Artwork and Politics

We're hunting for artwork for our institutionally white walls.

We've put up an Almost Famous poster and ordered a very cool, very film noir Veronica Mars poster:



Dan and I are big TV/movie people and wanted to find artwork reflective of us and our tastes as opposed to just slapping up something generic like a Parisian cityscape or a black-and-white image of a mountain.

Now, I'm trying to find cool typographical art (we're both writers. This only makes sense) and something for the kitchen that relates to food without being:

A) Cutesy in that faux country farmhouse way
B) An advertisement for alcohol.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of song lyrics printed in bold-colored cardstock. Something like this:



I think it could work.

On a more political note, I've noticed Republicans been making a lot of snide comments about Barack Obama's "celebrity" status. According to them, celebrity status should be vilified. Well, I'd like to bring something to their attention. Ronald Reagan was not only an actor, but president of the Screen Actor's Guild. I.E. -- a pretty big celebrity.

A little less hypocrisy and bullshit goes a long way, guys. Just sayin'. Oh and speaking of bullshit, regarding McCain's vice-presidential pick, Sarah Palin?

Bwahahahahahahahahah!

I can't wait to see Joe Biden eviscerate her in the debates. Ms. Palin doesn't stand a chance.

Hot child in the city, running wild and looking pretty

I have this thing for cities. A crush....only, at this point, I'd consider it a full-blown love affair.

I love buildings. New monoliths going to toe-to-toe with classic architecture. Concrete meeting cobblestone. I love looking up and seeing birds reflected in windows. I love buses and taxes hurtling by at a breakneck pace, pausing just long enough to let out a stream of obscenities punctuated by a blaring horn.I love-love-love the smell and taste of street food. A $2 slice tastes better to me than a gourmet meal anywhere. I love the people -- multi-colored people with multi-colored lives. It's a good reminder that while we're different, we're actually more the same. Hell, I even love the way tube stations smell (although, this applies solely to the London Underground seeing as I hate the way SEPTA stations smell. Sorry, but that heady scent of urine really doesn't do it for me).

And I love street art. Everything ranging from elaborate graffiti to messages scrawled in Magic Marker to stencils and stickers.

There's something so honest and egalitarian about it. I also love the idea of opening up the entire city as your canvas. My city. My canvas. My message.

I discovered this website -- Written on the City.

Photographs of street art from all over the world -- London, Austin, Tehran, New York, Madrid. Some examples are funny, some are pithy and some are just plain stupid but I love the fact that people all over the world have something to say, something to contribute...and they do.

Check it out. Hopefully, you'll like it as much as I do. You can also check out more amazing street art on Flickr (this is one of my favorites).

Oh and things like this make me fall more and more in love with Philadelphia every day: