Author Archives: Maštíŋčala Sáŋ

Main Quad Mushrooms

Sights Seen at Stanford, continued: marvelous mushrooms sprouting up by Memorial Church, behind the Main Quad. Happy fall…the rainy season is almost here!
-AidanAbroad

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Stanford Men’s Bathroom Art

In my time at Stanford, I have seen some of the most fascinating, profound, thought-provoking, and hilarious bathroom graffiti of my life. This piece is one of the less cerebral contributions to the repository of high art and culture that is the Stanford Main Quad restrooms.
Seen in Pigott Hall, Building 260 (Language department) of Stanford’s Main Quad. Author and paint substance unknown.
-AidanAbroad

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Purple Ties.

I saw this display of purple ties in a fiercely heterosexual part of upstate New York. The intended market was clearly not my queer self, nor my gay brothers…but the local breeders. Metrosexuality is still in, and if straight men in the burbs are willing to invest upwards of $75 for a purple tie (or a pink shirt, which were abundant in the display next to this one), I’m guessing this trend here to stay. Which is fine by me – men’s erstwhile color-phobia, that irrational fear that someone would think they were ladies (or lady-like) if they wore pink or purple has always seemed a little silly to me.
-AidanAbroad

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Gruesome Groceries

Rainbow Grocery, my local worker-owned co-op vegetarian grocery store, has a reputation for being a little bit alternative, in every way. It’s the polar opposite of a cookie-cutter Safeway – the heavily tattooed guy with pierced cheeks who helps me find bulk maple syrup, the fact that it HAS bulk maple syrup (and bulk Hawaiian black salt, mesquite flour, and Inca berries, among other things), the lengthy co-op meetings debating whether they should carry Israeli products in light of the Palestinian genocide. I also love the irreverent and also hilarious descriptions of their various products on their handwritten labels. So in light of all this, I guess it’s not too surprising that that Rainbow is celebrating Hallowe’en this year with a candy display featuring lifelike dismembered limbs and body parts. I was quite impressed…and though I’m not sure what this says about San Francisco or our expectations of Rainbow, it’s worth nothing that none of the other shoppers seemed to give the display a second look.
-AidanAbroad

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Sausage Race at the Milwaukee Brewers Game

I was introduced to a fascinating Milwaukee tradition today at the Brewers game – phallic food sports, i.e., the Sausage Race. In the 6th inning, people costumed as different kinds of sausage (brat, chorizo, hot dog, etc) race around the field. Today the chorizo won, despite his huge sombrero. The zoom on my iPhone wasn’t able to capture a great shot, but on the right you can see sausages racing around the field toward the finish line.
-AidanAbroad

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Tailgating Men.

Outside the Milwaukee Brewers postseason game this morning.
-AidanAbroad

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Sunset at the Minneapolis Airport.

I caught a gorgeous sunset from the giant windows of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport while I was waiting for my flight to Fargo the other day. The Land of 10,000 Lakes is home to some pretty spectacular sights. More on that soon…
-AidanAbroad

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Minneapolis reflections.

When I visited Minneapolis. Minnesota earlier this week, I was struck by all of the reflective surface on the downtown skyscrapers, and the way they blended with the architecture of Minneapolis. This is a picture of one of the skyscrapers (a Wells Fargo building, I believe), reflecting an old stone church that stands next to it.
-AidanAbroad

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Sunset at Sutro Baths

Sunset at the ruins of the old Sutro Baths in San Francisco, near Land’s End, on a rare non-foggy night.
-AidanAbroad

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Shirtless Quiddich at Cal

I happened upon a Quiddich practice at UC Berkeley last Sunday. Did you know they had a team? Many college campuses are now forming teams to play this increasingly popular sport, invented by author J.K. Rowling in her Harry Potter series.
This team may not fly on their broomsticks, but their semi-shirtless practice sure attracted plenty of spectators.
-AidanAbroad

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