Friday Fun Post: Chicago Neon

Yes. This is exactly what you think it is.
Image from Time Out Chicago.

A few weeks ago came across this swell collection of Chicagoland neon signs. I've been thinking about doing a midwest roadtrip sometime in the next couple years, shooting architectural relics and old school signage around Illinois and Michigan. Now I definitely know a few places I'll have to see...

Enjoy the show: Chicagoland’s amazing neon signs (Time Out Chicago)

Something feels different this time

"Something feels different this time.": This quote from Fareed Zakaria's Time essay, "How to restore the American Dream," rings true to me. I recommend this piece for its honest and thoughtful assessment of our nation's contemporary fears and potential. A few excerpts:

What's happening today: "The middle class, many Americans have come to believe, is being hollowed out. I think they are right."

Why is the middle class getting hammered? "You can divide the American workforce in many ways, but any way you slice it, you see the same trend. People who get paid a decent wage for skilled but routine work in manufacturing or services are getting squeezed by a pincer movement of technology and globalization."

One part of the solution: Grow our economy by investment, not by goosing consumption: "The only good jobs that will stay in the U.S. are jobs related to knowledge and innovation." And, yes, changes to our tax system must be part of the plan. But the Republican mantra of "cut 'em all" suffers from near criminal cluelessness.

The time to act is now: "America needs radical change, and it has an 18th century system determined to check and balance the absolute power of a monarchy. It is designed for gridlock at a moment when quick and large-scale action is our only hope."

Read the entire article: How to Restore the American Dream

Three Nights in Bangkok

Getting there... I'm working through my notes to post the story of our summer adventures in Asia. Now I can share our three nights in Bangkok. Of course if you haven't yet read the full story - including our time in Shanghai and Hangzhou - you might want to start at the beginning.

Oh, and don't forget to check out our two videos. One's dedicated to the 2010 Shanghai World's Fair; the other video summarizes the entire trip.

Coming next: Chiang Mai and Phuket!

Season of the Witch

Just a couple weeks until Halloween, my favorite holiday. Jenny and I started building a big prop for this year's show. I'll talk more about our porch theme in coming posts. But for now, just imagine what we can do with three large pieces of sheet metal and a couple metal vents. Rolling our gear out of Home Depot this past Saturday, we were stopped by a woman who asked whether our metal was corrugated. I had no clue. She then asked what were building. We told her in a matter-of-fact way, but she didn't believe us. We have 13 days to create a multimedia show that involves music, video, photos, live theater, and lots of blood (both red and green). Yep, it's time to break out the PG-13 signs (PG for "Pretty Gory").

The rainy season has begun, earlier than normal this year. And the drizzle has cast a pallor over our little corner of California. I gave a speech yesterday at San Jose's First Congregational Church and experienced one of the more intellectually stimulating chats I've had all year, even with my somewhat pessimistic thesis. We talked about the impact of world's fairs on city planning, exploring the dark side of all that idealism, all that hubris. It's my second presentation for these folks, and they asked if I'd return next year. One called me "Mr. October." We had a lovely time together, especially when a fellow shared a notion - the design replaces the divine - that may show up in my next book. It's a shame that this sort of visceral exchange can't be found in what passes for political debates these days. The midterm elections promise to be a bloodbath, not just for Democrats but also for decorum.

Creepy behavior abounds, especially among the bright lights of the Tea Party. Republican senatorial Rand Paul refused to shake hands with his opponent after a debate that featured accusations that Rand once tied up a woman and forced her to worship "Aqua Buddha."

At an Alaska town hall meeting, private security goons working for GOP senate candidate Joe Miller responded to a pesky news-website editor by roughing him up and placing him in handcuffs. The rent-a-cops justified their shenanigans by explaining that the forum, which was held in a public middle school, was "private property."

Then there's New York's race for governor, where Carl Paladino has forced Democratic rival Andrew Cuomo to debate the Anti-Prohibition Party candidate, who also happens to be the former madam on Eliot Spitzer's speed dial. Paladino: this is the guy who explained his choice to email sex-videos involving horses thusly: "If the worst I ever did was send out some non-politically correct e-mails, my God."

Oh, and loony senator wannabe Christine O'Donnell is airing commercials assuring the voters of Delaware that she's not a witch.

Trick or Treat!

Friday Fun Post: GVSU LipDub

This is one of the most remarkable videos I've ever seen. If you've not seen it, take a look. You'll figure it out soon enough: It's a goofy lipdub. Yawn. But keep looking and remember: this is one shot (at least until the end). One amazing tracking shot.



Difficulty seeing the video? Point your browser here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn5L3gsCHgQ

Signs of Europe

During my summer trip to Germany and Austria, I focused on big ideas and big activities: the Salzburg Seminar, the chance to experience Cafe Culture in Vienna, and the opportunity to deepen my relationship with good friends. But I also concentrated on details such as street art - the kind of stuff that lots of folks tend to ignore.

Along with that ephemera, I also found myself snapping pix of strange and humorous signs (most notably, Austria's surreal Freedom From Fear advertisement for the Polizei). Problem is, I haven't had an excuse to share them. Thus, for no particular reason, here are some goofy signs I saw in Europe. Set your snark detectors on high!

German exclamation points
make child's play look mildly disturbing. Like,
aren't those the girls from The Shining?

Yes, I agree. It's a bad idea to enter the railway facilities.
But why make the guard look like Gort from
The Day the Earth Stood Still?

Maybe it's my Puritan heritage speaking, but sometimes a sign can be
a little too iconic, you know?

Warning: This elevator occupied by slackers with nothing to lose!

Big Brother is watching. Watching you drink!

Not here. Not here. Nope, not here either. And God help you if you stop here!

(Photographs by Andrew Wood)

Better Cities, Better Lives: World’s Fairs and New Urban Design (1851-2010)

This Sunday I'm giving my second talk at the First Congregational Church of San Jose, United Church of Christ. Here's the abstract:

Having explored omnitopia as a framework for understanding public life - studying its early 19th and 20th century origins, analyzing its practices in airports, shopping malls, hotels, and casinos, and contemplating its implications for human communication - this follow-up presentation concentrates on world's fairs as exemplars of omnitopia.

Dr. Wood presents a tour of the great international expos in world history, including the 1851 London Exposition, the 1893 Chicago Fair, and the 1939-40 World's Fair in New York, showing how these sites of cultural production inspired transformations in public life that resonate today, change-agents that include television, suburbanization, and globalization.

This talk will also highlight the current world's fair in Shanghai - the largest international exposition in history - and invite analysis about California's hopes to mount Expo 2020 in Silicon Valley. Additionally, throughout, the role of church in these phantasmagoria of commerce and technology, both then and now, will be a site for vibrant conversation.