2008 May - Trunkations

Archive for May, 2008

State Band Statues: Feels So Right, or Take Me Down?

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

The country music supergroup Alabama will soon be honored with a statue in City Park in its hometown of Fort Payne, AL. Three of the members grew up there, and all four have lived in the vicinity. Local news accounts cite the band’s pedigree and civic-mindedness as justification for the statue, which depicts them as [...]

Telectroscope Could Have Practical Use

Friday, May 23rd, 2008

New York and London media outlets have been abuzz over the unveiling of the Telectroscope, a Victorian-technology earth-burrowed opti-magnitube that allows people in the distant cities to wave to each other. Friendly communication is always welcome, although it does seem as if the novelty of this kind of thing will wear off quickly — and [...]

One-Log Homes – The Green Dilemma

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

One-Log House, Garberville, CA There are few effective “green” lifestyles, where a person can limit their detrimental impact on the environment, reduce their carbon footprint, or make any difference whatsoever. It’s all feel-good marketing crap. You’re really just another planet consumer, unless you’re ready to lie down in a mulch pit right now, and let [...]

Utah Dino Dig Still Boned

Monday, May 19th, 2008

The switchback queue line of time is long. That may mean little to a dinosaur bone, but it means a lot to us. Yet we may become fossils ourselves before the Visitor Center at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah is reopened to the public. The Center, famous for enclosing a cliff face of dinosaur bones [...]

Are Sinkholes Vacation-Worthy?

Sunday, May 18th, 2008

Spring is sinkhole season, when the ground suddenly opens up to swallow cars, houses and businesses. We hear about these collapses of naturally formed subterranean voids because they disrupt what people have built on top of them. We’ve reported on several, hoping they become vacation destinations, but the holes inevitably fill up with water, are [...]

Floating Bridge Sunk, Vehicles Blocked

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

We aren’t automatically enchanted by states touting their drive-thru attractions, especially if they are historic wooden bridges, those dainty ligaments for antiques shoppers and would-be art photographers. But Vermont has its share of oddball attractions, and even an authentically weird floating bridge. The Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports that Brookfield’s soggy crossing, a favorite drive-thru destination [...]

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