Mindblowing Murals

Yesterday when I went to vote at PS 38 in Brooklyn I encountered some truly Astounding Art in the auditorium. Each painting had a TotallyAwesome Title.

Here's a sampling:

DAZZLING DESERT



How good is that fox-thing, right? Do foxes even live in the desert? Who cares!


HAPPENING HIMALAYAS



Something's happening in these Himalayas, all right. A bad drug trip!!! Look at all those freaky animals!


SPICY SAVANNAH



Me-OW!

The Great Cowscape

"The news came over the radio in the clipped jargon of police officers: "Queens. Loose cow. 103 Precinct. 109 Avenue. E.S.U. reporting a loose cow at the location."

Awesome.

The cow escaped from a slaughterhouse in Jamaica, Queens and the cops caught her and handed her over to Animal Care and Control. They're trying to find a spot for her at an animal sanctuary.

From the New York Times (really!):

Since — by early afternoon — no one had called about the cow or come to the sanctuary to claim her, Mr. Gentles said that the cow would not be forced to return to the slaughterhouse.

“Well, somebody can come and claim her, but in our experience, nobody has come forward in the past and asked to claim their cow,” he said. “We haven’t gotten any calls that someone is missing their cow.”

The police spokesman — apparently as uplifted as anyone about the cow’s new lease on life — said he suspected the cow, by escaping, had acted to save its own life. “I think it’s because it made it out,” he said.

Such a sweet story. I was planning on having burgers for dinner tonight, but now I feel guilty. Drat!

(And sorry for the random images. There are no pics of this cow as of yet.)

Pop in Your Local Mom and Pop for a Present for Mom (WORDPLAY!)

Ez at Creature Comforts tipped me off to the 3/50 Project. If half of the employed population spent $50 a month in local shops, we'd generate over 42.6 billion dollars of revenue for the economy!

I know it's hard to shell out money right now, but I've been trying to shop locally and it feels good to help out merchants in my neighborhood that I've come to know and even consider friends.

Here are a few Mother's Day gift ideas from stores in my neck of the woods. PSST! MOTHER'S DAY IS MAY 10, suckas. If you live in Brooklyn you should definitely come check them out!

SCAREDY KAT
229 5th Ave b/w Carroll and President Sts



You gotta get her a card, obvs. Scaredy Kat has really pretty cards with a wide range of messages and prices. If you think a $6 card is ridiculous OR totally affordable, this store is for you!

ONE GIRL COOKIES
68 Dean St at Smith St



You guys, One Girl Cookies' tiny little cooks are the jam. The store itself is a lovely, blue-and-cream colored place to sit and enjoy a treat, but you can order their goodies online too. Prices for gift boxes start at $29. Totally reasonable!

GORILLA COFFEE
97 5th Ave at Baltic St/Park Pl



I stop at Gorilla every day on my way to work. It's the best coffee I've ever had. Plus, the staffers are the nicest and wear crazy accessories (which leads to me and the fella making up secret nicknames for them like "Map Hat" and "Sequin Beret"). Anyway, I could see a boy getting his mom the screen printed wooden gift box of three 1lb. bags of coffee. It doesn't have a distinct "mom vibe" (i.e. pastels) but if you have a cool mom you could pull it off.

COG AND PEARL
190 Fifth Ave at Sackett St/Berkeley Pl

Cog and Pearl, on the other hand, has a TOTAL mom vibe. (Well, a girl vibe.) Lots of affordable jewelry and one-of-a-kind-seeming housewares. These switch plates are a little pricey at $50, but isn't Mother's Day all about doing something special to make your mom's everyday life a little sweeter? She'd look at it often and think what a great kid she has. Then, when you call her to ask her to do your taxes for you, she won't be as cranky about it. Maybe?