Frog Gone

"And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people." (Exodus 8:11)

Photo ftom Pinterest.

Second only to the courthouse, it is the most photographed structure in Kermit, Texas. It is mentioned in at least two travel books, this one and this one. And it's about to be painted over. And only a few of us, it seems, are sad about it.
From CBS7:
Posted: Friday, July 18, 2014 7:13 pm | Updated: 1:27 pm, Mon Jul 21, 2014.
by DeAnn Lopez

(Watch the video here.)

KERMIT - It seems that Kermit the Frog has over stayed his visit in one West Texas city.

The Muppets star's face was painted on the city's water tower nine years ago when Kermit came down to celebrate his 50th anniversary of being in the entertainment industry.

City officials have been planning Kermit’s departure for a little over a year now.

Even though it won't be cheap to paint over the Muppets star, it's a price they’re willing to pay to show their community pride.

Back in 2005, Kermit Texas was the first stop that Kermit the Frog made while on his 50th Anniversary World Tour.

As part of his visit, Disney was given permission to paint Kermit’s face on the city's main water tower.

But, in just a few weeks the high school’s mascot will be buzzing its way back on to the tower.

"It's been the desire of many citizens that we make this change," Mayor Jerry Phillips said.

The water tower isn't the only thing that Kermit the Frog left his mark on.

Kermit the Frog Boulevard, which runs directly in front of City Hall, will once again be named South Tornillo Street.

CBS7 photo.

During Thursday night’s city council meeting, council voted to re-paint not only the Kermit the Frog tower, but their other water tower, which is going to cost them $123,500.

But not all residents agree with council’s decision.

 "I kind of don't see the point of them wanting to recover the Kermit the Frog, we got a lot of attention even with the Kermit the Frog festivities that still go on, I mean the Kermit Celebration Days, which they call now,” Kermit resident Letecia Garcia said. “It brings in a lot of publicity for Kermit."

Long-time resident Jaime Morales says he can't wait until those paint brushes hit Kermit the Frogs face.

"I know Yellow Jackets has been up for the longest time, I came to school here (Kermit High), I was proud to be from this school, it doesn’t make sense why we would still have a Frog,” Morales said. “It’s time to let go and let our bee come back."

If all goes according to plan, both towers will be painted sometime in mid-August.

(I just found this: About a month after Kermit's visit in 2005, a UFO was reported near Kermit. Muppets from Space? - DK)

Prada Marfa

Photo from A.Addison's blog.

(Previously we told you about a piece of Playboy artwork in Marfa.  Well, that was only the beginning of Marfa's troubles with outdoor art.)
From the Huffington Post:

Prada Marfa, a destination for fashion, art and road trip-loving folks alike, might be closing up "shop." We use the term lightly, of course, since the West Texas storefront isn't a retail shop at all, but rather an art installation set up by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset back in 2005. The beloved Prada building is now being called out by the Texas Department of Transportation, which has deemed the structure as an "illegal outdoor advertising sign," the New York Times reports.

The main issue is that the Prada logo, prominently displayed on the 15-foot-by-25-foot "store," is considered a sign under state and federal law, thereby violating the 1965 Highway Beautification Act (even though technically Prada Marfa sits on private property). Between the countless numbers of Instagram and Facebook photos taken at the locale -- not to mention Beyonce's viral personal snap -- since its erection eight years ago, we're not really sure why lawmakers are deciding to act on this now (though the Times names a Playboy installation in Marfa as catalyst).

We are sure, however, that we'll miss Prada Marfa if the state decides on a forced removal. After all, Miuccia Prada approved (not commissioned) the project and picked out the 20 shoes sitting in the front window. The message Elmgreen and Dragset set out to convey with their installation, a commentary on the mushrooming influence of luxury brands and consumerist culture, is one that Miuccia herself subscribes to. "I'm completely against the idea that we do fashion for an elite," the designer, who has eschewed money-making, mass-market designer collaborations, has said. "That would be too easy, in a way."

Plus, Miuccia has a soft spot for the art world, integrating Surrealism components into her groundbreaking fashion collections and even commissioning a three-story slide from German artist Carsten Höller that runs from her window to the outside of Prada's Milan headquarters. We're sure Miuccia, along with the rest of the camera-happy travelers in West Texas, will be sad to see the art-meets-fashion monument go if Prada Marfa is torn down.

Lubbock's Tattooed Jesus

From examiner.com:

According to Fox News on Oct. 10, there are 59 billboards around Lubbock, Texas showing Jesus covered in tattoos.

The billboards show Jesus wearing a crown of thorns with his arms outstretched. Across his bare chest and arms words such as 'outcast', 'addicted', 'jealous' and 'hatred' have been tattooed on his skin.

Needless to say, these billboards are shocking and offensive to some. However, there is an explanation behind the image.

Instead of insinuating that Jesus was tattooed, the group behind the billboards says it's part of a campaign to bring the message of Jesus’ love to everyone.

