By Nandika Doobay
During last February’s epic Snowpocalypse, while the blizzard created near white-out conditions and area residents huddled inside their homes, vandals took it as an opportunity to get a lot of work done. And by work, I mean destruction of property. According to 32 Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack, around 400 buildings were hit on the night of the heaviest snowfall.
Boldly drawn tags exploded along the Blue Line’s path, many of them brazenly colored in with lettering that looks as if it took some time to create -- not the hurried scribbles of a tagger on the run. Much to the delight of hipsters, but to the understandable chagrin of property owners, the neighborhood was transformed into something resembling an 80s music video over the course of one night.
Alderman Waguespack held a special meeting about graffiti and vandalism last Wednesday, at the Wicker Park Bucktown library. About 20 concerned residents attended, including representatives from 1st Ward Alderman Joe Moreno’s office, members of SSA#33 and court advocates who attend hearings on behalf of the community. Many ideas were shared about what can be done to clean up existing graffiti and prevent further attacks.
Waguespack recommended that property or business owners install cameras and lights with motion sensors to deter new attacks. That seems to have worked on the corner of Armitage and Damen, where the wall along a liquor store used to be a hotspot for tagging. During the graffiti surge, that was one of the high-visibility places that remained untouched, perhaps due to the large white security camera now looming above the billboard across the street.
The alderman also suggests that residents take a more proactive approach to graffiti removal by keeping a few cans of Goof Off around the house. Many neighbors who attended the meeting were enraged at how long it’s taken the city to remove many of the tags, some of which have been up for over a month. Waguespack explained that the city has been slow to clean up many of the spots due to the high volume of graffiti that needs to be removed and because of a lack of funds. “They cut some funding for Graffiti Blasters,” said the alderman. “Those guys have to realize it comes down to a quality of life issue.”
Other reasons why graffiti remains a huge issue is because people fail to report it or fail to show up to court prosecute vandals who have been caught. Gang graffiti has been making a comeback, scaring some residents into staying mum on attacks in fear of retaliation. The alderman assured residents that they shouldn’t be afraid to file a report with 311, or call police if they see something. “Most of these kids are not gang members,” he said.
It is good to know the difference between regular tagging and gang graffiti, though. Click here for a map of known North-side gangs, and click here for examples of Chicago gang graffiti.
-Nandika Doobay
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Corned Beef Eating Contest Details
(all content, below, by Christine of Franciscan Outreach Association)
For anyone who works downtown …
You are invited to attend a St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef Eating Contest.
The contest will be held tomorrow, March 17, starting at 10:15 a.m., at the NBC-5 Studios, Floor Two, 454 North Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
To raise public awareness of Franciscan Outreach’s programs for the hungry and homeless, the contest will be videotaped for later airings on NBC-5 news programs throughout the day.
NBC-5 weatherman, Andy Avalos will judge the contest and the following local “celebrities” are scheduled to participate:
· Jim Boardman – Local restaurateur
· Jim Cornelison – Chicago Blackhawks national anthem vocalist
· Tom Hill
· Michael Kelly
· Art Norman – NBC 5
· Marcus Riley – NBC 5
· Ray Schiestel
· Jay Wadha
Attendees at the event are asked to cheer on their favorites and to “encourage” them with cash donations. All the proceeds from the contest will go to Franciscan Outreach Association.
I hope to see you there,
Christine Curran
Director of Mission and Community Outreach
For anyone who works downtown …
You are invited to attend a St. Patrick’s Day Corned Beef Eating Contest.
The contest will be held tomorrow, March 17, starting at 10:15 a.m., at the NBC-5 Studios, Floor Two, 454 North Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611.
To raise public awareness of Franciscan Outreach’s programs for the hungry and homeless, the contest will be videotaped for later airings on NBC-5 news programs throughout the day.
NBC-5 weatherman, Andy Avalos will judge the contest and the following local “celebrities” are scheduled to participate:
· Jim Boardman – Local restaurateur
· Jim Cornelison – Chicago Blackhawks national anthem vocalist
· Tom Hill
· Michael Kelly
· Art Norman – NBC 5
· Marcus Riley – NBC 5
· Ray Schiestel
· Jay Wadha
Attendees at the event are asked to cheer on their favorites and to “encourage” them with cash donations. All the proceeds from the contest will go to Franciscan Outreach Association.
I hope to see you there,
Christine Curran
Director of Mission and Community Outreach
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Images from the Opening of Silk Lights
A fun time was had by all at Jackson Junge Gallery this past Friday. The occasion was the opening of Silk Lights, featuring batik by Irena Saparnis.
