Mar 03 2012

8: A Play About The Fight For Marriage Equality

Tonight, by pure happenstance, I came across a play called “8” that was performed and streamed live on YouTube and presented by the American Foundation for Equal Rights. From their website: “George Clooney, Martin Sheen and Jane Lynch join an all-star cast for a one-night-only benefit reading of “8,” the new play by Academy-award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar) that chronicles the landmark federal trial of California’s Prop. 8 using the actual court transcripts and first-hand interviews.”

The other actors included Brad Pitt, Kevin Bacon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Matthew Morrison, Chris Colfer, Christine Lahti, Matt Bomer, John C. Reilly, George Takei, Yeardley Smith, James Pickens, Jr., Vanessa Garcia, Cleve Jones, Rory O’Malley, Jansen Panettiere and Bridger Zadina. It lasted about an hour and a half and wasn’t dry and boring transcript reading. There was some very powerful and moving moments from Chris Colfer as well as some lighter, humorous ones care of John C. Reilly’s performance. NBC/CNN’s Campbell Brown acted as the occasional narrator. The play was very well presented and everyone involved did an exceptional job with their roles.

The  show ended with Rob Reiner introducing Dustin Lance Black as well as the four actual plaintiffs and their two attorneys who were in the audience.

This is another powerful example of what amazing content the Internet is capable of bringing to a worldwide audience (minus China).

The recorded performance is available to watch on the AFER website or on their YouTube channel.

(All images are copyright of their respective owners.)

Mar 02 2012

Possible Return Of An Old Friend

Today I noticed that a Turtle Dove was sitting in the hanging flower pot outside my bathroom window. I’d like to think that she’s either the vigilant mother who nested there last year, or possibly one of her offspring all done growed up. She didn’t fly away when I carefully got close enough to get this shot, and I take that as a good sign she’s nesting. Hopefully she’ll still be there tomorrow, and the day after.

Mar 01 2012

Pizza, Cookies And Hugo

Had an intimate chat-with-lunch gathering at the Tapias with both Rodrigo and Sylvia, as well as with Randy who braved the drive down from Orange County just to hang out with us. Our gathering began with picking up a deliciously large combo pizza from the newly remodeled outdoor food area of a local Costco and finished with amazingly good chocolate chip cookies that Sylvia had baked. (I helped mix, so yay for Peter’s contribution.) There was much chatting in between bites. This was a very orally-focused assemblage.

After Randy’s departure the three of us remaining sat down to watch “Hugo,” for the very first time. Fifteen minutes into the movie we all decided it wasn’t as engaging or interesting as we were hoping. It looked great, but didn’t completely hold out interests. (Proof of that could be seen in how we got more excited about noticing the cameos of both Johnny Depp (producer) and director Martin Scorsese than we did about what was occurring onscreen.)  I’ve always enjoyed any role Ben Kinglsey has played, but here he just seemed to be constantly mis-directed. I also felt that the kids always seemed to be acting and were not very natural, although I think Chloe Grace Moretz is destined to be very good. I’ve never been a big Sash Baron Cohen fan, and this movie did nothing to change that. I really felt his character was out of place and his performance a bit forced. And the minor side-story of Richard Griffiths as Monsieur Frick and Frances de la Tour as Madame Emilie just seemed like an unimportant distraction that I didn’t care about. The main storyline was intriguing, but it was just presented in a bit of a boring and disjointed way. That lasted until the final fifteen minutes of the movie when it finally became emotionally and dramatically interesting. If the entire movie would have been like the last fifteen minutes I would have enjoyed it much more. I do have to admit though, that I really delighted in the probably accurate look at how old silent classics used to be made. All said and done, I’d have to say my two favorite performances were from Jude Law in his all-too minor role, and from Helen McCory as Mama Jeanne, and that I’m glad the movie didn’t win Best Picture at the Oscars.

Mar 01 2012

It’s Calendar Changing Day For March

The new images for me to enjoy every day for the rest of this month. Except for when I’ll be house-sitting somewhere else, of course. Then I’ll just have to refer to this blog post.

