In San Diego we are proceeding with the gradual reopening of society as the coronavirus pandemic seems to slowly subside. Today restaurants were allowed to open for dining. Strict guidelines must be followed such as maintaining super sanitary conditions and safe social distancing.
Some say the reopening of society is proceeding too quickly; others say not quickly enough. But the future is a tricky thing to predict. There are so many variables. So many different risks. All I know is that at some point we’ll look back and see what actions in the final analysis were most wise. And our knowledge will increase.
On another hopeful note, during my walks in the past couple weeks I’ve observed more signs around town celebrating unity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other signs express thankfulness to essential workers. You’ll see that one billboard I photographed about a week ago concerning restaurants now seems dated, but no matter.
That so many people have demonstrated an urge to stay positive during this terrible crisis seems a good sign for the future of humanity in general.
At least, it appears that way to me. I’m an optimist.
San Diego strong.To restaurants still delivering meals, thank you.Thanks (transit driver) heroes.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Peace as the world commonly understands it comes when the summer sky is clear and the sun shines in scintillating beauty, when the pocketbook is full, when the mind and body are free of ache and pain..but…true peace…is a calmness of soul amid terrors of trouble, inner tranquility amid the howl and rage of outer storm…
The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has suddenly made all of our lives very challenging. There is disruption, isolation, uncertainty, fear, and for too many, grieving.
As I took my exercise in downtown San Diego, careful to maintain social distance as other walkers neared, I noticed a couple of wise quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. enshrined along the MLK Promenade. They are perfect for this difficult time we live in.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera. You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter.
Make art or make a difference. I saw those words this morning as I walked past the window of James Watts’ downtown art studio.
Several faces were also peering from the window.
I was fortunate to meet this renowned local artist and explore his absolutely incredible studio a couple years ago.
If you’d like to have a peek inside James Watts’ creative wonderland, you can revisit my old blog post by clicking here!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Sculpture of two people holding hands on sidewalk.
Yesterday, as I walked past the National City Public Library, I paused to look at some fun art on the sidewalk. Then I noticed a wise quote in many languages printed on a monumental wall at the building’s front entrance.
In many languages: I always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of Library. Jorge Luis BorgesFun street art near the library.
Las Aventuras de Dehdohz en Casa.Read.Many faces.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
There’s a very cool mural painted on the side of Lhooq Books & The Exrealism Nonprofit Project in Carlsbad, which occupies a small barn that was built in 1941. I happened to notice the artwork as I was walking down Carlsbad Village Drive. The artist, I learned, is professional skateboarder Kris Markovich.
Lhooq Books & The Exrealism Nonprofit Project, according to their website, is a vintage bookstore, espresso bar and underground venue, as well as the headquarters & a compound for “The Exrealism Project.”
Many phrases are written inside the mural’s abstract human faces. The words–which together read like a two dimensional poem or stream of consciousness–are raw and very real.
The words are disturbing and inspiring. They are disjointed and profound. They are expressions of doubt, and frustration, and confusion, and revelation.
The words tumble directly from a personal experience of life.
It is a mural painted with life.
DO THESE THOUGHTS SCARE YOU . . . THESE WORDS WILL CHANGE THE WORLDEXREALISM MY REDEMPTIONthe thawing of your heartSTUCK ONE PLACE BEHINDOPEN YOUR EYES YOU MIGHT LIKE WHAT YOU FINDEGO KILLERWe’re all mad here.YOUR WORRIES ARE JUSTIFIED . . . BROKEN PROMISEWORDS . . .OPEN FOR THE TAKING . . . MEANINGTHE LURK IN THE BUSHES KIND OF WEIRDi don’t knowBLEED FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONSYOU WANT THE BEAUTIFULWhat someone thinks of you is NONE of your business.I USED TO THINK I WAS AN ARTIST BUT I NO LONGER THINK ABOUT IT . . . I AM.We ALL suffer.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
If you dare, walk with me up the Snake Path at UCSD. We will proceed from innocence to knowledge.
We’ll begin at a spot near the Jacobs School of Engineering, then head west up a hill toward the amazing Geisel Library. Our path is the winding 560-foot length of a scaly snake.
Snake Path, part of the UC San Diego Stuart Collection, was created by Alexis Smith in 1992. The scales of the snake are hexagonal pieces of colored slate.
We’ll pass a monumental granite book, none other than Milton’s Paradise Lost. On the cover is engraved: “And wilt thou not be loathe to leave this Paradise, but shalt possess a Paradise within thee, happier far.”
We’ll linger at a bench in a small Garden of Eden. Written on the bench are Thomas Gray’s words: “Yet ah why should they know their fate/When sorrow never comes too late/And happiness too swiftly flies/Thought would destroy their Paradise/No more, where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise.”
Toward innocence or knowledge. Which direction is best?
UPDATE!
I took more pics of the Snake Path with a different camera during a UCSD walk a few years later…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
A heart-shaped Love Wall stands on the patio of the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park. It has been there for several months.
Dangling from the wall are many short messages. Powerful words have been written on pieces of colored paper by many human hands. Some messages are old and faded. Others are bright and new. There’s plenty of space on the Love Wall for more wisdom.
A heart-shaped Love Wall stands on the patio of the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park.Many messages dangle from the Love Wall.Amo mi familia. Love is accepting you.Smile.Love heals all.Love one another. Kindness ripples.Family is everything.Love is . . . knowing it’s right.Many messages of love from many different hands, young and old.I love you. Friendship.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
If you’ve ever had a bad day, and thought it will never stop raining, there’s a new short story you might enjoy reading. It concerns sadness. It contains a tiny bit of wisdom.