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!
Star Trek has warped into San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter!
The saucer section of Enterprise must have separated, and landed somewhere near Fifth Avenue, because I see 10 Forward is to be temporarily relocated to Happy Does!
Paramount+ is bringing STAR TREK’S 10 FORWARD: THE EXPERIENCE to 2022 Comic-Con, and visitors will be able to possibly rub elbows with Guinan while drinking cocktails. It all happens at 340 Fifth Avenue. But right now, as I blog this, it appears to be sold out.
But good news! Outside, on the Happy Does patio, people will be able to freely experience an offsite concerning Star Trek: Picard! No Comic-Con badge required I was told!
Engage!
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!
Next Thursday, July 21, 2022, William Shatner will produce handprints during San Diego Comic-Con. And these impressions by an iconic Hollywood star will join those of many others, including the likes of Michael Jackson, R2-D2 and C-3PO!
I stepped into the Theatre Box movie theater in the Gaslamp Quarter today and saw many of the handprints that already decorate the floor. I was told some of the handprints were produced in and imported from Hollywood. But those of William Shatner will be freshly made in San Diego!
Tickets are available here to watch the handprint ceremony, and for an autograph session with the legendary Captain Kirk, plus a performance, and an afterparty!
Oh, look. Here come the now infamous hands of Will Smith…
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!
An extraordinary panel was held this afternoon at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego.
The Science and Science Fiction of Star Trek’s Tricorder brought together four panelists who are helping to lead our way into the future. It will be a future of almost unlimited possibility, replete with groundbreaking technologies what were barely imagined when the original television series was created.
Dr. Erik Viirre, who acted as moderator, is Professor of Neurosciences at UC San Diego; Dr. Paul E. Jacobs is Chairman and CEO of XCOM Labs, and former executive chairman of Qualcomm; Dr. Yvonne Cagle is a physician, professor, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, and former NASA astronaut; Eugene “Rod” Roddenberry, the CEO of Roddenberry Entertainment and head of the Roddenberry Foundation, is the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and Majel Barrett. He is also an executive producer on Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
The first thing the audience learned is that all four panelists are fans of Star Trek! (Did you know that the former head of Qualcomm, many moons ago, was founding member of Star Fleet Club La Jolla?)
The next thing we learned was that Star Trek has inspired generations of scientists, engineers, inventors and visionaries. Many technological advances we know today were first conceived by Gene Roddenberry and the experts he turned to for advice when writing the show. He wanted Star Trek to be believable and largely based on science.
We were reminded how Star Trek’s communicator became the actual flip phone, and how today’s smartphones have essentially become Star Trek’s tricorder. Think about it!
The various multi-function tricorders carried by Spock, McCoy, and other Star Trek characters could provide a user with all sorts of useful information. A tricorder could be used to ascertain location and weather, or analyze the physical environment or obtain cultural information. A tricorder could be used as a universal translator. It could even be used to assess one’s medical condition.
In many ways, your smartphone does all of those things today!
We then learned our own future contains even greater possibilities.
The panelists explained how a smartphone, or handheld mobile device, used by an ordinary person, could become a practical health tool. For example, such a medical “tricorder” could analyze the sound of irregular breathing or a cough and determine a likely medical condition or disease. And such a device, by detecting signals or other data from the user’s body, could provide a warning that a stroke or heart attack is imminent.
Projects like that are underway today!
Five years ago, The Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE was a $10 million global competition to incentivize the development of innovative technologies capable of accurately diagnosing a set of 13 medical conditions independent of a healthcare professional or facility, ability to continuously measure 5 vital signs, and have a positive consumer experience. Read more about it here.
The co-winning Canadian team, CloudDX, propelled by their Tricorder XPRIZE participation, has gone on to commercialize remote, connected patient monitoring hardware and software that anyone can easily use at home!
And that’s just the beginning.
On the International Space Station today, 250 miles above Earth, astronauts wear a Smart Shirt that senses body temperature, heart rate, blood oxygen, EKG, and even the activity of heart valves!
Can you imagine a virtual reality doctor’s visit in your future? (Oh, wait. Star Trek envisioned this already. USS Voyager’s Emergency Medical Holographic Doctor.) Advances in artificial intelligence and tele-medicine have just barely begun.
(And yes, virtual reality was envisioned many decades ago. It was the basis for many tangled plots on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The holodeck!)
Those who sat listening to this extraordinary Comic-Con Museum panel learned all of this, and more. We saw that, in the hands of thoughtful people who desire positive, healthy outcomes, our technological future can be very bright, indeed.
