There were a few musicians on various corners at the Gaslamp Quarter Gate this Comic-Con weekend. This Princess Leia violinist – brilliant concept.
All good things must come to an end. Especially Comic-Con.
San Diego
25
Jul 10
Comic-Con: Days 3 & 4: Beat Surrender
24
Jul 10
Comic-Con, Day 2
Schwag magic is always at work in Comic-Cons. All the free goodies: posters, flyers, buttons, books, DVD’s, and anything you don’t have to pay for. It’s like the all-you-can eat buffet, where things momentarily are cool because you’re not paying much for them. There’s also the story behind them – you got them at Comic-Con. This year, they even issued ridiculously large bags to collect all this stuff – 2 x 3 feet with 2-4 inches of depth. I felt dwarfed by it and I’m pretty close to 6 feet tall. With the humongous bag, it is easy to stuff things in, even when you’re not a fan of the things you grabbed from the promoters. In the photo above, a young man found a creative use for for all the junk he collected over the past few days. Resistance is futile – he will assimilate stuff. He has some duct tape to help complete his mission and his ensemble will no doubt grow exponentially by Sunday. Everyone else is collecting free stuff, but it will all wind up in clutter or e-Bay. Continue reading →
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Jul 10
Rapture
At the west side of the Convention Center, where it meets the Marriot, a few guys had large bubble machines that pushed very light suds through human-shaped stencils. When the guys cut the mass of bubbles away from the stencil, it looked as it people were floating off to the heavens. The process went so fast that lots of them were in the air. Comic-Con attendees were lined up trying to get a good shot. Here’s one of my attempts.
23
Jul 10
Comic-Con, Day 1
The Trolley Station near the Convention Center and the Gaslamp Quarter gate got taken over by the Klingons. Have your universal translator handy.
Comic-Con is all about the badge. I procured my badge Wednesday night, got to experience the Exhibit Hall, which I was soon over, and got to experience one of the longest bus rides I ever had going across downtown, all thanks to the badge. The next day, during the early hours, I lent my badge to a friend of mine and met up with him close to the Gaslamp Quarter gate at noon. The borrower’s definitely a good friend of mine and I got my badge back on time. However, I don’t think I’d do it again, unless it’s Sunday (by which time I’m usually over Comic-Con and just don’t go). By then, anyone can have my badge. Hopefully someone I can trust not to go psycho in my name.
22
Jul 10
So Big It Has Two or More Hashtags
This year, I decided to do Comic-Con right. I was on it when tickets went on sale. I bought the four day pass, and I got to go to Preview Night, which is a perk that only came with tickets like mine, not the one day passes or the ones that were comped. My feeling like I had access to something exclusive was short-lived, as there were lots of holders of passes good from Wednesday to Sunday, like mine. I suddenly found myself a dime a dozen and even occasionally getting pushed and shoved like I would on any other day, especially Saturday, the most busiest day of Comic-Con. The lines for some things, such as experiencing the space travel pods in the Aliens franchise were ridiculously long and the queue management was just as bizarre and confusing. I got to experience the usual oooh’s and aah’s of all the displays and exhibits coupled with sprinklings of people who just did not know how to walk in a crowd. The benefit of this Preview Night was for me to get the exhibitor’s floor out of my system so I can go to the events and enjoy them the rest of the week.
17
Jul 10
Happy Pride!
Happy Pride Weekend! I’ve been watching the parade, hanging out with friends, and going to the festival. Previous years, I took tons of photos, but this year, I tweeted like mad, observing the parade and some other thoughts. Here are some Pride survival tips I cam up while hanging out at Filter Coffeehouse on University Avenue. I wish I came up with them sooner, but they’re all common sense. And we all know what happens to common sense in real life. These tips still apply tomorrow and will help you in any city, so here they are:
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Jul 10
San Diego Pride is… This Weekend
I keep forgetting… or I just keep putting out of my mind that Pride is this weekend in San Diego. I will take lots of pictures and load them on Flickr. The parade never fails to dazzle and the extreme fundy protesters never fail to show up at the 8th Avenue Fire Station, picketing right behind the police on horseback and horses’ arses and piles of horse apples. Too bad it’s not the Phelps, who like to go on the Pride circuit, denouncing all the homosexual sinners. They’ll show up full force at Comic Con next week, protesting idolatry and not stopping to think there are tons of gays at that even too. Getting back to this Saturday, there will be lots of color, festivities, friends, and lots of visitors celebrating with us. Should be fun.
8
Jul 10
Downtown Graffiti
Yesterday afternoon, I was walking around downtown after leaving work at the language school when I decided to take some pictures. It has been a while since I’ve actively snapped pictures and shared them. I’ve taken so many pictures of Downtown San Diego that I was starting to think that there was nothing left for me to see. However, when I was walking back and forth between the language school’s two campuses, I saw the grafitti on the walls of the old California Theatre building and wanted to take them. Unfortunately, I had no camera on me, so I more than made up for it yesterday.
19
Aug 09
Original Database
Last week, I took some pictures in the San Diego Central Library, and I came across this card catalog cabinet, which is very rare. Most of the other branches in the San Diego Public Library system has phased them out, especially with modern facilities out in suburbia. Central Library, however, is still in a antiquated, late 1930′s building. Even with modern equipment here and there, there are reminder’s of the library’s past. This is definitely a beautiful reminder.
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Aug 09
Support Your Public Library, Wherever It Is
I came across this public service announcement for the New York Public Library, which is awesome. It’s wonderful to see the famous and fabulous shout out the library system of New York City. It’s great that the A-listers shout it out for the New York Public Library, but other library systems all over the country need support. In a cash-strapped California, where the State has no money and threatens to take funds from the counties and cities, making sure that the libraries keep going is even more of a necessity.
