Hello from the World Economic Forum, where the massive security presence is creating an unfriendly environment for people who like to take random photos.

Saw some nice video this morning of Kismet, the dumb but very emotional robot. I want one.

Leaving Milan.

Gardiner's Island, family-owned since 1639. (Photos.)

Queens.

JFK.

Brooklyn resident Tom Tomorrow, creator of "This Modern World," not only has a weblog, he's also posted lots of good photos, like these and these and these.

Stazione Centrale, Milan.
A massive and fantastic building. I took a lot of photos here, so there's an extra bonus gallery.

Boom Selection's Top 11 Bootlegs of 2001. You really should download Nos. 1, 2 and 10.

Milan.

A year ago: Pittsburgh.

"Bump your ass off." Coney Island has changed a bit.

Tiny Coke. Only 30 cents! Why don't we get these in the U.S.? (Because people here like Super Big Gulps.)

(It is interesting to note that Coke cans often have pictures of Coke bottles on them, but the bottles never have pictures of cans.)

Mental licorice drops. No connection with Smartfood.

Yummy pig snouts at Peck. I refrained from photographing the Damien Hirst-esque piglet.

See also 4.19.

Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2002 14:25:04 -0600 From: for-home-services@wcom.com Subject: MCI e-Customer Service

Dear Mr Gallagher,

Thank you for contacting MCI ® e-Customer Service.

In reference to your recent e-mail, I attempted to call but you was not at home.

This is from a communications company.

And I was home.

From the roof of the Duomo, Milan. See also 10.18, 10.27.

Bottle Mail, the Japanese virtual message-in-a-bottle service, is shutting down. Sad.

We have been kept BottleMail services from June 1997 and over 100 thousand customers, all over the world have used it. But we judged we can not construct the BottleMail to better business models on the net.

Milan.

"Fabulous. I'll take all three!"

Unfortunate branding.

Note: Train doors may slice you in two.

At zefrank.com: Baby pictures. Such a lovely child.

Milan.

Manhole covers. Perhaps the most elegant photos of manhole covers you will ever see.

Media Watch, Milan.

The big soccer games in Italy are all on pay television. But if you can't afford that, you can always watch a show like this for free. Two announcers at the stadium tell viewers what's happening on the field, while back in the studio a panel of experts offers instant analysis. The cameras aren't allowed to show the field, but they can show the fans in the stands. Bizarre.

Metro television. Short eye-candy feature clips, lots of ads ("MSN Shopping! MSN Shopping! MSN Shopping!") and a news ticker at the bottom. The video projector shuts off as the train pulls in.

I am behind on e-mail. Calliope in Vancouver wrote in about the glowing cattle photos from Brussels:

I don't know if you ever consider this, but they would be superb as a desktop pattern!

If you would like to put a fluorescent Belgian cow on your desktop, click here.

Milan.

A followup to Monday's entry: Sometimes ceramic frogs also travel.

I have neglected to mention frankieboots.com. Slick photos from NYC and elsewhere, with soundtracks.

Milan.

The WTC attack may have been, among other things, an architectural critique, an architect writes in Slate. Via archlog.

Milan.

Photos from Nairobi on Forota.net.

Milan.

A Homer seeks his Marge. Seen on a mailbox.

Posters promoting an anti-immigration rally.

I'm back home in New York but have a serious backlog of Milan photos. Serious.

Seeing "Amelie" inspired some research into the phenomenon of traveling garden gnomes.

Mail & Guardian, South Africa, Itinerant Gnomes, 1996: "It has become fashionable around the globe for gnomes to be 'borrowed' from their gardens and to begin sending postcards from holiday spots in faraway climes."

The Gnome File, 1990: "What follows is a mish-mash of observations, diaries, and transcripts from the time I stole a garden gnome, sent it on a trip and returned it home. " (See photos.)

Very trendy bar, Milan.

William Safire on the evolution of the word yahoo:

In the 1990's, yahoo! was taken over by the Internet server of that name. Its Web site explains that the company's founders, David Filo and Jerry Yang, drolly designated their server "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle" ... Though the company preserved the exclamation mark in its title...yahoo's identification with the popular server has overtaken its sense as a cry of a man in the saddle.

So it seems that "Internet server" is just another way of saying "Internet company." And Internet servers, especially the popular ones, have their own "Web sites."

Ah, the richness of our modern language.

Absolute Powerpoint. I had heard about this New Yorker piece but never got around to reading it. It's good. Via Jason.

Milan.

We all feel like this sometimes.

Brussels.
The Grand Place is full of glowing farm animals.

Bus stop.

/!\

When I first saw the very entertaining heiferman.com, a.k.a. Scott Heiferman's Photo of the Day, I figured it was the work of some smart-ass college kid. It's actually the work of a smart-ass former Internet CEO. He recently tried working at McDonald's.

Art Nouveau architecture, Brussels.

Central Station, Brussels.

A great collection of sign photos, via gmtPlus9.

A year ago: Snow.

Brussels.

Have I mentioned EUROTRASH lately?