Tornado Alley at Reuben H. Fleet Science Center

Posted on March 16, 2011 by jenboydsd — Leave a comment

In front of the DOW - Doppler On Wheels

I had the privilage of attending a sneak peek of the IMAX film Tornado Alley last night at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.  First of all the IMAX theater at the Fleet is amazing. The movie screen encompasses the theater in front and overhead to give you a feeling like you are in the middle of the action. I grew up in California, so all I really know are earthquakes. In the midwest, they have tornadoes thus the term “Tornado Alley” in which this film is aptly named. This film gave me a background of storm chasing equipment which included a TIV (amazing), the science of how a tornado is formed, the hobby side of storm chasing and the professional side of one man’s eight year journey to his goal of experiencing a heart of a tornado firsthand – Sean Casey was actually at the screening. The data they collected will be analyzed and perhaps will give us more insight into predicting these violent storms, which will be beneficial to those who live in its path.  I would recommend this film to kids 7 and over, my kids 8 and 13 went and I believe they took away much more than what they would learn in science class. I look forward to seeing other educational IMAX films at this theater.  Tornado Alley opens to the public on March 18th.

Disclosure: Thanks to Reuben H. Fleet for the invite to their special opening.

Tagged with: ,
Posted in Entertainment, Movies, San Diego, Special Events

The Allure of Banksy – UPDATE

Posted on March 1, 2011 by jenboydsd — Leave a comment
banksyrf

Is it real or not?

I seldom get out of San Diego proper but when I do it is because I usually am on a mission. My mission was to see the “so-called” Banksy mural on the side of a taco shop in Oceanside. This is a great publicity stunt if it is not a real “Banksy”, it took a lot of effort and the rat with glasses looks a lot like the DVD cover of  the Oscar nominated “Exit through the Gift Shop” documentary. The DVD gift set even has those same star glasses included in the gift set. The differences between the Rat on the DVD cover and on the Oceanside wall is the reversal in color. The rat is primarily black on the DVD cover with white and on the Oceanside Mural the rat is primarily white with black.  Another thing that makes this look like a Banksy is the little pedestrian crossing warning sign turned into a kite. This sign has been tagged before by Banksy as noted on his “official” website. But when I looked at the real pedestrian sign authenticated by Banksy and the one on the Oceanside wall I noticed some detail missing. The mother is not  holding hands with the child in the Oceanside mural and in the authenticated pedestrian sign they are. The detail in the rat is slightly off  in the Oceanside mural as compared to Banksy’s DVD cover and all of his last pieces. If it does turn out to be a real “Banksy” then  I guess Banksy was having an off day. My question is – Why didn’t Banksy tag a message? There is clearly a message about immigration in the sign with the pedestrians crossing but why didn’t Banksy tag a clever line about his view?  Anything that is authenticated Banksy will be on this site and so far this Oceanside wall has not shown up. Something else that just did not feel quite right about my “Banksy” experience. There was the guy selling t-shirts near the wall. I suppose it is capitalism at its best. I felt I was at a tourist trap and that is not how art is supposed to make you feel (IMO). I hear the t-shirts were rumored to be selling for $20. I think I may just use that $20 to buy some tacos instead.

Banksy if you ever hit San Diego for the first or second time. I think some parts of Downtown would love to see some thoughts from you.

UPDATE: The PR Company for Banksy verified that this mural is a fake.  The now is was this an inside job? I am not impressed.

You can see this mural at: 1815 South Coast Highway, S. Oceanside

Tagged with: ,
Posted in art, culture, Wandering

Pubcakes – not your everyday cupcake

Posted on February 21, 2011 by jenboydsd — 7 Comments

It is the day before my son’s 13th birthday and I am wandering around San Diego trying to curb a sugar craving. Thinking about birthdays triggers my desire to find the best cupcake in San Diego. I remember my hairstylist Pam telling me about her friends’ new cupcakery Pubcakes which is nearby my house, so I decide to pay a visit to this little shop on El Cajon Blvd. You would never of guessed that a cute little cupcakery/microroast coffee shop would belong on a street surrounded by strip malls and vacant businesses but it does and  what a gem it is.  I spoke with the Pubcakes owner and sole operator Misty. She just opened the storefront in the beginning of February after answering a Craigslist ad to share a space with Mandi the owner of Treehouse Coffee Co. The two work really well together. Misty even uses Mandi’s microroasted coffee in one of her cupcakes the “Stoned Portzilla.”  A delicious cupcake made from Stone Smoked Porter, coffee ganache and carmelized coconut. I spoke to Misty about her cupcakes and her exciting call from “Cupcake Wars” to become a contestant. Misty says she started her business baking off hours and then delivering to resellers. Besides her bakery, she currently sells  her Pubcakes at Toronado in North Park, K&B Wine Cellars in Del Cerro and most recently at the Coffee Carts on the University of California San Diego (UCSD) campus.  What makes her cupcakes unique is the use of local beer in her batter. She is even collabarating with Karl Strauss to develop a special cupcake recipe using their 22nd Anniversary Stout.  The only beer that is not local is the Guinness used in the “Irish Carbomb”, the classic “Irish Carbomb” is made with Guinness, you can’t substitute that, she says.