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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 fascinating panel convened yesterday at San Diego’s Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park. The Science of Star Trek – Travel at Warp Speed featured a Star Trek editor, a Star Trek writer, and three scientists from General Atomics, which is headquartered here in San Diego.
The event coincided with the Comic-Con Museum’s current exhibition honoring Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek.
Five panelists focused primarily on the technology of nuclear fusion, which has been pioneered at General Atomics for many decades. Fusion powers the fictional impulse engines of Star Trek’s starships.
It was fun to learn that Star Trek was a major inspiration of David Humphreys, a nuclear fusion scientist who has worked at General Atomics for 40 years! (Incidentally, his favorite captain is Kirk.)
All sorts of different Star Trek technology, like the matter/anti-matter warp drive, tricorders and communicators, were touched upon. The panelists loved that much of Star Trek’s speculative tech has been based on real physics and scientific possibility. Remember how Kirk would sit in the captain’s chair and sign off on a device that looked like a tablet? Some of that once-fictional tech exists today!
Other not-so-realistic Star Trek technology would be used merely as a plot device. The transporters allowed a story (and Dr. McCoy’s scrambled molecules) to quickly transition from scene to scene. Human scale teleportation remains a somewhat unlikely dream. (But who knows?)
The most exciting part of the discussion concerned the imminent emergence of sustained nuclear fusion as a potentially limitless source of cheap, clean energy. Unlike nuclear fission, with its dangerous radioactive waste and chain reaction, the technology that produces fusion is inherently safe. And its “fuel” is hydrogen, which is practically limitless. The trick is energizing and concentrating hydrogen atoms so that they fuse and become helium, as they do inside the very, very hot sun. No easy task!
Fusion has made such tremendous advances that the world now stands at the brink of major breakthroughs, due primarily to the ITER project–one of the largest scientific programs in human history–where 35 nations from around the world hope to perfect and share practical working technology. General Atomics produced the super powerful magnets utilized by ITER.
Another thing the panelists addressed is how young people today can take part in this exciting future. Diverse, good-paying jobs connected to fusion technology are going to be plentiful. General Atomics is looking for interns! Can you imagine a more interesting place to work and learn?
It was great to see how San Diego’s own General Atomics is helping to lead the way to a world that will be completely transformed in a positive way by nuclear fusion. And it was inspiring to see scientists from General Atomics out in the community. They also participated in the Barrio Logan STEAM Block Party, which I blogged about last weekend.
When I was in middle school, many moons ago, we went on a field trip to General Atomics. I remember how the scientists briefly fired their fusion reactor under a huge protective pool of water. Now, almost half a century later, we are at the cusp of something so huge, the world might be transformed beyond anything that even the creators of Star Trek envisioned!
Oh–the next photo, taken on the main floor of the Comic-Con Museum, is of Star Trek cosplayers belonging to the Science Fiction Coalition. Live long and prosper!
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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!
The amazing Star Trek exhibit at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park has expanded!
The special exhibit, titled Gene Roddenberry: Sci-Fi Visionary, includes original costumes, props, historical documents and artifacts related to the creation of Star Trek. The life, writings and visionary efforts of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry are highlighted.
I blogged about the exhibit the weekend it opened here.
Well, check out what I saw today!
New additions include costumes worn by actress Majel Barrett, primarily from her role as Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Majel Barret was Gene’s wife. You might recall she also played nurse Christine Chapel in Star Trek: The Original Series. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was often called the First Lady of Star Trek.
In addition, amazing works of Star Trek art now decorate one museum wall! These large, inventive LEGO brick character portraits and scene recreations, assembled by a master builder, will blow your mind!
I visited the Comic-Con Museum today to listen to an interesting Will Eisner Week panel concerning the use of comic books and graphic novels in education. I’ll blog about that shortly!
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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!
The Comic-Con Museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park opened this weekend. One of the museum’s inaugural exhibits is titled Gene Roddenberry: Sci-Fi Visionary. Gene Roddenberry was the creator of Star Trek.
Gene Roddenberry: Sci-Fi Visionary celebrates the achievements of a writer and producer whose storied life was filled with optimism about the human race and our shared future. That optimism was embodied in Star Trek, and is one very big reason why generations of fans have loved the many television series and movies in the enduring science fiction franchise.
