After the Rome theme park nightmare last week, some far more cheering news – especially if you’re a fan of ex-Talking Head, David Byrne. From time to time, David dreams up special treats for New York City, like the Playing the Building sound installation which closed the other day. He's also a resident of the place, and has travelled around it by bike for the past 30 years – you can read about his experiences on Street Blog.
Anyway, the good news is that he's now designed nine unique and very functional bicycle stands for New Yorkers. Be quick if you want to see these, because the authorities state, a little vaguely, that they will be "removed some time in the next 11 months". They’re scattered around at various city locations, and, unsurprisingly, are easy to distinguish from the regular model. New Yorkers seem to love them: check out the comments on the New York Times Blog. You’ll find details of the stands' whereabouts there, too.
Photo by ElFrenetico
And now, in the wake of my tirade against Rome's planned theme park, a lovely little irony. It seems these theme parks just won't go away: David Byrne himself was spotted at one recently as reported on World Hum. And I don't mean Graceland; I mean that other place. Its name begins with D. You'll find it in the story.
Finally, a photo of one of the bike stands - perhaps the least prepossessing of the lot, though it has a certain austere charm.
Photo by d o w n s t r e a m