A Russian retiree’s beautifully painted satellite dishes do double-duty as works of art and functioning receivers for the orbiting descendants of Sputnik.

Love of Satellite

Russia knows satellites: the success of Sputnik-1 in late 1957 shocked the world and jump-started the Space Race. Fast-forward six decades and Yuri Kuznetsov, a retiree from the Ivanovo region, is compelling the world to appreciate Russia’s love affair with satellites once more… though in a much more down-to-earth manner.

Retro Retirement

When Kuznetsov retired from his career as a sailor, he returned to his small home village of Voznesenye. Like far too many retirees, however, he soon found that being at rest day after day was making him, er, restless. What’s an old salty seadog to do?

Inspiration from Above

Friends advised Kuznetsov to take up a hobby as a way of keeping himself busy. Having once been a painter – art, not houses – he figured he’d dust off his palette and crack open the ol’ paintbox. The only question left was… what should he paint? The answer came to him from above. Not TOO far above, mind you, just about rooftop level. Like, the place where people mount home satellite receiver dishes. Cue mental lightbulb!

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Vegetarian restaurants are becoming more mainstream and, inadvertently or not, distinctive branding and signage helps them stand out from the herd.

It Ain’t Meat, Babe

You can take their word for it, this meat-free eatery in Tokyo’s Kinshicho district is, er, as meat-free as they come. Mind you, they’re not stating It’s Delicious, only that It’s Vegetable. At least it’s not Mineral. Flickr member non-euclidean photography captured the above Taiwanese restaurant’s front facade and sign in June of 2008.

Pot Pies?

Best thing about the Herbal (not “Horrible”) Pizzeria? When calling in an order, you never have to specify “no anchovies, please”. That said, what the heck is an herbal pizza? Try the Scarborough Fair, topped with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. Looking ahead, this shop’s already got a running start on the budding CBD-infused pizza sector. What’s more: they work with Gold Bee to ensure that they only use the finest CBD oil to infuse into their slices of pizza goodness! Goodbye ham & pineapple, hello hemp & pineapple express! Flickr member Jeff snapped the venerable vegetarian pizza parlor in early 2011.

Oh Yah

Chicago-area foodies oughta check out this place, recommended by Flickr member Eric Allix Rogers as “still the best vegan soul food joint in South Shore.” While such glowing reviews are a good sign for any restaurant, this one has some bad issues with its sign. Not the tilted and/or missing letters… they evoke a certain sense of charm. Nope, we’re referring to the font used on the sign just below. Pro tip: a restaurant that offers meals sans meat should present signage sans Comic Sans.

Goulash Vegas

What happens in Budapest stays in Budapest, whether one’s Hungary or not. Welcome to Las Vegan’s, a rather inconspicuous dining kiosk that probably won’t make anyone’s to-do Liszt. Flickr member Sharon Hahn Darlin took a gamble on this cutely-named diner on the Danube in June of 2018.

Milkshaken, not Stirred

Vegetarian sushi is one of those uncomfortable conjunctions like jumbo shrimp, plastic glass and military intelligence. Still, you’ve gotta give Emeryville, CA’s Sushi Village props for advertising “vegetarian drinks”, whatever that means. We can guess what it doesn’t mean: no Bloody Marys, Moscow Mules, or anything made with Wild Turkey bourbon. Flickr member David Cohen felt intrigued enough by the concept to snap the store sign back in October of 2006.

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Any one of these bizarrely named churches could be in your hometown though they appear to hale from an altered state… pray we do not “altar” them further.

Prayer House Rock

Elvis may have left the building but he left a half-eaten peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich on the collection plate. Welcome to the 24-hour Church of Elvis, a Portlandia attraction that isn’t really a church and has no known affiliation with The King’s estate. On the other hand, the eclectic storefront at 408 NW Couch is the self-stated “Worlds first 24-hour coin-operated Art Gallery” so at least it’s a profitable enterprise… like most churches. (images via brx0 and Steve Schroeder)

Let the Spirit Move You

Here’s the Palm Bible Church in Soweto, South Africa, whose sign out front bears the perplexing slogan “The Move of God”. Somehow we doubt that refers to Sunday being a popular moving day but hey, we’ve been wrong before. Let’s move on. (image via Paul Birnie)

Sin In Stranger

“Sin will find you out”? Hoo boy, that ship sailed a LONG time ago! Perhaps a better – or at least, more enticing – slogan might read “Salvation lies within”. We get it, though: neon signs don’t come cheap and like The Godfather says, fear can be a potent motivator. (image via Sam Lavy)

