MetaFilter posts tagged with Parade

Zoltar Segue

christopherious — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 16:15:01 -0800

Zoltar breakdancing! Everybody rumba, rumba rumba. Zoltar, that fortune-telling guy you thought was stuck in his booth, went mobile and won the Motorized Float prize in the 2009 Coney Island Mermaid Parade last summer. Some of us probably remember one of his alter egos from the 1970s animated Battle of the Planets, who also went by the names Berg Katse and Mala Latroz, and whose quasi hermaphroditic nature was obfuscated in the American adaptation by explanatory 7-Zark-7 monologues (1:40 - 2:40). Perhaps one or two of us even have an action figure lying around. But that Zoltar wannabe had serious identity problems, and his life of ambigusexual villainy ended in tragic suicide. Even more of us probably remember him from that scene in Big where a twelve year old kid made a wish and got what he asked for. (I doubt more than a small majority have seen him in Big - The Musical). But Zoltar may be most fondly remembered as the six-foot-five, acquisitive and witty animatronic soothsayer -in-a-box who likes to hang out at ~~piers~~ boardwalks. Here, he is silent on the question of whether or not some dude should hire a prostitute. This cute girl lingers, intrigued, over her fortune while trying to ignore the douche cameraman. Here, Zoltar disseminates advice at the beach. This videographer prefers a horizontal Zoltar. This Zoltar is sort of interactive. He may not be the only enterprising fortune-telling-machine around, but he is probably the first to become mobile and win a Motorized Float contest using a modified Segway. Lots of work went into this project. Here you can see how the float was assembled (part 1, part 2 - breakdancing bit is at 9:22), and here is a test demonstration. Want a Zoltar of your own but don't want to spend $6,600 at Characters Unlimited Inc, or $5,500-$8,500 at ZoltarMachine.com (See how he's made: artists at work, woodwork, faces, hands & eyes), or $8,999.95 at Hammacher Schlemmer, or $7,495.00 for this eBay seller's auction? Well, it seems Zoltar has fallen on hard times and is offering himself to denizens of the Washington state area, as noted on his Facebook fan page. Still can't afford him? Then get yourself a $139 Chumby Guts (some assembly required) or a $120 Chumby One and add the Zoltar widget to one of your channels. Still too cheap for Zoltar? Then virtualize him (free registration required) and enjoy the advice and truisms via that widget for $0.

Window Dressing

Miko — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:59:01 -0800

Holidays on Display, currently on view at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, offers an image-rich online exhibit as well, detailing the way businesses learned to capitalize on one of the country's largest celebrations. Peer into the artistry of holiday window design as well. I was especially happy to learn via this exhibit about the artist, puppeteer, illustrator, and balloon designer Tony Sarg, who designed some of the most wonderful early balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - very 20s and 30s in style, sort of the Fleischer Studios of balloons. He also created a wacky sea serpent stunt on Nantucket.

A parade in Brest, 1939.

languagehat — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:03:27 -0800

September 22, 1939: In the Polish city of Brest-Litovsk (now Brest, in Belarus), "a monumental military parade took place.... What is unusual is that the parade was held not by the Polish army, but by the soviet Red Army and the Nazi German Wehrmacht – together." The excellent blog Poemas del río Wang (which usually features gorgeous illustrations from books) provides historical context, many photos, posters, and cartoons, even a five-minute official German newsreel (the parade takes up the first half). The event itself is a historical footnote, but in Russia, with the "cult of the victory of Soviet people and of the Soviet state in WWII," the very idea of it was anathema and it was denied until last year. The post is full of fascinating tidbits; for example, a few days after the parade "the Soviet secret police NKVD delegated a high rank deputation to Krakow where they demonstrated to the chiefs of the Gestapo their methods used against the Polish underground movement. The leaders of the Gestapo 'expressed their admiration' and declared that they also 'wished to adopt and apply' the Soviet methods."

