Tag: writing

Creators unite nerd and lowrider cultures!

Ish Galvan is a cool dude I met during the Vista Strawberry Festival. He and Vince Vargas are the creators behind Triple OG Comics. He was showing everybody the Tamale Guy comic book they’ve published.

As I understood it, Ish is a writer who loves to mash up different concepts in his work, from mythology to metaphysics to science fiction to neo-noir. The story of the multi-issue Tamale Guy is described as: A tamale vendor escapes his violent past to begin a peaceful life. However, an ex-cartel killer with Aztec powers seeks revenge.

Ish explained that he’s bridging both nerd and Chicano lowrider culture. At first glance the two cultures might seem very different, but in fact they have things in common. Consider the graphics painted on many lowrider cars. It’s the sort of art you’d find in a comic, graphic novel, or at Comic-Con for that matter. Some deep in the lowrider culture have confided to Ish they secretly collect comic books, too!

That these two artists are cultural trailblazers is pretty awesome!

Good luck guys!

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Tiny matchbox books at San Diego library!

Matchbox books created by author Alice Lowe are now on display at San Diego’s downtown Central Library. Have you seen anything like this before?

Alice Lowe is a local San Diego writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 literary journals. Her tiny matchbox books include her own words plus various quotes and excerpts from different books and authors.

To read these diminutive works of art, you might have to press your nose right up to the glass display cases on the library’s second floor!

If you’d rather not squint or use a magnifying glass, a nearby monitor allows you to read the author’s work in digital form.

San Diego Library’s local author exhibit.

The annual Local Author Showcase of the San Diego Library is now on display on the first floor of downtown’s Central Library!

It’s exciting to see dozens of newly published books every year by diverse authors. Our city has so many creative and talented people! The Central Library is an ideal place to showcase their achievements.

Today I moseyed past the glass display cases and peered at different titles and covers.

A few examples…

At one end of the exhibit, I found a colorful work of art by Judith Parenio! It’s titled Words.

Books are portals to open minds…

Words of San Diego Poet Laureate at Civic Center.

In San Diego’s Civic Center Plaza, near the Civic Theatre Ticket Office, you’ll find these words:

Blooming is the wild body unmarred by the limits of this world

Its petals temporary but you’d never know it

The two lines were written by Paola Capó-García, San Diego Poet Laureate 2025-2027. A special City of San Diego webpage provides her biography.

Paola Capó-García lives in North Park. Her accomplishments and accolades as educator, author and journalist are numerous.

The thought-provoking words in Civic Center Plaza are actually the conclusion of her poem Wild, which you can read here. Her poem explains the difference between blooming and blossoming.

Are you blooming?

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100 Scrolls and artist James Watts!

San Diego artist James Watts (@jewattso), whose fantastic studio is located downtown, is a creative dynamo. Even as he continues to work on his 100 Paintings project, he has begun to produce 100 Scrolls!

His scrolls are painted on fabric and utilize wood sticks he’s found, cut to size and sanded smooth. Unroll the scrolls and you’ll likely find something mysterious, symbolic, humorous or wise. (Possibly all four!) The art of James Watts often concerns aspects of mythology, religion or literature.

The scroll in my first photograph refers to two other works he has created, the Portal to Heaven and the Gates of Hell. Apple and cloud are accompanied by the words: It was not always like this. Seems everything changed with one bite of the forbidden fruit.

The next scroll in unrolled:

If only they knew.

The next scroll, filled with writing, was used by the artist for practice:

…we laughed and cried Oh what a night Who is to know the reason, the whys, the whats, the meaning of it all. To Love is to Love well…

As you can see, some images are created using sumi-e, which is Japanese ink painting.

We are all Broken. We must mend Ourselves.

What is understood Does not need to Be Explained.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Waka poems as art at Japanese Friendship Garden.

Waka poems are a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. A waka poem is unique in that it consists of 31 syllables.

An exhibit at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park contains examples of waka from Japan’s Heian period (794 – 1185) written in kana script. Each composition is beautiful, not merely as a poem, but as a visual work of art.

The exhibition is titled Love Letters from the Heian Period — Emotions in 31 Syllables.

A sign in the garden’s Exhibit Hall explains: “Among the aristocracy of the time, romantic relationships often began through the exchange of waka… Since men and women had limited opportunities to meet in person, emotions were conveyed through poetry…”

Learn more about this exhibition at the JFG website here.

I was completely unaware of this type of poetry before visiting the garden today. Spellbound, I stood before the examples on display and read translations of each Japanese poem.

The English translations do not contain 31 syllables, obviously, but they definitely convey feelings indicative of romance. I noticed these wakas often employ metaphors taken from nature.

