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By Ken Ohlrogge
Notes From Beyond The Pale, Part Vingt Sept (Illustrated)
Some of you asked about the giant web behind me in one of the photos in the last blog. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. It’s called Bending Arc, comprised of 180 miles of twine connected by 1,662,528 knots (I’m thinking that has to be an estimate because how could you count to 1,662,528 without getting distracted each time you try and having to start over again and again until you finally say, “Screw it, it’s 1,662,528”), and was created by Janet Echelman, a Boston based artist born in Tampa, and a team of architects, aeronautical and mechanical engineers, lighting designers, computer scientists, landscape architects and apparently an army of twine knotters. As shown in the photo above it takes on special effects when lit up at night. It’s supposed to be able to withstand 150 mph winds, and I hope so because it would be a real bitch to untangle (like getting a backlash on a fishing reel with 180 miles for line). The other pier photo is the crowning structure at the end of the pier, with a gift shop, seafood restaurants, and a bait shop if you prefer to catch your own seafood – or feed the pelicans.
And kudos to these social distancing pioneers. Why hire a boat to go tarpon fishing and risk exposing yourself to contact with a captain and crew when you can just pump up the kid’s unicorn floatie and paddle out by yourself? And what genius thought of 4-person individual volleyball? Not only thought of it but also decided to design and market a social distancing net for it? I’m impressed – but the new normal looks f’ing unnormal in so ways. We will get through this – but then what? We live in interesting times.
Thanks Brian, Bernadette and Laura for my first-time FaceTime dinner party tonight. STL and LTL.