My (Mexican) roommate has a mug that appears to be from Lake Tahoe, in the US Sierra Nevada. It features a somewhat cartoonish painting of a Bald Eagle's head and a block of English text which informs us that "despite its majestic appearance, the Bald Eagle is primarily a scavenger and thinks nothing of stealing food from other birds of prey or taking advantage of carrion…"
It was a surprising way for a coffee mug from the US to present the national bird. Does the Lake Tahoe tourist board just need to hire a new design team? Or was the mug planted at a gift shop by some aging hippie who got a job there in order to disperse subversive messages about American identity amongst unwitting tourists? Or do all nationalistic artifacts begin to corrupt and degenerate when stranded for too long outside the US borders?
It was a surprising way for a coffee mug from the US to present the national bird. Does the Lake Tahoe tourist board just need to hire a new design team? Or was the mug planted at a gift shop by some aging hippie who got a job there in order to disperse subversive messages about American identity amongst unwitting tourists? Or do all nationalistic artifacts begin to corrupt and degenerate when stranded for too long outside the US borders?
strangely avi, you are not the first to notice a lake tahoe connection in mexico. in fact, an entire movie was recently made-- i won't say "about"-- but nevertheless referencing this phenomenon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6pU1c9J0ZI
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