Here are a few of the translations:

There are many villages where the cuckoo bird sings. It’s a bird that I find attractive, but I don’t feel close to it. I like it, but it’s not mine, so I feel a bit jealous. Poet: The Tales of Ise

I won’t allow you to meet me, even if you imitate the crow of a rooster before dawn. Poet: Sei Shōnagon

I was dying to see you, but after I met you I want to live forever. Poet: Fujiwara no Yoshitaka

Should my heart waver and betray our love, then even the impassable waves of a tsunami would cross over the mountains. In other words, I would never be unfaithful. Poet: Author unknown.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Unique art and ideas multiply at Zine event!

Individual free expression took center stage today at the Compressed Zine & Music Fair. The event, organized by Particle FM and Burn All Books, was held at Bread and Salt in Logan Heights.

Writers and artists (and dreamers who are doers) gathered from around the San Diego region to showcase hundreds of their uniquely created zines. (And other printed works of art!)

What is a zine? According to Wikipedia: A zine is a magazine that is a… noncommercial often homemade… publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter.

As you might imagine, individuals printing their own zines can be boundlessly creative. They aren’t limited by the “demands” of societal acceptance or mainstream publication. Anyone with access to a copy machine or modest printer (and perhaps a stapler) can create a zine. It’s a cool way to easily get ideas out there and create something tangible that others can share.

You know those revolutionary pamphlets created by our nation’s Founding Fathers? In essence, they were zines.

Today’s zines can range from philosophically serious or politically satirical, to just plain silly or art for the sake of art. Some zines are love letters to people, places or things by devoted fans. Some are critiques. Many titles include wry humor.

Titles I spied while walking around the Compressed Zine & Music Fair include Copy Machine Manifesto, Shotgun Seamstress, Respawn Archive, Typical Natural Disaster, We Miss Jerry Garcia, This is a Critique of the X-Files, and My Feelings Are Not Wrong.

It appeared to me that the best part about making a zine is the simple joy of creativity.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Free poetry parties, workshops in Balboa Park!

Poetry lovers! All sorts of activities await you in San Diego’s wonderful Balboa Park!

Free to the public and open to anyone at least 18 years old, these Balboa Park Poetic Programs celebrate creativity and the power of the written and spoken word. The three ongoing programs are: Poetry Party, Otherwise Improvise, and Poetic Legacy.

Poetry Party is a fun event held on the first Friday of every month from 3 to 5 pm in Balboa Park’s Santa Fe Room, at 2150 Pan American Road West (across from the International Cottages). The description on one flyer: Read your favorite poetry, listen, or make the scene. Be bold, adventurous, and experience the power of the spoken word.

Otherwise Improvise is held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of every month from 2:30 to 5 pm in the Balboa Park Senior Lounge (located in the Casa Del Prado). Be creative! Have even more fun!

Poetic Legacy is a workshop that involves readings and discussions of contemporary and historic poets. Taking prompts from featured poets, participants are then encouraged to write their own poems. This program takes place on the last Friday of every month, from 3 to 5 pm in the Balboa Park Senior Lounge.

The next Poetic Legacy workshop will be held August 29th and will feature poet Naomi Shibab Ney, recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work. In 2019 the Poetry Foundation designated her the Young People’s Poet Laureate for 2019–21.

Want more information concerning the Balboa Park Poetic Programs? Email SLemire@sandiego.gov.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Nine short stories during Comic-Con.

Comic-Con is magic.

Dreams gather, take shape, become tangible. Fantasies launch into the world as seeds in the wind.

Comic-Con is also a hotbed of self-promotion. So please excuse me. Here I go…

Do you love to read works of fiction that contain unexpected twists?

Here are nine very short stories I’ve written over the years. You can find them on my website Short Stories by Richard.

These seeds in the wind await your click:

One Strange, Shimmering Dream

Father’s Paintbrush

A Distant Place

Their Dream

Unheard Words

One Magic Bubble

The Bone Artists

A Secret Junkyard

Final Real Magic

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

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Artist creates beautiful hats and poetry!

I met an artist in Balboa Park today who creates beautiful crocheted hats and heartfelt poetry. Her name is Espi Love.

Espi had many different colored hats that she has crocheted, and with her typewriter she was composing poems for passersby. She wrote a poem for me about her hat.

It’s about whimsy, silliness and being unafraid. It concludes: we should all be brave as a playful child

I can definitely identify with silliness!

I hope you might see her next time you’re in Balboa Park. Look for her smile, and expect words of wisdom tapped out from her fingers. You might like one of her whimsical hats, too!

And yes! She has a website with lots of cool stuff! You can order one of her fun “Minky” hats online! Go to her website by clicking here!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!