Serveout - More perfectly-timed photos

Last Friday of the month, guys. That means dragging out the stuff I've been saving up all month and serving it out. Here's another grouping of perfectly-timed photos; that (sometimes) unintentional juxtaposition of subjects. Enjoy.

Standin' on a corner...

I follow a guy on Twitter who calls himself @Hobo_Nick. He's a self-proclaimed homeless hobo currently walking across the USA, pushing a cart that resembles an over-sized baby carriage. He set out with no money and little in hand, and makes his way solely on the basis of what people give him (and giving away any surplus to other "hobos" he encounters). He posts his status with the help of an iPod and a solar battery charger, and more than 4,000 people follow his journey.

Recently, he was in Winslow, Arizona, standin' on a corner. Yes that corner, made famous by the Eagle's "Take it Easy" song.

With apologies to the Eagles, Nick sings a slightly different version of the song:

"I'm smellin' on a corner in Winslow Arizona,
I'm such a poor sight to see.
There's a girl, my Lord, in a flat bed Ford,
Hurryin' to get away from me."

If you look carefully at the reflection in the window, you will see the girl and the flat bed Ford. Here's a closer look:

All in all, the corner, and a little park associated with it is a pretty cool move on the part of the Winslow Chamber of Commerce; there's not much else going for the community except nostalgia. Once a stop on the famous Route 66, the little town of less than 10,000 survives because IH-40 did not entirely pass it by.

I remember Winslow for a different reason. Back in the day, there used to be road-side signs featuring a cowgirl leaning against against a placard that proclaimed, "For Men - 200 miles - Winslow, Arizona." The mileage varied, depending on how far from Winslow you were, but these signs were ubiquitous throughout the West. And after following them for hundreds of miles, when you finally got to Winslow, you found that they led you to... a men's clothing store!

According to the Old Trails Museum, "In 1943, Wayne L. Troutner opened a dry cleaning shop. His curvy cowgirl signs were placed all over the country, prompting thousands of curious tourists to seek his place of business. His store sold men’s clothing and shoes, and he even bottled his own men’s cologne, naming it “Essence of 66.”"

I don't know about others, but I was somewhat disappointed when we finally got to Winslow and found we had been somewhat snookered. Of course, I was a teen back then and wasn't even sure what a place advertised "For Men" would be like. Not that I do now, of course. That is, umm, uh... Oh look! There's a girl in a flat bed Ford!

Monday Meanderings - 8.27.2012

Chuy's Hatch Green Chili Festival has not helped my calorie counting. The button probably should say, "We Shall Overeat." In fact, the application I use to track my caloric intake, which posts encouraging notes when you are on track, is now making snide comments, like, "You're kidding, right?" and "I'm sorry, your calorie count is already into September. There's no room for any more input." The worst jab was when I tried to enter the "El Presidente" platter, which among other ingredients boasts two fried eggs. The App just said, "Ewww, gross. Seriously?"

Cooler: There's more warm weather to come - we haven't had that "magic morning" when you step out and know that Summer's really over - but we have had a spell of cooler mornings this past week, which made me desperate to have coffee on the patio, so I lathered up in mosquito repellant the other morning and sat out for a bit. I was so busy checking to see if any mosquitoes had landed on me I wasn't enjoying the moment, so I gave up and came back inside. Soon, soon.

Keeping Austin Weird: "Stikman" has been sighted in Austin. The little street-art dude, sort of a 21st century version of the World War II-era "Kilroy was here" figures, has been gracing other cities for some time; according to a 2008 Washington Post article, the D.C. area had as many as 150 Stikmen underfoot at that time. And the author of the article even talked to a guy, self-identified only as Bob, who claimed to be the artist. Given that the drawings have also turned up in Boston, San Francisco, Ann Arbor, Mich., and, of all places, Wheeling, W.Va., Bob must be well-traveled.And if you don't know about "Kilroy was here" you can Google it here.

