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If Dr. Seuss were alive today….
With the extreme heat and humidity that San Diego has been having, I have decided that instead of using my own air conditioner to keep cool, I would go to “cool zones” and use the city’s air conditioning. Most libraries are designated “cool zones,” so today I went to the Geisel Library at UC-San Diego. For more on the Geisel Library, see my post here: The Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego.
Invariably, since the Geisel Library is named in honor of Theodore Geisel, more popularly known as Dr. Seuss, there are always displays of various works from Dr. Seuss, such as these books on display today:
After wandering through the several displays I came to the conclusion that Dr. Seuss was a liberal, progressive Democrat. I did not come to that conclusion lightly since Dr. Seuss died in 1991 and can’t defend himself if, indeed, he is otherwise than what I concluded.
Here are two Dr. Seuss political cartoons that helped me reach my conclusion:
I’m guessing that if Dr. Seuss were alive today, he’d probably be in favor of the Affordable Care Act.
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Funky architecture at University of California San Diego
This post is dedicated to Andrea Swiedler, a real estate agent with Prudential Connecticut Realty in New Milford, Connecticut. I have known Andrea for a few years through a real estate professional networking site. I highly recommend her for anyone needing real estate services in the New Milford, Connecticut, area.
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Out of the five or six hundred college and university campuses that I’ve been to, University of California San Diego (UCSD) ranks as #1 in terms of interesting architecture. I think most college campuses try to maintain a consistent architectural look to their campuses. Not UCSD!
Here are a few of the interesting buildings that I got pictures of yesterday before I ran out of daylight:
Computer Science & Engineering Building at University of California San Diego
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University of California San Diego
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University of California San Diego
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International House at the University of California San Diego
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House on the School of Engineering building at the University of California San Diego
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Geisel Library through the eucalyptus grove at the University of California San Diego
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Recent posts related to the University of California San Diego:
» The Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego
» The Sun God of the University of California San Diego
» A challenge to all my real estate friends: List this house!
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
All pictures taken by Russel Ray using a Canon 550D camera and a Canon 55-250mm lens. Picture frames from Corel PaintShop Pro X4.
A challenge to all my real estate friends: List this house!
This post is dedicated to Ron and Alexandra Seigel, luxury real estate marketing consultants and owners of Napa Consultants in Santa Barbara, California. I have known Ron and Alexandra for a few years through a real estate professional networking site. I highly recommend them for anyone needing luxury real estate marketing services anywhere in the world, not just in Santa Barbara or California.
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
When I did a post on March 2 about Dr. Seuss and the Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), I was reminded that there are lots of picture-taking opportunities on the UCSD campus. It ranks probably as the quirkiest campus I’ve ever visited, and I’ve been to five or six hundred college and university campuses, maybe more.
An addition to campus late last year was a house. It seems to be a standard house, until you look at where it’s located. Is this an example of the old real estate adage: “Location, location, location.”
I want all my real estate friends to come up with their best listing presentation for this fine piece of Southern California real estate:
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That house sits on top of the Irwin & Joan Jacobs School of Engineering building, which I think is six stories tall. Irwin Jacobs is a founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, the company that makes much of the stuff that lets your mobile phone do what it does….. blame him.
I went over to the Geisel Library, sixth floor, to get one more picture:
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Related posts:
» The Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego
» The Sun God of the University of California San Diego
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
All pictures taken by Russel Ray using a Canon 550D camera and a Canon 55-250mm lens. Picture frames from Corel PaintShop Pro X4.
The Sun God of the University of California San Diego
This post is dedicated to Robert Gilbert, a real estate agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate in Katy, Texas. I have known Robert for a few years through a real estate professional networking site. I highly recommend Robert for anyone needing real estate services in Katy, Texas, just west of Houston.
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
When I did a post on March 2 about Dr. Seuss and the Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego (UCSD), I was reminded that there are lots of picture-taking opportunities on the UCSD campus. Off I went yesterday, and my next few posts will be of some of them.
UCSD is a rather young university, having been founded in 1958. In the ensuing 50+ years it has risen to be a major public university, particularly strong in the sciences, particularly engineering and the health sciences, and annually ranking in the Top 10 of research universities ranked by research funds that the University brings in from outside sources.
