Monday, March 31, 2008

Progress!!

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE GENERATED BY THE D&B D-U-N-S REQUEST PORTAL.

Your D-U-N-S Number Record at D&B has been modified.

For those businesses already registered in CCR, this new data will be available for you to accept at CCR's Update/Renew link within 1-3 business days.

For those businesses that have not yet registered in CCR, any changes to entity name and address will become available to CCR within 24 to 48 hours.

For questions about the CCR registration process, contact the CCR Help Desk in the U.S. at 269-961-5757. For questions about your D-U-N-S Number, contact D&B in the U.S. at 1-866-705-5711 or email govt@dnb.com

Now, for the next 1-3 business days...
-rw

Jumbo Lemon, 1925

 

Hot Dog!

 

Still no progress...

...Just re-checked the DUNS number site - no update.

Dun & Bradstreet site, so I don't have to keep searching for it every few days...

-rw

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Just checked DUNS update progress...

...and the changes to the World's Largest Things info is still not updated on their site, so we remain stuck in Federal Grant world limbo.

We'll keep you posted!

EN & RW

Amazon links

New to the Books Page, some Amazon links for direct purchasing of items featuring the WLCoWSVoWLT. We get a percentage of purchases for directing traffic, so shop often!

Dontcha just love our interconnected world?
-RW

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Backyard Visitors on a Fine Saturday Afternoon

Had a great set of people through the backyard, both of which (I believe) called first...

Two sets of couples, and three kids total, with some additional pass-throughs were caught looking in the windows... Which is completely OK! That's where the colleciton is kept, making the Mobile Museum Always Open when Parked.

Thanks, WLT Fans!
-EN

Friday, March 28, 2008

Thought for the day...

In his essay, The Empire of the Ugly, the great Belgian Sinologist and literary essayist Simon Leys recounts the story of how, writing one day in a café, a small incident gave him an insight into the real nature of philistinism.

A radio was playing in the background, a mixture of banal and miscellaneous chatter and equally banal popular music. No one in the café paid any attention to this stream of tepid drivel until suddenly, unexpectedly and inexplicably, the first bars of Mozart's clarinet quintet were played. "Mozart," Leys says, "took possession of our little space with a serene authority, transforming the café into an antechamber of Paradise."

The other people in the café, who until then were chatting, playing cards, or reading the newspaper, were not deaf to the radio after all. The music silenced them, they looked at each other, disconcerted. "Their disarray lasted only a few seconds: to the relief of all, one of them stood up, changed the radio station and re-established the flow of noise that was more familiar and comforting, which everyone could then properly ignore."

Here is the conclusion that Leys draws:

At that moment, I was struck by an obvious fact that has never left me since: that the real philistines are not those people incapable of recognizing beauty—they recognize it only too well, with a flair as infallible as that of the subtlest aesthete, but only to pounce on it and smother it before it can take root in their universal empire of ugliness.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Backyard MEMBER Visitors!

Two W.L. Things MEMBERS stopped by the Mobile Museum late this afternoon, and got a first look at the new displays being produced. To top it all off, one was even wearing the Official World's Largest Things Tee Shirt!

Thanks for stopping by, and Keep on Living Large!
-Erika Nelson, Director, WLT Inc.

IMLS Grant Completed!

Whew - that was a big one to cross off the list. I've been listening to our Web Maven, Rachel, about stopping the whining. The thought was, if you're spending time stressing over it, or using "Just One More Re-Write", you won't go anywhere. In short, the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf program provides references for small museums and libraries in Collections Care. Since WLT Inc. is in just that type of business, but in the start-up phase, we thought it'd be a great idea to start things out using best practices in the formative stages, instead of realizing 5 years down the road we need to implement collections policy. So, we've applied for their resource help.

Are you a library or museum? You can apply, too, for this great set of resources. Deadline has been extended to April 30, but, as Rachel would tell you, "Stop your whining and DO IT!"

Apply at the American Association for State and Local History.

