Category: Culture

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 11, 202610:04 pm

A Story of Two Meals

Confession: The family, spurred on by our daughter, is taking almost too much advantage of the Too Good To Go app—Android for me, iOS for her. Local eateries offer up food, presumably what wasn’t sold during typical business hours, for significant discount. Most places offer grab bags.

Today, my wife drove us to the Pop Pie in South Park, where I had reserved a bag with two savory pies. They typically sell for $12.50 a piece but were $$8.66 before tax together. These babies are tasty, too, and premium ingredients. Another location is closer, a few blocks away here in University Heights, but Pop Pie South Park is where I beat out others for the reservation (stated differently: goods move fast).

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 30, 20269:18 pm

When AI Makes You Somebody Else

Earlier today, as a memory, Microsoft OneDrive presented photos taken on this date in 2022—when the village of University Heights celebrated 25 years of its iconic sign. I had captured the majority of pics using Leica Q2 Monochrom, which was beyond my meager amateur skills. I sold the camera to a doctor in December 2024.

Looking over the selection, I chose one random street shot for artificial intelligence embellishment. I clicked the “Restyle with AI” button and typed “colorize”, which took surprising amount of time to do. The app, running on Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, presented three options. I saved them all for your review, because the AI did more than add color; it made some surprising changes to the content that you must see.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 26, 20269:54 pm

‘No Kings’ is Hate Speech

Last night’s shooting inside the Washington Hilton was unequivocally an assassination attempt against President Donald Trump. Today, one of my neighbors casually brushed off the incident as being nothing really. I disagree.

Anyone who follows me should know that I used to live in the District of Columbia and suburban Maryland. As a quasi-retired journalist (covering the high-tech industry). I can assert with certainty that for many reasons, including exclusivity of attendees, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is one of the most secure events–or should have been. That the assassin ran across the hotel lobby, firing weapon(s), is an unprecedented breach that reminds of Ronald Reagan, when he was nearly murdered outside the establishment in March 1981.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 25, 20268:22 pm

Bike Brigade

While walking to a friend’s house to feed her cats, I came upon a bunch of bikers that appeared to be mounting up after a food/beverage break at Mystic Mocha, which is located in the San Diego neighborhood of University Heights.

The coffee and food shop sits at Alabama and Mission. But bike lanes are located on the adjacent left and right streets—Madison and Meade—that go East or West.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 5, 20269:12 pm

The Easter AI Metaphor

For Easter Sunday, let’s use modern tech to compare and contrast. Today is supposed to be the celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the hope human beings can receive spiritual salvation. Physical redemption is the responsibility of the Second Coming.

Easter also celebrates the bunny—a rapidly breeding animal that aligns more with ancient, pagan fertility rights. Candy and sweets are all about enjoyment of the flesh, as is the worship of fertility practices of the gods of Spring. Christian teaching emphasizes the spirit and dominion over the flesh. Materialistic cultures and religions promote physical joy, from simple pleasures to hedonism.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 4, 20269:31 pm

San Diego City Attorney Says Sex Shop

The questions: Why now? Who benefits?

For as long as I can remember, a massage parlor has quietly beckoned customers from the corner of Adams and Georgia here in the otherwise quaint village of University Heights. My wife and I have occasionally discussed its odd presence, with the presumption being the place peddles sex as much as massage.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 3, 20269:24 pm

Serving Brooklyn Style

Here’s a simple photo for a Good Friday evening that has nothing to do with the commemoration. The celebration of Jesus Christ’s brutal murder—execution as insurrectionist (He claimed to be a king)—never feels right to me. Let’s talk about meaning, and what matters about his life and death, on Easter Sunday. The resurrection is by far more meaningful, although it was purchased at incredible cost.

As for Sonny’s Pizza, the place first opened for business around the time I shot the Featured Image, May 6, 2025. The eatery is located where was Florabella, on Madison just off Park Blvd, here in the village of University Heights. The florist closed at the end of June 2018 in response to tripling of the rent. Maybe the landlord was hasty and greedy, because the retail space stayed mostly unoccupied for nearly 7 years.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 2, 20269:52 pm

Absolutely Authentic Audio

Every year before Easter, I listen to the original Jesus Christ Superstar recording from October 1970. My parents gave me the double album for Christmas 1971 and regretted it. Mom begged me to stop playing the rock opera over and over again. I obstinately continued. (She preferred Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, and other well-known Country Music artists of the time.)

JCS is the background music for this post, but in different fashion than more recent years. Rather than listen to the digital download, I dug out the two-set CD that I purchased decades ago. Physical media is all the rage, suddenly, and we still have all the accumulated discs—thankfully.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 28, 20268:57 pm

Blessed Inspirations

One of the more unusual attractions here in the village of University Heights is the Hsi Fang Buddhist temple. The impressive structure, which includes a bookstore and residences, is located in the San Diego community’s main commercial area.

For no other reason than habit, I typically walk on the East side of Park Blvd. But today that way was blocked, and I was directed across the street, where I stopped to see some of the Temple’s inspirational marketing materials and decor. (I should go by more often.)

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 22, 20267:55 pm

In Defense of Reading Books

Another book sale weekend at the local library (University Heights)—as designated by the third Saturday of the month (today is fourth Sunday)—is but memory. Our good friend Kerry, whom we hadn’t seen for more than three years, visited yesterday—so, I missed the better of the two days.

But I hauled my butt the 0.8-kilometer (half-mile) walk and looked for books for the women; I brought back a Moosewood cooking follow-up for my wife and two tomes on herbs for our daughter. I saw little that interested me.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 21, 20269:04 pm

Wedding Bells or Something Else?

While walking home from San Diego Zoo on Sept. 27, 2025, I passed by some kind of gathering or event at the Greek Orthodox Church on Park Blvd in Hillcrest. Being Thursday, I doubted a religious service was underway or ending. But what??

I initially assumed wedding, but on closer consideration funeral appeared to be another reasonable possibility. The people looked cheerer than somber, more befitting a wedding, dedication of child, or something similar.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMar 19, 20269:21 pm

A Different Kind of Car Rental

The Featured Image is one of those off-chance opportunities—assuming anyone but me gets it. On May 6, 2025, as I walked along Alabama Street in my neighborhood of University Heights, something snagged my attention: An apartment building’s “For Rent” sign visible through a car’s front windows. The fabricated illusion: The owner of the vehicle seeks someone to rent it, to live in.

In San Diego County, such an idea isn’t far-fetched whatsoever. An estimated one in four homeless people live in some kind of vehicle, whether car, RV, truck, or van. Across the county, the number reportedly exceeds as much as 65,000 people.