Speaking of Street Art: I often see a panhandler on a particular corner with a sign that says "Disabled Artist. Needs help." Of late, he has had samples of his work attached to his sign. He's right. He definitely needs help.

Cruel and Unusual Punishment: If the CIA needs some new form of torture to get bad guys to cooperate and tell everything they know, I suggest making the culprits spend the afternoon in the too-small NTB waiting room, filled with screaming kids, teens on annoying game devices and the TV blaring the latest episode of Dr. Phil. I was ready to confess to anything in 15 minutes, and I hadn't done anything!

I'll bet you didn't know... Phil Collins (yes, that Phil Collins) has the worlds largest collection of Alamo and Texas revolution artifacts.  

I hear a green chili calling me; thanks for dropping by.

About those Legos...

Barb came across these facts the other day. Since Legos have been a big deal with my grandkids, I thought I would share them.

1. LEGO got its name when the founder, Ole Kirk Christiansen, took the first two letters of the Danish words LEG GODT, meaning “play well”, and put them together – quite unaware that LEGO in Latin means ... “I put together”.
2. Approximately 20 billion LEGO elements (bricks) are made every year in the LEGO factory in Billund, Denmark – equivalent to approximately 2 million elements an hour or 35,000 a minute. 
3. The molds used in production are accurate to within two-thousandth of a millimeter (0.002 mm), and the accuracy of the molding process means that only 18 elements in every million produced fail to meet the company’s high quality standard. 
4. A professor of mathematics calculated that there are over 915 million ways to combine six LEGO bricks. 
5. Laid end to end, the number of LEGO bricks sold in a year would reach more than five times round the world. 
6. On average there are 62 LEGO bricks for every person on earth. 
7. The world’s children spend 5 billion hours a year playing with LEGO bricks. 
8. With a production of about 306 million tires a year, the LEGO Group is the world’s largest tire manufacturer. 
9. Approximately 440 billion LEGO elements have been manufactured since 1949. 
10. When the minifigure first appeared, it was decided that its face should have only one colour: yellow and that its facial features should be happy and neutral. Now the minifigure appears in many guises, including Santa Claus, Spiderman and even Steven Spielberg. 
11. There has been approximately 4 billion minifigures produced – making it the world’s biggest population group. 
12. LEGO group is owned and managed by the founder’s grandson, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen – with his children. 
13. There are about 2,350 different elements in the LEGO range – plus 52 different LEGO colors. Each element may be sold in a wide variety of different colors and decorations, bringing the total number of active combinations to more than 7,000.

Mindset List for 2016

Each year since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List, providing a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall.

For this generation of entering college students, born in 1994, Kurt Cobain, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Richard Nixon and John Wayne Gacy have always been dead.

1. They should keep their eyes open for Justin Bieber or Dakota Fanning at freshman orientation.
2. They have always lived in cyberspace, addicted to a new generation of “electronic narcotics.”
3. The Biblical sources of terms such as “Forbidden Fruit,” “The writing on the wall,” “Good Samaritan,” and “The Promised Land” are unknown to most of them.
4. Michael Jackson’s family, not the Kennedys, constitutes “American Royalty.”
5. If they miss The Daily Show, they can always get their news on YouTube. 
6. Their lives have been measured in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds.
7. Bill Clinton is a senior statesman of whose presidency they have little knowledge.
8. They have never seen an airplane “ticket.”
9. On TV and in films, the ditzy dumb blonde female generally has been replaced by a couple of Dumb and Dumber males.
   
