I haven't used this post tag/label/whatever in a while.

Banksy Comes To New Orleans

Weirdly touching graffiti bullshit from a gentleman I frequently debate the earnestness and relevance of. Ever since his secret (nerdy) identity has been allegedly discovered, everything about him feels just slightly more endearing and slightly less Nathan Barley.

The Gold Toilet Stays [Brokedown Palace]

As Cryptogon says, the rise in gold prices is reaching a "palpable insanity factor"

Hong Kong entrepreneur Lam Sai-wing [...] has spent the past decade constructing a palace of gold, decked out in six tons of the precious metal. In recent years, the palace has become an attraction mainland Chinese tour groups couldn’t miss, and a boon for Mr. Lam’s retail jewelry business, Hong Kong-listed Hang Fung Gold Technology. Since gold prices hit four-digit territory earlier this year, Mr. Lam has been taking apart his hall of gold as quickly as he once raced to construct it. He is melting down golden chandeliers, armchairs and armored knights and selling gold by the ton to fuel growth plans that include hundreds of new retail outlets in mainland China. But even with the selloff, one thing is certain: The toilet stays. “I don’t care if gold hits $10,000 an ounce,” Mr. Lam says. “I’m not melting it down.”

[Via Wall Street Journal]

"Yes, We (Need To Use The) Can": The George W. Bush Sewage Center

The so-called Presidential Memorial Commission, an informal city-based group of half a dozen left-leaning jokesters, has gathered more than 4,000 signatures since mid-April to rename a county sewage treatment facility the George W. Bush Sewage Center. The Oceanside Water Pollution Control Plant is located beside Great Highway near the zoo, and processes up to 65 million gallons of treated water per day. If commission volunteers collect at least 7,200 valid signatures by July 8, the initiative will go on the November ballot. The initiative's proponents also hope to coordinate a citywide "synchronous flush" at the very moment the next U.S. president is sworn in.

[Via Emily Z., Via at The Dust Congress, Via SF Weekly]