A Cactus In Balboa Park

        Just a quick post featuring a cactus in the Old World Garden of Balboa Park, in San Diego. It was broad daylight when I took this pic, but my camera settings seemed to give it a long exposure, nighttime look to it that I thought looked cool. I have a couple other post with photos from Balboa Park, so you should check them out. One post has a great pic of a bee on a flower, and can be seen here.

Femullet (Female With A Mullet) On The Bus Crossing Coronado Bridge

        Seeing a mullet in the wild is one thing, having one sit in front of you on the bus with the Coronado Bridge in the background out the window is a once in a lifetime opportunity photo op. Don’t believe me? OK then smarty pants, I challenge everyone on both of the internets to show me a photo of a woman, sporting a mullet (a femullet) with the Coronado Bridge in the background.

A Femullet (Female Mullet) With White Lace Gloves And Orange Fingernails

        This is an actual, real life woman that walks around Coronado with a mullet, purple one-piece miniskirt, white fingerless lace gloves and orange fingernails. I wish I could say more but I claim to be a photographer, not a writer.

Fire…

        My introduction to Technomania Circus was less than a year ago, and I will say now in plain sight of God and man that it has been an amazing and colorful year. Right here, in San Diego is a performing troupe of circus players that make their living as actors while providing entertainment on a monthly basis to the citizens of San Diego.

Blacklight…

        The show they performed on May 1, 2010 was aptly titled, “Variety And Blacklight Show” and it was a stellar, hilarious, fiery and musical ordeal. There was just so much happening during this show… There was an incredible amount of variety (go figure) but there was also a healthy dose of fire, that I don’t think the audience expecting, yet immediately embraced.

Variety

        The technomaniacs have been busy since I attended their last show, “Invasion of the Oojaians: A Blacklight and Fire Intergalactic Adventure.” They have a newly constructed and much larger stage, what seemed to me to be better lighting (regular & blacklight), and a great audio system that does double duty by playing show music as well as serving as a P.A. for the actors.

        Of course, before the show started, I had to make my way through the entrance to the ticket desk. It was while I was at the desk that I saw Paul Moeller, one of the resident technomaniacs getting ready for the show. He came right up to me and informed me that not only was I “on the list” for entry into the show, but I have also been given the title, “Official Photographer” for Technomania Circus, and he produced an official badge for me to wear! How cool is that? These guys are just so gracious and welcoming no matter who walks into their yard, but this gesture really is more than going the extra mile for a fan of the show. Thanks guys!

Technomania Circus Is Where We Dance

        This show was all over the map, all over the stage and even off the stage into the audience. What makes Technomania Circus better than a movie or other live theater venues is that they bring their energy right into your lap, and you as the audience are able to throw your energy right onto the stage. There is a perfect harmony between the performers and the audience that you won’t find anywhere else.

        Every time you go to a Technomania Circus show, you will see something you have never seen before. I have personally been around the world and back again, and I used to say I’d seen everything, but then I started going to these shows. The Devil himself walked out on stage, acknowledged us mere mortals, announced that he’s a drinker and a smoker, had one of his underworld minions give him a light, and then held a Q&A with the audience. After that, the Pope, God’s human representative on Earth joined the fallen angel on stage, answered a few questions and then broke out into song. Yep, that is just a small portion of my Saturday night, spending time watching things I have never seen before. Now, let me just say now that I am a photographer, so video and video editing are pretty much a foreign languages to me. So, with that in mind, the two video clips I’m including with this post are short & sweet… Because, uh… I don’t know how to mix and edit video yet. I’m learning, but until I’m ready to go prime-time with all of it, you will have to settle for erratic clips and shoddy editing. Please don’t blame my D5000 or Technomania Circus, just blame me! At least we can now say with certainty that the Pope does indeed wear a funny hat.

Masochist Tango

        Paul and Mary Moeller, pictured above are two of the best reasons to embrace music, performing arts, and Technomania Circus. They are two of the coolest cats I have ever met. They create and perform music, they dance, sing and entertain. On this particular night, they performed the “Masochist Tango” which had some hilarious lyrics, but I just don’t remember any of those lyrics now. The premise was eloquently simple and familiar: A woman sits inside a Starbucks, writing (a screenplay) on her Mac, when a man enters and lures her into an amazingly choreographed tango. It was a sexy and provocative dance, and we audience members were enthralled. What made this situation uniquely Technomania was that they both held their coffees while dancing with each other. It was hilarious because they both danced the tango while spilling coffee all over themselves, but remained oblivious to it the entire time. Looks of passion, wanting and desire were subverted by the roaring laughter of the audience.

How About A Little Fire, Scarecrow?

        I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Fire is my favorite part of Technomania Circus. I could fill an entire blog, from beginning to end with photos of the technomaniacs flinging fire around the stage. When they were kids and their folks told them not to play with matches, I wonder what their collective response was. Do you remember all those things we were forbidden to do as kids? These guys make a living by doing all of those things!

