I once again bow in humble submission, this time to two Flickr groups, Signpaintr and Faded Signage, the latter sporting over 7,000 photos of hand-painted/hand-made signs taken by over a thousand members from all over the world. There are active discussion boards within each group as well as RSS feeds to keep up with all the latest additions.

Labels: ephemera, hand-painted, signs

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No, not that Michael Jackson. He was known as "The Beer Hunter" and his knowledge on the subject of our fermented beverage of choice was so sublime that no one would seem to challenge it. Mr. Jackson's influence in elevating beer out of its game-day, six-pack abyss and into a level of sophistication once reserved for wines is incalculable. He was a founding voice and staunch lobbyist for the craft beer movement in in Europe and indirectly helped spawn the microbrewery industry in the United States. He was also quite the connoisseur of distilled spirits authoring definitive books on whiskey and single-malts among other subjects. His books probably had the most influence on expanding my love for great beers of the world and led, ultimately, to my fascination with a style of beer that has a unique history and lore: bock.

Labels: beer, bock

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Think you've seen it all in NYC? Think again. The folks at Forgotten NY have made a habit of uncovering the less-covered parts of the city for the past eight years. Especially interesting are the lost cemeteries like Mount Zion a Jewish cemetery established in the 1890s in Queens, with its plethora of tombstones containing inlaid enameled photographs of the deceased. Good stuff.

Labels: New York

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Can't afford an over-priced masterpiece? Then get a virtual drawing by a potential art star in exchange for one of your own at Sketch Swap, where it's "Draw 1 to get 1." As the site's description reads: "you draw something on the screen, and when you're finished, you hit "Submit drawing"... to receive a random drawing from someone else." All submitted drawings require approval before being added to the pool of available drawings to be swapped, so get those dirty thoughts out of your head.

Labels: Art, Drawing, outsider art

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Join "black crack" addicts worldwide on August 12th as we celebrate Vinyl Record Day commemorating the anniversary of the invention of the phonograph by Thomas Edison. Go crate-digging at yard sales, flea markets and thrift shops, support your local vinyl record store, shop for new and used vinyl online at such great stores as Dusty Groove and Gemm, or finally get a replacement stylus for that used turntable you bought off Craig's List.

Labels: 45rpm, 7-inch, album covers, music, records, turntable, vinyl

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