Pork Chop

When I first spotted Pork Chop on the Square, I thought this dog doesn’t look very happy. After speaking to his owner, I found out I was right. It seems he was raised in a very abusive environment. His new owner rescued him a few days ago and they are slowly developing a friendship. Let’s hope hanging out on the Square will be therapeutic for him and his new owner.

Flicks on the Bricks: Top Gun

Top Gun isn’t a greatest movie ever made. However, it happens to be one of my favorites. It honors our Navy fighter pilots, who learn to land and take off in a $40,000,000 aircraft from the pitching deck of an aircraft carrier. I lived on Coronado Island, across the bay from San Diego for two years. One half of Coronado is taken up by, North Island Navel Air Station, the home base of four of our amazing carriers. During the time I lived there, I developed an enormous respect for the men and women who take these great ships to sea. Coronado has one small movie theatre in the downtown area, and they used to feature Top Gun a couple of times a year for whatever carrier crew was in town. I was happy to see that Flicks on the Bricks selected this film to open the movie season on the Square. It was great to hear the crowd cheer, when the opening scenes, shot from the flight deck of a carrier opened the movie. The opening of Top Gun, is my all-time favorite movie opening.

Colorful

Today, I thought I would share three unrelated, colorful photographs. They were all taken on the Square in the last week. Two were shot within fifteen minutes of each other, and the third a couple of days later.

Sand in the City

What do you get when you mix over two hundred competitors, thousands of spectators, great food, live entertainment, master sand sculptors, and 450 tons of sand? It’s Yoshida’s Sand in the City!

Noon Tunes: Matt Brown

http://www.mattbrown-music.com/

Monday Farmers Market

"Electric" cars hit prime time

The Oregon Electric Vehicle Association has been holding an “Awareness Day” at Pioneer Courthouse Square for over ten years. It always features a group of innovative pioneers, who have converted some vehicle to electricity, and love to talk about the future. If someone wanted to convert 1955 Ford Victoria to run on electricity, they could find out how to do it at this event. That all changed today! Several proud owners were on hand to show off the Nissan Leaf (top three photos), the first all- electric vehicle, from a major automobile manufacturer. I talked to two people who own this car and one person, taking delivery of one on Monday. After hearing their stories, I’m convinced the all-electric car is finally a reality. I had to wonder what the old- timers who have been bringing their cars to this event for the past ten years were thinking, as they watched the future unfold. Of course, if someone still wants to convert a 1969 VW Bug to electricity, I’m sure they will still be around to help. I have included several photos of other electric cars for ideas. http://www.oeva.org/

Noon Tunes: Ezra Holbrook

Ezra Holbrook and his band entertained the crowd at Thursday’s Noon Tunes. The Noon Tunes Concert Series held on Tuesday and Thursday, from 12:00 to 1:00, is co-presented by Muve Music and KINK.fm.

Mystery event

Last Saturday there was an unusual event at Pioneer Courthouse Square. It was listed on the Square calendar as an “electronic music festival.” It featured dancers and disc jockeys from up and down the west coast. I asked several people what was the purpose of the event, and no one was able to explain it to me. There were no signs and noboby made any announcements. So, I’m publishing some photos, to see if anybody else can figure it out. Good Luck!