Tuesday, July 25, 2006

SILLY SIGNAGE

Lisa’s recent post about some of the ridiculous signs around Saint John struck a chord with me. I’ve spent several weeks in that fair city, and I, too, have seen a few signs that raised a chuckle.

Exhibit A. Festivals.

Saint John Festivals

One thing that becomes evident to the Foreign Visitor from the South: these Maritime folks really try to cram a lot of fun into the all-too-brief summer. There’s something to do in Saint John almost every week, from Bodies on the Boardwalk (presumably not dead ones), to the regrettably-named Salty Jam (actually a jazz festival, not a Sperm-Based Condiment), to the Fundy Fog Festival. And let me tell you, this place has plenty of fog.

OK, so the sign is only mildly amusing, not really a prime source of Teh Funny. But I liked it.

Exhibit B. Buffaloes.

Antedeluvian Buffaloes

I would drive past this building on Union Street every day on the way to and from the Great Corporate Salt Mine’s outpost. And I could not help but think of this Truly Antedeluvian guy...

Fred Flintstone

Exhibit C. The Saigon Noodle Restaurant.

Saigon Noodle

WTF is the deal with the Laughing Cow?

Aside from the fact that when I see the Laughing Cow, I think of little wedges of Cheezoid Spread, there is the matter of the Vietnamese diet. The Vietnamese are not bashful when it comes to eating their beef, as anyone who has had a steaming bowl of pho will tell you. Makes you wonder what that cow is laughing about, eh? A Laughing Cow on an Indian restaurant’s sign would make a lot more sense: the cow could then be enjoying a bit of schadenfreude at the expense of his secular (and therefore edible) Barnyard Buddies, like Mr. Sheep and Mr. Goat. But here? Crazy, I tells ya.

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