Items tagged with 'weird'
Artificial tulips
More AI tulips!!! With the larger dataset I've made and spectral normalisation I'm able to get much more variety in the type of tulips it produces. pic.twitter.com/19vhpyLwDj
— anna ridler (@annaridler) June 1, 2018
This is random and weird and kind of wonderful, and because tulips...
An artist in the Netherlands named Anna Ridler is working on a project in which she's training an alogrithm to create tulips. It's called "Mosaic Virus" and it's a commission for the Impakt Festival in Utrecht later this year (festival theme "Post-Truth"). Blurbage from her website:
Drawing historical parallels from "tulip-mania" that swept across Netherlands/Europe in the 1630s to the speculation currently ongoing around crypto-currencies, this video work is generated by an artificial intelligence (AI). It will show a tulip blooming, an updated version of a Dutch still life for the 21st century. The appearance of the tulip would be controlled by bitcoin price. "Mosaic" is the name of the virus that causes the stripes in a petal which increased their desirability and helped cause the speculative prices during the time. In this piece, the stripes will depend on the value of bitcoin, changing over time to show how the market fluctuates.
Here's a video that might provide a better look.
The streaked tulips that result from this virus -- such as the famed Semper Augustus -- are called "broken tulips."
How Albany does not have a bar called The Broken Tulip, we do not know.
[Via the whims of the Twitter recommendation algorithm, maybe because of Abe? Who knows.]
Earlier:
+ Portraits of tulips
+ Because it's park furniture shaped like a tulip
The curiosities, sideshows, and phantasmagoria of the old Albany Museum
In this 1848 painting of State Street in Albany by John Wilson, the Albany Museum is on the right in the building with the colonnade. (Head over to the Albany Institute collection for a closer look.) / image: Albany Institute of History & Art
In the early 19th century, Henry Trowbridge and Harry Meech housed more than 200,000 natural and artificial curiosities at their Albany Museum. Life-sized sized wax figures, phantasmagoria shows, cosmorama, magicians, necromancers, lusus naturae, an Egyptian mummy, and traveling sideshows. All could be seen for the price of a quarter.
The museum started in the upstairs in the old city hall in 1809 and eventually moved to a beautifully colonnaded building at the corner of State and Broadway. It was part of a wave of "dime museums" that were sprouting up in cities across the nation.
They mixed amusement with education -- or, at least, what qualified then as education -- and were centers of family entertainment at the time.
APD: Somebody is killing geese at Buckingham Pond
Updated Friday morning with comments from the APD spokesman.
So, this is weird... From a message from James Brooks in the Albany Police Department's Community Services Unit, distributed Thursday in an email from the Buckingham Lake Neighborhood Association:
APD has confirmed sightings of an unknown person killing geese that reside at Buckingham pond. Killing Canadian Geese is in violation of Federal Fish/Wildlife and NYS EcCon Law.
I ask that everyone keep a lookout to anyone who is in close proximity of these animals.
It is possible that the suspect is a white male dressed in a blue uniform operating a red newer model pick up with the lettering "DGS Wildlife" on the side.
If you see this suspect or vehicle at or about the park area notify the police immediately.
There are also flyers at the pond near the playground with similar info. That's one of them above.
Alfred Hitchcock. Saratoga Springs. Rocking chairs.
Sarah pointed this out on Twitter this week and something about it is just kind of oddly funny: Alfred Hitchcock visited Saratoga Springs in 1937 and took note of... the rocking chairs. From Donald Spoto's The Dark Side Of Genius: The Life Of Alfred Hitchcock (emphasis added):
The Hitchcock's American holiday proceeded with considerable public fanfare. The night after the dinner at the 21 Club, Hitchcock was interviewed on the New York radio program "Gertrude of Hollywood," where he overwhelmed his questioner with comparative facts and figures about the English and American film industries. Next morning, leaving their daughter in Joan Harrison's care, Hitchcock and Alma left alone for a two-day trip to Saratoga Springs, New York. "There it all was," he said afterward, "Houses with verandahs. And rocking chairs. Actually rocking chairs, with people rocking in them. I pointed them out to my wife and we stood and looked at them. If we have rocking chairs in England it is only as curiosities. But here you have them real life as well as in the movies." These bits of Americana impressed him, as did the rhythms of American dialect, and he carefully placed them all under the bell jar of his prodigious memory, where they later provided him with the signs of an easy familiarity that character of his best American films."