Walt Disney
Pixar films
Disney comics
Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Trek ships
Pirates
Pirate babes
Women of Marvel
Scott Campbell
Olivia Betty Page
Olivia
Gil Evgren
Gil Evgren
Gil Evgren
Coca Cola
Big Bang Theory
Zoonooz
Animal babies
SeaWorld
San Diego Zoo
Train travel posters
California
Texas

Feb 29 2012

Aquatic Museums, Above And Below Sea Level

For the final day of half-price Museum Month 2012 I decided to finally visit our Maritime Museum of San Diego down by the bay.  I thought this would take between two and three hours so I could maybe do one more small museum later. Seven hours and 525 photos later, I was ready to go home. That means that in the past week as I’ve been taking advantage of the Museum Month entrance discounts, I have taken almost 2,000 photos. My poor, seven-year old, brave, little Nikon. I’m surprised it’s still shuttering. And I’m surprised I’m still standing.

The museum today was much better than I was expecting, hence the extended stay and tons of photos. This was the first time in recent memory that I actually ran out of room on my CF cards. And I took three of them. With a couple more ships still to board, I could have taken many more shots, but I had to finish viewing the vessels with only my eyes. And that felt really weird.

I started with the museum’s pride and joy, the 1863 Star of India, the world’s oldest active sailing ship. After spending quite a bit of time above deck, I was pleasantly surprised to find real museum-quality exhibits below deck showcasing not only the history of the ship, but also the history of sailing and fishing. And these were top-notch, professionally created displays. And boy, does that ship have a lot knotted ropes everywhere. Three hours of my morning went just to the Star of India.

Next up was the 1974 Cold War era Soviet B-39 Attack Submarine. This was an amazing piece of engineering design, both in a good sense and in a horrible one. The super-cramped quarters were covered with pipes, gauges, panels and buttons, anywhere they could find an empty bit of hull wall (even in the enlisted bathrooms). It definitely looked no-frills Soviet. Very thrown-together for function without aesthetic. I was amazed I never bashed my head into something hard and metallic that was protruding or hanging. But it was an impressively huge sub, so again, many photos.

After the B-39 I walked back to the beautiful British frigate replica, HMS Surprise, which was featured in both “Master and Commander” (as the HMS Surprise) and in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” (as the HMS Providence). This ship also had some unexpected displays below deck. Plus canons! I had to start hurrying a bit through the ship since my day was already starting to get long in the keel. Still managed a lot of photo-taking, though. She is a pretty vessel.

Penultimate of my photo-documented visits was aboard the Navy’s research submarine, the USS Dolphin, which holds the (still classified) world’s record for the deepest operating dive. Even though it was built in 1968, six years before the Soviet B-39, it looks years ahead in interior design and comfort. Very clean and shiny with not as many cranks, wheels or switches jutting out from every surface. My American pride was in overdrive. But it is also much smaller than the B-39 and used for completely different purposes.

My last few remaining photos went for the Berkeley, an 1898 Victorian-era steam ferryboat that used to carry passengers across the San Francisco Bay. The outside of the ship is really impressive, but the inside is absolutely stunning. I never would have expected this kind of ornate craftsmanship. The wooden floors, rows of wooden seats and the stained glass window panels are Gilded-Age beautiful. This was a wonderful surprise. (My day seemed to be filled with them.)

The museum has many more beautiful and historically important ships and boats. One, the schooner Californian (the state’s official Tall Ship), was unfortunately closed for educational purposes. I did board the 1904 steam yacht Medea, and walked through its upper deck cabins. As with the Berkeley, the wooden craftsmanship was beautiful. But my last shot was of her hull.

A gathering of a few other, smaller historic boats can be found displayed on the dock.

What I’m really excited about is the future addition of the San Salvador, now being built (with construction open to the public) at Spanish Landing. It will be an exact, sea-worthy replica of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo‘s flagship when he sailed into San Diego Bay in 1542.

Today was a tiring but immensely satisfying visit to San Diego and California’s maritime past.

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Feb 28 2012

37 Acre Oxygen Factory

Visited the San Diego Botanical Garden in Encinitas today with my mom and my sister. Over 3,000 plants and trees covering 37 acres produce more than enough oxygen to help energize a person to walk the four miles of trails through gardens with authentic species from around the world including Australia, Africa, Central America, Mexico, the Mediterranean, New Zealand and South America. There are also specialty areas such as the incredible bamboo garden (largest in the U.S.), desert gardens, herb garden, palm canyon, tropical rainforest (one of my favorite areas with a waterfall), and subtropical fruit garden. A two-story wooden outlook at the end of a plank walkway can be found on the north side of the property. You can kind of see the ocean from there but generally the view was a bit disappointing. Also worth at least a quick look are the Hamilton Children’s Garden with interactive play and learn areas for kids, and the Seeds of Wonder Children’s Garden with topiaries and a miniature railroad. Like most accomplished gardens, this one teaches as much as it presents.

