Permanent anticipation zone

September 6, 2006 7:07 PM

Permanent Anticipation Zone?

(Camera phone picture)

I saw this affixed to a transformer at the Forest Park "L" stop in Chicago.

The only reference to this phrase I can find is a piece by Jamie Pawlus, though I'm not sure if this is related. (I already have searched under his name, and read the links related to his work, mostly out of Indiana). I was wondering if anyone has further information about whether this is an intentional installation piece, or an authentic piece of communication from the CTA.

posted by klangklangston to media & arts (9 comments total)

A play on the Temporary Autonomous Zone perhaps?
posted by Succa at 8:10 PM on September 6, 2006

anticipation circuit ... i have no idea what that is or how it works with big transformers like that, but i think that's what it means
posted by pyramid termite at 10:08 PM on September 6, 2006

perhaps a Spanish speaker could help out - this may be an incomprehensible translation of some perfectly normal Spanish. Sorry if I'm barking up the wrong tree.
posted by altolinguistic at 3:02 AM on September 7, 2006

Well, that spanish text is pretty clearly "Permanent Anticipation Zone" (or, directly translated, "Permanent zone of the anticipation". I'm guessing that pyramid termite is on the right track.
posted by antifuse at 6:09 AM on September 7, 2006

Well, thanks. I'm giving the tentative best answer to Pyramid, but I'm still hoping that some other folks might wander by and know for sure. I'll mark it in a bit.
posted by klangklangston at 8:14 AM on September 7, 2006

(If it's a genuine CTA sign, it's got to get stolen all the fucking time...)
posted by nebulawindphone at 8:30 AM on September 7, 2006

Looks like a waiting zone to me.
posted by jon_kill at 1:07 PM on September 7, 2006

Maybe it's an area where loitering laws are suspended?

As in: "You can't hang around at the 7-11, but you can hang around at this bus bench (or what have you) because there's a legitimate need here for suspending a loitering ordinance."

Or something. I don't know. It's just a guess.
posted by SlyBevel at 1:20 PM on September 7, 2006

Jon_Kill: That's the installation from Jamie Pawlus.
I called the CTA media relations folks, and they're working on it for me.
posted by klangklangston at 1:44 PM on September 7, 2006