10. The paradox "too big to fail" has been, for their generation, what "we had to destroy the village in order to save it" was for their grandparents'.
11. For most of their lives, maintaining relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world has been a woman’s job in the State Department.
12. They can’t picture people actually carrying luggage through airports rather than rolling it.
13. There has always been [pro] football in Jacksonville but never in Los Angeles.
14. Having grown up with MP3s and iPods, they never listen to music on the car radio and really have no use for radio at all.
15. Since they've been born, the United States has measured progress by a 2 percent jump in unemployment and a 16 cent rise in the price of a first class postage stamp.
16. Benjamin Braddock, having given up both a career in plastics and a relationship with Mrs. Robinson, could be their grandfather.
17. Their folks have never gazed with pride on a new set of bound encyclopedias on the bookshelf.
18. The Green Bay Packers have always celebrated with the Lambeau Leap.
19. Exposed bra straps have always been a fashion statement, not a wardrobe malfunction to be corrected quietly by well-meaning friends.
20. A significant percentage of them will enter college already displaying some hearing loss.
21. Women have always piloted war planes and space shuttles.
22. White House security has never felt it necessary to wear rubber gloves when gay groups have visited.
23. They have lived in an era of instant stardom and self-proclaimed celebrities, famous for being famous.
24. Having made the acquaintance of Furby at an early age, they have expected their toy friends to do ever more unpredictable things.
25. Outdated icons with images of floppy discs for “save,” a telephone for “phone,” and a snail mail envelope for “mail” have oddly decorated their tablets and smart phone screens.
26. Star Wars has always been just a film, not a defense strategy.
27. They have had to incessantly remind their parents not to refer to their CDs and DVDs as “tapes.”
28. There have always been blue M&Ms, but no tan ones.
29. Along with online viewbooks, parents have always been able to check the crime stats for the colleges their kids have selected.
30. They have come to political consciousness during a time of increasing doubts about America’s future.
31. Billy Graham is as familiar to them as Otto Graham was to their parents.
32. Probably the most tribal generation in history, they despise being separated from contact with their similar-aged friends. 
33. Stephen Breyer has always been an Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
34. Martin Lawrence has always been banned from hosting Saturday Night Live.
35. The Metropolitan Opera House in New York has always translated operas on seatback screens.
36. A bit of the late Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, has always existed in space.
37. Gene therapy has always been an available treatment.
38. They were too young to enjoy the 1994 World Series, but then no one else got to enjoy it either.
39. The folks have always been able to grab an Aleve when the kids started giving them a migraine.
40. While the iconic TV series for their older siblings was the sci-fi show Lost, for them it’s Breaking Bad, a gritty crime story motivated by desperate economic circumstances.
41. Simba has always had trouble waiting to be King.
42. Before they purchase an assigned textbook, they will investigate whether it is available for rent or purchase as an e-book.
43. They grew up, somehow, without the benefits of Romper Room.
44. There has always been a World Trade Organization.
45. They have always been able to see Starz on Direct TV.
46. Ice skating competitions have always been jumping matches.
47. NBC has never shown A Wonderful Life more than twice during the holidays.
48. Mr. Burns has replaced J.R.Ewing as the most shot-at man on American television.
49. They have always enjoyed school and summer camp memories with a digital yearbook.
50. Herr Schindler has always had a List; Mr. Spielberg has always had an Oscar.
51. Selena's fans have always been in mourning.
52. They know many established film stars by their voices on computer-animated blockbusters.
53. History has always had its own channel.
54. Thousands have always been gathering for “million-man” demonstrations in Washington, D.C.
55. Television and film dramas have always risked being pulled because the story line was too close to the headlines from which they were ”ripped.”
56. TheTwilight Zone involves vampires, not Rod Serling.
57. Robert Osborne has always been introducing Hollywood history on TCM.
58. Little Caesar has always been proclaiming “Pizza Pizza.”
59. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome has always been officially recognized with clinical guidelines.
60. They watch television everywhere but on a television.
61. Point-and-shoot cameras are soooooo last millennium.
62. Despite being preferred urban gathering places, two-thirds of the independent bookstores in the United States have closed for good during their lifetimes.
63. Astronauts have always spent well over a year in a single space flight.
64. Lou Gehrig's record for most consecutive baseball games played has never stood in their lifetimes.
65. Genomes of living things have always been sequenced.
66. The Sistine Chapel ceiling has always been brighter and cleaner.