The President assaults Lady Liberty (images found in Seattle/Ballad)

by Jack Brummet

On Thursday, there were stacks of this image in old newspaper boxes around downtown Ballard (Seattle, Washington). 8"x11", artist/prankster unknown.

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The Statue of Liberty and her Morton's toe

By Jack Brummet, Statue and Monument Ed.


Did you know the Statue of Liberty has the condition known as Morton's toe (or Greek foot or "Royal Toe" or "LaMay toe" or "Sheppard's Toe" or Morton's syndrome?  According to the Wikipedia:  "Long toe) is the common term for the condition of a shortened first metatarsal in relation to the second metatarsal. It is a type of brachymetatarsia."

"The metatarsal bones behind the toes vary in relative length. In Morton's foot, the first metatarsal, behind the big toe, is short compared to the second metatarsal, next to it. The long second metatarsal puts the joint at the base of the second toe (the second metatarsal-phalangeal, or MTP, joint) further forward. If the big toe and the second toe next to it are the same length, the second toe will be longer than the big toe," as shown in the photo below:

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Non-postcard views of four historical sites and monuments (Statue of Liberty, The Pantheon, Giza/Sphinx/Pyramids, Stonehenge)

By Jack Brummet, Monuments and World Heritage Sites Ed.


Here are some backsides/darksides of those gorgeous photos and postcards of famous monuments and sites.  If you have other ones, send them to us!

The Statue of Liberty as seen from Jersey City, as opposed to from the harbor:

A view of Stonehenge from the parking lots, as opposed to the normal image you see:

Two photos of Giza/The Sphinx, and the more usual postcard shot:

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The Statue of Liberty in Madison Square Park

By Jack Brummet, American History Ed.

The arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty was on exhibit in Madison Square Park from 1876-1882 to raise $$$ for the completion of the statue. In 1982, it was moved to what is now called Liberty Island and attached to the rest of the Statue of Liberty. 

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Photos and notes from The Staten Island Ferry

By Jack Brummet, NYC/Metro Editor

It may sound corny, but The Statue of Liberty was always one of my totems when I lived in NYC, and maybe even more so now, since my other totem was demolished on 9/11/2001.  When I actually lived in New York, the Staten Island Ferry cost either a nickel, a dime, or a quarter; it's free now. 

Taking the Staten Island Ferry, you see the fantastic working harbor, sailboats, cabin cruisers, cruise ships, barges, Governor's Island, and, of course, Ellis Island, and Staten Island. As the ferry pulls away from South Ferry you get great vistas of downtown, and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. You see the new skyscrapers in Hoboken, and after a while, the massive and extremely long Verrazano Bridge, that links Staten Island to Brooklyn.

It was good to see the Lady of the Harbor up close once again. I saw a few older folks--probably one-time immigrants--with tears in their eyes as we pulled alongside The Statue of Liberty. 

On my last trip here. . .three or four years ago, I didn't get out into N.Y Harbor, so it was a priority on this visit.  I like the Statue as a work of art, but mainly as a symbol of not so much what we are, as what we can be.

-Click photos to enlarge-

The Staten Island terminal at South Ferry

Near the ferry dock, with a view of--I think--Hoboken (Jersey City? Seacacus? I don't know...) 

Downtown, as the ferry pulls away.  In the left 1/3 of the photo, you

can see 1 World Trade Center under construction. They recently

changed the name from the previous and misguided title,

Freedom Tower.

The Verrazano Bridge, linking Staten Island to Brooklyn

a closer shot of the Verrazano, the longest bridge in

North and South America; when it was built in 1964,

it was the longest bridge in the world

The gal, with tourists lining the base

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