The aim of the billboards is to show how Jesus took on our sins on his body on the cross. Then after His death those sins were removed. However, it doesn't seem that way by merely seeing the billboards.

The billboards direct people to the website Jesustattoo.org, where a video shows people coming to Jesus to have their sins cleansed.

During the six-minute video, a woman is seen having her tattoo of 'self righteous' changed to 'humbled' and a boy on crutches having 'outcast' changed to 'accepted' are among those who visit the tattoo parlor.

The video then shows the negative tattoos appearing on the body of Jesus, whose skin had been unblemished at the start of the film.

Jesus Tattoo Volunteer Jay Corner says:

“There is controversy when our Lord and Savior was on this Earth, and one of the things He said and the things He did, and I know some people see this as a little bit of a controversy. What’s really cool about it is that it’s really a love story. As you get involved in it and you look at the video, I believe it draws you into that story.” 

The billboards are upsetting to many Christians living in the areas where the billboards are located because they see only the billboards without knowing the explanation behind them.

Some residents call the billboards blasphemous. However, David Wilson, pastor of Southcrest Baptist Church has praised its message:

"I thought that it was cleverly done because, basically, it's a visual of Jesus taking the sins of people and covering them and taking them from an outcast or something and giving them a new start, which is what the gospel is about."

The group behind the campaign that put up the 59 billboards across Lubbock in the past nine days, say they are not trying to sell anything.

According to the Daily Mail, Ashleigh Sawyer, the group's spokesman, said: "The message is a simple one, Jesus's love is transformative. He loves us unconditionally and no matter what you've been marked with, faith in Him and love for others will transform us."

The group plans to extend its billboard campaign to other regions.

Unfortunately, people are reacting to the billboard alone without knowing it is an object lesson to a much deeper meaning. Perhaps the billboard was not the right method for this message.

Also in Grandfalls ...

From collectintexasgal.

 

This is a unique horse fountain in Grandfalls.

You can guess where the water emerges.

 



Fight Like a Girl!

 I saw this today in Grandfalls, TX, but I didn't have my camera.  So thanks Yahoo images!

From a Facebook page. Used without permission.

It's a breast cancer awareness tow truck from Neal Pool Rekers in Odessa.

 



From Neal Pool Rekers' Facebook page.
Used again without permission.

 

The back of the truck says "Towing for Tatas". 

Bunnytown?

From Fox News:
MARFA, Texas – A Texas agency says Playboy has 45 days to remove a neon-lit 40-foot high sculpture of the magazine's iconic bunny logo from a West Texas road.

The Texas Department of Transportation ordered the removal of the sign, called "Playboy Marfa," because Playboy does not have a license for outdoor advertisement in Texas.

The El Paso Times reports officials representing Playboy said the company has not violated any laws and will try to resolve the agency's concerns.

Officials were alerted about the sign after Marfa resident Lineaus Lorette filed a complaint. "I thought it was a sign -- a corporate logo. And in Texas you can't put up signs without permits," Lorette said. "I checked and it didn't have a permit so I filed a complaint."

Lorette says some Marfa residents are upset the company has used their town, known as a hub for artists, for marketing purposes.

"I was really ambivalent. It's a beautifully made sign," Lorette said. "The problem is that it's a sign. The rules have to apply to everybody."

Veronica Beyer, TxDOT's director of media relations in Austin said that the agency is treating the case like any other instance in which someone puts up a road side advertisement without a license in an area that does not qualify.

The sign is part of a roadside art display designed by New York contemporary artist Richard Phillips and Playboy's creative director of special projects Neville Wakefield. The installation features the offending sign perched atop a post and a concrete platform displaying a stylized version of 1972 Dodge Charger, a classic American "muscle car."

PR Consulting, a firm that represents Playboy, said that they do not consider that "the art installation by Richard Phillips violates any laws, rules or regulations. Our legal counsel is currently looking into this matter and we hope to resolve this issue satisfactorily and as quickly as possible."

Located in the heart of West Texas, Marfa is known as a hub for artists and creative types. It is also no stranger to out-of-the-ordinary roadside art exhibitions. Prada Marfa, an installation that mimics one of the high-end fashion brand's stores in the middle of a pasture was erected in 2005 along the same road as the Playboy display.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Monahans, Texas is getting a Bush's Chicken!  Finally, Monahans residents have a reason to live!

Is Kermit Getting Tired of Kermit the Frog?

(We at Frogtown have long celebrated the now-fading images of Kermit the Frog which first appeared in 2005 when he visited our town. See here, here, here and here. But some residents and former residents of Kermit may be feeling differently ... )

From NewsWest9:
Posted: Jul 24, 2012

From Kermit on Tour.

By Sylvia Gonzalez NewsWest 9

KERMIT - It's not easy being green in Kermit.

Several people in the small town of Kermit have taken to Facebook to express their disgust for Kermit the Frog. Some want to see him permanently removed while others like having the amphibian around.

"We were proud to be the fighting Yellow Jackets, we've never been the frogs," former Kermit resident, Allen Vinyard, said.

