Monday, August 24, 2009

Magic Beans, Bowl of Soup, Walmart in the Wilderness


The Board of Supervisors will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, August 24, 2009, at 6 p.m., in the Orange County High School Auditorium, located at 201 Selma Road, Orange, Virginia, in order to conduct a public hearing to receive comment on and take action on SUP 08-07. At the public hearing, County residents who sign in before 7 p.m. will be called to speak first.

Threatened with the possibility that an army of cashiers with barcode-reading guns could invade hallowed ground near the site of one of the Civil War's most hellish battles...--WaPo

National Trust for Historic Preservation petition

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Saturday, July 18, 2009

codified


Olive Garden was originally developed by General Mills, Inc., but in June 1995, General Mills spun off its restaurant division into Darden Restaurants, Inc. Almost 25 years later, Olive Garden remains committed to its purpose of Hospitaliano! - providing 100% guest delight through the genuine Italian dining experience.--from the Olive Garden Website

Went to an OG restaurant last night, an eating machine! Designed to put food in front of the people. All very well done in its 21st century way. Mad TV deals with OG here.

Modern design standards make many things easier. Next door to my sister's house, bordering a wetland in MA, is a new subdivision. Roads in the local township are narrow, paved, 17th century wagon paths. The road in the subdivision is wide, a great boulevard to accommodate the fire engines which, at some point in the 21st century, might respond to a call or two.
Designed for fire engines. Never mind the wetland.

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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

end of analog TV



There are so many other things to do and learn and evoke than watching screens.--Ralph Nader

The transition, however, provides a powerful case lesson as to how the federal government can foul up things... What a mess. On to health care reform!--Carter Wood

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Saturday, May 23, 2009

Larry

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Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Concrete World

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Tuesday, February 03, 2009

McOusted


January 19, 2009

What is it with corporate America? "No photographs no photographs." We might see the hamburgers?
Moments after this photograph was made the McManager, man on the left with the white shirt, expelled us from the store.
Bill Clinton was always welcome in McDonalds.

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

crazy salad

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

falling down

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Friday, December 05, 2008

untitled


wishing I'd read the text block

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Friday, November 14, 2008

untitled

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Monday, November 03, 2008

divided highway


Route 360, Richmond County, Virginia. Hinterland, backdoor approach to Washington DC.

The fear lies in us like a cloud. It makes an inner climate of darkness. And occasionally, there is a storm and hate and wounding rain out of us.--Saul Bellow

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Friday, October 24, 2008

let them eat crack


Walked from Brooklyn Heights to the Central Park Zoo without seeing a single Obama sign, very odd.

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Friday, September 19, 2008

attack of the phone


Any RISD graduates able to date the illustration above? The intrusive hand set.

I answered my cell phone in a Church yesterday. The caller was my daughter, the service one she would have attended.
Sam Coale updates the RISD illustration with his short film, Attack of the Phone.

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Sunday, August 03, 2008

departures


Hartsfield-Jackson, ATL

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Thursday, May 08, 2008

Dreamland

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Friday, April 11, 2008

giant sucking sound

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Safeway 1972


Safeway, 1321 Long Street, Charlottesville, Virginia

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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Winston tastes good


Winston's advertising slogan, Winston tastes good like a cigarette should poked a stick in the grammarians' hive. Winston made the most of the furor offering a "good grammar" library, Better English Made Easy, A New Guide to Better Writing and four other reference works for the smokin' masses.

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Wednesday, October 03, 2007

in the beginning


annus mirabilis, 1984, compuserve

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Bank of Kinsale


Get off the steamship at the wharf, walk up the hill to the bank. Speak to the teller and manager by name. See the money.

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Friday, June 15, 2007

tate


51 29 26.88N 00 07 37.10W

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Sunday, March 18, 2007

day of Pepsi


We interrupt our regular programming, day of rest, to bring you this important announcement:

PEPSI IS THE OFFICIAL SOFT DRINK OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA!

I wonder if the inverse is true, is University of Virginia the official University of Pepsi? Was there money involved? Who benefits from the expenditure of the hypothetical funds?

The news comes my way via the Spring 2007 University of Virginia Magazine, page 44. Searched UVA's website to learn more of this exciting academical development. The only pertinent return from the search was an editorial from the Cavalier Daily dated 8/30/2000

(Pepsi is a trademark of PepsiCo, Inc.)

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Friday, December 29, 2006

Cary Street, Richmond, 1975

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Friday, December 15, 2006

crazy salad


Sympathetic magic? Here's hoping that the mothership will come, with Jesus of Nazareth, Stephen Spielberg and SpongeBob SquarePants at the helm, transporting the faithful to the great RockCandy mountain.
Oh lost!

