Monday, December 04, 2006

Great. Thanks a lot, Cait...


I’ve been trying to ignore this new obsession I have with all things crugly. Crugly = Christmas-ugly. I know not everyone is as enthralled with this as I am, so I’ve tried to limit my posts of the tacky, horrid, or just plain monstrous decorations that are out there, festering like a sucking chest wound.

And then Cait comes along and brings to my attention a wondrous, magnificent event so horrifying that I’m hooked all over again.

As I am the Queen of All Things Crugly, I present to you The Annual Austin, Tx, 37th Street Christmas Decorations!

Oh the horror! Oh the humanity! Oh the decorated toilet!

Ok, I’ll stop now.

Apparently this is a huge event in Austin every year. An entire neighborhood street goes above and beyond the call of crugly. People travel from near and far to see these atrocities, with traffic backed up for over a mile. I liken it to driving past a 10-car pile-up; no matter how gruesome, you just can’t look away.

I’ll try to only post the most awesomest photos, I’ll add the links at the bottom so you can all go bask in the warmth of the true meaning of Christmas! Don’t say I didn’t warn you. I Blame
Cait.


(Click on photos to enlarge)


Ovens are popular, as are toilets and cars











Claus ka-bob?









Crap-tastic! Empty Tic Tac boxes and Renu bottles (I don't know why)






I thought this was a perfectly lovely house, until I realized that the green sign was for GoldenPalace.com, the casino.











Were there chickens in the manger?






Flamingo tree topper








Too tired to hang lights? Why not just leave them in the box and nail it to the wall?





If you haven't had enough, you can check these out.

The Marlin, and check out his scales, they're made of pieces of CDs.

What to do with all those empties.

Yogurt anyone?

Barbie The Croc Hunter,Barbie The Alien Hunter,and Barbie The Mermaid

Tin Foil House

And the tackiest of tacky: Dryer hose worms!

You can take a virtual tour, or peruse groups of photos:

Tweedel Johns Mac Gregor Rice


I'm done now.

17 comments:

sage said...

At least there were no creche's with hogs...

When it comes to Christmas, I believe less is more. My faith is confirmed when I start taking down all the Christmas stuff...

Karen said...

Really, the place is a joy to behold. The rest of the year, it is a lovely neighborhood of older homes & cottages that have been restored. But this is their "thang" every year. And, seriously, the sidewalks are crowded, the street is bumper to bumper, every night of the week for several weeks. It's whimsical, and VERY Austin. Whereas some other towns might be embarrassed by this display, Austin revels in it, in it's weirdness. We also have made a celebrity of Leslie, Austin's homeless crossdresser. My daughter has a picture of herself with Leslie, which was taken at her bachelorette party (Leslie hangs out a lot of the time on 6th Street, downtown. 6th Street is Austin's street for clubbing and fun.). She treasures the picture.

Kansas said...

I love the fact that Leslie feels no need to shave his beard. But why is he still homeless, since he’s so well known? I

loved all the pictures of 37th street. Some of the displays were absolutely bizarre (like the water skiing Santa being pulled in a boat by Rudolf) but others were lovely and quite creative, like the lights crammed in pretty bottles on a porch wall. I actually loved the light-in-boxes-nailed-to-wall idea. It gives the house a quilted look and is totally creative.

I had a hard time not posting all the photos I found, there was just so much cool stuff. I think 37th street is absolutely fabulous! Thanks for the heads-up!

Karen said...

37th Street is great fun. Every year, a few things change or are added to houses that essentially don't change. I always find new things when we go. Then I wonder if they were there before, but I didn't notice. The house with the light packages that look like computer mother boards is the coolest one. The things on the outside walls all depict what the room is inside. So, that room is, voila, the computer room. The kitchen has the lighted colander and other utensils and items from a kitchen. The bathroom is the one with the pill bottles strung on the lights. The laundry has a lighted longhorn made with flex hose and other things. It's so damned interesting and creative.

I think Leslie is homeless because he likes it. He's actually quite famous in Austin. One woman, who lives in the ritziest part of the city asked Leslie to stay in her home while she was away on a trip. Her neighbors were infuriated. I think he invited a bunch of his compadres to come stay with him, and the place turned into something of a hobo camp. I thought it was priceless. Apparently the lady was not fond of the neighbors and thought the whole thing would be a good lesson for them.

Anonymous said...

Al Bundy lives.

Kansas said...

I believe it was Peg Bundy who had the knack for decorating.

Kansas said...

May the fleas of 1000 camels infest your speedo!

Anonymous said...

Hey, Anonymous, I make a lot more than $800 a month doing contract killings on assholes like you. I really enjoy my work, too. Don't come back here.

Kansas said...

Cool, contract killings! Can I make a list?

Seriously, anyone know who to track the spammers?

Anonymous said...

Hey, make a list, check it twice and send it to your favorite lady with a lot of cats on her blog. I'm the "anonymous" contract hitter.

Kansas said...

Ooooh, the intrigue! You are completely cloaked, you sneaky moose. I’m making my list even as we speak...

Karen said...

Try making it not too, too long. Ammo is expensive, ya know.

Karen said...

Hey, "Anonymous" actually wrote that comment above and somehow put my name to it. The scoundrel.

Kansas said...

You have a sneaky, evil moose running around over at your place, Cait.

Have any ideas on his/her identity?

Perhaps we should allow them to remain an Anonymoose. Good hitmen are hard to come by!

Karen said...

Well, I do have some ideas on identity, actually. But she thinks it's best to remain Anonymouse.

Karen said...

Anonymousse?

Kansas said...

Anonymousett?