Pubcakes/Treehouse Coffee Co.
7229 El Cajon Blvd.
San Diego
(858) 952-8523 for Pubcakes
(858) 366-2326 for Treehouse Coffee Co.

Cupcakes at Pubcakes
Irish Carbomb– Guinness Irish Cream frosting, and chocolate whiskey ganache
Top Ten Cake – Karl Strauss Tower Ten IPA, cayenne carmel, cherry, and ancho chilies
Stoned Portzilla– Stone Smoked Porter, coffee ganache, and carmelized coconut
Cup O’Hefen– Ballast Point Wahoo Wheat, coriander, and citrus buttercream
Beer for Breakfast- AleSmith Wee Heavy, bacon and maple cream cheese frosting
Punkin’Vegan– North Coast Brewerys Old Stock Ale, pumpkin, and maple topping

Treehouse Coffee Co. – Mandi microbrews her coffee daily in a specialty 2lb roaster.



Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in coffee, Desserts, San Diego, Wandering

El Take It Easy – Bacon Bingo Night

Posted on February 2, 2011 by jenboydsd — 4 Comments

I found a new unique place to hang out for B-A-C-O-N, um I mean Bingo. I think North Park is turning into the new Downtown – IMO. The inner AARP member in me wants to get out (to play bingo and that is all) and I found a compromise to my young age and lack of “bingo funds” – Bacon (Meat) Bingo at El Take it Easy. This sister restaurant to the Linkery is a great place to hang with friends and have some good food and drinks. The best part of this place are their participatory events and farm to table menu. The calendar changes and it looks like February is lacking the Bacon Bingo as of right now (Facebook says they are still deciding on pursuing meat bingo this month) . So I say bring back the bacon and bingo blotters and have the owner Jay spin some records. Another reason to hang out at El Take It Easy is that you can see my friend DJ Brother Darkness spin on Friday Nights at the event he calls “¡Viernes Oscuros!”

El Take It Easy

3926 30th Street at University in San Diego* 619 291 1859

Excerpt

Tagged with: , , ,
Posted in art, culture, Restaurants, San Diego

** Giveaway ** There is a new coffee in town at Smart and Final

Posted on January 24, 2011 by jenboydsd — 75 Comments

Smart and Final has introduced their own line of coffee to their stores and I am thrilled to share this news with you (There are several Smart and Final locations in San Diego County). Their new line of Ambiance Premium World Class Selections coffee is really reasonable and actually pretty good.  They offer a variety of flavors – Kona Style, Gourmet Supreme, French Roast, House Blend to name a few. I have been drinking this coffee in place of my normal brand since the beginning of the year and am really satisfied with the taste and consistency of each brew. My favorite so far is the French Roast Coffee. It has been a good change to smell freshly brewed coffee from my kitchen and the best part is there are no lines to wait in.  I have to opportunity to give one of my readers a chance to win a basket of assorted flavors of Ambiance coffee and a $150 Smart and Final Gift Certificate. Here are the details:

Ambiance Coffee product gift basket & $150 Smart & Final Gift Card Giveaway

Rules/ways to enter:
1. Comment here with your favorite coffee moment. Leave an email address or a way for me to reach you in case you win.

2. You can earn extra entries for tweeting about this giveaway and using the #MyAmbianceMoment hashtag. Leave a comment with a link to your
tweet (one tweet/extra entry per day) You can use this text: “Enter to win an Ambiance Coffee gift pack & $150 gift card from @smartfinal bit.ly/ambiancegiveaway #MyAmbianceMoment Pls RT!”

Deadline: February 7th, midnight PST.  Winner will be notified February 8th by email or through Twitter. Winner will be determined by Random.org

Disclosure: I was sent a wonderful assortment of coffees to try out for this opportunity to share the wealth with one of you.

CONTEST IS CLOSED.  Thanks to all that commented and I enjoyed reading all your favorite coffee moments.

 

Tagged with: , ,
Posted in coffee, San Diego

2010 in review – as told by WordPress

Posted on January 2, 2011 by jenboydsd — Leave a comment

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is on fire!.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,000 times in 2010. That’s about 14 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 25 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 38 posts. There were 155 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 268mb. That’s about 3 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was August 9th with 109 views. The most popular post that day was Topiary Garden Mission Hills.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, twitter.com, community.livejournal.com, vote.influencesd.com, and sg.yfittopostblog.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for tara donovan, midget houses in la jolla, munchkin houses la jolla, la jolla midget houses, and bob’s big boy san diego.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

Topiary Garden Mission Hills August 2009
2 comments

2

Midget Houses of La Jolla July 2009
6 comments

3

Bob’s Big Boy March 2010
1 comment

4

San Diego Food Truck Movement August 2010
4 comments

5

Tara Donovan Exhibit at MCASD February 2010

Tagged with:
Posted in Guest Post

Secrets in San Diego Year end Recap 2010 Part 2

Posted on December 23, 2010 by jenboydsd — Leave a comment

This is part 2 in recapping 2010 of Secrets in San Diego. I think that my favorite part besides eating all the yummy food was going to new places and sharing my adventures with friends. It is always nice to share meaningful experiences, great conversations, and have a laugh with others. Here are my favorite moments of my adventures in San Diego.

