This mural is at 34th Street and Alum Rock Avenue in San Jose, California. I have not found out who painted it yet.
My youngest and I had a good morning taking photos together and adventuring. I’ll post some of those photos the youngest took in the future.
As for now…
This is the 500th post here on 825mph.com!
And now, we are going to take a break.
Not sure for how long but we are going to disconnect from the digital world for a bit. We plan to keep adventuring, exploring San Jose and the surrounding area, and taking photos. We are just not going to be posting for a while. It’s time for a break. Breaks are the best way to provide space to contemplate. And it is time for some more contemplation.
El Jalapeño Rojo taqueria at 400 W San Carlos St, San Jose, CA 95110
You know when a taco just hits the spot? Yeah, that’s what these tacos do. This place has a small outdoor seating area and a drive through that never stops as cars seems to always be here. And the tacos are delicious.
Earlier on in the making of this blog, my oldest child and I were out on scooters looking at murals when we stopped here. The oldest said this was their new favorite taqueria. We’ve gone back a few times and I have always enjoyed my food.
The flavor is excellent. The juiciness of the ingredients and toastiness of the tortilla are perfect so that the tacos are not falling apart or doughy. The salsa on the tacos is full of flavor. There was nothing not to love about these.
Carnitas tacos
On this day, four of us including two children and two adults sampled veggie tacos, asada and cheese tacos, and carnitas tacos. The comments recorded included:
– Loaded, lots of lettuce, big chunks of tomato, rice beans & cheese. Good salsa. – Pretty good – These tacos hit the spot! So good and exactly what I wanted right now. The tacos were well seasoned, perfectly balanced in meat and toppings, just so good. The green and the red salsa sauce are both delicious. Good flavor. Outdoor seating is nicely shaded with flowers around. A constant stream of cars come by through the drive through. I look forward to coming back. Yum! -I liked my horchata
Veggie tacosThese asada and cheese only tacos are “off menu” as the children find these two ingredients to make their favorite tacos.
Good Luck Forever is a mural by Taki Ryudaibori Kitamura and can be found in Japantown in San Jose on 7th Street. There is a good write up of the symbolism used here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cik4TLnJKsA/.
From up on Mt. Hamilton, you can see a lot. Hard to see in my photo, I know. However, the left of the photo above shows San Jose and at right of middle shows San Francisco amongst much more. Its easier to see in person and so I highly recommend visiting. Drive safely and slowly as the road to the top is winding, includes many rocks and dirt patches, and is a favorite for impressive bicyclists to conquer.
South San Jose is in the right of this photo above and Monterey is in the center in the distance.
And when you are ready to go inside the Lick Observatory from atop Mt. Hamilton, you can see this gigantic telescope from 1888, among other modern telescopes at the observatory.
Leyendas de San José is a mural by the Timeless Art Collective formed by artists Steven Martinez, Eduardo Herrera, and Ariana Hansen. You will find it at Santa Cara and 19th Street in San Jose.
At first, my favorite part about this mural was the color and the artistry of it. Now however, after hours of internet searches, I am enjoying most the new things I am learning as I try to learn who these seven people are. Who are these people of San Jose, Leyendas – Legends, who made a difference by contributing to the culture of our society?
Below are a few words to give context to each individual chosen for this mural. These are oversimplifications and do not do the lives of these individuals justice. It is easier to find info online for some of these San Jose contributors than others. What I did find was fascinating and inspiring and I have enjoyed the trails and research and thoughts inspired that have resulted for me because of these searches. This art appreciation has turned into a history lesson and cultural appreciation experience for me.
Jesus Valenzuela – San Jose radio voice of KSJO Ricardo Santa Fe – Singer, musician, composer Daniel Valdez – Actor, musician, composer, activist Art Rodriguez – Author Jose Martinez – Lowrider culture legend Luis Valdez – Writer, actor, director, teacher, activist – this guy’s life should be a book and movie for sure Sonny Madrid – One of the founders of Lowrider Magazine, started by San Jose State University students
As a child seeing Lowrider Magazine for sale in stores I never knew that it was started here in San Jose. I had no idea that I was living in a Lowrider culture-generator that was represented in a national magazine, rather than the other way around.
I’m still learning more about these Leyendas de San José, enjoying the web searches. I look forward to seeing a mural for women Leyendas of San José and learning about their lives.
I asked DALL-E 2 to show me “downtown San Jose, California painting by Van Gough.” Here is what it created:
These are pretty good. I asked DALL-E to show me what murals in San Jose would look like if the murals were by Van Gough and it came up with these:
Interesting.
Here is one more that has nothing to do with Van Gough. The San Jose State University mascot downtown is the Spartans. I asked DALL-E, technically this is DALL-E2 that I have been working with, to show me a “photo of a Spartan soldier walking through San Jose, California” and it created this:
Ok, that was the fun with Artificial Intelligence for today. You can create your own at: https://openai.com/dall-e-2/
DALL-E 2, the artificial intelligence graphic software, is now free for all to use on the internet. It turns your text prompts into graphics. I asked it to show me a “downtown San Jose, California painting by Vermeer” and here is what the AI generated:
Pretty impressive! Vermeer is most famous for his Girl with a Pearl Earring. That is this one:
I asked DALL-E to show me what it would look like to see “the Girl with a Pearl Earring as a modern business woman portrait…” and it created this:
