An Internationally Known and Locally Respected Fotographer

Last summer/fall while I was on the waiting list to get into St.Vinny's to partake of their so called RESIDENTIAL REHAB PROGRAM**  (remember,I'm court ordered to go into residential rehab),I was living downtown at the world famous Baltic Inn. Perhaps you've driven by it and took some pics from the outside or maybe you heard that one of your fav hiphop/gangsta-rap celebrity idols was staying there. Well, I was there too. They let me stay there because I'm the Popular Hobo.

One night I was walking around downtown and  I saw a young guy shooting photos.He looked like a tourist to me (I'm not sure why since I myself do the same thing and I damn sure ain't no tourist.) and so I walked over to him and started talking to him about photography. His name is Mike and he's from Germany and yes he was a "tourist" staying downtown for a few days and heavy into his photography. I gave him some tips on places to go to snap some classic postcard-quality photos of San Diego's downtown scenes etc. We exchanged contact info and then went our separate ways.

You know how that goes when you meet some nice friendly person from out of town (overseas) whom you share a common interest with but then later, due to the daily grind of your job/school/life's bullshit etc. etc., you just never seem to find the time to maintain a long distance friendship.

Well, I'm not too busy to spend some of my quality hobo time with anyone whom loves photography as much as my friend Mike from Germany does. We swapped email a few times and he sent me some of his stuff he shot while he was here in San Diego. He's an avid student of the craft and an amateur who would like to make money with his artwork.The shots he sent to me were absolutely stunning. While I enjoy shooting San Diego's downtown scenes from an architectural perspective, Mike shot the pedestrians/people…emotions…their very thoughts it seems …the beauty as well as the anguish…and also the raw heart wrenching despair of those filthy downtown hobos. He stopped some of the most amazing expressions/emotions and situations that you always see while you walk around in any city which occur in the blink of an eye. Expressions that cannot be posed nor replicated by models. Surreal artwork…true urban scenic art that is, IMO, gallery quality.

Apparently there's a lot of politics within the print publishing industry in Germany and Mike tells me that his stuff would be rejected out of hand simply because he doesn't have a college degree or some other prerequisite certification to be qualified to have the talent to shoot such compelling quality artwork as he has demonstrated to me. (I thought their socialist system has free market capitalism built into it...I dunno.)


Anyway, if you enjoy urban scenic photo-artwork then take a look at Mikes stuff on flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/metal_mike/
 
Be friendly, say 'Hi' and tell him that Scott sent ya! ; )



 **I waited for 8 weeks to get into Vinny's only to discover that they LIED through their teeth about having a real rehab program.Of course all that they told me verball;y was not in writing.

The Big Big Big New Car Sales Event...where were YOU!?

I met a long haul trucker a couple of years ago in Mira Mesa when I was living in my car behind the Lucky Seafood store. He rolled up behind my car in his 18 wheeler loaded with new cars. As I recall,
I got out of my car to investigate the situation as I never knew that Gemini was a truck stop/rest area.
So I met the driver. His name is Lou and he's a really nice/cool guy. We talked for a while and  before his wife came to pick him up, I jokingly offered to guard his load of new cars while he went home to sleep. The next day when he arrived back to his truck, I told him that he needs to wait until at least 10am before leaving to deliver his load of cars. He smiled and asked why. I told him why.
"Lou after you left, I made some signs, blew up some party balloons and had me a MIDNIGHT MADNESS NEW CAR BLOWOUT SALE!!! I sold all 8 of your cars...I blew 'em out for $800/each!
I took cash deposits and the owners are coming here any time now to pay me the balance and take their new cars home. But don't worry, Lou, I'll pay you a little something afterward since they were on your truck... would $400 be sufficient?" :)

He got a chuckle out of that one not really considering that there ARE customers out here who would JUMP at the chance to snatch a brand freakin new car for 1/25th of its market value from a hobo if they thought they could get away with it. Of course, if I started selling his cars, I'd need to have an escape plan...those po-leece would be all over my white trash from here to Kittery, Maine! I'd be on the 12 o'clock, the 6 o'clock and the 11 o'clock news. ("Look, Ma, I'm on Tee Vee!") . I saw Lou very seldom...only a few times a year and we always had friendly conversation. Nice guy!

Well, this past Sunday, while I was in Kearny Mesa next to Walmart flying my hobo sign, I thought I saw Lou's truck rolling down the street. But its been so long since I last saw him that I wasn't 100% certain it was him. So I walked down the street where he parked and I'll be damned, sure enough, it was my friend Lou!

We talked for a while and he said he needed to run into Walmart to get a few things. As soon as he jumped down from his cab to go shoppin', I got busy with my biggest Sharpie marker and made myself a sign! You guessed it--its time for another INSANE  SCOTTY'S CURBSIDE CAR SALES EVENT!! As I've mentioned and have shown you in some of my previous posts, I have lots of jiffy sign making materials to create BIG loud bright and enticing signs. A good sign with the right words can be very compelling especially when the words are "NEW CARZ  4 SALE...$500/EA CASH ONLY"! But there I was in Kearny Mesa, equipped with nothing more than a fat Sharpie marker but nothing good to write on. :<.

Because time was of the essence, I was trying to BLOW OUT his new Audi 's for only $500 cash money!!Imagine driving home in a new 2013 $23,000 Audi for a little more than the cost of a cart full of groceries!!!Imagine trying to convince the cops that you didn't steal the car-- you bought 

it from an honest looking fast talking hobo. 

:)

Free Resources for Hobos? Yes! Great for lifestyle deadbeats, drunks, pregnant females and HIV patients.

Since I first became homeless, I learned about the numerous projects/programs/orgs. etc. whom comprise the "homeless industry". Make no mistake about it, just as the housing/real estate services and construction industries thrive following a major earthquake, flood or wildfire, there's a ton of money changing hands, railroad car loads of cash (state and federal tax funds and charity donations) are being allocated and spent and paychecks being issued to well-paid, full time professionals whom specialize in (or who's work tends to hobo problems) such as  alcohol/drug counselors, mental health workers, security guards at shopping malls, paramedics/ER hospital personnel.

If every hobo in San Diego suddenly disappeared tomorrow---Phoooof! like that, there would be lots of skid marks on the crowded highway of economic recovery due to layoffs/terminations, rescinded funding and reshuffling of market sectors. Drug rehab places which are currently overcrowded and have 6 month long waiting lists to enter, would shut down and reopen as new Asian grocery stores, Mexican car wash/Taco stands and liquor stores. Don't hold your breath for hobos to go away anytime soon.

The hobo industry is a thriving one which runs in a reciprocal order to our capitalistic economy which is why its currently thriving (as the recession lingers on). Its an industry that's driven by charities and federal/state funds but what does it produce? Not sure how one can measure output or productivity of this economy (it may be the # of clients served / $ spent).

I've always believed that my homeless situation is a temporary one and that what ever problems I'm experiencing are due to my lack of a purpose/occupation and that the remedy is a damn job... some responsibility and program to manage....employees to supervise etc. These homeless-assist resources,from what I've heard and seen, can be very useful for someone who needs their GED and their first ever job. 

There's a program run by the SDPD to deal with chronic drunks whom the cops get fed up arresting every few days for public intoxication. The program is called SIP (Serial Inebriate Program) and what it does is take the drunken folks of the street anbd put them into a sober living apartment along with others in the program. Once they're in the program they follow a daily routine of group meetings and light chores and they must attend 5 AA mtgs per week. The program is far better IMO than just living in a shelter like St.Vinny's because its goal oriented. It seeks to transition the person from the homeless streets drinking all day into either employment and or gov.assisted housing etc. while remaining committed and focused upon maintaining sobriety.

Its difficult for me to sing praises about any particular resource org. but I could rant and bitch all day long about the way some of them are run. I liked the VOA's residential detox facility in Nat'l City but its work is almost pointless without the availability of beds in the county for residential treatment.

Hoax 911 Calls Against Mira Mesa Panhandling Hobo

Its common knowledge (at or about the 4th grade) that its a crime to 911 and LIE through your teeth for the malicious intention of getting someone arrested.

This is exactly what 's been going on over the past month by downtown dwelling heroin addict hobos who come up to MM onthe #20 bus to panhandle to buy their smack. When they step off the bus they think they own/run the streets and their strategy is very simple: If there's someone panhandling on the median they want to stand on, they whip put their cel phone, dial 911 and rave/scream for help to the dispatcher accusing the Mira Mesa hobo on the median of some violent crime.

This incident I'm discussing with Sal, the armed security guard, in the video ( above) which occurred two days ago at the intersection of Black Mt.Rd and Mira Mesa Blvd. is not an "isolated incident" nor "rare" nor  a "first time ever" incident to which the SDPD have responded. In fact, this one is the 5th or 6th such 911 hoaxes perpetrated upon David Mick in the past month.

The motive for these hoax 911 calls is always the same: these downtown-hobos come to Mira Mesa to panhandle and they're lying to the SDPD in order to maliciously have the guy who's flying a his sign on the median arrested/jailed so that they can fly their sign.


What makes this situation most serious and intolerable is that these hoax 911 calls are of the most inciteful and urgent nature intended to bring SDPD officers to a live/in-progress VIOLENT CRIME scene.These calls have accused David Mick of committing assault/battery, assault with a deadly weapon and (this one) robbery/mugging.

As one would hope and expect the cops to do,when they're dispatched to a "violent crime in progress" they treat the situation as an urgent emergency (code 3) and they get to the location as quickly as possible with lights and sirens. Often, not just one but rather two or more units arrive to the scene.
Code 3 situations present most dangerous and high-risk elements there are to a cop. Driving at high speed with lights and sirens in Mira Mesa during rush hour  (or anywhere else anytime) is insanely DANGEROUS business. When the officers arrive, they're not those friendly casual good-natured folks whom us hobos have come to know and respect. No, they're all keyed up and they're ready to pounce upon/ take down and subdue some violent asshole/perpetrator they've been called to deal with! Its the most serious, most explosive and most dangerous situation imaginable for both the cops and the alleged suspect.

If I were a one of the cops (actually I am a cop, have always been a cop, except I don't get a paycheck) who respond to these hoax 911 calls accusing David Mick of committing a robbery, the
first thing I'd want to do is to detain the "alleged victim" (asshole /911 hoax caller) in the backseat of my car while I talk to witnesses who "saw" whatever it was that never happened.

But of course there wouldn't  be any witnesses to interview since there was no actual crime for anyone to witness. However, the absence of third party witnesses and bystanders doesn't necessarily mean that no crime occurred, right? The cop must be objective...its true.

In defense of the cops who respond to allegations against David Mick, objectivity may be fleeting and difficult at times because of the indelible impressions he's made upon the North Eastern Div cops over the past year. I won't get into specifics but depending  upon the time of day and how much he's had to drink, his antics can be very disturbing. If I were him, in light of this recent trend of hoax 911 calls made against him, I'd do whatever it takes to avoid having any contact with the cops whatsoever.

The blunder committed by this hoax 911 caller, was his 'trial and error' approach in trying solicit  Sal's participation in his hoax. The hoaxer first claimed he saw David Mick rob  a lady at the bus stop.
When Sal asked him about the alleged crime, the hoaxer's answers made the allegations seem improbable and so he changed his story and claimed that he himself had been robbed by Mick.
Seems to me that the cops had sufficient reason to arrest this hoax 911 caller based upon Sal's information, yet were ready to take Mick to jail.

I've suggested several things Mick could do to avoid being victimized by these hoax 911 callers such as avoiding all of these downtown herion addict hobos and to stop getting drunk before he panhandles. However, since my advice seems to go in one ear and out the other and since Mick actually blames me of all people for his problems with SDPD, I've got nothing else to say about this entire topic.

What I can say is that until something changes out here, its only a matter of time before David Mick gets himself arrested...again. I hope I'm nearby with my cameras so I can shoot video of it all for another breaking new report from Hoboville!! :)
 

Consulting With SDPD Re: New Rogue Display Ads...

 

 Although I've got a pretty good  understanding of what's good and bad,

and an even more thorough insight into both criminal and civil violations,

sometimes I like to get another and different perspective just before i'm about to 

do something "innovative" to promote my blog that might possibly raise concern from the

 fine citizens of Hobovile and/or get me some county time in jail.

My very first and only public display of info about my blog was done as follows:

 1) I used a fat black Sharpie pen and wrote my URL upon a 3ft long x 5 inch wide strip of 

clear PVC laminating film I got from the Fed Ex Office store dumpster. 

2) I used clear tape to fasten the PVC strip to the front of a utility box located

along the sidewalk. At a glance the clear film was not visible and thus it appeared as if 

I'd written directly upon the utility box (which is a crime).

Using this same method I wanted to spray paint my URL  on some laminate film and place it 

in conspicous places. It would appear as if I'd tagged the surface with a paint can and may incite some folks to call the police on me. I asked one SDPD veteran Sergeant about this idea and he shot it down.

:(

Thanks Chuck, for throwing a wet blanket on my my new advertising ideas!

Damn it... I promise I'll consider your advice but as you know, many great ideas were 

initially viewed as rogue acts before they were finally accepted.

On the other hand, I'll be damned if I want to go to jail for

 my advanced marketing ideas ! 

Popular Hobo's 1st sponsor!!!! :P

Imagine that...my blog is only a few weeks old and does no online marketing yet
and my first sponsor has magically slipped into my hands!!

Corregated cardborad and plastics are in vogue fashions for News Desk and Signs!

I've recently accumulated a huge bounty of useful crap from dumpsters...so much good stuff
in fact, that I was inspired to use it to craft a new advertising  campaign targeting the local
MM readers/viewers. I've provided a glimpse of what these items were originally intended
for. I'm going to write more here about my new advertising campaign in which
these items will be used.
Check out this video where I'm towing my box of crap behind my suitcase/handtruck late
the other night. That's against the law btw...towing a box without any lights, no tow hitch, no dmv reg. no Ca. auto insurance, no Ca DL! Jeez...the po-leece see that shit and they would tow my suitcase to the DMV impound yard and haul my white trash to jail. That's why we must do our R&D and prototyping work between 10pm and 5am when its dark and desolate.

That way when stuff explodes, starts smoking baddly or one of our modestly paid "New Product Test Subjects" acciently loses a couple of fingers or an eye after shit goes wrong, we can usually get things back under control and remedy the situation without attracting gobment officials. We're not doing anything bad or immoral btw, its  just that our innovative/inventive talent is so irrepressibly explosive and undenibaly useful that we cannot always contain nor throttle down the scientific process as it manifests itself with such natural exuberance.

 

Below is my new news desk...courtesy of Albertsons! Well, they didn't actually stalk me down and award me with this chunk of cardboard. I had to initiate the 'appropriations process' myself  after store hours and by Sunrise, I had completed the transfer of  cardboard assets from their loading dock to the Popular Hoboi Newsroom Studios.