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

vronsky — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 15:04:10 -0800

Historic Photos of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

What happens at Fantasy Fest stays at Fantasy Fest

humannaire — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:13:43 -0800

It's Parade Day, the culmination of the island's biggest and best party of the year, Key West's Fantasy Fest 2008. It's a small party, (in that Key West is only 4-by-2 miles in size), but it increases Key West's population from 27,000 to over 100,000! What's the attraction? Well aside from the body painting [NSFW], casual debauchery [NSFW, GGW, and possible WTF], great freakin' music, freaks getting freaky over freak nakedness, photo ops [again, NSFW], and a pretty much non-stop outrageous gay-straight-bi-leather-whatever One Human Family sexy fun fun fun [NSFW] celebration, Parade Night is miles and miles/five hours of out-of-this-world partying island festival [possible NSFW, whatchutink]! Come now!

Први светски рат

tellurian — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:06:22 -0800

Prvi svetski rat - Gritty and poignant Serbian postcards from the First World War. Just one of the seriously interesting (e.g. check out the collection of 78s) holdings at the Digital National Library of Serbia.

Frozen Dead Guys On Parade

amyms — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:23:27 -0800

Frozen Dead Guy Days. Thousands of waving spectators line the streets of Nederland, Colo. (pop. 1,394), as a parade filled with skeletons, helmeted Vikings, pompadoured Elvises and antique hearses makes its way down First Street to mark the beginning of Frozen Dead Guy Days—a celebration that’s part Mardi Gras, part county fair, and all tongue-in-cheek. The 2008 celebration will be held March 7-9.

Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?

frogan — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 13:28:39 -0800

The 118th Rose Parade launched today, with a bit of a twist -- George Lucas, Dark Lord of the Sith, as Grand Marshall. Is anyone else creeped out a little by this photo? Maybe I just don't know the history of the fully operational Rose Parade? Let's just get to the game, OK?

Giant M&M on Turkey Day Rampage

XQUZYPHYR — Fri, 25 Nov 2005 11:52:39 -0800

Balloon crashes and injures two people at Macy's Parade. A giant M&M balloon broke loose in the wind and crashed into a light pole at yesterday's Thanksgiving Parade in New York, knocking the light into a crowd and injuring two people. NBC, the network broadcasting the parade, was the only news crew that did not report the event, instead, cutting to a clip of the balloon from last year.

How to Become an iPod

jacknose — Wed, 03 Nov 2004 11:55:54 -0800

How to Become an iPod. A New Yorker documents his quest to become a Mini iPod for the 2004 NYC Halloween Parade.

Mermaids!

madamjujujive — Sun, 25 Jul 2004 06:36:08 -0800

The inimitable Coney Island Mermaid Parade. OK, it was a month ago, but these photo galleries make for some fun browsing. Planning your costume for next year? Our resident mermaidologist offers some inspiration. (some nudity - it's mermaids after all!)

Schadenfreude's a bitch, ain't it?

Johnny Assay — Tue, 13 Jan 2004 18:29:46 -0800

Marilyn is Wrong! Because your life doesn't contain enough nitpicking.

1.5 million tax dollars to save... a parade?

Tubes — Tue, 09 Dec 2003 09:07:02 -0800

Expensive clowns. Some Wisconsin senators want to "save Milwaukee's Circus Parade by giving $1.5 million in tax dollars to the Baraboo-based Circus World Museum."

verso — Sat, 08 Jun 2002 10:26:52 -0800

We're in the midst of the Rose Festival here. I'm watching the Grand Floral Parade on tv now, since I didn't camp out last night on the sidewalk space I taped out last weekend. Yes, that really happens. From the site: The Grand Floral Parade is the second largest all-floral parade in North America and the largest, single-day spectator event in Oregon. Pasadena's Parade is the top one. They expect half a million spectators in person, and even more on TV. Are you watching this with me? What festivals and spectacles do you have in your area?

owillis — Mon, 04 Mar 2002 13:54:44 -0800

What People Earn. Parade magazine went around shooting pictures of people and finding out what they make. $18k for making tombstones in Minneapolis sounds good. They also have a "Salary Showdown" game.