Falling Ice

It's winter. Yay! Yayyyyyy.

Okay, so it's winter. I work in downtown Chicago. It seems like every skyscraper in the downtown area has some variation of the signage above.

These signs have always bothered me. Essentially, they are saying, if you choose to walk here, you may get hit in the head by a hunk of ice falling off our ginormous building. Don't say we didn't warn you!

Is this supposed to be helpful? Is it some attempt at avoiding legal liability for pedestrian injuries or property damage? Do buildings have any liability for damaged sustained from falling ice? How many building-ice injuries are sustained on a yearly basis?

Are these warning signs an indication that one should find another path to a destination? These signs don't seem to have that effect. People don't take them seriously. Also, given the fact that every building seems to put these signs on their sidewalks, I think it would be largely impossible to find a clear non-falling-ice path.

There Is Nothing I Like Better Than Causal Dining

They bring the food, and you eat it.

How wonderful is that?

Muvico, The Theater Chain For Swingers

So, this weekend MizSplotchy and I went to see the new Sam Raimi movie Drag Me To Hell.

We ended up going up to Rosemont to the Muvico 18 Theater, a palatial looking newish building that is quite visible from I-294.

It was nice to go to a chain that I hadn't been to before. I tend to build up resentment for a given movie chain if I see too many movies at their theaters (hello, Kerasotes!).

The experience was enjoyable enough, minus the fucking obligatory commercials that we moviegoers are forced to endure. The movie itself was a lot of fun, and I'm really glad that we went out to see it.

The thing I liked most about our moviegoing experience was the Muvico logo:



Wow, the anthropomorphized film reel is really giving it to the star, isn't it?

(previously)

NOT AN EXIT

Be Forewarned: The Tip-Top-Tap Is No Longer Open

I had admired the signage of the Allerton Hotel on Michigan Avenue for quite some time. And who doesn't love the alliterative name of its swanky lounge?

A couple weeks ago I was in the neighborhood, so I spontaneously decided to get a drink there (actually, I had spied it from the Hancock Observation room and it kindled in me the desire to down some al-kee-hol from a dizzying height).

Sadly, the Allerton's concierge informed me that the lounge was closed in the 1960's.

WHY IS THE TIP-TOP-TAP NOT STILL IN EXISTENCE?

IS ONE BAG ENOUGH???

Cockola

We're visiting my folks in Springfield.

When we're here MizSplotchy and I usually try to go see a movie on one of the nights, after the kids have gone to bed.

This weekend was no exception. Last night we saw the new Indiana Jones movie, which was pretty much what we expected it would be.

All the movie theaters in Springfield are owned and run by Kerasotes Theatres.

We were purchasing treats prior to the movie, and this was the image on the soda fountain facing toward the moviehouse patrons.



Note the Kerasotes "K" overlaying the Coca-Cola logo, which combined displays the very appealing name "Cockola". And of course the icing on the cake is the sign's entreaty to "Taste the Magic".

Some Good Old-Fashioned Non-Negative Space Signage

So, last night I parked my car on Irving Park Avenue for my meeting with the actors of my short film. I was a little early, and I had my camera. This restaurant was right by where I parked.

I've never eaten here, but I always have loved the look of the place, ever since I first set eyes on it years ago.

I love the name "Orange Garden". I love the font they used on the letters. I love the neon sign. It all adds up to a nighttime feast for the eyes.

peedway

This photograph was taken during a recent hunt for negative space signage.

Negative Space Signage Photos Sought!

Howdy,

The unexpected attention directed at my sister blog has prompted me to create yet another blog about a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I have been meaning to create it for a while, and finally got around to doing it.

The new blog is called:

The Signage Of Negative Space

There's a particular kind of sign at night that I really love -- I just think it's aesthetically pleasing.

I'm hoping to take advantage of the geographical dispersedness of my blog readership and ask that readers take photos in their regions and submit them to me, so I can start amassing a nice collection of negative space signage.

Hopefully, my first post on this new blog gives a good enough description as to the kind of sign I am talking about, but if not, I have a few more examples I am going to upload over the next couple of days.

Please, consider keeping a lookout for these kinds of signs and forward them on to me.

For a post using your picture, I would like to include:

1. Photo of negative space signage
2. The address of the signage in the photo
3. Photographer credit
4. Any interesting information you would like to share about the photo or location.

I don't want to use any pictures that are already floating around on the web -- I prefer that the pictures are taken personally, for inclusion on the site.

So, if you have the inclination, please send me photos, addresses, and comments to the email indicated in my profile.

Thanks for any help!

Advertising I Can Get Behind

For the most part, I absolutely despise advertising. I hate it.

Okay. But, let's say it was an old ad painted on a building.

Keep talking...

Let's say it was an ad in disrepair, where the paint was peeling, and in its dilapidated state it somehow conveyed an improbably-pleasing aesthetic.

Hmmmm... I'm listening...

And how about the ad is for a product that, despite being heavily marketed at the time, died a sad, uneventful death, so much so that most people who glance at this ad today have no clue what the product's purpose was?

I am so there!!!!

A Like Cola ad seen on a building on the north side of Ogden Avenue, on the western edge of Brookfield near the cross street of East Avenue.