I like to sometimes take pictures with my phone. If I feel like it, I post those pictures to Twitter, Facebook, etc.
A month or so ago, I went out walking during my lunch break on a particularly nasty, cold rainy day and took these pictures.
I posted them all to Twitter, but people didn’t respond to any of them, other than one person who said, “Please stop doing this.”
I don’t know. Sometimes you connect with people, sometimes you don’t.
I like them. Enjoy.
Several months ago I noticed an assortment of Shephard Fairey “OBEY” stickers plastered on the bike rack and other surfaces near the train station in my town.
I thought to myself, it only took a couple decades for that graffiti to ripple out to the western suburbs. Of course, now you can buy clothing, bags, mugs, mousepads, toasters, jello molds, etc. of that OBEY image. The person who placed the stickers didn’t make those stickers — they bought them.
Seeing those stickers makes me think about a lot of things. I think about how counterculture can be easily packaged and sold and completely defanged. I think about how the original graffiti that has been turned into a commodity was not particularly countercultural, or dangerous, or interesting in the first place. I think about how the artist Shepherd Fairey appropriates images for his own use and makes a profit on them, while simultaneously zealously protecting his own work when other people attempt to appropriate it. He’s kind of a dick, probably.
All these thoughts really don’t have much bearing on the real world, I suppose. I’m not thinking about war, or peace, or hunger, or how people should be nice to each other. They are the thoughts that a white guy with a comfortable life can think as he prepares to board a comfortable train to take him to his well-paying-but-not-too-particularly-stressful job.
Anyways, I saw something interesting today. Someone added accompanying graffiti to some of the stickers near the train station.
What did the person who wrote “OR ELSE” mean? Was it ironic? Was it brilliant? Was it redundant? Why did they feel compelled to write that? Isn’t the “OR ELSE” already implied?
I walked around the other side of the pole and noticed another Fairey sticker, and more graffiti.
Ohhhhhh. That’s nice.
So, now, more questions. Was “NIGGER LOVER” written at the same time as “OR ELSE”? Or was it written at a different time? Was it written by a different person? Note that the “L” in “LOVER” and the “L” in “ELSE” are different.
Did someone feel spontaneously compelled to write “NIGGER LOVER” on a pole, or was it in response to the André the Giant sticker? If it was in response to the sticker, did the person who wrote the graffiti think André the Giant as depicted in the sticker was black?
What do you think?
BONUS PICTURE:
I accidentally took a picture of my foot when I was taking the graffiti pictures. Enjoy!
It’s winter. Yay! Yayyyyyy.
Okay, so it’s winter. I work in downtown Chicago. It seems like every skyscraper in the downtown area has some variation of the signage above.
These signs have always bothered me. Essentially, they are saying, if you choose to walk here, you may get hit in the head by a hunk of ice falling off our ginormous building. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Is this supposed to be helpful? Is it some attempt at avoiding legal liability for pedestrian injuries or property damage? Do buildings have any liability for damaged sustained from falling ice? How many building-ice injuries are sustained on a yearly basis?
Are these warning signs an indication that one should find another path to a destination? These signs don’t seem to have that effect. People don’t take them seriously. Also, given the fact that every building seems to put these signs on their sidewalks, I think it would be largely impossible to find a clear non-falling-ice path.
My twins turn 9 tomorrow. I got them two presents each. I hope they like them. They aren’t fancy, or big, or expensive, or anything.
This is their first birthday after my divorce. I don’t know what it’s like growing up with divorced parents. I don’t have any idea.
I know people can turn out great growing up in divorced households. I know that what’s important is being a loving parent, and giving your kids love, and giving them a safe and happy environment. You don’t need to tell me that.
I don’t want to be married to the person whom I was married to for 10 years (Fun fact: 10th anniversary happened 6 days before the divorce was final). I don’t want her back, ever. She did awful things to me; things I can’t forget.
But, here’s this. I wish I could have given my kids a mom and dad to grow up with. I wish I could have given them that. I wish, I wish, I wish.
Happy birthday, kids. I love you so much.
I like my blog. I feel disconnected from the Internet lately.
I don’t like Facebook.
Twitter has lost some appeal for me.
I miss my blog.
how’s it going
01 – This Time Tomorrow- the Kinks [denise]
02 – Thing of Beauty – Hothouse Flowers [denise]
03 – Here Comes the Sun – Richie Havens [denise]
04 – Forever Young – Bob Dylan [denise]
05 – If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out – Cat Stevens [denise]
06 – After Hours- The Velvet Underground [denise]
07 – Dog End of a Day Gone By – Love and Rockets [tim]
08 – All Things Must Pass – George Harrison [tim]
09 – Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Monty Python [tim]
10 – The Funeral – Band Of Horses [tim]
11 – Teardrop – Massive Attack [tim]
12 – How to Disappear Completely – Radiohead [tim]
13 – What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace Love and Understanding – Elvis Costello [drmvm]
14 – Stupefaction – Graham Parker [drmvm]
15 – Blink of an Eye – The Waco Brothers [drmvm]
16 – Shine On You Crazy Diamond – Pink Floyd [drmvm]
17 – Kiss Me Son of God – They Might Be Giants [drmvm]
18 – Diamonds And Rust – Joan Baez [drmvm]
19 – Here Today, Gone Tomorrow – David Bowie [samuraifrog]
20 – Since You’ve Been Gone – Cherie Currie & Marie Currie [samuraifrog]
21 – Box of Rain – Grateful Dead [samuraifrog]
22 – Surf’s Up – The Beach Boys [samuraifrog]
23 – Fading In and Fading Out – Ringo Starr [samuraifrog]
24 – I’ll See You in My Dreams – R. Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders [samuraifrog]
25 – Moving On Out Boogie – Lightnin’ Hopkins [someguy]
26 – West End Blues – Louis Armstrong [someguy]
27 – Waiting For The Great Leap Forward – Billy Bragg [someguy]
28 – Waving My Dick In The Wind – Ween [someguy]
29 – What The Soul Desires – Donovan [someguy]
30 – End Of The Line – The Traveling Wilburys [someguy]
31 – Sunrise – Pulp [matt]
32 – Desperados Under the Eaves – Warren Zevon [matt]
33 – Don’t Be Shy – Cat Stevens [matt]
34 – You’re No Rock & Roll Fun – Sleater-Kinney [matt]
35 – The Wolf is Loose – Mastodon [matt]
36 – Soggy Tongues – Vic Chesnutt [matt]
37 – ‘S Wonderful- Diana Krall [escralan]
38 – Best of All Possible Worlds – The Little Willies [escralan]
39 – Too Much Too Little – Fred Frith [escralan]
40 – Bygones – Sara Watkins [escralan]
41 – Parting Gift- Fiona Apple [escralan]
42 – This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) – Talking Heads [escralan]
43 – Ad Ogni Costo – Ennio Morricone [splotchy]
44 – Whatever Happened To Pong? – Frank Black [splotchy]
45 – I Plan To Stay A Believer – Curtis Mayfield [splotchy]
46 – Symphony No.6 aka Pastoral, 1st Movement – Beethoven [splotchy]
47 – The Argument – Splotchy [splotchy]
48 – Slipping Into Something – The Feelies [splotchy]