A few paragraphs earlier there's mention that, during his visit, Hitchcock indulged daily in two American delicacies: ice cream and steak -- he had ice cream for breakfast, and steak for lunch and dinner. While at the 21 Club, he had reportedly ordered three steaks, each followed by a serving of ice cream.
[via @SarahAllenTV]
The Man in the Lady's Mirror
The Albany County Historical Association shares a mystery from an old photo at the Ten Broeck Mansion in Albany:
The photo, taken in the 1920's in the "Ladies Bedroom", was part of a series taken of the various rooms in the house, as well as it's exterior. None of the other photos in the collection contain people, so was this simply a prohibiton-era photo-bomb? Or was it something more sinister?
There were several theories in response to our Facebook post (the photographer, a wall portrait, the Slenderman) though upon further review it clearly appears to be a reflection of someone in the doorway. And while the doorway does appear to be opened, it is not entirely captured and shows no indication of what we see in the reflection. Was it just a clever angle? Whatever the case, it certainly makes for an intriguing mystery.
So the ACHA put together a short story contest about the photo, and it's looking for submissions no longer than 3,000 words. "It can be scary, or romantic, or funny, or all of the above!" The deadline is February 28.
The winner of the contest two tickets to see the Creative License production of The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Albany Barn that's running March 10-April 1. And ACHA will share some of the best submissions.
The office building and the air conditioner
Random Friday afternoon thing: While walking Otto at the Harriman State Office Campus, we've noticed that there's a tiny, single air conditioner that hangs from a window of a giant Department of Taxation and Finance office building. It's row after row of midcentury office building windows -- and then this one window-unit air conditioner.
And it's made us think: There's gotta be a story behind that air conditioner. (And if there isn't... someone should make one up...)
So, yeah, Friday afternoon.
Odd museums and roadside attractions
With pleasant foliage all around us, this time of year is perfect for heading out in any direction in search of something unexpected.
And there are all sorts of weird museums and strange roadside attractions across this region, you never know what you may find when you hit the road!
Here are handful of them...
Today's moment of entomology
Continuing the recent insect theme: This leafy-looking fella was hanging out on garbage can this weekend.
And now some crowd entomology: Can anyone tell us what sort of insect this is?
Sinkhole swallows SUV in Albany
Laura sent along this pic of the sinkhole at South Lake Ave and Elberon Place in Albany that swallowed an SUV this morning. The spot is just uptown of the western end of Washington Park. (See also: Video clips from the scene by J. P. Lawrence and Kari Beal.)
The Albany Water Department reported that there is a major water main break at the site. From a city press release: "Customers should be aware that they will be experiencing lower water pressure. The Water Department is asking that Albany residents try to conserve water until repairs are made."
A handful of history-minded people were noting this morning that the sink hole is in the path of the Beaverkill, one of the major streams that once flowed through the city. It was buried underground decades ago as development stretched to the west.
Update: After the jump there's an embedded video showing the scene from above -- it shows the scale of the hole with the SUV in it and the water main gushing water.
They put a tree atop the new Albany convention center building... why?
The Albany Capital Center isn't set to open until March of next year, but officials celebrated the completion of the structural framework of the new convention center in downtown Albany Tuesday with a "topping off" ceremony in which the final steel beam was lifted to the top. And on that beam were an evergreen tree and an American flag.
You might have noticed this sort of ceremony (also known as "topping out") at other local projects -- the Rivers Casino project had one back in April.
So... what's with the tree?
Albany has now fulfilled its odd/unfortunate Pokemon Go story quota
Updated after APD released different details.
According to THE INTERNET, every modern city must have some odd/unfortunate episode involving Pokeman Go.
From an Albany Police Department press release Friday:
On Thursday, July 21, 2016 at approximately 11:45 p.m., officers responded to the area of State Street and South Swan Street for a report of a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, the victim told officers that he parked his vehicle near the intersection while he walked around the Empire State Plaza playing the game "Pokemon GO." The victim stated that he left the vehicle unlocked with the key fob in his cup holder and that when he returned to his vehicle, it had been stolen.
The vehicle was located shortly after the call on the 400 block of Delaware Avenue. The vehicle was unattended at the time and additional property the victim had inside his vehicle had also been stolen.
