Thanks to Paul Berger for name-checking Daily Heights in his New York Times article about the renegade anagram bandit who’s been messing with the marquee of the long-closed Flatbush Pavilion movie theater:
“David Collins, a tall, thin, 43-year-old father of two, was tired of seeing the marquee of the Flatbush Pavilion display the same film titles since it closed in May 2004. There’s only so much staring at “Van Helsing” and “Man on Fire” that a man can stand, especially when the titles appear on both sides of the marquee. So one night last month Mr. Collins, an investor relations consultant, lugged out his stepladder and took matters into his own hands. He climbed up and rearranged most of the letters to spell ‘Hanna Have Snail Venom For Ginseng Firm.'”
Huh. Wasn’t that “Ginseng Fern”? Ah, anyway…
It would have been simple for Paul to point out that Sarah broke the story of the “sign enhancement” right here on Dailyheights.com … but even better, Paul gave a shout out to the chatter in the Prospect Heights Message Boards:
“Indeed, the message boards at the Web log Dailyheights.com have been full of suggestions for alternative films and even rumors that the graffiti is part of a guerrilla marketing campaign. Last week, someone complained that Van Helsing should be returned, and Mr. Collins’s reply was swift. Within a couple of days, he turned the M upside down to form ‘Van Helsings AWOL in Iran.'”
“With enough letters to spell Miers, FEMA and Nagin, expect more topical offerings coming to this theater soon.”
Finally, this line is great:
“I thought if I changed it, it might make people think a bit more about their surroundings.”
It’s exactly the reason Dailyheights.com exists.