Re: Gov't Biz Results

Subject: Gov't Biz Results


Good Afternoon Ms. Nelson,

I received the comments regarding the Government Biz Results header.

After reviewing your CCR registration, I can explain the reason for your rejection. It is due to a lack of a physical address in your D&B file. Central Contractor Registration requires a physical address for registration.

Please feel free to contact the D&B Government Customer Response Center toll free at 866 705-5711. An analyst will be happy to assist with your update; however, please be aware D&B must be able to verify a physical address via third party unbiased sources. I researched your corporate charter with KS Secretary of State and noticed a p.o.box of 101 as your registered address. While a p.o. box cannot be used as a physical address on your DUNS, the physical address for the registered agent, could be used.

If I may be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. Our goal is to assist all businesses needing to register at CCR.gov for Gov't grants/contracts as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Best Regards,
Anna




Thank you! My issue was in the time delay regarding the application. I appreciate the notification that there needed to be more information, and have (hopefully) corrected the error. I do post what we're doing on the corporate blog to keep our board and members informed of progress, and will re-post with the positive actions your department have taken.

Thank you again,
Erika Nelson, Director
World's Largest Things, Inc.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Government Biz Results

Got an email today from one of the many layers of government tape you have to slog through to start applying for federal grants...

After applying for a DUNS number, you have to wait for your pin. It's typically 3-5 business days. WLT Inc. applied in May 2007, and we just got a "application incomplete" notice (one more box needed to be checked) today, a mere 10 months later. After correcting the error, I got another message saying "Check back in 3 - 5 business days...".

At this rate, we may be able to start applying for Federal grants in 2010!

Yours in Frustration,
EN and RW

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Makin' Models!

Got a bit more done in the World of World's Smallest... Painted up the WS Version of the WL Van Gogh in Goodland KS, the official WS Version of the WL Souvenir Travel Plate, and the orange sections of the WS Version of the WL Pelican.

Also, eagerly awaiting the delivery of bases for the new musuem displays - genuine marble!

Yay. Progress As Promised.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Display Development

2/3 of the WLT Inc. board met for a hands-on brainstorming session, developing the WS Versions of Kansas display for the upcoming Kansas Sampler Foundation Sampler Festival, May 3-4, Concordia Kansas.

We've got the boxes, most of the hardward for the legs, and image and model production is on track.

Check out the booth in Central Kansas, just a month and a bit away!

Friday, March 21, 2008

From the Email Inbox: Mystery bird Argentavis Magnificens

Real? Hoax? If anyone has information, please, pass it on!

Here are some entries I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentavis - although Wikipedia isn't much of an 'authority', take these with a grain of salt...

Here's where the image came from: http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/bodhidharma/giantbirds3.html

And, here's a long history of giant birds: http://sped2work.tripod.com/evidence.html

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Whew! Busy WLT Visitor day...

What a great day in Lucas! Started off with a van full of high-school kids, about 15 or so, then a group of ladies from Courtland Kansas getting ideas for their Funky Art Festival on June 7th. Follow that up with another van full of college spring break guys seeking out World's Largest Things (they knew the World's Largest Things Theme Song!!!) for their vacation plans, and you end up with a whole slew of World's Largest and Outsider Art Environment lovers.

Thanks for visiting! The Mobile Museum is Always Open When Parked.

-EN, Director, WLT Inc.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

From the Email Inbox: WLT Stories

Hello large-list compiler
I'm interested in producing my own story about large things. Please send me information about submissions. I noticed that although your website is "World's Largest Things," your "list" is limited to large things in the U.S.A. Are you also interested in large things outside the U.S.A.?

Big thanks— J. L.

Hi there, J. L. - No, we're not exclusive about USA World's Largest, that's just where we've started - I need to add a Canada and Australia set of pages, as they are the other two young countries with lots of World's Largest, we just haven't gotten there yet...

If you have stories and stats about World's Largest Things, regardless of where they are, we'd be happy to make pages for them! Text and images emailed are fine, if you'd like them included on the big site, or we can also link to stories you post on an external site either on the Blog or on the Big List of Whats Large Where.

