I don't get it

Earlier today I saw a guy wearing a t-shirt which said on the front: "Where the hell is Grinnell?"
On the back, it simply said: "Who the hell cares?"

Is this shirt supposed to be for promoting Grinnell College? Is it satire? I don't quite get it.

other oddities...

if you go into a liquor store with someone else and that person is purchasing liquor, they will also card you*
This is some specifically Minnesotan thing, apparently. In addition to the funky restrictions of where and when, we went in to buy a bottle of wine & were both carded? For real? Yes. I thought the guy working there was joking but nope, he was dead serious. I wonder what the rationale is.
Is this supposed to prevent someone from purchasing something for someone under-age? How?
Couldn't that person just be waiting outside? Weirdos...

*they didn't seem to care when it was beer being purchased, or maybe the guys working there were too caught up in watching baseball.

On an exciting note, only a few more days til the Minnesota State Fair...will it astound & amaze and entertain as much as the Iowa State Fair? The Iowa State Fair, to be fair, did have deep fried butter, Janet Jackson (her career post-wardrobe malfunction days), Reba Mcentire and an assortment of cranky GOP hopefuls...

License plates...

One thing that is kind of unique is the sheer number of personalized/vanity plates you see here. It seems to be in much higher proportion than other places. *
The vast majority of the plates are the special Iowa State ones with many variations of
ISU love/support and reflections on the mascot, Cy-bird.
Often when I'm out or walking through the parking lot, I take note of how many vanity plates I see; and how high that proportion is to non-vanity plates. Also I like to see what things people come up with and what this might say about the particular person who requested such a plate.

Yesterday I saw the following:
SCHLTZ



* I haven't done any actual analysis of the comparison of these proportions.

bear...

I'm not sure this deserves a post without an accompanying picture but to be honest, I haven't been daring enough to snap a picture of someone's front lawn. On one of the streets on the walk to downtown- I couldn't actually say which one because I don't really pay attention to the street names. But on the corner house, a while ago, we noticed the bear. At first it was placed prominently out on the front lawn, near the edge of the lawn by the sidewalk. It's a sculpture/metal (?) or maybe ceramic black bear- maybe one foot tall, maybe a little larger. Yes a bear. And on its head it wears a pair of mens' underwear. The briefs kind (in white). I'm not making this up (why would I????) Soooooo... on the walk to town we pass bear with underwear.
Periodically the bear is moved to a different location- it was on a different spot on the lawn and then moved to the area closer to the front door.

I don't know anything else about it. Except it's a bear with a pair of underwear on its head.

house of crap, iii

Today he moved one of the pickup trucks (now parked on the lawn), to make room for the dumpster. Maybe he really is remodeling for Britney.
http://amazingcornacopia.blogspot.com/2010/04/house-of-crap-ii.html

Also, saw a baby bunny & two other bunnies.

House of Crap, ii

It's hard to really describe what I call, the Crap House. Mainly it's the front of the house which is a bit run-down and the collection of junk the owner stores in front of it. I pass by it often enough- since I have noticed it, the owner keeps: two very beat up looking trucks, and then on his lawn, an assortment of odds and ends. Of particular note, the cab top of a truck holds center court on the lawn. Under it, a pair of boots ( I think), one of those gallon plastic jugs you'd buy of spring water, and some assorted other items. His front door has some random newspaper cutouts on various parts. It isn't the worst house on the block (or the best). I'm pretty sure I have run into the owner on at least two different occasions (and now a third). If there was a way I could discreetly take a picture of his house I would try.
The first time I was in front of his house and he was riding his bike and when he noticed me, he said, I'm just riding to my house because I live there. Or something to that effect.
The other time he was also on his bike but a few blocks away, in which he told me it was a beautiful day not to get run over.

When we saw the crap house guy again, we were actually across the street from his house, admiring some birds. He was at the curb, by a vehicle, talking to someone. For some reason he saw us across the street and called over, (No joke), that he was getting ready for Britney Spears. That did seem like a non-sequitur. Then he elaborated by saying he was fixing up his house so it had greater curb appeal. I'm not sure how this related to Britney Spears, other than maybe she will be in Iowa and will want to stop by his house? Sometimes it's best not to question these things.

Odd things always seem to happen though, don't they?