Wednesday, April 23, 2008

All That Trash

We have three containers in the alley behind our house that once a week get opened and emptied by two burly men in a glompin' big mechanical truck. (I hope these so-called garbage men get paid well for their contribution to society.) There are two of us in my household (and assorted animals) so it's not often that even one of the containers is full let alone all three; we often have one grocery shopping bag full of garbage each week for weeks on end. I don't know why but its true.

I wonder though do the burly men open up each container when they see it closed, and curse the resident when they see the container is empty? In other words, are we supposed to leave our containers open or closed? I always close them so the squirrels and other weather elements do not get inside. My across-the-alley neighbor keeps their containers open. The squirrels are always ripping the bags and scattering it's contents all over the alley. That's not very neighborly. In fact, if you're reading this 2047 Belmont Ave Denver CO clean up your act! (Glad to get that off my chest.)

Back to the trash at hand, if I leave the containers open the burly men don't have to take the time and their day possibly goes quicker, but the squirrels get in. So every week I go back to the alley wondering if these burly men opened all three of my containers or just the one in which I usually drop the load. And every week I go back to the alley and pick up three lids to place back on the containers. This week though I happened to have three containers filled with spring cleaning objets d'art. So, of course, I wondered if this would be the week they only look in the one. So I went back to the alley and, lo and behold, had to pick up three lids. Yep, all three. All my garbage was gone.

If you think about it though, it's part of their job. If they didn't open one and left it full, I would be the first to call the Sanitation Department complaining. (Hey, I pay for it.) So, thanks guys, for opening the can even when you know it's empty. Although if you think about it, they probably have better things to do with their time then I.

Enjoy this video done for The Cramps tune, Garbage Man.

The Yosemite Water Project

The Yosemite Water Project is a failed digital art installation idea concocted on a recent trip to Yosemite National Park. These seven clips of moving water and waterfalls are meant to invoke a certain experience among its voyeurs (you) as you view the chain. Unfortunately, the sudden appearance of two New Yorkers in the final clip of the series dooms it to failure by bringing the voyeur back to reality; thus, the idea can never (and will never so don't ask) be installed as a completed work of art. I post the clips here as part of my legacy.




Some soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.



Some more soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.



Even more than 'some more' soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.



Other soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.



Even other soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.



'We're getting to the end' soothing sights and sounds from Yosemite.



The final clip in which The Yosemite Water Project fails.