The Facebook page, Kermit Memories, has been seeing more comments than usual and it all revolves around Kermit the Frog. There are people who believe they're seeing too much of him in town.

Vinyard lived in Kermit during his school years, and even though he no longer lives there, he says its embarrassing the reaction people get when he reveals where he is from.

"It's insulting to me when I tell someone where I grew up and they say oh like Kermit the Frog, and I say no like Kermit Roosevelt, which the town was named after," Vinyard said.

Many of the residents that NewsWest 9 spoke to didn't have any negative feelings towards the frog, as a matter of fact they are proud of it.

Austin Williamson is the starting quarterback for the high school football team and he says when he plays in other towns he actually likes hearing comments about Kermit the Frog.

"I take it as a compliment because I want a lot of people to know what Kermit is, but you have to tell them what it is, what it actually is. It's more than just a frog. I think it is just a little design, there's nothing wrong with it just being there," Williamson said.

Some of the comments on Facebook read, "The stupid frog was nothing until some California hippies got lucky. Kermit, Texas is way more important than the stuffed sock."

Another one read, "death due to an allergic reaction to a yellow jacket."

Lane Nutt is a business owner and he says he uses the frog as a conversational piece.

"In my business, I have lots of calls and they always make some comment about Kermit the Frog, it's kinda like a conversational piece, it doesn't bother me," Nutt said.

Nina Huda is a former resident of Kermit, who says the Facebook comments is just the beginning of what they plan on doing to get rid of the frog.

"We are going to be doing petitions and sending them to the City Manager's office," Huda said. Many residents say they're subject is clear. "Get rid of the frog," Huda said.



The Santa David

(Big Spring, Texas is a booming community about 100 miles east of Kermit. This story made the AP national news wire in early December, and I'm pleased to bring it to you, late as usual. Enjoy!)
From the San Angelo Standard-Times:
Naked 'Santa David' statue offends Big Spring neighbors
The Associated Press
Updated Monday, December 7, 2009

BIG SPRING, Texas --- A Texas homeowner who adorned his front lawn with Michelangelo's "David" as a scantily clad Santa got more than just jolly laughs from his neighbors.

Barry McBee says he was aiming to make people chuckle by adding a Santa hat and white beard to the 5-foot-tall replica of the Renaissance statue with six-pack abs an image at odds with usual depictions of a fat, jolly St. Nick.

Then, parents started calling Big Spring city officials saying their children were asking why Santa was naked.

"I just like to shock people to make them laugh, kind of break the monotony around here," said McBee, who has all kinds of animal yard ornaments in his garage. "I just bring them out occasionally."

Last week, code enforcement officials received an informal complaint and an officer went to photograph where McBee had placed the statue, which is normally in the back yard.

The sculpture on the corner lot along a main road into McBee's subdivision did not violate any town ordinances, and the copy of one of the world's most well-known statues did not involve any obscenity issues, said Linda Sjogren, city attorney in Big Spring, about 290 miles west of Dallas.

But Sjogren, concerned that complaints would continue, decided to consult with others on a possible remedy. She posted a query on the Texas Municipal League's secure Web site, which someone with access to then reposted on Facebook.

Sjogren left McBee a voice mail last week, requesting that he put more clothes on David.

McBee relented after his friends teased him as well, putting a pair of black and white faux-velvet shorts, with a Christmas bow, on the statue.

"I think if it offends any children, I didn't want to do that," McBee said. Lest he end up with a bag of coal for Christmas.

Yet Another Kermit

This one is behind the metal shop at Kermit High School. I didn't know of its existence until Liz asked me why I hadn't blogged it.

Artoo-Detoo - Imperial, Texas

48 miles south of Kermit,

on the campus of the Buena Vista Independent School District.

Metal shop project?

A New Kermit ... and Two Old Ones

This one really is new. It appeared about June 2008 on the front window of a local bar called Spanky's. It depicts Kermit the Frog as a Dallas Cowboys player.

We do love the Cowboys around here.
These two Kermits date back to the 2005 celebration. The building housed a bicycle shop at that time. It since closed, and a tortilleria recently went in. They preserved the window art though!

Christmas in Odessa, Part 1

After thanking God that Christmas is over, I shall now proceed to talk about it some more.

One of our favorite Christmas stops is in fact a private farm-type residence somewhere in Odessa which for many years has opened its gates to the public each December and which is decked out with many small wonders:
The owners charge no admission. It's a labor of love.
There used to be even more decorations at this place in previous years, but the owners have had to scale back for various reasons.
The train has a bell for the kids to ring. Robert is almost too big to fit inside it...
not that he cares.

The ponies are the size of a large dog. They have no known connection to Christmas, but they sure are cute.

An angelic choir rotates and sings.

Yard Art

This is in front of a house in Midland.  I'm still looking for a yard statue of McCain, Biden or Palin.

And this traffic-stopping (and possibly accident-causing) sculpture protrudes from a house on a busy street in Odessa.