The Duck House in Kent, Ohio

Ceramic duck dressed as Barney the Dinosaur in Kent, Ohio.

There’s a house on Stow Road in Kent, Ohio that has a ceramic duck in front of it. Normally, this would be nondescript. However, these fine people are kind enough to keep their ceramic duck clothed year round. When I was a graduate student, he wore many different outfits–from suits to puffer jackets. When I was in Kent a few weeks ago visiting my dissertation director Mack Hassler, I drove by the Duck House to see if they were keeping up the tradition, and I was very happy to learn that they are! On that sunny day, the duck was dressed up like Barney the Dinosaur.

Remember to Look Up if You Are Down Low for Norman Mailer Street Art

Norman Mailer subway car street art mural on 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn

This street art mural referencing Norman Mailer and his essay “The Faith of Graffiti” from Esquire (May 1974) can be seen from a low angle on Third Avenue, but it is probably even nicer at eye-level (albeit for only a moment at speed) from a car cruising down the raised I-278. Randy Kennedy writes in The New York Times (Oct. 26, 2010) with more info about the artists responsible for it who are known collectively as Slavery.

Tiny Flower, Big Bulldozer

Tiny five petal purple flower poking out from a part of an

When I visited my folks a few weeks back, I saw this tiny flower of the Wahlenbergia genus poking out from behind part of my dad’s Allis-Chalmers HD10 bulldozer.

The Allis-Chalmers HD10 is a mid-century crawler that can have put in decades of service with proper care and maintenance. This HD10 has been parked for a few years, but it should be fire up with a new battery and minimal work.

Allis-Chalmers HD10 crawler tractor three-quarter view

Allis-Chalmers HD10 crawler tractor side view

Allis-Chalmers HD10 crawler tractor front view

Allis-Chalmers HD10 crawler tractor back view

Bomp

I wasn’t around when someone recently tore up a section of road in front of my apartment for subterranean work. They then filled it back in, repaved it, and repainted the top portion of letters warning of the road’s speed hump just out of frame. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately by design), “BUMP” was transformed into “BOMP.”

Brooklyn Street Art Mosaic: “Love is Easy But I’m Busy”

At the corner of Third Avenue and 20th Street in Brooklyn, a street artist installed the mosaic above on the concrete basis of a support for the raised I-278 road surface. In its center is a cool white dog that looks a little like Mr. Peabody but wearing sunglasses and smoking a cigarette. It features the text, “Love is easy but I’m busy.” I can only imagine the challenges presented by installing mosaic street art versus the more widely used paint, stencils, and stickers. Also, on this particular day, someone had thrown out chunks of bread on the sidewalk around the support, but there were no creatures around feasting on it.