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41-year old Gregory Kloehn lives in a dumpster. But it’s not that bad! This artist in Berkeley, California, has modified his dumpster with running water, electrical power, a stove, an oven, and a toilet. Kloehn’s home will be on display at San Francisco’s Fringe Festival through September 18.
Link -via Doobybrain | Festival Website
Photo: Mark Boster/LA Times
Drivers looking for parking space are going to be dismayed, but the many San Francisco residents are enjoying this clever idea, a tiny "parkmobile" made from modified dumpsters:
The two bright-red dumpsters, 16 feet long by nearly 6 feet wide and filled with greenery, have been placed in a busy downtown neighborhood where they throw a little shade, elicit regular double-takes and fill curbside spots that otherwise would go to cars.
The grandly named "parkmobiles" were rolled out earlier this summer, the first in a fleet of itinerant oases in one of America's densest cities.
"The more crowded a city is, the more new ideas come squeezing out of the ferment in a combination of need and opportunity," said Peter Harnik, director of the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land. "New York and San Francisco are two of the most innovative places."
Not everyone's into the it, though:
When parking spots began turning into parkland, retailers and drivers groused: "So where do we put the cars?" Those who advocate for more green space in the city worried that the miniatures would replace traditional parks. Even former Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr. got into the fray, deriding in a recent newspaper column the "overgrown flower boxes" that he said were a magnet for the homeless.
"The first one I came across had obviously been used as a bathroom," Hizzoner carped. "The second one I visited, a guy and gal were 'socializing' in the bushes."
Either this is the strangest coincidence ever, or there’s more to the story. In a nutshell (or dumpster bin):
1. Man was walking when someone told him that there’s a newborn crying in the dumpster.
2. Man rescued baby.
3. Man found out later that HE was the father of said baby (he didn’t know his girlfriend was pregnant)
Is this a made for Lifetime story? You betcha:
"A girl said, ‘I think I hear a baby in the Dumpster.’ With
no knowledge at the time that this is my kid whatsoever, I went running over there, stood beside the Dumpster, heard the baby cry," he said."I jumped in and removed the stuff. I personally opened the bag and uncovered all the stuff off," he said.
"My first sight of my baby was covered in garbage."
Jason van Rassel and Stephane Massinon of the Calgary Herald has more: Link (Photo: Leah Hennel/Calgary Herald) – via XOXO Jes
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Artist and environmental activist Oliver Bishop-Young’s project “Skip Conversions” tried to find creative and often amusing ways of recycling unwanted products. One example was a dumpster, which he turned into a swimming pool, a skateboard ramp, a living room, a garden, and a campsite. More pictures at the link.
Link via Urlesque | Artist’s Website
