One Man’s Trash

I learned about Dan Phillips from the Today Show yesterday morning. These are the types of shows you watch on Thanksgiving morning. Anyway, I’m glad I caught it because it is pretty amazing what he does. He takes discarded building materials and creates these amazing homes for people with low incomes. He sometimes takes items that are not building materials and uses them in homes. For example, the home above has picture frames in the ceiling. He also used bones discarded by a butcher for door handles in one home. He is not professionally trained, but he has a good idea how to make a home look good. On the interview, he discussed the importance of making junk not look like, well, junk. He talked about the importance of pattern and repetition. It is simple, but you can tell he knows his stuff. I also liked how he was trying to prove that you can make a living off doing something that is good the environment and helps people. He even purposely hires unskilled workers. I really wish there were more Dan Phillips in the world. Read more about him here.

You are a Beslubbering, Clay-Brained, Dewberry!

KFC Potholes

Courtesy of Chicago Sun-Times

I do not normally think that advertising stunts are particularly interesting or creative, but I thought this one by KFC was…well…inspired. Here is what the Chicago Sun-Times reported:

KFC, the fried chicken franchise, is offering itself as a corporate sponsor for pothole repair. An actor dressed as KFC founder Colonel Sanders and a road repair group got started this week in the franchise’s hometown of Louisville, Ky., filling up hundreds of holes.

Many of the repairs are decorated with a white stencil saying the spot was “Re-freshed by KFC” — a play on KFC’s ad campaign stressing the freshness of their chickens. KFC spokesman Russell Dyer said the crew is using “regular asphalt,” not day-old biscuits.

It is sort of a sad commentary that our cities are not taking care of it, but at least our fast food restaurants…know better?