Poems by Laura A. Lionello of Logan Square
Following are just a few poems by Laura A. Lionello from an upcoming collection, Panic Kit, to be published soon by Weak Creature Press in Los Angeles! I met Rich, a friend of Laura's, while on the bus en route to work. Usually folks are reading the Red Eye or staring into space, thus I couldn't resist asking Rich about the big stack of poems on his lap. Laura, pictured, lives in Logan Square. You can read more of her poems here.
The Dream
In the dream I wanted a child so badly
that I invented one.
I carried my dummy child up and down the bleached
aisles of the grocery store,
a brunette doll with painted eyes, moving
eyelids, and real lashes. I juggled her flour-sack
body in one arm and the cereal boxes and
soup cans in the other.
But, because I wasn’t versed in caring for a child,
I forgot her. I left her in the dairy case
when I picked out the eggs, left her dumb, full diaper
warming the butter and spoiling the yogurt.
The checker in the express lane
wore a green smock and had a soft
pink scar above his left eyebrow.
As he handed me the change
he looked deep into me
where a soft wind fluttered, where
a sea of bile lapped quietly
in my belly
and he knew
I was not a real mother.
Ashamed as a sunburn,
I took my canvas sack and passed
through the automatic door as a long row of carts
as gnarled as the index finger of an old woman
moved in my opposition.
All Empty
One winter night in Boston we stood
still on the back porch of my sister’s house and
smoked as the black-boned arms of the
hedge maples took us in their grooved embrace.
The sky clear, the stars sharp and hung low.
A kindless bird pealed on about the way
things are done in this type of world, the
type where you don’t spend time counting stars
without expecting something from the result.
Maybe there is a god, you said, but that’s
not the issue now.
If there, he can’t be bothered with failures
like these. There are some losses
you just don’t get over.
This is not to say that my pain is
deeper
than your pain.
A pregnancy I terminated: One new body
added to my constellation of errors.
I pry open the bathroom window
from the inside to get to the outside,
cut the screen and crawl out backwards, feet first.
I am fever chart and lipsticked mouth
angry need and sagging belly
empty.
The Dream
In the dream I wanted a child so badly
that I invented one.
I carried my dummy child up and down the bleached
aisles of the grocery store,
a brunette doll with painted eyes, moving
eyelids, and real lashes. I juggled her flour-sack
body in one arm and the cereal boxes and
soup cans in the other.
But, because I wasn’t versed in caring for a child,
I forgot her. I left her in the dairy case
when I picked out the eggs, left her dumb, full diaper
warming the butter and spoiling the yogurt.
The checker in the express lane
wore a green smock and had a soft
pink scar above his left eyebrow.
As he handed me the change
he looked deep into me
where a soft wind fluttered, where
a sea of bile lapped quietly
in my belly
and he knew
I was not a real mother.
Ashamed as a sunburn,
I took my canvas sack and passed
through the automatic door as a long row of carts
as gnarled as the index finger of an old woman
moved in my opposition.
All Empty
One winter night in Boston we stood
still on the back porch of my sister’s house and
smoked as the black-boned arms of the
hedge maples took us in their grooved embrace.
The sky clear, the stars sharp and hung low.
A kindless bird pealed on about the way
things are done in this type of world, the
type where you don’t spend time counting stars
without expecting something from the result.
Maybe there is a god, you said, but that’s
not the issue now.
If there, he can’t be bothered with failures
like these. There are some losses
you just don’t get over.
This is not to say that my pain is
deeper
than your pain.
A pregnancy I terminated: One new body
added to my constellation of errors.
I pry open the bathroom window
from the inside to get to the outside,
cut the screen and crawl out backwards, feet first.
I am fever chart and lipsticked mouth
angry need and sagging belly
empty.
Monday, March 14, 2011
2nd Annual Chicago Zine Fest
(apologies on just hosting a press release, but here goes... )
2nd Annual Chicago Zine Fest To Take Place March 25 and 26, 2011 at Various Locations
On March 25th and March 26th, Chicago will host regional, national and international self-publishers for the 2nd Annual Chicago Zine Fest. An opening event, hosted by Columbia College’s Silver Tongue Reading Series, will kick off the fest on Friday afternoon from 2 - 4pm, at the Conaway Student Center, with a reading by Columbia student zine makers, followed by a Q&A discussion with popular zinesters, Al Burian (Burn Collector) and Aaron Cometbus (Cometbus). The festivities continue at 5pm with "Zines: The Next Generation," a youth zine reading at 826CHI from 5pm - 6pm, followed immediately by an adult zine reading from 6:30 - 8:30pm, featuring exhibitors from the festival. The night will be capped off with mingling and Karaoke at Quimby’s Bookstore at 9pm. The Zine Fest will continue Saturday from 10am - 5pm at Columbia College's Conaway Center where almost 200 zinesters will exhibit their publications and run workshops on various aspects of self-publishing. New this year will be a DIY Film Festival, curated by Gadabout Film Festival’s Eric Ayotte. All events are free and open to the public. Locations for all events are wheelchair acessible. Venues are listed below.
