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Monday, July 30, 2007
Stalin, Hitler, and FDR Are Naked, and the Teletubbies Are Missing 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Don't you wonder what really happened that night? I'd say keep a sharp eye out for any strange Hand-of-Glory (or Head-of-Elvis) candles on eBay.
DUBLIN, Ireland (AP) - Josef Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Franklin D. Roosevelt are missing their clothes and Fred Flintstone and the Teletubbies are just plain missing after a raid on wax figures owned by Ireland's National Wax Museum. Police say they suspect a door was left unlocked and the warehouse was used for an all-night rave party but museum officials discount that theory. Also stripped of their clothes were Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle and rebel icons from Ireland's war of independence with Britain, including Michael Collins and Padraig Pearse.
...
Most figures stolen came from the Children's World of Fairy Tale and Fantasy section; others were taken from the Chamber of Horrors. Gone are Bob the Builder, Frankenstein's monster, Fred Flintstone, Gollum from "Lord of the Rings," a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, "Silence of the Lambs" killer Hannibal Lecter, and all four Teletubbies. Guitars adorning the figures of U2's The Edge and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott also disappeared. Others, including Elvis and Madonna, suffered lost hair, limbs or jewelry.
[AP, via CBC.com] Charles deGaulle naked? Now that's a frightening image.
Links: Dublin Wax Museum, and a very odd Lenin's-head candle (from Czechoslovakia, natch) seen on the Project Good Luck blog.

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Friday, July 27, 2007
Rice Rocket + Bouffant + Doe's Head = ? 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Country Host Flea Market, PA 1980

Nice bike, but check out the lady in the bouffant 'do communing with the mounted doe's head: "now, that would look groovy in the foyer!" Ah, Summer, 1980. The last few months before we raised the curtains on the Reagan Era. I remember seeing TV ads for the Chevy Citation, the "first Chevy of the 80's!" Anyone else remember those? Anyone still driving those? Bueller? Bueller?

Damn, I'm getting old.

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farkleberries Links du Jour 178: The Don't Leave The Catwalk Without Your Rubber(s) Edition 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 

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Sunday, July 22, 2007
The Wages of Insomnia: The Splash Series 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
splash-series2-7

This weekend, I spent a lot of time during the wee hours at the kitchen sink. Not cooking or washing dishes, but taking pictures. No special equipment was used; just a Sony DSC-T7 camera on the 1/250 sec. "action" setting, with flash. The water surface is a wineglass in the sink, filled with tap water, with the faucet slowly dripping on the surface. I used the over-the-sink fluorescent fixture to provide enough light for the camera's auto-focus sensor, and snapped a few dozen shots at various water-drop points.

Check out the results on my Flickr "Experimental" series. [2007 CC LReznicek]

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Friday, July 20, 2007
Friday Random Ten: The I Have Taken Leaves of My Senses Edition 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Wet Leaves
  1. Jiggy Joint Feat. Dan Hogan - Careless Whisper (Remix)
  2. Baby Roulette and The Rave-Ons - Black Orchids
  3. Chumbawamba - Outsider
  4. Flat7 - Smile (Robin Guthrie Remix)
  5. Cut Chemist w. The Meters - Hey Last Minute/Motherlode feat. Biz Markie
  6. Rubettes - Sugar Baby Love
  7. Brainstorm - Digitally Bright
  8. Wolfsheim - Underneath the Veil
  9. Duran Duran - Girls on Film
  10. Dionne Warwick - Always Something There To Remain Me

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Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Rosenwald Hall, University of Chicago 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Rosenwald Window 2

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Tuesday, July 17, 2007
So It Goes 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
So It Goes

It seems to be a tradition at the University of Chicago to place stones on the innermost curls of these ironwork bars; this time someone must have commented on the regularity of their appearance.

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Monday, July 16, 2007
No Surprise Here... 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
American Cities That Best Fit You:
80% Chicago
65% Philadelphia
60% Boston
55% Los Angeles
55% New York City
Which American Cities Best Fit You?