Making Dia De Muertos Altars with Sukhjit

Wandering through Coronado and having Extraordinary Desserts with Calvin, Jim and Sukhjit. Thanks Jim and Calvin for giving us a ride in the Audi A8. Looking forward to many more adventures with you guys in 2011!

Finding this magnificent sculpture “Unconditional Surrender” along the Harbor. It on display for a limited amount of time and I caught it just in time. Thanks Richie for coming with me on the Harbor Cruise.

Having dinner at Cafe 21. It is a gem of a place and was a pretty strange night (in a good way). I had lots of fun at eating that night. Thanks Butch, Jen, Richie and Sukhjit for the good company.

I am so grateful to have these friends and others that have shared experiences with me this year. I look forward to more in 2011. Jennifer

Tagged with: ,
Posted in recap, San Diego, Wandering

Secrets in San Diego Year end Recap 2010 Part 1

Posted on December 17, 2010 by jenboydsd — Leave a comment

The La Jolla Cove coastline

Wow! 2010 has come and gone and I have had the opportunity to do a lot of fun things in San Diego. I blogged about many of these adventures and cool finds but I know I missed a few here and there. Here is a compilation of what has found me in 2010. Part 1 of 3…So much has happened in 2010.

Becoming Green– In February, I wrote a post on being green in San Diego. It is hard with a hectic lifestyle to take things easy and save the environment. But looking back on this post reminds me that it is easy being green.

MCASD (Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego) – I fell in love with two exhibits that happened here this year. One was the Tara Donovan Exhibit and the other was the Viva La Revolucion Exhibit (goes on till Jan. 2, 2011). I have also had the opportunity to find a great grass-roots arts organization The Roots Factory through participating in MCASD events.

Cirque du Soleil in San Diego- I saw the Kooza show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds back in March. I am a big fan of Cirque du Soleil shows, I have seen probably 9 or 10 Cirque shows in all so far. I even got to see Viva Elvis in Las Vegas last October. I know that there will be a couple of new shows in San Diego and Los Angeles in 2011. Hope I will get a chance to see some of those shows as well.

Restaurants p. 1– There were a lot of San Diego restaurants to explore. I am lucky to find good places to eat in San Diego. I experienced iconic Bob’s Big Boy to European eats of Cafe Chloe.  I wrote on the ever popular food trucks in San Diego,  there are a few more new trucks out there since I wrote in August so you can see that this is a hot, up and coming business.  Devilicious and Corner Cupcakes, I can’t wait to visit you. There are some good food on those trucks and I haven’t even been to them all.  I really hope to see more community events with food trucks, I guess this means more exploring to do in 2011.

In my recap of part 2,  I plan to write about some of the events and more places, I have been to, I think I had 22 posts this year, that is a lot of exploring in San Diego. I can’t believe that there is less than 2 weeks left in 2010, this year really has flown by. I have enjoyed your comments from all my posts, each comment gives me that extra happiness in writing about my experiences. Thanks to all of you,  Jennifer

Tagged with: ,
Posted in recap

AVE 5 – Proud farm to table restaurant

Posted on December 7, 2010 by jenboydsd — 1 Comment

AVE 5 in Bankers Hill is a local farm to table restaurant. Co-owners and brothers, Brian and Colin MacLaggan, have been helping their father tend a garden on the property of Ramona’s Highland Valley Ranch.  In fact, 75% of the menu comes from local sources.  I found this place extra unique because after you enjoy your meal you are able to take some of the fresh produce home with you. Their only request is you share with them your recipe or memory on what you did with it (via their facebook page).  I took home a pomegranate. I didn’t do anything special with the fruit itself, I just broke it open and ate the seeds, but it was the experience of sharing the fruit with my daughter that made it special. By sharing the fruit with my daughter and letting her know it came from a local farm was a lasting memory.  It is the those extra touches that will make a restaurant special.

AVE 5 is located on 2760 5th Ave., San Diego, 92103

Tagged with:
Posted in Culinary, Green Living, Healthy Living, Restaurants, San Diego

Coronado revisited at night

Posted on December 6, 2010 by jenboydsd — Leave a comment

Last year, I wrote of the Hotel Del Coronado ice skating rink and how it was my first time at the hotel. This year, I felt that like I knew the hotel like the back of my hand. A few  weekends ago, I went with friends and experienced a cooler side at night. I had never been to the hotel at night before.  The hotel was outlined with white lights it reminded me kind of like the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland (in a good way).  They really do bring out the traditional holiday decor this time of year. The crowd downstairs near the restaurant was a lively bunch. There was a singer singing old folk rock songs and a few couples dancing on a makeshift dance area. Some were sipping on hot cocoa and some were sipping on cocktails. There were a good group of locals and people at the hotel.  It definitely a different experience from day to night.

Hotel Del Coronado is located on Orange Ave. in Coronado. Parking on the street after 6 pm is free.

Tagged with: ,
Posted in Coronado, Wandering

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 80 other subscribers