Eyelid Enhancements

Now that I've got my exhaustion-induced eyelid twitch back, the world looks all strobelighty half the time. It's like a free show. Everywhere I go looks kind of like a nightclub. It's a relief to leave behind the staid, stationary-objects world.

In another noted incidence of comically nonstandard English,
a sign in the foyer of Patrick's apartment building exclaimed:

"Attention!
We will be appling
anti-roach get.
We need U to be there."

Appling? Is that related to bobbing, like for apples? Get is a noun?

Boringly, it seems that applying gel, of an anti-roach nature, is what they're getting at here.

Big Apple Fest, NYC.

Serial Killer Impersonators Overwhelm W'burg

On a walk this weekend, Shara and I passed a guy I pointed out was a dead ringer for Ed Kemper (specifically this photo), the serial killer I find most interesting. This dude wasn't actually wearing the jumpsuit, but he definitely had the moustache and around 7 feet of height. I gawked shamelessly at his retreating back, and had to explain to Shara who Ed Kemper was. The likeness was stunning, but given that this photo was taken well over 25 years ago, and Kemper is securely esconced in a CA prison, it was certainly not him. If there were a market for that sort of thing, he could make a killing as an impersonator. If you were hoping for a rim shot, or some sort of metatextual commentary about puns or something, don't hold your breath.

After reflecting for a moment, Shara thoughtfully remarked that "the '70's serial killer look is pretty big in this area." She has a point.

Clear: God's favorite color

Perhaps trying to cheer me up in the midst of new-semester distress, the same guy who apparently relishes tidying up around here, and wished me a happy weekend on Thursday, recently remarked on how smart God is. As evidence, he cited that God made air, which we can't see, and water, which we can see through. I gather that the more transulecent or invisible something is, the smarter you have to be to have created it, or the more weighty it is as evidence of God's influence. Now I can't stop thinking about stripper shoes and ice sculptors and saran wrap, and their relative holiness.

Skilled Craftsquirrels

I've just gotten back into town from my Ocean City, MD adventure with the Smith Bro.s and Co. OC (as it dubs itself) and all the states I drove through to get to and from it provided such a dizzying buffet of things to think about, I don't know where to start. My most recent observations:

On the drive home last night I saw Artisans' Bank for the first time, and I am so weak for their logo, a nut-clutching squirrel. Reproduced here. Squirrels are my favorite animal, and, as I learned from a paperback at my feet on a long car-trip, they are also my "spirit animal." I double checked, and yes, artisans are skilled manual workers or craftspeople. I'm not sure what the analogy is to squirrels, who have many fine features, but are not noted for their skills, so much. They don't, like, study and practice stuff, which is what you do to get skills. But whatevs, I feel warmly toward squirrels, and nuts, and nut-clutching squirrels, and artisans, and money. I'm happy to see all of them in one building.

Across the street from each other on some expressway or other I saw "High's Food Store," and "Super G Food & Pharmacy." So if you're high, or a Super G, and you want food or pharmaceuticals, there's a clearly marked place for you.

At the end of dinner, immediately before our sojourn back Brooklyn-way, Chris (or "Christmas," as I called him throughout the trip) explained that applesauce is the new beef. Take note, this guy knows from food.

Oh, and I actually saw, with my very own (admittedly ocean-damaged) blinkers: the famed DeVry Institute. It's not just on TV, it's also in New Jersey. In a real building with a sign and everything.