Here’s Basil, on the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia:
He’s in front of this mural, well-known to the habituées of the Amtrak Station in Philadelphia (and now, to those who use this section of the Schuylkill River Trail):
I’ve always liked this painting, perhaps against my better judgment. It creates in me a genuine cognitive dissonance: It’s a painting, on a building, of marine life, above a river, looking a great deal like a view into an aquarium tank. It’s all a bit too much — but the whales are excellent, and it’s certainly a memorable landmark.