I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation and reruns of the original Star Trek series. I loved the space travel, strange new worlds, sense of wonder and discovery, how Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, Chekov . . . Picard, Riker, Data, Deanna, Geordi, Beverly, Worf . . . and a family of diverse characters overcame strange, sometimes daunting challenges, mostly using their moral sense and intelligence, never losing their faith in the potential good of humanity.
I loved the philosophical themes and the alien encounters. It all was fun, original, thought-provoking, exciting. I still enjoy watching the original series, even if the special effects are dated. My attachment to Star Trek is permanent. Like legions of other fans.
So, obviously, I was excited to view this major exhibit at the newly opened Comic-Con Museum. Gene Roddenberry’s creative genius and humanity is on full display–his writings, sketches, quotes, screenplays–plus there are original props and costumes from Star Trek.
If you’re a fan of Star Trek and happen to be in San Diego, this is a must see exhibition.
Here’s a little of what you’ll discover…
A colorful pathway through the exhibit details the life of Gene Roddenberry. He was a World War II pilot, police officer and Hollywood writer, before launching his enduring idea of Star Trek.Original costumes from Star Trek productions on display.The optimism and imagination of a curious mind are recalled.Lexoriter word processor used by Roddenberry writing scripts for Star Trek: The Next Generation.Roddenberry’s personal film projector used to screen Star Trek episodes at home.Historical documents, letters, artwork and scripts are displayed, pertaining to the creative work of Gene Roddenberry.Lyrics to the musical theme from Star Trek written by Roddenberry.Star Trek communicators foresaw today’s cellphone technology. “The Menagerie” script of Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, Gene’s wife and actress who portrayed Nurse Chapel.May Gene Roddenberry’s hopeful, positive world view Live Long and Prosper!
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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!
San Diego’s newest museum opened yesterday in Balboa Park. Today I walked through the door and enjoyed my very first visit to the amazing Comic-Con Museum!
The Comic-Con Museum is going to be another major attraction in San Diego. Even during this “soft opening” there are remarkable exhibits that include original, one-of-kind artifacts–artwork, costumes, props, rare documents and more–from the history of popular culture.
I walked about the three-level museum and and tried to take it all in. A variety of extraordinary exhibits are featured during this Grand Opening weekend, which coincides with Comic-Con Special Edition at the downtown San Diego Convention Center.
Please enjoy my photos and read the captions to learn a little more about the museum and its current exhibits.
And make sure to check out the Comic-Con Museum website here! Become a member like me and gain all sorts of exclusive benefits!
Almost 10 am when the doors open! The Comic-Con Museum occupies the historic Federal Building in Balboa Park, which years ago was home to the Hall of Champions. The building was created for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition.This is just the beginning! The Comic-Con Museum will continue to develop their space in the coming few years. The new museum promises to become ever more incredible.Many generous donors and benefactors have helped to make the Comic-Con Museum a reality, including the David C. Copley Foundation and the Conrad Prebys Foundation.The first exhibit I saw on the ground floor is called Art of the Comic-Con Masquerade. It celebrates the Comic-Con tradition of cosplay. These elaborate superhero costumes were made by fans!My favorite exhibit is titled Gene Roddenberry: Sci-Fi Visionary. Original costumes, art and props are displayed from Star Trek. The life and creative genius of Roddenberry is remembered with his personal letters and more. This exhibit is so fantastic I’ll be blogging about it separately coming up!Another substantial exhibit, Eight Decades of Archie, celebrates the cultural heritage of Archie Comics. I had no idea that Sabrina the Teenage Witch, before television, was a comic book series published by Archie ComicsCardboard Superheroes were created by two local youth. Their cool creations debuted in the nascent Comic-Con Museum a couple years ago during Balboa Park’s December Nights.Looking up at the second floor galleries. When the Federal Building was home of the Hall of Champions, the Breitbard Hall of Fame plaques decorated those upper walls.Admiring original works of famed artist Charles Samuel Addams, who is probably best known for creating the Addams Family characters.Looking down from the second level toward the museum entrance.An inspirational exhibit is titled Out of the Darkness: Comic Art in the Times of COVID. Youth art created during the COVID-19 lockdown is featured. It is presented by A Reason To Survive (ARTS), an organization in National City that works to uplift young people.Some really great art from San Diego’s South Bay community.In one of the Comic-Con Museum’s classrooms is a creative work area. During the opening weekend, an exhibit here demonstrates the Cosplay Creator’s Lab.If you’d like to support San Diego dreamers, fans and artists, here’s one way!Sewing machine and dress.Check out this incredible, wearable Grommash Hellscream costume! It was created by Mike Biasi.In the lower level of the museum, near the auditorium, you’ll find another Art of the Comic-Con Masquerade display. These costumes were all part of past Comic-Con Masquerades.And check this out! In one corner of the Comic-Con Museum, where the old Hall of Champions café used to be, there’s the PAC-MAN Arcade, complete with playable games and historical exhibits!Designs, drawings and documents from back when Pac-Man was created, in 1980. A cultural icon (and Comic-Con Museum Character Hall of Fame inductee) was born!Is this cool, or what?