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Feb 27 2012

All Alone In The Night

I never get tired of watching these videos. Wonderful selection for the music. Very well put together.

Feb 27 2012

One Guitar, Ten Hands

Pretty impressive cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Walk Off The Earth.

Feb 26 2012

Chatting About The Oscars

Finally had me a long-overdue video chat with my close friend, Brenda, all while Jean Dujardin won the Oscar for Best Actor and Michel Hazanavicius won as Best Director, both for “The Artist,” at the 84th Annual Academy Awards. While our chat only lasted for two awards, both of our performances tonight were genuine.

Feb 26 2012

Mission Valley: Then And Now

Here are two images of Mission Valley, located here in San Diego, as viewed from almost the same vantage point. The image on the left is a photo, taken in 1885, from an exhibit in the tower of the Junípero Serra Museum in Presidio Park. The image on the right is a photo I took yesterday looking out of a window from that same museum tower. The most significant and striking difference for me is that now, thanks to Walt Disney, the world is in color. M&Ms and rainbows must have been a lot more boring back then.

 

 

 

 

Wonderful World of Color

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Feb 25 2012

The First Padre

Revisited Presidio Park today, this time with my mom and sister, to finally tour the Junípero Serra Museum. During the week it’s really difficult to go inside, probably because it’s only open on weekends. (See my previous post describing who Junípero Serra was. I don’t want to write all that history about who Junípero Serra was again. I’ve moved on in regards to Junípero Serra.)

And now, back to my blog post about Junípero Serra and his museum.

Got there a bit early so I could get a bunch more exterior shots without people in them before the museum opened. Sort of to set the stage for the story. Turns out I didn’t need to worry about people in my shots. There were only two other groups. One was a family of five who got bored and left quickly, and the other was comprised of two women visiting from England whom my mother chatted up for a while in the tower. There wasn’t a tremendous amount of items on display, which actually made the museum feel more open. And nothing in the museum actually had anything to do with Fr. Serra or even about the original mission built there. There was more information about George Marston, the incredible philanthropist who made the museum possible, than there was about Fr. Serra. The few pieces they did have were impressive enough, although not all of them were even from San Diego. And there’s a model of what the presidio looked like in it’s prime, which turns out to be incorrect. The building’s ceiling was, for me, one of the most impressive features with its giant wooden beams. And I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we could go all the way up to the top of the tower and view not only old photos from the time of the building’s dedication, but also the incredible vistas of the surrounding area with comparisons of how they used to look way back when. That for me was the coolest thing about the museum. Showing what life in San Diego was like back when the building was built and dedicated.

Also didn’t hurt that the girl working the office was easy on the eyes.

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Feb 24 2012

Now For The Earth-Bound Vehicles

After my four and a half hour/three hundred plus photo marathon visit to the Air & Space Museum, I thought I would take it easy and rest a bit…by immediately visiting the San Diego Automotive Museum right next door and taking a lot more photos. There was a very cool exhibit of classic “woodies” that were all polished and beautiful. They also had their usual impressive collection of cars from different eras including a few of my favorites like the 1913 Cadillac Model 30, the 1932 Cadillac V-12 and the 1913 Pierce-Arrow Raceabout (think Tony Curtis’ car from “the Great Race”). They also had a 1967 Austin that was once owned by Frank Sinatra during his Rat Pack years. In the center of the museum there’s a section devoted to Louis Mattar’s “Fabulous $75,000 Cadillac” that he modified to drive nonstop on a 1952 round-trip journey of 6,320 miles across the United States from San Diego to New York and back. He was able to fill-up the tank, change the oil, change flat tires, cook meals and wash dishes, wash and iron clothes, make phone calls, watch TV and even shower and go to the bathroom, all while never stopping the car. There were three drivers taking five hour shifts. He bettered that two years later with an even longer 7,482 mile trip from Anchorage, Alaska down to Mexico City. Even the immigration inspection into Mexico was done while driving.

Also on exhibit is an impressive collection of early and classic motorcycles, one even owned and raced by Steve McQueen.

So ended my extended, multiple museum day.