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Tuesday, July 10, 2007
farkleberries Classic™: How To Remove An Old Chicago City Sticker 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

If you're one of those people that displays a column of ancient Chicago City Stickers on their windshield - because it's easier to replace the windshield than remove the darned things - here's a relatively easy way to remove them without smashing the glass. Note to July City Sticker thieves: sorry, this method will not yield you an intact city sticker to sell on the black market. You will need:1) Very carefully, starting at the old sticker's upper corner and holding the single-edged blade at a narrow angle to the windshield glass, peel away the sticker in small sections. Place the sticker bits on a paper towel and discard. They're very sticky, but somehow the majority of the sun-hardened gluey backing will remain on your windshield. This is where the solvent comes in.

Note: the City Sticker has an "X" cut into its center, designed to make it virtually impossible to peel off a previously-applied sticker in one piece. Bad for thieves, but also inconvenient for car owners.

2) Generously dampen a section of paper towel with the Goo Gone™, and swab (don't rub - yet) at the adhesive remaining on the glass for about one minute. What you're doing right now is softening the hardened adhesive into a jellylike substance. Wait a few seconds, then use a dry section of the paper towel (or a fresh one) to rub away the old adhesive. When properly softened, the adhesive should stick to the paper towel and come off the glass in little stringy rolls. Repeat process if needed.

3) Rub the now-clean glass with a fresh paper towel, and you're ready to apply your new City Sticker. Sure, the designs through the years are interesting, but did you really want your car be a Chicago City Sticker Museum?




Cooling in Crown Fountain 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Cooling Off in Crown Fountain in Chicago

Chicagoans cooling off in Jaume Plensa's Crown Fountain sculpture in Millennium Park, on the hottest summer day of the year - so far. I love this shot because everyone, especially the children, appear immersed (pardon the pun) in their own joyful experience of the water.

[CC 2007 LReznicek on Flickr]

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Monday, July 09, 2007
Summer Training 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 


Things at the Thorndale CTA "L" station in Chicago; looking up. Hey: if you were a hundred years old, you'd have some cracks, too.

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Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Tuscan Farmhouse Gate, September 2004 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
talamone-italia-gate

We had flown to Italy that fall for our friends' wedding, and while the region was in the midst of a heat wave and drought, the villages of Talamone and Orbetello were still a delightful adventure. This was the first time I'd set foot in Europe since my family left in the late 1960's. I found something about the view through this gate mesmerizing: it almost appears to be a recursive image. [On Flickr, CC LReznicek]

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Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Fence-Tree Fusion 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
tree-fence-fusion

Given sufficient time, even the inorganic and organic meld.

[Georgetown, DC. CC 2007 LReznicek, on Flickr]

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Monday, July 02, 2007
The World's Fastest Non-Airborne Toilet 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 


When you've got to go, you've got to go. Some like to go faster than others, and the going doesn't get much faster than this.

[via Neatorama >> Gadget Road]

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Sunday, July 01, 2007
Have It Your Way, Unless You're a Vampire Peacock 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
I blame The King for this senseless New York City peacock murder:
NEW YORK (AP) -- A peacock that roamed into the parking lot of a Burger King in New York City was beaten by a man who insisted it was a vampire. Animal control officials in Staten Island say the bird was beaten so fiercely that most of its tail feathers fell out and it had to be euthanized.

The seven-year-old male peacock wandered into the restaurant parking lot and perched on a car hood last week. Charmed employees had been feeding it bread when the man appeared. A restaurant worker says the man grabbed the bird by the neck, hurled it to the ground and started stomping it. She says when he was asked what he was doing, he responded, "'I'm killing a vampire!"'

Employees called police, but the man ran when he saw them.
Poor peacock...of course, the crazy bastard man was lying. Who the hell kills a vampire by grabbing its neck and stomping on it? If he stabbed its heart with a wooden Chicken Fry, his story might have some credence.

UPDATE: Maybe it was this guy.

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