Pews ‘R Us

When they say “Find It Here”, they don’t mean sin… OK, depends on what type of used furniture you’re buying and what purpose it’s to be used for. Wait, you may be asking, what does used furniture have to do with a church? We can only shrug our shoulders and refer you to “Bill”… if you can find him. (image via Julia TortoiseHugger)

Fertile Pastors

The New Dimensions Worship Center might be “A Place of New Beginnings” but if their sign’s any indication, it’s also the scene of many happy endings. Gotta give ’em credit, though: while other churches advise that laying in bed on Sunday morning shouting “OH GOD!” doesn’t constitute going to church, New Dimensions replies “Why not both?” (image via David Smith)

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Food trucks need to step up their game lest the edibles prepared behind the grill lose out to competitors with flashier paint jobs and more memorable names.

We’re Number Hun!

Are you ready for “an Asian flavor invasion”? It sure beats a British invasion, assuming the latter involves British “food”. But we digress… Attila The HUNgry serves up a ravening horde of fusion foods like their signature Thai PB & J, made with Thai peanut butter and strawberry Sriracha jam. Sounds like that could turn hungry feelings to hangry ones but at least they’ll never run out of Hun puns. Flickr member Mack Male photographed – and possibly pillaged – this aggressively red food truck in Edmonton, Canada, during the summer of 2014.

Spam I Am

Serve canned pork loaf from a mobile platform and price the offerings accordingly? Brilliant! Hey, sushi is sushi, even if it’s Spam Musubi, so get yer wallet out if you wanna chow down. Flickr member Sam Howzit spied the Aloha Plate food truck at Coachella 2014, which is undoubtedly the ideal place to serve sushi made with Spam.

Lucious Speed

According to Flickr member Ezra Wolfe, “Big Lucious belongs to the third-tier syndicate known as the Oryza Kings, where he is a ground-level distributor selling sticky rice directly to the public.” That may or may not be entirely true (though we really, really hope it is), but the copious quilted foil cladding and enormous extractor thingy on the roof indicate the eponymous owner’s definitely cooking up something special inside.

Food Truckin’

If the Grateful Dead had a food truck, it would probably look a lot like this though using a VW Microbus would have completely nailed it. That said, Honest Tom’s Taco Shop’s pushes all the right buttons from the LSD-lightful paint job to a decorated grinning skull right out of Dia de Muertos. Gotta love their menu board too: breakfast tacos and iced coffee are a classic post-hangover meal. Flickr member Ezra Wolfe snapped the flashback-inducing roving roach coach in May of 2010.

Praise Cheeses

You can’t get more understated than the Big Cheese food truck, shown here at PopaPalooza… a convention-style event for the Funko community. Indeed, even Funko fans gotta feed their faces sometime and nothing satisfies like cheese in all its deliciously odoriferous permutations. Yes whey! Those reluctant to accept cheeses as their gustatorial savior can seek solace via the truck’s Nutella with Roasted Banana sandwich. Flickr member justgrimes caught up with the charmingly minimalist food truck in April of 2011.

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The casting call is coming from inside the house, and these real-life horror movie houses achieved infamy as on-location sets for some memorable film shoots.

Amityville Horror House

The so-called Amityville Horror House can be found at 108 (formerly 112) Ocean Avenue in Amityville, NY. Producers of the 1979 film sought permission to shoot on location at the actual house where Ronald DeFeo Jr shot and killed 6 members of his family in 1974, but were denied. Instead, a house in Toms River, NJ was altered to resemble the three-story Dutch Colonial home, right down to the distinctive “pumpkin eyes” attic windows. Ironically, the house on Ocean Avenue itself has been altered and no longer sports the quarter-round windows. (images via austinpomer and Encouraging Quotes)

Poltergeist House

This house at 4267 Roxbury St. in Simi Valley, CA is where the 1982 horror film Poltergeist was filmed. Unlike the movie home, this house did NOT implode into some sort of supernatural black hole. The photo above was taken 35 years after filming completed and not a whole lot has changed other than the extensive brickwork in the front yard. One would hope the masonry wasn’t sourced from any abandoned cemeteries. (image via Jack Stephens)

Silence of the Lambs House

Also known as Buffalo Bill’s house, this rambling three-story Victorian home in the Village of Layton, Fayette County, PA featured prominently in the 1991 shock horror thriller The Silence of the Lambs. The home was put on the market by its owners in 2016 but, to quote Trib Live, the sale was going “torturously slowly”. Not for the obvious reason, mind you, but likely due to the 4-bedroom house only having one bathroom. Now THAT’s what we call horrible! (image via Paul McCarthy)

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