustard?

Can I order fries with that?

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

Comic-Con preparations continue in San Diego!

It’s Friday before 2022 Comic-Con. Preparations for the big event are now well underway around the San Diego Convention Center and the Gaslamp Quarter! This weekend workers are going to be very busy!

Many building wraps are up, and others are rapidly appearing, section by section. More offsite activations have begun construction. The pre-Comic-Con atmosphere around town is becoming increasingly electric! (I’ve noticed quite a few people wearing superhero t-shirts!)

I walked around downtown after work to see what progress has been made.

First, I saw that FX is setting up their outdoor labyrinth in the park by the Hilton San Diego Bayfront–their usual spot. FX always creates an awesome offsite experience. As usual, they’ll be promoting a variety of new and favorite shows.

The beginning of a huge wrap on the Hilton promotes the FX weekly anthology series American Horror Stories.

Check out the huge Star Trek wrap on the Marriot Marquis hotel! Every series. Every episode. Sign me up!

I walked around the Marriott and what did I find…

Workers are applying a huge Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero wrap!

After crossing Harbor Drive, I checked out the parking lot by 1st Avenue where NETFLIX will have their The Gray Man offsite. Looks like the activation includes a derailed train? I guess we’ll find out soon enough!

Then I headed down Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade to see how the Audible sand sculptures are doing. The sand is still compacting and drying, waiting to be carved…

Then farther down MLK Promenade I saw that the platform that will support the indoor maze of House of the Dragon has plastic walls. And I see two wraps up ahead, too!

What’s this on the Hilton Gaslamp? You tell me.

Wow–I see The Walking Dead is preparing to welcome people to their special Comic-Con event inside the Hilton Gaslamp hotel…

And look up ahead! That huge building wrap on the Omni hotel is enlarging.

I see it promotes FOX’s new animated comedy Krapopolis! (I wonder what those ancient Greeks would think about this?)

Lastly, I spied a big The Gray Man wrap on the San Diego Lions Manor building…

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!

Hard Rock Hotel welcomes back Comic-Con!

The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter is welcoming back Comic-Con! The big event had a two year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

An awesome window display on the Sixth Avenue side of the Hard Rock Hotel contains a tribute to 2022 Comic-Con. There are all sorts of fun images and several very cool life size helmets that will be familiar to lovers of pop culture!

Superheroes reunite!

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click 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!