Tag: writing

Words of inspiration at the library for San Diego authors.

The 59th Annual Local Author Showcase can now be visited at San Diego’s downtown Central Library.

Books and ebooks written by San Diego authors that were published in 2024 are featured. The published works are displayed on the library’s first floor during the month of February.

One of the display cases caught my eye. It contains words of inspiration for our local authors.

“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” –Louis L’Amour
“I think writing is another form of thinking, and story telling is not only a way to remember, but a way to create something new that is a part of us.” –Tommy Orange
“No song or poem will bear my mother’s name. Yet so many of the stories that I write, that we all write, are my mother’s stories.” –Alice Walker
“You can’t wait for inspiration…You have to go after it with a club.” –Jack London
“Description begins in the writer’s imagination but should finish in the reader’s.” –Stephen King
“Toda mi vida he tenido miedo en el momento en que me siento a escribir.” (All my life I have been afraid of the moment I sit down to write.) –Gabriel García Márquez
“The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” –Terry Pratchett
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” –Jodi Picoult

One of the books in the 59th Annual Local Author Showcase contains the writing of homeless young people. Hopeful students who attend Monarch School have written about things they know.

More Odes to Common Things, Volume VII is by the Monarch Seven Collective. I posted a blog concerning the book two weeks ago. Read a few of those odes and learn more by clicking here.

I, myself, write fictional short stories. If you’re curious, you can read them 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!

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Unhoused students write Odes to Common Things.

Unhoused students at Monarch School in Barrio Logan have written powerful words concerning their life experiences. Their many compositions (each an ode to a common thing) are collected in a series of published books. Several volumes of Odes to Common Things are available at the San Diego Public Library.

Today I noticed that the big video screen near the Central Library’s entrance was cycling through some of these thought-provoking odes. I stood there reading, and lifting my camera to take a few photographs.

The Monarch School serves homeless youth–unhoused kids who live in shelters, motels, single room occupancy housing, double- or tripled-up with other families, at camp sites, in cars, or on the streets. Monarch School is the only comprehensive K-12 school in the U.S. developed specifically to serve unhoused students and their families.

Would you like to read words that might move you–words written from the heart by youth who hope to lead a secure and happy life? Yes? See the availability of the Ode to Common Things books at the San Diego Public Library by clicking here.

Ode to Memories, by Derek. …I carry memories of my life–in my head, my brain, my heart. They can be beautiful. They can be scary…
Ode to Cats, by Fabian. …My cats make me feel happy, comfortable…Cats go to heaven…
Ode to Basketball, by Deveyon. …It makes me better able to work with new people, to make new friends…basketball is what I have.
Ode to Ice Cream, by Jaylen. …What’s good is its coldness, its sweetness, its flavor. It’s as sweet as a championship and as joyful as a party.

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Journey among poems, walking in City Heights.

When I visited the Lunar New Year celebration in City Heights last weekend, I was surprised to find hundreds of words affixed to a stretch of 44th Street behind Officer Jeremy Henwood Memorial Park. (It’s the alley-like street between the City Heights Library and Recreation Center, and the sports fields of City Heights Park to the east.)

I hadn’t recalled seeing this public art before.

I found a detailed article concerning the unique outdoor installation. The project is titled Memoria Terra and is intended to last for five years. The art debuted last summer.

Artist Shinpei Takeda and five young writers composed poems that tickle passing feet. The poems regard the history of this very diverse community (with its substantial immigrant and refugee population), social issues and gentrification.

As residents make their personal journey, they are also encouraged to gaze down at the abundant words to create their own poem.

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

Comic-Con Museum inspires real life heroes!

One cool thing about San Diego’s Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park is that it can inspire heroism. Sure, we ordinary mortals might not possess superpowers, but we do have the power to do great good in this world.

After museum visitors check out the current, very extensive The Myth of Superheroes exhibit, they pass a display concerning real life heroes. Three boards indicate that Heroes are windows to our PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE.

What have Comic-Con Museum visitors–young and old–contributed?

How can you aspire to be a HERO?

Practice kindness…
Passion… Be inspired…
I spread joy to people…

Who has been a HERO in your life?

Family… Friend…
My grandfather…
My Dad…

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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.

Thank you for sharing!

The Curious World of Seaweed in San Diego!

Can seaweed be beautiful? It definitely is in an exhibit now on display on the first floor of San Diego’s Central Library!

The Curious World of Seaweed explores the science and historical importance of seaweeds, algae and kelp, and does so using fantastic images, such as the ones you see in my photographs.

Indigenous peoples have utilized seaweed for thousands of years. Taking various parts of certain seaweeds, they would create fishing lines, containers for water and funnels for fish traps. Edible seaweeds were commonly used for food–as they are today! Sushi anybody?

In modern times, the thousands of species of algae and seaweeds have been studied and more completely understood. These living organisms sustain ocean biodiversity and are an important part of our planet’s ecology.

The extensive exhibit is based on the research, photography and writings of Josie Iselin. Her latest book is also titled The Curious World of Seaweed.

As explained here, Iselin’s writing and art focusing on seaweed, kelp and sea otter puts her on the forefront of ocean activism, presenting and working with scientists and environmental groups working to preserve the kelp forests of our Pacific Coast.

There’s much to learn when viewing this exhibit, but what struck me most was the exquisite beauty and complexity of the different colored seaweeds. You’ll enjoy viewing the illustrations, photographs and works of art.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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.

12 Short Stories inspired by Balboa Park.

Gigantic bubbles form like magic in the Plaza de Balboa.

A pleasant day in Balboa Park, sitting, walking, daydreaming. Sudden inspiration.

That’s how certain stories were born in my mind before taking life on paper.

