Horses

This sign could be titled: Don’t be stupid. Walk behind the horse and get your butt kicked (or you head kicked in).

I love the graphic imagery on this little baby! I took this photo at the Civil War reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg this year.

Gettysburg – Crossroads of the World

The central square of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania is the crossroads of the world. As evidence, they have posted distances to far flung places all around the globe.

Hot Weiners

Nothing says a good time like a nice hot weiner. And in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, you get your hot wieners at Ernie’s Texas Hot Weiner Lunch, service the nicest weiners since 1921.

Rabid Kitten

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania has been invaded by rabid kittens. On every lightpole in town, we found this sign warning us of the vicious rabid kittens. This is really scary.

If you go to Gettysburg, be careful as you may be attacked by an animal with a major disease.

Christian Tourism

I have no idea what Christian Tourism is. If I encountered this in a magazine or on the Internet, I would assume that it would include visiting holy Christian sites in the Middle East or perhaps following in the footsteps of St. Patrick in Ireland.

Nope. Evidently Christian Tourism means going on tours with other Christians and praying a lot. Sound like fun? Yeah, I thought so too. I’d rather stick nails under my fingers.

Yet, in Gettysburg, PA, I found a gem. Nancy & Udean Christian Tours. OK, so this isn’t really a sign. But it was parked in front of rather degenerate looking biker bar. The visions of senior citizens forking over their Social Security checks to Nancy and Udean to be taken to bar in rural Pennsylvania is an image I can’t get out of my mind. Maybe there’s something to be said for Christian Tourism after all.

Signs for Signs

I love the irony of this little sign.

Jesus is Easy

Back in my day, the cheerleaders were easy. Jesus was difficult. Jesus required a commitment. Jesus is about doing what’s hard…living the righteous life, not the life of sin and vice.

But nowadays, people want Jesus to be easy. They want the abdication of responsibility without taking the responsibility for themselves.

Jesus isn’t easy, and shouldn’t be.

Nestea Train

Philadelphia public transit company SEPTA has been accepting advertising on the ceilings of its trains. I found this gem a few weeks back.

In terms of putting advertising on every spare surface, this is a new one for me. But I have to wonder how many people actually see these ceiling ads?

Health Food

In wealthier neighborhoods, health food can be identified by Whole Foods, Wegmans, Salad Works and many other notable healthy eating options.

I found this sign in an African American community. Here we find Church’s Chicken, Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s.

Perhaps this is the reason for obesity.

Got Cookies?

I found this sign at the world famous Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. This farmers market has been in operation since the 1890's and, quite seriously, rocks. It is a gastronomic orgy of goodness.

Free Hugs

Get your free hugs! Get your free hugs! Get your free hugs!

I snapped this picture of the some group offering free hugs. I think they were like scientologists or some crazy Christian sect or something. Who knows?

Going Green

We went into Philadelphia over the weekend and like all good conservationists, we took public transit – helping us to reduce our carbon footprint.

SEPTA in Philadelphia has a new advertising campaign out promoting it’s “greenness.” It seems like everybody is trying to be green these days. In the case of SEPTA, it’s true…partially (the trains are pretty green). Of course SEPTA buses spew out horrid, black plumes of exhaust and are probably some of the worse environmental offenders in the entire tri-state area.

But I like the ad campaign.

Getting Bred

In Paris, I got my wife Bred. No, not bread. Bred. And we’re not talking breeding here, just Bred.

Bred, as in Banque Populaire Bred. It’s OK if you don’t understand it, we don’t either. There’s a bank in Paris called Bred. It’s an awfully weird name for a bank. The name bred would conjure up images of farms and breeding better stock, not a bank.

We thought it was strange.

Vagina Monologues in Paris

Bring on Tipper Gore and her Tony Award! The Parisians are big fans of the V!

But here’s why I love this sign (and it has nothing to do with the V). I love signs in other languages that are the same in English…so you can see how it translates with language. Drink Coke becomes Trink Coke. (Which becomes Snort Coke in Central America).

I like the words and the way they contrast with each other using the same symbolism.

Pedophiles in France

This is truly one of those confusing international signs, where the meaning does not translate. Throughout Paris we saw these signs – a man with a young girl and a red line through it. We saw them on street corners. We saw them in the middle of the block. We saw them on pedestrian only lanes. We saw them near schools. We saw them far away from schools. We could find no logical reason for the sign, nor do we understand the meaning.

We can only take it to mean that pedophiles are not welcome in Paris. EXCEPT on the last day, we found a sign indicating that pedophiles were allowed (a man with a young girl and no red line).

We truly have no idea what these signs me. So, if you happen on this posting and know what this sign actually means, PLEASE submit a comment and let us know.

Pier Import

In Paris last month, I found this sign for Pier Import. It looks just like Pier 1 Import, but seems to sell an entirely different type of products (cookware, etc.). Pier Import also looks to be a wholesaler, vs. Pier I Import which sells retail.

I don’t know if this is the same firm or not, but it sure can confuse the hell out of a consumer.

Islam in France

I took this shot in Paris a few weeks ago (photo was taken on Île Saint-Louis). This was the cover of the current issue of L'Express, a French publication. As I had it explained to me, the magazine was doing an expose on some of the problems with Islam.

Immediately before taking this photo, I was on the Pont des Arts checking out the propaganda exhibit of artist Taysir Batniji, who's photos capture life in the Gaza Strip. Ironically, this photo was taken on the one-year anniversary of Hamas' taking control of the Gaza Strip. Never before have the fortunes of local people in Gaza been worse.

I took a photo of this sign because Islamists love to represent the conflict as only that with Jews or America. But it really isn't. The tensions between Islam and the rest of the world are truly global. The more I travel, the more I see it. In America. In Europe. In Asia. Everywhere.

I'm not passing judgement on Islam, only noting the presence of this sign symbolizes something much more than it might seem at first.

Beer

I thought this sign was interesting. Unlike the other signs on this blog, I did NOT take this photo. It was e-mailed to me by a friend.

This sign was supposedly in Jamestown, New York.

It's an interesting sign of the times. On a price per gallon basis, beer is NOT cheaper than gasoline. However, it seems like that, don't it?

Bourbon Street

No. Not the Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

This is Bourbon Street on Île Saint-Louis in Paris, France. This is the nice Bourbon Street (the one without the bums, panhandlers and street trash).

Île Saint-Louis is fabulous! Be sure to sample the Berthillon ice cream.