Archive for November, 2009

Wild Bill: Collector’s Inner Sanctum

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

In a far corner of Wild Bill’s Nostalgia Center, if you can squeeze your way past his collection of 500 hand-painted Lithuanian trolls, and his case of giant trilobites from Morocco, you might be able to wedge open the door into his office.  “Be careful,” Bill cautioned as we entered.  “It’s kinda packed.” Bill’s office [...]

Giant Forks: Sign of the Tines

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Recently a giant fork appeared on a traffic median in Pasadena, California. No one seemed to know who was responsible for the guerrilla installation of the 18-foot-tall rogue utensil…

Squawk Show

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

The town of Everman, Texas has a problem with parrots. The burg’s ever-growing colony of Quaker Parrots first appeared in the early ’90s. The feathery flocks are assumed to be descended from former pets.

Lucy In The Sky With Damage

Monday, November 9th, 2009

Lucy The Margate Elephant, that great, grey, wide-window-eyed wonder of the Jersey shore, suffered serious injury this fall when strong September winds lifted a party tent up off its moorings and into the air and smashed it against Lucy’s pachyderm posterior.

Parking Spots: House of Cars

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

The National Building Museum could use a jazzier name (Architecturama?) and their new exhibit, “House of Cars: Innovation and the Parking Garage” (October 17-July 11), takes on a generally less-than-scintillating subject. But the curators may have a point: this overlooked and much maligned practical urban necessity deserves a spot on the exhibition roster. For, as the press release states, “In a world without parking garages, parking lots would sprawl across our cities.” And that would be yucky.