What did you have in mind? Thanks for getting in touch, and hope to hear from you soon...

Erika Nelson, Director, WLT Inc.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Member Packets and Thank-Yous

Going out in the post today, a New Member member packet, a Renewing Member packet, a Thank You for your Generous Donation packet, and a request for DSL Sponsorship for World's Largest Things, Inc.

Friday, March 14, 2008

From the Email Inbox: Your Blackduck Article

Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 7:50 PM
Subject: Your Blackduck Article

I actually goto Blackduck very often.  I found it very neat that we had the largest black duck!  I just want to thank you for writing about it!
 
Your WebPasser-By,
Anonymous

WLT Visitors

Had a group of four exploring guys from Massachusettes through the Art Car yard and (non) Mobile Museum, on their way to Carhenge and on to the Badlands. They got an extra-special peek into the home base of World's Largest Things, too, as part of the WLCoWSVoWLT is being re-made and re-formatted for a new home. Thanks, guys, for stopping by...

From the Email Inbox: Thanks I like this information

Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 10:28 AM
Subject:  Thanks I like this information
 
Thanks for your web site, I know it takes a lot of work to find all this information.  Here one you might like to check out the cross in St. Augustine, Florida claims a height of 208 feet it can be seen from over 30 miles on land and over 50 miles from the sea. 
 
Thanks again, J.
 
 
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 9:19 PM
Subject: Re: Thanks I like this information
 
Thanks for the tip!  It's hard to keep up with all the giant crosses dotting the American landscape - there are also ones in Groom, Texas and Effingham, Illinois.  I didn't know about the St. Augustine, Florida one - Thank you!
 
-Erika Nelson, Director
World's Largest Things, Inc.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

New World's Largest Snowman!



BETHEL, MAINE – The good people of Bethel have officially broken the world record for the largest snowman, previously held by them, by 9 feet. Angus, King of the Mountain was replaced in the record books by a woman named Olympia SnowWoman who weighs in at 13,000,000 lbs. of snow. 5 foot wreaths were used for eyes, 16 skis for eyelashes, 130 ft. scarf, 30 ft. spruce trees for arms and 2,000 ft. of rope for hair.

It was a whole community effort with even the local kids pitching in. Elementary school children made the "carrot" nose made of muslin, chicken wire & wood frame. The Mt. Valley Middle School in Mexico (Mexico, Maine, that is) students painted a 48 ft. circumference fleece hat. And the Mahoosuc Kids Association painted 5 red auto tires that are used for lips.

Congratulations to the town of Bethel, the new world record holder and the first entry in the March Snowman Contest, submitted by Robin Tupper. Special thanks to Robin Zinchuk at the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce for the beautiful photos and their blessing in this month's competition.

Originally posted by Todays Snowman @ History of the Snowman

Spanish site linking to World's Largest Things...

It's always fun to see who's linking to our pages - here's a good one, as it also has the translation of the whole title, as well as W.L. Souvenir Travel Plate and W.L. Ball of Video Tape mentioned!

http://www.sofoca.cl/pebre/2007/10/16/las-cosas-mas-grandes-del-mundo/#comments

Las cosas más grandes del mundo - Pebre:

El sitio World's Largest Things reúne una lista de las cosas más grandes del mundo, desde el plato de souvenir más grande del mundo, la escultura de un maní más grande del mundo y la pelota armada con cinta de VHS más grande del mundo. Incluso tiene la colección más grande del mundo de las versiones más pequeñas del mundo de las cosas más grandes del mundo. Link al sitio, su Flickr, su MySpace, su blog.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Spudmaster Colossal Chips

Call these guys!  See their factory in a small town, thinking big!  Buy their product! 
 
They sent a sample of their chips, in two giant boxes.  I'm talking them down to a License Tag Tree event in Partridge, to share with other people who care about small towns doing amazing things for an official taste and evaluation, which we'll send back to Toni. 
 
What a great idea, and some darn good lookin' chips - it's hard to resist opening the bags immediately.  Until then, see their story on their site: 
 
 
They're HUGE!