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Sunday, October 29, 2006

day of rest


Orange County, California

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Tuesday, September 05, 2006

coulrophobia


"Can't sleep, clowns will eat me."

There is something about a stop sign that motivates people to take their happy meal and pitch it out of the car window. Fries, burger, everything on the street complete with the red white and yellow bag.
Sophie's morning walk takes us past two popular ejection points. Add rain and vehicular traffic and the "I'm lovin' it" product metamorphoses to an organic calorie rich spooge. In dry weather the "food" makes a dark greasy spot on the asphalt. In wet weather it stays "ready to eat" much longer. Sophie loves it.

Why would a corporate entity admit to having a clown on the payroll?

On this blog the other day a reader characterized some very well meaning civic minded Central Virginia leaders as clowns.
I think calling someone a clown is the ultimate insult. In the politically correct environment of today I reluctantly admit that there are "good clowns" out there. People dressing up, tying balloons for children on the cancer ward, donning squeaky noses. But honestly, I'm a borderline coulrophobic, my mom raised me never to trust a Clown. To me, "good clown" is an oxymoron. (for some interesting educational musings on coulrophobia read Joseph Durwin's piece Coulrophobia and the Trickster.)

Memo to Mickey D customers: keep that trash in your belly or in your car. The Woolen Mills is a clown-free zone.

Scary Clown Plaza
John Wayne Gacy

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Monday, July 31, 2006

Score the ball


Stunning generosity, the 35 million dollar gift from Paul Tudor Jones. Serious seed money for the new John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville. It is a fabulous facility. Admirable as well that young Jones chose to honor his dad with the naming request.
My only wish is that someday, there will be a UVA graduate who is similarly inspired by the Library.
That would be sweet. A state of the art library.
Score the ball indeed.

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Friday, July 21, 2006

appurtenances


downtown Charlottesville

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Sunday, February 26, 2006

day of rest


set aside earthly things

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Thursday, February 23, 2006

singular herb


Senator J Brandon Bell II breaks bad on the plant that founded Virginia

a lone man's companion
a hungry man's food
a sad man's cordial
a wakeful man's sleep, and a chilly man's fire,
there's no herb like unto it under the
canopy of heaven
(anon)

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Saturday, December 24, 2005

Trinity



President Bush delivered his Kwanzaa Hanukkah Christmas messages a few days back. He covered a lot of bases, Virgin Birth, Light of Hope, Triumph over Tyranny, Those Lost in Freedom's Cause, Commitment to Compassion, Creativity, Collective Work.

The White House bows to diversity and simultaneously squeezes three takes on the Winter Solstice into the Bush Policy Bag. Impressive.

However the President failed to say words recognizing the Holiday of Commerce. Words for the Nutcracker, for Santa, for Frosty the Bleeping Snowman. Will his omission have a political cost?

Yesterday, Jose Luis Espinal of Washington Heights NY had his name changed in Manhattan Civil Court to Jesus Christ.

That, my friends, is Freedom.

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Saturday, December 03, 2005

frog dog


French Poodle

Blackbird needs a dog, I am hoping that she'll selects a dog that is genetically disposed to regard other living creatures favorably. Blackbird likes 130 pound Shepherds and dogs whose last literary appearance was in Call of The Wild.
My mantra is lab-mix lab-mix lab-mix.
This has been a bad-press week for Labradors.
Over yonder in France: was the face-transplant patient's dog trying to kill it's mistress or was the dog clumsy at CPR?
French people are different than American? (not so fat...)
Maybe French Labradors are different than American Labradors?

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Friday, November 11, 2005

white tee


washington post has an article this morning saying hip hop fashion is dead.

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Monday, October 31, 2005

stalwart or shill


Speakers Corner, October 2004
-----------------------------------

Our namesake, Uncle Ben, was an African-American rice grower who harvested his rice with such care that he reaped honors for the full-kernel yields and quality. In fact, his rice was of such excellent quality that it came to represent the standard by which all other rice was judged. As the story goes, the proudest boast a rice grower could make was to claim his rice to be "as good as Uncle Ben's."

Years later, Gordon L. Harwell launched a company offering to the public the same high-quality, nutritious rice he'd supplied to the armed forces in WWII through his company, Converted Rice, Inc. He chose the name "UNCLE BEN'S" to symbolize the high quality of his rice products. To this day, we preserve the standard that was set so many years ago by the Texas rice grower named Uncle Ben.-
(from the Mars web site www.unclebens.com/about.aspx)

---------------------------------------

Advertisers used little black pickaninnies with braids and spindly legs, tar black Sambos with oversized rubbery red lips and large bugging eyes and overweight mammies to sell everything from cigarettes to cereals.
These symbols not only continued but proliferated around the turn of the century with the overwhelming success of Uncle Ben, The Gold Dust Twins, Rastus and Aunt Jemima.
- Marilyn Kern-Foxworth from her book Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, and Rastus: Blacks in Advertising, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Imagine the consternation among journalists when, in a photo with two people of color, there is a box of the rice product.


