Category: Society

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 19, 20237:50 pm

Audacious Advertising

While driving our car to the auto shop for routine maintenance, today, I passed an intriguing billboard along Adams Avenue in San Diego neighborhood Normal Heights. Sentiment “People Matter” makes perfect sense. But not too long ago, and perhaps still, “all lives matter” was taboo response to the “black lives matter” crowd. Does this advert push boundaries? Is “people matter” all that different from “all lives matter”—regardless the different context? You tell me.

I am a big fan of offending people, of pushing their buttons, so to speak. We all need to feel uncomfortable from time to time, so that we think. So if “people matter” offends you, good! And because everyone matters, why should inclusivity of all colors be bothersome? Now, let’s get to the context, which is nothing about race relations.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 16, 202310:42 pm

What’s the Lesson Here?

Not for the first time, car horn-honking, chanting, cheering, and clapping beckoned me to the administrative offices for San Diego Unified School District, which is but a few blocks from our University Heights apartment.

I came upon a sizable protest of people dressed in red T-Shirts. The number could have been in the thousands—size the Featured Image and companion don’t capture in part because the crowd spread out some distance. They jam-packed when marching, too. Vitals, aperture manually set for both: f/8, ISO 100, 1/250 sec, 28mm; 4:23 p.m. PDT; Leica Q2.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 13, 20239:00 pm

Bon Appétit!

In April 2016, I started to write “Why is Hollywood Obsessed with Viral Armageddon?” In June 2017, I shot a photo to illustrate the post, which wasn’t finally finished until March 2021—nearly a year after the World Health Organization declared SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 to be a pandemic.

San Diego’s Museum of Us exhibit “Cannibals: Myth & Reality” must be ongoing because I came upon the same sign still in place six years later—as you can see from the Featured Image, captured using Leica Q2 Monochrom, on April 20, 2023. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/160 sec, 28mm; 3:23 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 12, 20239:29 pm

Where the Crane Flies

Remember this: “The Teardown“, from February 2022? Where was a home and a few trendy shops, another multi-unit monument to more unaffordable housing rises along Park Blvd between Howard and Polk. By the strictest map boundaries, the location is in the community of University Heights. But because of zip code, someone will claim San Diego’s Hillcrest.

Vantage for the Featured Image is parallel street Georgia. I count four stories and rising. Vitals: f/2.4, ISO 50, 1/8800 sec, 70mm; 2:22 p.m. PDT, today; Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 9, 20239:52 pm

Squatter Villas

The never-ending pattern of eviction, renovation, or teardown and rebuild provides temporary residences for San Diego’s homeless. I had wondered why encampments suddenly vanished along either El Cajon Blvd or Florida Street here in University Heights. The so-called unhoused moved into unoccupied flats.

What a sad, tragic state of affairs across from Kindred Hospital on Georgia Street. Around the beginning of the year, a woman living in a charming Craftsman-like house had to leave, because the property had been sold for redevelopment. I once chatted with her about renovictions and calico Rosie. Renters of the apartments next door were forced out some months later. I had photographed ginger kitty Harvey there in June 2021. Both animals appear in my “Cats of University Heights” series.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 8, 202310:25 pm

Where Green is Good

East of Park Blvd in my neighborhood of University Heights, San Diego homeowners clearcut backyards to put up so-called Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs); developers level stately houses, which are replaced by apartment or condominium buildings; contractors relandscape grass, flowers, and trees with cement, stone, and succulents. The pillaging of property character and green growing spaces is relentless.

But some streets seem almost immune to the obsessive drive to increase population density and thus decrease the amount of earth where no structure sits. Wealth might be a reason—collective consciousness could be another (e.g., where homeowners take cues from what their neighbors do or don’t). Zoning is another consideration, as is geography. Some or all of these apply, methinks, to Panorama Drive.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 7, 20239:00 pm

Ahoy Mateys

Thermometer touched 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) on this fine Sunday but constant sunlight made for much warmer experience. Unsurprisingly, walkers were everywhere—with dogs or other people—while the occasional biker or runner breezed by.

Naturally, here in University Heights, Old Trolley Barn Park attracted adults and kids of all ages. One gathering specifically caught the attention of my wife and me, too. In what ranks as the largest private event moon bounce that I have seen, a pirate ship inflated for the kiddies.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 6, 20239:44 pm

Take it All

Early evening, I hoofed outside to top off my walking for the day. Thirteen minutes before sunset, at 7:21 p.m. PDT, I came upon the contents of the Featured Image along the University Heights side of Texas Street—somewhere between cross-streets Madison and Meade (Monroe is between them).

What an odd assortment: bottle (empty), candle, doormat, planter, potted plant, Purell, straws, table, take-out containers, white-board cleaner, and a few other oddities that I can’t identify. I’ve seen a lot of unexpected freebees along San Diego alleys and streets. Some of the more memorable sightings: Antique dresser; blue and white PowerMac G3 (circa 1999); first furnishings; LC Smith typewriter (vintage, rusted); living room set; 1970’s era gas stove; and Vitamaster Slendercycle, among other things.

Photo by Joe WilcoxMay 4, 20239:06 pm

Bye Bye Books

You would think with so many LittleFreeLibrary boxes about the neighborhood that the owner of these books could deposit them in one. That person is learned, presumably at a local college, or pretends to be. Maybe smarty sees that the extra energy to walk a few blocks is wasted when curb depositing is quicker. Dunno and don’t really care but gotta speculate.

What a collection of titles, too. Let’s start with “how to use Tarot spreads” for “effective crisis communication”. Or “I’ll grant you that” “what happens on campus stays on YouTube”. Use “pre-sausion” and “the culture map” to locate “the CEO next door”.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 28, 20239:48 pm

Is Theft Really This Bad?

Welcome to Target in San Diego’s Mission Valley, where toothpaste is kept under lock and key. Apparently, the tubes are a high-theft item, right up there with body lotion and shaving cream. No problem, flat-screen televisions are grab and carry, and maybe an employee will notice—or maybe not. Why let loose the big-ticket item and secure the smaller one? That’s a good question.

One sales associate told me: During the time of SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 consumer and commercial restrictions, the retailer had trouble stocking some personal care items, presumably because of ongoing supply-chain problems. But the bigger culprit turned out to be shoplifters—something that locked up stock quickly made clear.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 24, 20239:14 pm

Sticker Shock

I couldn’t count the number of times that I have walked by this car, parked in one of the University Heights alleys. I don’t recall which one; they’re so similar in this part of San Diego. On April 19, 2023, I strolled past again, stopped, and turned about. The moment demanded antithetical approach: Shooting colorful stickers in black and white.

The super sharp Featured Image comes from Leica Q2 Monochrom. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/400 sec, 28mm; 5:11 p.m. PDT; composed as shot.

Photo by Joe WilcoxApr 21, 20238:58 am

When Vanlife Ends

What could be more aspirational than freedom? Shake off the shackles of mortgage or rent—and associated financial obligations—to travel about as a deliberate vagabond. You aren’t homeless because your vehicle is your residence. Cost-effective. Safe and contained. Simple. Free. All are allures of vanlife.

But what happens when aspiration falls far from reality? I guess that’s the state of the Featured Image, captured using Leica Q2 Monochrom, yesterday. I came upon the van for sale along Alabama Street in San Diego neighborhood University Heights. Vitals, aperture manually set: f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/1600 sec, 28mm; 11:33 a.m.