This is not the First Time...

[rain_gryphon]

Someone is funding a prize for non-corrupt African politicians. He obviously means well, and I approve of the fact that it's a private initiative, but if things have decayed to the point where you have to offer politicians a chance at a prize to encourage honesty, the fight's already lost. Besides which, whoever heard of an African dictator being satisfied with $5 million?

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I'm ready for Christmas for some reason. I've currently got my orange Halloween lights up, but I'm already planning for the coloured ones. I really haven't decorated heavily these past couple years, but this time I will.

I bought some green metallic foil for the door today. On reflection, green may prove a questionable choice, since my wreath is purple and silver metal. I may put the green on the outside, and get some red or silver for the inside. I could put the green on the bathroom or bedroom door as well, which would be cool.

I also bought an oval-shaped box of Kleenex, finished in a metallic Christmas theme. Shiny stuff turns my crank.

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I need to clean up the apartment before I decorate. It's cluttery, and none too clean ATM.

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I started in earnest on the Skiltaire body suit today. I crossed some sort of conceptual Rubicon, and took that long-delayed project off the shelf. My leisure time is my own again. It should be done by Millennicon.

And Findra, if you ever actually read these (I've got my doubts) your Bunny head will be done by December :)

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Hamburg, N.Y., at South Park and Bayview, June 5, 1958
It was a Thursday. It must be like 9:30 or 10:00 in the picture. We're looking west here.

Pictures like this fascinate me. They just preserve some otherwise unremarkable moment in time. Who knows what the photographer saw in this? It's well-composed and correctly exposed. I'm guessing he was a professional.

If you go to Google earth, it's all still there, not much changed from 1958. That's the Atlantic station to the left of the intersection. It's turned into something else in the past 50 years, but you can see the concrete patches where the pumps used to be. The pole in back with the transformer on it is still there too - you can see the shadow. There's the house at the bottom of the picture, and the big open field behind the building. The windbreak of trees behind the station is still there.

If anyone ever happens to go to Hamburg, NY, I would dearly love to have a photo of this scene today, from that same vantage point.

http://www.plan59.com is full of fascinating stuff like this, in addition to advertising prints.

Comments

Light Bulb

[stu-ath.livejournal.com]

I think that Prize would be safe all around the world!

Re: Light Bulb

[xolo.livejournal.com]

There are honest men in politics, but the problem here is that the ones swayed by money are lost anyway, and they can get way more money through dishonesty than they can by competing for a $5M prize.