Spudmaster Colossal Chips

These arrived in the mail Monday, and I just can't WAIT to tear 'em open... As the bucket says:
 
The World's Largest, Most Unique, Gourmet Potato Chips!

Giant Potato Chip from Spudmaster

...here's the end result - a 10" chip!!!  Wow...

Potato! Big, big potato...

From the photos Spudmaster sent with their wonderful potato chips...  Here's a pre-chipped spud.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Working...

Oh, Life in the Arts. No, it's not a 9 - 5 job, it's a "Awake? That means you're working" job...

Yesterday, made some good headway in projects in Salina and Concordia, brainstorming installation ideas for a WLT in Kansas shadowbox for the Sampler Festival, 1st part of May.

Art Cars in June at the Smoky Hills River Festival, with business emails flying the first part of the morning, contract talks with a local group making an Art Walk (maybe - it's not official without a contract!!)

Some community-building with other individuals and organizations thinking about alternative methods of promoting their own artwork and roadside culture, and, as always, thinking up new and brilliant ideas for WLT Inc.

At some point, we'll be heading over to an opening in Lincoln KS at the Lincoln Art Center, with some WLT photos on display...

As I posted on a Flickr discussion: Art is Hard!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

W.L. Mural - 256,000 sq. ft.

The sky is the limit for mural artist
Dec 10, 2007 - 05:41:46 CST
By TONY SPILDE/Bismarck Tribune
Life, as always, is looking up for Ric Sprynczynatyk.

And up. And up.

"I am a very optimistic person, actually,"he said. "I'm always looking up. But with a head as big as mine, trying to hold up my fat noggin can be a bit of a struggle."

If you don't know Sprynczynatyk, you probably know his work. He spends a great deal of time with his head in the clouds, recreating skies around the world that are a close second to Mother Nature's originals. He just finished a ceiling in China where a patron looked up and thought it was going to rain.

Around town, Sprynczynatyk's most notable work is on the ceilings at the Bismarck Airport, Fiesta Villa and Space Aliens restaurant. Today, he'll finish his smallest commercial job - the foyer in the new Eye Center of the Dakotas building on Divide Avenue. At about 256 square feet, it's considerably smaller than his last job. Sprynczynatyk returned in October from Macau, where he painted the ceiling at the sprawling Venetian resort hotel. At 256,000 square feet - nearly six acres - it is the world's largest mural.

Sprynczynatyk was in China for nine months, then went to Las Vegas, then New York, back to Vegas and now home. He leaves again for Vegas on Thursday. He's the lead painter for Denver-based Sky Art, which does a lot of work in casinos and hotels.

But Sprynczynatyk likes the little jobs, too. Especially the ones at home.

"It's nice when somebody locally gives me a chance," he said.

The eye doctors on Divide Avenue were more than happy to extend the offering.

"Since we're eye doctors, when we were planning the building, we wanted it to be really visual," Dr. Robert Nordstrom - who lives on Vista Lane, by the way - said. "Throughout the entire office we've featured North Dakota artists, and we had Ric do the ceiling."

W.L. Mural - 116,000 sq. ft.


World’s Largest Mural

Categories: Arts & Literature, World's Largest
Location: 300 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA

"Planet Ocean" is the name of the famous mural that covers the entire 116,000-square-foot surface of the Long Beach Arena. The mural depicts life-size whales and other marine life. Its production required more than 3,000 gallons of paint – making it the world’s largest mural. Internationally renowned environmental artist, Wyland, painted it in the early 1990’s.

W.L. Mural - 315,949 sq. ft.


Aerial view of record-breaking five-acre mural in the Florida panhandle by artist Wyland. The mural was completed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan.

Artist Wyland to Break Own Record for World's Largest Mural
DESTIN, Fla., Sept. 21, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The artist responsible for nearly 100 marine life murals around the world -- many over an acre in total area -- is set to break his own world record for the largest painting ever created by one person. Marine life artist and environmentalist Wyland expects to complete a five-acre mural of sea life of the Gulf of Mexico this week in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, which rolled through the Florida panhandle on Thursday.

