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.
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.”
Y and I saw this futuristic Vixen RV on a recent walk through our Brooklyn neighborhood. Designed by Bill Collins, a distinguished car designer and former Delorean engineer who passed away in 2023, the Vixen has a rear-mounted engine with its radiator hidden behind the side air scoops in the back. I’ve never been inside of one, but I’m guessing it is a quieter ride than RVs with front mounted engines and has better gas mileage thanks to its aerodynamic shape and covering (on the top and bottom). This Vixen’s owner also has a cool license plate, which was also pictured in Road and Track–can you guess it’s meaning before clicking through?
If I had a nickle for every time I’ve said, “Now, enter your username . . .”
I found this battlefield art mural near the corner of 9th Street and 3rd Avenue in Brooklyn. The Google Maps’s street view shows it in better days in 2013.
The mural is on the side of the Michael A Rawley Jr. American Legion Post 1636’s building, which also features a blue historic marker on the front of the building stating: “MARYLAND HEROES: Here lie buried 256 Maryland soldiers who feel in the Battle of Brooklyn, August 27, 1776.”
This August 25, 2012 story in The New York Times gives some details about the battle and the uncertainty surrounding the location of the soldiers’ mass gave.
James Schmitt notes in this blog post that an archaeological survey of the (formerly) vacant lot next to the American Legion Post in 2017 didn’t turn up any human remains.
While time has obscured where these soldiers rest, they are remembered for bravely covering the American retreat.
