Ghost Stories: Creepy Tales from the Front Desk Part Three

Supernatural Sights and Sounds

When polled about the Museums haunting’s, people here all came to the same consensus-- this building has got a case of the creaks. Alex (museum security) in his very matter-of –fact demeanor explained to us that this building settles quite often due to temperature changes. . . Ya, well Alex doesn’t believe in Santa Claus either, let alone the boogie man, so we’ll let him keep his opinions to himself while we indulge in freaking each other out. One night, SUPER late, maybe 1a.m., Tara and Olivia were at the museum getting ready for an opening. Tara was in her back office and Olivia had to run up front to grab something she had left there. If you’ve ever been here at night it gets very dark when the lights aren’t on. Well, all of a sudden Tara, back in her office, heard a piercing scream followed by fast footsteps booking it towards her office. It was Olivia. Tara met her in the hallway thinking something was seriously wrong and asked what was going on. Apparently, Olivia had heard a loud noise while she was up front in the dark museum, all by her lonesome, and was convinced that someone was in there with her. She said the noise sounded like it was created by some sort of creature, alive or dead, and that’s why she went screaming! She and Tara searched the museum for the source of the noise; which to me sounds like a horrible idea. It’s like in scary movies where the victims always go to seek out the source of the suspicious noise and then 99.9% of the time it ends up being a psycho killer and then they’re dead. Alas, they did not find anything. No psycho killers, thank god. Conclusion: it was obviously a ghost. Final Conclusion: This place is haunted.

All in all, some pretty weird stuff goes down here at the old museum. Come check it out and get your supernatural on. I’m pretty sure Beth, Museum Coordinator, is ghost hunting in the back as we speak.

x Carissa

"Psychokiller", Talking Heads.

Patricia Patterson Opening Tomorrow. Join Us!

Cóilín Smoking, Pat Reading, Mary Washing Up, 1982

Casein on canvas, painted wooden frame

34 x 116 inches framed

Collection David and Felicia Mandelbaum

The Board of trustees and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum invite you to join us for the opening reception for Patricia Patterson: Here and There Back and Forth

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Sneak Preview, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Free for Center Members, 10$ for General Public

Includes a meet & greet and lecture with Patricia Patterson, as well as appetizers and complimentary cocktails.

RSVP to (760) 839-4120

PUBLIC RECEPTION

7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Free Admission

Cash Bar

The California Center for the Arts, Escondido Museum would like to extend profound thanks to:

SDG&E

Stone Brewery

Holiday Wine Cellar

Art Works San Diego

Dunn Edwards Paint

The Samuel I. & John Henry Fox Foundation

The Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation

The Lucille and Ronald Neeley Foundation

Anne Farber

Charles Reilly and Mary Beebe

Come check out the new exhibition, it's beautiful! Hope to see you all there. . .

Google Art Project

Google's newest project if you haven't seen it is the Google Art Project. This amazing site gives anyone with Internet the ability to "Explore museums from around the world, discover and view hundreds of artworks at incredible zoom levels, and even create and share [our] own collection[s] of masterpieces." [Google’s wording] the features of this service are incredible, especially if you're an art lover.

Here's the link to an explanatory video, found on Gizmodo: 

And here's the project itself: Google Art Project.

Ghost Stories: Creepy Tales from the Front Desk Continued

The Spiders are Taking Over.

Olivia, the Museum Director, was telling me that at one point last year everyone was convinced that the place was haunted. At random times the alarm system would get tripped and no one knew what was causing it. They were certain there wasn’t any sort of defect, so someone or something, must’ve been setting it off. It finally came to everyone’s attention, that a spider was the culprit! I’m not sure if that set anyone at ease though . . . after all, ghosts and spiders go hand in hand.

Speaking of spiders, back in Beth’s (bewitched) office, I was sitting at the same desk when a spider descended from I-don’t-even-know-where and crawled right up in front of me! It was a daddy long-leg spider, which I’m not usually afraid of, but this one was huge and totally took me by surprise. I jumped up and ran out of the office. The spider, I’m sure of it, was trying to attack.

x Carissa

An Infinite Almanac

I have a problem—a shopping problem. But, not just any shopping problem, it’s a book shopping problem. It’s a strange thing to have, but books are generally cheaper than clothing and MUCH easier to try on. I’m not sure if an intervention is necessary yet, but it’s no wonder that when I went on vacation to New York a couple weeks ago, the only thing I purchased other than food was books! My buddy told me about a huge bookstore in

Union Square

called Strand that boasts “18 miles of books” and I about flipped my lid. I drooled all the way there, and upon arrival I was not disappointed, but rather met with an overwhelming feast of literature that spanned about half a New York City block and reached about three or four stories. Overall, it is about 55,000 sq ft of pure delight! 