        One of the regular acts at Technomania Circus is The Welderman. These are people that don fireproof clothing, throw fire around wherever and however they please while performing music for the masses. They will be competing at the 2010 World Telekinesis Competition next month. This is a competition for people that can control fire by using only the power of their minds. It’s great to know that a hometown San Diego hero will be tearing it up in a competition of people with kinetic abilities that far surpass my own.

Jon Juggles Fire

        For some reason the word “fire” was not included in the title of this show’s performance. So, that meant that all of us audience members didn’t expect a lot, or ANY fire as we walked in. Ha! There was fire at this show, and we loved it!

        Dr. Techno is the technomaniac that generally warms up the crowd, greets theater goers and owns a very loyal dog. Right here and now, I will give him credit for aligning the pieces that comprise the Technomania Circus… Everything from the venue, the talent, the bleacher seating and the very, very crazy bathroom. This guy actually has space pirates (and a space pirates theme song) perform at his theater! I will go out on a limb and say that NO ONE has ever been able to make that claim before.

        As mentioned earlier, there will be something at EVERY Technomania Circus show that you have never seen before. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I had no idea that later that night I would see a robot, dressed in Victoria’s Secret lingerie get fondled by another (presumably male) robot. That and the earlier mentioned appearance by The Devil & pope are just two of the MANY things I had never seen before this show. Besides being a very convenient location for those of us that take the trolley, Technomania Circus is just something that you find yourself wanting to go to and looking forward to. The circus lives at 2438 Commercial St. San Diego, in Logan Heights, right across from the 25th & Commercial Orange Line trolley stop. It is literally 15 feet away from the trolley stop, so there is no reason to think you can’t take public transportation there and back. They offer drinks, snacks t-shirts and buttons for sale, and they are all reasonably priced. Feel free to bring your own snacks or drinks, but be sure to keep your drinks in a brown paper bag *wink*. Anyway, I’ll wrap up this post with one more quick (and poorly shot) video of a break dancing alien as well as with my two favorite shots of the evening. Their next show is on June 5th, 2010 and it is called, “The Wild Wild REALLY Wild Western Circus.” I’ll see everyone there. Cheers!

Jon Blows Fire At Technomania Circus

Technomania Circus Is The Greatest Show On Earth

A Roadrunner Actually Running Down The Road

        At high noon yesterday, I went hunting my neighborhood roadrunner again. I lucked out because I found a two roadrunners in the area, and they seemed to be friends because they were singing like canaries. I will admit that the above photo is not as colorful or tack-sharp as I usually require to make it into my blog, but come on… This is a photo of a roadrunner, roadrunning! How often do you get to see that?

American Roadrunner Stay Away From Me

        Depending on the angle of the sun, the roadrunner’s head and the price of tea in China, roadrunners have a cool, patriotic eyeshadow color scheme. While I was hunting the roadrunner, I was reminded of days past when I would watch Roadrunner cartoons on Saturday mornings, and in particular, the theme song.

        If you’re on a highway and roadrunner goes beep beep,
Just step aside or you might end up in a heap.
Roadrunner roadrunner runs on the road all day.
Even the coyote can’t make him change his ways.
Roadrunner, the coyote’s after you.
Roadrunner, if he catches you your through.
That coyote is really a crazy clown.
When can he learn that he’s never gonna mow him down?
Poor little roadrunner never bothers anyone.
Just running down the road is his idea of having fun.

        The funny thing is that even after listening to that theme song, and even humming along for all those years, I found out today that I didn’t know most of the words. So, I found the song on the web and took a journey back to a Saturday morning in 1982. That’s right, I like to break a mental sweat as well.

Over The Fence And Out Of Sight

        Even though I was physically at least 30 or 40 feet away from the roadrunner at any given time, I think they ultimately just got tired of me following them around. I can’t say I blame them because it was probably their lunch hour too. In the photo above, this roadrunner jumped/flew to the top of a fence, posed for one last photo, then jumped down on the other side and ran away.

The Inside Of A Ticket Vending Machine

        I’ve always wondered what the inside of San Diego trolley ticket vending machines looked like, and now I know. I took this photo last weekend, on my way to an SDKA go-kart race and even though it is not very interesting, I’m sure a lot of San Diego commuters will appreciate it.

Roadrunner

        I’ve seen roadrunners run around the road in Otay Mesa for two years, but never got a photo of one until today. There are at least three that look like this one, and another one that is bigger and is mostly blue. I haven’t seen the blue roadrunner for quite awhile.

A Roadrunner Stares Back

        Birds can really look weird when you happen to see them facing dead at you. Without their beaks to give a sense of depth, they almost have a dog snout. Well, this roadrunner snapshot made me laugh, so into the blog it goes.

San Diego’s Day At The Docks 2010

        I didn’t spend much time at this event, held last Sunday in San Diego Bay, but I did stick around long enough to book a $2 ticket for a boat ride around the bay. It was fun, and the weather, even though hazy was a perfect temperature.

