Handmaid's Tale meets Alien in Times Square

Often on Saturday, a choir (I think they might be Amish) sings in the busy Times Square subway station. They set up in front of a panel of back-lit ads that changes from week to week. On a recent Saturday, the juxtaposition of puritanically-styled singers next to a promo for the latest Alien flick seemed to carry a hidden message. The end is near? Ain't life funny? What we define as 'alien' is only a matter of perspective?

Ad Space for Sale (Pine Plains, NY)

In many dystopic visions of the future, ads are everywhere, blinking fetchingly to get our attention, reading our minds to offer exactly what we crave, algorithmically adjusting prices to maximize market share and profits. But this handwritten ad, impossible to miss, is a far cry from that, appealing without being pushy, offering something people might actually need at an attractive price (assuming ones standards for quality aren't too high).

The Old (Upper) West (Side), Manhattan Valley

I'm not sure of the provenance of this cowboy. Street art? A long hidden Marlboro Man (or figure from another even more ancient ad campaign) newly revealed after the demolition of a neighboring building? In any event, I'm glad he's getting some air while there's still air and bit of blue sky to enjoy.

Signs of Dallas: Old & New

A cluster of signs across the street from the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center foretells the coming election while painted ads on the side of a building a block from where Kennedy was assassinated made me wonder if they signs were there in 1963, and if they were among the last things Kennedy saw before he was shot.