APD says the incident is under investigation, and is asking anyone who might have info to call it in.
Achievement... unlocked.
The story behind Larkasaurus Rex
As seen last week. (Thanks again, Heather!)
Last week we posted a pic sent along to us by Heather for a dinosaur -- T. Rex, it appeared -- walking down Lark Street.
A lot of people seemed to get a good laugh out of the pic. So we followed up to ask the very important question: "What the (heck) was that about?!"
On Lark Street, not extinct
T-Rex probably wears flip-flops because then there's no reaching down to tie laces. (And we all know arm length is a sensitive topic with Rex.)
Heather sent along this scene from Lark Street Thursday.
Just your typical summer evening.
(Thanks, Heather!)
Unintentional rooftop gardening
Today's random moment of urban forestry: There are trees growing out out of the top of Albany City Hall.
Someone mentioned this to us recently, so we looked up at the carillon tower the other day... and, yep, trees. Two of 'em, it appears. Growing. Up there. (We mentioned this to a city official recently, and he said he'd noticed them, too. So presumably the city will eventually do something about it.)
That is all.
(Thanks, D)
Creative license
But it totally would have been valid if the vehicle was two kitchen chairs and a cardboard box with headlights drawn in marker.
Farther afield... but good to know: The Erie County Sheriff's Office posted this photo on its FB page today with the note: "In case you are wondering, homemade cardboard license plates are NOT legal."
The sheriff's office says a deputy stopped a woman driving a vehicle with the cardboard plate attached to its back earlier this week. The ECSO says the woman had a suspended registration -- and she now faces a felony count of possession of a forged instrument. [Buffalo News]
(Erie County's the county that includes Buffalo.)
photo: Erie County Sheriff's Office
Oh, hey, another seal in the Hudson River
Speaking of unusual Hudson River creatures... the state Canal Corporation reported today that a seal -- yep, a seal -- made its way through the lock at the Federal Dam in Troy this weekend. From the Canal Corp's FB posting (link added):
We had a special visitor at Lock C-1 (Halfmoon) over the weekend! A seal swam up the Hudson River and locked through the federal lock at Troy before visiting us on the Champlain Canal. Thank you The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation for your guidance as we worked to keep the seal safe.
That photo is also from the Canal Corp's FB posting.
As it happens, it's not really all that usual to see a seal in the Hudson River around Albany. A seal -- or maybe multiple seals -- have been popping up around Coxsackie the last few years. As you know, the Hudson is open to the ocean at its southern end, and the thought is that seals end up here after after following food up river.
(Thanks, Duncan!)
Earlier on AOA:
+ Odd and notable creatures of the Hudson River
+ That time whales swam to Albany
Sovrana's gets the tabloid treatment
Laura W emails:
I was eating dinner at Sovrana's yesterday and got to hear the hilarious story from the owners John & Rose about how TMZ ordered pizzas from them, shipped to CA. Rose had no idea who [TMZ founder] Harvey Levin is, but she dutifully fulfilled their orders. They are such a charming couple and a great asset to Albany.
(Steve mentioned the TMZ appearance today over on Table Hopping, too.)
It's true -- Sovrana's pizza does have that distinctive crust.
And to think TMZ missed out on Death in a Cup -- that seems much more like tabloid fare.
Also: Sometimes the modern world is strange.
(Thanks, Laura!)
For sale: caboose
Update: The caboose got 80 bids, and the winner was $3,099.
____
The realization of your lifelong dream of owning a train caboose approaches: New York State is selling an old caboose via its state surplus eBay account. The auction ends Friday at 9 am. Current bid is... $81. (There's an unlisted reserve price.)
The caboose is currently at the Allan Treman State Marine Park in Ithaca and would need to be picked up by the buyer. Its condition is listed as as "poor" and "for parts or not working." And, judging from the photos, it does appear to be rough shape. It's being sold as is.
Bonus: The sale of the caboose includes 32 feet of train track.
Curious about the history of the caboose, we did some poking around and found a 2008 park master plan from a few years back that mentioned a caboose -- acquired from the state Office of Mental Health in Elmira -- as a potential trail interpretive and local railroad history center.
