Friday, July 8, 2011

Yes, We're Open

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What Does "Mene Mene" Mean?

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia:

"Words written by a mysterious hand on the wall of Belshazzar's palace, and interpreted by Daniel as predicting the doom of the king and his dynasty. The incident is described as follows: Once when King Belshazzar was banqueting with his lords and drinking wine from the golden vessels of the Temple of Yhwh, a man's hand was seen writing on the wall certain mysterious words. Frightened by the apparition, the king ordered his astrologers to explain the inscription; but they were unable to read it. Daniel was then summoned to the royal palace; and the king promised him costly presents if he would decipher the inscription. Daniel read it "Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin" and explained it to mean that God had "numbered" the kingdom of Belshazzar and brought it to an end; that the king had been weighed and found wanting; and that his kingdom was divided and given to the Medes and Persians (Dan. v. 1-28)."

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Here's a nearby family:
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And here we are again:
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Sunday, July 3, 2011

More Skeletons

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HA! I walk by here all the time, and didn't notice this until today. This skeletal wrist looks a little more well preserved than the previous. I wonder whether it's slightly newer.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Modica Way, Central Square, Cambridge

There's an alley in Central Square where graffiti is encouraged. Every so often, it's painted over and a new set of artists start over. Here are some of my favorites from today: IMG_3664 IMG_3666 IMG_3667 IMG_3668 IMG_3669 IMG_3670

Friday, July 1, 2011

Skeleton!

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(Cambridge, MA., September, 2010)

We had a long, snowy winter, and unfortunately, this one is now almost gone.

Beauty and the Beast, Inman Square

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BEAUTY's still there, but she's a bit faded. And the house looks even closer to collapsing. When I walked by again this January, this guy was there. I think it's alchemical symbolism, but I need to do more research.
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Snowbank Graffiti

It snowed and snowed and snowed in Cambridge this winter, leaving us with very impressive snowbanks. These were taken in January around Inman Square.

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Mailbox Ogre

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(Cambridge, MA., September 2010)

I'm generally not including stickers on this blog because there are just so damn many of them around. This one is an exception, because rather than being a pre-printed sticker, the artist has drawn an Andre-esque ogrey guy on a U.S. Mail priority mail sticker, and then stuck it on a mailbox.

Dinosaur Stencil

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(Cambridge, MA., September 2010)

This little dinosaur was on a sidewalk at the intersection of Brattle and Mason St., and it now but a ghost.

Cover your eyes, children!

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(Cambridge, MA., June 2011)

I've been walking by this for a couple months, and it makes me giggle. If I remember correctly, there were originally two identical stenciled suggestions, within a few hundred yards of each other. While this one is in front of a private residence the second was on Harvard property and was probably scrubbed away quickly. (It wasn't in front of a women's dorm.)