Items tagged with 'weird'
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
In Your Face Wrestling
He probably knew this was coming. But still... ouch.
While at The Track Saturday, baking in the August sun waiting for the Travers to begin, I was talking with some guys and said that this was my first time photographing horses. They asked what I normally shoot.
"Roller derby," I replied.
"Seriously, or are you just messing with us?"
My answer was the "I <3 Rollerderby" button that I keep on my camera bag.
We talked about the local teams for a bit and then they told me about a wrestling event -- In Your Face Wrestling -- scheduled for that night in Ballston Spa, and that I should go take some shots.
Madison Ave row house collapse
The side wall of a row house at 600 Madison Ave in Albany collapsed Friday afternoon. There had been excavation going on in the empty lot next door when the wall came down. All the tenants were reportedly out of the building when it collapsed. [TU] [WNYT]
The street was closed from Robin to New Scotland.
Friday evening crews were on the scene preparing to demolish the building, which is across the street from Washington Park. The lot next door was vacant because the building that had been there burned down in 2007. Here's Google StreetView of what the row had looked like. The excavation was for construction of a new building. [CBS6]
A bunch of photos are after the jump.
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
At the Warehouse is like a box of chocolates...
You never know what you're gonna find
An often strange (and fun) box of chocolates.
Not everything you find there will be to your taste, but you'll marvel at the wide variety of cool ingredients. At the Warehouse is a little bit Restoration Hardware, a little bit antique shop, a little bit craft store and a little bit kitschy history museum -- with a whole lot of je ne sais quoi.
On a recent trip to find some items to complete the AOA patio-office (one of our happy places) we stumbled on a few things that struck us as weird/fun/cool/bizarre...
Peacock on the lam in Schenectady
A few people have posted on Craigslist this week that they've seen a peacock wandering the area around Union College in Schenectady (map). From a posting on Sunday:
Just before sunset this evening I realized one of my cats was staring insanely at the roof of my very tall garage. To my surprise, the cat was staring at an almost mature (or quite under-nourished) peacock. He seemed undisturbed by the neighbors, but took off as soon as my stupid camera made a noise.
Two other postings reported sightings north of campus, including a stroll across Van Vranken Ave. And yet another reports the peacock's name is "Romeo" and he's from a home on Maxon Road (where his "Juliet" awaits -- we so hope that posting's true).
We'd love to hear if Romeo makes it back home.
As it happens, this isn't the first peripatetic peacock in Schenectady County this summer. In June, one of the birds was on the lam in Rotterdam. [Daily Gazette]
photo (of another peacock, not Romeo): Paul Friel (Flickr user frielp)
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Bumper gawking
Updated with another pic!
As we've mentioned before, we plead guilty to a moving violation for dorkiness.
There are times that not only do we smile or note odd license plates around town -- we actually take photos of them, too.
Here's the most recent batch...
The holiday decorations have to go somewhere
Sadly, there wasn't a correspondingly large plastic Santa.
We spotted this today the garage for one of the office buildings along Broadway in downtown Albany.
There's something about seeing the enormous wreath hung up like this that made us smile -- like we all have to find a place to stuff holiday decorations the other 10 months of the year.
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Where to train for the Warrior Dash?
Julie emails:
I had a momentary lapse of sanity and signed up for the Warrior Dash down at Windham Mountain in September.
Where in the Capital Region could I train for such an event? The obstacle I'm particularly worried about is the one where I have to climb over a wall. Other obstacles include jumping over fire and crawling under barbed wire.
Any help would be much appreciated!
The "jumping over fire and crawling under barbed wire" bit made us curious about what exactly Julie had gotten herself into. The Warrior Dash site bills the race as "the ultimate event for thrill-seeking athletes," where "where 13 obstacles from hell await this 3.23 mile course." Also: the race is "more about mental toughness than being in great shape." And it looks like people wear costumes.
The event has been held in other parts of country in years past -- this is the first time in the Northeast. It's September 18 and 19. Registration is $65 and closes on September 7.
So, anyone have suggestions for Julie? Please share!
A "prototype" child?
Sometimes the word "bizarre" doesn't cover it. From a TU story by James Odato about NXIVM, the org based in Colonie and Clifton Park:
The boy is 3 years old. He lives with a 40-year-old woman who is not his biological mother. And he is the first-ever enrollee in a unique educational project.
He is Gaelen, and he is being raised by Kristin Keeffe, a devotee of the secretive enterprise called NXIVM. It isn't clear where the child came from.
The boy has become part of a unique program begun by self-improvement organization NXIVM founder Keith Raniere called the "Rainbow Cultural Garden" aimed at helping youngsters master several languages. As a result, the child has been under the care of a number of different nannies, some from foreign nations, each using one of five different languages.
You'll want to read the whole article, which reports "the boy doesn't seem harmed."
