NWSF Bullet: The "What tha ?" Sculpture

Now this will probably only interest those readers who live in Durham, have passed through Durham on their way to Atlanta or have kin folks in Durham whom they would like to call right now and have a good hee haw at their expense.

I was rollin' down the Durham Freeway the other night and I saw this big beam of light shootin' towards the heavens.

(For the wise apple from Iowa ,again, who just said "It was probably a helicopter spotlight lookin' for some of those famous Durham criminals"...That ain't funny)

Anyway, it was not an attempt to contact the Brother from Another Planet. Or for my P-Funk friends who still listen to 8 Tracks and wear high heel boots; an attempt to call down George Clinton's Mothership.)

It was Durham's new toy..Drum roll please....

The Plensa "Bridge to the Sky Sculpture!" Which I affectionately refer to as the "What tha?" sculpture. You know, the masterpiece that Raleigh turned down a while back.

According to a News and Observer story from last October, some folks here think it's a big deal and will be just the thing that Durham needs to become another Hollywood, Broadway or Star Trek Convention host city.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/durham/durham/story/1265376.html

I don't know. Just looks like a light pointing up to the sky to me...

But what do I know, my idea of fine art is that painting of the bull dog with the derby and cigar shooting pool on the velvet background...

Good thing is that our tax dollars didn't pay for the oversized flashlight, Capital Broadcasting is flippin' the bill.

But according to the article, the city is going to pay about 4 grand a year for maintenance.

But that's over a 25 year period!

Some may say that that's not a lot of money but when you watch the news every night and there are tales of folks losing their homes left and right because of the Depression/Recession...

Well, seems like a lot of loot for a glorified, potted light saber.

Oh, well.

Maybe some good will come out of it. Maybe it will bring more tourists to the area. Or maybe the hundreds of homeless people who wonder around downtown can warm their hands from the heat of the 7,000 watt light bulb when temperatures dip below freezing this winter...