Really Pointless Sidewalk

Sidewalk Ends, Brownsville TX, ca. 1999.

I took this in Brownsville, Texas, in about 1999. My caption, written on the back of the printed photo (below), is "? Wheelchair-accessible lawn."

The quality leaves much to be desired, since it's a scan.

P.S. Happy National Coffee Day! Please just remember to use a reusable mug and buy shade-grown, organic, fair trade whenever possible. Also, support your local roaster =)

Mr. Yuk Ghost

Mr. Yuk/Pac Man Ghost, SF, 2011.

This graffiti ghost reminds me of a cross between Mr. Yuk and one of the Pac-Man ghosts (Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde). His sour expression is perhaps a reaction to the foul smell of the water treatment plant next to which he resides. Even the smell of fennel in the foreground isn't enough to overpower the smell of treated water going back into the Bay. He floats on an I-280 freeway piling at the Channel Pump Station at the head of Mission Creek -- well, actually, the Mission Bay Canal -- in San Francisco. 

The Channel Pump Station itself has some pretty cool tile work (although the phrase "lipstick on a pig" comes to mind). Click to zoom...

Channel Pump Station, 2011.

Initiating the Weekend Mode

The Cocktails Concept, Bruno's SF, 2011.

 Whether "Cocktails" are your thing or not, Friday is a good day to initiate your own weekend mode. Take a longer route home. Read. Touch the Earth with your hands or feet. Drink in some sun. Get a massage. Pet an animal. Get a haircut. Check out surf reports. Play sports. Watch sports. See live music.  Cook something new and don't fear failure. Do a crossword. Contact an old friend. Spend time with family. Make a new acquaintance. Follow one of your established routines, but break another.

Get outside and try to observe something that's changed since last time you were in a park. Or go to a park and make a focused observation that you'll notice is different next time you return. Share it with someone, or log it in your journal. You will be happy that you did! (I promise)

In addition to the concept behind the word, I feel like the festive font used here is worth sharing. This word appears on the façade of Bruno's, a Mission nightclub that seems to have been a fixture here since cursive was invented. Their website claims that they are SF's "most unique nightclub", which seems hard to back up. But, they have been around for over 60 years, and apparently they still have what it takes to bring Kiefer Sutherland in the door for his movie premieres.

USA Shed, Rural Illinois

I took this on the way to my friends Brian and Diana's wedding in Peoria, IL, a few years ago. I was to be usher. I was in a bit of a hurry -- enough that I got a speeding ticket on the way -- but luckily not enough of a hurry to pass this shed without a photo-op. ("Photo of a run-down shed for your blog? Priceless.")

I spent about 45 minutes early this morning trying to find where it is in Google maps. I scrolled through miles of aerial photographs of highway, to no avail. But, it's more about the journey than the destination, right? While attempting to locate this barn, I found lots of cool patterns in corn and soybean fields. I saw lots of shadows cast by billboards. I found a dump in Tonica, Illinois. I found what I think is a cell or radio tower near Oglesby. 

But I should have taken notes. I don't know where this shed is. I wonder how often the owner re-paints his or her tribute to Old Glory on the tin roof of this dilapidated structure.

USA Shed, rural Illinois, 2008.