As a writer of short fiction, I occasionally share some of these stories. If you’re a reader, you might enjoy clicking the following links:

The Highest Seat was inspired by my friend Mitchell who plays didgeridoo in Balboa Park. He once worked in the planetarium at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

A Heart That Would Not End is a short story also inspired by Mitchell and his didgeridoo.

A Song for Old Warriors came directly from a Memorial Day ceremony that I observed outside The Veterans Museum at Balboa Park.

A Wise Man was inspired while attending a December Nights concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.

Here We Go is based in part on families riding the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad.

A Crown Above All came to me as I sat on a bench watching people near the Bea Evenson Fountain.

A Dog’s Tail also came to me as I sat on a bench in the park.

A Short Bloom flowered in my mind during a Cherry Blossom Festival at the Japanese Friendship Garden.

The Child and the Koi came to me while peering into the Japanese Friendship Garden’s koi pond.

Waterfall Tears is a third short story whose setting was inspired by the beautiful Japanese Friendship Garden.

A Small Fountain in Green Park is loosely based on Balboa Park and other similar places I’ve known.

One Magic Bubble rose in my mind on a breezy day in Balboa Park as I watched a street performer with his looping string and bucket of soapy water.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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.

A philosophical short story for Arbor Day.

Wooden footbridge along 26th Street leads to a little-used trail through USS Bennington Memorial Oak Grove in Balboa Park.

Today is Arbor Day. It’s a day when we think about the future and plant trees.

Early last year I published a very short story that mentions Arbor Day. Dale’s Tree is the title. You might enjoy this touching, slightly philosophical tale.

To read Dale’s Tree, click here.

Have an excellent weekend, and stay tuned for more photographs from walks all around San Diego!

(The above photograph was taken in Balboa Park, as I walked down a path from Golden Hill into the Bennington Memorial Oak Grove. The place inspired my story.)

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

Incarcerated women and Voices on the Inside.

A new exhibit is being readied at the San Diego Central Library. Voices on the Inside presents the written words of women who’ve been incarcerated.

The exhibit is created by Poetic Justice, an organization that provides writing workshops for women serving time in prisons and jails, including the Las Colinas Detention Facility in San Diego.

As their website explains: Poetic Justice’s in-person writing workshops are typically offered for 6-10 week sessions…the participants explore therapeutic writing prompts and community building activities. At the end of a session, the participants graduate and receive an anthology of their writing and a graduation certificate.

Many of the women share their innermost thoughts, filled with humanity and new wisdom and hope that otherwise might be ignored or dismissed. The exhibit will be filled with examples of what they’ve written.

The opening reception for Voices on the Inside will be held at San Diego Central Library on Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 2 pm. Learn more by visiting the Instagram page @capoeticjustice.

To see this new exhibit, simply walk into the Central Library and turn right when you reach the main elevators. Many faces and words await you.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!

11 Short Stories About New Beginnings.

It’s true: time flies. Soon another New Year’s Day will have passed us by.

Every year, on January 1, many people vow to make positive changes in their life. Of course, every day, every hour, every moment provides us with a new beginning.

Cool San Diego Sights readers might know that I also write short fiction. Occasionally I’ll post a blog concerning stories that I’ve written. The approach of New Year’s Day provides an opportunity to share eleven inspiring short stories about new beginnings.

If you enjoy reading, you might explore the following links:

An Unexpected Sunflower is a short story about changing lives with generosity.

The Firefly is about friendship, hope and a moment of forgiveness.

One Strange, Shimmering Dream is a magical story about a dreamlike transformation.

A Half Dozen Odd Things concerns elements of a past life gifted to the future.

Night Walking is an odd tale about renewal.

The Wheel concerns creativity. Is there no end to beginnings?

The Hand of Fate is about mysterious human acts that change the world.

A Secret Junkyard is about the despair and hope of those who create.

The Ghost Ship is about unexpected bright moments that can change a life.

Every Butterfly is New shows a world that is always beginning.

Here We Go is full of eagerness for life ahead.

I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Richard

A big thank you on World Teachers’ Day!

In the one room Mason Street School in Old Town San Diego, younger and older children sat together before the teacher and learned their letters.

Today is World Teachers’ Day!

What would the world be like without teachers? Very poor and very dull.

You probably remember some of your teachers fondly, how they inspired you to learn, grow, expand your horizons, become confident.

Today would be a great day to convey your gratitude!

To help pay for my own indebtedness, I’d like to pass along some information that teachers in San Diego might find very useful.

Write Out Loud offers a variety of inspirational programs that encourage reading and writing. Teachers can make free use of them.

Here they are:

Let Your Voice Be Heard is a poetry contest open to San Diego County students in grades K – 12. Learn about it here.

READ-IMAGINE-CREATE is a contest where Middle and High School Students will READ either the full book, or selections from CIRCE by Madeline Miller or MYTHOLOGY by Edith Hamilton.. Students will RE-IMAGINE the images, themes, or characters and then CREATE a project in a medium important to them. Learn about it here.

Poetry Out Loud is a FREE program for High School students. Students select poems from the National Poetry Foundation Anthology, and memorize, interpret, and recite their poems in a competition at the entry level. Two winners from each competition advance to the Regional Competition and one Regional winner advances to the State Competition. Learn about it here.

“Ripples from Walden Pond” is a 55-minute one-person play written by Richard Platt appropriate for Middle and High School Literature and History Students. Performances are followed by a talk-back with the actor, Steve Smith. Study Guide is provided. This program is provided without cost, through the generosity of passionate private donors. Learn about it here.

Do you know a teacher in San Diego? Let them know these great programs are available!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

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 (formerly known as Twitter)!