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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!
Funny comic panels featuring Star Trek characters, standing near Captain Kirk’s Coffee in South Park.
It was hot today as I walked through South Park, so I stopped at Captain Kirk’s Coffee to get an ice cold green tea. And look what I saw and learned!
All sorts of humorous Star Trek imagery can be found on and around this popular sidewalk coffee shack!
The super nice people who served up my green tea explained they’ve been there for many years now. Then they told me something amazing that I didn’t know. Whoopi Goldberg, before she became a superstar, worked at The Big Kitchen just a block south of Captain Kirk’s Coffee! They said she signed her name on a wall of The Big Kitchen, and while the interior has been repainted many times over the years, her signature remains untouched.
Among her many big Hollywood roles, you might recall that Whoopi Goldberg played Guinan in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in the films Star Trek: Generations and Star Trek: Nemesis.
Captain Kirk’s Coffee by the Fern Street sidewalk in South Park.
Various spaceships have landed or crashed atop the roof of Captain Kirk’s Coffee.
At the front counter. Bean me up Scotty!
Big Kitchen Café in South Park, where Whoopi Goldberg worked before becoming a Hollywood superstar.
Star Trek meets Star Wars in these silly panels near Captain Kirk’s Coffee.
Whoopi Goldberg as Star Trek character Guinan says: I miss Judy’s delicious coffee cake at The Big Kitchen.
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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!
One of many future Starfleet artifacts that can now be seen in San Diego during 2019 Comic-Con.
The Starfleet Museum has sent many interesting artifacts from the future back in time to be exhibited during 2019 San Diego Comic-Con.
This very special exhibition, titled Jean-Luc Picard: The First Duty, traces the life and exploits of Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, whose exemplary service to Starfleet has made him a legend throughout the galaxy.
I took photographs of a few of these very rare museum pieces for the enjoyment of my readers. They will remain on loan from the future during the duration of San Diego Comic-Con. If you can, head down to the Gaslamp Quarter and enjoy a fascinating glimpse into future history!
Friendly smiles greeted a curious visitor to Star Trek’s cool Jean-Luc Picard: The First Duty exhibit.
The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth…
USS Stargazer NCC-2893, Constellation-class starship. Picard served as Stargazer’s captain for 22 years.
Cadet Jean-Luc Picard, 2326.
Ensign Jean-Luc Picard, 2330.
Starfleet Officer’s Service Uniform, 2364.
Starfleet Communicator Badges.
A painting by Lieutenant Commander Data.
A painting by Lieutenant Commander Data.
Dixon Hill Novels. Picard enjoyed reading Shakespeare and these Dixon Hill detective novels from author Tracy Tormé.
SHADOWS OF KATAAN. An Evening of Music and Discourse with Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Ressikan Flute.
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, Galaxy-class starship. Picard commanded the Enterprise-D from 2364 to 2371.
Third Dynasty Kurlan Naiskos, a revered artifact of the ancient, extinct civilization of the planet Kurl.
Tamarian Knife, a gift to Picard in 2368, by Tamarian ship captain Dathon.
Tea cups, one option when ordering hot beverages from the Enterprise’s replicator system.
A wall with many plaques and trophies awarded to Admiral Picard during his long and illustrious career in Starfleet.
Admiral Picard Family Album.
Photos of older brother Robert Picard and mother Yvette Gassard-Picard.
Borg Queen Skull. After her defeat, the Queen’s cybernetic skull and other remaining components were retained by Starfleet for further study.
Artifacts from the marriage of Commander William Riker and Commander Deanna Troi in 2379.
Chateau Picard Wine. The Picard family vineyards near La Barre, France produce one of Earth’s premiere red wines.
Jean-Luc Picard Civilian Attire, 2399.
The special exhibition, Jean-Luc Picard: The First Duty, is on loan from the Starfleet Museum. It is on display in San Diego during 2019 Comic-Con.
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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!
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