It was behind-the-scenes night at the Field Museum in Chicago and the anthropology department had staff members displaying some of its wares. Here was my chance to ask the question that had been bothering me for years: What had happened to the shrunken heads? Like the baloney people and fetuses at the Museum of Science and Industry and the Ivan Albright paintings at the Art Institute, the Field Museum’s shrunken heads were a crucual rite of passage for generations of Chicago kids. A staffer answered that they were in storage — at least they hadn’t been thrown out. The museum
Continue readingRIP Don Knotts, comic genius
Don Knott’s death Friday at 81 is a great loss, even though Knotts’ real talent will hardly receive its just appreciation amidst the inevitable references to Barney Fife and Mr. Furley. Although the Barney character certainly deserves the accolades it receives, Mr. Furley encapsulates much of the tragedy that dogs brilliant comedians. Thus Knotts achieved a kind of perfection on the Andy Griffith Show, and amazingly extended it further in a series of movies that Hollywood unfortuately pegged to the children’s market. But those movies, forced like many of the Marx Brothers’ best films into a fundamentally compromised format, allowed
Continue readingSignage Update
I’ve added some new signs in the course of reorganizing how I present them. I’ve mostly separated Chicagoland signs from the rest of the world and I’ve reorganized most of Western Avenue Art Gallery signs into geographical pages rather than thematic. This makes it far more likely that I’ll get signs posted, since it makes them much easier to post. Check out the four new groups: Western Avenue Clark Street Pilsen Varieties
Continue readingGreat store name
S. Tice-Lewis contributed a great name, Cum Park Plaza in Haw River, N.C.
Continue readingThe 47th Street Art Show
47th Street is one of Chicago’s great signage thoroughfares. Here are some recent finds.
Continue readingBert triumphant
Check out this page of fabulous Bert mania: http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=1843531&thread_type=voteresults
Continue readingMore pictures
More new or upgraded pictures from some favorite locations:
Continue readingFresh look at classic gyros
New pictures of the great — now destroyed — gyros signs from Hellas Gyros on Bryn Mawr, “Home of the Gyros.”
Continue readingPut the X back in Xmas
Whatever the War on Christmas poseurs may say, Christ is all over the place in the holiday season. But how many blow-up Xes do you see on front lawns? How often do store clerks says “Merry Xmas”? And why don’t we call it Xgiving, too? It would make for a more efficient season and add more variety at the same time.
Continue readingXmas Gift of the Year
This great embroidery is by Anne Weitze.
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