[via @matt_hamilton10]
By the way: New York State routinely sells surplus stuff on eBay. Its current offerings range from soap and toilet paper dispensers to cameras to floor scrubbers.
photo: NYS surplus eBay
Albany history on a roll
Because, obviously.
The modern world is... toilet paper patents going viral.
In 1891 Seth Wheeler of Albany was granted a patent for perforated toilet paper rolled onto a tube (that is, what we all know today to be toilet paper). Jess wrote about this a bunch of years ago here at AOA:
According to the US patent office, Wheeler patented what was then called perforated wrapping paper ("toilet" was a sensitive word in 1871). He patented the idea to have the product wrapped around a central tube in 1891, and is also often credited with patenting a bracket to hold those tubes.
Some people argue that Scott Paper Company invented the stuff before APW, but for the most part, Wheeler gets first credit. His company, Albany Perforated Wrapping Company, was founded in 1878 in a building on the northwest corner of Montgomery and Colonie Streets in Albany. That building was occupied by Albany Terminal Warehouse after the turn of the century.
Wheeler's patent app clearly demonstrates that the toilet paper should go "over" not "under" (as any right thinking person would acknowledge).
Well, the patent image surfaced this week -- maybe on Twitter -- and it is now, in the words of CNET, "all over Facebook" and all over the web.
That time an Albany druggist made and sold cocaine toothache drops
There's a (in)famous vintage ad for "Cocaine Toothache Drops" produced by the Lloyd Manufacturing Co. of Albany, dated to the mid 1880s.
It's one of those people-in-the-past-were-so-crazy kind of items, the sort of thing that prompts smiles and laughs now. So much so, that this particular vintage age is seemingly everywhere online. And someone sends it to us here at AOA at least once every year.
The ad popped up in our inbox again recently, so we figured we try to find out the backstory.
Or, to put it another way: How did a pharmacist in Albany end up selling cocaine intended for teething children?
Those beady little pink eyes
Odd wildlife of the day, an apparently ongoing series:
So there's an albino rat roaming downtown Albany. #UpstateAmerica cc: @alloveralbany @JimmyVielkind pic.twitter.com/7MxhvoTqeC
— Zack Hutchins (@Z_Hutch) December 16, 2014Maybe downtown Albany should have its own enclosed nature preserve.
Earlier on AOA: Behold, the white squirrels at play
Timber!
This was posted on the TSA's Instagram account on Friday.
In addition to the Instagram feed, the TSA also posts this sort of stuff on a blog. A few other strange items the agency says have turned at ALB: an odd notebook found in September that screeners initially thought could be an IED, and in 2013 an inert grenade was snagged.
(Thanks, Laura)
Riding along with the skyline
We noticed this car in the Honest Weight parking lot the other day. It was wrapped -- both sides -- with an image of the Albany skyline.
We looked around a bit and couldn't figure out if it was for some business -- or just someone who really liked Albany.
H., as in the film (and giant floating head)
Two bits from the recent past resurfacing together:
+ Remember that giant head that was pulled out of the Hudson last year?
+ Remember that film that was shooting in Troy earlier this year?
The film -- titled H. -- is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival in Italy this week. And, inspired by that story about the floating head last summer, the film's plot includes a giant head floating in the Hudson River.
After the jump there are photos from the shoot this past April involving the giant, floating head.
The trailer for H. is embedded above. It was written and directed by Rania Attieh and Daniel Garcia. A description of the film, from a Variety story: "a contempo greek tragedy about two women, both named Helen, whose lives and relationships begin to unravel in the wake of a meteor explosion over their town of Troy, NY."
We haven't heard anything about a local screening, but you gotta figure the film will make the rounds on the festival circuit first. So it could be a while before it shows up locally.
On tiger selfies
There's been some media hubbub the last few days after the New York State legislature passed a bill that would ban "tiger selfies" -- yep, exactly what it sounds like, apparently it's a guys-on-Tinder thing. (Because of course it is.) [NY Post]
As it happens, the the actual bill is aimed at prohibiting direct contact between the public and big cats (like tigers) at places such as "roadside zoo exhibitors" as a safety measure for people and a welfare measure for the animals. The Assembly sponsor, Linda Rosenthal, said she hadn't even heard of the tiger selfies until after the bill passed her in chamber. ] [CNet]
If this sounds like a Colbert Report segment, you would be right (embedded above).
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?