by Alex Pirie in Contests
Posted on April 4, 2008 at 9:32 am
Last Modified on May 3, 2008 at 11:10 pm
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Consider the overburdened utility pole… Some call it the Somerville tree, others (insert utility company name here) would just rather ignore it. Some lean a little and some lean a lot. Most seem to need major help!
As a way of calling attention to the plight of the endangered Somerville tree and passers by and to our brand new website, we’ve decided to honor the photographer of Somerville’s Most Unbelievably Gravitationally Challenged Utility Pole, with our first annual MugCup Award. It could be you!
This one’s certainly not the worst, but it’s a start.
(click thumbnail for larger image)
Fire off your digital Canon or your photo ready cell in the general direction of your favorite example of the pole from Hell and send it along. Extra points will be awarded for most dependent wires, outrageous mechanical burden, exotic bracing systems, and potential danger to nearby structures.
The winner gets…. well, gets to win our first Somerville Voices contest!
In addition, we’ll take a photo of you in front of your prize winning utility pole (assuming strong winds have not prevailed) and post it on our home page. You’ll also receive a genuine certificate AND we’ll videotape ourselves bestowing it upon you and post that as well. And, since it is the MugCup award, you will receive, at no extra charge, the drinking vessel of your choice from the kitchen wares section of the Davis Sq. Goodwill.
[Utility company executives, the one or two friends of Somerville Voices and their long suffering families are prohibited from participating. Offer void where wires are buried.]
Submit your entry by either emailing a photo to Contest@SomervilleVoices.org or follow the steps below to include your photo in a comment to this post :
Steps to include your Somerville Tree photo:
1. Upload your photo to a web server or photo sharing service such as Flickr
2. Find the URL to your photo [http://path_to_your_photo]
3. Make a comment to this post and include the following link tag : <a href=”http://path_to_your_photo” >Insert Description</a>
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Utility pole at corner of Mason Rd and Powderhouse Blvd
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This one’s on Hall Avenue.
Note the careful bundling of the wires. You’ll probably miss the lowest ones unless you know where to look; Rebecca Gewirtz got the DPW out to do something about them last summer after NStar made this mess, but the winter’s ice brought them back down.
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I saw that Barry had posted more than one picture, so I’m back with a close-up of the wires, which are more remarkable than the double pole, and a shot showing how low the lowest wires are.
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The second to last pole on Elmwood Street seems to want to give Dick’s Auto Body a real challenging job!
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Go Columbine! – I thought this would be a light hearted way to get some attention paid to Great Utility Menace, but these are scary. Saw in the Journal that Carl Sciortino is raising a little dust at the state house with a pole tax – we’ll need it, when these start to come down.
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This one’s @ Walnut Street, Union Square. Got duct tape, anyone?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/3787463610_76e2597c81.jpg
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