The mural, titled "Marine Life of the Gulf," will encompass the entire Legendary Marina, a 315,949-square-foot (7 1/4 acres) dry storage marina at the south side of the Mid-Bay Bridge on the Choctawhatchee Bay in Destin, Fla. The painting will break the artist's previous record listed in the 1993 Guinness Book of World Records by more than two acres.

Wyland completed the first phase of the project a month after September 11, 2001. In addition to the mural, he created a one-acre flag -- the largest painted flag in the world -- on the roof of the marina as a salute to the armed forces at nearby Eglin Air Force Base. Recently, another 150,023 square feet was added to the facility by Destin-based Legendary Inc., which owns the property, presenting the artist with an opportunity to break his own world record on the 134,000-square-foot Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif.

"This facility was enormous when I first painted it," said Wyland, who intends to complement the rooftop flag with a gigantic portrait of planet Earth. "When the people at Legendary told me they were doubling its size, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to break my first record mural. I already know it's bigger because my painting arm is twice as sore."

So far, the artist has used more than 10,000 gallons of paint on the Destin mural, which includes life-size humpback whales, blue whales, orcas and dolphins. He has completed 91 monumental "Whaling Wall" murals in 70 cities around the world as part of the 27-year, non-profit arts-in-public-places project. He hopes to complete the last in the series of 100 murals on a 10-mile stretch of the Great Wall of China in 2008.

NOTE: A dedication ceremony will be held from 1-2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, at the Legendary Marina (the location noted above).

World's Largest Mural Stats

The largest indoor mural measures 1,002 m² (9,731 ft²) and was painted by six artists in 7 days from February 27, 2005 at Shyam Vatika, Saraswati Estate, Cimmco Tiraha, Gwalior, India. The painting was co-ordinated by a professional mural artist (Aasutosh Panigrahi) and the owner of the place R P Maheshwary and Ankur Maheshwary. The six artists led by Aasutosh Panigrahi broke a previously held Australian record. The previous largest indoor mural measured 727.52 m² (7,830.96 ft²) and was located at Youth Club, Bernie, Tasmania, Australia on 30 June 2004.

The art features on all interior walls and ceilings of a privately owned auditorium, Shyam Vatika, which is used for banquet purposes. The art was purposefully done to break a previously held record. In August 2005 the art was appraised by Guinness World Records as the "World's Largest Indoor Mural".



Here's more:
ABU DHABI, Nov. 27 (WAM) - |In a country that is planning the world's tallest building and a series of mammoth off-shore tourist attractions, it is only fitting that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is also set on creating one of the biggest pieces of public artwork ever made, according to a report in ‘Gulf News'.

Especially when you consider that the work, a 1,500-foot mural, will represent the rapid development of the country into one of the leading players in the region. The artist bidding to put together the massive mural is Liaqat Ali Khan, a prominent Pakistani artist who has painted more than 1,000 official portraits of President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He is behind many public works commemorating National Day and Accession Day.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Online Find::guimp:: world's smallest website

World's Smallest Website!  Yes, it's fully functional, with pages and interaction... Get out your specs!!!
 
 
Only 18 x 18 pixels...

Monday, March 3, 2008

Biz of the Day

ReCap:

Scheduled another Kansas Humanities Council Speakers Bureau engagement for Tuesday, April 21st, at the Wichita Senior Center

Delivered artwork (including some WLT images and Outsider Art environment explorations) to Lincoln Art Center

Finalizing plans for upcoming Iowa speaking engagement, Saturday, April 26th, Iowa State University in Ames

Realized we ran out of time to apply for Creative Capital grant this time 'round

Mailed thank-you packet to Meta Member in Chicago

Caught up on emails and feedback from Hays Daily News article

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Hays Daily News article in Sunday's Nor'Wester

Full-page writeup in today's Hays Daily News!
 
Here's a link to the front page of the Nor'wester section: