Wise words on Fulham Road

Barnaby Capel-Dunn writes about wise words on Fulham Road. Read them. And try to find the florist’s signboard with Google Maps. It can be done.

Ballpark design

From the podcast 99% Invisible, an episode about the design of new stadiums ballparks: “In the Same Ballpark.” Mark Lamster, an architecture critic, quoted therein:

“They all have the same DNA, they all kind of look kind of the same, except the whole idea is that each one is idiosyncratic and individual. It’s a tall tale.”

Stefan Hagemann, this one’s for you.

A sardine cartoon

At George Bodmer’s Oscar’s Day: sardines on the road.

A voter-suppression effort, rerouted

From the Chicago Tribune:

A letter from the panel President Donald Trump formed to look into alleged voting irregularities finally has arrived at the Illinois State Board of Elections after first being sent to the wrong office.

Last week, Trump’s Election Integrity Commission sent a letter to election authorities across the nation seeking voter roll data that includes name, address, birth date, the last four digits of Social Security numbers and voting history going back to 2006.

The letter arrived Wednesday at Secretary of State Jesse White’s office. Many states’ top election administrator is the secretary of state, but the State Board of Elections handles those duties in Illinois. White’s office sent the letter to the the state elections board.

Here is yet another example of the new administration’s failure to employ people who understand the workings of the institutions that the administration seeks to undermine. A Google search for who is in charge of elections in illinois points to the website of the State Board of Elections. From a page on that website:

Illinois law currently provides that Illinois’ centralized statewide voter registration list is not available to any person or entity other than to a state or local political committee for political purposes or to a governmental entity for a governmental purpose. Private information, such as driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of a [S]ocial [S]ecurity number are never provided to any entity.

The Tribune reports that at least forty-four states have refused to turn over at least some of the information requested. Among those states: Indiana, whose former governor, Mike Pence, heads the commission with the Orwellian claim to Election Integrity. If it doesn’t go without saying, there is no evidence of widespread “voting irregularities” in Illinois, or in any other state.

Brief Interviews with an apology

[Photograph by Michael Leddy.]

I took this photograph (and you can pretty much guess where) because I liked the combination of plain materials (trash bag, notebook paper, marker) and extraordinary rhetoric: an explanation of what’s wrong (“Out of order”), an apology (“Sorry”), a helpful hint about how to proceed (“Use another one” — and notice that delicate euphemism “one”), an expression of gratitude (“Thank you”), and a smile. How could I not agree to use another one, right?

It was only when I saw a thumbnail of the photograph on my desktop that I recognized an uncanny resemblance. As my friend Marjorie would say, “It’s weird”:

 

The smaller you go, the more pronounced the resemblance. It’s weird:

 
Related reading
All OCA DFW and signage posts (Pinboard)

Bryan Garner on rules and writing

“When it comes to supposed rules of writing, it’s good to know what’s at their foundation”: Bryan Garner on writing and rules, those to follow and those to ignore (ABA Journal).

Two related posts
Bad advice and misinformation : Ending a sentence with it

A thought for these days

Clickety clack, clickety clack,
Somebody’s mind done gone off the goddam track.

Rahsaan Roland Kirk, from the recitation “Clickety Clack,” recorded live at the Keystone Korner, San Francisco, June 1973. From the album Bright Moments (Atlantic, 1973).

The Fourth

[“Hartford, Wisconsin, Fourth of July.” Photograph by John Vachon. July 1941.From the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. Click for a larger flag, cone, and sign.]

A Chris Christie “Footprints”

"Footprints in the Sand," New Jersey-style. #ChrisChristie #Beachgate pic.twitter.com/hbaMG0DU2Y

— Sarshimus P (@snoodmonger) July 3, 2017

Our daughter Rachel’s husband Seth is a very funny guy. This tweet is his. If you like it, please share it.

[Puzzled? Context here.]

“Oração”

“Oração” [Prayer], music and lyrics by Leo Fressato, performed by the composer and A Banda Mais Bonita da Cidade [The Most Beautiful Band in Town].

A thing of beauty is a joy since 2011. I’m late to the show: in the last six years, “Oração” has had nearly twenty-seven million views on YouTube.

Here’s some background on the song and the band. And here are the lyrics, in Portuguese and in English translation.