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Feb 24 2012

I Need Some Air And I Need My Space

The morning started off with a quick walk through most of Balboa Park, beginning at the Natural History Museum and continuing down the El Prado pedestrian walkway, passing the Botanical Building and Lily Pond, skirting the Plaza de Panama with its fountain and bronze statue of El Cid, passing the Japanese Friendship Garden and the Spreckles Organ Pavilion, walking through the House of Pacific Relations International Cottages and briefly exploring Palm Canyon Trail before finally ending up at the old Ford Building from the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. And after walking around inside the building for four and a half hours, taking almost three hundred and fifty photos, speaking with one elderly docent about Chuck Yeager‘s visit last Saturday, enjoying a Lind-Burger and a beer at the Flight Path Grill and going pee twice (thank you, Coronado Brewing Company), I would say that my time at the San Diego Air & Space Museum could genuinely be considered a successful visit.

Started off by seeing the prototype (Lockheed A-12) of my all-time favorite plane (SR-71 Blackbird) on exhibit out front of the museum. Inside the entrance rotunda housed exhibits beginning with a reproduction of Charles Lindbergh’s original Spirit of St. Louis (built in San Diego by Ryan Aeronautical Company) as well as the Apollo 9 command module and a couple of military unmanned drone vehicles, which are much bigger than most people realize. Also on hand was a very cool looking Ford Mustang tricked out with Blue Angels colors. From there I entered the early years of flight, from Da Vinci through World War I, followed by planes for air mail and barnstorming. That’s when I took my lunch break, eating outside on the observation deck and watching the comparatively giant passenger jets flying overhead on approach to Lindbergh Field. After lunch I checked out the PSA exhibit with tons of items from its history, including some of the flight attendants’ uniforms, including the miniskirt version. Those uniforms were housed in a reproduction of the first PSA ticket office from 1949, which itself was a discarded US Marine Corps latrine. They also had numerous plaques in memory of all those lost in 1978 airliner crash here in San Diego. From there I spent quite a bit of time in the Pavilion of Flight with its original Ford V8 fountain from 1935. Here I found an F4 Phantom chasing a MiG-17 and a huge PBY-5A Catalina, also built here in San Diego. Most spectacular was the Ford Trimotor which years ago I saw being refurbished in the museum’s basement. After that came World War II and finally the modern jet and space age with a Gemini spacecraft, an Apollo service module with capsule, a Mars rover and an actual Blue Angels F-18.

Way too many planes to list, hence all the photos (to come).

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Feb 23 2012

Where California Began

Took my mom to Presidio Park today, which on one side overlooks Interstate 8 running through Mission Valley, on another side looks toward SeaWorld and Mission Bay, and the third side overlooks Old Town, where San Diego was founded. Since the Serra Museum itself was closed I walked a few of the trails that encircle the Presidio.

In 1769, a Spanish-lead military expedition of about two hundred people arrived in this area of Alta California to establish a fort, or military colony (presidio), and a mission. The fort (the first of four) was meant to guard an area from Ensenada, Mexico, all the way up to where Malibu is today, just north of Los Angeles. I can’t imagine how they could have possibly known if an invading army landed or an Indian uprising occurred in such a large area. Regularly spaced lookout posts, I’d imagine. (I guess I can imagine it. Huh.)

Fr. Junípero Serra, a Franciscan monk, went on to build twenty-one missions along the El Camino Real, starting with the first one here at the Presidio. Five years later, in 1774, the mission was moved to its present location six miles east in Mission Valley (hence the name). The Presidio remained for over sixty years. Now the ruins are covered by rolling hills of grass and trees. In 1929, department store owner George Marston bought the land to save it from development, built the Serra Museum, and then donated the entire property to the city of San Diego. We are all lucky he did.

Here endeth the lesson.

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Feb 22 2012

On The Right Track

After my less than flavorful lunch, I finally ended up at what was supposed to be my first destination from today, the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. At 28,000 square feet it’s the largest operating model railroad museum in the world. And it’s right here in San Diego. Not much to say other than it simply is a marvel to see all the elaborate and often humorous details that the different clubs put into their layouts.  It’s a miniature photographer’s delight where one can easily spend an hour just looking for tiny little scenes being played out in miniature. There’s even a tiny colonial house with a tiny pool that has a tiny shark in it. It’s sometimes hard to fathom the seriousness and state-of-the-art expertise that the volunteers put in to recreating both famous as well as imagined railroad lines of both past and present. The old downtown San Diego Santa Fe station with a Ryan hangar is one of my favorite dioramas. The buildings, cars, planes, plants, trees, street lights, telephone poles, bridges, and people of every kind all have meaning and stories.

Every time I visit here it reignites my childhood love of models and miniatures.

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