Posted: 2009-04-29 08:24:49
In Logan Square, the neighborhood where I live, the City of Chicago built a new skate park under the 90/94 overpass over Logan Blvd. It's a pretty impressive park, covered by the highway so it's even usable when it's raining (saw someone out there at 7am this morning while it was raining on my way back from the gym).
Of course, as with any skate park anywhere, before it was even officially opened, it was getting tagged. For those of you unfamiliar, tagging is more or less graffiti. Most of us think of graffiti as gang signs, but after I did some reading, I learned that the vast majority of taggers are not in gangs, but rather tag as a way to mark where they've been; to show off some impressive artwork; or perhaps to brag about being able to tag in a difficult to access area (middle of the subway?!). Tagging and the skate boarding culture go hand-in-hand, overlapping with many individuals. You can check out a bunch of pictures of the park here.
Most of the skaters, when interviewed, said that they didn't mind the tagging in the park. It made it feel more like it was theirs, gave it a sense of an area where they were welcome. The members of the Logan Square neighborhood watch groups didn't feel the same way. The leader of the watch group was pissed that it was being tagged, saying that it made the neighborhood look bad.
The options of where to skate in Logan Square before the park was around the monument in the actual square. Kids would skate there and grind the marble benches and it was starting to take it's toll. I think the guy needs to take a step back and realize that if the kids want to tag up the skate park, let them do so. It's their park, their place, built for them. It keeps them off other private property and, as the saying goes, probably keeps alot of them off the street.
I bet that guy yells at people to get off his lawn a lot.
What do you think? Should skaters be able to tag their own park? Should it be kept clean? Is Mr. Neighborhood getting bent out of shape over nothing? Let me know in the comments.
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Posted: 2009-04-28 08:24:42
Recently on the Jamie Foxx radio show, Mr. Foxx took a shot at Miss Miley Cyrus. If you're too lazy to Google it yourself, here. It was a cheap shot, sure, but it's far lesser than attacks toward the likes of Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton. But when you're in the spot light like Miley is, you've got to expect to catch a little flack.
Billy Ray, who should be very well acquainted with stardom and what it is like to have people talk about you, had quite a reaction to Foxx's comments. He was not too happy about what Foxx had to say, saying that if he were to say those things about Foxx's daughter, Foxx wouldn't find it too funny.
Here is my problem with this: Billy Ray Cyrus has been in show biz for over 30 years. He knows that, as a celebrity, people are going to talk. He also must have had a hand in creating the crazy popular product that is his daughter. After all, she still can't legally sign a contract.
Furthermore, Billy Ray comments that if the same thing had been said about Foxx's daughter, Foxx wouldn't have found it so funny. But Foxx's daughter, as far as I know, is not a media whore, is not commercialized beyond being just a singer or actress but to being a doll, on lunch boxes, in the homes of millions of people. If someone were to comment on Foxx's daughter, it would seem odd, like an attack on Foxx himself, since clearly his daughter (who's name I don't even know) is not in the public eye. But Miley is in the public eye more than perhaps any other young woman right now, and Billy Ray played a major roll in getting her there. It comes with the territory, so get over it.
To cap it all off, Billy Ray actually says "There wasn't nothing funny about it." Last time I checked, that means it was funny. Do you think it was funny? I think a cheap shot at Miley Cyrus is quite comical. Let me know in the comments.
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Posted: 2009-04-22 14:18:06
I'd say that I rode my scooter to work today to save gas and be green and all... but that would be a lie. I just scooted because I like scootin'!!
What are you doing today (or this week, or just in general) to try and reduce your carbon footprint and work hand-in-hand with good ol' Captain Planet??
I promise, this site is going to get a facelift soon. I know I said so before, but I mean it this time. The designs are done and I am sick of this fugly beast. So get ready for some changes in the near future.
Also, a poll (answer in the comments):
Would you rather have my blog be on the homepage, or on a separate blog page (with the home page being a little 'hello' thing)? I'm leaning towards a separate blog page, so weigh in!
