JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

An almost full moon. Its reflection shimmering on the waves of Lake Ontario. A local architectural gem. A fine destination for a stroll on a summer night. If only I had brought a tripod... I'll leave it to Squiddity to describe the evening's walk from Warden station down to the R.C. Harris Water Treatment Plant . Images that weren't 100% crystal clear, combined with the beauty of the site, provided an opportunity for fun with Photoshop. All images taken August 21, 2008.

Ever have an image or commercial burned in your brain for years and never found a way to prove that your mind isn't playing tricks on you? Until some random browsing on YouTube this weekend, I was almost convinced that Duke the Penguin was a figment of my imagination. Blame Toledo, Ohio for this brainworm. My suspicion is that I was waiting for other family members to finish trying on clothes at the Woodville Mall branch of Sears and watched a loop tape of a Duke ad several times to kill time. Five minutes is all I needed for this cool-lookin' dude to forever etch himself on my brain cells. These memories surface whenever I see the "Poochie" episode of The Simpsons , as Poochie and Duke share similar delusions of being "cool". Stevie Wonder utilizes a tune from the soundtrack of The Woman in Red for the public good. Lingering impression from childhood viewings: all the "no"s. Perhaps the drunk driver was driven to overindulgence that ...

Massachusetts Route 2 (Mohawk Trail) Since I had never been through northwestern Massachusetts, the route back to Canada followed Route 2 through the Berkshires. The scenery and hilltop views were beautiful, especially along the Mohawk Trail segment of the highway. Few cheesy tourist traps playing on the area's native heritage lined the roadside. The road's winding nature tossed my travel time estimations out the window, which was OK thanks to hotel reservations in Montreal. I stopped for a stroll in downtown North Adams and found this vintage theatre marquee. The Mohawk operated as a cinema for fifty years , then as an event venue before shutting in the early 90s. Efforts to restore the theatre have been going on for years. Once I reached Albany, I hopped onto I-87 and stayed on it most of the drive to the border. The exception was a short jaunt through Lake George to find one of the three remaining Howard Johnson restaurants (which may be down to two if the u...

Howdy all. Before taking the next six months to tell tales from the eight states (seven for Mom) my family wandered through last week, I figured these billboards from Detroit would make a nice, quick entry to ease my way back into posting. The first sign was located near Tiger Stadium, whose life appears to be ending after a decade of neglect. Strategic sign placement to hammer the point? Sign two was found north of the Ambassador Bridge at the upper end of the massive reconfiguration of the bridge interchanges with I-75 and I-96. While bemoaning cussing in general, the sign may refer to grumbling from drivers navigating the detours around Mexicantown. God should have suggested the W.C. Fields method of cursing , which involves muttering a name that sounds close to a swear word, such as "Godfrey Daniels!" Photos taken August 2, 2008