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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
farkleberries Links du Jour 177: The Your Number Is Up Edition 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 

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Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Wisconsin: Steck Liquors 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 


Wisconsin has an interesting way with alcohol. One dram shoppe we saw this weekend (which I unfortunately didn't get a picture of) was appropriately named the "Booze n' Go." This establishment, Steck Liquors - located in Whitewater (home of UW-Whitewater) - proudly proclaims the store has been "celebrating the 21st Amendment since 1933."

The store's marquee puts none too fine a point on it: "GRADUATE THE SAME WAY YOU STARTED WITH A KEG"

Ah, Middle America.

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Virginia: Slick Willie's Hot Steamed Crabs 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 


As seen in Warrenton, Virginia: please don't ponder the name of this post too closely.

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Illinois: Dirty Fish Bathroom 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 


As seen at Moraine Hills State Park, in McHenry, Illinois.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2007
farkleberries Links du Jour 176: The Life's a Gas Edition 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
[Image of the stupendous "Gas Mask Shower" from Chris Dimino's website. His Cuckoo Clock styled after the "Here's Johnny!" scene in The Shining is pure genius.]

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Monday, May 21, 2007
The Hermaphrobike 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Seen on 59th Street on the University of Chicago Campus.
Tricked-out wheels or performance art? Hedwig homage, perhaps?



UPDATE: there must be some kind of freaky bicycle cult at the University of Chicago; today there was a modified orange bike with reveresed handlebars locked up at the same location, and the "Hermaphrobike" was gone.

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Thursday, May 17, 2007
"If It Plays In Peoria..." 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Is apparently rather true. Turns out that Illinois is...
...the most average state, according to an Associated Press analysis of data from the Census Bureau.

Illinois is the fifth largest state, with a big city in Chicago, rolling countryside in the south and a lot of sprawling suburbs. And it has Peoria, which, it turns out, really is a barometer of America's preferences. Many companies continue to use the city in central Illinois as a test market, taking literally the adage about how things play there.

"Illinois has always been a mirror of America," said state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican. "With all due respect to South Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire, they are not reflective of the overall American population." The AP ranked each state on how closely it matched national levels on 21 demographic factors, including race, age, income, education, industrial mix, immigration and the share of people living in urban and rural areas. The rankings were then combined to determine the state that best mirrors the country as a whole. Illinois was followed by Oregon, Michigan, Washington and Delaware.
The least average state? West Virginia - too old, too white, and too rural to accurately reflect the American Melting Pot today. NPR has a detailed audio report on the ranking. Time to break out the Sufjan Stevens CD?

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Thursday, May 10, 2007
Friday Random Ten - The Lazy Jamestown Company Quadricentennial Da-Queenz-In-Da-House Edition 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
So, purely by coincidence, I will find myself in one of America's oldest settlements this weekend - Jamestown, Virginia is celebrating its 400th anniversary, and the bro-in-law is graduating from college very close by (that's the coincidence). Guess who else is coming?

Yes, Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II is planning a visit for the quadricentennial as well, as well as (reportedly) the President and Veep in Tow. Needless to say, it will be a royal traffic jam to say the least. Secret Service. Her Royal Guard. Thousands of Drunken Grads. Let me say it again: it will be historic.

I guess Queen Elizabeth II didn't find George W's faux pas about her alleged attendance at the nation's founding too offensive...anyhoo, here's what I'm listening to:
  1. XIII. Století -"Elizabeth" (no, that one's not random...ha.)
  2. Concrete Blonde - "Still In Hollywood"
  3. John Lennon and Yoko Ono - "Cleanup Time"
  4. James - "Come Home"
  5. Brazilian Girls - "Lazy Lover"
  6. Stars of the Lid - "Broken Harbors (Part 2)"
  7. Beastie Boys - "In 3's"
  8. Tangerine Dream - "Phaedra"
  9. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - "Let It Bleed"
  10. Apoptygma Berzerk - "You Keep Me From Breaking Apart"




Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Yes, You Can Put A Sow In a Dress 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
If you've driven around southern Illinois and thought you saw something strange by the roadside - say, a dead animal dressed in human clothing - you may have been neither drunk nor hallucinating:
(AP) EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. For the past several weeks, drivers near Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville have been noticing odd things about some of the roadkill on the sides of the area's highways. Some of the dead possums and raccoons have been dressed in pet or human baby clothes and have had their claws painted with nail polish. The carcass of a deer has been adorned with gold paint.

The culprit is SIU-Edwardsville graduate art student Jessica May, 24, of West Lafayette, Ind. In an interview with the Belleville News-Democrat, May said she is not an animal rights activist; she is just interested in seeing if people would give more thought to the animals if they were somehow given human attributes. [read full article]
Now, that's my kind of performance art prank. I've never done anything this radical, but I've come close (putting hats on inanimate objects, rearranging sign lettering, that sort of thing...I won't admit to any specific acts. That would spoil the fun. :) )




Thursday, May 03, 2007
Friday Random Ten: The World Has Turned 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Haven't posted one of these in a good long while; I'm due:
  1. Human Sexual Response - "A Question of Temperature"
  2. Saint Etienne - "Cool Kids of Death"
  3. Magnetic Fields - "Deep Sea Diving Suit"
  4. VNV Nation - "Genesis"
  5. Nik Turner - "D-Rider"
  6. Cansei De Ser Sexy - "This Month Day 10"
  7. Bebel Gilberto - "So Nice (Summer Samba)"
  8. Weezer - "The World Has Turned And Left Me Here"
  9. Mike Oldfield -"Cook's Tune"
  10. Army of Lovers - "Hurrah Hurrah Apocalypse"
You can get a better idea of my musical spectrum at Last.fm.




Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Pit Bulls on Meth 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 
Violent pit bulls: a bad thing.

Methamphetamine: also a bad thing, probably much worse than pit bulls.

New Zealand officials say Pit bulls on meth may have been responsible for the mauling of George, a Jack Russell terrier who bravely stepped in and saved five children from the rampaging dogs. From the Taranaki [NZ] Daily News:
...[I]nvestigations yesterday by the Taranaki Daily News have revealed a horrifying new dimension to the menace of fierce dogs. Stratford animal control officer Kieran Best says he's heard of methamphetamine (P) being fed to pitbulls, making them more aggressive and very unpredictable. "I understand it commonly happens in Rotorua. I haven't seen a dog on P, but I've heard about it from drug squad police at conferences." While he had not heard of P being given to dogs in Taranaki, "if it's happening elsewhere it's quite possible it could be happening here. The pitbulls I've had dealings with are naturally aggressive because of the type of people they are with. They keep pitbulls around because they don't like visitors, and one can only presume they have something to hide, that they are into crime and drugs. [read full article]




Tuesday, May 01, 2007
farkleberries Links du Jour 176: The Delicious-N-No-Dishes Edition 
 
by Lenka Reznicek [permalink] 

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