Philip Johnson's Grim Reapers

At the 580 California Street building in San Francisco there are some very unusual statues at the top of the 23 story skyscraper. The Post-Modern building was designed by Johnson & Burgee and completed in 1984. Johnson & Burgee commissioned sculptor Muriel Castanis to create the figures and she described them as 'Corporate Goddesses.'













The 12 foot high figures are mounted in front of a mansard roof and peer out over the city. There are 3 figures on each side of the building. Each one is devoid of hands or a face.














While the sculptures are typical of Castanis' work, I recently heard an interesting story about the figures. Apparently the figures are suppose to be Grim Reapers. The anecdote relayed to me indicated that Johnson's firm had a very difficult time getting this building through the planning commission and approved. These Grim Reapers are meant to symbolize the members of the planning commission as agents of death for architecture.

I heard this story through a colleague who works at Morphosis and apparently Philip Johnson had mentioned the statues to Thom Mayne while Morphosis was preceding ahead in the early stages of their San Francisco Federal Building.

While I can't back up the validity of the story or any other meaning associated to the figures I do really like the idea of members of SF's Planning Commission symbolized as a Grim Reaper. If you have ever tried to get a building built in San Francisco you will know what I mean.

Eat Peanut Butter to Save the Planet?

Say what? Eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can help reduce carbon emissions, reduce water consumption and off set the amount of land needed for agriculture? Your lunch will also save an animal's life. While I'm a little skeptical about some of the figures it's some what compelling to see how such a simple act can result in such larger positive changes. Read more about it at the PB&J campaign via 21st Century Citizen

Three Way Pistol Duel

I am amused on this friday night by the following puzzle:

You're a cowboy, and get involved in a three way pistol duel with two other cowboys. You are a poor shot, with an accuracy of only 33%. The other two cowboys shoot with accuracies of 50% and 100%, respectively. The rules of the duel are one shot per cowboy per round. The shooting order is from worst shooter to best shooter, so you get to shoot first, the 50% guy goes second, and the 100% guy goes third, then repeat. If a cowboy is shot he's out for good, and his turn is skipped. Where or who should you shoot first?

Many thanks to that's how it happened

More puzzles here

Hobie Super Surfer Skateboard with Clay Wheels

This is one of my favorite possessions and I have to thank the internet for allowing me to share it with you. I purchased this skateboard almost 20 years ago at a Goodwill in Canyon Country, CA and I’ve faithfully displayed it ever since. Hobie is a Southern California based company started by Hobie Alter. He began as a surfboard shaper in 1950 and began producing skateboards in 1962. The best skaters of that era, such as Danny Bearer (’65 World Skateboarding Champion), were sponsored on the Hobie team and rode the Super Surfer.

My board is pretty worn, kinda beat up and a previous owner decided to cover the top of the deck with a coat of brown paint and some orange stripes. However, the underside of the deck is not painted over and gives some telling clues as to the make of the board, along with the original clay wheels.

The deck is laminated strips of oak and walnut hardwood, so this skateboard predates the bent plywood skateboards of today. When this was new, it was a finely crafted looking skate. In the absence of any logo, the laminations along with the dimensions and squared off pin tail were the confirming factors that it’s a Hobie Super Surfer from around the late 60’s or early 70’s.

The wheels are made of clay with drop in ball bearings. Clay wheels were the standard before the modern urethane wheel with bearing cassettes came into the market in the early 70’s. Clay wheels were pretty deadly as they are hard and the slightest crack or small rock on the sidewalk would screech the rider to a halt, with nowhere to go except smacking the concrete. These clay wheels show plenty of signs of that along with numerous chips. These are the original Hobie Super Surfer wheels that came with the skateboard, another tell-tale sign to the model. The trucks are also original to this model and the rubber grommets in the trucks are in great shape showing no signs of cracking.

One very interesting thing I noted that gives some indication about how the board was ridden and the owner is how the wheels are worn out. Skateboard wheels are subject to what’s known as ‘coning.’ Over time as the board is used, the repeated turning of the board puts unequal pressure on the surface of the wheels. There is greater pressure towards the outside edge of the wheel so it wears more in that area, thereby turning the cylindrical wheel into a tapered cone. The wheels on the right side of this board show much greater coning than those on the left, indicating that the original owner had a preference for how they rode or which direction they turned. I’m gonna guess that they were goofy-footed and liked to make frontside turns.

Part of the beauty of old, found things is knowing some of the facts and studying the object in a way that allows you to construct some of the history and piecing together a narrative. This Super Sufer is a gem for me, along with all the wear and tear it’s sustained over the years.