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Saturday, July 18, 2009

NEON HISTORY

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FOTOS: HONOLULU'S VANISHING ELECTRIC HERITAGE

GONE THE GLOWING TUBES OF ADVERTISING GOODNESS

Old School Urban Night Lights Disappearing In The Dark

Translucent plastic fluorescent-lighted signs have largely replaced the garish neon of the 1940's, 50's & 60's as a means of advertising a small business in towns and cities all over America. Despised by many, banned by some towns, we never really missed them until they were almost gone. Now they are like the fireflies of our youth, merely a memory of a magical illumination in the blackness, victims of pollution light and dark. The signs once represented the hopes and dreams of little guys and gals around the country, staying up late to sling hash or pour beers, pump gas or bail you out of jail, all hoping to catch your eye with a bright and clever sign glowing in the darkness, hard-working night-owls trying to survive and maybe make that big score some day. Neon was used to indicate the raucous elements of night life in bad B-movies and great film noir, along with hot jazz and flashy characters, tilted cameras and sudden brilliant flashes of light. Sex, drugs and rock and roll all happened under a neon light for the first time for a lot of people back then. The neon lights that remain today remind us of our wonderfully tawdry past, like a lost motel on a forgotten highway. Here are some of the last neon signs left in downtown Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, in the State of Hawaii, USA.


[Click on photo to enlarge.]


neon24hr1 Copyright 2009 Cosanostradamus blog me no blogs


NEONaxxxtion1 Copyright 2009 Cosanostradamus blog me no blogs


NEONdh1 Copyright 2009 Cosanostradamus blog me no blogs


NEONfemmenu2 Copyright 2009 Cosanostradamus blog me no blogs


NEONmccully1 Copyright 2009 Cosanostradamus blog me no blogs


NEONkorean1 Copyright 2009 Cosanostradamus blog me no blogs


Images processed with the FREE GIMP GNU Image Manipulation Program downloadable HERE. It works just like Photoshop, for a HELL of a lot less money. I'm sure you can do a better job with it than I did.


MORE PHOTOGRAPHS OF HAWAII
http://blog-me-no-blogs.blogspot.com/search/label/hawaii-in-pictures

[Slideshow available at Hawaii Progressives. Full-sized hi-res version by arrangement. All photos copyright 2009 cosanostradamus. All rights reserved.]


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IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM YOUR BLOGGERS:
Suggestion Box & Tip Jar We would like to make over this blog to make it easier to access, to read and to comment on. We would also like to serve our readers better by providing more of what you need and want to see. All serious suggestions will be considered. We hope to move to our own domain in the near future, and we would like to ask for your financial assistance in doing that, and in upgrading our hardware & software. Small one-time donations and larger long-term subscriptions are welcome. Exclusive advertising is also available. If you think we are wasting our time in doing all this, please let us know. If you wish to help us, now is the time. As always, negative bullsh*t from right-wing trolls will be sh*tcanned. Thank you to everyone else. Please send feedback & PayPal contributions to cosanostradamusATexciteDOTcom. Thanks.
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