The Chicago Zine Fest is an independent event creating an outlet for small press and independent publishers to showcase their work. The fest's goal is to make DIY zine-making accessible, highlight the talents of self-published artists, and give independent artists a chance to interact and swap skills. Excited by the response from the zine community, Zine Fest Co-coordinator Leslie Perrine says, "We were amazed that tabling space sold out within three weeks, despite having doubled in size from last year. We had no idea the response would be this overwhelming." Jen Twigg, Exhibitor Coordinator, says the strength of the fest lies in its participants. "We are so excited to have zinester mainstays such as Liz Prince, John Porcellino and Cindy Crabb; but we also have many emerging zine-makers, like Jami Theophilos and Chris Landry, whose zines we know people will be excited to discover. We even have someone traveling from as far away as New Zealand to table at the fest!" she says.
The Chicago Zine Fest is sponsored by Columbia College’s Silver Tongue, Quimby's Bookstore, Renegade Handmade & Renegade Craft Fair, and 826CHI.
For more info: http://www.chicagozinefest.org
Friday, March 25, 2pm - 11pm
Columbia College Conaway Center 1104 S Wabash Ave. www.colum.edu
826CHI, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-772-8108, www.826chi.org
Quimby’s Bookstore 1854 W. North Ave. 773-342-0910, www.quimbys.com
Saturday, March 26, 10am - 5pm
Columbia College Conaway Center 1104 S Wabash Ave. www.colum.edu
2nd Annual Chicago Zine Fest To Take Place March 25 and 26, 2011 at Various Locations
On March 25th and March 26th, Chicago will host regional, national and international self-publishers for the 2nd Annual Chicago Zine Fest. An opening event, hosted by Columbia College’s Silver Tongue Reading Series, will kick off the fest on Friday afternoon from 2 - 4pm, at the Conaway Student Center, with a reading by Columbia student zine makers, followed by a Q&A discussion with popular zinesters, Al Burian (Burn Collector) and Aaron Cometbus (Cometbus). The festivities continue at 5pm with "Zines: The Next Generation," a youth zine reading at 826CHI from 5pm - 6pm, followed immediately by an adult zine reading from 6:30 - 8:30pm, featuring exhibitors from the festival. The night will be capped off with mingling and Karaoke at Quimby’s Bookstore at 9pm. The Zine Fest will continue Saturday from 10am - 5pm at Columbia College's Conaway Center where almost 200 zinesters will exhibit their publications and run workshops on various aspects of self-publishing. New this year will be a DIY Film Festival, curated by Gadabout Film Festival’s Eric Ayotte. All events are free and open to the public. Locations for all events are wheelchair acessible. Venues are listed below.
The Chicago Zine Fest is an independent event creating an outlet for small press and independent publishers to showcase their work. The fest's goal is to make DIY zine-making accessible, highlight the talents of self-published artists, and give independent artists a chance to interact and swap skills. Excited by the response from the zine community, Zine Fest Co-coordinator Leslie Perrine says, "We were amazed that tabling space sold out within three weeks, despite having doubled in size from last year. We had no idea the response would be this overwhelming." Jen Twigg, Exhibitor Coordinator, says the strength of the fest lies in its participants. "We are so excited to have zinester mainstays such as Liz Prince, John Porcellino and Cindy Crabb; but we also have many emerging zine-makers, like Jami Theophilos and Chris Landry, whose zines we know people will be excited to discover. We even have someone traveling from as far away as New Zealand to table at the fest!" she says.
The Chicago Zine Fest is sponsored by Columbia College’s Silver Tongue, Quimby's Bookstore, Renegade Handmade & Renegade Craft Fair, and 826CHI.
For more info: http://www.chicagozinefest.org
Friday, March 25, 2pm - 11pm
Columbia College Conaway Center 1104 S Wabash Ave. www.colum.edu
826CHI, 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. 773-772-8108, www.826chi.org
Quimby’s Bookstore 1854 W. North Ave. 773-342-0910, www.quimbys.com
Saturday, March 26, 10am - 5pm
Columbia College Conaway Center 1104 S Wabash Ave. www.colum.edu
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