Road Hazards

I've never been in a car accident. In my several years of driving I'm proud to say I've never hit anything or anyone. My car has been hit by other things however, including an airport shuttle, a deer, and on one glorious, windy morning on I-25 last Wednesday, my car was hit by one of these:



Yes, that's a port-a-potty.

Only at the time it was horizontal and flying.

Impacting it squarely on one side my car simply went right through it. It damaged my car but left only bits of itself behind to lie sadly against the guardrail and dot the freeway with crumpled pieces of fiberglass and plastic.

Hood? Dented and scratched. Windshield? Scratched. Side panels? Scratched. Side view mirror? Gone. Front bumper? Broken and now decorated with what I assume is a shredded piece of toilet paper.

In my rear view the next moment I noticed two things: (1) I was about to be rear-ended by a guy watching the spectacle of several port-a-potties flying off the back of a truck, and (2) there was sure to be a massive, multi-car pile-up on the evening news.

I get to tell my story to the police tomorrow. The guys at the Honda dealership got a kick out of it, but I'm sure the police will take a more sober approach.

What about you? Anyone else hit or been hit by an unexpected, bizarre, or inexplicable object?

Court Quotes, Volume I, Issue 1

Sometimes I scratch down quick little quotes I hear in court. This is from Municipal Court in a not-very-quiet little town on the Colorado plains:

Judge: "In addition, it looks like you still owe $130 from your last appearance. Can you pay that today?"
Defendant: "No."
Judge: "How soon do you think you can get that taken care of?"
Defendant: "I don't know . . . I can pay a few dollars today but I still can't find a job."
Judge: "Okay well talk to the court clerk and pay what you can, but remember: sometimes it's easier to send people to jail than it is to keep dragging them back here every month for little ten-dollar payments. Is that what you want to do?"
Defendant: "No, sir."
Judge: "Then I recommend you find a way to pay this off."
[Judge bends over the file, scribbling a note.]
Judge: "See you in a month."

Xavier Enigma

Scott found this:

http://www.enigmasand.com/games/nphys/

Is it a game? Is it art? Is it science? I love it. Have fun.

Art and Commodification

Scott and I went to the Louvre's "Artisans and Kings" show at the Denver Art Museum. I love this painting: Infanta Margherita by Diego Velasquez. (But not as much as I love Las Meninas for its disturbing freakiness.)


Many pieces were from the famous Sevres Porcelain Manufactury:


The thing about Sevres porcelain - they're still making it. And people are still buying it. The Sevres Manufactury survived the very bloody French revolution and its products continue to be a symbol of wealth and . . . er . . . 'good taste.' (No offense intended, if you're a fan.)

Afterwards, happily munching greasy hamburgers wrapped in paper, we talked about the antithetical (or perhaps symbiotic?) nature of bourgeois versus bohemian values. (More accurately I went "blah blah blah" about art and Scott politely listened. Bless him.)

Then we toured a few galleries on Santa Fe. Interesting to view the contrast between "proven" works of value (formerly owned by the Kings and Queens of France) and works artists are currently aiming to sell. Verrrry verrrry interesting.