Seals Living In San Diego Bay

        If this platform, adjacent to the Point Loma Submarine Base serves a purpose other than to allow seals to sunbathe, I couldn’t imagine what it could be. They have seabird neighbors, and boat riders like me to keep them company, so I don’t suppose it’s a bad life.

Tigers

        Since this was my first trip to The Wild Animal Park since the 1970′s, it was all new to me. We spent 8 hours there and saw less than half the park. Next time I go, it will be on a two day weekend pass, and I’ll rent a Segway as well, even though a two hour rental is $80, I think it’ll be worth it in time saved and energy conserved because I was dragging ass after walking around and mostly standing all day.

Giraffes

        Giraffes have a prehensile tongue, so they can control it like we control a finger. For this photo they just used their tongue like a tongue.

You My Friend Are A Cheetah

        Cheetahs are the fastest land animal on the planet, and probably the solar system. Regardless of speed, I think all cats, wild and domestic, share the trait of the upside-down V mouth. Noticing the angle of the upside down V is something I’ve enjoyed doing since childhood.

The Thinker And The Stinker

        The horn of a rhinoceros is made out of keratin, which is this same thing our hair and fingernails are made of. This rhino seems to lead a splendid life of leisure.

Lions Are The King Of The Jungle

        If you find yourself needing to flee from a lion, I would suggest climbing a tree. It seems that lions CAN climb trees, but they don’t ALWAYS climb trees. These are better odds then staying on the ground where ALL the lions will eat you every time.

A Few More Giraffes

        I try to keep repetition to a minimum on my posts, but this post does have a couple of the same animals. Besides, giraffes are cool, as are the other animal repeats you are about to see.

2010 Is The Year Of The Tiger

        Tigers are my favorite cat, and favorite year on the Chinese lunar calendar. The tigers were WAY far a away from the viewing area, so I was at 450mm, and I was shooting through a chain-link fence that I wanted to make disappear, so I used my smallest available f/stop, which was f/5.6.

Elephant

        This elephant was the only one I had a clear shot of of the four or so that were walking around. The background is distracting, but the curve of his trunk in this photo is what spoke to me so it found a place in this post.

The Lion Says Goodnight

        And so ends the trilogy of posts from my day at The San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. I’m going to put out a fourth, “special feature” post with photos that did not quite make the grade for one reason or another, but would have been rad if I had gotten it right. To view the first post, featuring butterflies, click here, and for the second post full of birds, click here. Cheers!

San Diego Karting Association (SDKA) Race At Qualcomm Stadium

        This post will be short and sweet. I attended the SDKA (San Diego Karting Association) race at Qualcomm Stadium on April 18, 2010. Actually, I just stuck around for a couple of the qualifying heats, but it still amazes me every time I go. This is the fourth SDKA race I have attending & photographed since accidentally discovering the club back in August 2009.

Rounding The Clubhouse Turn

        With this being my fourth attended SDKA race, I feel much more confident now dialing in focus and managing my shutter speed than I did a mere 8 months ago. The problem is that I now feel my go-kart photos are starting to all look alike, even if they are sharper now than they were when I started. I would like my next SDKA photo-shoot in May 2010 to be more interesting and dynamic than what I have produced so far. Does anyone have any suggestions to help me accomplish that?

Kids Race Go-Karts Too

        Ok sports fans, that’s it for this post. To all you SDKA racers, I’ll see you next month, and I promise my photos will not be more of the same. They will be like nothing you’ve ever seen before.

I Don’t Want To Ride The Trolley

        This gorilla, as photographed by me at the Wild Animal Park this weekend has a very distinct look. He has the look of a person that is about to start their commute on San Diego’s public transit system. SDMTS has a new commercial that, for some reason highlights the travel of a hot, young couple that have never been on the trolley or a bus before. People that only ride the trolley to Padres games, Chargers games and special events in downtown San Diego. Events that get extra trolley service added, to ensure that sports or Earth Day fans will feel they get their $5 worth out of a day pass. I think SDMTS should film a commercial showing people that have to use the trolley to get to and from work on a daily basis. The gorilla above, with his scowl should star in that commercial.
        Those of us that have the special event of “going to work” on the trolley or bus get less than nothing. We have experienced a 40% reduction in service, yet fair weather baseball fans get special, added shuttle service, via the trolley to PETCO Park. Chargers game on Sunday? No problem. SDMTS adds special trolley service from downtown to Qualcomm Stadium on a SINGLE trolley on game days. Do you have to commute to work on a non game day? Tough shit, non-sports fan. Going to work on weekdays is less important to SDMTS than going football or baseball games on the weekend.
        Allow me to dust off an old gem by reminding everyone of this video I shot back in September, 2009. In it you will see a public commuter have his head crushed under the knee of a trolley security guard, and then the guards turn on me for filming it. I should have worn a Chargers jersey I guess, and then I would have been given preferential treatment, instead of being treated like an average commuter.