Friday, September 30, 2011

Seagulls at Sunset

Jesús


Jesús preparing catch of mackerel, which he then personally fried for my friends and I at the Anna Maria City Pier Restaurant. Without exaggeration, I say to you it is probably the best fried fish I've ever had - and until now I've not even been a fan of mackerel!

Anna Maria City Pier Restaurant


You have to walk a long and narrow path along the pier to get to the restaurant at the other end. It's worth it.

Anna Maria City Pier

Holmes Beach


Anna Maria Island.

Osprey


Cortez, FL.

Bradenton Water Tower

Juicy Navel Oranges


Micanopy, FL.

Cafe Risque



If you've driven along I-75 in Georgia and Florida, you've seen the ubiquitous billboards for Cafe Risque, an all-nude strip club in Micanopy, FL. No, I didn't go in - I was just in Micanopy to refuel. No, really.

Nashville Skyline


Blimp of Prophecy


Spotted this blimp in Tennessee, hawking something called "PropheciesDecoded.com".

Monday, September 26, 2011

Saturday, September 24, 2011

The Unintentional Abstract Art of Graffiti Removal










I've always been fascinated by the Rothko-like blocks and shapes left behind when people try to cover up graffiti by hastily painting over it. In fact, I like it better than most graffiti.

But isn't throwing your own paint over someone else's paint on a wall just another form of graffiti? The end result of whitewashing over it is still wide-scale defacement of property via paint, so why bother? In many cases, a property owner's inept attempt at a cover-up is even more of an eyesore than the tagging they tried to obliterate. It's almost become a childish game in which the property owner knows they're making an even bigger mess of it themselves, but ruining the work of the anonymous "artist" is the only recourse they have for revenge.

The real question is, what if this had been the graffiti to start with? What if graffiti artists deliberately started painting these very same kind of blocks and shapes in the first place? Would someone come out and cover them up with an even bigger set of blocks and shapes, just for tit-for-tat's sake? Probably.

Friday, September 23, 2011

What Future?


Hey, it's the same spraypainted cat silhouette as this one.

The Emmaline


Portland, KY.

Storm Clouds, 38th and Market

Don't Be A Victim


Am I the only one who sees "Don't Be A Victim" and "I Am Hurt" as contradictory messages?

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Twig and Leaf Neon Sign


Whenever people ask me what I think about Twig & Leaf, I always say "Well, they have a wonderful neon sign."

Old Town Liquors Neon Sign

Garage Bar


These cars, which are supposed to be smashing into each other for the sake of "art", don't seem to be making much progress.

Phoenix Hill Tavern

Long Exposure Highway


I'm not a big fan of using the blurry, wiggly, trippy effect of having a long exposure on photos that are meant to be documentarian - I'm continually amazed at how many photographers will post dozens of pictures of an art opening or a band's gig, and you can't even tell what you're looking at because everything's all tracered-out. Call me crazy, but I like pictures of stuff to look like the stuff.

Having said that, I did have fun last night playing with taking long-exposure photos of the road ahead, from the top of my steering wheel. And of course, the faster you drive, the more information is compressed into the exposure time and thus the more stretched and distorted everything gets beyond the vanishing point.

I'm easily amused.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Alpha

Against the Grain Brewery

Cabinetpak Kitchens


Copy-editor police: why is "Replacement cabinet fronts" capitalized?

Hebron Cemetery Mausoleum

No Dumping or Dirt Removal Allowed


Did this really need to be stated in a sign? Aren't these things illegal anyway?

Monday, September 19, 2011

Douglass Loop Farmers Market Musicians


House of Blue Elephants




The blue elephants on this Butchertown duplex have always intrigued me. Is it a response to 21c's red penguins? And recently, there's a new addition: random letters and numbers applied, almost like fridge magnets, to the facade.

Voltron


I LOL'd.