The New York Post picks up on the story today:
The little boy has become the real-life "prototype" for what Raniere has publicly touted as a "revolutionary educational protocol" for children, the sources said.
On Raniere's orders, the child is kept away from other kids -- and much of the outside world -- so he doesn't pick up the bad habits of "parasites" and "subversives," according to the sources.
A local blog, Saratoga in Decline, has been following the NXIVM story closely, which doesn't seem to have gone over well with the org.
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Toy car
So, what is the preferred glue for sticking a figurine to one's hood?
While we're on the subject of art cars: we passed this car in the parking lot at Colonie Center this past weekend.
It's a compact Nissan with with figurines stuck to the hood. And the trunk was covered in chalkboard paint, with an accompanying bin of chalk. People had written messages all over the trunk (among them: "Freakin epic car dude!!!").
A few more pics after the jump.
The Vehigloo could be yours
The Vehigloo in 2009.
You may have seen the "Vehigloo" driving around town -- it's an art car designed to look like a rolling igloo.
And now the Vehigloo could be yours. The owners have posted it on Craigslist. For free. From their posting:
You will get more attention driving around in this super fun car than if you were driving a Ferrari. Honks, waves, screaming, mooning -- you name it. It is not for the super shy unless you are trying to come out of your shell. We counted that we were photographed 50 times during our 6 hour trip to Baltimore. That is once every 7 minutes! There is a PA system so you can make animal and siren noises. The inside is also decorated/painted including hanging icicles. This car has been in a bunch of parades. ...
We are looking to give this to someone who will either enjoy it as it is or change it into their own style of artcar. You are not going to get this car to look like a regular car again, so don't even think about it! :) PLEASE email me with your plans for the car.
As it happens, the Vehigloo is/was a 1991 Toyota Corolla -- and the owners say it needs some work.
Said Andreas, one of the creators, in a comment here on AOA last year: "I did it just for the fun of it. It is a unique experience to drive in something like this. Sometimes you feel like a rock star, and sometimes like a freak!"
(Thanks, StickFigureMan!)
A tomato plant grows in Albany
Will it have tomatoes before the budget's finished?
Eileen sent along this pic this afternoon:
Found this tomato plant today growing in a crack of the sidewalk next to The Capitol on Washington Ave. Good to know something is thriving in Albany.
Maybe a tomato seed from a lunch truck vendor's sandwich found a good place to grow.
I'm trying to figure out what I can do to help keep it from getting cut/stepped on/destroyed. Maybe tomorrow I'll go over and try and protect it somehow with a gardening stake.
How great would it be if that plant bore tomatoes? There's just something hopeful about it.
It reminds us of the corn growing in the sidewalk in Watervliet spotted by Renee last summer.
(Thanks, Eileen!)
About that smoke coming from Washington Park...
New car smell? Totally gone.
If you were around Washington Park in Albany this afternoon around 4 pm, you might have seen dark smoke billowing out of the park.
The smoke was from a car fire. Firefighters told us One of the passengers told us they were driving to the park and the car, for some unknown reason, just started smoking. They stopped the car at Henry Johnson, everyone hopped out and they called 911. No one got hurt.
Except for the car. As you can see above, it's pretty well toasted. The interior is completely burned out -- all that's left of the seats are the metal frames.
A few more pics after the jump.
[via @ElizabethEss]
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Is there a world record in the can?
A record-breaking spot?
Heads-up/could be oddly fun/could be loud: talk show host Jake Sasseville will be at the ESP Friday afternoon in a bid to break the world record for the "largest drum can ensemble." (The can in this case appears to be a Pringles can -- the potato crisps, or rather an "extreme" version of them, are sponsoring the event.)
The event blurb says Sasseville is looking for people to "help him shatter this world record with a noise so loud it can be heard in Canada!" (Payback for the earthquake?) The publicist for the event says they need 500 people to break the record.
Where to find fried pickles?
Sure, why not.
Stephanie asks via the Twitter:
Is there a place in Albany that has deep fried pickles on the menu? Some bbq places in NYC do. I love them.
If you had to take a guess, we'd look to Capital Q. They've been known to experiment with the fryalator arts. Or maybe one of the local fairs (fried pickles + food on a stick = fun).
We hope someone has an answer. Our week will probably not be complete without some fried pickles.
Bonus fact: Though there's some dispute over the origins, the fried pickle is said to have been first conjured during a moment of inspiration in 1960 at the Duchess Drive In in Atkins, Arkansas -- a joint that sat across the street from a pickle factory. [Serious Eats]
photo: Flickr user Ron Diggity
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
Craig and his wonderful list
The good thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations. The bad thing about Craigslist: it's a window into our fellow community members' wants, needs and aspirations.
Good or bad, we'll let you decide...
... said Anonymous about The Albany metro area is "brainy"