After browsing for what felt like hours, (I swear that place felt like a casino, there was no concept of time and/or place, no windows, just books.) I finally decided upon purchasing three works. One was an art magazine from 1989 with a feature on Andy Warhol that I got for $1, the other was Chelsea Handler’s: My Horizontal Life for $7 because I think she’s hilarious and the price was right, and then the final, more pricey purchase that I will share with you was Rebecca Solnit’s  Infinite City: A San Francisco Atlas. If you know me, you know my heart bleeds for San Francisco, so seeing this book easily sucker punched me in the aorta. It’s a collection of essays and illustrated maps from various writers and artists, that describe the make-up of this amazing city by not just its geographical locations but by the people that live there, the natural landscapes, the histories, the food, and every other odd and end that creates this urban environment.  All the essays are written beautifully by people who, you can tell, have a true heart for the City. The maps are aesthetically intriguing, and accompany each essay in a manner that greatly assists the visual learner. SFMoMA even did a Live Art program with Solnit, inspired by her book! Overall, this book is awesome and you should buy it. If you’ve ever lived in San Francisco, live there now, or want to go—this is worth checking out.  

For a more thorough review of the book, click here.

x Carissa

Critical Mass

From Critical Mass’ FaceBook page:

Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists' right to the road. The idea started in San Francisco in September 1992 and quickly spread to cities all over the world. Critical Mass has no leaders, and no central organization licenses rides.

Critical Mass, San Diego rides the last Friday of every month.  They go on a different hour and a half [or so] ride every outing and are flanked by participating police for safeties sake.   The spot to meet is at the large fountain in Balboa Park.  People start accumulating around 7:00 p.m. and the ride kicks off at 8:00.  Critical Mass San Diego's FaceBook has 1,453 members so I would say people are into it and it has a pretty big following.  This is a ride that celebrates the act of cycling and all the joy and health that comes with it.  With that said it is also seen as a controversial happening due to the fact that many people feel inconvenienced and put out by this once a month ride through San Diego's streets. 

Why am I writing about this?  Because I finally did it!  I have always wanted to check it out and see if it is my kind of fun.  So last Friday my dear friend Chelsea [who is a freelance writer and curator, check out this link to one of her writing projects where she gives out great recipes!]and I drug our bikes out and gave it a go.  This was a big step for me seeing as how I am kind of afraid of riding a bike.  Yes yes I know how to but I am skittish and weary of falling over, getting hit by a car or running into something because I can’t stop.  This was the place to face those fears and I am pretty sure I shook them off for good.  Critical Mass is an engaging and energetic look into San Diego culture that I encourage everyone to try at least once.  I will keep you posted on the next time I go, because I am planning on becoming a regular. 

Tips:

• Wear thin easy to remove layer or dress in less clothing than you think you will need.  It is hard to catch up to take off a clothing item if you stop to do so. [You will want to it gets sweaty.]
• Bring a water bottle or wear one of those ‘O so cute’ camel back packs. [You get winded this is no puttering along Sunday ride.]
• Bring a friend – Chelsea is recommended… if you want to borrow her she would probably oblige. 

Ghost Stories: Creepy Tales from the Front Desk

Okay, so Beth and I were talking the other day and she reminded me about just how creepy it can be here in the Museum either after hours or when you’re by yourself. I’m pretty sure this place has some crazy history that might explain its haunted qualities, but for time’s sake, I’ll just cut right to the chase. Here in the Museum, and I swear this isn’t just due to lack of sleep; I have seen and heard some rather suspicious things. Here are a couple stories that I will break into 3 different posts over the next few weeks. Enjoy!

Haunt Break

One day when I first started working here at the Museum, I was sitting in Beth and I’s office [we share one] working on the computer, when I promise you, out of the corner of my eye I saw a strange man sitting at the conference table in the common area with his hands in his lap. I can still to this day remember what he looked like. He was sitting very rigid and upright in one of the chairs, facing me. It was a white male, maybe mid-30’s, with a really short, military haircut. In a flash, I freaked out! When I get scared I usually tense up and can’t move and my heart starts racing. This was no different. It was an instant panic attack, and when I looked over to make sure whatever it was really was, or was not, there—he disappeared. I called the front desk where Beth and the security guards were and told them I had just been haunted. The boys came back to investigate for me, but found nothing and I’m pretty sure they were just making fun of me. I hope that dude pops out and haunts them one of these days!

x Carissa