Saturday, July 4, 2015

Saturday fun activity: Where IS this?


    
     Before we get to the matter at hand, a programming note. While Saturday usually just features the fun activity, today I've got a special July 4 story on Honor Flight Chicago that I'll post at 1 a.m., so if you're in the habit of checking this and then setting your sights on Sunday, you might want to check that out. 
     Now as to the above.
     To be honest, the moment I noticed this stainless steel asterisk, I thought it looked just like Kurt Vonnegut's charming doodle of an asshole in "Breakfast of Champions."
        Here's Vonnegut's drawing:
                                                                       

       See what I mean? 
       The odd thing about Vonnegut is, as much as I recall enjoying his books as a teen: not just "Breakfast" but "Cat's Cradle" and "Welcome to the Monkey House" and on and on, and as nostalgic as I can be, I can't imagine revisiting them. I read them already. They seem of a past era, not so much in history as in my own life. Like Herman Hesse, he served his function and there's no need to go back.  Re-reading Vonnegut would be like buying a powder blue leisure suit. Been there, done that.
       But that's a digression. Where is this Vonnegutian doodle made real? Winner gets one of my utterly unappealing, if not despised, 2015 blog posters. Place your guesses below. Good luck. 

10 comments:

  1. Well, I actually know this one, but I've won before and there's no sense in ruining the fun at 12:15 a.m., I suppose...

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  2. The first thing I thought of was that it looked like a firework exploding in the sky (apropos of today :)

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  3. Wow, I can't wipe the smile off my face. What a wonderful way to work in Vonnegut's asshole doodle. It's one of several things I remember vividly from his books!

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  4. I also know this location well. About 50 feet around the corner was an ATM, I used in the 90's, One poster is enough for me.

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  5. I also have a poster. I believe it's in a building that that's named after the company that built it, but is no longer in business, but a world famous architect bought it because he loved it so much.

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  6. Inland Steel Building? Monroe & Deerborn?

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    1. You got it, Kusam. Congratulations. If for some unfathomable reason you'd like a blog poster, send your address to me at dailysteinberg@gmail.com and I'll drop it in the mail.

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  7. The sculpture is called Radiant I, by artist Richard Lippold. The world class architect Clark St. alludes to, is Frank Gehry. Oh, and the street is spelled Dearborn, not deerborn. Keeping in Neil's theme for the Fourth of July, here is a 71 year old vintage photo from the World War II era, for you to guess the location. This time I'm demanding a minimum 50 word essay on the history of the structure, from its construction, up to and including World War II, before I declare you the winner.

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    1. I was 99% sure it was Inland Steel Building as I used to use the bank branch in the corner all the time. That branch is gone now.

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  8. Looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright home in Oak Park, but I know it isn't. Sorry, no time for essays today.

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