Vanishing Vernacular: Western Landmarks collects Steve Fitch's important photographic record of iconic imagery in the western United States: hotel neon, drive-in movie theaters, even ancient petroglyphs. Read the rest
As posted to YouTube by Nate Gowdy, this gentleman appropriates a counter-protestor's sign and makes strenuous efforts to rip it up. But it's a fancy thick one and he lacks the strength or technique to do the job. Watching him wither under the sarcastic commentary and recording cameras of nearby libs will never not be funny.
You've worked so hard, you're so close," a woman filming the painful failure is heard saying. "You've been doing a lot of arm work at the gym, right? You know, this is a very educated city, there are a lot of engineers in this city… you can get a lot of help."
He's definely not mad online about his experience, too.
And to think he'd spent so much time building up the strength that failed him! [via emotional support turtle]
Antifa was indeed watching. Read the rest
In Montreal, Quebec, Gérald Collard and the Atelier Neon Family create intricate works of neon. Here's how they make that magical glow. (via Uncrate)
This is a problem as I will be flying there shortly to visit my family.
Hoping it's just a software glitch on the Chicago Transit Authority station sign.
(via r/softwaregore) Read the rest
The Welcome Your Neighbors sign is being manufactured by printers across America, as the idea, started by Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA, spreads across the country. Read the rest
Bloomberg Asia journalist David Ramli tweeted this photo of a bicep-mounted anti-pollution filter for joggers, displayed on the wall of a Beijing subway station, the day after Beijing posted record pollution levels, 24X the WHO recommendations, with 24 other cities issuing red alerts. (via JWZ) Read the rest
Last weekend, your social media feed might have featured this photo of beggars sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai, in front of a Trump Tower billboard emblazoned "There is only one way to live. The Trump Way." Read the rest
Battle is a town in East Sussex, England. Battle has a railway station. A pilfered road sign directing travelers to Battle Station is currently £23.95 on eBay. "This deserves a good home" writes Ben Goldacre. Read the rest
Credit: Lloyd Alter
(Thanks, Fipi Lele!) Read the rest
The staff of Half Moon pub in Herne Hill in south London maintain a pseudonymous list of customers who are permanently banned from the premises; their colorful descriptions are a thing of beauty. Read the rest
Mr Yogato, a DC frozen yogurt store, has a pretty rad set of discount offers for the discerning Seinfeld fan, Thriller zombie-dancer, and/or Scottish accent enthusiast. Read the rest
There's nothing I love more than public signs (I've photographed over 2500 of them!); they reveal the things that people think other people don't understand. Read the rest
See sample pages from this book at Wink.
Justin Green is the author of the classic Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary, an underground comix autobiography about growing up Catholic and OCD. Sadly, creating brilliant underground comix doesn't provide the most stable of incomes, so in the mid-1970s – with a family to support – Green went into business as a commercial sign painter.
Sign painting, or "commercial brush lettering," evolved over hundreds of years and is probably the earliest form of advertising. But by the 1980s – when Green was seriously devoting himself to the business – it was being eclipsed by computer type and cheap printed vinyl signs. Master sign-painters were aging out and few young craftspeople were taking up the brush, so Green started his monthly comic strip "Sign Game" (collected here) to record some of this hard-won knowledge before it disappeared.
The early strips tell how Green found his footing; including the one-thousand hours required to brush a perfect "O." In later strips he requested techniques and stories from veteran brushmen. They offered priceless knowledge like how to mix your paint so it stays put under the hot sun or how much arm-twisting to apply when a client lets an invoice sit for too long. Some of these sign painters became recurring characters in "Sign Game," and a few died during its run leaving these strips – and a few fading signs – as their final memorial.
Like a great sign, Green's strips are dense with information, lettered in classic historical styles, yet easy to follow. Read the rest
Dumb Cuneiform aptly labels the nature of its work lest anyone be under any illusions here.
Here's how it works: Just send us a tweet or text (use the text field in the order form) We’ll carefully translate it into cuneiform We'll stamp it on an actual clay tablet and mail it to you. Favorite jokes? Amazing pickup lines? Your 2-star review of last summer's blockbuster? KEEP IT FOREVER.
$20 a go. They should at least insist on it having been publicly posted! [via JWZ]
Previously: Aerial signposts point to Scientology's sacred text storage facility Read the rest
Someone has put high-quality signs on park benches in a fancy British town to mock its contemptuous treatment of locals, especially the poor. The signs have been removed, on the grounds that they might be "offensive."
Rebellious plaques have been situated on benches in Chester with the intention of highlighting Cheshire West and Chester Council’s 'draconian plans' to introduce a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO).
Two street artists have placed the plaques on benches across Chester city centre 'in good grace' to raise awareness of the plight of homelessness in the city… One of the plaques put up by the artists say: “If you shut your eyes for more than ten seconds whilst on this bench, you may be deemed asleep, and risk facing an ASBO. By Order of Public Space Protection Orders under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.” A more humorous plaque says: “This bench is dedicated to the men who lost the will to live whilst following their partners around the shoe shops of Chester.”
The key quote is from a local official, Maria Byrne, who said: “We have removed the plaques from five benches and although they may appear humorous, some people may find them offensive."
But without, of course, specifying who.
Rebellious plaques situated on benches in Chester [The Chester Chronicle via JWZ]
Someone in JWZ's building put up a "THIS BUILDING IS MONITORED BY CLOSED-CIRCUIT CAMERAS" sign in the lobby where only the residents and their guests go, so he's been updating it with messages like "FEAR THE UNKNOWN - MONSTERS ARE REAL." Read the rest
Some funny stuff from this year's burn. Read the rest