Its 2,141-acre campus was built in the midst of a eucalyptus grove overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Blacks Beach, a world-renowned Naturist beach. Unfortunately (in my view), much of the eucalyptus grove has been destroyed over the years in the name of progress, i.e., constructing more buildings on campus to meet the needs of a population comprising 1,205 faculty members, including six Nobel Laureates, and 29,000+ students.
There are many unique buildings on campus, as well as many works of public art, of which the best known is the Sun God:
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Sun God, by Niki de Sant Phalle of Paris, France, was the first sculpture commissioned for the campus by the Stuart Collection. It was installed on the campus on January 27, 1983. The sculpture itself is 14 feet tall, constructed of fiberglass, and sits on top of a concrete arched base that is 15 feet tall. No public monies were spent on the sculpture; it was funded entirely by the Stuart Foundation of San Francisco.
According to then-Stuart Collection Director Mary Beebe, “[Sun God] appears to have just landed there out of some fantasy world. It’s a friendly and embracing bird, with mythological and primordial overtones. ‘Sun God’ is very colorful, exuberant and certainly joyous, but with a slightly awesome edge.”
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
Related posts:
» The Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
All pictures taken by Russel Ray using a Canon 550D camera and a Canon 55-250mm lens. Picture frames from Corel PaintShop Pro X4.
The Geisel Library at the University of California San Diego
Today happens to be the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, more famously known simply as Dr. Seuss. In honor of Dr. Seuss, today is also National Read Across America Day, a reading initiative created by the National Education Association. Although Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904, he died right here in La Jolla in 1991.
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Geisel and his wife, Helen, moved to La Jolla shortly after World War II, and it was from La Jolla that he wrote his most popular works:
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If I Ran the Zoo (1950)
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Horton Hears a Who! (1955)
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If I Ran the Circus (1956)
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The Cat in the Hat (1957)
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How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1957)
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Green Eggs and Ham (1960)
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One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960)
Sadly, Geisel’s first wife, Helen, committed suicide on October 23, 1967, over her husband’s affair with Audrey Stone Dimond, whom he married on June 21, 1968. Geisel had no children with either of his two wives, but he and Audrey spent almost a quarter of a century contributing to literacy nationwide, as well as the programs of the library at the University of California San Diego.
Geisel died of throat cancer on September 24, 1991, and on December 1, 1995, the University of California San Diego renamed the University Library Building to the Geisel Library in honor of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel. It ranks as one of the most unique buildings in San Diego. Here are some pictures that I took on March 2, 2011:
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The library has thirteen floors of which only 12 are usable. Eight floors are in the skyscraper, two are underground, and there is no third floor if you’re in the elevator. The third floor is simply an emergency exit that allows people in the skyscraper to evacuate without having to go down through the subterranean floors.
Since it is a skyscraper, one would not think to go down in order to go up:
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Parts of the library are actually underground. I didn’t realize it until I was leaving the library, but this part that I was walking on is the roof of part of the library:
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The crooked wall you see at the right in the picture above looks like this:
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Interestingly, there was a Dr. Hans Seuss who also lived in La Jolla at the same time. Dr. Hans Seuss was an internationally renowned chemist and nuclear physicist, and a founding faculty member of the University of California San Diego in 1958. The United States Postal Service confused Dr. Hans Seuss and Theodor Seuss Geisel, regularly delivering to Dr. Hans Seuss mail that was addressed to Geisel’s Dr. Seuss.
The Dr. Seuss Collection, housed in the Geisel Library, is the world’s largest repository of Geisel’s original drawings, sketches, and manuscripts. Dr. Hans Seuss’s private collection is also housed in the Geisel Library, forever linking the two Seusses.
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This post is dedicated to Kathy Streib, a home stager and owner of Room Service Home Staging in Delray Beach, Florida. I have known Kathy for a couple of years through a real estate professional networking site. I highly recommend her for anyone needing home staging, decorating, or interior design services in Delray Beach, Florida. Kathy is also available online with her e-staging service.
All pictures copyright 2012 Russel Ray Photos
All pictures taken by Russel Ray using a Canon 550D camera and a 70-300mm Tamron lens.
