Pic(s) of the Day 04.17.09

Last week, for reasons my subconscious could only explain, I was reminded of something my 7th grade Math teacher ingrained in me. He was a portly little Dominican fellow, who stressed that you could only fully grasp math if you “Remember to pay attention.” But when he said it, in his Santo Domingo accent, it came out more like, “Mumba, you have to pay ention.” And that’s exactly how the line was replaying itself in my head – over and over, like those tapes the citizens of “Brave New World” were forced to listen to in Aldous Huxley’s seminal novel.

So what does this have to do with Pic of the Day? In short, nothing and everything. After hearing those words echo in my head for the better part of a day, I was resigned to start “paying ention” – not to math, but to my surroundings. With that in mind, I spent this week paying close “ention” to everything around me. If something struck my fancy, for good or ill, I took a picture of it with my iPhone. And now you see where Pic of the Day comes into play.

Below, you’ll find the four environs that tickled me the most… pause.

After copping from my tree salesman, I noticed this at the Union Square train station. I shouldn't be shocked, but I am. I mean, advertisements on a subway turnstile? Only in America, right? What's more, it’s a fucking anti-smoking ad. I know Bloomberg is somehow behind this. Speaking of Bloomberg, has anyone seen those terrible commercials he’s running, where he’s shortened his name to “Mike” and can be seen hanging out with blue-collar folks. You can take the subway all you want, Bloomy, but you aren’t a regular dude – unless regular dudes are billionaires who refuse to live in Gracie Mansion because their brownstone townhouse is nicer.


OK, so you're probably wondering, “Why the fuck did he take a picture of a box of pens?” Look closer though, those aren’t pens. Earlier this week, I was buying a magazine (not porn) at my local stationary, and saw this box of “Fancy Pens,” as they’re so aptly named. What’s fancy about these pens is that they have no ink. In fact, that plastic at the top is just a decoy, because the pen tube is actually a glass free-basing pipe. Didn’t know they sold shit like that out in the open. This place does sell cheap one-hitters and frail glass weed pipes, but this “Beam Me Up Scotty” utensil still took me by surprise. Guess free-basing isn’t as taboo as it used to be.


This is just a bandito bunny I noticed stenciled on the wall next to my office. It reminded me of Banksy's work, althought it's completely devoid of the social commentary that makes his work so wonderful. At the end of the day, it's just a bunny with a bandana around his face, but I like bunnies.


This was on a pillar at the 231st St. subway stop. Looks like someone tried ripping it down, but didn't get very far. Anyway, I put it up as a reminder to all the blazers out there -- we need to come out in full force for this one. Also, it's 4/20 on Monday, so blaze it up. And if you don't have anythying to blaze up, find me. I got fat bags of skunk. I got White Owls blunts. And I'm about to go get lifted. Yes, I'm about to go get lifted...