Signs: “Church” — warning signs?

October 13, 2013

Our drive through central Texas and the Hill Country a few days ago provided some good fun and much needed break, though our destination was a memorial service for a friend who died very prematurely.

Kathryn noticed these odd signs first.  I’m not sure of the purpose.  These are in the information sign mode, the yellow diamonds used to warn drivers of hazards ahead.

The hazard?  “Church.”

"Church" warning sign in Burnet, Texas

“Church” warning sign in Burnet, Texas

One might imagine these signs are posted to warn drivers on Sunday.  About noon, when these churches’ services let out, the roads around them may be filled with people who are only too happy to go meet Jesus right now — so watch out! and drive accordingly.

Texas offers all sorts of strange things to those willing to drive the state’s highways, and see ’em.

More:

4 Comments | Humor, Signs, Texas, Travel | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

A sign to take seriously

September 7, 2013

jordanfhiggins More good advice. #NASASocial

jordanfhiggins More good advice. #NASASocial

Sometimes signs just don’t command the attention they should.

2 Comments | Humor, NASA, Safety, Signs | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Signs: Pancho Villa Highway? Zapata Road?

August 15, 2013

Another from Don Knuth’s collection of diamond signs, this one collected in Mexico:

Mexico diamond warning sign, from Don Knuth's collection

Location: N16°55.642′, W96°21.618′ photo taken 2008.02.26 in Oaxaca, Mexico by Paula Darwent Near entrance of Mercado de Artesanias (Calle Reforma), San Pablo Villa de Mitla

Perhaps this sign is supposed to warn us against water on the road.  Or mirages on the road.

But when I saw it, I thought of this:

Pancho Villa, by Ricardo Fernandez, at the Brooklyn Art Project

Pancho Villa, by Ricardo Fernandez, at the Brooklyn Art Project
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa, or by his nickname, Pancho Villa

Or maybe this one:

General Emiliano Zapata in 1914

General Emiliano Zapata in 1914

The sign is in Oaxaca, an area that rallied around Zapata.

There’s gotta be a story behind that shotgun blast spray on the sign.  Even more appropriate to the stories of Zapata and Villa, yes?

I wonder what the sign is warning us about?

More:

4 Comments | Mexico, Signs, Travel | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Signs: Cthulu’s return? Don’t kick jelly fish?

August 12, 2013

Don Knuth at Stanford University collects signs.

Actually he collects photos of signs, especially the diamond-shaped informational-warning signs.

What in the world is this one?

A sign photographed in Australia, in the Knuth Collection.

A sign photographed in Australia, in the Knuth Collection.

Your nominations for captions welcomed in comments.

More, sorta — or maybe, “tangentially related” is a better description:  

Donald Knuth at a reception for the Open Conte...

Donald Knuth at a reception for the Open Content Alliance, hosted by the Internet Archive. Taken October 25, 2005 by Jacob Appelbaum in San Francisco. (Wikipedia image)

10 Comments | Art, Humor, Signs, Travel | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Signs of Life: The bowtie on the Paul Simon Highway

August 7, 2013

Driving through Illinois around Chicago — as we had many opportunities to do while younger son James attended Lawrence University in Wisconsin — one can be delighted and amused by the signs marking parts of Interstate 55 as the Paul Simon Freeway.  Simon’s rise up through editorial ranks of small newspapers, to state legislator and U.S. Senator was fueled by his great common sense and very studious habits when it came to history and public policy.

You can’t put all that on a road sign.  But you can put a picture of his bowtie there.  Honestly, we laughed out loud when we saw one for the first time.

I never could find one of the signs where it might be safe to pull off get a good photograph.  Surely someone in Illinois would have one, right?

Just try to find a good picture of these great signs.  I finally found this one on Flickr:

Paul Simon Freeway Bowtie Sign on I-55 near Edwardsville, IL_DSCN9495c - Flickr photo by Wampa-One

Paul Simon Freeway Bowtie Sign on I-55 near Edwardsville, IL_DSCN9495c – Flickr photo by Wampa-One

Paul Simon, the Illinois politician, was a great guy.  Search for photos of the Tom Landry Highway signs in Texas, you’ll get a boatload of close-up shots.  Come on, Illinois:  Somebody go get a photo of those “Paul Simon Freeway” signs worthy of the man, and post it on the ‘net!

U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D-Illinois. Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, D-Illinois. Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

 

3 Comments | History, Humor, Signs, Travel | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Signs of life: Tufte’s signs that ought to be

August 7, 2013

From Edward Tufte:

Edward Tufte, Road Never Ends, print on canvas, 29 ½

Edward Tufte, Road Never Ends, print on canvas, 29 ½” x 29 ½”, edition of 3

Philosophy on road signs.  Will it catch on?  Has it caught on already?

3 Comments | Art, Humor, Life, Signs | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

Strange signs of wildlife

May 10, 2010

A good sign of wildlife recovery. Photo by Amanda Holland, all rights reserved.

A good sign of wildlife recovery. Photo by Amanda Holland, all rights reserved.

A cousin-in-law spends a few months working on condor recovery in California.  We get photos from time to time.

This one isn’t particularly spectacular, but I love the irony, and the levels of meaning.

4 Comments | Biology, Bird Watching, Environmental protection, History, Humor, Natural history, Natural resources, Science, Signs, Wildlife | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Ed Darrell

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