Bill's Top Secret Autumn

March 26, 2007 4:14 PM

I know MeFiltopians have likely found more diverse samplings of images for their desktops than the default windows samples... but have you ever wondered where this image was taken? vanity fair has.
posted by rubin (38 comments total)

Cool story - thank you!
posted by speug at 4:22 PM on March 26, 2007

That was a pretty neat story. Sometimes you have to invent your own adventures, and this guy did a good job of it.
posted by Citizen Premier at 4:31 PM on March 26, 2007

Okay, anybody want to help me to find all the stories he mentions in this paragraph:

It's a lead-pipe cinch, I figure. I'm a good detective. I've found opium dens in Vientiane; been granted interviews by cardinals, mafiosi, and sheikhs; discovered the meaning of "half-and-half" in the old song "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee"; conned the Vatican into bestowing a doctorate on me so that I could gain access to hiddenmost archives; deciphered the cryptic message Ezra Pound scrawled in his own copy of the Cantos while in the bughouse; tracked down and interviewed Phil Spector's first wife, long presumed dead; charted my way to the sacred stone of the Great Mother, in Cyprus; gotten Charlotte Rampling's cell-phone number; even come close to understanding the second page of my Con Ed bill. Finding out where a picture was taken—a picture plastered on millions of computer screens—seems a shot away.

We can call ourselves... Team Tosches
posted by Kattullus at 4:34 PM on March 26, 2007 [1 favorite]

Wow! This was great and unexpected. I've wondered about that (and some of the other defaults) myself.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 4:39 PM on March 26, 2007

Great article, thanks!
posted by Zephyrial at 4:42 PM on March 26, 2007

I love these kinds of tiny detective tales--thanks for the link.
posted by retronic at 4:48 PM on March 26, 2007

Joining the masses in saying love the story. Kind of reminds me of The Secret Parts of Fortune by Ron Rosenbaum which I loved.
posted by meech at 5:03 PM on March 26, 2007

Of course it was in Canada. It's the most photogenic country in the world.
posted by djfiander at 5:04 PM on March 26, 2007

Am I the only one who's bothered that the meadow in the "Bliss" wallpaper image is mowed? You don't need to scrutinize the image too closely to see the ruts that the mower left in the grass. Does a mowed landscape reveal anything about Microsoft?
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 5:06 PM on March 26, 2007

Nick Tosches. Discovering the meaning of "half n half" would be found in his Jerry Lee Lewis biography, Hellfire.
posted by sourwookie at 5:12 PM on March 26, 2007

Needs more shemale porn.
posted by Cyrano at 5:16 PM on March 26, 2007

Wait, so, uh... What's the meaning of "half n half"?
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 5:17 PM on March 26, 2007

MeFiltopians?! Bleh.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 5:28 PM on March 26, 2007

Huh, I could have sworn I had seen this on MetaFilter before, but my searching the archives is proving me wrong. Now I'm just sad I didn't post it first because wherever I saw it, it was decidedly awesome.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:47 PM on March 26, 2007

I thought the same thing, grapefruitmoon. Fun story nonetheless.
posted by gummi at 5:54 PM on March 26, 2007

I always get my wallpaper images locally.... from peacay's BibliOdyssey. Peacay's book based images are so much more than just wallpaper! They are the best... you'll never go back!
posted by R. Mutt at 5:54 PM on March 26, 2007 [2 favorites]

By "vanity fair has" you mean Nick Tosches has, and if you'd said that I wouldn't have run the risk of missing out on that great article. But I forgive you, because after all, for whatever reason, I did click on it and greatly enjoyed the ride.

Discovering the meaning of "half n half" would be found in his Jerry Lee Lewis biography, Hellfire.

I doubt it. Unsung Heroes of Rock 'n' Roll is much more likely.
posted by languagehat at 5:57 PM on March 26, 2007

I happened to see Jerry Lee Lewis on tv the other day. He was still playing the piano, but just barely... in an old man, evil, kinda extra creepy way.
posted by R. Mutt at 6:23 PM on March 26, 2007

I bought a Nick Tosches novel in the remaindered stacks at Tattered Cover in LoDo. It's just about the only book I've ever bought that I couldn't read.
posted by Eekacat at 7:00 PM on March 26, 2007

Pretty lame. He never even *went* to the place, did he? Seems like he settled for another picture from the photographer. Who owned the barn? Who built it? What was its story?

(Also: so, who's gonna be the first to find this on Google Satellite?)
posted by washburn at 7:44 PM on March 26, 2007

I bet Nick Tosches could get into college with that essay.
posted by breezeway at 8:33 PM on March 26, 2007

washburn

(Also: so, who's gonna be the first to find this on Google Satellite?)

43.428992,-79.925258


The kids on Digg looked it up from the location of the Harris homestead.
posted by kanemano at 8:56 PM on March 26, 2007

I prefer to live under the classification of Mefiltrate.
posted by isopraxis at 9:06 PM on March 26, 2007

That's half an hour away from where I live - the Niagara escarpment runs past there, right around the end of Lake Ontario. Good rock climbing and mountain biking too.
posted by CynicalKnight at 9:21 PM on March 26, 2007

washburn: Didn't read to the end of the article I see.
So here I sit at dawn this winter Sunday morning, a cheap black mug of coffee in my hand instead of a crystal tumbler, smiling more serenely.
posted by Goofyy at 11:11 PM on March 26, 2007

Someone should really use this post to link some good photografic wallpaper: I'm tired of the defaults of Mac OS and XP.
posted by darkripper at 1:48 AM on March 27, 2007

The absolute best and only wallpaper site you need is Pixel Girl Presents. This stuff is die (or kill!) for.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:13 AM on March 27, 2007 [5 favorites]

Wow that's really cool. It's right below the crags (Rattlesnake, BUffalo, Nemo) where I learned to climb. I'm surprised nobody has uploaded the desktop picture to Google Earth.
By coincidence I think somebody has put up one called 'Fall' taken just down the road a couple hundred metres - I wonder if they realise the proximity of this iconic autumn picture?
posted by Flashman at 3:46 AM on March 27, 2007

Thanks for the Pixel Girl link Brandon. And for ruining my productivity for the day...
posted by popkinson at 3:59 AM on March 27, 2007

One of my favorite wallpaper sites is VladStudio.
posted by debralee at 5:02 AM on March 27, 2007

Great article.
posted by unknowncommand at 5:18 AM on March 27, 2007

Is that really Bill Gates' email address? [e-mail] ? Cool, I have some suggstions for him.
posted by DenOfSizer at 5:54 AM on March 27, 2007

Here is a link to the satellite image on google maps using the coords posted above by kanemano. Too bad they didn't do a higher rez pass on that area.
posted by rubin at 6:04 AM on March 27, 2007

Nice article.
posted by Vindaloo at 7:07 AM on March 27, 2007

The same source who tipped me to the autumn story also pointed http://www.stellastarr.net/2007wallpaper.html
out to me.
posted by rubin at 9:35 AM on March 27, 2007

We have been using this as a source for fine art wallpaper. Having the same classical work of art on your desktop for a month or so really gives you a chance to get familiar with the painting.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 11:49 AM on March 27, 2007

Sweet link, Secret Life of Gravy. Thanks.
posted by cgc373 at 6:04 PM on March 27, 2007

I drive past that farm all the time. Tomorrow morning when I go past I'm gonna have to stop and take a photo. I'm glad the beauty of this area has been enjoyed by so many around the world.
posted by saucysault at 8:27 AM on March 30, 2007