Category Archives: Signs of the Times

Zing Zang Zoom

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Kelson

Every time I see this, I’m reminded of the dragon-like Marvel Comics monster (and Iron Man foe) Fin Fang Foom.

Of course, the really funny part is that this sign is advertising an event from last July…and it’s still there!

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Spaceballs: The Beer

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Kelson

The latest seasonal beer at Oggi’s* is The Schwartz, a Belgian IPA. And just in case the “May the Schwartz Be With You” tagline wasn’t clear enough…well, check out the poster:

Sorry about the image quality. I wasn’t sampling the brew, it’s just the phone camera in low lighting.

*Oggi’s (pronounced OH-jeez) is a chain of pizza & brewery restaurants in Southern California, mostly in San Diego and Orange County.

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Kick a Dragon

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Kelson

image

This could actually make an interesting movie. Okay, it would be about as long as Bambi Meets Godzilla, but still…

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OH NO3S!

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Kelson

Vanity license plates seen recently: “OH NO3S” and “UVULA”, the latter on an old yellow-on-blue CA plate with wide letters.

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Officebot

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Kelson

New design for Optimus Prime?


Officebot, originally uploaded by Kelson.

Or maybe that should be “Office-mus Prime.” :-)

Spotted at an intersection. Fortunately I had the camera with zoom and time to dig it out before the light changed.

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Cryptic Store

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Kelson

Remember that mall mystery from a while back? There was a storefront under construction at the Irvine Spectrum with an “Opening Soon” sign, but no indication of just what store might be moving in. They opened in December, and I keep forgetting to post a follow-up.

As you can see, all is revealed:

Storefront with three symbols above it, but no words.

…or maybe not.

Unless, of course, you recognize the logos for Hurley International (middle), Converse (right) and…what’s that on the left? With the Nike swoosh on top and the…skateboard? Sunglasses? Something on the bottom?

It’s kind of a throwback to the old medieval-style signs that showed an image instead of a name: the Prancing Pony, for instance (to pull an example from LOTR). Only instead of recognizable images, they’re symbols. Pictograms, if you will, only decipherable if you’re familiar with the symbols already, and they’ve actually thrown an obstacle in the way by muddling the most-recognized logo (Nike).

It seems odd to deliberately use a sign that would make a store hard to name (never mind figuring out what they sell), but I imagine that their target audience is quite familiar with the logos and wouldn’t have any trouble finding the store.

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Taco Nobel

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Kelson

I was hoping to get a shot with the lit “TACO” clearly visible and darkened “BELL” fading into the background (closer to how it looked to the naked eye), but my phone doesn’t exactly provide much control over exposure. Still, you can get an idea of how it looked.

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Tile Will Call

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Kelson

I wasn’t aware that the term “will call” was used outside the theater industry, but a quick search on the term indicates that yes, it’s used in other industries to refer to a place where buyers can pick up merchandise.

According to Wikipedia, the term’s origin is in the usage, “I will call on you,” in the sense of physically visiting someone.

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The Riddle Machine

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Kelson

I half-expect to find out that it’s owned by Edward Nigma.

Or maybe Tom Riddle.

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Pon Farr Perfume

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Kelson

In honor of Valentine’s Day, check out this bizarre sight we found at (of all places) Borders a while back:

Pon Farr Perfume: Drive Him Crazy

Yes, it’s Star Trek perfume inspired by the Vulcan mating urge.

But, wait, there’s more!

Apparently, they want you to believe that Starfleet Medical has isolated the factor that made Captain James T. Kirk a 23rd century Casanova (in SPAAACE!) and have bottled it to sell.

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