Just Farts

Here I am sitting in traffic waiting for a red light to go green when I turn my head to the right and spot the above sign. Took me a second to figure out what the sign was saying but the right placement of that street-crossing timer made me giggle on the spot.

Thank God for never leaving the house without my little Sony otherwise I wouldn't have been able to capture such smile-inducing "trompe l'oeil" message. Hooray for Delray Beach!

Cool Florida Warehouse Murals

One of the things that I miss most about being in Rio de Janeiro or even in the American Northeast is coming across expressions of street art in unexpected places. I love graffiti art and unless I am in Miami I don't seem to see it much around where I recently moved to. Everything here looks either very 1920's Spanish architecture or brand new faux-modern constructions, with very little room for cool art. I don't mean "graffiti vandalism" but just cool public sculptures, inventive murals or even a random graffiti tag around a construction site wall.

I was in awe when I spotted this amazing mural by the train tracks in West Palm beach. This block long warehouse on Clare Avenue was completely camouflaged in eye-popping colors and made me pull over and do some illegal "trespassing" to be able to photograph it all the way around. I actually had to walk along the train tracks in a completely deserted Sunday afternoon and I was just expecting some baseball bat-wielding gang to pop up from behind a dumpster and bash me. There is an antique Chinese art store that stores many of their statues outside as you can see and I was surprised that by simply walking behind the building (though I was not really supposed to) you could have access to them - and no one seems to bother stealing them.

After doing some online research I dug some info here in The NY Times:

"Jorge Pardo, the Los Angeles-based Cuban artist, has painted the largest canvas of his career: the 40,000-square-foot facade of a former warehouse at 1016 Clare Avenue in West Palm Beach, Fla. The building, below, is a sales office for 550Q, a condominium being built nearby. Mr. Pardo created the mural on a computer and supervised painters from Sole Scenic in Orlando, who finished it this month."

Bulldog Furry Riding A Harley

Furries seem to be getting bolder each day and will go to any length for social acceptance.

All they want is to blend in people!

Image PB Post

The Armory Art Center Mural

I just happened to drive by past this really eye-catching mural a couple of weeks ago and had to return there yesterday to check it out up close. This on-going project, unfinished as you can see, is the outside wall of West Palm Beach's Armory Art Center and it's a mosaic of ceramic tiles, pottery pieces, mirror shards and found objects.

With over a dozen state of the art studios, more than one hundred course offerings and an annual student population of nearly 3,000, the Armory Art Center is West Palm Beach’s only community art center. Classes are offered in ceramics, jewelry, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography and sculpture.

Topless Fishing Tours In Florida

The Smokin' Em Charters fishing boat, a 44-foot Trojan, was booted from the Fort Pierce City Marina, FL after city officials discovered the fishing service offers an optional add-on: well-constructed female first mates who will do everything a male mate would do, such as baiting the line, pulling in big fish and serving cold drinks, plus - oh yeah - removing their top for an extra US$150. According to their Web site, they charge from US$350 to US$2,000, depending on the length of the trip and destination.

Check out their website for a selection of questionable "beauties" available for hire.

Via The PB Post

Skittles Car

This past Saturday I went to get a much needed haircut at a place not too far from where I live here in Florida. As I pull up in the parking lot I notice this funky car parked right next to me and couldn't resist taking some pictures to post here at the blog. At first I thought it looked like M&Ms candy drawn all over the hood but at a closer look I realized they were Skittles! Gee, one must really love Skittles to have it plastered all over their car and it clearly wasn't a cheap looking paint job. Hence that I would never drive in such a ghetto-fabulous-purple vehicle like this, I must say that it looked kind of cool and definitely unique.

PrideFest Parade @ Lake Worth, Florida

Are pride parades all about drag queens? The answer is no but they do add some glitz factor to the festivities and without them it would be pretty dull. Same goes for go-go boys...

These images from today's Pal Beach Post show Miami's drag queen "Adora" as she rides on "The Cottage" float during the parade held as part of the fifteenth Annual PrideFest of the Palm Beaches yesterday in downtown Lake Worth. Organized by Compass, the two-day festival is among the largest gay and lesbian festivals in Florida. Who knew?

Via Palm Beach Post

The 10 Unhealthiest Places In America

That's what publisher CQ Press reveals in its 16th annual list. Twenty-one factors from infant mortality to obesity to cancer rates are compiled for the rankings.

No. 1: Mississippi
Topping the list as the most unhealthy state in America, the Magnolia State has stolen the dubious honor from last year's "winner," Louisiana.Its title is well-earned: Mississippi has the highest rate of teenage births in the nation, the highest age-adjusted death rate, the highest infant mortality rate and the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases. It also has the largest precentage of obese adults and adults who do not exercise.

No. 2: Louisiana
The Pelican State may no longer be the most unhealthy state in the nation, but it's pretty close at No. 2.Louisiana has the second-highest age-adjusted death rate, the second-highest infant mortality rate and the worst access to primary care.

No. 3: New Mexico
Not living up to its nickname as the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico has seen its health care situation continually decline since 1998.It has the third-highest teenage birth rate, poor prenatal care, high rates of suicide and poor health insurance coverage. The availability of hospital beds and primary care is also poor.

No. 4: Nevada
For the fourth year in a row, the Silver State remains in the No. 4 spot.It is the No. 1 worst state for prenatal care and has the second-highest suicide rate in America.

No. 5: Florida
The Sunshine State remains as the fifth most unhealthy state for the second year in a row.The percentage of its population not covered by health insurance is one of the worst in the country. It also ranks fourth for new cancer cases and third for new AIDS cases.

No. 6: Georgia
Things aren't peachy in the Peach State when it comes to health. Just 10 years ago, Georgia ranked as the 30th most unhealthy state. Fastforward to today, where it nearly makes the top five.It ranks fourth for the number of new AIDS cases reported and fifth for the number of sexually transmitted diseases. On the plus side, it has one of the best rates of child immunization.

No. 7: South Carolina
For the eleventh year in a row, the Palmetto State has fallen into the top ten unhealthy states.Contributing to its rank are its high percentage of low birthweight babies, high infant mortality rate, high number of new AIDS cases and high rate of sexually transmitted diseases.




No. 8: Oklahoma
The health outlook wasn't always so poor in the Sooner State. In 1993, Oklahoma was in the middle of the pack, instead of topping the list.Its high teenage birth rate, poor prenatal care, high age-adjusted death rate and high percentage of people not covered by health insurance are just some of the factors keeping it there.

No. 9: Alabama
Moving two spots up the list, the Yellowhammer State is just a smidge more unhealthy this year, compared to last year's rankings.Alabama is in the top five for low birthweight babies, age-adjusted death rate, infant mortality, sexually transmitted diseases, poor primary care access, obesity and non-exercising adults.

No. 10: Delaware
The First State rejoins the top 10 since its last visit in 2004.Helping to bring Delaware down are its percentage of mothers receiving late or no prenatal care, its high infant mortality rate, high rate of new AIDS cases and sexually transmitted diseases.

Via AOL