Monday, August 07, 2006

I Forgot the Creepy Cam



On my ride this morning, I noticed they repainted the lines on the Lake Street/Marshall Street bridge. (Or is it Marshall Ave? Ray will know.) I forgot the creepy cam. So the photo above is from Google.

They must have cleaned the street before painting, because there was very little of the usual debris. I noticed only three types of items were on the shoulder: little tiny rocks, cigarette butts, and lottery tickets. I think that says it all.

Well almost. I'd like you all to congratulate me on not using the work detritus. I've seen it used quite a bit in the last two years or so. Maybe it's been used all along and I haven't been paying attention, but my impression is that detritus has become a trendy word for the hip people to use in writing. I haven't heard anyone use it in speech though. I just listened to the pronunciation of it from Merriam Webster's website. It's funny to hear words come out of my computer. Try it for yourself.

There is no way I could say that seriously without breaking into a laugh.

7 comments:

Eclectchick said...

Congratulations!!!

Oh, and don't you hate it when your spycam is AWOL and you spot something good to capture on film? The dismay is only equalled by the times you have spycam with you, but discover the batteries are dead.

UGH!!!

Anonymous said...

"my impression is that detritus has become a trendy word for the hip people to use in writing."

Detritus is a word that is often used in the context of sedimentary geology. I heard it a lot (also the adjective form 'detrital') when I was in school getting my degree in geology back in the mid-late 90s. At that time, given the circumstances, that word was the opposite of hip and trendy. That said, congratulations.

rigtenzin said...

eclictchick:
Yes. The photo of super clean street with only lottery tickets and ciggy butts would have been nice. On my way home today, I noticed the lottery tickets had blown to the North side of the bridge also.

jim:
When I first looked up the word I found it to be a geological term and decided it should remain in that arena. Although, I understand the writer's position who is looking for some fresh language. It gets old using the same words and metaphors all the time. We all like a bit of creativity -- some more than others. I'm kind of a Ward Cleaver when it comes to that area. Ward's tie changed from time to time, but no one noticed. He probably put lots of time into selecting a different tie and was disappointed that no one noticed. That's probably a bad comparison, because I really don't like wearing ties. I've built my life around the avoidance of tie-wearing situations.

That is pretty silly way to live, but wearing a strip of fabric around your neck that doesn't offer any comfort, only distress, is pretty weird also.

Anonymous said...

At one point in my life, I thought I wanted to be a tie-wearer. I tried it for a month or so when I had a real job. It didn't take long before I gave up on that plan. Then I went in the complete opposite direction and became a huge fashion slob.

Sophzilla said...

Tiny rocks, cigarette butts, and lottery tickets? It's like my living room floor.

rigtenzin said...

But your living room also has whiskey bottles -- empty ones.

Eclectchick said...

Whoa - this is a side to Sophzilla I didn't know of.

Sheds a bright light on her blodder though.

hee - just kidding.

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