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Its bad enough I get shat on everyday
For goodness sakes people. Eight Muslims from the hard lines Islamic group Ulama Anjumane Al Baiyeniat (who?) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, have been arrested for damaging a group of six white stork sculptures.The men all armed with shovels and hammers began whacking the 41ft (12.5m) tall structures after an attempt to pull them down with ropes failed. Hmm, they meant business. Ah, it seems this group has a jihad against statues in general because they are seen as a form of idol worship (hmm, better not tell Paula Abdul, she’ll cry!). The eight have been charged with creating chaos and attacking security officials.The sculptor Mrinal Haque has stated the statues which were erected in 1989 had nothing to do with Islam (well they do now!).
Tasmanian Toxic Big Penguin
Holy public art Batman, the 3m tall Big Penguin in the Tasmanian town of Penguin could be toxic and whats more it could have made thousands of people sick. Hmm, if tests on the big old cement seabird prove positive, then it will have to be put down. Seems a cement worker raised the alarm after he had fears about people’s safety from the leaking asbestos particles. The Big Penguin has been around since 1975 with hundreds of thousands of people standing next to it for a photo or a curious inspection without knowing they could be snorting deadly particles. And what if their worst fears are realized? Penguin’s Mayor Mike Downie says “I would think we would be lynched from the nearest tree if council decided, that if it was a danger to the public, not to replace it.” Hmm, I think there will be a lynching regardless, if asbestos is found!
UPDATE: Yay, Big Penguin is safe! Go give him a hug…
Knitted bunny from space
A giant knitted pink rabbit, which for the sake of this blog I shall call public art, can be spotted from space via Google Earth. Hmm, I wonder what our extra terrestrial buddies will think of us now? The knitted bunny was created by the Viennese art collective Gelatin in Italy’s Piedmont region. The pink rabbit was created for people to climb, sleep or walk on. Far too many people with far too much time on their hands, me thinks!
Stop looking, the bronze hog which went missing at the beginning of October from the Gardens at Razorback Road (University of Arkansas) has been found. Two people feared the worst when they came across “a big lump wrapped in plastic” near the Randal Tyson Track Center. They immediately rang police who on arriving slowly removed the plastic to discover the hog underneath. From all reports the porker is back safe and sound on campus. Police suspect the incident was a prank!
Two men (not kids!) have been arrested over the deliberate damage of two fiberglass goat statues in Hendersonville. The goats were part of the downtown art collection called “Kidding Around Downtown,” . The two goats injured were Groovy goat (who had his head knocked right off) and Mountain Goat (who lost an ear). They are yet to locate the ear. This isn’t Mountain Goat’s first time in the news, he was nicked along with “Connie-Mara” in July by two kids who were later charged. Prior to the goats, the town had a five year run with decorative fiberglass bears. The decorative goats eventually get auctioned off for charity, which makes this so sad because who wants a goat with no head or ear?
Name and shame them right here. The culprits for the latest attack on the fiberglass goats are Daniel Joseph Markel, 27, of Flat Rock, and Craig Owen Hensley, 29, of Hendersonville.They have both been charged with damage to personal property. One for the Billy goats gruff!
The widow of Brian Clough is set to unveil the bronze statue of the former Nottingham Forest and Derby County boss on the 6th of November at Old Market Square, Nottingham. £60,000 was raised for Sculptor, Les Johnson, to immortalize Clough. The 8ft (2.4m) bronze which depicts the football manager with his hands clenched above his head is expected to draw fans from far a field. Clough will best be remembered for his team’s win at the League Championship at Derby County and at Forest, and then for winning two European Cups with the Nottingham club. Clough died in 2004 from stomach cancer.
Note that carpet!
If it weren’t for the matching carpet no one would have known that the famous photo of Wild Bill Hickok wearing buckskins was taken in Medota, Illinois. Yep, local historian Steve Dancey was able to verify that the famous photo of Wild bill was actually taken in Mendota after he spotted the distinctive carpet in other photographs taken by local photographer Wilbur Blakeslee (smart cookie). So now, 140 years later, the town is honoring James Butler with a life size bronze. Oh and you guessed it, the statue will be based on that famous photo. Good job.
Famous Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid has had his landmark 10,000 Test runs honored in the most innovative way, a 10,000 brick wall. The wall, which was built by the Bangalore-based realtor group, features a flat metal cutout of Dravid doing his famous cover drive. Sachin Tendulkar unveiled the Dravid Wall at the Chinnaswamy stadium and remarked `It is a great credit to his family. More than a great cricketer and a great batsman, Rahul is a perfect gentleman on and off the field. The Wall will inspire every budding cricketer to emulate Rahul and his batting skills,`Adding that special touch to Dravid’s Memorial Wall is a small electronic scoreboard which displays his current score with the bat. It is currently at 10,246 but that is about to change as India and Australia do battle in the coming months Cricket Test.