What to do? Disappear Uncle Ben?

We believe in truth.

We believe in the freedom of right speech.


I like this rice, always have a 5 pound bag...


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Saturday, October 29, 2005

white rice

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Monday, October 24, 2005

disappeared


I started drinking coffee/chicory products back in the seventies during my NOLA dishwasher stint. There are several companies that combine coffee and chicory. I settled on Luzianne.
Luzianne has disappeared from the shelves in Virginia, fallout from Hurricane Katrina. Called corporate headquarters last week. They are working hard to rectify the interruption, get the beverage back in the pipeline.

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Saturday, October 01, 2005

apoplectic



There are portions of American popular culture that make me apoplectic!
What was McDonalds thinking? Has polling revealed that 95% of their customers read at a third grade level?

"my kinda shoppin' spree, i'm lovin' it"

Indeed. Makes me want to bomit.


On the west coast for a wedding. I am a tourist! As McDonald's might say:

takin' turist pikchures, lovin' it


I'd like to blast up the coast and photograph the redwoods but my rented auto sounds like it has a worn rod bearing. Knocking noises under the hood. Not willing to break down, so I am staying put.


Staying in Oakland, rode the ferry into San Fransisco yesterday and took pictures of other tourists. I'd love to live in SF for a year. The quality of the light is breath taking plus I like taking pictures in fog.


Wireless network in the hotel is down, uploading via cellphone. Stomped on the images a bit more than usual using Adobe's "Image Ready."

Hope the Lord Buddha keeps all these Bay Area residents calm and in place. Can you imagine if these people had a hurricane Katrina and moved East. Eeekkk. There goes quality of life in the Rappahannock watershed.

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Saturday, September 17, 2005

sharks


FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT ORDINATION COMMITEE
ALL CHRIST CHURCH
MR ASHLEY COLDSWEAT
HI SELLER
I AM MR ASHLEY COLDSWEAT,PRESIDENT OF THE ORDINATION COMMITEE OF ALL CHRIST CHURCH UK ITS A NEW CHURCH,THIS COMMITEE IS ON SEARCH FOR A CAR FOR A NEWLY ORDAINED PRIEST IN MY CHURCH WHICH AM IN CHARGE AS THE PRESIDENT.
SO FELLOW I COME ACROSS YOUR CAR WHILE SEARCHING THE NET WHICH AM VERY MUCH INTERESTED TO PURCHASE BECAUSE THAT IS THE PARTICULAR MODEL WE ARE LOOKING FOR,SO I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE CAR ALTHOUGH WE ARE GOING TO PIMP IT AGAIN TO OUR TASTE AND AGAIN LAST OFFERING PRICE AND FINALLY MODE OF PAYMENT SO AS TO ARRANGE FOR PAYMENT AND PICKUP.
THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU,AM EXPECTING YOUR REPLY SOONEST.
MR ASHLEY COLDSWEAT
PRES..ORDINATION COMMITEE

(yes I am a dumb white southerner, but sell my beloved car to a man named Coldsweat? Sharks in the Internet water. I confess, I love the English as a second language constructions combined with "pimp it again to our taste")

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Thursday, July 21, 2005

inflatable chicken

Traffic tripled on my website the other day.

I wondered who was looking, dug through the log file and found 689 requests between 8:00 and 9:00 A.M. for a photo of an inflatable chicken.

Discovered by Chicken Fetishists? Dug a little further and found a URL.



There are thousands of communities in Internet land, my bandwidth and image were being used not by Chicken Fetishists but by a Gamecock Fan, alias gatorhater
(Name of USC's rooster mascot, "Cocky").

Is there a requirement that mascots be insipid? UVA's mascot, the CavMan, would seem to bear that out...

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Tuesday, July 05, 2005

hot cold water

Cold water in CHO running at 72 degrees this morning. Have to chill a few gallons to 68 Fahrenheit (20 degrees C) to develop July 4 film.

Yesterday there was the mountaintop experience, the joy of new citizens and the crowd that welcomed them as Americans. Additionally there was the off the mountain experience, the two kids walking pit bulls.

One of the APB's lunged for my Labrador. I'd called ahead, respectfully requesting that they keep a tight grip on the terriers. After the lunge I emphatically requested "control your dog."

When we were about fifty yards apart their farewell comments to me were shouts of "f**king queer."

The ideal and the real.

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Saturday, June 18, 2005

not batman


1969...
Batman was stupid then, self indulgent now, bruce wayne, gimme a break

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