Recycled Art

From Pittsburgh artist, Toby Atticus Fraley…

Built from: vintage space heater, truck light housing, vacuum cleaner parts, misc.

Built from: vintage truncated picnic jug, vintage vacuum tubes, roller skate wheels, scrap wood and misc.

Historical Maps

Pittsburgh, PA

I’m totally loving this new site, What Was There, that joins Google Maps with historical photos of different cities, counties and states.  The team at What Was There sums up their mission best,

The WhatWasThere project was inspired by the realization that we could leverage technology and the connections it facilitates to provide a new human experience of time and space – a virtual time machine of sorts that allows users to navigate familiar streets as they appeared in the past.

The site depends on contributors, which allows for everyone and anyone to add a little bit to history. I think this can mean a lot for someone when, maybe, remembering their favorite hang out as a kid, or thinking of a place their grandparents used to talk about. The site is not only informative but personal. And, What Was There doesn’t just provide amazing black and white photographs, each image is accompanied by a short write up on the history of the location.

Here are some screen shots of my hometown, Pittsburgh:

Close Up of Pittsburgh, PA

Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, PA

Luna Park, Pittsburgh, PA

Check out the Street View!

Now yinz know not to break the rules!

When you live in an major city there is a sense of community. With your friends and neighbors you conquer the bustling, gritty city streets. You all know the quickest way to get downtown or the best local bar for a cheap shot and a beer. You form a bond with your co-patriots, and this bond comes with colloquial quirks (Yinz?!) and social pacts that all adhere to. One of these social “norms” is the act of reserving what you believe to be your parking spot on a crowded street. If you’re a resident of a particular road or avenue where parking is hard to come by, you can be sure that you will put any inanimate object you come by to hang on to your parking spot, and you’ll be damned if somebody violates this sacred code and steals it. Absurd? Yes. Aggressive? You bet. Let the Parking Wars begin!

With the recent blizzards eclipsing the North East, these rules take on a whole new level of ferocity. There have been several articles in various newspapers around the globe telling tales of renegade parkers – people with no sense of morals or common decency. Those who will toss your chair, orange cone, or kitty litter box aside and steal your spot! Well, some fine residents of Pittsburgh had their own solution in dealing with these delinquents.  Enjoy.