May 03, 2007

Irksome Artwork.

I should've known better than to try and read AND shave AND meditate upon the porcelain throne all at the same time. It's the stupid inconsequential things that create the most trouble during what should be a happy time devoted to mindlessly cutting hairs off your face and staring at the ceiling. But no.

I had to notice something colorful promising a cheerful dash of historical interest.

Stupid me.

ANYway, we have a little dorm refrigerator tucked in the dead space behind the door to our bathroom. This might sound weird, but the bathroom is long and narrow, so the things that create a fine mist of bacteria- and funk-laden water are a long way away, and there was a space just large enough for a little cooler to hold soft drinks and such, and it would have been wasted space anyway, so why not set up a minibar? Right? Sure.

So, sometime in the last few days, Miss Reba had purchased a can of peanuts, and absentmindedly had left the can on top of the refrigerator--right there where it could be seen. Not just any can of peanuts, either--it was a special authentic 100th Anniversary Collector's Edition can with special authentic artwork on the front celebrating the birth of Mr. Peanut. Number 4 of 4, it is.

It looks like this (image lifted from some exceptionally hopeful eBayer)--

times square peanut.jpg

Hmm. Pretty colors! Snazzy graphics! Words! Something snapped, and so I gathered my electric razor and the can of peanuts and made the trek down to the other end of the room to have a seat and see what all there was to see.

Shave, shave, relax, read, look at can. Old timey Mr. Peanut. New York-ish buildings. A subway. Old timey car. A street sign.

What?

Oh, come on, now. WHO DREW THIS DRECK!?

Look--right there at Mr. Peanut's left hand, at the street sign:

times square sign.jpg

I never realized Times Square was at the intersection of Times and Square.

And it looks awfully familiar--right down to the little directional arrows:

HaightAshburyStreetSign.gif

Look, I realize there's artistic license, but good grief, this isn't even good enough for a learner's permit! Silly crap like this from artists and illustrators just irks me to no end, and it just ruined my usual quiet time of reflection and vegetation.

I guess that'll teach me to try to bring something new to my morning routine.

Posted by Terry Oglesby at May 3, 2007 09:59 AM
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