• U.S. Post Office, Allston, MA - 2002-04-16

The day after Tax Day... and all these forms and instructions lay unused all across the country. How much could we save in taxes and federal spending if this weren't the case?

 

• Craft shop, Somewhere in Maine - 2002-07-28

Is my mind in the gutter? Have I been looking at too many Victoria's Secret catalogs? I don't know, but when I saw this 'craft' angel, I saw two very large boobs, and not two over-stuffed arms. Sorry.

• Provincetown, MA - 2002-06-14

So tasteless, but I had to laugh. Krsna with a (rather large) spliff-flute?!?

• Public Art, Chelsea, MA - 2003-04-15

Life imitates art imitates life.

• Jewelry Vendor Booth, CNE, Toronto, Canada - 2001-08-30

This International Pavilion vendor had a lot of very nice reproduction Ancient Egyptian art (along with the regular schlock). But I found this particular brilliant gold-painted piece to be a mammoth abomination. Why? Cut into the side of this "pyramid" is a representation of the Temple at Abu-Simbel, built into the side of a cliff wall; nowhere near a pyramid.

• Kryptonite Lock, Allston, MA - 2001-09-18

Either someone doesn't understand they're supposed to lock something TO the signpost... or someone figured out how to defeat this famous brand without breaking the lock!

• Bicycle, Allston, MA - 2001-08-27

D'ya suppose this person is expecting a flood?

 

• License Plate Frame, Cambridge, MA - 2001-09-24

A choir of one? Not quite up to the par of the Harlem Boys Choir (Boys Choir of Harlem), I guess.

• Utility Pole, Muzzey St. & Massachusetts Ave., Concord, MA - 2000-08-25

Somehow I think that having all this exposed wiring in this uncovered circuit breaker box isn't a good idea.

• Fresh Samantha Delivery Truck, Boston, MA - 2000-08-17

Look! On the dashboard of this health drink company delivery truck: Is that a... Coca-Cola product (and a McDonald's lunch bag?).

 

• Anonymous Client's office, Newton, MA - 2000-09-21

Sometimes I have difficult clients. Like this one, who refused to believe that this might be a leading cause of their network problems... the insulation on these wires has been mostly worn off from being tangled up underneath a high-traffic area rug.

• 14 Grover St., Malden, MA - 2001-07-19

Yup... this is the ugly shit-hole my wife and I used to live in. We had to move out after only 10 months (and we were being VERY patient) of dealing with a jerk landlord, unfinished apartment, unsafe conditions, and a hyperactive two-year-old upstairs neighbor with a big, aggressive, pot-smoking father. It had been just over a year since we moved out when I passed through the ol' neighborhood. I noticed that the front yard (such that it is) is once again thoroughly overgrown with massive weeds and Sumac bushes, and garbage strewn about the property, as usual. As you can see, the property is for sale now. I saw the sign a couple months ago, and today you can't see the sign at all, due to the overgrowth. Just goes to show the landlord still doesn't give a shit about the place. [note, again, that this is strictly my opinion.]

• Convenience Store Calendar - 2000-03-05

I can understand why, with some months being particularly long, that monthly calendars are sometimes printed with dates doubled-up during the last week. But I fail to see why on this daily wall calendar it is necessary to share one page among two dates. Looking at this calendar, one can't tell if it is actually Saturday or Sunday. Was it perhaps the calendar manufacturer's to save users from having to tear off extra pages after being away during the weekend? Then why include Saturday or Sunday pages in the calendar altogether? Why not make one page for each Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so users would only have to rip off one page on Monday?

• Lonestar Restaurant, Saugus, MA - 2000-08-12

Reading material in the lavatory. Why? I don't know about you, but as a guy, if I had enough time to read more than a paragraph while using the urinal, it would be time to see the doctor. What's more, I never see newspapers or other reading material framed like this inside toilet stalls. Now THAT's where I think they would be more useful: Something more interesting than "for a good time, call..." and in a location where people generally require more time to sit and can contemplate the news. And always the sports pages, too. D'ya think folks might be interested in more than sports, especially at places that aren't specifically "sports" bars? Okay, ladies... what do they put in women's lavatories at restaurants and pubs? Not the sports pages above urinals, of course.

• The 99s Restaurant, Fresh Pond Circle, Cambridge, MA - 2000-09-23

I certainly can understand why this furnace is here, in the outer lobby waiting area of this restaurant. It gets pretty cold in this otherwise unheated vestibule, even in September. But I was astonished to realize that this piece of ordinary heating equipment, was left with ductwork, wiring, motors and fuel controls exposed, and access panels unsecured. This could really be a safety hazard to customers-- especially children--and guests of the adjoining hotel.

• Manhattan, New York, NY, June, 1998

I can't quite classify this as truly absurd, but I have made a peculiar observation: For some reason I often see nail or hair salons next (or very close) to Asian restaurants. I first noticed this in Manhattan, where I passed about five such paired businesses. Hmmm?

• 1998-10-11

A Donald Duck "Koosh" hybrid: I'm not sure what you're supposed to do with this toy, but it looks to me like he's swallowed a nuclear bomb (as might be photographed by "Doc" Edgerton .0001 seconds after detonation).

• Adventure Falls, North Conway, NH, 1987-1989

I did a double-take when I saw this one. I thought this was a family theme park, but from this angle, it's a bit risqué.

• Texaco Station, Brookline, MA, August, 1994

"Hey Fred, how did you know we'd strike oil here?"

• Sony JumboTron® Times Square, New York, NY, August, 1994

Maybe according to the manufacturer, only three dead pixels is not a defect? (an Apple PowerBook joke)

• Doral Golf Resort, Miami, Florida area, 1998-09-09

Proof that palm trees aren't real.

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