Tomorrow, the Maison Tropicale, a small aluminum-paneled house built in 1951 by Jean Prouvé, a French designer and the current court favorite of well-heeled contemporary art and design collectors internationally, is being opened to the public for preview in Long Island City. Christie’s, the auction house, will offer it for sale on June 5. The presale estimate is $4 million to $6 million.

It’s cash and carry. The structure is a kit of metal parts, like an Ikea piece, but bigger. It was conceived by Prouvé as a utopian prototype for prefabricated housing for French colonial officials working in Africa. Eric Touchaleaume, a French antiques dealer, bought the house and two others in 2000 — the only three produced, andwhich actually made the plane trip to the Congo and Niger in the 1940s and ’50s. He then took them apart and shipped them back to France.

mike sold out at - 21:33

---

5.18.2007

 
Amazing

Pat Robertson leg-presses 2,000 lbs!

Yes, it's actually on the Christian Broadcasting Network website

mike sold out at - 14:55

---

5.15.2007

 
Mmm... that's good horse piss!

It was a light summer ale.

mike sold out at - 21:18

---

5.13.2007

 
Oh yeah...

I forgot to mention on here: I accepted at the NYU Wagner School of Public Service for the Urban Planning program.

mike sold out at - 23:24

---

5.10.2007

 
Now that's well-sourced reporting!

From a NYT article about trash falling onto the road from vehicles:

Motorists in California can be fined if anything other than feathers from live birds or water should escape. (In Nebraska, the exception is corn stalks; in Kentucky, coal.)

mike sold out at - 22:27

Credit where credit is due

---

5.09.2007

 
Food on floor fun!

Great article, but isn't it the three-second rule?

NYT: Five-Second Rule Explored, or How Dirty Is That Bologna?

Accompanied by six graphs, two tables and equations whose terms include "bologna" and "carpet," it's a thorough microbiological study of the five-second rule: the idea that if you pick up a dropped piece of food before you can count to five, it's O.K. to eat it.

mike sold out at - 16:28

---

5.07.2007

 
How the West was Swung

An awesome exercise in intentional camp and a cover of a Roy Rogers song.

click to hear a preview of the song if you have iTunes

mike sold out at - 21:02

---

5.03.2007

 
Because they were lonely on the high seas?

I am number one in relevance for the web search Why Did Pirates Call Each Other Matey?, which apparently, someone found my blog through.

I don't have the answer, unfortunately.

mike sold out at - 16:45

---

5.02.2007

 
Mirth-cation #2

Installation art about 20 miles from anywhere. Seriously, this was 15 miles past a "no services next 70 miles" sign. Apparently the fake store is biodegradable and is supposed to melt back into the earth.


At Carlsbad Caverns. Yeah, it's not actually bottomless.


That's right, it's a crappy cafeteria... 800' below the surface at Carlsbad. They even sell postcards of it. Which I promptly bought and sent off.


At the Roswell, NM UFO "Museum"
In case you wanted to know what an encounter of the second kind is...


Also at the UFO Museum
Why a horse? Why not a duck? I never found out.


Ho-made pies [sic], Utah.

mike sold out at - 22:49

---

 
Fun on Vacation Photos

I successfully attain my goal of trying to become the shortest person in the U.S.


Don't get lost in Death Valley.


"Psst... There's More!" What could she be talking about?
Remember how I said Pahrump Nevada is the worst town in America? Well there were billboards like these for miles around the town. Also, they had the classiest-looking McDonalds ever with the least-classy clientèle to match.


This is in far north Arizona. Need I say more?


I got my wish to see a natural arch, yet I am not impressed.


Rock climbing outside Las Vegas.


Do we really need off-brand versions of off-brand fast food joints? Isn't it enough to have "What-a-Burger" and "Good Burger"?


Michael's World (in San Joaquin valley, CA)

mike sold out at - 10:34

---