Wednesday 20 August 2008

Benches as advertising sites



I suppose it will be coming here soon, but not for a long time, I hope.

Thursday 14 August 2008

Bench cartoon



From The Garden Monkey via the Guardian newspaper.

Sunday 10 August 2008

A poem by the wonderfully named Everette Maddox:

PARK BENCH POEM

Mind if I put up
a park bench
in your mind?
I mean, if
the mind is a park,
why not have a poem in it?
After all, when
you get through
buying hotdogs &
getting a load
of the swans
you'll want
some place to
sit down. It
ought to be fairly
comfortable by
the time a few
generations of
transient assholes
have worn it
smooth, & the paint
off – though
the original idea
was to advertise
my product: my own
green life, now
flaking into winter.


NB: I hadn't heard of this New Orleans poet before, but this is an account of his funeral:
When the poet Everette Maddox died in New Orleans, in February of 1989, more than four hundred persons showed up for his funeral march. It began on Oak Street, at the Maple Leaf Bar and followed a Dixieland Band to Carrollton Station, where it paused and had drinks before winding back to the funeral services at the Maple Leaf

Thursday 7 August 2008

Beautiful Alpine Benches






(subtitled - how much I *heart* the Dolomites. Is it possible to be homesick for a place you've only visited briefly?)

Wednesday 6 August 2008

Book bench



Thanks to roving correspondent, Sylvia Petter for this photograph of the bench in the lobby of the British Library

Tuesday 5 August 2008

Sitting electronically?


Scientists in China have worked out a way to turn old circuit boards into park benches.

"In the study, the researchers developed a process to recycle those nonmetallic materials, which they say could be used to produce diverse items like sewer grates, park benches and fences. The recycled material could also be a substitute for wood and other materials since it is almost as strong as reinforced concrete. "There is no doubt that the technique has potential in the industry for recycling nonmetallic materials of PCBs," Xu says."

Sunday 3 August 2008

Benches at Bolzano

Here are some of the benches (or stones) behind the new arts centre at Bolzano, the capital city near where we were staying. Apparently it gets to be both the hottest and the coldest city in Italy ... The two bridges in the first photo were put in just a month ago, and wobbled nicely - just as London's Millennium bridge should have done if only people had kept their nerve.





I like the shape of the museum's benches, very simple and organic: