Monday, September 19, 2011

Scenic america

hmmm, or not really scenic.... this huge billboard stands alongside the zakim bridge that leads you into boston, or rather, underneath boston.
i realize that there are a lot of advertisements for alcohol, either beer or hard liquor alongside roads in this country. while you are not allowed to drink while driving, you cannot have an opened bottle of alcohol in your car, are not allowed to drink alcohol in public places (like while having a picnic in the park), you cannot drink when under 21 (but drive from 16 years onwards), and you might not be served alcohol when you cannot prove you are above 21, even though you look like 50.....  those were just my thoughts while we had plenty of time watching this ugly billboard, as we ended up in a huge traffic jam on saturday afternoon.....

General entrance

last week we saw that the state house in boston has a general hooker entrance... at least they arent hiding it!!
or is it the entrance for the long dead joseph hooker?  a major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War... as wikipedia just told me.. but wikipedia tells me more: "Hooker's reputation as a hard-drinking ladies' man was established through rumors in the pre-Civil War Army and has been cited by a number of popular histories. There is a popular legend that "hooker" as a slang term for a prostitute is derived from his last name because of parties and a lack of military discipline at his headquarters. Some versions of the legend claim that the band of prostitutes that followed his division were derisively referred to as "General Hooker's Army" or "Hooker's Brigade." However, the term "hooker" was used in print as early as 1845, years before Hooker was a public figure, and is likely derived from the concentration of prostitutes around the shipyards and ferry terminal of the Corlear's Hook area of Manhattan in the early to middle 19th century, who came to be referred to as "hookers". The prevalence of the Hooker legend may have been at least partly responsible for the popularity of the term." well, thats interesting!
ah, and, here i found that the actual entrance has a huge sign, and that sign cost almost 15,000 dollars!