Tuesday, May 29, 2012

don't drink 22 packets of sugar


quick, does the little girl below heed the warning of the poster above?  she's just holding the bottle for her brother on the left, right?  of course.  all little girls are already made of sugar and spice, so no need to...


oh, well, okay.  soda bottle 1, obesity crusaders 0.


but there's a glimmer of hope.  the adult responsible for her clearly has a "please, dios, how do i stop her?" look on her face.

Friday, May 25, 2012

big brother is watching

i used to be grateful that this screen was installed here by metro.  it used to post info on the trains' next departure times.  even if there isn't much i can do about when that's gonna be or whether i can still catch the next one, it's still nice to know.  that info is still posted, with one absurd caveat.  when the camera mounted to the side of the screen detects a passer-by, the screen posts images from the camera with text saying "WE ARE WATCHING!"


in other words, just when someone who might need the train information is in a position where they might be able to read it, it's taken away by a reminder from big brother as to just what an asshole he is.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

pigeons and a burrito


pigeon 1: there can be only one!  haha!  this burrito's awesome.  stupid humans.


pigeons 2-5: can be only one my ass.  this burrito IS awesome.

Friday, May 18, 2012

brain teasers, pt 4

sarah silverman's studious niece or lesbian cowboy?

asian businessman or yakuza muscle?

two complete strangers or a collaboration between stevie nicks and korn in the making?

mac fanboy or "revenge of the nerds" starring jon hamm?

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

olympic training

i had forgotten that the olympics are this summer.  all i had to do to be reminded was watch tv.  the ads, they are a comin -- a lot of them, very often.


but, i didn't need tv to tell me that the olympics was comin.  even before the deluge of advertising started, there was this bus driver.  clearly, he's training during his layover.

Friday, May 11, 2012

trash porn, pt 12

doesn't anyone ever think of how the train fences feel?  i mean, here they are separating a danger zone from the public, anyone-might-wander-in spaces and what appreciation do they get?  it gets blazing hot in summer and, even here in sunny southern california, cold overnight lows during winter.


luckily for this particular fence, someone was so kind as to put a hat they no longer needed on it.  there, all better now.  should keep from getting pneumonia today.  and don't forget to take your medication.  the pill bottle's right there.  yeah, i know the beer can's mostly empty, but you can have the rest.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

smoker's defiance

in one of the more confrontational scenes i've witnessed on the train, the man on the left below came on board the train (which, by the way, waited for him unnecessarily) with a lit cigarette.  when someone told him cigarettes aren't allowed on the train, he replied, "give me a ticket then."  people were visibly covering their faces to avoid inhaling the second-hand smoke.

defiant smoker on the left, slightly worried but mostly indifferent man on the right
he took offense to a woman in the corner.  i didn't hear her say anything, so it may have been a look or maybe she was fanning the smoke away.  "you gonna give me a ticket?  you broke-ass bitch.  you best get some security for you muthafuckas."  the profanity-laced tirade went on.  maybe i'm cynical, but i got the feeling that despite his bluster, no one was really scared of this guy.  the feeling i got was, "fine, dude, have it your way."  perhaps some of the nurses on board were thinking, "when you're in the hospital, we'll remember you."  probably not though, as nurses tend to have gentler souls than my vengeful ass.

well, no one did give him a ticket.  i sort of get the feeling his entire life is a ticket and just one more might make him snap.  anyhow, he got off at the next stop.  maybe due to his smoking, the mile between stops was too much for him to do on bike. 

the lit cigarette and busted up handlebar pad of winners


i fully understand this guy's life is probably shit and, as dave chappelle told us (well, me anyway), he ain't got no therapist, so he takes to booze and cigarettes.  what i don't get is he didn't take a single drag off the cigarette while he was on the train.  smokers, correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't that just wasteful?

i thanked the man who spoke up as we got off the train and another woman getting off said some kind words to the one that had the tirade directed at her.  crisis both binds and breaks.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

coat (as) hanger

most people have coat hangers.  some people do dry cleaning.  but this is the first i've seen of dry cleaning on coat hanger on coat as hanger.


Friday, May 4, 2012

candy(land) bike

it's raining out.  i hear a swishing coming down the platform.  probably just somebody with squishy, waterlogged shoe soles strolling down.  as it turns out, it's actually the sound of the bike below.

those beads around the spokes are free to slide up and down.  as you can see, the ones in the top half have slid to the center and the ones on the bottom half are hugging the rim.  there's some sound during the actual sliding back and forth, but mostly, it's when they hit the rim or the center that there's sound.  but, as you look at the picture, the sound isn't the most interesting thing about this bike, is it?



customized rear splash guard, itself housing more reflectors than most bikes have in total, all arranged in primary and secondary colors.  the beads themselves following the same color scheme.  side-view mirrors.  mounted lamp.  saddlebags (hard to see, but trust me, they're there).  it all speaks for itself.  this is clearly the bike of a young person, most likely a girl, probably one just discovering the wonders of her mom's friendship pins.


wrongo!  it's just a dude going to work.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

parenting

i'm not the world's foremost expert on parenting.  so is my initial reaction that maybe this kid's a little too big for the stroller he's in one shared by people who are?


i mean, it looks comfortable and i wish i had someone to push me around, but don't his shoulders make him look uncomfortable?  even so, he's got a book open, he's behavin hisself and he's not obese, so i shouldn't complain too much.