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Posted: 2009-04-13 07:44:32
That title was unnecessarily controversial and in bad taste.
Deal with it.
Amber, Ethan and I went to my parent's for Easter this past weekend. It was really nice. Ethan completely wore himself out running around in the back yard chasing after a ball and on walks to the park and through the forest preserve. (Sounds like a dog). After he went to bed Saturday night, my dad busted open a bottle of Jameson and we played some Scattergories and Euchre. Good times.
The rest of my mom's side of the family came over Sunday for some Easter festivities, and Ethan got to go on an Easter egg hunt. I think he was actually better at finding them than Amber was.
I helped my dad out with some yard work, and I really enjoyed it. It was a gorgeous day, we got to chat, and it was a pretty good workout. My back is a little sore today, but I'm not sure if it's from that or just my general lack of flexibility and bad back.
I had gotten really excited about this band, Republic of Lights, that wanted me to try out to play with them, but yesterday they let me know that their drummer wasn't going to be moving and so wouldn't be needing me. Disappointing, but oh well. I have an audition on Wednesday with Incredible Shrinking Boy and I'm looking forward to that as well. Which reminds me, I need to put my headphones on and learn those songs!!
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Posted: 2009-04-07 08:45:37
Anyone who knows me knows that I think political correctness is retarded. Speaking of which, check this out! That's right, people are going to promise to stop using the word 'retarded' as a derogatory term. This is stupid, dumb, idiotic, and just down right unnecessary. Maybe people are too sensitive, or maybe I'm too insensitive. Either way, it's just one of those things that doesn't deserve the effort that people put into it. And here's why.
The etymology of virtually every word used to describe a person of lesser intelligence, be it for literal reasons or to make fun of your friend who thought vacuum was spelled 'vacumn', can be traced back to an initial meaning of actual mental deficiency. From 'dumb' to 'dim wit', insulting someone's mental capacity has been around for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, and in nearly all cases, the word was originally used to describe a somewhat clinical disorder. For instance:
Dumb: originally used to describe someone who was unable to speech, usually permanently. It became associated with a slowness to respond to a question (ie. "What's your name, huh? Huh? What are you, dumb?).
Idiot: an uneducated or ignorant person. A widely known use was "the village idiot" to single out the most uneducated member of a town.
Dimwit, dolt, nitwit, and buffoon all came about as words to describe someone who was dull and to be chastised.
Do you really think that all Blacks are African American? There's a chance they are from Central America, or maybe they're from England. Who knows?! But if you ask me, Black is a much more accurate and less assuming description than African American.
How many Native Americans do you think were really offended to be called Indians? Sure, they weren't from India, but before we got here, they weren't from America either. America was named from Amerigo Vespucci who drew some of the first maps of America, so whether we call them Indians or Native Americans, neither are really correct.
Point is, a word is a word, and connotations will change and evolve regardless of what you do. So get over it.
Agree? Disagree? Think I'm an ass? Let me know in the comments!
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Posted: 2009-04-05 06:02:42
Have you ever watched the children's show Go Diego, Go! ? It has got to be one of the worst shows I've ever seen. Most kids shows have some sort of moral lesson and encourage problem solving skills and things like that. Diego seems to have a magic drum that he hits to solve every problem he runs into. How is that helping our kids develop analytical thinking?!
Trapped in a cave? Bang the drum. Need to get water for the impalas? Bang the drum. Heaven forbid you dig your way out of the cave, or find an oasis and bring water to the impalas. Just bang your magic drum and your problems are solved. What a piece of shit show.
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Jeff said:
I think it'd be interesting if they tried to set up a designated "tagging time" when they would let the people come in and do their tagging without interference. It might help appease the neighborhood watch people in that they could moderate the tagging to make sure nothing violent or vulgar went up, but it would let the skaters make the park their own.
Of course, it might also take away the desire to tag if they were specifically allowed to do so.