Category: Media

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 9, 20228:06 pm

The Fox is Red

Surely someone wanted to display a red Christmas fox outside the restaurant. Orange is considered similar enough on the color palette, yes? I wouldn’t know, which is why I must ask. But, hey, in the current state of our society, does the answer really matter? When people go by what you tell them, not by what they see with their eyes, just say the words to make it true: the fox is red.

I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image on Dec. 7, 2022. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/800 sec, 28mm; 2:53 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 8, 20228:40 pm

Mini-Mushrooms Gather

Two days ago, while walking along Panorama Drive in San Diego neighborhood University Heights, I came across an unusual crop—if that word can be used—of mushrooms. They stood out for their number, small size, and very existence. Too many residents replace grass with imitation greenery or rocks/gravel. So it’s also a wonder the fungi had any place to grow.

The Featured Image is the first of only two photos taken. This one uses car tires for perspective showing how tiny, and many, the mushrooms are. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/200 sec, 28mm; 2:16 p.m. PST.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 7, 20229:35 pm

Please Remind Me, Whose Birthday Do We Celebrate?

As my wife and I were about to leave Fashion Valley Mall today, she pointed out something odd, which you can see in the Featured Image and companion. Santa’s house in the lower center court is extremely non-sectarian.

From one perspective, since St. Nick is a secular invention, I can understand. But from another—and vastly more penetrating—viewpoint, “Merry & Bright” defies the spirit of the season and the birth for which it celebrates. Wouldn’t “Merry Christmas” be resoundingly more appropriate? Or did I miss something about the holiday’s name including that of he whose birthday we commemorate with gift-giving? (And mass consumerism.)

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 6, 20229:43 pm

Let’s Go for a Ride

Back in August 2021, when SARS-CoV-2(severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 still stirred fear in some hearts (not mine), I came across a handsome G400c motorcycle. The manufacturer, Genuine, is better known for scooters—one of which I passed today parked along Adams Avenue in San Diego neighborhood University Heights.

Iconic best describes two-tone Pamplona (color) Buddy 170i that is subject of the Featured Image. Don’t you want to climb on and ride? I sure do. Top speed is 55+ MPH—and I have to wonder what is the upper limit of that plus. With gasoline still caviar costly, 100 miles to the gallon appeals; if accurate, a full tank will get you another 50.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 5, 20228:35 pm

Not Salsa

On an errand to the Target in North Park today, I passed by a sign seen, and photographed, about three weeks ago. I would have taken a fresh pic but a workman had opened the red pipes to the right, and he clearly didn’t want any interference. Besides, I already had the Featured Image.

This lonely street shot comes from Leica Q2 on Nov. 17, 2022. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/2.8, ISO 100, 1/1000 sec, 28mm; 12:13 p.m. PST. During post-production, I pumped up the dehaze setting to emphasize the clouds, which led to also adjusting contrast and shadows.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 4, 20227:45 pm

Bring Your Own Phone

Consider the Featured Image as companion to the one shared on Sept. 13, 2021. The difference is the actual payphone in the other. Here you got an empty space and loads of graffiti. Welcome to North Park, where my wife and I visited on this sunny Sunday.

Not long before we passed the thing, while walking along University Ave., I snarked to Annie about how rundown is an area with reputation for being desirable and trendy. No doubt, some of the homeless camped out on the sidewalks feel that way. The place is relatively clean and spacious compared to the tent cities popping up around San Diego.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 3, 20229:41 pm

Drug Culture

Our many attempts to cut the cord finally succeeded when we disconnected AT&T U-verse and switched to wireless Internet and content streaming. Six months in, we’re satisfied with the freedom from channel surfing and the ability to choose what content from which services we want to watch.

Besides streaming, we grab over-the-air-channels using the Antop HD Smart Bar HDTV & FM Amplified Antenna, which I highly recommend. Occasionally, my wife or I will let some broadcast station fill the living room with sound and even entertain the cats. Surprising: How outrageously often commercial breaks fill with pharmaceutical ads. Their number is seemingly endless. I will walk by, roll my eyes, and wonder: Is America really such a drug culture?

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 2, 20229:50 pm

And That’s the Ugly Truth

Mr. and Mrs. Uglydoll permit a moment of privacy invasion, for this Featured Image captured on July 2, 2017 using Leica Q. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/4, ISO 160, 1/60 sec, 28mm; 2:58 p.m. PDT. Consider the stuffed couple as a placeholder, while I am off absorbing explosive news. Short explanation about what:

One of my favorite journalists is Matt Taibbi. I subscribed to Rolling Stone because of his news reporting and stopped when he left. I now proudly support his Substack—all while wishing that I could still write as voluminously as he does or with even 10-percent his cynicism, pragmatism, sarcasm, and witticism. Tonight, he dropped the equivalent of an informational atomic bomb on Twitter about Twitter.

Photo by Joe WilcoxDec 1, 202210:13 pm

Christmas Bird

To celebrate the new month, and last one of the year, we turn back the clock to Dec.5, 2020, when I used Leica Q2 to capture the Featured Image. For the previously unpublished shot, I take some risk now; the Christmas bird blends too well into the tree’s foliage. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/320 sec, 28mm; 3:22 p.m. PST.

I don’t recall seeing the decoration in 2021 and I must watch for it this year. Perhaps its owners flew off to another state—as so many other folks did—during the SARS-CoV-2(severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 lockdowns.

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 30, 20228:23 pm

Cali Peeks

The annual eye exam to check my implants leaves me somewhat visually impaired this evening. Nearly 10 hours later, my pupils are still quite dilated, which makes reading and writing somewhat challenging. So I am posting something short but hopefully worthwhile. You tell me.

The Featured Image, taken using iPhone 13 Pro on Oct. 20, 2022, was quickly composed after realizing that from the right vantage Cali appears to be hidden behind the catnip plant. She stretches on the desk beneath our dining room window. Our other kitty is hefty ginger Neko.

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 29, 202210:44 pm

What the Past Means to the Present

Strange sometimes are the things tucked away—and forgotten. Our gas stove is acting oddly, with the clock resetting and occasional, but different, error codes flashing from the control panel. Surely something is in the process of failing; perhaps a fuse or circuit.

Appliances were new when we rented the apartment five years ago, and the owner’s manuals came with them. We stuffed the folder containing each in the cupboard above the range, which is from where I retrieved the lot today. How foolish of me to expect meaningful troubleshooting that reveals what are the codes. Instead, the manufacturer instructs to call for service should one of them appear. Oh yeah? Thanks for nothing.

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 28, 20229:57 pm

Take Your Mutt Elsewhere

My daughter is vacating the room she was renting—and, of course, duty fell on me to haul her there to collect the remaining possessions and transport them to her storage unit. She owns too much stuff (my polite phrasing), and I insisted that lugging everything to the car was her responsibility.

Naturally, for me, that meant much sitting inside or walking around our hatchback. When they issue the award for being slowest packer and mover, she could win.